Greetings,
Below is the text of a Connect-Ed message I am sending to the entire MHS community this evening.
Until next time...
Good evening,
This is Dr. Linkenhoker, the Principal at Monson High School. I am calling this evening to remind all families that this Thursday and Friday, January 26th and 27th are half days for our students. In addition to being half days, our first semester final exams will also be administered during these two days.
On Thursday, students will take exams in their B and C block classes. On Friday, students will take exams in their A and D block classes. Teachers have reminded students about this schedule already. I encourage families to reinforce this schedule and ensure students are well prepared to finish this semester on a positive note.
Monday, January 30th is the first day of our new semester. Students will report to homeroom at the beginning of the day and receive their second semester schedule. If students have conflicts with their schedule they should sign up in homeroom to meet with their appropriate school counselor. I wish everyone success this week as we wrap up our first semester and prepare to begin second semester next Monday.
Take care and have a wonderful evening.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Seeking Host Families for Foreign Exchange Students
Monson High School is anticipating some foreign exchange students for next school year. I find these experiences are not only life-changing for the foreign exchange student, but often provide a wonderful and rich experience for our students. Below is a blurb prepared by Sue French, the program coordinator for CCI. I encourage families who are willing to host a foreign exchange student to contact Sue at your earliest convenience.
There will be foreign exchange students coming to Monson High in the fall. CCI, The Center for Cultural Interchange, needs host families for these students. If interested in welcoming a student into your home to experience American life and to enrich your family by exposing them to a different culture please call me for the details.
Sue French
CCI Local Coordinator
413.348.2274
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Food Services Letter
Greetings,
Below is the script I am sending out this evening through Connect-Ed to all MHS families. It is in reference to an important letter we sent home with students today regarding their lunch services account. I am asking all parents and guardians to ask their children for this letter and reference it when dealing with the lunch program.
Feel free to call with any questions!
Until next time...
Good evening. This is Dr. Linkenhoker, the Principal of Monson High School. I am calling tonight to share a brief, but important message. Earlier today, we issued a letter to your son or daughter from our Food Services Department. This letter contains important information pertaining to your son or daughter's lunch program account. Please ask for this letter tonight.
Feel free to contact the Monson High School Main Office at 413.267.4589 or Food Services Department at 413.267.4160 with any questions regarding this letter.
Thank you for your time. Have a wonderful evening.
Below is the script I am sending out this evening through Connect-Ed to all MHS families. It is in reference to an important letter we sent home with students today regarding their lunch services account. I am asking all parents and guardians to ask their children for this letter and reference it when dealing with the lunch program.
Feel free to call with any questions!
Until next time...
Good evening. This is Dr. Linkenhoker, the Principal of Monson High School. I am calling tonight to share a brief, but important message. Earlier today, we issued a letter to your son or daughter from our Food Services Department. This letter contains important information pertaining to your son or daughter's lunch program account. Please ask for this letter tonight.
Feel free to contact the Monson High School Main Office at 413.267.4589 or Food Services Department at 413.267.4160 with any questions regarding this letter.
Thank you for your time. Have a wonderful evening.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Happy New Year and Announcing the NEW Homework Helper!
Happy New Year to everyone! I'm sure I can speak for the vast majority in wishing you a healthy and successful 2012 and hope that we can avoid any more major weather-related events. With the New Year now upon us, I want to take just a moment and remind everyone that our first semester ends with the conclusion of our two half days on January 26th and 27th. Students will complete their final exams on those two half days and then begin the new semester on Monday, January 30th. I wish all students success as they complete their current coursework while preparing for those final assessments.
In light of the current schedule I also want to announce that we will not be providing mid-term progress reports as we have in the past. I encourage all students and families to view the updated Edline reports and communicate with teachers if there are concerns or questions before the end of the semester.
And finally, I am excited to announce that beginning today Monson High School will conduct an after school Homework Helper program. This new initiative, spearheaded by Mrs. Doherty-Lind, will provide an after school opportunity for students to gather and work on homework or study for quizzes and tests. The program will meet every Monday and Wednesday in the library while food and drinks will also be available. Student tutors will be attending to assist anyone. We expect the program will run until at least 3:00pm and perhaps longer if students are actively working on assignments or studying for an upcoming assessment. I hope this opportunity is found to be beneficial and productive for our students!
Until next time, take care and good luck as we wind down the first semester and wind up the new semester!
In light of the current schedule I also want to announce that we will not be providing mid-term progress reports as we have in the past. I encourage all students and families to view the updated Edline reports and communicate with teachers if there are concerns or questions before the end of the semester.
And finally, I am excited to announce that beginning today Monson High School will conduct an after school Homework Helper program. This new initiative, spearheaded by Mrs. Doherty-Lind, will provide an after school opportunity for students to gather and work on homework or study for quizzes and tests. The program will meet every Monday and Wednesday in the library while food and drinks will also be available. Student tutors will be attending to assist anyone. We expect the program will run until at least 3:00pm and perhaps longer if students are actively working on assignments or studying for an upcoming assessment. I hope this opportunity is found to be beneficial and productive for our students!
Until next time, take care and good luck as we wind down the first semester and wind up the new semester!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Report Cards and Calendar Changes
Happy Friday!
Nearly a month after our initially scheduled end to the first term we are finally distributing report cards this afternoon to all students. I encourage all parents/guardians to ask their child(ren) for the report card tonight. I am planning a Connect-Ed message as well to act as a reminder this evening that report cards were distributed. On behalf of Monson High School and the entire district I apologize for the delays in distributing the report cards. Unfortunately the technology crash we experienced for the past several weeks made this most important task impossible.
