The Common

Dear Nashoba Community,

As we head into our annual winter vacation, I want to wish everyone a joyful and restful holiday season filled with celebrations alongside friends and loved ones. School will resume on Thursday, January 2, 2025, and we look forward to the exciting opportunities the new year will bring to the Nashoba community.

In recent weeks, we’ve shared updates on the incredible progress of our high school building project. With the concrete foundation installation now underway, we’ve reached an exciting milestone in constructing our new school. This week, we’re excited to take it a step further by sharing a virtual tour of the building, offering a glimpse into the future of education at Nashoba Regional High School. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue through the building process.

Peace,

Kirk Downing (He/Him)
Superintendent

Over the past two weeks, Dr. Boynton, NRHS Department Heads, and some fantastic high school student volunteers visited all three middle schools to meet with 8th-grade students preparing for their transition to high school. These interactive visits included activities, conversations with current high schoolers, and insights into the unique opportunities awaiting them at Nashoba. To further support this transition, we are sharing resources like our Future Focus Newsletters, which spotlight core courses, electives, and more. We’re thrilled to help our 8th graders feel ready and excited for this next chapter and can’t wait to welcome them to high school next year! Stay tuned for more updates.

The Nashoba Regional School District is currently reviewing the curriculum for the following content areas, as indicated below.

6-8 math is working through Phases 1 and 2 of the curriculum review cycle. The district has secured the 2024-2025 High-Quality Instructional Materials Professional Development and Purchase Opportunity (PDPO) Grant for STEM. This grant acceptance allows for offsetting the cost of curricular materials and provides professional learning to assist with the process. To date, the work has included:

• Analyzing student learning data and current instructional practices.
• Developing a Vision for Middle School Mathematics aligned with the K-5 Vision.
• Deciding to advance to Phase 2, focusing on exploring new core curricular materials. The curricula under review include Illustrative Math, Carnegie Learning, and Amplify Desmos, all of which are highly rated and vertically aligned.

• Next steps will involve:

  • Gathering feedback from the community.
  • Field testing the selected curricula.

9-12 math has entered Phase 1 of the curriculum review cycle. To date, the work has focused on analyzing student learning data (e.g., MCAS results and course enrollment trends) and evaluating instructional practices. This process has led to the development of a draft 9-12 Math Instructional Vision, which aligns with the existing K-8 Math Instructional Visions. The next steps will involve gathering feedback from the community.

9-12 Science completed Phase 1 of the curriculum review last year, focusing on analyzing current practices and developing a 9-12 Science Instructional Vision. Phase 2 now focuses on implementing this vision. Current efforts include:

• Updating the curriculum to incorporate all three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI); Crosscutting Concepts (CC); and Science and Engineering Practices (SEP). These three dimensions form the foundation of the NGSS and drive innovation in STEM industries. This approach enables students to think critically, like scientists and engineers, aligning with Nashoba’s Vision for our learners.
• Aligning with 6-8 science efforts through curriculum revision that complement the adoption of the OpenSciEd curriculum at the middle level.

• Reviewing course offerings and sequencing using feedback from teachers, families, and students.

• Providing professional learning for teachers to deepen their understanding of the NGSS and its application to the Nashoba curriculum.

• Next steps will involve:
• The continued revision of units in biology, chemistry, and physics.
• Continuing to explore and refine course offerings and sequencing.

For more information about these curriculum review updates, please click here to access the presentation shared with the Nashoba Regional School Committee on Wednesday, December 18. We will continue to keep families informed as the process progresses.

Learn about our 2025/2026 Pre-Kindergarten program and meet our wonderful teachers during an upcoming information session on January 15, 2025. We’re offering two convenient formats: a virtual session at 10:00 AM and an in-person session at 6:00 PM at Florence Sawyer School. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore what our program has to offer for your little one! If you have questions please reach out directly to Kristen Ryan, Director of Early Childhood at kryan@nrsd.net.

Register here to reserve your spot today!

As the colder months approach, we enter the peak season for colds, flu, and other respiratory illnesses. The District’s Local Board of Health recently notified the towns they serve that there is a higher rate of illness than usual across the Commonwealth at this time of year. In an effort to educate and support families, Nashoba’s Health and Wellness Department is reaching out with reminders about how to reduce your risk of contracting and spreading illness during winter and the respiratory illness season!

Key Points to Prevent Illness

Hygiene Practices

• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially before eating.

• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.

• Avoid touching your face.

• Use hand sanitizer when soap and water aren't available.

• Stay home if you're sick.

Vaccination:

• Get vaccinated against common viruses like influenza, Covid, pertussis, and RSV.

Nashoba SEPAC offers virtual and in-person events to families. To learn more about upcoming events and to access important meeting links see the download below.

Coming up next! SEPAC will be hosting a SEPAC Social at the Lancaster Community Center on January 14th, 2025 between 6:30-8:00pm. It's a great chance to socialize with SEPAC officers and other parents/caregivers!

Hale Middle School's Winter Concert was the perfect wrap up to a December filled with performances. This past month has featured Hale Middle School's version of The Addams Family, the FSS Winter Chorus Concert (pictured left), and the NRHS Combined Winter Concert! Earlier this month, Nashoba Drama presented A Christmas Carol, and Luther Burbank students showcased their talents during a choral and band concert. There will still be plenty of opportunities to enjoy upcoming performances after break. You can find the full upcoming performances list below.

Celebrating everyday greatness! Is there a Nashoba teacher or staff member out there who you think deserves some special recognition? Send a Nashoba Notable Award their way! Fill out the form below and thank a Nashoba employee today!

Nashoba Notable Awards thank Nashoba employees for supporting students, families, and their school communities in all ways great and small.

Employees will receive a certificate that includes a brief explanation from the nominator of why they are Nashoba Notable. This form is open to everyone. Students, families, staff and community members can send a Nashoba Notable Award to any Nashoba employee.

There is no limit to the number of Nashoba Notable Awards someone may receive. Thank a Nashoba employee today!

Click here to tell someone they are Nashoba Notable!

The FSS Grade 4 Poetry Slam completed Module 1 of our Imagine Learning EL Literacy Curriculum!

High school staff and students wrapped up their middle school visits at LBMS this week! Learn more about the 8th-to-9th grade transition in the first edition of Future Focus!

Assistant Superintendent Friend stopped by a kindergarten classroom at Center School as a surprise guest reader!

Kindergarten students at FSS put on an impressive performance for their classmates and families!

Extended Learning Program students at MRE made up for the lack of snow with their fun bulletin board featuring marshmallow snowmen wearing special pipe cleaner ice skates!

NRHS students got the chance to listen to three different guest speakers throughout December! Each focused on different areas including: Engineering & Manufacturing, Entrepreneurship, and Authorship.

MRE kindergarten students and their families got together to build gingerbread houses this week!

Congratulations to Hale M.S. Drama for their production of The Addams Family! They had a very successful three show run last weekend. Look for their spring show coming in April!