Newsletter
Issue 8 | Volume 2 | March-April 2017
We rarely send two newsletters in one month, but we had so many updates, it was worth sending these in newsletter form! Particularly when we have some events and videos to share, we particularly appreciate using the newsletter format. Our sophomores will take the English MCAS next week. As we know, this is one of the three examinations that help determine a student's eligibility for a high school diploma. We trust that your students will get a good night's rest, be here on time, and take their time on the examination. Our teachers from grades K-9 have all been part of the development of the skills are students need, and our teachers have certainly embedded into classes many of the skills and habits that will be helpful on the test. We hope you will get students in bed early, ensure they have a decent night's rest, and get them to school on time on those days, reminding them that they should take their time and pay attention to details! As the stakes grow higher for our students, we are confident they will perform well. As always, breakfast is available at the school for the morning of the test. In the coming weeks, our spring athletics season will start, our school will host a health and wellness fair, and our students will complete course selections for 2017-18. Our plans for graduation will be complete soon, and we plan on sending home a full slate of events to our senior parents sometime in early April. Please take a read to our Core Values and Beliefs about Learning. This semester, our faculty will begin assessing student progress toward the meeting of our schoolwide learning expectations, which can be found on our home page and are also listed here. We believe as a school faculty that these learning expectations help capture the behaviors, both academic and civic, that we hope to see in all our students,and that the rubrics will give families a better sense of what their students' strengths are, beyond the typical progress report or report card comment. Teachers will be linking those rubrics to specific department assignments, and we anticipate the rubrics and the feedback giving parents and our community great insight into who we are as a learning environment. You can expect to hear more about Core Values in the coming months and years, particularly as we embark on our reaccreditation self-study next year. Our decennial visit from NEASC, our accreditation board, will come in December of 2018. Prior to then, we anticipate having many opportunities to involve parents, enlist community feedback, and provide a lens to share the great things happening at UHS. Best of luck to our talented drama students this weekend with the production of Anything Goes, and we hope to see many of you at the show or the other activities coming in the next several weeks. Sincerely, Michael Rubin, Principal
Uxbridge High School 300 Quaker Highway Uxbridge, MA 508-278-8633
March
marching on
Drama/Musical
Issue 8 | Volume 2 | March 2017
at UHS
CORE VALUES:
A member of the Uxbridge High School Community: Shares responsibility for excellence and integrity Perseveres through challenges and adversity Accepts new ideas and thoughts Respects self and others Teaches effective communication, compassion, and balance Accountable for a high standard of academics and behaviors Nurtures personal independence and responsibility
Core Values
BELIEFS ABOUT STUDENT LEARNING:
And Beliefs About Learning
We believe that our entire community shares responsibility for high standards of excellence and integrity. All members share a love and passion for learning together, while communicating respectfully with one another. All members are encouraged to set goals, to express themselves, to embrace and engage students, and to commit to a continuous cycle of growth. Through these, we will foster academic, social, linguistic, and physical progress within a safe atmosphere. We believe that our entire community must persevere through challenges and adversity, and that this determination will foster and teach grit, empathy, curiosity, and independence to students of all abilities. We believe that growth occurs when we turn failures into successes, enabling our students to feel confident every day. Through a supportive and safe learning environment, our students will take academic risks, develop grit, set and achieve goals, allow for individual exploration and growth, and leave UHS as citizens ready to contribute to society at large. We believe that our entire community should be encouraged to accept new ideas and thoughts, to appreciate the differences in culture and experiences each person brings, and to have tolerance for different points of view and individuals. We believe in challenging ideas, but doing so respectfully and in a way that encourages diversity of thought. We believe that respect for self and others is the cornerstone on which an effective classroom and school community functions. Through mutual respect, flexibility, and kindness, our teachers, parents, and students can work together toward common goals, supporting each other and collaboratively engaging in the learning process and building toward student growth. We believe that a primary responsibility is to teach effective communication, compassion, and balance between the mind, body, and spirit of our students. We believe learning has both a practical and authentic side, which we can differentiate to accommodate different student strengths. Students need to be able to use knowledge, both analytically and creatively, which will enable them to be successful after their time at UHS. We believe in holding all members of our community accountable to high standards of behavior and academics. We believe in being flexible, embracing differences and challenges, and working together with optimism and patience toward common goals, be it in the classroom or through the extracurricular program. We believe individuals should take ownership and be responsible for their choices, actions, and achievement. We believe in nurturing an environment that balances independence with collaboration, builds personal responsibility, and creates ownership of choices and achievement. In helping students achieve beyond what they think they can accomplish, all members of our community are expected to set challenging, attainable goals that continuously drive a pattern of self-improvement. We believe in teaching self-discipline, time management, and lifelong learning.
As part of our reaccreditation process through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, our school will be examining our practices in terms of curriculum, instruction, and assessment, as well as the ways our school interacts with the community, provides support to students, and demonstrates sound leadership practices. The foundation on which all of these are built is the statement of core values and our beliefs about student learning. In October, our students, teachers, staff members, administrators, parents, and community members collaborated to identify several key values that are most important to our learning community.
Mr. Rubin and senior Andy Kuros sat down to discuss some of the recent happenings at UHS, including the recent Spirit Week, goals for the rest of the year, and some of the progress the school has made in 2017!
On UCTV
Spartan Showcase
Here are some highlights from our basketball programs' action in February!
Spartan Athletics
UHS athletics HIGHLIGHTS!
