Good afternoon-
I hope you all had a great weekend and are looking forward to the warm weather this week. This past week brought some challenges none of us have ever experienced. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and consideration in making sure our students were taken care of.
A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be a part of a great experience with several of our students and administrators as well as students and staff from three area towns. Paul Vieira just wrote a great blog post about the experience. I encourage you to all read the post and think about asking students in your classes some of the questions we asked. It was clear from the discussion that students think very highly of our faculty and they appreciate voice you give them in the classroom. Thank you for that!
The sophomore class will participate in the Signs of Suicide program beginning tomorrow Monday, April 30. The program will be implemented through the Wellness classes but there is potential for students to be called out of class later in the day based on the rating scales they complete during the program. This is an important opportunity for us to educate students about recognizing signs of depression in themselves and others and get support if needed. If you are interested in seeing the video and resources our students will view please check out the SOS Parent Portal.
The username is ashlandhs-par and the password is parent.
Please reach out if you have ideas for collaboration for our next Early Release day on May 11. You will have the opportunity to do cross-curricular or inter-departmental project work that afternoon. If you have an interest or passion you have been hoping to explore and want to bring other colleagues into the discussion, please let me know. The NEASC survey definitely showed you as a faculty want more time to collaborate. At this time I have only received a few proposal for what people would like to work on. Please share you ideas and interests by the end of this week.
Academic Awards Night is scheduled for Monday, May 14 at 7pm. Department liaisons have the nomination spreadsheet. I hope to see many of you there!
NEASC Collaborative Conference: Our dates were confirmed this weekend. The visiting team will be here at AHS May 22-23. They will spend the full day on May 22nd meeting with teachers, students, and community members as well as visiting classrooms. We will be looking for 8-10 teachers to spend some time meeting with the team. Please let me know if you are interested.
Senior exams are scheduled for the week of May 21. The Schedule is attached here. On Friday, May 25 the seniors will participate in our annual Community Service Day. The day will start with a presentation on the impact of service from the Fallen Heroes Project at 9am.
Senior Week begins Tuesday, May 29. If you teach mostly seniors please take a look at your schedule and let Ms. Lachapelle your availability to help out at Community Service Day as well as provide coverage for Senior Week chaperones. Or let us know if you want to chaperone!
Athletic Director search committee: We need 1-2 teachers who are willing to sit on the AD search committee. Please let me know if you are interested in helping out.
Below is a list of dates I shared with parents. I hope it is helpful to you as well:
April 30-May 1: Sophomores participate in the MCAS (ELA) Field Test
April 30- May 4: Sophomores participate in Signs of Suicide program
May 7- May 18: AP exams administered
May 11: Early Release/Professional Development
Grand March & Junior Prom
May 14: Academic Awards Ceremony/ 7pm
May 18: last day of classes for Class of 2018!
May 21-24: Senior exams (schedule)
May 23-24: Math MCAS (sophomores)
May 25: Class of 2018 Community Service Day (attendance is mandatory)
May 29-June 1: Senior Week
June 3: Graduation
June 6-7: Science MCAS
June 15-21: Final exams for grades 9-11
Attached is some guidance on Talking to Your Children about Violence
I hope you all had a great weekend and are looking forward to the warm weather this week. This past week brought some challenges none of us have ever experienced. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and consideration in making sure our students were taken care of.
A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be a part of a great experience with several of our students and administrators as well as students and staff from three area towns. Paul Vieira just wrote a great blog post about the experience. I encourage you to all read the post and think about asking students in your classes some of the questions we asked. It was clear from the discussion that students think very highly of our faculty and they appreciate voice you give them in the classroom. Thank you for that!
The sophomore class will participate in the Signs of Suicide program beginning tomorrow Monday, April 30. The program will be implemented through the Wellness classes but there is potential for students to be called out of class later in the day based on the rating scales they complete during the program. This is an important opportunity for us to educate students about recognizing signs of depression in themselves and others and get support if needed. If you are interested in seeing the video and resources our students will view please check out the SOS Parent Portal.
