Greetings Members of the Dartmouth High School Community:

We hope that each of you has had time to rest, relax and rejuvenate this summer. At Dartmouth High School it has been another summer of activity in preparation for the coming school year. It is an exciting time to be a member of the Dartmouth High School community.

During this summer, our custodial crew did an amazing job deep cleaning the building despite a very hot, humid summer. As a result, the hallways and classes are in fabulous shape and ready to welcome our students and staff on August 29th.

Our Maintenance Department has also been busy at work this summer transforming the room formerly known as B-2 into a state of the art Innovation Lab. Additionally, our Library Media Center has had a redesign to make the space more open and flexible to reflect a 21st Century learning commons.

While all of the above work was taking place, we also have had a summer of upgrade to our Wi-Fi and digital infrastructure in support of our coming 1:1 Initiative! This October, all Dartmouth High School students will be issued a Chromebook for their use throughout their time at Dartmouth High School. The chromebook will be integrated into classroom instruction to provide students opportunities to target the four C's of 21st Century skills--communication, collaboration, creative and critical thinking.

Finally, many faculty and staff have visited throughout the summer preparing their rooms, and attending to curriculum work in preparation for our transition to a 7 period schedule. The new bell schedule is included below and while it will be a major adjustment for our faculty and our students, we are all in it together. We will solicit feedback from faculty and students that will be used in considering any tweaks or adjustments for subsequent years.

In closing, we look forward to welcoming all students back to Dartmouth High School for the 2018-2019 school year on Wednesday, August 29, 2018. Remember, the opening days of school typically lead to increased traffic congestion, so please plan accordingly as school begins promptly at 7:30 a.m. We can't wait to see you.

Sincerely,

Ross A. Thibault

Principal

Morning drop-off is a particularly busy time of day at Dartmouth High School. As a reminder, school begins promptly at 7:30 a.m. and as a result, all students are encouraged to arrive to Dartmouth High School by 7:15 a.m. in order to ensure they arrive to their period 1 class on time.

Parents who are dropping students off are asked to be courteous and to pull as far forward in the parent drop-off lane as possible and allow students to use the sidewalk to walk to the crosswalk. When parents stop directly in the middle of the drop-off lane it causes congestion and creates a potential safety risk for our students.

Students who drive to school are reminded that a parking permit is required and that parking on the premises is a privilege and therefore it is expected that they adhere to the guidelines outlined in the student handbook and posted on our website. For more details on how to acquire a student parking permit please visit our school's website at https://www.dartmouth.school/Domain/8.

Student schedules have been published in ASPEN for review. If there is are any scheduling issues that need attention please contact your child's Guidance Counselor. As a reminder, counselors will return to work for the 2018-2019 school year on Monday August 20, 2018. We ask that you please call or email guidance to address any scheduling needs.

Not only is the world around us changing, but the pace of change is accelerating as well. With the explosion of technology, social media, new apps being pushed out daily and the ever expanding amount of knowledge and content being created in our world demands that education change with it. As a result of these fast and vast changes, the skills that our students will need in order to be productive citizens who are college and career ready must also be different than those we've sought to develop in the past.

Based upon current research it is clear that students must develop 21st Century skills if they are to be productive and contributing members of the 21st Century. When thinking about 21st Century skills it is helpful to remember the "Four C's".

• Communication: Increasingly, students regardless of their career field are required to communicate effectively across a variety of media and for a variety of purposes. As a result, it is essential that our coursework provide students with ample opportunity to learn with and from one another and to use various forms of media to communicate with their classmates and teachers.
  
• Collaboration: One of the biggest differences between the 21st and 20th century work places is the need and frequency with which collaboration is required; regardless of the chosen career field. Authentic projects requiring students to work effectively with one another to accomplish a common goal provides students with an opportunity to develop a critical skill of the 21st century.
  
• Creative Thinking: Gone are the days of "we've always done it that way." Today, in order to thrive, businesses must consistently innovate and create new and better products to meet the demands of their customers. As a result, providing students with authentic learning experiences that allow them the opportunity to develop their creative thinking skills are essential to preparing them to be successful in the rapidly changing world in which they'll soon graduate into.
  
• Critical Thinking: In an era when a record amount of new information is created every single day, there has never been a time when the skill of critical thinking has been more important. In order to successfully navigate a world in which videos from youtube are more readily available than textbooks students must be provided opportunities to hone their skills as critical consumers of information in order to evaluate and determine the validity of various sources of information.

At Dartmouth High School this year, we will launch a 1:1 initiative with the big picture goal being that we begin to shift our instruction and classroom experiences to support our students in developing the skills that they need to be productive citizens who are college and career ready upon graduation from Dartmouth High School!

Email: rossthibault@dartmouthschool.org
Website: www.dartmouth.school
Location: 555 Bakerville Road, Dartmouth, MA
Phone: 508-961-2700
Facebook: facebook.com/DartmouthHS
Twitter: @DartmouthHS