OCTOBER 2020

Open House

Open House will look a little different this year...we are going Virtual!  Our CHS/CTC Virtual Open House is scheduled for Thursday, October 8th from 6-8pm.  We will kick-off at 6:00 with a live Zoom Open Forum with administration.  This will be similar to the Open Forum we held this summer, where we will provide an overview of virtual and concurrent learning expectations, share our vision for the year ahead, and answer some of your questions through the online chat feature.  We hope to see you at 6:00!  

At 6:30, immediately following our virtual forum, parents can either attend a live Zoom session with a CTC teacher (if they have a child enrolled in a CTC program) or view a pre-recorded session on important high school topics.  Our pre-recorded sessions include the following:

• Learn about School Counseling & Mental Health Supports
• Important Updates from our School Nurse
• What you Need to Know About Portfolio
• Extracurricular Outreach Fair
• Internship/Independent Study Opportunities for Students
• and MORE!

Then at 7:00 and 7:30, departments and teachers will be hosting live Zoom sessions to provide an overview of department and course expectations. Parents are encouraged to view your child's schedule and identify two sessions that you would like to attend. To access your student’s schedule in PowerSchool please visit: https://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/powerschool.  If you need login access, on that same page is a link that states, “Request Parent/Guardian Access Codes for your Students”; click this link, fill out the form and our clerks will assist in getting you that information.  

We appreciate your patience and flexibility as our Open House will look a bit different this year. Please click here to see a mapping of the evening's agenda as well as all offerings and related Zoom links. (Please note: all session links will be inserted once we near the Open House date).

Looking forward to seeing you virtually at this year's Open House!


