Friday, September 25, 2020

September 25, 2020

Good afternoon-

Our second week with students continued to go well. We hope the beautiful weather continues as it has been great to have time outside. I am so proud of our students for doing a great job following expectations.

Please continue to monitor your student each day they are coming to school for any illness symptoms and do not send them to school if they are under the weather. Students will not be penalized for being absent. Just as in a regular school year, absent students should email their teacher to discuss how to make up any missed content.

Likewise, if your student is having technology issues on their remote days they should email the teacher to let them know. We understand these things might happen and will continue to work with students to make sure they receive the content they miss, and this could mean when they are in person.

Teachers are expected to update grades at least every two weeks. iParent and iStudent is now open to parents and students to check grades. Please reach out to the teacher if you have questions about any grades. 

Thank you for your continued patience with dismissal procedures. If you pick up your student I encourage you to wait to come to campus until 2:40pm. We will not be dismissing students who are picked up until about 2:45pm after all student drivers have left campus. Please do not cause a safety issue by driving around the line of cars into the student parking lot. 

Meal participation has increased at AHS. Please remind your student that meals are free to all until the end of the year and they are welcome to have breakfast when they arrive in the morning. 

I wish all that are celebrating Yom Kippur well. This is a day off from school and students are not expected to complete any assignments. 

Have a wonderful weekend. 


Saturday, September 19, 2020

End of Week 1

Good afternoon all-

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful weekend. It is so nice to relax knowing what school at AHS now looks like. I am so proud of our teachers and staff for the work they did to get ready for last week and thank them for such a great week.

As we get ready for week 2 I will ask that you continue to work as an AHS family to practice mask wearing and social distancing and help our students understand their role in keeping us all healthy. Being in school will only work if we are all following expectations. 

I appreciate your flexibility as our teachers navigate hybrid learning and how to provide instruction on remote days. If you have questions or concerns about how the remote days are working, please reach out to the teacher. 

Wednesday is our first day of combined cohort classes for all. All students are expected to be logged on for synchronous instruction or check-in's with their teachers. The schedule for class meetings times is:
C period- 9:30-10am
E period- 10:05-10:35am
F period- 10:40-11:10am
D period- 11:15-11:45am
Students can expect to have asynchronous work to complete for the remainder of the day. Please bear in mind that teachers are working on figuring out the right balance of work to assign and students work at different paces. Your student will not be be on the computer for 6.5 hours on these days. Students are also encouraged to use the time from 8:30-9:30am and 12:15-2:55pm to make appointments with counselors. In the near future students will also have social/emotional lessons provided during  this time. We are planning class meetings for this Wednesday as well and will have more information on times by Monday. 

Chromebooks: If your student has had trouble with their Chromebook there is now a link on the AHS website to report the issue to our IT department:

You will find Google Form called "Chromebook Service Request Form" that parents can use to report any physical issues with their child's Chromebook.  It also contains a few troubleshooting steps for the most frequently reported issues. 

There is also a second link in that same box called "Microscope and Camera Check", which is a list of directions on how to test those items on a Chromebook.  We've been getting reports of student Chromebook microphones not working consistently, and this sheet should help parents troubleshoot those issues.

Attendance:
Attendance during remote days of hybrid learning is required. Students must plan to log in to their Google Classroom at the beginning of each class period to check in on assignments or to be ready for synchronous learning. 
Students who are not feeling well should stay at home but can also log in to complete assignments. This is the same as if a student stayed home during a typical school year but was able to complete assignments at home. We are required to track who is in the building when they are scheduled to be in the building. AHS has a very generous attendance policy and students are not penalized for being absent as long as they complete the required work in a timely manner. 

Afternoon pick-up:
Please assist us and the community in easing the traffic congestion each afternoon by pulling all the way to the side of the building, past the gym, if you are the first cars to arrive. Do not stop at the back doors. We also ask that you leave the front drive open so that buses can pull in. If you are arriving early please remember that idling is not permitted for more than 5 minutes and your car should be turned off. Students being picked up by parents will not be dismissed from school until after student drivers have been dismissed. Please help to prevent accidents by using the pick-up line. Do not ask your child to walk to the front of the building or on to East Union.  Dismissal starts at 2:40 and we have been done each day by 3pm. Cars that arrive at 2:55p don't have a wait!

