PHA Family Newsletter

February 13, 2025

Dear Families,

Monday marked the 100th day of school, and February vacation is now in clear sight. Check out ECC's Hats off to 100th-day photos in this newsletter and the fun activities around Boston during vacation week.

Enjoy your vacation week, and we’ll see you again on Monday, February 24th. Fingers crossed for the arrival of spring with no SNOW so we can savor long summer days. To that end, we anticipate seeing the fruits of our collective actions of kindness, hard work, and discipline in spring -- the equation to success!

Have a safe and enjoyable February vacation!

With gratitude,

Angela

Angela F. Allen Ph.D.
Head of School / CEO

• February 13th: Grades 7-12 Exhibition Night 5:30-7:30 pm (Essex)
• February 17th: Schools Closed for President's Day
• February 17th-February 21st: Schools Closed for School Vacation
• February 25th: Virtual Remind Workshop for Grades 4-12 Families
• February 26th: SEPAC Meeting 6:00 pm (via Zoom)
• February 27th: Thursday Thrive Dinner 5:30-7:00 pm (Webster)
• March 4th: 25/26 SY Application Deadline
• March 5th: 25/26 SY Lottery
• March 10th: Schools Closed: Professional Development Day
• March 15th: PHA Adult English Classes 10:00-11:00 am (54 Essex St)
• March 22nd: PHA Adult English Classes 9:15 am -1:00 pm (54 Essex St)
• March 22nd: STEAM Saturday (54 Essex St)
• March 20th: Thursday Thrive Dinner 5:30-7:00 pm (Webster)
• March 29th: PHA Adult English Classes 9:15 am -1:00 pm (54 Essex St)
• March 29th: STEAM Saturday (54 Essex St)

Happy #BlackHistoryMonth! Throughout the month of February, and all year, join us in celebrating and honoring African American history, heritage, and achievements.

We are excited to announce that PHA has once again earned the College Board's AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for expanding young women’s access to AP Computer Science Principles (CSP). PHA was one of only 847 schools nationwide to achieve this accomplishment for AP CSP.

The award recognizes our school's leadership in diversifying computer science education and preparing our female students for the in-demand jobs of the future and giving them the opportunity to help solve some of society's most challenging problems.

This represents the sixth year (out of 7 years that the award has been given out) that PHA has been recognized for achieving high female representation and closing the gender gap in AP Computer Science.

PHA was highlighted in the January 6, 2025 Commissioner’s Weekly Update!

As part of learning about checks and balances in government, fifth graders at Prospect Hill Academy Charter School in Somerville participated in a simulation where they were either Supreme Court justices or representatives in Congress and debated and voted on proposed bills.

PHA was honored to be selected by the Barr Foundation as a host school for their Catalyzing New Models in education program that invites educators to visit and learn from schools doing innovative and effective work.

On December 12th, 25 guest educators from three different states visited our high school to learn all about Project Based Learning (PBL) and the systems, structures, and programs that we have to support our teachers and students in creating a student-centered, project based, and democratized learning culture where all voices are heard and included in decision making.

We are very proud to have been chosen to share our work and are grateful to the Barr Foundation for their ongoing partnership. Below are some photos of our PBL Student Ambassadors sharing their experiences with project based learning and being ambassadors!

The Early Childhood Campus is celebrating the 100th Day of School with a special Spirit Week this week! Our students, teachers, and staff have really been getting into the spirit! See a few photos below, and view the full EC Spirit Week photo album here.

The Upper Elementary Campus also celebrated the 100th Day of School with the "Dress Like You Are 100" theme! View the full album here.

At PHA, public exhibitions of student work are an important and intentional part of our educational program. Earlier this month, our kindergarten and first grade classes recently held their end of unit showcases, where families, teachers, and staff are invited to visit classrooms to see what students have been learning. Kindergarten presented on their studies of animals and how they grow and change during their life, and first grade shared their projects about endangered species and their solutions to help save the species.

The 5th grade has been learning about the system of checks and balances in the government. Before winter break, the students underwent a simulation where they were either Supreme Court Justices or Representatives in Congress and debated/voted on proposed bills that were being presented to pass into law. They had a class constitution that they used to back up their reasoning on whether or not to pass each proposed bill.

Recently our 4th-6th graders enjoyed a festive UE Winter Fest dance!

While students attended the dance in the cafeteria, their families gathered in the library for a potluck and community-building activities. A fun time was had by all!

Beats, Rhymes, & Life Showcase 🎤🎧🎶

A small group of 7th graders had the opportunity to participate in the Beats, Rhymes, and Life program during Quarter 2. Through this program, students wrote and recorded their own original songs that they had the opportunity to perform live on stage yesterday afternoon at the Eliot Church in Roxbury.

PHA senior college acceptances have been rolling in! So far, our students have been accepted to over 30 colleges and universities. See the full list below. Congratulations, PHA Class of 2025!

Along with their coaches, Emma Sundeen and Kelsi Grover, the PHA debaters attended their fourth regular season tournament with the Boston Debate League on Friday, February 7th and Saturday, February 8th. Beck B. (10th), Alexander R. (10th), Sambodhan B. (11th), Sun N. (11th), Jayden G. (11th), Simone A. (12th), and Taygen R. (12th) all competed. On Saturday morning, senior Taygen R. was awarded the BDL's Senior Speaker Award, which includes a $1000 scholarship. They shared their moving speech with the entire BDL community before the day's rounds began. Senior Simone A. was selected as the runner-up for the Senior Speaker Award and received a $500 scholarship. Simone also received the award of Top Speaker for PHA based on his total of speaker points from throughout the debate season. 10th grader Alexander R. was awarded the team's Legacy Award, in celebration of his embodiment of our team's values. In the varsity division, Taygen R. came in at 10th place as a maverick (solo) debater, and the team of Simone A. and Jayden G. came in at 8th place. Taygen also received the 7th place speaker award in varsity. Post-regular season, Simone and Jayden will debate once more with the BDL travel team at the Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament. Taygen will also be delivering their winning speech at the BDL City Championships at the Museum of Science on 3/7. We send a huge congratulations to all of the students who competed in debate this season - we are so proud of all of you!

