Suffield High School

It seems as though the first month of school has gone by in the blink of an eye. Temperatures keep fluctuating, but the cool nights are a sure indication that summer has officially given way to fall. The new school year has brought many new faces to Suffield High School – and I’m not just talking about the leadership team. Mr. Canny, Mrs. Olearczyk, and I continue to attempt to be as present as possible within the building during the day and at the variety of afternoon and evening events. While unable to attend everything, we are truly committed to showing the students that we are here to support them as they continue along their individual college and career pathways. At home, I suggest continual reminders to maintain the importance of established routines regarding homework completion which will allow for even greater student success. The Class of 2018 has quickly transitioned into the building and all students are actively benefiting from their new 1:1 Digital Learning Environment seen through either the school provided Chromebooks or personal devices.

Professional Development for teachers prior to the school year was centered on building relationships with students. It has been said that if you don’t have a student’s heart, then you don’t have their head. As a school we are fully committed to better understanding each student and forging that relationship to allow each student to meet with personal success. Success looks different for each student and what one student requires may look different than another. The concept of “fair” is that each student is given what they individually need to grow. Please do not hesitate to contact your student’s teacher should you have any questions or concerns regarding your student’s progress.

The number one question I receive from parents in the community is: “How can I make a difference or help out?” Two groups in particular are looking for assistance: The Safe Party group which organizes the post-graduation cruise for the senior class is one, and the Suffield Booster Club which helps to support our sports teams are both looking for volunteers. I welcome all parents to attend the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) meetings which will be held periodically throughout the year. Our first meeting is being held October 14th at 6:30pm in the Commons. This group hears information presented by administration, but also provides administration with information from a parent and student perspective. Through that constant dialogue and communication we can take Suffield High School to even greater heights.

BUS SAFETY CHANGES:

Some minor changes have been enacted to allow for increased safety regarding busses. Students wishing to take a bus home other than their designated bus must bring a signed note from a parent to school. This is a common practice at the younger grades and is just as important at the high school level so an accurate accounting of students on the bus exists “should” an incident occur. A note will also be required for students wishing to take a bus and depart at the middle school. Bus 17 is the only bus that will allow students to depart at the middle school and is the last bus in the line closest to the school at bus pick-up time.

SCHOOL SECURITY CHANGES:

Seniors with privileges either first or last period are required to sign in and out of the building. This new procedure will allow the school to have a more accurate tally of students currently present in the building should an evacuation be required due to fire or a crisis response. We have also stopped the practice of students going to their cars during the day. Please remind students that they must bring all items into the school at the beginning of the day as additional trips to their car should not be necessary. As everyone forgets from time to time, please have students come to the office prior to exiting the building.

What a busy first month! I thank you for all of the warm welcomes given to the new leadership team and helping us to create and support a strong school community. We look forward to a productive enjoyable school year with continued partnerships.

Respectfully,

Steven Moccio

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October Guidance Newsletter

The Suffield High School October Guidance Newsletter has important information including:

SHS College Fair 2014
Free College Credit!
2014 PSAT/NMSQT
Getting Past Test Anxiety
Financial Aid Night Reminder
How Many Colleges Should I Apply To?
What’s The Biggest Mistake Applicants Can Make On Their College Applications?
Parents and the College Application Process
3 Tips for Parents: How To Help Your Teen Develop Healthy Study Habits
Tips For Parents: How To Help Teens De-Stress
5 Things You Might Not Know About Your School Counselor
Calendar of Upcoming Events – October, 2014

October 2014 SHS Guidance Newsletter - PDF

Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) Meeting - October 14th

All interested parents are invited to attend the first meeting of the year for the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC). The meeting is an opportunity for parents to attend information sessions about the high school and also allows the administration an opportunity to better understand parental views and concerns. Meetings are held 5-6 times throughout the year and the first meeting is scheduled for October 14 at 6:30 pm in the Commons. We hope to see you there!

Fall Drama Production - Romeo & Juliet - November 6th, 7th, and 8th

Dates: November 6th, 7th, and 8th
Time: 7:00pm
Where: Suffield High School Performing Arts Center
General Admission Tickets are available at the door: Adults $7, Students $5

This fall you can re-imagine Shakespeare's classic love story set in post-Civil War Georgia as adapted by Suffield High School's Drama Club. The Drama Club has more than 50 students including cast and crew and welcomes all ages to attend. We hope to see you there.

Athletics/Activities and School Spirit…

Well…the fall sports season is in full affect…as noted by several of our coaches our school spirit is also in full affect…To date we have had support for all of our teams and in particular we had a great showing of spirit during our Field Hockey and Girls/Boys Soccer triple-header home opener versus Ellington and Enfield. We are proud of our students for their spirit and support and we continue to promote positive and respectful school spirit in addition to outstanding sportsmanship.

Unified Sports Basketball Team

We will be starting a Unified Basketball team at Suffield High School this year. There will be a brief informational meeting on Thursday October 30th at 2:15 in the Commons. This meeting is for anyone interested in becoming an athlete or a partner on the team. This will be a great opportunity to create some friendships on and off the basketball court. The season will begin on Wednesday December 3rd and practices will run from 2:15-3:00 p.m. The team will practice every Wednesday throughout the season. Please see Mr. Bosworth or Ms. Whiteley if you have any questions.

