Hurricane Highlights

Vol. 6, No. 2 A PUBLICATION OF AMHERST REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL November 2007

Principal Mark Jackson

From the Principal

  1. At Open House, I briefly mentioned our Parent Center’s Safe Homes initiative. The heart of the initiative involves parents/guardians making these three commitments

    • I will actively supervise any parties in my home.
    • I will not serve nor will I allow minors to consume alcohol and/or other drugs in my home or on my property.
    • I will welcome communication with other parents in an effort to create a safer community for our children.

    Here is the text of the email we will send out to all families shortly. It is a last call for those interesting in participating. I encourage all families to participate:

    Many parents and guardians have already returned their signed agreements and we thank you!

    If you would like to participate, please return the SAFE HOMES AGREEMENT FORM to the high school office or mail to: PACT,Partnership for Amherst Children-Teens, PO Box 3053, Amherst,MA 01004-3053.

    The Safe Homes Information packet and agreement form can be found on the ARHS Parent Center Website:

    www.arhsparentcenter.org/Safe-Homes-Program (go to the attachment at the bottom of the page)

    October 30th is the deadline for joining the Safe Homes Program and to be included in the Safe Homes directory.

  2. I have included a summary of our MCAS results from the June 2007 test administration. The short version is that ARHS is doing fine. In both Math and English/Language Arts, we have exceeded the state’s standards. If you are interested, here is the link to the state’s web site where you can find answers to all manner of MCAS-related questions: http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/about1.html

  3. A reminder: On pp 3 - 7 in The Student & Family Handbook, you will find the school’s attendance and tardiness policies outlined. After reading this, if you still have questions, please email me. Shortly, we also post an FAQ about attendance and tardy policies on the school’s web site.

  4. Of late, schools across the state have been concerned about outbreaks of staph infections. Attention has focused on the MRSA bacteria which is resistant to some kinds of antibiotics. Enclosed is a letter from the Superintendent that outlines the precautions the school

  5. I want to bring you up to date on a situation that I assume will make it to the local newspapers at some point soon. So, I’d rather that you get the story directly from me.

    Here’s the gist: recently, a student came forward to report that a 9th grade white male student was playing with a rope in his class. Near the end of the period, the student was making several knots with the rope and one knot he made was a noose.

    Some other students saw this from the hall and brought it to a teacher’s attention. The teacher advised the student to notify the Dean of Students and she did so. The dean notified the administrators and began her investigation. She spoke with the students who reported the incident, the teacher, other students, as well as the student with the rope. She also spoke with the parents of the student with the rope and eventually met with them in person. I notified the superintendent who, in turn, reviewed the situation with the chief of police. In his judgment, given what we represented to him, the chief found no basis for further action.

    As of today, here is where we are:

    • As a result of the investigation, we have concluded there was no racist intent. There was no showing off of the rope, no putting it out for display, no taunting or harassing of anyone with it. As far as we could determine, he was just tying knots. This is consistent with his profile as a student with an interest in the outdoors.
    • At the same time, we have made clear to the student and his parents that he needs to be more aware of the implications of his actions and their impact on others. As a result, we had the student read an opinion piece on the recent spate of noose displays across the country, entitled ’You call it a prank. I call it terror’, by Leonard Pitts that originally appeared in the Miami Herald on Sunday, October 14, 2007. The intent here was to create an awareness that seemed to be lacking in this student of both current events and a wider historical context. His parents confirmed that he read it and they discussed it with him. I hope what is clear that here is that we tried to strike the right balance between taking seriously what was reported without leaping to conclusions that would prove to be unfounded.

  6. Lastly, some very good news. Two ARHS students - Olivia Crough and Rosemary Callahan Gray recently received a National Council of Teachers of English achievement awards for writing. Their writing was selected from a pool of almost 2000 submissions nationwide. As well, the school’s student newspaper, The Graphic, recently won a Gold Medal at the Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s annual critique. Judges reviewed all issues from last year and rated every aspect of publication from writing to editing, advertising to distribution. The Graphic earned 978 points out of a possible 1000! Congratulations to Olivia, Rosemary and the entire Graphic staff.

Messages/Deliveries to Students

The Administration has asked office staff members to respect the classroom environ-ment by avoiding interruptions and helping students focus their work time on tasks involved in school. Office secretaries may deliver messages to students during the day only if the message is related to a medical situation or family emergency. Items brought to school by parents can be held in the Main Office for students, and the students will be called before the lunch periods start (at 9:58 am) and at the beginning of the last class of the day (usually 1:20 pm). If your child has forgotten lunch, money, or an assignment, they may check for it when they can. Thank you for your cooperation.

Community Thanksgiving Celebration

All are welcome to join the International Students Club of Amherst Regional High School in enjoying a Community Thanksgiving Celebration. The International Students Club encourages you to bring a dish from your own family’s holiday traditions to share. Past years have seen everything from sushi and Ethiopian food to apple pie. After dinner, there will be entertainment provided by several school-sponsored groups.

This event began as a way of sharing the American traditions of this holiday with newcomers, and in return, enjoying the traditions that they have brought with them.

Families, friends, children and neighbors are all invited to the event, which is free.

This year’s celebration will take place on Friday, November 16, from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm in the Amherst Regional High School Cafeteria.

For more information, please contact Lila Feingold, ISC Club Advisor, at 413/665-2111 (home) or feingoll@arps.org.

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