PHA Basketball Playoffs!!

Congratulations to both the PHA Girls & Boys Varsity Basketball teams for making it to the MCSAO Championships! Come out and support both teams this Saturday, February 15th at UMass Boston. Girls play at 6:00 PM and boys at 7:30 PM.

Tickets are $8/student and $12/adult. Purchase tickets here:

Congratulations to PHA seniors and twin sisters Breanna and Jordan on reaching 1,000 career points!! They both met this amazing milestone at their girls varsity basketball game last night. Check out their story in this Boston Herald article: https://www.bostonherald.com/.../twin-sisters-from.../

Enjoy a free, delicious, hot dinner together!

Special thanks to our Thrive Thursday Dinner partner Community Cooks!

Registration opens February 26th!

PHA Adult English Classes:
Register HERE

We are again offering English as a Second Language Classes for PHA community members! Classes are offered for beginners and intermediary speakers and take place on Saturday mornings at our Cambridge campus. The fee for the 8-week class is $30 per person. Please register here. We look forward to improving our English skills together!

Nou ap ofri kou Anglè kòm Dezyèm Lang ankò pou manm fanmi PHA!
Nou gen klas debutan ak klas entèmedyè ki fèt samdi maten nan kanpis Cambridge nou an. Pri a pou 8 semèn se $30 pou chak moun. Tanpri enskri sou lyen sa a. Nou ap gade pou pi devan pou amelyore konpetans Anglè nou ansanm!

Estamos novamente oferecendo aulas de inglês como segunda língua para membros da família PHA! As aulas acontecem nas manhãs de sábado em nosso campus de Cambridge e são oferecidas para pessoas com inglês iniciante e intermediário. A taxa para o curso de 8 semanas é de US$ 30 por pessoa. Registre-se aqui. Estamos ansiosos para aprender inglês juntos!

Estamos de nuevo ofreciendo clases de Inglés como Segundo Idioma para los miembros de la familia de PHA! Tenemos clases para principiantes y nivel intermedio, llevadas a cabo, los sábados en la mañana, en nuestro campus de Cambridge. El costo por 8 semanas, es de 30 $ por persona. Por favor, regístrese en este enlace ¡Esperamos mejorar juntos nuestras habilidades en inglés!

Dear Families:

Happy 100th day of school! If you have made it this far without seasonal illness in your home, consider yourself extremely fortunate. Thank you for keeping your sick children at home.

This week we hosted our 2nd annual dental clinic at our Early Childhood Center. Our Upper Elementary Campus hosted the event not long ago. We hope more families will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity next year when we roll it out again in the fall.

We have been fortunate to have a partnership with Emerson College graduate students, who perform our hearing screenings each year. These screenings were completed early in the school year. If you received notification that your student did not pass our initial screening, it is important to follow up with your child’s healthcare provider.

Similarly, if your child does not pass our vision screening test, you will be notified. Further vision testing may be required.

Lastly, we are already looking ahead to the 2025-2026 school year. All rising 4th, 7th, and 10th-grade students, in addition to all athletes, will need an updated physical exam. If your child received a physical anytime after 09/01/2024, please submit it to your school Nurse as soon as possible. This will satisfy the medical requirement for re-enrollment.

Wishing you a restful, healthy winter break.

The Nurse Team

********************************************************************

The PHA Nurse Team

Gaby Mendez(MS/HS) 617.284.7908

gmendez@phacs.org

Margaret Maurukas (UE) 617.684.8508

mmaurukas@phacs.org

Ernsy Alabre(EC) 617.284.7808

ealabre@phacs.org

Nurse fax: 857.575.1274

Join us at The Foundry in East Cambridge from Saturday, February 15 to Saturday, February 22 the 3rd annual Foundry Festival!

Immerse yourself in a week of free public programming and create connections with diverse communities.

All ages and skill levels are welcome to participate in as many activities as you are excited about. This is a great chance to engage the family over the February school break!

This year's festival theme is Resilience. Resilience to us is celebrating how our stories, cultures, and communities continue to thrive. It is not just the act of survival, but creating strong communities that take care of each other

When a selfish young bear refuses to share his cave with a cute, plucky squirrel amid a raging storm, both are transported on a magical tour of different habitats, encountering danger along the way. Join a host of animals – lions, monkeys, panda bears, sea lions, and more – on this shapeshifting adventure through the African plains, coral reefs, and even the rainforest!

As the two work in tandem, the bear starts to gain a different perspective on the world and the error of his ways. Enchanting and action packed, The Bear and the Squirrel 4-D is perfect for all ages at the MOS.

Children, parents, and caregivers are invited to join the Boston Parks and Recreation Department for February school vacation week 2025. From sports clinics, to our annual Children’s Festival, and nature exploration with the Park Rangers, these activities are FREE and open to all.

Visit the LEGO® Discovery Center Boston at Assembly Row. It’s the home of LEGO® play, where you and your family can create your own adventures with over two million bricks. Build your very own space rocket out of LEGO®bricks and launch it into cyberspace with our LEGO® Space digital experience or negotiate through a LEGO laser maze in our brand-new Hero Zone. Come and explore in a reimagined world of awesome LEGO builds in Mini World, discover our workshops and practice your building skills in our Build Adventures area dedicated to LEGO play and creation.