August 2016 Duxbury High School SUMMER LETTER Web site: HUwww.duxbury.k12.ma.usUH 71 Alden Street, Duxbury, MA 02332 phone: 781.934.7650 MARK THESE DATES August 17 Important upcoming events: New Families to Duxbury orientation Wednesday, August 17, 2016: New families to Duxbury informational evening in the 5:00-7:00pm in DHS Performing Arts Center Presentation Hall o 5:00-6:00pm: DHS Administration presentation August 23 o 6:00-7:00pm: Athletics presentation Student schedules available on the portal Tuesday, August 23, 2016: Student schedules will be available on the student portal at the end of the day. See the DHS Guidance Twitter (@DuxGuidance) for the most up-to- August 25 & 26 date information. SENIOR Parking tag o Students and families with scheduling issues can walk in to the guidance office on pick-up 8:00-2:00pm a first come first serve basis from 9am-2pm on Wednesday 8/24 and Thursday (Aug. 25) 8/25 for schedule conflicts ONLY. To make appointments around scheduling 8:00-12:00pm conflicts and new registrations, please call 781-934-7661. (Aug 26( August 25 & 26, 2016: August 29 & 30 o Parking tag pick-up for Seniors who submitted paperwork at the end of last year JUNIOR Parking tag th th pick-up from 8:00am-2:00pm on the 25 and 8:00am-12:00pm on the 26 in the DHS 8:00-2:00pm Main Office. NOTE: the fee is $100. Checks can be made payable to Duxbury High School August 30 Freshmen Orientation August 29 & 30, 2016: Cafeteria o Parking tag pick-up for Juniors who submitted paperwork at the end of last year 7:50-11:00am from 8:00am-2:00pm in the DHS Main Office. August 29-30 NOTE: the fee is $100. Checks can be made payable to Duxbury High School Staff Convocation & Professional August 30, 2016: Our annual Freshman Orientation will be held from 7:50-11:00am. Development Days Students must be at the high school gym in comfortable clothing and footwear by 7:50am (please see below for Freshmen Orientation flyer). August 31 First day of school for students Wednesday, August 31, 2016: o First day of school for students Senior digital o Senior yearbook digital submissions are due submission for NOTE: this information was sent via email to seniors. All information is also Yearbook due located on the Yearbook website at: http://www.duxbury.k12.ma.us/yearbook September 8 DHS OPEN HOUSE Thursday, September 8, 2016: The DHS Open House will be held beginning at 6:30pm. 6:30pm - 9:00pm Friday & Monday September 16 & 21: Student Photos during English classes (schedule September 16 & 19 TBA). School Photos Dear Parent/Guardian, I hope that your family has been able to enjoy a restful and relaxing summer! All of us at DHS are very excited to begin our third full year at Duxbury Middle-High School and wanted to share with you some general information and announcements: “DEFINE YOUR LEGACY”: The DHS Student Council has been meeting over the summer in order to develop a theme for the school year that applies to our entire school community. In an effort to promote the idea that everyone in the DHS community can make a difference and positively impact the school, they have developed the slogan “DEFINE YOUR LEGACY.” This theme was discussed with students last year by speaker Mike Smith and is aimed at consciously working to increase the level of meaningful and impactful student, parent, and staff involvement in the fabric of the school at the individual and collective levels. I am much appreciative to the Student Council and Executive Board, as well as Student Activity Advisors Lew Alberti, Matt Files, Becky McLean, and Keith O’Connell for developing and articulating a very worthwhile goal for this school year. iLab: I am very pleased to let you know that we will be creating a period every Wednesday and Thursday after the third block where students will be assigned to a room for 40 minutes each of those days. During that time, they will be able to complete school work. This time will surely be helpful to them and should hopefully reduce student stress. Teachers during this time will also rotate the coverage so that every 1.5 weeks they will be able to collaborate for one 40-minute period within in their respective departments to discuss curriculum, assessment, technology integration, etc. This is a major development for our kids and teachers! Home-to-School Communication Guide: We have created a guide for your reference for whom to contact within the school for different issues (attendance, disciplinary, health, etc.) See p. 7 below for the complete reference. Announcements: Communication: We want to maintain an open line of communication and will continue to be utilizing a weekly online newsletter, Connect-Ed phone messages, and