Welcoming New Students To Our District

This morning the high school formally welcomed the new students to our district and to our high school. The students were treated to some snacks and a scavenger hunt. It was a great opportunity for students to connect with each other. Thank you to Jane Rathbun and the Guidance Staff for putting it together.

Some Great Work By Our Students!

'Gleaners' from South Hadley church raise awareness about hunger and water

A message from our wonderful librarian

       This year, SHHS library will keep extended hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday until 3pm. Mondays and Fridays the library will close at 2:30. Extended library hours are subject to change depending on staff availability, but we try hard to keep them consistent. 

        The SHHS library has 14 copies of Greg Mortensen's book "Three Cups of Tea" to give away. Please email rmazur@shschools.com if you would like a copy. 

Teachers Collaborating with Teachers

The photo below is of teachers working together in the new collaboration room in the library at South Hadley High School. Through the hard work of Bill Evans and Ted McCarthy, we were able to schedule each teacher to a collaboration period. The purpose of the period is for teachers from all disciplines to discuss best practices and school improvement initiatives. The research is clear that teacher collaboration across disciplines is a driving vehicle for higher student achievement.

Fire Drill

Just to let parents know, we conducted our first fire drill of the year. The students and staff were excellent in evacuating the building in approximately three minutes. We will continue to work diligently with the Fire Department and the Police Department to ensure that our students will be safe in the event of a real emergency.

AP Scores Update!

I am extremely pleased to announce that South Hadley High School has seen tremendous gains in AP scores and AP participation over the past year. An initiative started by Dan Smith at the high school, saw the implementation of the MMSI grant at the high school. The purpose of the grant program is to increase student participation and success in AP classes and AP exams in the areas of Math, English, and Science. Here is their website http://www.massinsight.org/mmsi/

The increase in participation since 2010 to 2012 (current school year) in the targeted areas are:

Math = 187% (23 to 66 students)

Science = 40% (33 to 46 students)

English = 202% (36 to 109 students)

The increase in qualifying scores (a qualifying score is 3 or better) since 2010 to 2011 is:

Math = 23% (17 to 21)

Science = 67% (9 to 15)

English = 74% (31 to 54)

The first part of the initiative is to motivate students to challenge themselves by taking AP classes, so we are very pleased to see such increases in our scores so early in the program's implementation. We will be having our AP kick off day at the high school soon. We will continue to work with our students to have them challenge themselves!

I will post all the AP scores to the Drive to 25 page.

Great Article on Our Football Program!

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