March 27, 2020

Good afternoon -

I hope this finds you all safe and healthy. It has been quite a week. I was grateful to have the opportunity to hold class meetings this week and I hope more students join us in the coming weeks. This is a challenging time for all of us and it's hard to be in the position of not being able to give the students answers. We have encourage students to keep reaching out to any of us with questions.

Now that the May 4 date has been announced and the Commissioner of Education has shared guidance for what remote learning should look like the AHS teachers have been working tirelessly to develop our plan. We hope to have something to share with students and families early next week. Until then, students should continue to check their emails and Google classroom. You can also access links on the AHS website.

We did let the Classes of 2021, 2022, and 2023 know this week that their upcoming dances, which include prom, have been canceled or rescheduled. Certainly a loss. We will make sure prom happens eventually though! The class advisor has been working with their venue to find another date that works. This will be a very different and therefore special dance for the Class of 2021. Members of the class of 2022 who ordered rings were also asking about when they would receive them. We have been working with Josten's to figure out delivery and will get more information to you as soon as we have it.

We were informed that TDA Driving is offering their Driver's Education classes online in the coming weeks. Teachers have heard from students that they can't join classes because they are at Driver's Ed. We know that schedules are hard to balance and hope that students will prioritize meeting with teachers once we have our consistent schedule ready to go! Learning to drive is super important but we also want students to keep up with their courses.

We have continued to hear (and see on the cameras) that students have been at AHS, in groups. Please remember that students should not be together in groups and will be asked to leave if they are seen at the school.

Please continue to follow the Superintendent's emails for information on what the plan will be moving forward, as well as where your students can access food and technology if needed.

Stay safe and healthy.

March 20, 2020

Good afternoon families-

I hope you are settling in and have found some time to enjoy each other's company during this stressful time. It has been a surreal week and I have been beyond impressed with the AHS faculty/staff as well as our students. It was wonderful to see the students that came in to retrieve their belongings at AHS. I miss them all so much. As we settle in to some online enrichment for students I want to assure you that the AHS administration and faculty are available for support for your students and you. Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions, concerns, general comments, etc. We may not have many answers but can certainly research what we don't know and correct any misinformation you may be hearing from your students.

At this point all students have received emails with instructions for online enrichment opportunities. Superintendent Adams shared a link to available resources. The AHS Online Enrichment page is linked here as well. It is a work in progress and updates will be made continuously.

If you are a parent with questions about the SAT's or AP tests I highly encourage you follow the College Board website. As of today SAT's are cancelled through May and AP tests are being administered at home. We're not sure what that will look like but will provide more information as we get it!

Like you and your students we have many questions about what upcoming events will look like. The recommendation has been to cancel all field trips for the remainder of the school year. I am working with the junior and senior class advisors to determine what this means for things like prom and senior week. We will share information as soon as we have it.

Below are some emails I have sent to students over the past couple of days.

We are planning virtual class meetings next week as a way to stay connected. All students received an email invitation (similar to the one below) that includes a form to send questions and concerns ahead of time. They have had great questions already!
 We hope to see many AHS faces and remind them we are here for support and encouragement.
We will meet with a class every day at 1pm:
Class of 2020- Monday
Class of 2021- Tuesday
Class of 2022- Wednesday
Class of 2023- Thursday

Good afternoon juniors! 

I hope you are all hanging in. It has been a crazy week. Now that we are all out of the building officially for a bit of time I wanted to send out a time for us to meet and check in virtually. The Deans, AD, and I will be available to chat virtually on Tuesday at 1pm. 

I know you all have a bunch of questions. I have attached a form here so you can ask questions ahead of time. We will look at them before the meeting and hopefully be able to find some answers for you before we talk. 

At 1pm Tuesday just log in the link below that says Join Zoom Meeting. We are looking forward to seeing you all!

Topic: Class of 2021 check-in w/admin

Time: Mar 24, 2020 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
 
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Weekly: https://zoom.us/meeting/uZ0pce2tqDMi2q8zWYWaax3Od5DS57HZpw/ics?icsToken=98tyKu2hqj0uH9KduFztArYqE975b9_MiyNf8rlqpSjkAjgATQejEtEXZZpFAM-B

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/494645688?pwd=NFNCMms4WmVHcVg4eXBTMmUwZG9qdz09

Meeting ID: 494 645 688
Password: 273466

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Dial by your location
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Meeting ID: 494 645 688
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abFPCxtxNq

We are strongly encouraging social distancing and know how hard that is for adolescents.

Happy Thursday evening students-

It has now been a full week since we were sent home from school. This is truly a crazy, unprecedented time. At this point, you should have all heard from your teachers regarding the many learning activities they worked quickly and tirelessly to create. 

The AHS teachers have done an amazing job making sure you are set up for success. Please thank them for their hard work and dedication and spend some time completing the activities. It will help with boredom! This is difficult and confusing for us, as adults too. Our district is so fortunate to have educators who are flexible and willing to think outside the box and create opportunities for you within the state guidelines and expectations. 

