Week of 4/25/16

Good afternoon-

I hope everyone had a wonderful week back after a relaxing vacation.  It's hard to believe May is here.  The end of the school year will come quickly.  It was nice to be outside watching some of your sports teams today.

If you haven't had a chance please take some time to review the Senior and Underclassmen Exam schedules which are both posted on the AHS website.  

I will share the "Senior Week" schedule and relevant graduation information at the end of next week. Senior parents, please mark your calendar now for Class Day on June 3rd. This is a wonderful event where student accomplishments are recognized.  The entire school attends and parents are invited!

Next week will be a busy week at AHS with AP exams starting and our Chinese exchange students arriving.  We are looking for a couple of more students to host a student during the day since some student are living with Mindess and AMS families.  

GPA's are still giving us an issue and I have had several communications with our software company over the course of the week.  Please hang in there.  It is important to us that accurate information is available.  If you need a GPA for any reason now you can always reach out to your guidance counselor.  


Please join us Tuesday, May 10, 2016 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM Ashland High School Auditorium 

Summer Send Off - Family Conversations for a Safe Prom & Grad Season

 All are welcome to attend this special Community Programming event. We especially encourage Ashland High School Juniors & Seniors and their parents/guardians to join us for an evening dedicated to celebrating safe choices during prom & senior week. The Middlesex County DA's office will present on Social Host Liability followed by an exciting performance by the Improbable Players!  

“I’ll Never Do That” Students & adults will both enjoy this original performance depicting the roller coaster of substance use. Witness mostly humorous, but also thought provoking scenes about a family torn apart by substance abuse - how they are all affected - and how they all deal with it.

As a part of this event will raffle the huge prizes listed below- all who attend get a ticket!

F R E E R A F F L E ! E X C I T I N G P R I Z E S ! 

1 prom ticket 

1 senior week ticket 

10 priority seating passes for graduation 

2 priority parking spaces at graduation 

1 free parking pass per term (2016-17 school year) 

1 VIP parking spot per term (2016-17 school year) 

There is no cost for the raffle. Attendance entitles you to a ticket. 

~Please check out the flyer in our Parent's Flyer section!~

Senior parents: the senior class officers are in the process of finalizing Senior Week, and one of the traditions it to put together a slideshow.  The slideshow is made up of pictures of all of the kids - both individual and in groups - throughout their lives.  Primarily they use pictures taken during their high school years, but it is the pictures when they were little that usually gets the best and biggest reactions!  The officers would be greatly appreciated if you sent them electronic versions of your favorite pictures of the kids. You can e-mail submissions to Courtney Thurber, Class Historian, at thurbercou@ashland.k12.ma.us.  Please indicate in the e-mail who everyone is in the picture.  Thank you!

Healthy Sleep Habits for Kids of All Ages

1. Maintain a consistent sleep schedule – Your child's bedtime and wake up time should be about the same every day of the week, regardless if it is a school day or not.
2. Exercise daily – Have your child make exercise part of his or her daily routine. Physically tired kids sleep well!
3. Don't go to bed hungry – Make sure your child doesn't go to bed hungry. Provide a light snack such as a glass of milk, a piece of fruit, or cereal and milk.
4. Avoid caffeinated products – Your child should avoid products that contain caffeine in the late afternoon/evening. Be aware caffeine-containing products include iced-tea, some sports drinks, and chocolate.
5. Plan up to 1 hour of quiet time before bed – Before bedtime every night set aside up to 1 hour for calm, enjoyable activities, such as listening to quiet music or reading. This means NO SCREENS!
6. Maintain a bedtime routine - This may include taking a shower or bath, brushing teeth, reading out loud or silently, saying prayers or a statement of gratitude, and a hug and kiss goodnight.
7. Take phones/ipods out of kids' rooms when they go to bed- The buzzing, vibration and lights of texts and notifications can disrupt sleep.

The AMS Art Club is collaborating with Jake Hogan, an APS employee, to create Paracord Spirit Bracelets. Chose the bracelet style of your choice and ROCK the Ashland school colors!

Spirit Bracelets can be purchased in the main office for a $3.00 minimum donation! All proceeds go to support fundraisers in the Ashland Public Schools!

