Given the continuing rise in COVID-19 cases in our schools, and our increased number of clusters (three or more cases in a class over a seven-day period) at our schools, PSB has made the decision to REQUIRE masks for all staff and all students. We will continue to monitor our case counts and the community metrics and remain open to altering these guidelines moving forward.
Just a brief reminder, we have two upcoming Flex Blocks for grades 10th, 11th, and 12th.
Flex 2: June 2, 2022 (Grades 10-11)
PLEASE NOTE, THERE IS NO FLEX BLOCK FOR 9TH GRADE.
PLEASE CHECK THE REVISED SCHOOL CALENDAR INFO BELOW…Including final exam dates and end of school days …. And note that there will NOT be early final exams so plan accordingly and students should talk with their teacher/ dean if they will not be able to attend these exams. REVISED PSB School Calendar is attached to this email.
Thurs 6/16: Gr 9-11 Finals
Fri. 6/17: Gr 9-11 Finals
Mon. 6/20: Juneteenth (Observed)
Tue. 6/21: Makeup/Grading Day (with three make-up periods proctored by administration)
Wed. 6/22: Final Course Meeting for some blocks
Thu. 6/23, 1/2 day with noon dismissal: Final Course Meeting for some blocks and Advisory
Fri. 6/24, 1/2 day with noon dismissal: Last Day of School
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The focus on everyone’s mental health has been highlighted on most of the BHS Guidance/Counseling Weekly Updates over this past year and previously. More reminders and resources will be shared over this month as well.
For the last day of Mental Health May, I have included a 5 minute mindful meditation here from the MindWise Innovations website - https://learn.mindwise.org/bh-beat
Enjoy and be well!
And a last reminder that BHS counselors and clinicians are available to support students with concerns. Seek out a trusting adult in school or out of school and let them know how you’re doing. There are many caring and trained adults in the BHS community who can help!
BHS Summer School catalog now available! https://bhs.brookline.k12.ma.us/summer-school.html
BHS Summer School will start June 27 and most full courses will end Friday July 29, not including July 4. Attendance to all classes is key to getting credit!
There’s a small number of elective options and wellness courses that will count towards BHS credit/graduation. Most courses are recovery credit. AP US Hist and AP Bio prep will be available too. Check out the catalog and contact [email protected] if you have any questions.
These BHS Counseling Dept Weekly Update emails are sent to all students and the 1st contact parent/guardian listed on the students’ X2 accounts.
All NEW UPDATES will be highlighted in BLUE each week for easy scanning of newest info.
FAMILIES
The BHS Counselors are grateful to those who have donated snacks over the past few weeks. Snack deliveries have been delivered to counselor and social worker offices. And there’s more to store to feed our hungry students in Sept!
Thank you!
ALL STUDENTS
The BHS Cheer team will be holding Fall Coed Cheerleading Tryouts on June 6, 8, and 9 from 3:15-5:30pm in Tappan Gym #2 (#66 Tappan St). To be cleared to tryout, athletes must be registered on FamilyID and submit a recent physical to the BHS Athletics Dept. No experience is necessary to tryout, and everyone who will attend BHS next year is invited to try out! Email [email protected] for more information. Go Warriors!
ACE is still accepting new students for the 2022-23 school year! ACE is a small program within BHS for rising 10-12th grade students who are seeking a highly engaging, experiential high school classes and offers opportunities to learn outside of the building through internships or college classes. ACE has had students attend highly competitive colleges and offers honors credit courses.
ACE still has space for interested students for next Sept. If a student wants to explore ACE, they need to attend an info. session and set up a classroom visit, as soon as possible. They should email [email protected] who will set this up.
Visit the ACE website for more info: www.ACEHighSchoolYourWay.com
In the wake of ongoing violence/racism against the AAPI Community, APAC (BHS' Asian Pacific American Club) wants to get more information from AAPI students and faculty about their experiences at BHS as an AAPI student or faculty member. This is the first step in making long-term, systemic change in our school community. We would appreciate any and all AAPI identifying BHS community members filling out this form. https://forms.gle/JJKWF3QmRnVCaVni7
Thank you for using your voice and being brave. Together we can make change
Do you identify as a South Asian teen/young adult? See the attached flyer for info about a free weekly zoom support group you may want to check out!
Check out the UPDATED Summer 2022 Opportunities document! Copy and paste this link for the most updated programs - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LZJQoWB4C-JLr13sXkUqEcBvCBraUo3eWYtMG_DUDac/edit
This document is being updated regularly with more opportunities including jobs, internships, and summer programs.
Lunch Lounge is offered for all of the students who may or may not have some social connections in classes, including new to BHS students. It is a welcoming, inclusive drop-in lunch community that engages kids with friendly conversation, other kids interested in making friends, and a warm and familiar staff member. At this time, Lunch Lounge is offered for these lunch blocks in Room 277:
Week A - Monday E - Lunch B only
Wednesday C - Lunch A and B
Friday D - Lunch A and B
Week B - Monday E - Lunch B only
Wed C - Lunch A and B
Friday D - Lunch A and B
Lunch at 22 Tappan –
Does the cafeteria sometimes feel too loud or too crowded? Does it sometimes feel difficult to make friends with new people during the lunch block?