Craig M. MacKenzie, Principal     

Andrea J. Spas, Assistant Principal      

Gerald T. Auth, CTC Director

Virtual & Concurrent Learning Site for Parents A reminder that we have created a website for Chariho parents covering all topics related to Virtual & Concurrent Learning.  We have also created this video which provides an overview of the site as well as virtual and concurrent learning expectations and resources.  When at the site, make sure to click on the CHS tab where you can find teacher, student and parent expectations, our Green/White Calendars as well as our Block Schedules.   SAT School Day Updates This past year, our 11th grade students were unable to take the SAT due to the Rhode Island Department of Education cancelling the assessment because of COVID-related mandates.  College Board and the RI Department of Education are rescheduling the required SAT assessment, for this October.  All current 12th graders will take the SAT assessment on Wednesday, October 14th with a make-up day of October 27th.  On test day, October 14th, only 12th graders will be reporting to the building in order to take the SAT. Grades 9-11 will remain at home for distance learning that day. The SAT is a paper-based assessment and students will not be using their devices for the assessment itself, but are still expected to bring them to school for once they are dismissed from the testing room.  A graphing calculator is recommended for use on one or more sections of the math-calculator portion of the SAT. Students should bring their own; however, the school will have some calculators available. For more information, please see our 20-21 SAT Letter to Parents HERE. PSAT NMSQT Information The PSAT NMSQT is being offered to grade 11 students on Saturday October 17th at 8am at CHS.  It is recommended students take this exam if they are planning on attending a 4 year college.   Taking the PSAT NMSQT will better prepare students for the SAT and could make them eligible for potential merit scholarships.   The deadline is October 9, please see the attached link for more information on registration. A Message from Health Careers I would like to give thanks to our community including our immediate Chariho community, our Alumni, and our extended South County family.  COVID-19 has put a lot of limitations on our CHARIHOtech Health Careers Program.  Normally, we collaborate with South County Hospital to create experiences for our students to get face to face exposure to many different Healthcare careers.  This opportunity has been suspended during the pandemic.  I have been reaching out over the past couple of days to people I knew from the community and within 48 hours have received replies back from 11 different healthcare providers who are willing to donate their time to allow my ninth grade class to interview them and learn about what they do. Two of them are my former students!  I am so appreciative for the support of this amazing community during this difficult time.  People are stepping up in big ways to support us and it means the world to my students and I.  Thank you.   Martha Dion, Health Careers Instructor and Science Educator From the Athletic Department High school fall coaches and athletes are excited to start the high school fall sports season.  The following sports began on 9/21:  Field Hockey, Girls Tennis, Boys and Girls Cross Country, and Boys and Girls Soccer.  Go Chargers! Free Flu Clinic  We will be hosting a Free Flu Clinic for the Chariho Community on Monday, November 2nd at the high school.  It will be held from 4:00-7:00 in our High School gymnasium.  Please see information below about this free clinic as well as other flu clinics being offered at our Chariho schools: Blood Drive On Thursday, October 15th, our CHARIHOtech Health Careers Program is proud to sponsor a Blood Drive using the mobile unit from 7:30am – 2:00pm in front of the Career and Technology Center.  This Blood Drive will only be open to students (16 years of age and older), staff and faculty.   The RI Blood Center has been holding community blood drives since early June.  Every drive follows strict safety protocols to insure both donor and staff safety.  The need for blood donations has never been greater.  The RI Dept of Health is asking all eligible donors to please recognize the need and give whenever possible. For more information re: Covid safety measures and the RI DOH’s support, please visit our website at www.ribc.org.  Thank you for your support!  Please see below for more information: CNA Certification! We are very proud to share that 5 of our Health Career students passed their state CNA certification exam this past Saturday!!!  Congratulations to our Health Careers students for this major accomplishment! Bethany MacLeod, Health Careers Instructor From the School Counseling Department Our Annual College Fair is going Virtual! On Monday, October 19th we will be holding our Annual College Fair via Zoom. Over 25 area colleges and universities will be logged-in and ready to meet with our students to answer questions and share information about all their school has to offer.  Stay tuned for more information on how to participate.  All grades welcome! Federal Student Aid for College Attention parents and guardians of Seniors!!  If your child is college-bound you should be filling out the FAFSA!  Completing the parent portion of the FAFSA accurately and correctly is crucial to helping your child get help paying for college.  That's because the FAFSA can open doors to all forms of financial assistance for students. The application is crucial to access federal student aid such as Pell Grants or low interest federal student loans.  Chariho is participating in FAFSA Day on October 20th by offering free, half-hour individualized appointments for parents who would like help with the FAFSA form.  To sign up visit the link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chariho-fafsa-day-fall-2020-tickets-122567323163.  Please note that you will need to file for a FAFSA ID and collect some important tax information prior to your appointment.  If you have questions, please contact your child's school counselor. Also, CHS will be hosting a Virtual Financial Aid Night for students and parents on Thursday October 22 at 6:00pm.  A representative from the Rhode Island Student Loan Authority (RISLA) will be presenting an overview of the financial aid process including information on the FAFSA/Federal Aid, loan options, grants and scholarships.  This is a great opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the financial aid process for college or technical schools!  An email with the link to this virtual presentation will be sent to parents and students as we near the date. The 20-21 Robotics Season The 20-21 Robotics Season Has Begun!  The first meeting of the High School Robotics Team was Tuesday, September 22. Preparations have begun for the annual First Tech Robotics Competition https://www.twitch.tv/videos/738998700. Any High School student is allowed to attend meetings, even if the student is a full virtual learner. Meetings will take place Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 until 4p.m. The team is looking for local business sponsors. We have a sponsorship packet for any potential supporters. Any interested student or parent may contact the team mentor at: ryan.bridgham@chariho.k12.ri.us From Hospitality & Event Planning Hospitality and Event Planning is proud to announce that all of the 11th grade class has successfully passed the Hospitality, Tourism Management Certification with honors. We are also happy to announce 20 new students to the Hospitality Program this year. Please follow us on instagram @CharihoHospitality to see all of our students.

SEPTEMBER 2020

RE-OPENING PLANS!

We can’t emphasize enough how impressed we were with our school community's transition to distance learning this past spring.  Our faculty and staff continue to learn and refine practices that best support students through both in-person and distance learning.  We are eager to welcome students, faculty and staff into the building, while ensuring that safety and readiness are at the forefront of our intentions.  As messaged by Superintendent Picard, students will begin on 9/14 and will follow this schedule:

Please note that Mondays will be Distance Learning and will follow this 8-Block Schedule HERE (scroll down to page 2).  Tuesdays and Thursdays will be GREEN days and Wednesdays and Fridays will be WHITE days.  Students will follow this schedule HERE (see page 1) on Tuesdays through Fridays. The intention is to ease into a full reopening on 9/28.  More information to follow as that time approaches.

