LHS Principal's Update 1/10/25

District Calendar: Click here

School Instagram at lhsbluedevilnation

 

No School Days Coming Up

There will be no school on Wednesday January 15th for staff professional development and on January 20th in observation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Leominster Public Schools Family Experience Survey

We are creating a survey for families as part of a district-wide equity audit to help us:

·         Better support student success

·         Improve family partnerships

·         Ensure all students have access to opportunities

·         Create more inclusive school environments

A link to the Family survey is available by clicking here or copy and paste this URL: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSduLy3mNId85uKzda49VKyg8x2ASOgCgn2Rvg5EGz0kW-WUng/viewform

 

Dr Romano will be out of district

As you may know I am also an officer in the Mass Army National Guard. My unit is being mobilized to support the Presidential Inauguration and I will be away from January 11th to January 24th with very little access to email or phone calls.

If you need anything please contact Dan or David Bachant.

 

End of the term is approaching

Term 2 will end on January 23rd. Make sure your student is completing their work! Remember we have before school tutoring every day at 6:30 and after school tutoring every day except Wednesdays from 2:15 to 4 if your student needs some extra help or just a place to focus to get their work done.

 

Attendance Data

Attendance is absolutely essential for academic success.  Ideally, our attendance would be above 95% of students present every day.

Things were better this week!  

Right now we are at around 92.3%. Please make every effort to get your student to school as much as possible.

Attendance over the last 10 days:

Grade 9: 91.3%

Grade 10: 91.2%

Grade 11: 89.1%

Grade 12: 89.1%

 

Substitute Teachers

LHS has need of a few people with a lot of patience and savviness to help us out as substitute teachers. Please email me if you are interested.

 

School Schedule next week: Shop Week A

Monday: Day 4

Tuesday:   Day 5

Wednesday: No School

Thursday: Day 6
Friday: Day 7

 

Next Week’s Athletic Schedule

https://arbiterlive.com/Teams?entityId=12673

 

Reminders:

MCAS Update

The state department of education has published a Frequently Asked questions page to address the ballot question change to the MCAS. The page can be viewed at https://mcusercontent.com/d8f37d1a90dacd97f207f0b4a/files/8eaaf0b1-29d7-6ec7-18d3-a45618a560e4/DESE_CD_FAQ_updated_12_11_2024.pdf

To summarize, passing the MCAS test is no longer required for students to receive a diploma; instead they must meet the local graduation requirements, which can be found on page 15 in the LHS Student Handbook (https://www.leominsterps.org/schools/leominster-high-school/index).

In compliance with federal law, students will still take the MCAS, but do not need to pass it to graduate. Leominster High School itself will still be evaluated by the state based on MCAS scores. MCAS scores will also be used to determine eligibility for the Adams Scholarship, the Koplik Certificate of Mastery Award, and the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy, so there is still significant incentive for students to perform well on MCAS, without facing a negative impact if they do not pass the test.

Tutoring

LHS drop-in tutoring is on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays right after school in Room C221 and every day before school. Students can stop by for help with their classes or just a place to get homework done.

Transportation

This year we are continuing the use of the First View bus app. This user-friendly tool allows families to monitor school bus routes in real time. The link to instructions can be found on our website and Facebook page. The district code is T7G3. If you have questions or issues with buses, please email transportation@leominsterps.org. School bus routes are on the district website at https://www.leominsterps.org/.

Calling for student absences

If your student is going to be absent please call the school at 978-534-7715. The absence line is option 1.

If you get an auto-call that your student is marked as absent and you think they are at school, don’t panic. Sometimes they accidentally get marked absent (especially with a sub) and sometimes they do cut class. Call the school and we will confirm they are not here.

School Attendance:

It is essential for you to get your student to school as much as possible. I am compelled by law to work to get your student to school as often as possible. Absences are excused by a doctor or dentist’s note, court appearance, college visit, driving license appointment. Vacations are not excused absences.

When a student gets five unexcused absences we will require a meeting with parents to make a plan to get them to school more often. Remember that students will need to make up time from unexcused absences at our Saturday Academy.

Student Dismissals

If you need to dismiss your student you can send them to school with a note to bring to the office when they get to school. Your student will receive a pass to be dismissed and can just check out at the office when it is time for them to go. You won’t need to come into the school and it’s much faster than coming in to dismiss your student.

Please have the note state the time you need the student to leave, not the time of the appointment!

FAFSA/CCS Information

Attention College Bound seniors!

If you haven't heard, the 2025-2026 FAFSA will not officially open until December 1st this year. Make sure you create your studentaid.gov usernames between now and November so you're ready to go once it opens.  

Don't forget the CSS Profile is required by MANY local colleges and is currently OPEN and ready to complete. Are you curious if a college on your list requires this form? Check here!

Have questions about completing the CSS Profile? Feel free to reach out to College Affordable via email at financialaid@collegeaffordable.org or call/text (781) 343 - 1941

Joshua Romano

Principal