August 22, 2025

Good afternoon-

Thanks to everyone who helped to make New Student Orientation a success last night. It was great to see so many students and staff in the building. I am looking forward to seeing you all on Monday. We start at 8AM in the auditorium.

There will be some members of the Class of 2026 painting their parking spots on Monday afternoon. Please try to park in the faculty parking lot or in the back of the building if you usually park in the student section. 

New staff, please join the staff Google Classroom. All information sent to faculty/staff will be housed here. The class code is a5ca6a4.

The custodians have been working hard to make sure each classroom has the correct number of desks (minus study halls). There may be a few classrooms off a desk or two based on student moves at the end of this week. If anyone has furniture in their rooms that is not being used, please let me know. We are short some L-shaped desks, under-desk file cabinets, and bookcases. 

Our PD meetings will take place in the AHS library unless listed elsewhere. The AHS schedule can be found here.

Lunch will be provided on Tuesday, August 26, by Ashland Alehouse. There will be vegetarian and gluten-free options. 

For your planning purposes, I have attached the schedules for Wednesday, August 28 & Thursday, August 29. They can also be found linked to the AHS Calendar. More information about the All-school activity and Convocation will be shared during our PD days. 

We will have class meetings the week of September 2, during X-block. Students will be called out of the 2nd period at 10:15am. 

All meetings may last a little longer.

9/2- Class of 2029

9/3- Class of 2028

9/4- Class of 2027

Back to School Night will be September 11, 2025, from 6-8PM. 

As a reminder, all stipend positions have been posted in TalentEd, and you must apply through the system in order to be granted the position. Current open positions are AP Coordinator and ModelUN. If you have an interest in either, please reach out. (The AP Coordinator stipend is being renegotiated.) If you are stepping away from a position or a group that no longer meets, please let me know. 

If you are a current advisor and have events scheduled, please get them in SchoolDude and let Linda know to add them to the AHS calendar ASAP. If you are looking to pick up a new role, I will share vacant advisor positions within the next week. 

 New AI Literacy and Policy Guidance Resources:

The Department has published two new resources to help schools and districts prepare for the thoughtful and equitable use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the 2025-26 school year. These include the Massachusetts AI Literacy Module for Educators and Generative AI Policy Guidance. Developed in response to recommendations from the statewide AI Task Force, these resources are designed to promote a consistent, informed approach to AI in schools and help educators decide when, how, and why to use AI in ways that are safe, ethical, and instructionally meaningful. As part of the multi-year AI strategy, DESE will release related one-pagers and tools and host workshops and trainings throughout the year to support local adoption. Access the resources and learn more on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) in K12 Schools webpage.

On Sunday, September 14, 2025, the ICAN Educators’ Center for Excellence in Education will host a one-day professional development retreat at the Warren Conference Center in Ashland, MA. This program will bring together K–12 educators from across Massachusetts for inspiring presentations, practical classroom tools, and fact-based resources to help navigate complex and sensitive topics.

While the retreat normally has a registration fee, we are pleased to offer complimentary admission for your district’s educators using the dedicated code TEACH25. [Registration Available Here] 

In light of the alarming rise in antisemitism and growing misunderstandings about Israel and the Middle East—and following the findings of the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism led by Senator Velis and Representative Cataldo—we want to ensure your teachers are aware of this important opportunity.

Please feel free to share this email and code with educators who you feel might be interested in attending this special retreat.

The Educators’ Retreat will equip participants with:

• Practical pedagogical tools to navigate complex topics in the classroom
• A high-quality, fact-based teaching kit tailored for each grade level
  
• Inspiring presentations from speakers with extraordinary life stories

This event is part of our non-political initiative to provide educators with trusted content, innovative teaching tools, and professional inspiration.

You can view the full speaker lineup and program details here:

 [Educators’ Retreat]

We would be honored to welcome your district’s educators to this transformative day of learning.

Sincerely,

Nirit Friedlander
Massachusetts Chairwoman
ICAN: Israeli-American Civic Action Network
www.ICANAction.org