Civic Pride and Responsibilty

The League of Women Voters will be here at Silver Lake Regional High School on May 17, 2012 during all four lunch waves to register students to vote.

Who can register? Students who will be 18 years of age on or before September 6, 2012 (the next election: a primary for National, State, and county offices). Students who will be 18 on or before the November 6 election can register to vote between September 7 & October 15, 2012.

To be eligible to vote in Massachusetts, you must be a Massachusetts resident and U.S. citizen who will be at least 18 years old on the day of the next election in which you are eligible to vote; you cannot be under legal guardianship with respect to voting; in prison; or convicted of election fraud (even if the prison term is completed). In order to vote, you must also have registered.

A Massachusetts resident who becomes a citizen of the United States after the voter registration deadline has passed may register to vote at their town or city hall until 4:00PM on the day preceding the primary or election.

What do you need to register? Students need to include their Driver’s License number or the last four numbers of their S.S.# on the registration. Proof of residency must include your name and address and is a copy of any of the following:
- current and valid drivers license
- current and valid photo id
- government check or document
- current utility bill
- pay check or stub

I trust that all of our eligible students will take advantage of this opportunity to register to vote.

 

 

The fourth and final Freshmen Seminar will take place on Friday, May 25, 2012 at 8:30am (B block, Period 2). Our Librarian, Linda Redding has been working closely with the Melanoma Foundation and they have agreed to come in for a special presentation. Students will be dismissed upon an announcement from the main office.  Preparations for Final Exams and end of the year activities will also be discussed with members of the freshman class. If you have any questions about Project Silver, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Fontaine or Mrs. Gill. Please cut and paste this link into your browser for the Final Exam Schedule for members of the Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior classes. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CKBJcLERkHvHiYCOegySjJct-PF1vq3X-HeTbxBYWoo/edit

 

 

 

Boston Medical Center has reached out to the school and will be here on May 23, 2012 at 7:00 PM in our auditorium to do a presentation about good decision-making, safe driving, and healthy choices. The presenters will be the social worker and doctors who treated Aliza Nantais and Eva Lipton.  Mrs. Lipton and Mrs. Nantais will introduce the presenters. This is sure to be a powerful and moving event.

The seventh inning stretch

I often refer to the time after April Vacation as the seventh inning stretch.  All of a sudden, we are looking at culminating activities in the classroom and throughout the school as a whole. The Main Event, Graduation, is around the corner on June 2, 2012 at 11:00 AM.  A packet explaining all “senior class activities” was mailed home in March. Hopefully you have had a chance to look it over.

As a reminder, I will be hosting two meetings for parents and guardians of seniors.  Both meetings will be identical, but scheduled at different times to accommodate busy schedules. The first meeting will be this Friday, May 4, 2012 at 7:30 AM in the Large Group Room in the high school. The second meeting will be on Monday evening, May 7, 2012 at 7:00 PM in the Large Group Room as well. This will give you an opportunity to get clarification for graduation, have questions answered, and understand why we do things this way. I look forward to seeing you. I will send out an email and phone reminder this week.

On another note for seniors …mid-term progress reports will be distributed to seniors this Friday, May 4, 2012 …told you time is flying by!

Our next presentation from our SADD organization will be for members of the Senior Class. The presentation is entitled, Eric’s Story. It will take place at 12:30  PM on May 10, 2012 in our auditorium. Here is an overview taken  from their web page: http://home.comcast.net/~erics-story/.

“Eric’s Story is about Eric Nardone, whose life and dreams at the age of 22, were shattered by a friend who was driving drunk and speeding.  It is a story about being handicapped as a result of that crash, and of the physical and emotional battles that are part of his everyday life.  It is a story about examining values, and decisions regarding friendships, substance abuse and decision making. 

Eric’s crash occurred on September 11, 1988. Eric, a championship kick boxer, carpenter, and U.S.M.C. recruit, has spent the last 17 years recovering from numerous surgeries, and physical and occupational therapy.”

