Important Dates |
- 9/16 No School - Yom Kippur
- 9/24 SEPAC Meeting
- 9/25 College Essay Workshop
- 9/30 BHS Back to School Night
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Dear BHS Parents, Guardians, and Caretakers,
The PTO Weekly Blast is an incredibly important BHS information source. Learn about various high school events, resources for students and families, and opportunities to become involved in Brookline High School. As a school, we pride ourselves on having myriad communities where students can find their people and do their thing. The same is true for each and all of us caretakers. Reading the PTO Weekly Blast each Sunday or Monday is a good start toward knowing what’s happening at BHS and how to be a part of it.
I’ve been Hacked
Based on emails I’ve received from concerned high school parents over the weekend, it seems as though I have been hacked. An email purporting to be from me suggests I’m in a board of education meeting and need your help. Rest assured, I was not in such a meeting nor do I need anyone’s urgent assistance right now. I did alert our IT people and apologize for any inconvenience.
Start to School
Later this evening, I will send all students via Aspen my weekly email alerting them to schedule specifics and sharing various thoughts, pieces of information, and the like. This week, I focus on summer reading and some health and safety reminders.
More generally, this has been a remarkable beginning to school with no shortage of thorny issues. We love the new science and restaurant wing. It is heavily and respectfully used thus far: just what we want. Amidst a new building and lots of construction in-process, we have had more difficulty nailing our two-week schedule down and keeping our students and staff abreast of the issues, remedies, and permanent solutions related to our schedule.
I emphasize this because school leaders best help faculty and staff by creating the right conditions for learning, teaching, and student support. We will nail the schedule down this week and communicate to everyone by Sunday night.
Back to School Night: Thursday 9/30
My goal is to send details about our Back to School Night by the end of this week (9/13-17). This is our annual open house event when parents, guardians, and caretakers have the opportunity to meet their students’ teachers and hear some about the course, classroom community, and available supports.
With our focus on keeping students learning in-person for as long and as much as possible, I favor a virtual open house this fall with live Zoom sessions for each class. We understand that many parents and guardians would love to return to an in-person Back to School Night. Given the varying levels of comfort and the overriding need to prioritize health and safety, our school leadership team supports a virtual event with live, recorded Zoom sessions for each class. This widens access for BHS parents, guardians, and caretakers.
If we move in this direction, Assistant Head of School Hal Mason and I are going to organize tours of our 115 Greenough Street location so that parents and guardians can see the new spaces, the old spaces, and tread where your children tread five days a week. We also want to tell you about the educational goals embedded in our renovation and expansion educational plans and preview the various project components that will be completed during the course of the school year.
Other Important Priorities
I am working with Curriculum Coordinators and other school leaders to determine the best ways we can support students who are absent from school. We want to continue emphasizing that students who feel sick or who have COVID symptoms should stay home out of an abundance of caution. Class agendas and learning materials will be accessible via Canvas.
Substitute Teachers and Related Planning
We currently do not have the number of daily subs or more permanent building subs we need to cover all classes with teacher absences. As a result, we are prioritizing our youngest learners, ninth graders, as well as classes where the teacher is missing multiple days. There is a sub shortage across the district, so this issue is not unique to BHS.
Supporting Quarantined Students
Work across the district continues to support students who are quarantining due to having tested positive for COVID or having been identified as a close contact. We do not have an agreement across the school or district about how to support such quarantining students.
In writing this, I want to emphasize that BHS will continue to follow DESE guidance and prioritize in-person learning. As we consider the possibility for how to best support quarantine students, we are considering Zoom only through very narrow lenses: solely for students quarantined due to testing positive; audio-only; and no expectation that educators are teaching both the students in front of them and anyone at home. Our teachers did an incredible job within hybrid instruction last year, and we are not asking them to continue with this practice in 2021-22. I write all this to shape expectations and to let you know that this is a fairly urgent item to figure out with fellow school and district leaders, including our BEU counterparts.
Most of all, thanks for continuing to partner with BHS in support of our 2080 high school students.
Take care,
Anthony
Anthony Meyer
Head of School |
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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - COLLEGE ESSAY WORKSHOP
Parent/guardians/caregivers/community volunteers are needed for the Brookline High College Essay Workshop.
Saturday, September 25, 2021 from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm @ BHS
Sponsored by the BHS PTO and led by BHS faculty, this annual event helps seniors craft essays for college applications. Please sign up here to assist students with their writing or provide logistical support. No experience necessary. BHS teachers will provide a volunteer orientation. This one-day opportunity really benefits BHS seniors as they start preparing college applications. Please consider joining us. Questions? Contact mlshetty303@gmail.com or cthall68@comcast.com or jrgreene277@gmail.com.
