Parent Info

Notice to Parents of 8th Grade Students Key High School Transition dates for 8th Graders and their families:
For Nashoba Regional HS:
NRHS Programs of Study and Registration Forms coming home in Feb/March	Date: TBA (late Feb-early March)	Look for these important forms coming home with your student in MARCH. Return by March ?? - TBA . Questions? Come to Parent’s Night! (See below)
8th Grade Parents Night	Date TBA, an evening in March'08 @ NRHS Auditorium	Administration, guidance counselors, and Department Heads will be on hand to discuss curriculum options and specific level criteria.
Tri-Town Dance for all 8th Graders	Date TBA, 7:00-9:00 pm @ NRHS Gym	This dance is for all the 8th graders from Stow, Lancaster and Bolton. Sponsored by the NRHS Foreign Language Department. Get to know your future classmates in the Class of 2012!
District Parent Conferences with 8th Grade Teachers	Friday, March 27-28, 2008	Discuss registration forms and teacher recommendations for levels for freshman classes. Sign up via pickAtime.com
Course Selection Forms Due	Date in late March, TBA	These should be turned in to homeroom teachers. Override forms, if needed, can be obtained from NRHS.
For Minuteman HS: Want more info? Call 781-861-6500 x245, or visit http://www.minuteman.org/
Evening Open House	TBA, 7-9 pm	Meet Minuteman faculty, staff and students. Enjoy demonstrations & exhibits
Shadow Day	Call 781-861-6500 x245 to schedule	Choose a program to visit, and spend a day shadowing a student
Technology Expo	TBA, 6-9 pm	Designed to give prospective or current Minuteman students opportunity to explore technology careers
Weekly Wednesday Morning Tours	Offered most Weds 8:30-9:30 am	RSVP at Admissions@minuteman.org
Minuteman After-School Program Fall '07	Offered for middle school students in grades 6, 7 & 8. Info @ 781-861-7150	Programs include Chemistry 4Kids, Math Magic, Roadmap to my Future, Auto Body, Carpentry, Cosmetology, Red Cross Guard Start & more!
Minuteman Summer School Program '08	A great summer camp for all ages! More info later.	Visit www.minuteman.org/comm/summer.html for more information. Offering academic courses, career exploration programs, enrichment activities, arts & crafts and more!
Message from Gail Foote, Hale Guidance Counselor: If your child will be attending a school OTHER than Nashoba Regional High School for 9th grade, please notify Mrs. Morgan in writing as soon as possible, providing us with an address for the new school, so that we can forward to them your student's files - Thank you!!
Learn More about Your Choices for High School
	The Minuteman Regional High School is located at 758 Marrett Road in Lexington. For additional information, please call their Guidance Department at 781-861-6500 ext. 245 or visit them on the web at www.minuteman.org .	Visit Nashoba on the web at: *http://nrhs.nrsd.net*

Bullying Program
All Hale Students and staff attended a special program in the fall of 2005 concerning bullying and harassment. All of us would like to stop negative or violent behavior, especially as it impacts our children and our community. If you would like to learn more about this critical issue, please take a few minutes to read this informative flyer from the Deanna's Fund organization. It offers lists of resources and support services to teach us how to prevent Bullying and Harassment.
Deanna's Fund: page 1 .......... Deanna's Fund: page 2
Hale Newsletter Now Online!
	The Hale website is now the first place to look for PSG news and school news and announcements. The full newsletter will be posted each month, both as a pdf, to download & print, and as a full webpage. We hope this will prove to be a convenience to most of you; it is definitely more cost-effective (& labor-saving!) for us. For those who prefer to receive a paper copy, those will be available in the school Office. Click here to see this month's newsletter!

A Few Reminders from the Office!

Morning Arrival Time: Hale students are not supervised prior to 7:35 a.m. Students should not arrive prior to this time unless specific arrangements have been made with the school staff.

Telephone Coverage: Due to the "Safe Arrival Program," the answering machine is always on. Please leave a message each morning that your child is absent from school (897-4788).

Please Note: Students are required to have notes from their parent giving them permission to:
· stay after school for extra help;
· get picked up by someone other than his or her parents;
· be dismissed before the regular dismissal time; or
· do anything other than what they usually do at dismissal.

After School: Students are expected to leave school upon dismissal unless they are involved in an extra-curricular activity or unless they have permission to stay for extra-help.

**Are You Puzzled About Notes? ...We sometimes are....**

Those of you who help out in the Hale Office are aware of how difficult it can be to interpret carelessly written notes, especially when Mrs. Colleton is absent and "temporary staff" try to fill her capable shoes!

Your effort & cooperation in observing these guidelines is appreciated. Please take care to make sure that your note:

...	is clearly legible and states the student's FULL NAME
	– especially if you and your child use different last names–
...	identifies your child's GRADE or Homeroom Teacher
...	states WHY he or she is staying late, or leaving early
...	states the TIME to be picked up and by WHOM

Notes should be dropped off at the office when the student arrives at school or given to your child's Advisor during homeroom period.

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District Vacation Policy

The Nashoba Regional School District adheres to, and is in full compliance with, Chapter 76 of the Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that defines attendance regulations. Except in cases of illness and extenuating circumstances, students are expected to be present when school is in session. Family vacations and trips which are scheduled when school is in session are not considered valid reasons for absence.

While teachers will allow students to make up missed assignments, tests and quizzes, they are not required to prepare work in advance for a vacation related absence. In addition, teachers are not required to re-teach or tutor students when they return from a vacation. It is the student's responsibility to determine the work that needs to be done when he or she returns to school.

Student Records

Types and Locations

The school must provide, upon request, a complete list of the types and locations of education records collected, maintained, or used by the school district. In Stow, each student has a cumulative record maintained at Hale Middle School which may contain: a log (for use in monitoring discrimination of any part of the record); report cards and conference preparation forms from Hale Middle School; academic and medical information forwarded from previous schools; standardized test scores; a registration form; an emergency information; records of formal disciplinary action.

• Student portfolios are kept with the current classroom teacher

• Health records are maintained in the nurse's office

• Complete (official) Special Education records are maintained at the central office.

Right to Review

Parents or guardians are permitted to review education records that have been collected and maintained by the school district, which pertain to their children. Such review is granted within two consecutive days of the request, unless the parent and school personnel agree upon a longer period of time.

Requests for Access

Requests for access to the regular education records maintained in the school building are made to the principal or guidance counselor. Requests for access to the complete special education records, maintained at the central office, are made to the Director of Pupil Personnel Services or the building Special Education Chairperson. Advanced notice is expected.

Parents may also request that the records be interpreted for them; that copies, at a nominal cost, be made of material within a record; and that a representative of the parent review and inspect the record. In the latter case, written release of the record to the representative is to be provided by the parent. Forms are available in the office.

The school district will inform parents and students when information collected, maintained or used by the district is no longer needed for the purpose of providing educational services and is to be destroyed.

Child Find and Section 504
Nashoba Regional School District is required under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to conduct a child find of students who have a qualifying disability or who are suspected of having a qualifying disability that would make them eligible for accommodations and /or services as prescribed by Section 504 and determined appropriate by a “504” team at your child’s school. Please contact Margaret Morgan for more information.

Parent Info

Notice to Parents of 8th Grade Students

For Nashoba Regional HS:

For Minuteman HS: Want more info? Call 781-861-6500 x245, or visit http://www.minuteman.org/

Message from Gail Foote, Hale Guidance Counselor:

Learn More about Your Choices for High School