We are also working with Boston Medical Center on a presentation for the members of the Junior and Senior classes (and their parents/guardians) dealing with the accident that occurred here on March 30, 2012. I will post more information as it becomes available.

Please be sure to contact the school if at any time you feel that your student should not be in attendance for these presentations.

As I wrote in a previous installment, our Guidance Department recently held a college planning workshop for members of the Junior class and their parents and guardians.  There were close to 200 people in attendance! For those of you unable to make it, or anyone who would like to review the information, I have attached the PowerPoint here.

College Planning Presentation Spring 2012

And so it goes …

It has been almost two weeks since four of our students were involved in a terrible accident. The outpouring of support has not waned. Our students continue to work through their emotions via positive actions, selling B.E.A.M. buttons, T-Shirts, ribbons, cards, and collecting cash donations for gift cards and gas cards. I am so proud of our student body. The community at large continues to show its support as well. Donations are coming in daily. Most recently, the South of Boston Quilts for Kids, located in Kingston, delivered four hand-made quilts for our four students. We are so appreciative of the support the community has shown for our school and students. Many more activities are planned, so many in fact that we have the need to slow down a bit and space things out! I know that you all join me in keeping our students injured in the accident in our thoughts and prayers.

here is the link to this week’s newsletter: http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1107716625152-60/yhc+newsletter+041212.pdf

The week after April Vacation will be one filled with numerous student activities.

Class elections will take place on April 26 and April 27. Students have been filling out nomination forms all this week and their nomination sheet is due tomorrow at the kiosk no later than 2:15 PM.  candidates will have the opportunity to deliver a brief “campaign speech” to members of their class during assemblies on April 25.

The Guidance department, led by Mr. John Garofalo,  will be presenting the annual Junior Parent College Planning Night on April 25 at 6:30 PM in the Large Group Room. This is always a well attended event so please get here on time to get a good seat! All counselors, Mr. Perrone, Mrs. Cranshaw, Mrs. Ryan, and Ms. Weeks will be in attendance to answer your questions.

As has been mentioned in previous blog posts, our Students Against Destructive Decisions club are sponsoring another presentation about making good choices, good decisions, and healthy decisions. This assembly will be for the sophomore class on April 24 at 8:30 AM.  Parents and guardians are always welcome to attend.

The National Honor Society sponsors, organizes, and runs our honor roll/perfect attendance social at the end of each term.  Students who made honor roll and/or had perfect attendance for Term III will be treated to an ice cream social on April 27 at 1:00 PM in the cafeteria. Students will also receive discount coupons for Silver Lake events as well as have their name entered in a raffle for swell prizes to be given out during the social.

The high school students and staff will practice a Code Yellow Drill (lock-down) at the end of April. It is important that everyone knows exactly what to do in case of an emergency situation. We all hope that we never have to use a Code Yellow at school, but we need to be prepared nonetheless. I will make an outreach phone call and send an outreach email with the exact date of this drill as the time draws nearer.

Have a happy, safe, and healthy  April Vacation …let’s all remember why next Monday is a holiday!

Very difficult time at Silver Lake Regional High School

This certainly has been a trying time for all of us in the Silver Lake community. I know that everyone joins me in  by keeping  the four students in the accident in our thoughts and prayers.

Last Friday was very difficult, but as you know, we decided to hold the Junior Prom and promenade as scheduled. While the decision was difficult, I remain convinced that it was the right decision. In times of need, it is best to stay together with family and friends. With students being transported to Lombardo’s via coach bus and the tremendous showing of our faculty with over 30 volunteering their time to serve as  chaperones, the prom provided a safe and healthy venue  for 334 of our students. While the prom was clearly, “not the same”, students danced throughout the evening, ate delicious food, had their pictures taken in a photo booth and had formal prom pictures taken as well. In this  time of adversity, I am extremely proud of the way our student body and faculty  responded to each other’s needs.