The Ashland School Bands will be hosting their 3rd annual mattress fundraiser Sunday May 1 from 10 am - 5 pm in the Ashland Middle School Cafeteria.  Simmons Beautyrest, Therapedic, and Restonic Mattresses will be up to 50% off retail with the proceeds going to the Ashland School Bands. Floor models will be displayed at the sale. Come out and take a look, and get a great bed, at a great price while helping the Ashland School Bands!  You can even get a $50 off coupon for you or a friend by visiting the Facebook event page:  bit.ly/beds4ashland.  Not only will the coupon save $50 on a purchase, but the band program will receive an extra $50 for that purchase as well.

In addition, we will be having a Bedsheet Fundraiser - available at the Mattress Sale  - May 1st, $39 on site or $49 shipped to your house - any size (twin, full, queen, king)!

• 100% of proceeds from this fundraiser will be used to purchase and maintain instruments for the Ashland Band program. The school instruments include percussion instruments and larger, more expensive wind instruments such as tubas, baritone saxophones and horns, bass clarinets etc.

• Student enrollment in the Ashland band program has more than doubled in the past few years creating an urgent need for more school instruments.

• PLEASE help us publicize this fundraiser. Having the right ratio of larger wind and percussion instruments in the band greatly enhances the band experience for ALL band students, not just the students playing those instruments.

• You can even get a $50 off coupon for you or a friend by visiting the Facebook event page:  bit.ly/beds4ashland.  Not only will the coupon save $50 on a purchase, but the band program will receive an extra $50 for that purchase as well.   Invite all your Facebook friends in the area to the event

Thanks for your support!   Questions?  contact ama@ashlandmusic.org      www.ashlandmusic.org

Week of 4/11/16

Happy April Vacation!  I hope everyone has a wonderful and restful week.


Term 3 grades are available now in iStudent/iParent.  Unfortunately, our GPA window is not showing correctly once again.  I have reached out to our Student Information System and will let you know when it is available.


Host families are still needed for the Chinese students coming to join us at AHS from May 1-8.  If you are interested please contact Melissa Yuan at The Cambridge Institute directly at myuan@thecambridgeinstitute.org.

ASHLAND RAISES HEALTHY & HAPPY KIDS!

Six Ways to Stop the Mental Illness Stigma

Stigma is one of the most challenging aspects of living with a mental health condition. It causes people to feel ashamed for something that is out of their control and prevents many from seeking the help they need. Stigma is not something that will go away on its own, but if we work together as a community, we can change the way we perceive mental illness in our society.

1. Talk openly about mental health.
2. Educate yourself and others about mental health.
3. Be conscious of your language. Try to not use word like psycho, lunatic or crazy when describing people.
4. Encourage equality in how people perceive physical illness and mental illness. If someone is diagnosed with cancer, friends and neighbors bring meals and gifts. If someone is being treated for a mental illness, people tend to avoid them rather than support them.
5. Push back against the way people who live with mental illness are portrayed in the media.
6. See the person, not the illness. A person with depression, bipolar disorder, any mental illness, is much, much more than their diagnosis.

ASHPAC - Please join ASHPAC for our upcoming May events, each starting at 7pm in the AMS Activity Room.
 
Tuesday, May 3rd - Monthly meeting:  Learn what ASHPAC is doing in our community.
 
Tuesday, May 10th - Parent Relaxation Tips and Techniques with Mary-Ellen Kramer
ASHPAC board member Mary-Ellen Kramer will be giving a free workshop about using gentle yoga postures, the Ayurvedic healing system and breathing techniques to help reduce stress. You will learn techniques that you can use while in meetings or during a stressful day, and the importance of taking care of yourself first. Please bring a yoga mat and wear comfortable clothing for this workshop. Mary-Ellen is a certified yoga instructor (RYT-200) and a Reiki II Healer.

Finally, please be sure to check out the information in the Parent Flyers link!

Week of 4/4/16

Good afternoon and happy Friday!  

I absolutely can not believe that today was the last day of Term 3. The year is moving so quickly. The iStudent/iParent window will open with Term 3 grades next Friday, April 15 at 2pm...just as we are heading off for April vacation.  

We have a busy week coming up so everyone will be ready for the break. I hope to see many of you at Student Council's Annual BINGO night on Wednesday, April 13 at 6:30pm. They have amazing prizes ready for you to win!  
Our Chorus department will present their Vocal Solo Night on Thursday, April 14 at 7:00pm. They will have a variety of performances with a Disney theme!

We are still in great need of families willing to share your homes with a Chinese student for the week of May 1-8. Students will shadow your child during the school day and participate in your family activities after school. We will also set up some activities after school for the students to participate in.

