September 14 update

Dear Families,

Please see below for the announcements for this week’s family newsletter!

1. Application for SY23_24 and SY24_25 now open

2. Whole School Semester Final Exams and iReady Assessments

3. Family Committee Meeting

4. Student Bingo Night: POSTPONED

5. Field Trips and Permission Slips (8th, 9th and 11th grade)

6. Athletics Corner

7. Nurses Corner

8. Middle School Corner

9. High School Corner

10. CCO (College Counseling Office) Corner

Sincerely,

Madelyn Ruizdeporras
Family Operations Manager

SFEs: (Semester Final Exams): As unbelievable as it is, we are less than 6 weeks from the end of the first semester. We are currently preparing for Semester Final Exams, slated for the last week on January 22nd.

Students in grades 6-8 will take assessments in ELA, Math, Science, History, and ELD.

Students in grades 9 -12 will take assessments in all core content areas. We will have modified schedules on those days and students will have breaks during the day. More information will be shared in early January.

iReady: The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions based on student responses. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade but to determine how to best support their learning.

i-Ready Instruction provides students with lessons based on their individual strengths and areas for growth. These lessons are interactive and provide strategic support to keep your child engaged as they learn.

Students will take assessments in both Math and ELA. The second Diagnostic is an important benchmark for understanding your student’s growth, which is why it’s so important they try their best. These results allow us to better support them in achieving their goals for the year. The most important thing we can do is prepare students and motivate them to put forth their best effort.

Students in grades 6-12 will take the iReady mid-year diagnostic on the following dates:

• Monday, December 11, 2023

• Monday, December 18, 2023

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to Ms. Riley via email vriley@bostonprep.org

You are invited to join us as we continue to plan for our Student Bingo Night led by our Family Committee. We will meet TONIGHT, Wednesday, November 29th at 5:30pm in-person or via zoom. Our Student Bingo Night has been postponed until after Winter Break. However, this gives us a chance to plan some more and make sure it is a successful event. We also have important details about our Whole School Family Town Halls. Hope you can join us!

• Light dinner will be served

• In person: 885 River Street, Hyde Park MA (Fordham Room)

• Zoom Link here: https://bostonprep-org.zoom.us/j/97268451970

• 11th grade: will be taking a field trip to University of Massachusetts, Lowell on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. As part of our school’s mission, the purpose of this field trip is to prepare and provide students the opportunity to learn about different colleges and what they have to offer. Permission slips must be returned by Friday, December 1, 2023, or your child will not be allowed to attend the field trip.

• 9th grade: will be going on one of three trips: Amherst College, College of The Holy Cross, or Worcester State University on Thursday, December 7, 2023. As part of our school’s mission, the purpose of this field trip is to prepare and provide students the opportunity to learn about different colleges and what they have to offer. Permission slips must be returned by Tuesday, December 5, 2023, or your child will not be allowed to attend the field trip.

• 8th grade: will be taking a field trip to the JA Inspire career event located at Hynes Convention Center on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The JA Inspire event is a hands-on career exploration fair where students can learn about different careers through activities and booth presentations. Permission slips must be returned by Tuesday, December 5, 2023. If the permission slip is not received by Tuesday, December 5, 2023, your child will not be allowed to attend the field trip.

Winter Sports Information

The fall season of athletics is officially over and the winter season of athletics is right around the corner!

Winter Season Sports:

High School Boys Varsity Basketball

High School Boys JV Basketball

High School Girls Varsity Basketball

High School Cheer

High School Step

Middle School Boys Basketball

Middle School Girls Basketball

Boston Prep:Basketball Try-outs start THIS week at Boston Prep gym!