Back at school on Monday, students and staff rallied to help the families of the students in the accident in a myriad of ways. There has been such an outpouring of support by the students and staff, that I had to assign Mrs. Gill and Mrs. Cranshaw to work with students on their efforts. An email sent to staff by Assistant Principal Gill is as follows; “

Many of you have been asking what you or your students can do to show your support for the four injured students and their families. The close friends of the families, along with the Class of 2013, have set up bins outside the cafeteria to collect cards & letters, gift cards (for food, coffee and gas), stuffed animals, magazines, slippers, toiletry items, etc. during the lunch waves. The items collected will be divided into gift baskets and delivered to the hospitals as they fill up.

 Additionally … we have buttons bearing the slogan “B.E.A.M. of Hope” that are available to purchase for $2. By now I’m sure you have seen them on several of your students! Absolutely 100% of the proceeds will benefit the families. B.E.A.M is the acronym created by combining the first initial of each of the students injured in the accident: Brendon, Eva, Aliza and Monica. These can be purchased during the lunch waves as well.

 If you would like more information or have any questions please do not hesitate to stop by and see me.  Thank you all for your continued support and compassion with our students during this difficult time. 

 

In addition, St Joseph’s church in Kingston will be holding a non denominational prayer service on Wednesday, April 4 from 6:00PM until 7:00PM. We expect to see a large number of staff and students present.

I am aware of one “care page” that has been set up by Brendon’s family. The link is :

http://www.carepages.com/carepages/Brendons-Journey/updates/3275003?client_code=default&ipc=mur 

I never cease to be amazed by the care, support, and compassion of our students, faculty, staff, families and members of the  community at large. I have received numerous emails from other schools and businesses offering help and support.

Please keep the B.E.A.M. of Hope shining brightly.

 

 

 

This week’s Youth Health Connection Newsletter

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1107716625152-57/yhc_th_3292012.pdf

 

 

Term III Report Cards will be issued this Thursday, April 5, 2012

 

 

The College Planning Night for parents and guardians of grade 11 students has been rescheduled to April 25, 2012 at 6:30 PM in the Large Group Room.

 

Bitten by Bronchitis …

This past week was  rather long  for me. I came down with a nasty case of bronchitis that I just couldn’t shake. In my younger days, I probably wouldn’t have even missed a day of school, but unfortunately I was on the disabled list for the entire week. Fortunately, we have a great bench coach in Mr. Mulcahy and an  awesome third base coach in Mrs. Gill. They kept the school running smoothly and safely in my absence.

Thanks to the aforementioned Mr. Mulcahy and Mrs. Gill, and along with Mr. Garofalo and para-professional Mrs. Laniewski; MCAS went off well last week. Sophomores now have the Math portion to look forward to in May and freshman take science in June.

 

 

Listed here is the latest edition of the Youth Health Connection Newsletter

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1107716625152-54/yhc_th_3222012.pdf

 

Since I was out all of last week, this is a short post. As soon as I “catch up” at school, I am sure I’ll have lots of information to share with you!

Sophomores Take Note ….MCAS is here

MCAS

Sophomores will be taking the ELA portion of MCAS next week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. While these tests are un-timed, testing for most students usually ends by 10:00 AM each day.

Please be sure that your student is well rested,  has a healthy breakfast, and most importantly, is in attendance at school.

Our student mentoring program, Project Silver, under the direction of Assistant Principal Michaela Gill and Social Studies Teacher Melissa Fontaine, have arranged with our cafeteria to provide a light continental breakfast, free of charge, for those sophomores wishing to partake. The breakfast will be available starting at 7:10 AM.

