October 28, 2022

Good afternoon-

October and Term 1 are quickly coming to a close. All students are encouraged to check their progress in iPass and check in with teachers with any questions about grades, missing assignments, etcd. The last day of the term is November 10.  X-block is an excellent time to see a teacher in a class that students have questions about!

On Wednesday, Ocotober 26 the Socios Chapter of the National Honor Society inducted 47 new members. The current NHS officers spoke about the 4 pillars: scholarship, service, leadership , and character before the inductees signed the membership book and were presented with their certificate and pin. Congratulations to all of the new inductees. We are proud of you! You can find more information about membership in the AHS Socios Chapter of the National Honor Society under the student page of the AHS website which is linked here. 

AHS officers present the candle for each pillar of National Honor Society. * these are just a few photos from my phone. Once professional photos arrive I will share the link. 

The MCAS English retest is on November 9 & 10 and math is on November 15th & 16th. All students who are taking the retest have been notified. If you have a question regarding your students MCAS score report don't hesitate to reach out to their school counselor.  

Caregiver Connections Team
We need your help! Are you a caregiver who speaks a language other than English and have children enrolled in Ashland Public Schools? The District would love to have you on our caregiver connections team to help greet family members and students or interpret during family engagement events. If you're interested, please fill out this form.

Please find the November menu for the AHS cafeteria here. 

October 21, 2022

Good afternoon-

Happy Diwali to all in our community who celebrate. As a reminder there is no school on Monday, October 24. 

Winter Registration For Athletics Is Open!

Deadlines: High School (11/21 at noon), Middle School (11/28 at noon) 

HS Offerings: Alpine Ski, Cheer, Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Gymnastics (via Medfield), Boys Ice Hockey, Girls Ice Hockey (via Medway), Boys Indoor Track, Girls Indoor Track, Boys Swim & Dive, Girls Swim & Dive, Wrestling

MS Offerings: Boys Basketball (7-8), Girls Basketball (7-8)

Link to Register 

A message from Decisions at Every Turn: As part of our youth engagement efforts, the DAET youth coordinator will be developing a weekly video series on important topics pertaining to our coalition work. This week's video is about October's Substance Youth Prevention Month and how preventing substance use at a young age encourages healthy development. 

October 27 - Hidden in Plain Sight

November 7 - Alcohol 7 Marijuana: What Parents and Teens Need to Know

The Clocker Club online school store opening on 11/1

Please consider donating blood at our upcoming AHS Red Cross blood drive!

October 14, 2022

Good afternoon-

Picture retakes and make-ups will be on Monday, October 17. If you are having retakes please bring your pictures with you on Monday. You can preorder at https://order.grynnandbarrett.com/login prepay code is 9E5U8T7P.

Updated Nutrition Services Procedure for Students with Allergies

The procedure for students with food allergies, sensitivities and dietary restrictions who receive meal service has been modified as follows.

Parents/guardians must notify both the school-specific nutrition manager and school nurse before a student with a food allergy, sensitivity and/or dietary restriction begins utilizing meal service to allow nutrition staff adequate time to check the ingredients in all products used to make the meals the student plans on eating. Notifying the nutrition manager and school nurse should be done immediately after diagnosis and again prior to the start of each school year.

To ensure that appropriate students receive an allergen-free or modified meal, each student with a food allergy, sensitivity or dietary restriction must say their name to the Nutrition Services staff member who serves them their meal. Students are not required to identify or share their allergy or restriction. However, if a parent/guardian or student feels that stating the student’s allergy or restriction is important to the student’s safety, this sharing of information with Nutrition Services staff at the time of receiving a meal is welcomed.

Visit ashland.k12.ma.us/NutritionServices to view the complete policy and procedure.

Yearbook sales are open! For the month of October, you can purchase a 2023 yearbook for the low price of $50. Don't be left out!

Order online at coffeepond.com and use the password AHS01721.

 

Senior Yearbook Portraits and Bio Information

All seniors are welcome to submit their senior bio and several photos for the 2023 yearbook. Follow the link below to open a google form where you will write your detailed bio and you will upload photos for the yearbook. Questions? Email Mr. Smith or Mr. McGowan. Link: https://bit.ly/AHSbio2023

Please join DAET's for our Hidden in Plain Sight event which will be hosted in the AHS library, October 27th from 5:30-7:30pm.

 

October 7, 2022

Good afternoon and happy Family Reconnect Weekend-

There should be no homework assigned this weekend or tests/assessments scheduled for Tuesday, October 11. Likewise, there are no athletics or club/activity events happening from Saturday, October 8 through 2pm of Monday, October 10. I hope the weekend brings students a bit of a break from the rush of the school year and time to focus on other important priorities, like family! If you have questions or concerns about this please don't hesitate to reach out.

Please complete Student Handbook sign-off form.

Pictures and ID cards will be distributed to all students in homeroom on Tuesday, October 11. Every student must pick up their ID card. Order cards will also be distributed for any family that still wishes to purchase pictures. Picture retake day is Monday, October 17.

News from our nurses: The Ashland High School nurses will begin mandatory state screenings starting in late October and will continue until screenings in all grades are complete. The screenings performed in each grade are as follows:

9th Grade: Postural

10th Grade: Vision, hearing, BMI

 

While vision and hearing screenings are required by state law, parents may choose to opt their child out of BMI and postural screenings. If you'd like to opt out of either BMI or postural screenings, please fill out this form to make the nurses aware of your decision to opt out.

 

Please see the attached letters below for more information on BMI screenings

 

If you have any questions, please reach out to our nurses at ahs_nurses@ashland.k12.ma.us. 

