Friday, August 28, 2020

8/28/2020

Good afternoon-

I hope you all had a wonderful week. Schedules are out and we are continuing to look at balancing classes. If you have questions or change requests please email your students counselor. 

As you may have seen in the email from the Superintendent, we are now going to expect that all students have an APS Chromebook. Please refer to that email for pick-up times for AHS students. 

 

Ashland High School Field Hockey is running a fundraiser where you can send a button to your friends and family in healthcare and education to show them you support them. They can be sent anywhere in the country.

Specifically, they would LOVE to send buttons to as many Ashland teachers as possible! Please consider sending your child or children’s past or present teacher(s) a button to show your support. They will be delivered right to their school before the first day. Each button is $5. All you need to do is fill out the form with their name and the APS school in which they work. 😊🏑


Have a wonderful weekend.

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

8/25/2020

Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians:

I hope you are having a wonderful summer to the extent possible. It has been a challenging one to be in education and I look forward to welcoming our teaching staff back to the building on Thursday as we begin our professional development to plan for our new norm of hybrid learning. 

We had a few changes over the end of the year/summer and are thrilled to welcome our new staff to the AHS community:

Carrie Bradley- English
Michael De La Pena- World Language ( Michael was with us as a long-term substitute last year.)
Julie Hamilton- Counseling
Brittany Smeltekop- IEP Coordinator

Brian Cote, Dean of Students for the classes of 2021 and 2023, has taken a new role and is no longer with the district. We will not be replacing this position immediately as we focus our energy on preparing for the school year. 

2020-2021 school year:

AHS Reopening Plan

I am delaying the release of schedules until tomorrow afternoon due to some ongoing adjustments to schedules and cohorts. Counselors are working diligently and some sections needed to be added today. Below is the schedule that will run each term. 

Please note that D block will run for 45 minutes all year.

Term 1/3- C E F will all run for 90 minutes each, the order may be adjusted

Term 2/4- A B G will all run for 90 minutes each, the order may be adjusted

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

(30 min. 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

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

(30 min. 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


The reopening task force spent considerable hours, taking into account many different options, looking at schedules. It was determined keeping the integrity of the current AHS course schedule, while modifying it to decrease the number of classes meetings each term, was important. We feel the modified block gives an opportunity for students to alternate between courses each term, shortening the time for possible regression. Students have fewer classes, a maximum of 4, to focus on each term. Classes alternate so that curriculum is spread across the year, as opposed to some content being taught until January and being completed. We fully understand there is not a schedule that makes everyone happy and can best meet the needs of every learning style. We commit to evaluating the schedule over the course of the year and making adjustments if needed.

The first day of classes for all students, hybrid and remote, will be Monday, September 14, 2020. Teachers will provide more information to students in the L-Z grouping regarding their assignments prior to September 14.

Schedules for 2020-2021 for all new students will be mailed on Wednesday, August 26 and information on iStudent accounts will be shared via email with new students who have an email.

If you do not receive a schedule please call the AHS main office to request one. New students who have not completed enrollment should contact the Superintendent's Office to register.


It is important to note that the schedules are not 100% finalized and there will be some changes as
we try to balance out class sizes and meet the needs of all students.  The counseling staff and administration have been working tirelessly this summer to produce the best schedule for the
greatest amount of students.  It was particularly challenging this year as we navigated choosing an option that meets the needs for many students. 
If you have not already done so, please visit our website  https://ipass.imgsoftware.com/school/ashland/pamregister.html and sign-up for iParent.


Our counseling staff returned last week and is working to enroll all new students. Due to the nature of the hybrid schedule and groupings all schedule changes are currently on hold. 

 If you would like to discuss a schedule change with your counselor please e-mail your counselor directly. We will be evaluating our ability to make schedule changes once groups have been finalized in all classes. Please keep in mind we can not have more than 15 students in each group.

If you would like to email the main office with any questions please use the following address: ahsmainoffice@ashland.k12.ma.us

All summer assignments are posted at : http://ahs.ashland.k12.ma.us/campus-news/ahssummerassignments

Follow us on Twitter @KStCoeur@MrsELachapelle and @ClockerAD for updates and information.

Ashland High School does not have a school supply list.  Teachers will share with students what is needed for individual classes over the course of the first couple of days.  Students should plan to bring their Chromebook or other personal device to school this year. Lockers will not be available and students should plan to carry any need materials with them.

Please feel free to reach out if you have questions.

Enjoy the last couple of weeks of summer and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Friday, August 21, 2020

8/21/2020

Good afternoon-

Thank you to the many parents and students that attended the webinars and class meetings this week.

The slide presentation with links to the frequently asked questions and video of two of the meetings can be found here: AHS Reopening Presentation

After much consideration the district has chosen Educere as our vendor for full remote students. We will use their Founders Academy and supplement additional courses with if needed. Please respond to the link sent from the Superintendent's office if your student will enroll in the full remote program. 

I anticipate student schedules for students in the hybrid model will be made available in iStudent/iParent by the end of the day on Tuesday, August 25.

As you prepare your child for school, please note this important information in the plan from the Ashland Public Schools Nurses: 

“More tightly woven materials, such as cotton fabrics with higher thread counts, are preferable, while elastic materials are not recommended due to the higher pore size and lower filtration efficiency. (Harvard, 2020) For this reason, APS will not allow students or staff to wear neck gaiters, bandanas, or masks with exhalation valves.”


Have a wonderful weekend. 

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

2020-2021 Back to School Information and Webinars

Good afternoon-

I hope you are all having an enjoyable summer in this crazy time. It has been a very different summer at AHS and I am looking forward to the prospect of seeing students in person in September. Safety and health will be our priority and I am grateful to the staff members, students, and parents who have been part of our planning process. 

I am sure you have many questions and I ask you to share them here:
These questions will be addressed at webinars and class meetings scheduled for the week of August 17, 2020.

I will be hosting 3 AHS specific webinars next week to help explain our plan and answer questions. These webinars will be recorded and posted on our website. 
Preregistration is required so please sign up for one of the times listed below:

AHS Reopening Webinar 8/17 5pm

Class meetings will be held on August 19 & 20. Students will receive a GoogleMeet invitation in their e-mail. New students to Ashland are encouraged to send me a current email address and year of graduation in order to receive an invitation to their meetings. 

Student schedules:
We will share student schedules in iStudent/iParent after the webinars and class meetings are finished, at least by August 25th.
Counselors will take requests for any schedule changes starting August 31. All meetings will be held remotely. 

New Students:
New student orientation, previously scheduled for August 26, is postponed. We hope to welcome new students for an orientation during the week of September 7. It will most likely be held by cohort over the course of two to three days.
9th grade students who need to take the math placement test will do so during that week as well. 

Please reach out if you have any questions!