(this information was sent via text to all families)

• Monday, 11/27 - HS Girls (4:30p- 5:55p); HS Boys (6:00p-7:30p)

• Tuesday, 11/28 - HS Girls (4:30p- 5:55p); HS Boys (6:00p-7:30p)

• Wednesday, 11/29 - MS Girls (3:30p- 4:30p); MS Boys (4:00p- 5:00p)

• Thursday, 11/30 - MS Girls (3:30p-4:30p); MS Boys(3:30p-4:30p)

If any students are interested in participating in athletics for this winter season, families must create a family ID account on arbiter sports. Families that have students that participated in fall athletics MUST log on to their family ID account and re-submit an application for any winter sports students are interested in playing.

Families should register on family ID for Winter Sports. Register here:: https://students.arbitersports.com/boston-prep-athletics/sy-2023-2024-winter-athletics-registration

Questions regarding winter sports or any athletics? Reach out to Mr. Henry at: athletics@bostonprep.org

BMI Screenings

This week and through the winter, we will conduct the following screenings for students at Boston Prep:

• Body Mass Index (7th and 10th grades)

• Vision (6th and 9th grades)

• Hearing (6th and 9th grades)

• Posture (6th – 9th grades)

• SBIRT- Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment (7th and 9th grades)

The purpose of these screenings is to identify possible visual, hearing, weight, or posture issues as early as possible so that the need for intervention can be determined. SBIRT is a confidential screening tool to identify and discuss the risks of substance abuse. The school nurses will be conducting the screenings.

If further consultation is recommended, parents will be notified of the findings and will be asked to seek further evaluation from their primary care physician.

If you do not wish for your child to be screened in a specific screening or all of the screenings, please send a written note addressed to the school nurse, with your request for your student to not participate. Your child will also have the option to opt out by signing a form in the nurse’s office if they do not wish to be screened.

Covid Test Kits

As of November 19th, our last batch of state provided Covid testing kits have expired. Moving forward, we will no longer provide testing for students who are experiencing Covid-like symptoms. Below are some resources on where to get testing kits for your household to test students at home:

Click here for the website to order FREE tests to be sent to your home. There is a limit per household, so once you get the maximum amount, you will not be able to order more.

Click here for the website that lists where you can pick up FREE COVID tests in different Boston neighborhoods.

If you have any questions concerning these screenings, covid or testing kits, please feel free to contact the nurses at nurses@bostonprep.org.

• Staffing Updates

Welcome NDRE Thomas, Austin Marks, Myriam Piquant and Nadia Flores to the Boston Prep team! Ms. Thomas, Ms. Piquant and Ms. Flores will be joining our Middle School Operations Team on 11.27 as building subs and Mr. Marks will be joining the team as our Music teacher on 11.28.

Both Ms. Riley and Ms. Rodriguez have transitioned from Boston Prep. The relationships that they have had with students was incredible. They both will truly be missed in our community!

• Achieve Program for Grade 6

Achieve is a multi-year academic enrichment program that works with students for three years beginning in the summer after 6th grade. Achieve is looking for 6th graders and their families who are excited about making the multi-year commitment and having fun alongside learning in the summer.

Achieve offers academic support, fun workshops, field trips, tutoring, high school application prep and much more!

Learn more about Achieve at their information session on December 13, 2023 at 5:30 PM. Families can register at this link: https://forms.gle/bUi2xkSTuMGPHLth7. Attending an information session is a required component of the application process.

For more information, contact Achieve at achieve@nobles.edu

Our heating system has been revamped and all students should be in full uniform. Students who are not in uniform will be given a Uniform Contract.

Uniform Reminders:

• Any BP Top and BP Crew Neck ( NO HOODIES! )

• Pants should be any BP Pants or Sweatpants or Solid Black, Khaki, Navy Blue, or Gray pants. No Jeans

• Shoes should be close toed. NO Slides

Cell Phone FREE school Reminders:

• We are a phone free school and students should only use their BP issued Chromebook. No other Electronics/Laptops are allowed )

Headphones are NOT allowed in school:

• (Air pods, Beats, etc. ), we have had many incidents where students have misplaced their headphones and have not been able to find them.

• It is not the responsibility of the school if students lose their personal items.

We appreciate your understanding and following through with our portrait of a graduate.

Thank you for your partnership,

High School Culture Team