Harvard Academies at Woburn High

Woburn Memorial High School will be hosting the Academies from Harvard for the weekend of October 19th and 20th. There are two options for classes which are  taught by current Harvard Students. These classes do not require any prior knowledge or experience of the topics.
One of the courses is Business. This course runs through how to pitch your business ideas, perform market research, and generate investment. This course will run from 9 AM-1 PM on October 19th and 1 PM-5 PM on October 20th.
The second course is Coding. This course will give a solid foundation in computer science using Python. This course will run from 10 AM-5 PM Oct 19-20th.
Both of these courses cost $160 and unfortunately each student can only take one course due to the overlapping times. Financial Aid will be given out based on need, therefore any family that asks for aid will receive aid of some sort. All snacks and lunches will be provided as well as a t-shirt by the Harvard Student Agencies. There are two links attached below. These are to register for the program.
The Registration deadline is Oct. 5th.
 
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Sidney Miller at samiller1416@gmail.com
For Financial Aid, please send an email to academies@hsa.net.
Business Course:
Coding Course:

Grade 11 Register for PSAT by 10/7

This is a reminder that on Wednesday October 16th we will be administering the PSAT test to members of the junior class. We encourage everyone to sign up and take advantage of this opportunity. Below is the clink to the registration site where you can sign up for the exam. The cost of the exam is $21 and the regular registration deadline is Monday October 7th.
If you have any questions please contact Richard Thornton (rthornton@arlington.k12.ma.us).

Grade 10 Register for PreACT before 10/7

I just wanted to send out a reminder that on Wednesday October 16th we will be administering the Pre-ACT to members of the Sophomore class. We encourage everyone to sign up as this is a great opportunity to begin familiarising yourselves with taking a standardized test.
Below is the link you can click on to download the registration form. Please fill it out and return it along with a check for $17 (made payable to TOWN OF ARLINGTON) to Nancy Caccavaro in the Guidance Office. The regular registration deadline is Monday October 7th.
If you have any questions please contact Richard Thornton (rthornton@arlington.k12.ma.us).

Change in Our Communications

Each year, we adjust to new trends and technologies for communication. We want to target communications most effectively. For this reason, we will be making more use of our Message Sender in the Powerschool Parent Portal. Please sign up appropriately to receive what you are interested in:
  • Official business – Powerschool Message Sender
  • Announcements and events – AHS News
  • Announcement, events, and shout outs – Website and social media
  • Naviance – College and School Counseling information
This means that it is important to COMPLETE THE RETURNING STUDENT UPDATE on the Parent Portal. We still have about 250 families who have not updated this information. We will be sending follow up reminders to those folks who have NOT completed the update.
Thank you,
Dr. J

Coursera Online Courses at Arlington High SchoolPositive Psychology

Instructor: Martin Seligman, University of Pennsylvania
AHS Mediator: Will Darling wdarling@arlington.k12.ma.us
Google Classroom Code:
lszx152 (sign up if you’re interested!)

About this course: Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman—renowned worldwide as the “father of Positive Psychology”—has led visionary leaps in the scientific research, empirical data and personal understandings of human flourishing. This course explores the past, present and future of positive psychology as a journey through the key scientific leaps led by Dr. Seligman and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center and Master of Applied Positive Psychology program.
This is the first course of 5 in a positive psychology specialization. For details on this course look here
https://www.coursera.org/learn/positive-psychology-visionary-science
For Details on the entire specialization look here
https://www.coursera.org/specializations/positivepsychology

AT A GLANCE:
Please review the course syllabus to get an idea for the workload required for this course
This is a 4 week course, starting Tuesday 10/8/19, the first group meeting will be in Mr Snyder’s computer lab room 321
The final meeting will be on Tuesday 10/29/2019, but you may need to check in after this time with your final grade from Coursera
1 credit of college-level (AP equivalent) on your transcript
Students should come prepared to the weekly meetings with questions from the current week’s agenda
Grading:
80% final grade from Coursera
20% attendance and participation in AHS meeting sessions
Attendance policy
Failure due to attendance if you miss more than 1 session (there are only 4 sessions total)

Information about Mosquito-borne Illnesses

As the news continues to discuss mosquito-borne illness in Massachusetts, we have had questions about outdoor and evening activities for students. We are in contact with the Board of Health and monitoring the situation regarding any changes in activities. They have shared with us the following guidance. As we wait for a hard frost, we will monitor the situation and notify you of any changes.
Sincerely,
Dr. J

Summer Study Abroad Opportunity for AHS Students

Once again, Arlington High School has been awarded $25,000 in scholarship dollars for students in our school to study abroad next summer. These trips fall into one of the following categories:

  1. Language and Culture
  2. Service and Leadership
  3. Global Discovery

Any AHS students in gr. 9, 10, and 11 can complete an application to apply for 10-100% tuition scholarship awards, based on both merit and need.

Students who put strong effort into their applications, who select Language & Culture programs, and who qualify financially have a better chance of being accepted and receiving a scholarship. Students who are interested should apply and give the applications their best effort!  Students across socio-economic levels are encouraged to apply as awards are granted on a need-blind basis.

 

We have been fortunate to have several AHS students participate in these programs over the past couple of summers.  These students have returned to school excited about their experiences and were happy they chose to apply.

More information about the program as well as details about the scholarship can be found here:  https://www.ciee.org/go-abroad/high-school-study-abroad/summer

This video will also provide additional information.

 

The deadline to submit the completed application is December 6, 2019.

If you have any questions about the trips, scholarships or application process, please email Gail Harris at CIEE.       GHarris@ciee.org

The First Day – Prevention, Addiction, and Recovery

This is a Free Forum for Students and Parents in Grades 8 -12.

On Tuesday, October 1, Chris Herren will be presenting to the entire student body of AHS. To facilitate a shared family experience we will be screening Herren’s film: The First Day, followed by a community discussion about prevention, addiction and recovery.

Place:  AHS Lowe Auditorium

869 Mass Ave

Time:   7:00pm

Communities Talk.pdf

https://msg.schoolmessenger.com/m/?s=VYRhQ64GvM0&mal=fca3fa0de97dc0381b26da17d82a60f112f60bcaafd904d18a674250a7efa7b5

L’Shana Tovah 2019 (5780)

Our school calendar includes holidays and observances that are significant in our community.  As I have done in the past, I will try to send updates on these observances and information on accommodations.  This will be the first message for the school year. Last year, I ran out of steam in the spring. I apologize for missing some significant celebrations.

This week our calendar shows Rosh Hashanah on Monday, September 30, 2019. Rosh Hashanah is the New Year in the Jewish community (5780 in the Jewish calendar) and so AHS sends out L’Shanah Tovah, wishing you a good year.  The Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah runs for two days, from sundown on Sunday to sun down on Tuesday. While the school committee only grants a one-day holiday, there should be no tests or major assignments due on Tuesday.

NOTE:  We are not always familiar with all the holidays, with which religions are represented in our classrooms, or with the nature of different traditions.  I encourage you to send me notes to educate us on the appropriate and positive ways to recognize and support the diversity of our community. Also, please notify your teachers well in advance of any special considerations you feel you need, so that they can make appropriate plans.