Related to the historical snow storm in late October and early November we lost six valuable school days. Six school days equates to just over 6% of an entire semester. We have decided to extend the first semester to Friday, January 27, 2012. This will aid in making up this lost time, which is very important as we continue to prepare our students for MCAS, SAT's, AP testing, etc. The superintendent shared a Connect-Ed message earlier this week noting that we have now changed our two half days in January to now be Thursday and Friday, January 26th and 27th. This will allow our first semester exams to run those two days and afford our teachers an opportunity to grade the exams, close out the first semester courses, and prepare for the new second semester courses that will begin on Monday, January 30, 2012.
Until next time...enjoy your weekend!
Nearly a month after our initially scheduled end to the first term we are finally distributing report cards this afternoon to all students. I encourage all parents/guardians to ask their child(ren) for the report card tonight. I am planning a Connect-Ed message as well to act as a reminder this evening that report cards were distributed. On behalf of Monson High School and the entire district I apologize for the delays in distributing the report cards. Unfortunately the technology crash we experienced for the past several weeks made this most important task impossible.
Related to the historical snow storm in late October and early November we lost six valuable school days. Six school days equates to just over 6% of an entire semester. We have decided to extend the first semester to Friday, January 27, 2012. This will aid in making up this lost time, which is very important as we continue to prepare our students for MCAS, SAT's, AP testing, etc. The superintendent shared a Connect-Ed message earlier this week noting that we have now changed our two half days in January to now be Thursday and Friday, January 26th and 27th. This will allow our first semester exams to run those two days and afford our teachers an opportunity to grade the exams, close out the first semester courses, and prepare for the new second semester courses that will begin on Monday, January 30, 2012.
Until next time...enjoy your weekend!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Parking Lot Safety
Greetings,
I've been in recent communications with our district Transportation Director and the Monson Police Chief. These discussions have centered on a few topics. Please review the following points and feel free to contact me with any questions:
1. The law prohibits any vehicle from passing a school bus or school van that is in the process of loading or unloading students. Recently we have had drivers pass our school vans as they are parked loading and unloading students by the school entrance. Please, if you see a parked van do not pass them. To avoid potential confusion I would recommend all general traffic to use the upper parking lot as a pick up and drop off and allow the buses and vans to use the upper drop off area.
2. I have asked for assistance from the police department to help monitor drivers leaving the school at dismissal. We have had some instances where student drivers are exiting too quickly and I am fearful of potential accidents.
I am sharing both of these topics to not only remind people to be cognizant of the buses and vans and the appropriate laws, but to also inform people that an increased police presence within our parking lots and Margaret Street should not come as a surprise. My main focus is on the health and safety of all our students, faculty and community and hope if we can work together we will minimize potential tragic circumstances.
Thank you!
I've been in recent communications with our district Transportation Director and the Monson Police Chief. These discussions have centered on a few topics. Please review the following points and feel free to contact me with any questions:
1. The law prohibits any vehicle from passing a school bus or school van that is in the process of loading or unloading students. Recently we have had drivers pass our school vans as they are parked loading and unloading students by the school entrance. Please, if you see a parked van do not pass them. To avoid potential confusion I would recommend all general traffic to use the upper parking lot as a pick up and drop off and allow the buses and vans to use the upper drop off area.
2. I have asked for assistance from the police department to help monitor drivers leaving the school at dismissal. We have had some instances where student drivers are exiting too quickly and I am fearful of potential accidents.
I am sharing both of these topics to not only remind people to be cognizant of the buses and vans and the appropriate laws, but to also inform people that an increased police presence within our parking lots and Margaret Street should not come as a surprise. My main focus is on the health and safety of all our students, faculty and community and hope if we can work together we will minimize potential tragic circumstances.
Thank you!
Monson Technology Concerns
It is truly amazing how dependent we have become on technology. I've never realized how important technology is within my professional and personal life until we are faced with such issues. As many of you know, the October snowstorm caused severe infrastructure damage to the school district's network capabilities. I wish I had the magic answer to solve these problems so we can get back to full functioning. Email communication is difficult with several domains and teachers and staff have no access to drives so files are inaccessible.
The most frustrating aspect for the high school is our inability to access our Student Information System. This includes grades. Yes, report cards were supposed to be distributed last week. Due to the technology issues, this is impossible. Once the systems are back up and running we will complete the exporting of grades so we can complete the report card process and distribute. This hopefully will occur soon after the Thanksgiving break.
Seniors should be in contact with their school counselor if our technology problems are interfering with the college admissions process. Our counselors have reached out to several colleges already. Thus far the colleges are understanding. We will do everything within our power to ensure our seniors are not negatively impacted by the technology flaws. Please encourage your seniors to seek out the school counselors with any questions and/or concerns.
Thank you. I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving break!
The most frustrating aspect for the high school is our inability to access our Student Information System. This includes grades. Yes, report cards were supposed to be distributed last week. Due to the technology issues, this is impossible. Once the systems are back up and running we will complete the exporting of grades so we can complete the report card process and distribute. This hopefully will occur soon after the Thanksgiving break.
Seniors should be in contact with their school counselor if our technology problems are interfering with the college admissions process. Our counselors have reached out to several colleges already. Thus far the colleges are understanding. We will do everything within our power to ensure our seniors are not negatively impacted by the technology flaws. Please encourage your seniors to seek out the school counselors with any questions and/or concerns.
Thank you. I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving break!
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