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BHS DIRECTORY
Are you looking for contact information for a parent or caregiver? Use the Family Directory on the PTO website. This directory is powered by Membership Toolkit. Every year you should update your student information and verify your contact information. Participation in the Directory does not automatically sign you up to receive class specific emails, special groups, and/or the weekly PTO Blast. To sign up for class/activity related emails and the PTO Blast, go to our website at http://www.bhs-pto.org/, click on BHS-PTO Communications and then Sign Up. Fill out the appropriate information.
AUDITIONS - 9TH GRADE PLAY
Auditions for the 9th Grade Play, Almost Treasure Island, will take place on Sept 17 & 20th. The 9th Grade Play is a wonderful opportunity for new students to meet each other, cultivate an interest in theater, develop friendships and become part of a great community in the BHS Drama Society. No experience or preparation necessary! See complete information about auditions and helping with set/costumes/props etc at www.brooklinefopa.org or email elena_maimonis@psbma.org with any questions.
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B-PEN's ( Brookline Parent Education Network)
PARENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS
B-PEN helps guide parents through common social, emotional, and developmental challenges affecting today’s teens and pre-teens. Our Parent Advisory Committee helps us identify the current pressing issues affecting Brookline youth and brainstorm ideas for useful information on topics ranging from setting limits and healthy relationships to screen use and alcohol experimentation. This lively volunteer group, composed of a wide range of BHS and middle school parents, meets roughly four times a year to assist in planning parent and community education materials and events. We invite you to join us Sept. 23 via zoom. For more information, contact social worker Mary_Minott@psbma.org, 617.713.5155.
The beginning of the school year can be challenging in the best of circumstances, check out the “Transitions” page at www.B-PEN.org for a wide variety of tips and resources to help families get off to a good start. Check it out!
GUIDANCE UPDATES
Watch this space for updates from Guidance, in the meantime here is the very useful "Whom Do I Call and When" guide.
FALL ROWING CLUB
Friends of Brookline Rowing, First Ever Freshman / New Rower Fall Season
For the first time, Friends of Brookline Rowing will be offering a fall season for new rowers. Try-outs will be held at Brookline High School across from the front steps on Monday, September 13th, after school from 3:30PM until 5:30PM.
Please fill out this interest form:
Fall Rowing Interest Form
The form will add you to the tryout roster and allow us to provide you with more information as the day gets closer. No experience is needed. Please wear athletic clothes and running shoes. Bring water and have a mask. If you have any questions contact either of the novice coaches, Philip Kenney (philipkenney42@gmail.com) (boys team) or Chelsea Foster (chelseapfoster@gmail.com) (girls team) with questions.
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SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
Next school committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 23rd at 6:00pm.
BROOKLINE PORCHFEST 2021
Brookline's sixth annual Porchfest will be held on Saturday, September, 18, 2021 from 12:00pm to 6:00pm with a rain date of Sunday, September 19, 2021. Official Schedule and list of bands/locations can be found at brooklineporchfest.org.
BROOKLINE TEEN CENTER
Save the date for BTC's Block Party, Friday, October 1st, 3 -7pm. For the month of September, the BTC will be open from 2:30pm-6:30pm on Thursdays and Fridays starting 9/10. Masks are required for all persons in the building.
BROOKLINE ART CENTER
The Brookline Arts Center is excited to share a variety of creative opportunities and an outlet for arts education this fall! Join us for both virtual and in-person classes for children and teens, as well as our Indigenous Peoples' Day and Veterans' Day vacation day programs for students of all ages. Financial aid is available for all classes. |
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SEPAC (Special Education Parents Advisory Council) Meeting
SEPAC will be holding its first meeting of the 2021-22 school year for parents on Friday, September, 24th at 8:30 - 10:00am. Format (virtual, in person, or a combination) will be determined closer to the date. Join the SEPAC mailing list to stay informed on activities for special education families.
BROOKLINE PUBLIC LIBRARY
This Fall, the Brookline Library branches have established new capacity limits in the Children’s, Tween, and Teen Rooms at Brookline Village, and the Children’s Room at Coolidge Corner, will be enforced as of September 1, 2021. This will impact the number of students allowed in these spaces during after-school hours. Please review the Letter from the Library Director for further information.
BROOKLINE THRIVES
Brookline Thrives, a free weekend food program for students, resumes Friday, September 17. Thrives is available to any family who may benefit from additional food options over the weekend. There are no financial qualifications. Register your student to receive Thrives bags at school on Fridays or pick up bags in person on Fridays from 5-6pm at 226 High Street, Community Room or 55R Egmont Street, Community Room. Go to www.brooklinefoodpantry.org/brookline-thrives.html for details, register, or get involved.
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Sports and Extracurricular Events
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Find more info on Fall sports tryouts and schedules are HERE.
Find more info on the Performing Arts at BHS HERE.
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Support BHS
The Brookline High School Parent Teacher Organization is committed to supporting important communications between school and home. It sponsors a variety of events each year designed to show support of the school and to keep parents informed about how to help their children make the most of the BHS experience.
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