The schedule and the rotation for the periods during the testing period is as follows:

Tuesday, March 20 – Day 3: 

Normal Rotation – 1, 2, 4, 6, 5, 7

Wednesday, March 21 – Day 4:  

Reverse Order – 5, 6, 7, 1, 2, 3

Thursday, March 22 – Day 5:   

Normal Rotation – 3, 1, 2, 4, 7, 6

Students have been made aware of this schedule from their teachers. Should you have any questions at all about MCAS, please contact James Mulcahy, Housemaster, jmulcahy@slrsd.org ; 781.585.3844 ext 1007 or Director of Guidance John Garofalo, jgarofalo@slrsd.org ; 781.585.3844 ext. 1023

Please help us to impress upon our students the importance of this test. MCAS given to sophomores is considered the competency determination by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. That is, students must be successful on this test in order to receive a Silver Lake Regional High  School diploma.

 

 

Here is the link for the most recent newsletter …that was fast !

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1107716625152-52/yhc_th_3152012.pdf

Faculty Flash Mob

This Is Me Week

The finale of This is Me Week was the faculty flash mob on Friday afternoon. Students reported to the gym under the guise of announcing the winner of the penny drive for the Lady Gaga Born This Way Foundation.  There were rumors about that Lady Gaga was actually coming to our school. This was one of the best kept secrets in the annals of Silver Lake Regional High School, not an easy task with over 1200 students.  We had great local press coverage from WATD, The Reporter Newspapers, and PAC TV. Thanks to those journalists who took the time to cover our events.  The students seemed to enjoy the flash mob and were completely stunned! All of this was to dive home the point of acceptance, tolerance of differences and celebration of diversity. Thanks again to guidance counselors Andrea Cranshaw and Meghan Weeks for organizing This Is Me Week and thanks to Calvin Terrell for his YouTube shout out to our student body. Here is a Wicked Local link for some video of the flash mob. We hope to have a high resolution version posted soon. http://www.wickedlocal.com/kingston/multimedia/videos/x453926183/Silver-Lake-celebrates-This-is-Me-Week?page=0  

Students Against Destructive Decisions … SADD

We have a history of devoting a week of activities dedicated to helping students to make good decisions. This started twelve years ago with an initiative led by then PTO President Karen d’Ogburn. Currently our SADD Club, under advisor  Marlene Lopes, plans, organizes, and presents our annual activities. This program remains a vital and important part of our curriculum here at school. Listed below are the highlights of this year’s activities. The Junior Class and Senior Class activities coincide with their respective proms. Please note the special parent event planned for March 29, 2012. This presentation was held last year and was well received by parents. We hope you can join us for any and all of these activities.

Thursday, March 15^th- Freshmen Class Presentation

            -Peter Diguilio -

            -Period 2- 8:30- 9:30 a.m.

 Wednesday, March 28^th- All Classes

            -Children’s Melanoma Foundation-

-All lunch waves

 Thursday, March 29^th- Junior Class Presentation

            -Bill Phillips -

            -Period 2- 8:30- 9:30 a.m.

 Thursday, March 29^th- Parent Night

            -Campbell, Campbell, Edwards & Conroy Law Firm- free

            -“Be A Parent, Not a Pal”

            -7:00- 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April, 24^th- Sophomore Class Presentation

            -Dynamic Influence- Rob Hackenson-

            -Period 2- 8:30- 9:30 a.m.

 Thursday, May 10^th- Senior Class Presentation

            -MIAA- “Eric’s Story”-

            -Period 5- 1:00- 2:00 p.m.

Youth Health Connection

Here is the link to the most recent edition of the Youth Health Connection Newsletter.

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1107716625152-51/yhc_th_382012.pdf

Is it already March ?

I always feel that after February vacation, the rest of the school year flies by! That is due in large part because we start planning for the 2012-2013 school year in earnest. Guidance counselors were in your student’s English classes this week going over course selections for next school year. As I hope you are aware, our Program of Studies is now completely on-line. This is both a cost saving measure as well as part of our “green initiative” The Program of Studies can be found at http://www.slrsd.org/slrhs/information/Program%20of%20Studies/. An email was sent to you on Wednesday with the full presentation that was used for course selections. If you didn’t receive it, please check here.High School Course Selection Pres 2011-2012. Our Master Schedule is based solely on pupil course requests, therefore it is vital that you have a conversation with your student about their course selections. As always, feel free to contact your guidance counselor with any questions.