The username is ashlandhs-par and the password is parent.
Please reach out if you have ideas for collaboration for our next Early Release day on May 11. You will have the opportunity to do cross-curricular or inter-departmental project work that afternoon. If you have an interest or passion you have been hoping to explore and want to bring other colleagues into the discussion, please let me know. The NEASC survey definitely showed you as a faculty want more time to collaborate. At this time I have only received a few proposal for what people would like to work on. Please share you ideas and interests by the end of this week.
Academic Awards Night is scheduled for Monday, May 14 at 7pm. Department liaisons have the nomination spreadsheet. I hope to see many of you there!
NEASC Collaborative Conference: Our dates were confirmed this weekend. The visiting team will be here at AHS May 22-23. They will spend the full day on May 22nd meeting with teachers, students, and community members as well as visiting classrooms. We will be looking for 8-10 teachers to spend some time meeting with the team. Please let me know if you are interested.
Senior exams are scheduled for the week of May 21. The Schedule is attached here. On Friday, May 25 the seniors will participate in our annual Community Service Day. The day will start with a presentation on the impact of service from the Fallen Heroes Project at 9am.
Senior Week begins Tuesday, May 29. If you teach mostly seniors please take a look at your schedule and let Ms. Lachapelle your availability to help out at Community Service Day as well as provide coverage for Senior Week chaperones. Or let us know if you want to chaperone!
Below is a list of dates I shared with parents. I hope it is helpful to you as well:
April 30-May 1: Sophomores participate in the MCAS (ELA) Field Test
April 30- May 4: Sophomores participate in Signs of Suicide program
May 7- May 18: AP exams administered
May 11: Early Release/Professional Development
Grand March & Junior Prom
May 14: Academic Awards Ceremony/ 7pm
May 18: last day of classes for Class of 2018!
May 21-24: Senior exams (schedule)
May 23-24: Math MCAS (sophomores)
May 25: Class of 2018 Community Service Day (attendance is mandatory)
May 29-June 1: Senior Week
June 3: Graduation
June 6-7: Science MCAS
June 15-21: Final exams for grades 9-11
Ashland Raises Happy & Healthy Kids: How to talk with your children about difficult news
With the prevalence of social media and the 24/7 news cycle, children are exposed to traumatic news events regularly no matter how much parents or teachers try to keep the "bad things" away. Instead of shielding children from the dangers, violence or tragedies around us, adults should talk to kids about what is happening. The conversation may not be easy, but taking a proactive stance and discussing difficult events in age-appropriate language can help a child feel safer and more secure. As much as adults may try to avoid difficult topics, children often learn or know when something sad or scary happens. If adults don’t talk to them about it, a child may misinterpret the event or misunderstand adults’ silence. So, be the first to bring up the difficult topic. When parents tackle difficult conversations, they let their children know that they are available and supportive.
Think about what you want to say. Some advanced planning may make the discussion easier. You won’t have to think about it off the top of your head.
Find a quiet moment. Choose a time and place where your children can be the center of your attention. Find out what they know. Ask them "What have you heard about this?" And then listen. Listen. Listen. And listen more. Often what concerns them is different than what concerns you.
Share your feelings with your child. It is ok to acknowledge your feelings with your children. They see you are human. Be a role model. This applies to emotions, too.
Tell the truth. Lay out the facts at a level they can understand. You do not need to give graphic details. For young children, you may need to have the conversation about what death means (no longer feel anything, not hungry, thirsty, scared, or hurting; we will never see them again, but can hold their memories in our hearts and heads).
Say, "I don’t know." Sometimes the answer to the question is "I don’t know." "Why did the bad people do this?" "I don’t know" is an ok answer.
Above all, reassure. At the end of the conversation, reassure your children that you will do everything you know how to do to keep them safe and to watch out for them. Reassure them that you will always be available to answer any questions or talk about this topic again. Reassure them that they are loved.
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