Mental Health “Red Flags” Parents Should be Alert For

Most people, especially children and teens, cannot identify when they are suffering from depression, anxiety or other mental health problems. Below are some signs to look out for and, if worrisome, should be discussed with your child’s doctor or therapist. Remember, parents know their children best, don’t ignore symptoms, and follow your “gut” feeling.

• Excessive sleeping (beyond usual teenage fatigue), which could indicate depression or substance abuse. Or difficulty falling asleep or insomnia.
• Loss of self-esteem or an increase in negative comments about themselves.
• Loss of interest in favorite activities, or pulling away from friends and family.
• Unexpected and dramatic decline in academic performance.
• Sudden change in eating habits (loss of appetite or eating more than usual), and/or rapid weight loss or gain.  
• Personality shifts and changes, such as aggressiveness and excess anger, that are sharply out of character.

The Ashland Cultural Council will be holding auditions to select high school kids to perform at our annual grantee reception in May. Auditions are on Tuesday April 12th at 6.30pm at the Ashland Public Library.Those who are interested in auditioning can email vtilak.acc@gmail.com with their name, email address, cell phone number, musical genre and what they will be performing.  See the parent flyer's section for more information!

Have a wonderful weekend and let's keep our fingers crossed for no more snow.

Week of 3/28/16

Good afternoon and happy April!


What a great day it was today at AHS.  We were so lucky to host the 4th Annual 5-Town Special Olympics.  We welcomed Holliston, Medfield, Medway, and Millis for a wonderful day of football skill building.  We were grateful to the Special Olympics Massachusetts for supporting our schools and to the Patriots.  (I still can't believe Gronk was here.)  It was a truly memorable day for the 80+ athletes and we are thrilled they had such a great experience.

 Have a wonderful weekend!

Be sure to check out the Parent Flyer's!


The Ashland High School Student Council is running it's 8th annual BINGO Night on Wednesday, April 13 at 6:30pm in the high school cafeteria.  This family-friendly event is open to participants of all ages, featuring prizes donated by local businesses and restaurants.  $10 will get you a pack of 6 cards good for entire night (or $20 for 12 cards, $30 for 18 cards, etc.)  Bring your own Bingo dauber or bring $1 to buy one.  Complimentary coffee and baked goods are included; pizza can be purchased.  The evening will be MCd by high school teachers DJ Jost and Randa Istfan.  For more details on the event, including the current list of prizes donated, please see our website at: https://sites.google.com/site/stucoashland/bingo.   And check out our commercial at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAS9dxfhDNE

Five Ways to Promote a Positive Body Image in Children

1. Focus on health, not weight. Concentrate on delicious nutrition and fun physical activity, rather than the number on the scale or size on clothing tags.
2. Compliment kids on what they do, not how they look.
3. Myth-Bust the "Perfect Body". Help your child become a savvy media critic by talking about what they see on television, in magazines and online. Help them understand that the pictures of models they see in ads may have been retouched or otherwise manipulated to appear "perfect”.
4. Discuss your child's struggles as they arise. Fight your knee-jerk reaction to immediately comfort your child and dismiss their concerns with comments such as, “No honey you're perfect”. Instead, respond with open-ended questions such as, “help me understand that comment” or “that surprises me, can you tell me more” in order to begin a dialogue about their concerns.
5. Be aware of how you talk about your own body. If you are criticizing your body or others, expect that your children will mirror this thinking. You are the first window through which they view the world; evaluate what that looks like.

Week of 3/21/16

Good afternoon and happy Friday-

I can certainly say I am looking forward to a fun evening "coaching" the AHS/Mindess team to a win at the 1st Annual Clocker Classic then enjoying some time with my family.  Hope to see you at AHS at 6:30pm!

Family Reconnect Weekend is this weekend.  Remember there is no school tomorrow, no practices, games, or activities over the weekend either.  Please take this time to enjoy your families and spend quality time reconnecting.

Special Olympics:

APS is hosting the 4th annual 5-Town Special Olympics on Friday, April 1.  Opening ceremonies are at 10am in the AHS gym.  Students from Ashland, Holliston, Medfield, Medway, and Millis will participate in a fun morning of drills and activities with a football theme.  All are welcome to come cheer on our athletes!

Chinese Exchange Students:

We are very excited to once again host these students and are in URGENT need of host families.  Please consider being a part of this amazing experience.  Below I have shared information from the coordinating agency.  If you are interested in hosting please let me know by tomorrow, Friday, March 25 if you are interested in hosting!  