Looking for something fun to do?  The Class of 2012 presents renowned hypnotist Steve Marino on Friday, March 23 from 7:00-8:30 PM in the Silver Lake Regional High School auditorium! Marino provides a fun entertaining evening for the whole family. More information about Steve can be found at his website, www.stevemarino.com.  Tickets can be reserved in advance starting Friday, March 9^th for $7.00 by calling 781-585-3844 ext. 1001 or 1055.  Students can also purchase tickets in advance during all lunch waves. Tickets will still be sold at the door for $10.00.  Please contact Mrs. Fontaine at mfontaine@slrsd.org or Ms. Robak at rrobak@slrsd.org with any questions!  We hope to see you there for what is sure to be a fun night!

Next Wednesday, March 7, 2012, is “Spread the Word to End the Word” day, also called “R Word Day.”  This program is supported by Special Olympics, Best Buddies and over 200 other organizations from around the world.

• Last year over 650 individuals signed a pledge in school to help and eliminate the derogatory use of the R word.
• We would like to continue our movement towards the elimination of this word and other demeaning words.

We ask that you help us change the conversation and help eliminate the demeaning use of the R-word from today’s popular youth vernacular and replace it with “respect.” We are asking for your help in creating a more accepting world for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and all those people who may appear different, but have unique gifts and talents to share with the world.

After morning announcements, there will be a video announcement regarding this special day.  At lunch time, we will be asking all students and staff if they will be willing to sign a pledge “R is for Respect.”  These signed pledges will be posted outside of the cafeteria.  Hopefully, there will be a sea of aqua as you pass by!

 

As always, be sure to check the high school website,http://www.slrsd.org/slrhs/ for important information.

“Winter Carnival Week” … “This Is Me Week” … Course Selections 2012-2013

As has been tradition at SLRHS , March brings in Winter Carnival Week and the Junior Class sponsored Mr. Silver Lake. A little bit of history …Winter Carnival started over 18 years ago by then principal John McEwan as a means to boosts spirits in the doldrums of winter. In the age of high stakes tests (MCAS) and other academic necessities, we’ve toned things down a bit. Students will have dress up days each day next week and activities during lunch times. No class time will be lost to these activities. Listed below is the schedule for the week. Please encourage your student to join in on the fun.

Winter Carnival: February 27^th-March 2^nd

·       Mon: Class Color Day

o      Seniors: Blue

o      Juniors: Green

o      Sophomores: Pink

o      Freshmen: Purple

o      Faculty:  Black

·       Tues: Animal Day

·       Wed: Wacky Wednesday

·       Thurs: Super Hero Day

·       Fri: School Color Day: wear red, silver, and white

“THIS IS ME” Week

 

As I mentioned previously on my blog, Calvin Terrell was here about a month ago to speak to students, faculty and parents regarding social injustice. After seeing and hearing the impact Calvin had on our students, we wanted to keep up the momentum of promoting acceptance, tolerance and kindness to everyone.  Silver Lake is proud to announce “This Is Me” Week from March 5^th-9^th. The week will have several activities geared towards promoting tolerance and acceptance towards one another. The idea behind the “This Is Me” theme is focused around acceptance; encouraging our students to be comfortable of who they are and, in turn, accepting one another. We want our students to be proud, confident and secure enough to be able to stand up and say, “This is me!” Here is an explanation of a few of the activities we have planned.