the parent/student portal. Please also peruse the school’s website for upcoming events, DHS Twitter feeds (see website for links), as well as updated Guidance (e.g. Program of Studies) and Athletic information. If you have any issues, questions, or positive words of praise, please feel free to contact the Assistant Principals or me. Core Values, Rubrics: You may view the DHS Core Values, Rubrics, and Learning Expectations Distribution documents in the ‘Our School’ section of the DHS website (http://www.duxbury.k12.ma.us/domain/492). This year, we will be reviewing the Core Values and Rubrics as part of our completion of the 5-Year report for our New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditation. Exams: Only students with an excused absence are allowed to make up missed Midyear and Final exams. Students and parents are strongly urged to understand what constitutes an excused absence and what does not. Please see page 27 for a complete explanation of excused absences. Handbooks: The 2016-2017 Program of Studies, Semester Planner, and Bell Schedules will be on the DHS Home Page within the next week. We are awaiting School Committee approval on the DHS Student Handbook, which should occur on August 17th. The handbook and important information will be shared at that time. Health Office Information: Within the next few weeks when school starts the 9th graders will be screened for scoliosis. This is a state mandated screening to detect early signs of spinal problems that should have further medical evaluation. The screening is conducted during P.E. class. Boys and girls are screened separately by a screener of the same gender as the student. The school nurse and P.E. teachers conduct the screening. If the school nurse determines a positive finding, the student will be rescreened by Dr. Muido, the school M.D. If you have a student presently being followed by a physician for scoliosis or prefer to have your student exempt, a letter needs to be directed to the DHS Health Office. You can fax the letter at: Health Office 781-934-6083 or email Ms. Malone at [email protected] Tenth graders will also be screened for height, weight, vision and hearing. Letters of exemption can be sent to the above listed fax # or email. Feel free to call the Health Office during school hours if you have a concern at 781 934- 7665. Lockers: All students will be assigned a locker for the school year. Students will need to use their respective locker at least once a day, as no knapsacks/bags will be allowed in the cafeteria during lunches. It is the hope that students will utilize their lockers more during the school day. New Faculty at DHS: We take the hiring process very seriously and I am appreciative of all of the hard work put in by the various hiring committees we formed in order to bring highly qualified staff members to DHS. DHS Administration: Joe Scozzaro has been hired as the new Assistant Principal at DHS. He holds a BA in English from the University of Florida, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Columbia University, and a C.A.E.S. from Bridgewater State University. Mr. Scozzaro has been in education for 21 years as a high school English teacher and administrator. From 2003-2013 he was an English teacher and Assistant Housemaster at Newton South High School. For the past three years he has been the Assistant Principal at North Attleboro High School. He comes to Duxbury with a wealth of experience and interest in the high-level use of educational technology. Guidance: Amy Gubellini joins the DHS faculty as the coordinator of the DMS/DHS COAST program (see below). She received a B.A. in English/Communications and Sociology from Emmanuel College, and a Masters of Social Work from Bridgewater State University. Ms. Gubellini is a licensed social worker with extensive experience working with both students and families. Most recently, she was the Social Worker attached to the Alden and DMS Partnership programs. Bridget McDonough will be assuming Amanda Magnan’s caseload. Ms. McDonough earned a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of New Hampshire and an M.Ed. in School Counseling from Bridgewater State University. She completed her internship at Silver Lake High School, and had long-term substitute stints as a Guidance Counselor at Braintree High School and at Duxbury High School, where she very ably filled in for Kelly Jurgens during her maternity leave. She additionally coordinated the DMS/DHS COAST program in the Spring of last year. Mathematics: Molly Good comes to us after successfully teaching mathematics as a yearlong long-term mathematics substitute teacher at Marshfield High School.