For more information on Virtual & Concurrent Learning, please visit our Virtual Learning Site and view this video which provides an overview of the site as well as virtual and concurrent learning expectations and resources.  When at the site, make sure to click on the CHS tab where you can find teacher, student and parent expectations, our Green/White Calendars as well as our Block Schedules.  Our detailed Reopening Schedule & Planning Logistics document can be found here; this provides a detailed overview of CHS/CTC reopening plans.  For all block schedules and in all re-opening scenarios, the "school day" will be in session from 7:40-2:10.  Student drop-off is between 7:20 and 7:30.  Students are expected to report directly to their first block class, unless picking up a boxed breakfast in the cafeteria.

The health and safety of our students, faculty and staff is at the top of our list.  To ensure we meet expectations for social distancing and best practices in maintaining safety, we ask parents and students to view this Reopening Guidance video.  This video provides information on masking expectations, hallway directional patterns, arrival procedures, and additional information on mitigating risk.  We encourage parents and students to view these resources together.  We all need to do our part in supporting each other's health and well-being! 

DAILY HEALTH CHECK 

Parents/Guardians will be required to submit a Daily Self Check for every child in PowerSchool using the PowerSchool Parent Portal. You must use the parent account for the self check. Click HERE for more details.  Students who are 18 or older may do the Daily Self Check reporting, themselves.  Below are directions for how to access the Daily Health Check Link using the Mobil App:

• COVID 19 Daily Health Check Link for PowerSchool Mobil App To access the COVID 19 Daily Check on the PowerSchool Mobil App click the link below. You will be required to login again. Once you are logged in use the arrow to scroll to the left side of the screen. Click on the Face with the Mask. Click New, answer the questions, sign and submit. COVID 10 Health Check

CANVAS

Canvas is the learning management system teachers use to post daily agendas, class assignments, lessons, and any related class resources.  This is a go-to resource for our students and parents.

Students, please view these slides to learn how to access your Canvas courses.

Parents can have access to their children's courses through Canvas. See the steps below to get a Parent Observer account. 

How to become a Canvas observer:

1. You will need the child's login and password to Canvas (same one they use for Powerschool and to log onto the laptop). You may ask your child for the login or call guidance to request the password be mailed to you. 
2. Use any computer or device with internet connection.
3. Go to chariho.instructure.com
4. Click the ribbon that states "Click Here for an Account"
5. Fill in the prompts and begin to navigate as an observer (your child will have to provide you his/her password).

IMPRESSIVE AP PERFORMANCE

We are extremely proud to share that our high school students recorded their highest-ever Advanced Placement scores this year.  The results were released this July and 82% of our students scored a 3 (proficient) or higher!  This is a huge achievement, especially seeing the unique virtual circumstances we were faced with during both instruction & testing windows.  Our AP test scores have consistently risen over the past few years; 57% of our students were proficient in 2017 and we have seen substantial growth since then.  This year’s strong performance is a testament to the targeted focus we have placed on preparing students for college and career and speaks to the effective AP readiness instruction and study skills taking place by our teachers and students.  We are also pleased to share that one-third of our students taking AP exams were enrolled in a CHARIHOtech program.  We are proud our CTC students can work towards four years of a CTC program while also pursuing college credit opportunities through Advanced Placement courses.    

TITLE IX SEXUAL HARASSMENT UPDATES

New federal regulations that went into effect last month elevate our collective responsibility to report sexual harassment in the school setting.  All faculty and staff in our school are now mandated reporters of any incidents of sexually charged language or actions between students, students and adults, or between adults.  Parents and students must understand that any (even casual) use of sexually charged language that could undermine the learning experience of a student or students trigger a formal, comprehensive investigation that includes building and district administration and our Title IX Coordinator. Administrators, faculty and staff are receiving training in the new regulations. We are encouraging our students to do the following:

• Be kind and respectful of each other
• Be careful, not casual, in your communication, both live and electronically (including images), with each other.
• Report any concerns or incidents to a staff member or administration.