Program Date

Sunday, May 1 -- Sunday, May 8: please be aware this is the first week of AP exams, we are happy to accommodate visiting students with shadowing another student if your son/daughter has an exam 

Participants

20 Students (10Male/10Female): students are all in the 10 grade but any AHS family is welcome to host.

Host Family 

We have the student/chaperone profiles (Name, Gender, Interests/Hobbies, Allergy/Medical Condition) ready for you and the host families. We will share this information with host families once a match is made and will ask you to complete Host Family Information Sheets.

Thank you in advance for considering this great opportunity!  

State Student Advisory Council:

We need to elect two students to the "State Student Advisory Council", a group of 2 students from each school in the state that meets once a month to discuss issues related to education policy (and how it applies to students). Mr. Wiczer has information in his room and there's also info online at http://www.doe.mass.edu/sac/  .  The nominations are due to him by next Thursday (3/31) at 2pm.  

This is open to students currently in grades 9 - 11 who can get to Hudson High School monthly-- either by driving themselves or with a parent who can drive them.

The Class of 2019 is selling Cookie and Pretzel Dough now through April 4th! It can be purchased from any member of the freshman class or you can contact Ms. Vargeletis at evargeletis@ashland.k12.ma.us. (Reminder to members of the Class of 2019- Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 sellers so make sure to ask your family and friends if they would like to purchase cookie and pretzel dough this Reconnect Weekend.)


Tomorrow is the last day to purchase your AEFI Gala tickets and the bidding has opened.  Please check out the Parent Flyers for more information. AEFI BiddingForGood


Have a wonderful weekend!

Week of 3/13/16

Good afternoon-

I am excited to officially have the course recommendations from teachers, students, and parents in and we are ready to start building the schedule for the 2016-2017 school year.  Time is flying.  Today the seniors started preparing their countdown for graduation.  It will come quickly!  Senior week and prom tickets are both on sale daily in the cafeteria.

Course registration:
If you and your child have made the decision to override a course recommendation now is the time that you should reach out to the teacher to discuss the override.  If you decide to override after the discussion the teacher can provide you with the required form. We ask that all override paperwork be returned to the guidance counselor by April 12 so that we can plan thoughtfully for next year's courses.

MCAS:
MCAS testing begins next week for all sophomores.  The English exam will be administered on Tuesday, March 22 through Thursday, March 24.  We encourage all sophomores to get a good night's sleep and eat a healthy breakfast to be ready for the exam!

Family Reconnect Weekend is coming!
Our 2nd Reconnect Weekend of the year is March 25-27.  We hope that it will be an opportunity for families to spend some time together without the pressure of homework, athletics, and other school activities.


Special Olympics:
APS is hosting the 4th annual 5-Town Special Olympics on Friday, April 1.  Opening ceremonies are at 10am in the AHS gym.  Students from Ashland, Holliston, Medfield, Medway, and Millis will participate in a fun morning of drills and activities with a football theme.  All are welcome to come cheer on our athletes!

Chinese Exchange Students:

I am very excited to share that we will once again be hosting students from China this spring and are looking for host families.  Below I have shared information from the coordinating agency.  If you are interested in hosting please let me know by next Friday, March 25 if you are interested in hosting!  

Program Date

Sunday, May 1 -- Sunday, May 8: please be aware this is the first week of AP exams, we are happy to accommodate visiting students with shadowing another student if your son/daughter has an exam 

Participants

20 Students (10Male/10Female): students are all in the 10 grade but any AHS family is welcome to host

Host Family 

We have the student/chaperone profiles (Name, Gender, Interests/Hobbies, Allergy/Medical Condition) ready for you and the host families. We will share this information with host families once a match is made and will ask you to complete Host Family Information Sheets.

Thank you in advance for considering this great opportunity!  

Looking for something fun to do tonight while supporting a great cause?
The National Honor Society is presenting its annual Talent Show Friday March 18, 2016 at 6:30pm in the Ruthfield Theater.  Admission is $8 for students and $10 for adults.  Homebaked goodies will also be sold.  All proceeds benefit this year's designated charity, the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, which directs donations to the nearest local partner, in our case Children's Hospital in Boston.  Please support this worthy cause by attending the show and enjoying an evening of entertainment.  If you cannot attend, donations are welcome.  Checks should be made payable to "A.H.S. Student Activities - N.H.S."  Thank you!





Butterbraid products will be available for pick up next Tuesday, March 22nd from 4:00 - 5:00 in the AHS cafeteria.  If you are unable to pick your order up during this time, you may contact Ms. Twomey at jtwomey@ashland.k12.ma.us to make other arrangements.  Many thanks for supporting the Class of 2017!                 