 

Parking at AHS: Beginning this week student cars are being checked for parking passes. Students who have not turned in their paperwork and do not have a pass on your vehicle will lose parking privileges. 

Students who can not pay the full $100 at this time can request a payment plan.  

The parking tag should hang from the rearview mirror. 

Yearbook news: 

Senior yearbook portrait and personal bio are both due by October 31st. Visit the Ashland yearbook website to learn more about what you can submit and all of the guidelines that assure your photos will be proper quality for the yearbook.

Bio:

• memories
• goals
• quote
• Senior Will

Photos:

• Senior portrait
• HS siblings photo
• Baby photo
• Memories photos

Learn more: https://sites.google.com/ashland.k12.ma.us/ahsyearbook/seniors

Start your form: https://bit.ly/AHSbio2023

If you have questions, please reach out to Mr. McGowan or Mr. Smith

Come join the Student Council on Saturday, October 22nd for Pumpkin Fest!  This event will include 3 bounce-houses, 4 additional bounce-attractions, a petting zoo, 50+ booths with games and activities, and 9 food vendors.  Booths and attractions will be open from 2pm - 6pm.  Food will be served from 2pm - 7pm.  For more information, check out our website.

September 30, 2022

Good afternoon-

Please review the AHS Student Handbook with your student(s) this weekend and complete the 22-23 Ashland High School Handbook Sign-off/Permission form. 

This form signifies you have reviewed the handbook along with other important consents (photography, surveys, over-the-counter medication, participation in outside of school activities, etc.). Do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

The form is overdue so please complete it at your earliest convenience and no later than Friday, October 7, 2022. 

There is no school next week on October 5 in observance of Yom Kippur.

The following weekend is our First Family Reconnect Weekend of the year. Students will not be assigned homework and no assessments will be scheduled on October 11. There are no athletics and activities scheduled on October 8 through October 10 after 2pm. Please let us know if you have any questions. 

Class of 2025: Sophomore ring order information

Here is the October menu from nutrition services.

Have a wonderful weekend. 

September 23, 2022

Good afternoon-

This week we were proud to present our National Merit Scholarship Commended students with their certificate for this achievement. They are among 34,000 students of the 1.5 million that took the 2021 PSAT who are being recognized with the academic achievement. We are proud of their accomplishment!

We had a great homecoming rally this afternoon and are looking forward to a fun afternoon/evening of athletics and the Student Council BBQ. 

Before Friday's Homecoming Football Game against Wayland, join the Student Council for a community-wide, family-friend "Tailgate Barbecue" in the small parking lot outside the stadium from 5pm - 7pm.  $5/person for a hamburger, veggie burger, or hotdog. 

The Homecoming dance is tomorrow, Saturday, September 24th from 7pm - 10pm.  Students must be in the doors by 8pm and can not leave before 9:30pm without parent permission. Tickets will be sold at the door for $10.

The Class of 2025 (sophomores) met with our Josten's representative on Wednesday and received information on how to order a class ring. Have your student check their email for information on online ordering. 

As a reminder, there is no school on Monday, September 26.  Shana Tovah to all who celebrate Rosh Hashanah. 

September 16, 2022

Good afternoon-

Thanks to all of you who attended Back to School Night. It was wonderful to see so many of you meeting our teachers and hearing about the curriculum. 

Congratulations to our Semifinalists in the 2023 National Merit® Scholarship Program !

District Allergy Awareness Policy Parents or guardians must contact their child's school nurse and kitchen manager to alert them about their child's allergies. If the student plans to eat food prepared by Ashland Public Schools Nutrition Services, they need to contact the kitchen manager at their child's school to tell them when and what they plan to eat from the cafeteria. Parents must notify the kitchen managers before the meal service to ensure adequate time to check the ingredients on all the products used in preparing the meal the student plans to eat. The student must say their name and what their allergy is before the staff member serves them their meal to keep the student safe from eating something they are allergic to. Caregivers and students can review the district's guidelines for managing life-threatening allergies in the online policy manual.

Next week is Homecoming week! 

The homecoming dance is on Saturday, September 24th from 7pm - 10pm.  Tickets will be sold at all lunches next week for $8 (and will be sold at the door for $10.)  Students should bring cash or checks made out to "AHS Student Activities."   Any student who is planning on bringing a guest from another school must submit a "guest approval form" by Monday, September 19th.  All students planning on attending must arrive by 8pm

Before Friday's Homecoming Football Game against Wayland, join the Student Council for a community-wide, family-friend "Tailgate Barbecue" in the small parking lot outside the stadium from 5pm - 7pm.  $5/person for a hamburger, veggie burger, or hotdog.  

Every day of Homecoming week features a particular dress-up day!

Monday (9/19) - Pajama Day

Tuesday (9/20) - Twin Day

Wednesday (9/21) -  "Anything But a Backpack" Day

Thursday (9/22) - "Green Out" Day (as part of " Start with Hello Week  ", to recognize the Sandy Hook Promise.)

Friday (9/23) - Class Color Day (freshmen wear green, sophomores red, juniors blue, and seniors white.)

Ashland High School, alongside nearly 100 schools across Massachusetts has committed to launching an exciting new program called iDECIDE (Drug Education Curriculum: Intervention, Diversion, and Empowerment) that was developed in collaboration between Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the Institute for Health and Recovery. iDECIDE aims to provide students experimenting with substances and/or who got caught using substances at school the knowledge, skills, and motivation necessary to make healthier decisions.

Please review the School-Wide Survey and Student Referral Opt-Out Letter here for more information.