In April 2009, Carl Joseph Walker Hoover, an 11 year old, committed suicide after experiencing relentless bullying. His mother, Sirdeaner Walker, decided to turn her tragedy into action by becoming an anti-bullying advocate. She created Stand Together – a community of people dedicated to taking a stand against bullying. During the lunch waves on Monday, March 5^th, students will have the opportunity to sign the Stand Together pledge and print out their assigned number. Their pledge and picture will be taken and submitted to the organization and added to the thousands of other people across the country who have taken the pledge to STAND TOGETHER against bullying. Please visit www.standtogether.tv  for more information.

There will also be a Penny Drive every day during this week at the lunch waves. We will be donating the money we collect to the Born This Way Foundation, www.bornthiswayfoundation.org.

Led by Lady Gaga (yes THAT Lady Gaga) and her mother Cynthia Germanotta, the Born This Way Foundation was founded in 2011 to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated. The Foundation is dedicated to creating a safe community that helps connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need to build a braver, kinder world.

We believe that everyone has the right to feel safe, to be empowered and to make a difference in the world. Together, we will move towards acceptance, bravery and love.

So, please, feel free to send you child in with a little extra spare change! This is going to be a class competition and the class that raises the most money will be awarded with an ice cream social at a later date. The winner of this competition will be announced on Friday, the 9^th, during an assembly in the gymnasium. In addition, every student at the high school will get a “This Is Me” bracelet. Once again, we are focused on getting our students to promote acceptance. We hope that these bracelets will serve as a constant reminder of Calvin Terrell’s inspiring message and provide our students with confidence to just be themselves.

 

Wednesday, March 7^th, is National Spread the Word to End the Word Day. This initiative is an annual event that raises awareness to society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects the word “retard(ed)” has to those who have an intellectual disability. Again, during lunch waves, students will have an opportunity to sign a pledge stating they will stop using the R-word and will support inclusion and acceptance of people with intellectual disabilities. The students in our Life Skills program run this activity and it is a moving, meaningful event.

Finally, Friday, March 9^th, will be Blackout Bullying Day. Students are encouraged to wear all black in an effort to show that we are committed to eliminating bullying and replacing it with acceptance and tolerance of others. This will be an exciting day, with a special surprise for the students, so please, encourage them to wear black.

We are very excited for “This Is Me” week at Silver Lake. Hopefully we will be able to continue the work that Calvin Terrell started here in our school community.

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Click on the link to see the latest edition of the Youth Health Connection Newsletter. http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1107716625152-44/yhc_th_2162012.pdf

Comcast Email: The entire school district was having difficulties with Comcast email last week. For some reason, all emails to and from Comcast were being blocked. Our information systems department worked diligently with Comcast and the problem appears to be resolved. Please recognize that if you sent an email to the school from Comcast last week, it DID NOT get to its destination.

Progress Reports will be sent home on March 2, 2012

Course Selection 2012-2013

The 2012-2013 course selection process begins when we return from vacation. There will be a Grade 8 parent orientation at 6:30 PM on Tuesday 2/28/12 and guidance counselors will be in all English classes during the week to meet with students in grades 9-11. Our Program of Studies book is on-line,  we will not be printing copies. Click this link for the 2012-2013 SLRHS Program of Studies. http://www.slrsd.org/slrhs/information/Program%20of%20Studies/

Please call the Guidance Office if you have any questions. 781-585-3844

Special Education Parent Advisory Council Meeting …Autism Speaks

The Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) will hold their next meeting on March 7th at 7:00pm in the Middle School library. A presenter from Autism Speaks will be discussing their Family Service Resources. All are invited to attend this highly informative event. 

 

 

 

Let It Snow

If this were a normal winter, the potential for six inches of snow wouldn’t faze us in the least …however, I believe that discretion is the better part of valor when it comes to the safety of our students. Therefore, the practice SAT scheduled for tomorrow, February 11, 2012 has been RESCHEDULED to Saturday March 3, 2012.

 

 

 

February Vacation

Please be reminded that February vacation will be from February 20 through February 24. Classes resume on February 27, 2012.  The course selection process for the 2012-2013 school year will begin the week we return from vacation.