The 1st Annual Clocker Classic Teacher Basketball game is sure to be one of the most entertaining nights of the year!  Join us on Thursday, March 24th at 6:30pm in the AHS gym to see the AHS/Mindess team take on AMS/Mindess.  


Please remember to check out our Parent Flyers link!

Seven Phrases To Calm an Anxious Child

It happens to every child (and adult) in one form or another – anxiety. We would like to shield our children from life’s anxious moments, but navigating anxiety is a valuable life skill.  In the heat of the moment, try these simple phrases to help your children identify, accept, and work through their anxious moments.

1. “Can you draw it?” Drawing, painting or doodling about an anxiety provides kids with an outlet for their feelings when they can’t use their words.
2. “I love you. You are safe.”
3. “Let’s count _____.”  Counting the number of people wearing hats, the number of tiles on the floor, or the number of kids in the room requires observation and thought, both of which detract from the anxiety your child is feeling.
4. “I get scared/nervous/anxious sometimes too. It’s no fun.”   
5. “If you gave your­­ feeling a color, what would it be?” Asking your child to say how they feel with a color, gives them a chance to think about how they feel relative to something simple. Follow up by asking why their feeling is that color.
6. “Let’s have a debate.”  Older children especially love this exercise because they have permission to debate their parent. Have a point, counter-point style debate about the reasons for their anxiety. You may learn a lot about their reasoning in the process.  
7. “Let me hold you.”  Physical contact provides a chance for your child to relax and feel safe.

Week of 3/7/16

Good evening-

I hope you are all enjoying this truly beautiful week!

Just a reminder that the iParent portal for course recommendations will close tomorrow evening.  Please take time to review your student's teacher recommendations and elective choices and click to approve them.  If your child did not make elective choices please have a conversation with him/her and make the selections for them.

Overrides- While we strongly discouraged not following the teacher recommendation we do know that sometimes interest and motivation changes and students may want to challenge themselves.  If you are choosing to override a class you and your student need to contact the recommending teacher to have a conversation.  It is important to us that you fully understand the teacher thought process in their recommendation. They can provide you with the override paperwork if you decide to move forward.  We ask that all overrides are returned to the guidance counselor by April 12.


Please make sure to review the information here as well as in the Parent Flyer's section!


The Ashland High School Student Council is getting ready for its 8th annual Bingo night (to be held on Wednesday, April 13th, at 6:30 pm in the cafeteria.)  Members of the Student Council have been working on getting donations (usually in the form of a gift card or gift certificate) from local businesses and restaurants.  If your business has not yet been approached by a member of the Student Council and you would be interested in donating to our fundraising efforts, please contact Josh Wiczer, advisor to the Student Council, at jwiczer@ashland.k12.ma.us.  All businesses that donate will be recognized in the program handed out at the event and listed on our website (https://sites.google.com/site/stucoashland/bingo); they will also receive a letter in April (as a receipt of their donation, for tax purposes.)

Ashland Raises Healthy & Happy Kids: Cyber Safety

A very useful and eye-opening presentation on cyber safety was presented at AMS last week, both for the students during the day and for parents in the evening. For those who could not attend, below are some tips to help keep your kids safe on-line.

1. Use privacy settings on apps and social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.).
2. Turn off location services on phone cameras and social media apps. Predators can find out where your child is by location information embedded in photos.
3. Do not allow kids to have phones and tablets in their room when they go to bed at night. This will also help them get better sleep!
4. Remind kids only to accept “friends” or “followers” they know. A person claiming to be their best friend’s camp friend could very well be a predator.
5. Tell your children to never give out their last name, address, age, or any other personal information on-line.
6. Repeatedly remind your children that any photos they post or anything they say on-line is out there FOREVER. Colleges and future employers can find these.

Please join ASHPAC this Monday night for their next workshop entitled: Ten Traits of Effective Parents: Navigating the Special Education Process, with Attorney Jeffrey M. Sankey from Braintree, MA.

With his background and focus in Special Education Law, Attorney Sankey will discuss key special education rules and regulations, the importance of maintaining accurate and complete education records, hiring qualified experts, and maintaining productive relationships with school staff. Attorney Sankey will also allow time for questions and answers you may have about parental rights and special education laws.

This workshop will be held this Monday night, March 14^th at 7:00 PM in the Ashland Middle School Activity Room.  Thank you.