Host Career Fair
UHS and BVEF
Uxbridge High School recently hosted and participated in a large jobs fair for juniors and seniors sponsored by Blackstone Valley Education Foundation. Participating employers included Dell Technologies, UniBank, Salmon Health & Retirement, AGS, Southwicks Zoo, Galliford's Restaurant, Interstate Specialty Products, and Manpower. Each company is seeking to hire full-time entry level workers within the next few months. Workforce Central/Milford conducted a jobs-readiness auditorium session for all students upon their arrival. Lampin Corp. provided interactive soft-skills activities for students that focused on greeting employers during interviews, the importance of eye contact, and how to take the initiative in asking questions of a prospective employer.
Issue 6 | Volume 4 | 2013
On Friday, April 7, the Uxbridge student body will have the opportunity to participate in a health and wellness fiar being organized by Ms. Ahern, one of our Wellness teachers, and Ms. Dwyer, one of our counselors. The health fair will allow all of our students to visit with more than 30 volunteers and vendors, who will have stations for students to learn about various health topics. In addition to the medical community, there will be representatives from various representatives from the fitness industry, the American Heart Association, West Hill Dam and the recreation industry, and resources to support healthy and safe choices for our young adults. The objective of the event is to nurture good choices and decisions from all our students. We are proud to have made connections with more than 30 vendors of our community, including businesses and nonprofit organizations, who will be joining us and who will no doubt provide an impact to our students. The fair, unfortunately, cannot be opened to the public or other schools, though that may be something we consider in the future. Given that this is our first effort at the event, we are focusing on providing supports for our students. In addition to participating in the Health Fair, our students will also be taking the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The survey provides data regarding health decisions made by young adults, and the data we learn through students' honest and anonymous participation enables us to enlist the support of community organizations, target appropriate curricula in health, wellness, and counseling, and provide more relevant supports to the students and community. Parents will be provided an opt-out form, along with additional information on the survey, before we administer the survey on the morning of April 7.
SPARTAN ACADEMICS
Uxbridge High School
UHS to host health & wellness fair
Updates from school council
All School Council meetings are open to the community. Agendas for the monthly meetings will be posted on the school website. Members of the School Council are posted below. Feel free to reach out to any of them regarding questions about the Council or the agendas; the School Council co-chairs are Mr. Rubin, Building Principal, and Emily Luuri, Community Member. Questions about action items or agenda items are to be directed to them.
Issue 1 | Volume 1 | 2015
Our March School Council meeting will have a packed agenda, as we continue the dialog about Class Rank, consider the impact of adding a second year to the world language graduation requirement, and consider vendors for the school photopraphy agreement.
Michael Rubin (co-chair) Principal mrubin@uxbridge.k12.ma.us David Lyman Teacher Representative dlyman@uxbridge.k12.ma.us Michael Catalano Teacher Representative mcatalano@uxbridge.k12.ma.us Melissa Fischer Parent Representative fischnitz@gmail.com Mary Sherlock Community Representative literacy321@yahoo.com Susan Bromann Parent Representative susanbromann@yahoo.com Susan Hirtle Parent Representative shirtle@uxbridge.k12.ma.us Andy Kuros Student Representative andy.kuros@uxbridge.k12.ma.us Jack Schreiber Student Representative jack.schreiber@uxbridge.k12.ma.us Amber Hampton Teacher Representative ahampton@uxbridge.k12.ma.us Emily Fernandes Student Representative emily.fernandes@uxbridge.k12.ma.us Emily Luuri (co-chair) Community Representative emilyabbo@hotmail.com Jennifer PIcotte Parent Representative Tonya Allegrazza Parent Representative Jennifer Modica School Committee Liaison jmodica@uxbridge.k12.ma.us Michael DiMeglio Staff Representative mdimeglio@uxbridge.k12.ma.us Eion Goulet Student Representative eion.goulet@uxbridge.k12.ma.us Sonila Murati Student Representative sonila.murati@uxbridge.k12.ma.us
School council for 2016-17
Seniors who have accrued a minimum of 45 hours of community service will be eligible for a Community Service distinction at graduation. What counts: Hours spent fundraising for non-profit organizations or charities may be applied toward a student’s hours. Hours volunteered on a student’s own time to benefit an organization, school, community agency, etc. will count. The service a student provides outside of school hours while an active member of a school-based group such as National Honor Society, Student Council, or another campus organization, may be used toward the satisfaction of this distinction. What does not count: Service must be voluntary, with no financial remuneration or compensation of any kind, for the student, and it must be verified by an adult supervisor. Acts that are completed for the direct benefit of one’s family (i.e. babysitting, household chores, etc.) do not satisfy these requirements. Volunteer service involving academic requirements for a class will not count (i.e. the community service class or a service learning project done for a grade). Service hours performed as a result of any legal proceedings or school disciplinary consequences may not be applied toward a student’s 100 hours. Some examples: Organize a clean-up of a local park or neighborhood; Engage in a school or religious organization’s activities that involve a service project; Collect food for a local food bank; Volunteer at a soup kitchen; Volunteer services at a local elementary school, hospital, humane society, etc. Distinction To be eligible, the hours and supporting documentation must be submitted by the start of school on May 1 of the senior year. Each graduating senior that meets the standard will be recognized in four ways: A special notation will be put next to the student’s name in the Commencement program; A form of distinction (i.e. decal or sticker) will be placed on the student’s official diploma; The student’s transcript will include a notation that the student has graduated with Service Distinction, as many post-secondary educational institutions look favorably upon applicants with a record of volunteerism; The student will wear, along with his/her Cap & Gown, a Service Distinction cord, which will be presented to the student at Scholarship and Awards night. The link to the form can be found here. Please fill it out for each service activity. We are not requiring a verification form yet, but only input activities for which someone can vouch the service actually took place!
Senior Class News
Service Distinction