Sept 18, 2020
Good Evening, Parents, Guardians and CHS Community,
Overall, what a good start to the 20-21 school year! Things are going quite well, but as we all know, we are one positive test away from a significant challenge (fingers crossed!) Please do let teachers/staff know if your child is having challenges though. We want to remedy things as quickly as possible to ensure students are successful from the beginning. Yesterday, e had a guest come and join us this week to say hello. Retired teacher, Dennis Perreault, came in to say hi and meet former colleagues. It was good to have him back in the building for a visit with former colleagues. We are beginning to open up co-curricular activities, so please encourage your children to participate. Advisors are expected to have safety plans in place, to meet virtually when they can, but to hold students accountable to wearing masks, physical distancing, and safety-first practices as we move to a little more normal school day. Co-curriculars are available to Remote Learners as well as in-school students. Please have your child reach out to Advisors for assistance on becoming involved or have them touch base with the counseling office for getting connected. One final note, now that the school days are becoming more normalized, we are beginning to look back at the spring as well as anticipating classes moving forward and we are starting to look at competency recovery for students who struggled passing them. After we meet with the administrative and leadership team, we will begin to develop a process for students to recover and we will inform you of that process moving ahead. There are a number of important updates below***, so please review carefully for that additional information. Have a great week, everyone! Bill Lonergan, Principal
Appreciation:
Just a quick thanks to Jodi Callinan for her work creating an extended advisory schedule. We don’t plan to use this often, but we do need to be prepared for times when we need a little more than ten minutes to accommodate other school business.
A quick shout out to Raheem Chowdhury (Sci) for his dedication to the FIRST Robotics team and to our NHS students. Your organization and planning are stellar in getting these two groups off to a good start.
I want to thank all of our New Faculty for coming to meet with me and let me know how things are going. There has been a very positive response to them and their presence here at CHS. Thanks Kristen, Kim, Emily, Noah, Jocelyn, and Sabrina for contributing to the good start here at CHS.
Counselors held a meet/greet with transfer students to CHS last week. Thanks to Jodi, Bill Hicks, Carrie Jurus, Jeff Parsons, and Jamie Faulhaber for supporting these incoming students.
Thanks to Social Studies teacher David Gingras for reading aloud our annual “Constitution Day” announcement on behalf of the social studies department. It is important to recognize this important document guiding our citizenship instruction, particularly in these turbulent times.
Thanks to Aimee Gaspar, Denise Freeman, and Shawn McDonough for meeting with former CHS founding faculty member Dennis Perreault for a photo in the lobby. This year is the 20th anniversary of the dedication of CHS. It was great to have a photo of the four of them in front of Phil Martin’s plaque in front of the auditorium.
Thanks to counselor Jamie Faulhaber, who has created a morale boosting wall for staff in our Faculty South Teachers Room. What a great idea!
PTO will again be providing our staff our annual Back to School Breakfast. We are really appreciative of our support from them that not many high schools report the same level of commitment.
***CHS OPEN HOUSE: Our Back-to-School Open House will be held on Tuesday Sept 29 from 6:00-7:00 pm. It will be done virtually this year and the schedule will be as follows: Block A- 6:00-6:15 pm, Block B 6:15-6:30 pm, Block C 6:30-6:45 pm, and Block D 6:45-7:00 pm. Open House provides a time for teachers to introduce themselves and their classes to you. Shortly teachers will be sending out emails inviting you into a Google Meet for your child for each of his/her classes. Please keep in mind Open House is not to discuss individual student progress, so if you would like that information, please let the teacher know, and they will let you know when they can accommodate this.
***From the Counseling Office: For those unfamiliar with our CHS counseling staff, below is a list and the students they support. Counselors are currently meeting with seniors to discuss post-CHS options and processes. They have also recently met with our transfer students, some 17 new students coming from other towns. They will also begin to meet with freshmen to address the transition to HS and getting off to a good start. If your child has any counseling needs, please have her/him reach out accordingly. For parents with concerns, the number at CHS to contact the counseling office is 546-0300 x 3257.