Please reach out if you have any questions.

Thursday, September 17, 2020

Day 1 for cohort B

 Good evening all-

Thank you for another great "first day of school". It was wonderful to see the Cohort B students in person. We continue to appreciate your patience and understanding as we work out the kinks that come with hybrid learning. 

As a reminder, doors to the high school do not open until 8:20am. We noticed today that many students arrived much earlier and congregated outside in a non-socially distant manner. Please reinforce with your student(s) that in order for us to have a successful experience they must wear a mask, even when outside, when they are not standing more that 6 feet apart. They are welcome to wait for the doors to open on the lawn, the patio area, and at the entrance but MUST wear a mask or be 6 feet apart. Students have done a great job wearing their masks in the classroom & building. We have been so proud of them!

The nice weather has allowed us to have mask breaks and lunch outside. We hope it continues for a while. We worked with students today to help them understand what sitting distantly while eating and will continue to do so. We have also been reminding students that lunch is free for all at this time. We encourage students to enjoy our great breakfast and lunch program. Students can not bring coffee and breakfast with them at this time unless they plan to finish it in the cafeteria between 8:20-8:35am.

If you are having trouble with your Chromebook please go to the AHS Website. There is a new link on the left side where you can report Chromebook issues as well as some tips for checking the microphones and cameras.

Students have seem to adapted to our QR codes and eHallpass. The phone app on eHallpass has been temporarily disabled because it does not support some of the social distance parameters we have put in place. If your student has questions about using either of these tools encourage them to speak to me or Mrs. Lachapelle. 

We also appreciate your patience as we fine tune the dismissal process. We have far more parents picking up this year than normal. I encourage you consider arriving at 2:55 or after if possible to allow some of the traffic to clear out if possible. Please do not ask your student to walk out onto E. Union. We want to keep all of our students safe!

It is my understanding that our Remote Only students have now all received their welcome emails from Educere. We greatly appreciate your patience as this was all set up. If your students needs a Chromebook as a remote learner we have them at AHS. Send us an email and we'll let you know a good time to stop by!

Have a wonderful night. We look forward to seeing our hybrid Cohort B students tomorrow.

And if your sophomore would like to order a class t-shirt..here is the link:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1KQiDLKXaWb3an6idPN9Wkan_uVH3SPGvXFxlaZgzt5A/edit

Monday, September 14, 2020

Day 1

 Good evening -

Today was a wonderful day at AHS and I am so grateful to the teachers and students of our community. I am sure your students came home with questions and frustrations about the new rules but I also hope they came home happy. I say lots of smiles all day long.

Students did a great job following the mask expectations. We will continue to work on social distancing. Please remind them of the importance of sitting 6 ft from their peers, especially when masks are off at lunch. Today with the beautiful weather most students chose to sit outside. If only it would stay sunny and 70 until this is over! 

The doors to AHS will not open until 8:20am. Students are expected to be in class by 8:35am. Please plan for arrival time accordingly. Pick-up this afternoon was a challenge because of the large volume. That is typical of the start of the year and tends to even out. Please try to keep the front drive open to allow buses to pull in. We also ask that you are patient while we dismiss student drivers. They are being dismissed first, followed by walkers, then parent pick-up's, and finally bus students. 

Our counselors have been working hard with Educere to get our remote only students set up. The timing was tough to manipulate since we did not want the classes to start before September 14, which could impact the add/drop period. We want our remote students to have the same 10 days as our hybrid students to evaluate their classes for level, etc. My understanding is students will receive welcome emails from their teachers in the next day or two. Please be patient as this process is new for all of us. If you are a remote student in need of a Chromebook please come to the high school between the hours of 9am-2pm. 

Teachers are working out the kinks with teaching two cohorts. There were some technical and connectivity issues today and it was not easy to judge the appropriate amount of asynchronous lessons for students they have not met yet. They're doing a great job learning how to balance students in front of them and at home. They will only continue to get better at this. There was a lot of time spent today on learning the building objectives, which happen for Cohort b students on Thursday. 