Rotary Student of the Month

Suffield High School proudly announces that Taylor Schwab has been chosen as the September Rotary Student of the Month. Her selection was based on nominations from teachers who believe that she possesses the qualities valued by the Rotary Club including leadership, civic involvement, responsibility and commitment to class and community. Taylor distinguishes herself by serving as President of her class, volunteering at Hartford Hospital, and being involved in numerous community service activities each year. Giving back is Taylor’s “thing”. She feels that life is too short to not get involved. Evidence of that includes her serving of others through Interact, A Team, Best Buddies, Giraffe Club, Wildcat Advisory, Class Council, BOE student representative, swim team captain, and the State of CT Student Advisory Council. Taylor is a passionate and fun leader who inspires her peers by being a positive and enthusiastic member of the class of 2015. Taylor’s genuine, caring nature is a perfect fit as she plans on pursuing a career as a Nurse Practitioner.

Suffield High School Marching Band in Big E Parade

The Suffield High School Band played at the annual parade at the Big E in West Springfield on Sept 24, 2014. The Band, directed by Joe Migliore, is 65 strong and this years Drum Major is Caelie Flanagan. The parade attracts thousands of spectators, and is the highlight of each day at the Big E.

Suffield Regional FFA

The Suffield Regional FFA chapter placed third in the New England FFA landscape competition. The display was on showcase for the 17 days of the fair in the Farm-A-Rama building at the Big E. Students developed a plan, secured materials and constructed the "birds and bees" themed landscape in a 7 day period. On September 13th, Emily LaFlamme represented the State of Connecticut at the Eastern States Star Agribusiness Ceremony. This event was sponsored by Farm Credit and recognizes each state's winning student that developed an agriculture entrepreneurship project for their Supervised Agriculture Experience and has strong FFA leadership development. Also on September 13th, the Suffield Regional Nursery Landscape Team competed and placed third in the Eastern States Competition. Students are required to identify plants, insects, disease, answer landscape estimation problems, and perform skills competition related to the field of nursery landscape. Conor Smith received a score of 7th highest individual for the eastern region. The team is currently preparing to and will be traveling to compete at Nationals on October 29th.

Suffield Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SPEDPAC)

The Suffield Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SPEDPAC) is an organization that provides opportunities for parents, school administrators, and support staff to exchange information and ideas, ask questions relative to student programming, and solicit valuable input that promotes our continuous school improvement efforts. We encourage all parents and guardians whose children receive special services to attend and participate in these collaborative meetings. The purpose of these meetings, held monthly at rotating schools, serves to strengthen the partnership that exists between home and school. Possible discussion topics include our literacy and numeracy efforts and social and emotional supports utilized in our schools and how specific strategies may support the home environment. Additional information may be obtained in the main office of each school or via the district website at www.suffield.org, clicking Central Services and then Special Services. You may also reach out to the SPEDPAC chairpersons, Kendra Wiesel at kendrabwiesel@gmail.com or Tammi Nealon at tnealon@cox.net or the respective building principal. In addition, you may also discuss with your child’s case manager if you have additional questions. We look forward to partnering with you to provide and grow our quality programming for all students.

2014-2015 Sped PAC Meeting Dates

Day	Date	Time	Location
Tuesday	10/7/2014	9:00 a.m.	MIS
Wednesday	11/12/2014	6:30 p.m.	SMS
Tuesday	12/9/2014	9:00 a.m.	SHS
Tuesday	1/13/2015	9:00 a.m.	AWS
Tuesday	2/10/2015	9:00 a.m.	MIS
Tuesday	3/3/2015	9:00 a.m.	SMS
Wednesday	4/8/2015	6:30 p.m.	SHS
Tuesday	5/5/2015	9:00 a.m.	AWS
Tuesday	6/2/2015	9:00 a.m.	MIS

An Important Health Notice From Our Assistant Superintendent

This communication will serve to inform parents of the practices in place to reduce the incidents of head lice that occur in our schools. Head lice are often a fact of life for school-aged children. While inconvenient, head lice cause no medical harm and can be effectively treated.

Our policy (#5141.221) was adopted by the Suffield Board of Education in 2012. It aligns with a clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatric Medicine that recommended the elimination of universal large scale screenings of students and notifying parent of each and every case where lice or nits (the eggs of lice) were detected. Instead, the practice of having teachers monitoring all students for symptom related to lice infestation such as scratching of the scalp. Where symptoms are detected the student is screened individually by the nurse and the nurse works with the parent directly to insure that appropriate treatment is accomplished.

Our regulations were enhanced last spring to insure that the district communicate with parents quarterly by providing information on how to monitor signs and symptoms. Another change is to allow the school nurse and principal to work with the Superintendent to determine if a more targeted notification is necessary when a significant number of cases are detected in a particular classroom.

For more information relative to the treatment and prevention of head lice, I encourage you to visit the Center for Disease Control’s website at www.cdc.gov. If you would like hard copy materials, please feel free to contact me directly.

Our staff is aware of the need to watch for signs and symptoms of head lice, such as frequent head scratching. Parents can help by watching for those same signs and by screening carefully at home whenever those symptoms are present. When those symptoms are observed in school, students are referred to the nurse for private screening. The nurse will contact parents to insure appropriate treatment is implemented.

Preventing further transmission when a case is identified requires the cooperation and active response of all teacher, parents and students. That active response includes becoming informed, immediate communication with the school nurse when a student is diagnosed with an active case (even if the child has already been treated), and respect for the privacy of those who may have become infested.

Thank you for your cooperation. If you have further questions, please contact your school.

Sincerely,

Jim Collin, Ed.D.
Assistant Superintendent

Suffield Public Schools
350 Mountain Road, Suffield, CT 06078
Phone: 860-668-3800

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