Jodi Callinan: PT Director & PT Counselor Last Names E-K -- always available [email protected]
Michelle Vecchiarello: Administrative Assistant --7:15am-3:15pm [email protected]
Carrie Jurus: P/T Counselor Last Names A - D --Not Fridays/’til noon Tues,Wed,Thurs [email protected]
Jeff Parsons: FT Counselor Last Names L-Z --available full-time [email protected]
Bill Hicks: Student Support Student Specific --available full-time [email protected]
Jamie Faulhaber: Mental Health Counselor Student Specific --available full-time [email protected]
We do not employ a full-time school psychologist but we do have a contracted school psychologist who comes in once a week to complete Special Ed testing/assessments.
***Homework Club: Again this year, CHS will provide an after-school homework site after school Monday through Thursday from 2:30-3:30 for students who are challenged by homework completion. There is also a late bus available for students without transportation. On Monday and Wednesday, the homework club is in Room 128 with Mrs. Langelier and on Tuesdays and Thursdays it is in Room 161 with Mrs. Freeman. As with other school activities this year, students will be expected to comply with school rules related to physical distancing, mask-wearing, hand-washing and good hygiene while getting assistance..
***CHS Parent Organizations: I would like to remind families that we have tremendous support from parents, guardians and the community here in Litchfield. It is gratefully appreciated, so if you want to assist us at CHS, please reach out to the Athletic Boosters (through AD Knight in athletics), the Friends of the Performing Arts (through Carolyn Leite and Brittney Milligan in music), or the CHS Parent Teachers Organization through Elana in the main office. Any and all support is appreciated, particularly as we are faced with unique challenges presented in this strange COVID world.
***UPDATE on CHS Testing: We are in the planning stages of creating our fall assessment program. We use the PSAT suite of testing for underclass students, and we use the state-required SAT for our Juniors. This year, the seniors have to take the SAT that they missed in the spring, so we will be conducting that assessment in the fall. We will also have this year’s 9th grade students take the PSAT 8/9 as a practice assessment, and the sophomores and juniors will take the PSAT. There also will be additional testing in the spring for juniors with the NH Science Assessment and the NH Statewide SAT.
***Athletics Update: Due to Covid-19 there will be a limit on fans at CHS home events as well as away. Campbell, along with our cluster which includes Pelham, Sanborn, Hollis-Brookline, Souhegan and Milford, have a two fan limit for home and away games. “Season passes” have been given out to each athlete which will allow two immediate family members to attend. Do not pass these season passes to other people or students outside of your immediate family. The Athletic Department is working with Litchfield TV to stream as many home games as they can. Once received, a streaming schedule will be sent to your child’s coach. We are extremely grateful that Litchfield TV has agreed to work with us to provide these streaming events. Please know that if you are attending a game that isn’t within our cluster there may be different rules. Some schools do not have a restriction on fans while others aren’t allowing fans. We will do our best to inform you of these rules/protocols prior to each game.
Health Office Update: Our health office continues to be very busy this year. Please understand if your child has any sign of COVID, Donna Boucher, our school nurse will be in contact. Also, please make sure to daily check your child’s well-being, and if they meet any of the conditions of COVID on the following document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fqoeqCaw-L-WE5xIFAIc2Y2cGcCk31mbxZhXsZ0P1sg/edit, then keep your child home and reach out to Donna to keep us informed. If you have any questions, please contact her at [email protected] or at 546-0300 x 3115.
Our IT Department Remote Learners Help Page: The District IT department has created a specific page for Remote Learners at the following link: https://sites.google.com/litchfieldsd.org/student-parent-it-help-page/home Please have your child reach out to them with challenges or concerns.