Chromebook issues for students in the hybrid model should be shared with teachers. They can report the issue to our IT department and they will address them as quickly as possible. Remote students will be receiving a form from IT to report their issues. Many students emailed about access to eHallpass. I was informed by the company today that they have temporarily disabled their phone app. It did not allow access to the social distancing features built into the system Students should plan to log-in using their Chromebook when in school. 

As a reminder, this Wednesday is a full teacher professional development day. Students will not have learning expectations. Wednesday classes will start next week for hybrid students. 
Cohorts A & B will meet together following this schedule:
C period- 9:30-10:00
E period- 10:05-10:35
F period- 10:40-11:10
D period- 11:15- 11:45

Student drivers will be able to pick up parking pass registration forms tomorrow. 

I am sure there are items I am forgetting to touch on. I am so proud of our school community and look forward to a wonderful school year. Please don't hesitate to reach out with questions.

 

Friday, September 11, 2020

9/11/2020

Good evening AHS families-

We are so excited to welcome students back to the building on Monday. It has been a long 6 months and we all miss seeing our students.  Please take time to read this entire email. We have a lot of information to share in preparation for Monday.

I would like to thank our nursing department for putting together this slideshow:

Student COVID Education Slides 

All students will receive this via email and will review it in school on Monday and Thursday, depending on their cohort.

I would also like to share the AHS Back To School Procedures which will also be shared with students. These slides explain building expectations to students. We will ask students to review the slides this weekend and will also review these expectations during the week.

Please take a moment to review this letter from our nursing department regarding and sanitizer:

 Hand sanitizer Opt-out Letter

Procedures for drop off this year remain the same although our times are much more limited:

    Parent drop off in back from 8:20-8:35. Our doors will not open until 8:20am. Please help us support social distancing by encouraging your student to follow expectations.

Parking fees for students have been reduced to $50 for the year. Students will be able to get an application when school resumes. The deadline for students to receive the parking pass will be October 2.

Schedules for hybrid students are in iPass but will look different this weekend. We are in the process of adjust the system so it shows only the classes students are taking each term. Please bear with us our student information system gets adjusted to the new system.

As a reminder, in Term 1 periods C, E, F, & D will meet, in that order.  Please encourage your students to be on the lookout for those Google Classroom invites from teachers.  

School starts on Monday September 14th for all students.  Students in cohort A (last names A-K) will report to school and students in cohort B (last names L-Z) will login to their Google Classrooms for their assignments.  Many teachers will be expecting students to login to a Zoom or Google Meet, so make sure that students are checking their emails before Monday.  

All new students should be able to log in to their emails at this point. The email format is last name first three letters of the first name (John Smith-smithjoh) followed by ashland.k12.ma.us. The password is Lastname (first letter capitalized)  + student ID (Smith1234). 

On remote days students are expected to follow the same class schedule and times as the days they are in school.  Teachers may post an assignment at the start of your class that is due by the end of the class or they may ask students to log in synchronously to class. 

Several people have expressed trouble connecting to Wifi with the new Chromebooks. It often takes a few times turning the computer on and off before it links with Wifi. 

Below is the daily schedule for students. All students, regardless of cohort, should follow the schedule. 

Arrival - 8:20-8:30
C - 8:35-10:05
E - 10:10-11:40
F - 11:45-1:45
(Lunch will be a 30 minute period during this block)
D - 1:50-2:35 (runs all year)
Dismissal - 2:40-2:55

A-K will be in school on Monday & Tuesday, L-Z will attend on Thursday and Friday. On Wednesdays all students will be remote and both cohorts will have a 30 minute class period with their teacher.  

Wednesday September 16th is a professional development day, and there will be no class.  

Students should bring the following items to school each day:
 headphones that are compatible with your Chromebooks 
 refillable water bottle that is full to start the day

Besides breakfast from 8:20-8:30 and lunch the cafeteria will not have food or water for sale. 
The water vending machines will be working, but the snack ones will be shut off.
No Lockers or Locker Rooms will be available for use

Full Remote Learning students should have receive an email from Educere today. Please reach out to your counselor if you are a remote student and did not receive an email. 

