ROCKLAND HIGH SCHOOL WEEKLY UPDATE

We had a terrific first week of school at RHS! There was a lot of positive energy, and I am very optimistic we will have a wonderful school year. The staff is excited to be working with our students again, and I can already feel the great sense of the bulldog community right from the start.

We appreciate the effort students have made to get to school on time this week. Please, let's work together to be present- every day and on time.

In this update, I will include information on the following:

• Parent Volunteer Needed for Site Council
• Picture Day September 8th
• The Week Ahead
• Dates to Remember
• Back to School Paperwork
• Back to School Night
• First Day of School Assembly
• Travel Club
• Athletic Updates

Wishing everyone a wonderful long, Labor day weekend!

I am looking for one additional parent volunteer to serve on the Rockland High School Site Council for the 2022-2023 school year. The RHS Site Council is a group of teachers, students, parents, and a community representative that meets monthly to discuss school improvement goals. The RHS Site Council is responsible for approving any changes to the Program of Studies and Student Handbook before the School Committee approval process. Lastly, the Site Council approves the School Improvement Plan. Meetings are held monthly (on Tuesdays) from 7:20 AM until 7:50 AM. It would be great to have a parent of a freshman or sophomore who could serve on the Council for a few years. If you are interested, please let me know as soon as possible!

Picture day is Thursday, September 8th. Please see the instructions below if you wish to order a picture! Pictures will be taken during a student's English class. If a student does not have English on Thursday, students can have their picture taken during their directed study or lunch.

September

9/5 No School Labor Day Weekend

9/6 No School Labor Day Weekend

9/8 School Picture Day

9/14 Back to School Night for Parents 6:30 PM

9/15 Early Release @11:20 AM for Staff PD

9/17 Saturday School 9:00 AM-12:00 PM

9/24 Community Service Walk

9/30 Senior Class Assembly for Naviance

October

10/1 SAT Testing @ RHS

10/4 Term 1 Progress Reports Available

10/6 Mr. RHS 7:00 PM

10/10 No School-Columbus Day

10/11 Spirit Week Begins

10/12 PSAT Testing for Gr. 10 & 11; late start for Gr. 9 & 12 students

10/12 Financial Aid Night 6:30 PM

10/14 Pep Rally

10/14 Homecoming Football Game

10/15 Saturday School 9:00 AM-12:00 PM

10/15 Homecoming Dance 7:00 PM

10/20 Early Release Staff Professional Development @11:20 AM

10/22 Project Pumpkin

10/26 College Essay Workshop 6:15-8:45 PM

10/29 Saturday School 9:00 AM-12:00 PM

On the first day of school, students received the following handouts in their period A class.

1. Parent Contact/Dismissal Card (Pink/Salmon Paper)
2. Student Cell Phone Contact Sheet (Blue Paper)
3. Technology Sign-Off, Media Release Form, and Student Handbook Contract Sheets (Yellow Paper)

Please return the first day of school paperwork no later than Wednesday, September 7th.

This year we are asking families to update any changes to your family’s personal contact information and emergency contact information by viewing their information in X2 Aspen and then making any changes using the electronic form below.

First, please review the information in X2.

1. Log in to your X2 Aspen Account. https://ma-rockland.myfollett.com/aspen/logon.do
2. Select the Family Top Tab.
3. Select the Details Side Tab.
4. Review all of the information.

If there are no changes, you do not need to do anything further. If you need to make changes to your personal contact information or emergency contact information, please fill out the form by clicking here. Please note we will still need families to complete and return the Parent Contact/Dismissal Cards, which contain important medical information.

Below is information regarding Rockland High School's Annual Back to School Night for Parents/Guardians which will be held on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 beginning at 6:30 pm. Back to School Night is an event for parents/guardians; it is a great opportunity for parents/guardians to hear from their child’s teachers on expectations for the upcoming school year. Teachers will speak for eight minutes about course expectations and how their class will be structured for this upcoming school year.

The schedule will be as follows:

6:30-6:45pm: Opening Remarks in Auditorium

6:50-6:58 pm: Period A

7:03-7:11 pm: Period B

7:16-7:24 pm: Period C

7:29-7:37 pm: Period D

7:42-7:50 pm: Period E

7:55-8:03 pm: Period F

8:08-8:16 pm: Period G

It is important you know your child’s schedule, including room locations for each course listed above. If you ask your child to email their schedule to you, our staff can certainly help you navigate throughout the building.

On Wednesday, August 31st, we had grade-level student assemblies. During the assemblies, Ms. Paulding, Mr. Damon, and I provided an overview of the expectations for the upcoming school year. In particular, we outlined student support services, student handbook expectations, attendance procedures, and school safety procedures. Here is the presentation.

Information for Seniors

We will be holding an assembly with Seniors on September 30th to discuss future planning and the college application process. We will change our College Application Boot Camp - details will be given to students at the assembly. We will hold an evening College Essay review session for seniors on Wednesday, October 26th, with College Admissions representatives (more details will be shared with students in September).

For parents & guardians - we will also host a Financial Aid Night on October 12th (even if you have attended a session in the past, changes in financial aid make it worth your while to attend) and will also host a FAFSA help night for parents on Wednesday, November 2nd. Details on these events will be shared in September.

Guidance counselors will post information in their Guidance Google classrooms throughout the year, so encourage your student to check it frequently. We hope the following information and resources will be helpful for students and families:

Important Dates for the Class of 2023

RHS Senior General Information

Financial aid timeline

For Students Planning to Apply to a Four-Year College

Senior college planning calendar

Who Does What in the College Application Process

For Students considering Trade/Technical/Vocational School, Military, Employment

Alternatives to College

Should you have any questions, please contact your student's counselor. We wish you and your student a great senior year!

The Rockland High School Guidance Department

Mrs. Black: A - B (mblack@rocklandschools.org)

Mr. Devine: C - G (cdevine@rocklandschools.org)

Ms. Morrison: H - N (cmorrison@rocklandschools.org)

Mrs. Delaney: O – Z (jdelaney@rocklandschools.org)

There will be a virtual meeting for information about the Travel Club tours to Italy in 2023; Australia and New Zealand in 2024; and Ireland, England, and France in 2025 for all interested students and parents. To RSVP and get the meeting link, or if you can't make the meeting but want more information, click here: https://bit.ly/3KDKPs9

Please email Ms. Walsh with questions at kwalsh@rocklandschools.org.

Be sure to check out an athletic contest next week. Below is the schedule!

Be sure to check out Rocco's Rewind, Wednesday at 3 PM on 88.3 FM. Rocco Correia is a student at RHS who has a weekly radio station. Any student interested in having their own radio show should contact Ms. Breeden, the WRPS General Manager, by emailing her at info@wrpsrockland.com.

School Website

Aspen Student & Family Portal

Arbiter Live- Athletic Schedules

John M. Harrison

Principal

Email: jharrison@rocklandschools.org
Website: https://www.rocklandschools.org/o/rockland-high
Location: 52 Mackinlay Way, Rockland, MA, USA
Phone: 781-871-0541
Twitter: @RocklandHS