New Dress Code for Litchfield Schools: The Litchfield School District has created a new dress code for students. Please review this with your child to ensure they are dress code compliant when attending school. See the following link for the specifics of the dress code. There is a clear diagram in this link simplifying these expectations.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MqiCP8e0idMuRGQBYZgORLllb6YFPHRNC9kv-FB4mkM/edit
Food Services Information: Litchfield Food Services has moved to a new online payment portal. Please sign up for online payments at www.k12paymentcenter.com. You will need your child's Student Number to create an account. The student number is not the same as their lunch PIN code. You can contact Lauren Crowley, or any school office to get the Student Number for your child. [email protected], 603-546-0300 x3112
Free and Reduced Applications are available online at www.lunchapplication.com. Families can apply at any time of the year for Free or Reduced Lunch, and information is 100% confidential. Please contact Lauren Crowley for any questions you may have. [email protected] at 546-0300 x3112.
Food Services will be providing ID cards for students to be sent home with their student number and PIN codes for lunch purchases/learning!
Employment Possibilities within the Litchfield School District: The Litchfield School District continues to look for substitute teachers, paraeducators, custodians and food service workers. Check out the district HR site for info: https://www.litchfieldsd.org/EmploymentOpportunities.aspx
Schedule for Sept 21 - Sept 25:
Sept. 23rd - Financial Aid/Sr College Info night (GOOGLE Meet) @6:30pm
Sept. 24th - CHS Leadership Team @ 2:45pm in Faculty South
Sept. 24th - Advisory Committee Meeting @ 2:40pm in Library
Sept 25th: - National Honor Society Applications due
Looking Further Ahead:
Sept 29th: - CHS Virtual Open House- (See blurb above)
Oct 5th - Booster Club Meeting @ 7:00pm (virtual)
Oct. 9th - Picture Day in Auditorium @ 8:00am
Oct. 12th - NO SCHOOL - Columbus Day Holiday
Oct. 14th - PSAT’s - Early Release for Students @ 12:30pm
Oct 14 : - Test Date for PSAT for Juniors & SAT for seniors
Oct 29: - Test date - PSAT/NMSQT for Freshmen & Sophomores
Nov. 19th - Picture Retake Day in Auditorium @ 8:00am
Athletics Updates: See blurb above for attending events
Sept. 19 - Boys Soccer @ Sanborn @ 10am
Sept. 19 - Volleyball @ Sanborn @ 11am
Sept. 21st - Golf @ Passaconaway @ 3:30 pm
Sept. 21st - Volleyball @ Alvirne 6:15pm
Sept. 22nd - Boys Soccer vs. Alvirne 4pm @ Home
Sept. 22nd - Girls Soccer @ Alvirne 5:30pm
Sept. 24th - Golf @ Pembroke
Sept. 24th - Bass Fishing Tournament
Sept. 25th - Volleyball vs. Souhegan 5pm @ Home
Sept. 25th - Boys Soccer vs. Hollis-Brookline 4:30pm @ Home
Sept. 26th - Girls Soccer vs. Hollis-Brookline 10am @ Home
Sept. 26th - Cross Country @ Pelham @ 10am
Sept. 26th - Football vs. Monadnock 1:30pm @ Home
Upcoming College Rep Visits (via Google Meet) - students register in Naviance
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020 at 8:30 am Stonehill College Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020 at 11:30 am
College of the Holy Cross Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020 at 12:30 pm
Emmanuel College - Boston Wednesday, September 23rd, 2020 at 9:30 am
University of Connecticut Wednesday, September 23rd, 2020 at 11:30 am
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Wednesday, September 23rd, 2020 at 12:30 pm
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Thursday, September 24th, 2020 at 8:30 am Merrimack College Thursday, September 24th, 2020 at 11:30 am
Bridgewater State University Thursday, September 24th, 2020 at 12:30 pm
Worcester State University Friday, September 25th, 2020 at 9:30 am
Endicott College Friday, September 25th, 2020 at 11:30 am
Johnson & Wales University, Prov Friday, September 25th, 2020 at 12:30 pm