Students who ordered Class of 2020 yearbooks will receive the yearbooks during their math class (if it meets Term 1) or during D block. Ms. Reap, one of the yearbook advisors, will coordinate this. 


Thursday, September 3, 2020

9/4/2020

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

With one week to go we are working to balance and finalize schedules and procedures. More details and protocols will be shared next week. 

The order of classes will be the schedule I shared previously: C, E, F, D

Ashland High School Schedule: (please not this may not be viewable clearly on a phone.)

Students will work remotely, both synchronously and asynchronously, on the days they are not in the building.

T1/T3

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Students arrive at school

8:20-8:30

Last name A-K

Remote Learning

Last name L-Z

8:35-10:05

C

C

2 hours of Synchronous Learning Groups A & B - Schedule to be Determined

C

C

10:10-11:40

E

E

E

E

11:45-1:45

(LUNCH)

F

F

Teacher Planning Time

F

F

1:50-2:35

(runs all year)

D

D

IEP and 504 Meetings

D

D

2:40-2:55

Staggered dismissal

4 lunches during the 11:45-1:45 block  

T2/T4

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Students arrive at school

8:20-8:30

Last name A-K

Remote Learning

Last name L-Z

8:35-10:05

G

G

2 hours of Synchronous Learning Groups A & B - Schedule to be Determined

G

G

10:10-11:40

A

A

A

A

11:45-1:45

(LUNCH)

B

B

Teacher Planning Time

B

B

1:50-2:35

(runs all year)

D

D

IEP and 504 Meetings

D

D

2:40-2:55

Staggered dismissal


For your planning purposes, any student who has a study hall first or last period does have permission to come in late or leave early if they have transportation or the ability to walk. More details about the protocols for signing in and out of the building will be shared with students and families next week. 

Please encourage your student to check their email! Invitations to Class Google Classrooms went out to all students this week. Encourage your student to join the class and to invite you as well. 

All members of the Class of 2024 will find information on New Student Orientation in their Google Classroom. 
Orientation is scheduled:
Tuesday, September 8- 3-4pm - Cohort A (last name A-K) registration
Thursday, September 10- 3-4pm - Cohort B (last name L-Z) registration
Students must pre-register for their orientation session using the link above or in the classroom. The link does not work unless the student is logged in with their Ashland address. 
New students in the classes 2021-2023 can register here: 
I apologize that a Class of 2024 specific parent email has not gone out regarding this. We are having difficulty with our Blackboard Connect system. 

Students who are remote learning will have their classes assigned in the coming week. They will receive their introduction emails from Educere prior to September 14.

Teachers have been working hard for the past 6 days to redesign their teaching to meet the needs of hybrid learning. They will be sharing class expectations for students who are at home and in the remote program in the coming days. Students will be expected to check in with each class at the designated time while they are at home and some classes may invite students to participate from home. 

As you may know, all students are required to receive the flu vaccine this year. Please read the attached letter from the APS nurse: Influenza requirement letter


Chromebook Information and Distribution -  

Based on recommendations from our IT department and DESE, ALL STUDENTS must use a school issued chromebook for in school learning this year (no personal computer devices).   

On Tuesday September 8th 2020, between the hours of 10am - 6pm, The Ashland Public Schools Technology Department will be issuing chromebooks to all Ashland High School Students. The process is as follows:

Tuesday, September 8th 

  • All AHS students should come to the Middle School Activity Room between 10am-6pm to pick up a Chromebook. (signs will be posted)
  • We will be practicing social distancing and a mask is required by all who are entering the building.
  • You must provide your child's 4 digit student ID number during pick up


Please remember to fill out one of these forms before you arrive :
  • 1. REMOTE ONLY STUDENTS PLEASE FILL OUT THIS FORM 


Please use this email address for any technology questions: techsupport@ashland.k12.ma.us  

If you are looking for an easy to understand video about Google Classroom check out this link:

How to Use Google Classroom for Parents


Auditions for the AHSTS Fall Production of The Laramie Project will be held on Tuesday, September 22 at 3:30 PM on Google Meet. Callbacks will be on Wednesday, September 23 at 3:30 PM on Goggle Meet. More information, including Crew and Audition Forms and audition information can be found at www.ahsts.com.