Friday, May 12, 2017

Week of 5/8/17

Good afternoon-

In just about an hour the school will be filled with the community waiting to watch one of the AHS events of the year, the Grand March!  It is such a fun evening and I am thrilled to see the sun coming out to shine.  I was worried about rain dampening the prom finery!  I hope that all prom-goer's have a wonderful, safe, good choices evening.  Tonight is a special evening and I am looking forward to everyone having a wonderful time but it is also a night that many of us in the district spend sleepless, worrying that all of the students are safe. Please encourage your child to make good choices and to have a plan with you if they are in a situation they feel could potentially be dangerous.


A reminder to all 10th grade parents:
Monday, May 15th at 5:30pm we will present information on the Signs of Suicide program. All 10th grade students will participate in this program during the week of May 22nd in their history class.  Please read the attached letter and return the consent form, either a hard copy or digitally, ASAP to the main office.  You can email your consent to Linda Chaney at lchaney@ashland.k12.ma.us.  This is an important program and we strongly believe 10th grade students should participate.

Class of 2017!
Monday is the start of the last full week of classes for the Class of 2017.  Exams are scheduled for the week of May 22.  The Senior Week exam schedule is attached here.  

On Friday, May 26 all members of the Class of 2017 will participate in our annual Community Service Day. They will start the day at AHS with a presentation from the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Program at 8am.  From there students will spread out around town to give back to the community!

A message from Student Council:
It's election time at AHS!  Any student interested in running for a class officer or Student Council rep position should pick up a nomination packet from Ms. Graham, Ms. Kulik, Mr. McGann, Mr. Wiczer or the front office.  Nomination forms are due by 2pm on Friday, May 26th to Mr. Wiczer or to the front office.

In addition to class officer elections, we're also running elections for the "School Committee Advisory Council."  This five-member group meets once every other month with the school committee to update them on things going on at the high school and to offer opinions on policies that will directly affect students.  One member of this group will be chosen (by the members of the group) to serve as the official student representative to the school committee, attending all meeting and offering the student perspective on various matters.  Any student interested in running should pick up a blue nomination form from Mr. Wiczer.  Nomination forms are due by Friday, May 26th at 2pm.


The last "Career Night" of the year at Ashland High School will focus on construction trades, including electricians, carpenters, plumbers, and heating/cooling specialists; interior designers, and architects.  Join us on Wednesday, May 17th at 7 pm in the Ashland High School auditorium to learn more about these occupations from experts in the field!


​​The Apke family of Ashland are going to Africa on a humanitarian trip to help build a school in Malawi in June. They are collecting​ ​school supplies to ​take with them. D​onation box​es will be​ in ​the school lobby​ at Ashland High School, Ashland Middle School and the Mindess School on ​Tuesday May 9 and remain for two weeks.  Click here for the list of items needed!

Please be sure to check out all of the other important events happening around town in the Parent Flyers!

Ashland Post Office Food Drive:
Attention Ashland residents, please leave a bag of non-expired food out by your mail box for Saturday, May 13th's mail pick up.  The postal carriers deliver this food directly to the Ashland Food Pantry.  The Ashland Food Pantry relies heavily on these annual food drives, these donations will allow the food pantry to serve residents during the summer months.  
Thank you,
Cara Tirrell, Director
Ashland Food Pantry


Ashland Raises Healthy & Happy Kids: Weighty Matters
We live in a fat-phobic society, and obesity in the United States is a big problem with major health consequences. Many parents want to protect their children from getting fat, but sometimes it seems like parents think that their main goal is to control their child’s weight, when that is actually very dangerous. Below are some tips and body image discussion topics.
  1. Genetics drive body size. If you are in a larger body, if your partner is in a larger body, if all of your relatives are in larger bodies, then it is very likely that your children will be in larger bodies. And that’s not something for you to control – that’s just your child’s genetic body type. It is important to discuss this with your children while also encouraging healthy food choices and activity.
  2. Don’t restrict food. When people feel at a young age that there are a lot of food limitations, they often feel that they want to binge more as they gain independence in life. Again, guide kids toward healthy food choices but do not tell them they cannot have a cupcake at a birthday party.
  3. Talk about food. Talk about food preferences, satiety and hunger. Talk about good feelings after eating to demonstrate that food is nourishing, not a reward or punishment. Don’t say things like “I feel so disgusting, I can’t believe I ate that.” Or “I’m going to have to work that off in the gym later.” Enjoy your food and help your children learn to enjoy their food. When they truly feel nourished by food, there is no need to use food against themselves.
  4. Allow food preferences. We all have foods we like and foods we dislike. Encourage children to recognize and honor their own preferences. Show that you trust your child and your child’s body even when it wants different things than yours does.
  5. Work on yourself. Parents need to be aware of their own issues. I cannot emphasize this enough: Kids notice everything! They notice when you pull your shirt out because you feel fat. They know when you are dieting, even if you think you’re hiding it from them. You can’t shield your child from your own eating habits, so it’s important that you work on your own body relationship.
  6. Puberty usually means weight gain. Talk to your children about what will happen to their bodies during puberty. Talk about the very natural fact that most healthy bodies get rounder during pre-adolescence and adolescence.
  7. Fat is not a feeling. The minute a kid says, “I feel fat,” which can start when they are very young, ask them what they are really trying to say. Often it is actually I feel scared, I feel lonely, I feel out of control. Fat is not a feeling. What is your child really trying to tell you?
  8. Toxic Society. Talk to your children and let them know that natural bodies are perfectly acceptable, and there is no need for us to feel that we must live up to the airbrushed perfection presented to us in the media. There are videos online you can watch with your children that show how models are transformed from everyday people to the images we see in the media.

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