In order for this to work, it is so important to take this pandemic seriously. I was so happy to see so many of you today but I have to be honest that I was also scared to realize you have not quite grasped the importance of social-distancing. We have received a few calls from concerned parties about groups of students on the fields. Several of you arrived in pairs and groups today.  As hard as it is, students should not be congregating in groups, getting together to hang out in person or even playing on our fields. It is so important to adhere to the suggestions of the many medical professionals who are asking us to separate to help "flatten the curve." My eyes filled with tears several times today thinking about the possibility that we might not have a prom in May or graduation in June. It is simply heartbreaking. That is why I want to see everyone work together to respect and practice the recommendations out there. 

I am sure you have seen these articles but I wanted to share them anyway. Take a few minutes and read them.

What is social distancing

Corona simulator

This is NOT a Snow Day

We are missing you and each other. We are thinking and worrying about you constantly and wishing we were all together. We are hearing from you that you miss AHS too. Hang in there and do your part to help flatten the curve. The sooner we as a society are able to beat this the sooner we can get back to school, and hopefully proms and graduation.

Take care and stay healthy-

Ms. St. Coeur (on behalf of the entire AHS admin team!)

This is really a difficult time to navigate as a school community and we are doing our best to provide what is best for our students. Please continue to ask questions and provide suggestions. And let us know how we can assist.

Stay safe and healthy!

March 13, 2020

Good evening all-

I am sure you have received the Superintendent's message regarding COVID-19. As of today, school is closed until at least Friday, March 20. More information about how APS will move forward will be available next week.

The office will be open next week but the building is closed to all groups and activities. Please call us if you have a need and we can let you know if we can help. We will be in the office from 8:30am-2:45pm each day. 

Due to the school closure and the need to keep large groups to a minimum, we are cancelling the following school-wide events:

March

16-18 Signs of Suicide (SOS) screenings (TBD)

18   Parent/Teacher Conferences  (CANCELLED) please communicate with teachers through email

19   Interdisciplinary Concert     (CANCELLED)

20   Sophomore Ring Dance     (CANCELLED)

      

21   Metrowest College & Career Fair    (CANCELLED)     

24   MCAS ELA Session 1 (all 10th grade students)

25   MCAS ELA Session 2 (all 10th grade students)

26   Band Night Concert-MICCA Preview  (CANCELLED)

27   Early Release             12:35 pm

      

       GSA Masquerade Ball     6:00-8:30 pm  (TBD)

April

2     College Mini Fair     (TBD)                          

3-5   MICCA Concert Festival     (TBD)    

4     ACT Exams      (TBD)                                         

8    Term 3 Ends      (TBD)

15  Bingo Night       (CANCELLED)                                       

15    Report Cards    (TBD)               

30     College Mini Fair      (TBD)

                                    

         If They Had Known documentary screening    (TBD)                                

There have been a lot of questions, speculation, and rumors about all events moving forward. We are all in this together as the situation changes every day. Events such as prom and senior week will be discussed as information becomes more clear. At this time we have no ability to judge what next month and May will look like but we will make decisions in the best interest of our students and their health and well-being as soon as we reasonably can.

Stay healthy.

March 6, 2020

Good evening-

The window for iParent course recommendation approval will close tonight. Please go in tonight to approve your student's courses if you have not done so already. 

March 18- Parent/teacher conferences

Spring Parent/Teacher Conference Night is Wednesday, March 18. This is an opportunity for teachers to discuss curriculum needs for students as they plan for next year. 

Teachers will be available from 5-7pm and are scheduling 10 minute appointments. If you would like to schedule a meeting on that evening call or email to schedule an appointment. You can call the front office. 

Please remember that parents can schedule a time to meet with a teacher at any time during the school year if this evening does not work for you.

From the Director of Counseling & Social-Emotional Learning

Please find the newest SEL Family Newsletter focused on Relationship Skills here. 



Information for parents of the Class of 2022:
Starting on Monday, March 16 the Signs of Suicide program will be administered in all Wellness II (sophomore) classes throughout the course of the week.  A separate email will go out to all families of student in the Class of 2022. Students will see a short video on recognizing the signs of depression then complete a short screening tool.  This is the 4th year Ashland High School will use this evidence-based program when teaching this unit.
A parent link to view the video as well as other relevant information will be shared next week.
Please review this link for information on this program.


Blood drive- Donors still needed!

Ashland High School will once again host a Red Cross blood drive on Monday, March 9 from 12:00-5:00pm. The early spots are designated for students but we encourage the community to sign up from 2:45-5:00pm. Go to the website linked here and search for AHS or March 9.

Free Heart Screenings:
Dear Parents and Students,

Ashland High School is pleased to announce a heart screening program being offered during the school day on Wednesday, March 11th. The program will be provided by Mass Heartbeat, a local organization that specializes in ECG heart screening. Mass Heartbeat brings their state-of-the-art ECG technology directly to the school to provide an optional, non-invasive, and COST-FREE screening that can help detect underlying issues in the heart. The ECG tracings are interpreted by an experienced cardiologist and the results will be returned within 5 business days.

Sign up as soon as possible to secure your student's spot! 

Please choose a 5-minute time slot on and register your student today: 

https://www.familyid.com/mass-heartbeat/ashland-high-school-2020