The Principal's Flyer - Framingham Public Schools

“You will never be the person you can be if pressure, discipline and tension aretaken out of your life...”Dr. James G. BilkeyThe Principal’s FlyerVolume 8 Week of April 1-5, 2013 Number 28Hi All;Welcome to April!It was nice to finally see the sun this weekend, and to be able to get outside and enjoy the slightly warmertemperatures. There were people out everywhere releasing the pent up frustration of many months indoors, andI went on an enjoyable bike ride with my kids after wiping the cobwebs off of them in the garage. There werestill piles of snow on the sidewalks, but my sense is that their days are numbered and we will soon beexperiencing the stronger angle of the sun and reaping the benefits.We are now in our last week of classes for term 3, and this has certainly felt much shorter than a normal lengthterm. Grades for term 3 will be due by 2:00 PM next Wednesday, April 10th, and report cards will bedistributed in homerooms on Friday, April 12 th . Remember that due to our six snow days, our last day ofschool is scheduled to be Wednesday, June 26 th . Although this makes term 3 shorter we are pinned down bythe need to have enough days in term 4 to adequately assess our seniors, so there really was not a possibility ofextending the end of term 3.I have heard from various grades and departments that they are fielding calls from some families whosestudents have commitments of various forms beginning on Monday, June 24 th . We had considerableconversations about this at our department heads meeting last week, and we do not want to imply that the lastfew days of school are optional for students. At this point we have our E & F period exams scheduled onMonday, June 24 th and our G-period exam scheduled for Tuesday, June 25 th . We are currently working on acoordinated response to parents if students are not able to attend on those days. Normally, missing an examwould necessitate completing the exam at some later date over the summer and correcting the grade once theteacher is able to grade the exam and re-input the grade. This can often be a bit of a challenge, and if thenumbers are such that we have lots of kids absent on those days during the last week we will have a mess on ourhands. Regardless, please do not make individualized arrangements for final exams outside the mandatorytimes they are scheduled. Please consult with the student’s vice-principal to make sure everyone is on the samepage if you get such a request. Again, we will be providing a coordinated message for all once better data isassembled.Congratulations to FHS Seniors Aaron Dunbrack and Chris Gheorghiu who qualified to take the AmericanInvitational Mathematics Exam based on their scores on two previous exams. This is quite an achievement!The exam is taking place from 7:30-11:00 on Wednesday, April 3 rd . These two students will be missing theirusual classes to get the opportunity to take an even more challenging exam. Good luck to both of them as theyattempt to reach the elite national caliber in mathematics!

Tonight’s PTO meeting will feature FHS Math Teacher Dale Connearney and FHS Science Teacher RobertLangdon discussing how to best prepare any child for high school. The 8 th grade parents are being invited toattend so that there can be an opportunity to hear about these preparations before the arrival of the Class of2017. It should be a very enlightening conversation.Another two nights of helpful parent talks are occurring on Tuesday, April 9 th and Wednesday, April 10 th .The first night is a Junior Parents College Preparation Night and is designed to provide parents of currentjuniors with advanced information about the college admissions process. The Wednesday night program isentitled “After The Acceptance” and is designed for senior parents and discusses the complicated tasksconfronting students that have already been accepted to colleges and are currently making decisions aboutwhere to attend. This chat will review financial aid packages, student loans, and payment plans. Both talks willbegin at 7:00 PM in the FHS auditorium, and are open to all parents from all grades.Are you a business owner or manager in the MetroWest area? If so then the Framingham Youth DevelopmentCommittee (FYDC) would like to help your business! The FYDC is hosting a Youth Employment andCareer Pathways Summit for young adults 16-24 years on Wednesday, April 10th at 6:00PM at KeefeTechnical High School in Framingham. They are inviting any businesses interested in hiring workers forspring or summer employment, as well as permanent positions. If you would like to participate in the YouthEmployment and Career Pathways Summit, please call Kelley French at Partnerships for a Skilled Workforce,Inc. at 508-281-6910 x7. Reserve a booth today at no cost to your institution. This is a great communityevent helping young adults learn how to how to approach employers and access jobs. Come talk with youngadults who will be dressed to impress and eager to speak to you.Remember to scroll down for the next 2 weeks calendar!

Statistic Of The WeekFHS Attrition RateStudent Group Gr. 9 Gr. 10 Gr. 11 AllAll Students 5.7 3.2 3.5 4.2Female 4.6 4.2 3.7 4.2Male 6.9 2 3.4 4.2High needs 9 4.7 6.1 6.6ELL 9.1 10 3.6 7.6Low income 9.9 5.4 8 7.7Students w/disabilities 11 2.2 2.5 6Afr. Amer./Black 13 4.5 14 10Asian 3.1 0 3 2Hispanic/Latino 6.5 6.4 5.3 6.1White 5 2.5 23.2Data from DESE website. Click here to see it:http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/attrition/default.aspx?orgcode=01000515&fycode=2012&orgtypecode=6&

Calendar Of EventsListed are all school-wide calendar and home athletic events.Remember to Check the FHS Web Site at: www.framingham.k12.ma.us/fhs/For all athletic events click here: http://schedules.schedulestar.com/Framingham-High-School-Framingham-MA#Framingham-High-School-Framingham-MAThis Week:Monday, 4/1/13 DAY 4 - ACDEFPTO Meeting @7:00 PM in H-100.All 8 th Grade Parents invitedRobert Langdon & Dale Connearney guest speakersTuesday, 4/2/13 DAY 5 - BDCGFVarsity & JV Baseball vs. Weymouth @3:45 PMWednesday, 4/3/13 DAY 6 - DABEGAdministrative Council Meeting @King @2:00 PMThursday, 4/4/13 DAY 7 - CBGFEVarsity & JV Softball vs. Natick @3:45 PMBoys Frosh Lacrosse vs. Weymouth @4:00 PMSchool Council Meeting @7 PM in LibraryMr. FHS @7:00 PM in auditoriumFriday, 4/5/13 DAY 1 - ABCDEGrades Close for Term 3MIAA Annual Meeting for AD’s & PrincipalsGirls Varsity Lacrosse vs. Weymouth @3:45 PMSaturday, 4/6/13Next Week:Monday, 4/8/13 DAY 2 - CADGFVarsity Softball vs. Natick @3:45 PMJV Softball vs. Needham @3:45 PMGirls Frosh Lacrosse vs. Walpole @4:00 PMTuesday, 4/9/13 DAY 3 - BAEFGBoys Varsity & JV Lacrosse vs. Natick @3:45 PMJunior Parents College Planning Night @7PM inAuditoriumWednesday, 4/10/13 DAY 4 - ACDEFVarsity & JV Baseball vs. Dedham @3:45 PMBoys Frosh Lacrosse vs. Needham @4:00 PM“After The Acceptance” Senior Parents CollegePreparation Night @7:00 PM in AuditoriumThursday, 4/11/13 DAY 5 - BDCGFBoys Frosh Baseball vs. Dedham @3:45 PMGirls Frosh Softball vs. Dedham @3:45 PMGirls Varsity Lacrosse vs. Needham @3:45 PMGirls Varsity & JV Softball vs. Medford @3:45 PMGirls JV Lacrosse vs. Needham @5:30 PMFriday, 4/12/13 DAY 6 - DABEGTerm 3 Report Cards issued in homeroomReport Cards posted to Parent PortalSchool Improvement Plan review @11:00 AMApril Vacation starts at 2:00 PMSaturday, 4/13/13Boys Varsity & JV Lacrosse vs. A-B @3:00 PM