Come join Lunch Lounge on Fridays in room 206, a dedicated space to form positive relationships with peers! Games will be provided. Fun is optional and encouraged!
Summer Job Opportunities:
Brookline Recreation is looking for summer staff! They are still looking for a couple junior counselor positions (16 – 17 YO) but also really need some 18+ staff too. See the attached flyer for more info.
Lifeguard Training and certification - get ready for a summer job AND possibly get the training for free! See the attached flyer.
The JCC of Greater Boston is excited to announce a new program of paid internships for summer camp staff. In addition to working with children, interns may attend a series of professional development workshops designed to give them a better understanding of career choices and paths in the non-profit world and beyond.
Make a difference in a child’s life! Camp Kaleidoscope, the JCC’s arts and science day camp in Newton, is now offering paid internships for counselors who know how to make a camper’s day extraordinary.
· Interns are rising 11th graders or older. Junior counselor interns ages 16 & 17 earn $2800-$3500. Counselor interns who are high school graduates or older earn a minimum of $4100 for the full summer. They supervise campers and may teach or co-teach theater, arts, sports, boating or other activities. All learn leadership skills and conflict mediation, make lasting friendships, and may take advantage of professional development workshops facilitated by industry leaders.
· Camp dates are June 27-August 19, with orientation the week of June 20. While we prefer staff who can commit to the whole summer, shorter commitments will also be considered. Send us a note and/or resume at [email protected]. More camp information is at www.bostonjcc.org/kaleidoscope. Job descriptions and application are at JCC Summer Jobs.
Other summer camp counselor jobs - There are a number of camp organizations looking for counselors NOW! See the BHS Guidance website / Career Counseling link summer jobs 2022 for more info - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LZJQoWB4C-JLr13sXkUqEcBvCBraUo3eWYtMG_DUDac/edit#heading=h.i9miodlpjya
Community Service Opportunities for BHS Students:
Need another activity during the summer? Want to meet people around the world?Language Virtual is looking for new teachers! About us: Language Virtual is a global community of students who are either teaching, or learning English. We connect students all around our world through 1-on-1 English lessons. Recently, we started accepting students currently in Ukraine and students who have settled down in a new country. How the process works: Once a student signs up, we match them with a high school teacher, and the student can contact the teacher directly about scheduling. Usually the teaching sessions are only 30min-1hour long and you receive community service hours. You can view our website for more details and the sign up pages: https://www.languagevirtual.org/.
Teacher sign up page: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJ4whEp2tl9ZFt7W-6ZskGdF4sfKdYg7cLpEwZ2eN-Ws-U-w/viewform?usp=sf_link Video about LV: https://youtu.be/SF7CdseEX40
What you will be teaching: You will teach English to your assigned student through conversations, vocabulary, grammar, or homework help. You and the student can establish what they would like to work on in the 1st lesson. Don't worry about not speaking the same language as your student, they will know enough English to communicate on the basic level.
*Extra teaching opportunity* We currently have 3 spots open in our LV x Minmahaw Program. Teachers in that program teach English to a group of 4-8 students online at a school along the Myanmar-Thailand border. This is the equivalent of a teaching job, because you are essentially the teacher for the school's core subject. Teachers are expected to be on time and engage the students in lessons they create on their own (there will be coaching given by Anna between each lesson). It's a great opportunity to learn new skills and receive personal feedback! If you would like to sign up for this, there's a spot that you can indicate on our sign up form.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
I hope everyone considers joining our global community! -Anna
BHS COMMUNITY SERVICE INFO - Even though Brookline High does not have a community service requirement for graduation, many BHS students become involved in their school or greater Brookline community through service. These opportunities provide a chance for students to better understand and give back to those in need, plus offer a direct strategy to deal with emotions and stress by making connections with others and becoming engaged with something larger than one’s self. Adding community service activities can be beneficial to your college applications down the road too!
You do NOT have to have community service officially listed on your BHS transcript for credit to have its impact be noted for your own sense of self or to colleges. If you do want to have community service hours count for BHS credit, please be aware of these important criteria:
- must be a service within BHS or Brookline or greater Brookline community
- any service hours beyond 50 MUST be approved by the BHS Community Service Coordinator ([email protected]) – see attached form
- 50 hours = .25 credit; 100 hours = .5 credit; 150 hours = .75 credit; 200 hours = 1.0 credit
- hours must be logged and verified by the service organization supervisor and Ms Gaffney at BHS
– Check out Teen Life by copying and pasting this link- https://www.teenlife.com/category/volunteer/?keyword=&location=boston&program-type=volunteer
- The BHS Community Service info on the school’s website has been updated with BHS specific community service opportunities plus opportunities in the Brookline/Boston area - http://bhs.brookline.k12.ma.us/community-service.html
JUNIORS
BHS Summer School is offering a College Application Essay writing course with our very own Zach Broken Rope! Please see the course catalog for more info - https://bhs.brookline.k12.ma.us/summer-school.html
Free Virtual College Fair offered by Ethan Sawyer - aka The College Essay Guy (a well respected college support person who offers ALOT of free advice about application essay writing and more -https://www.collegeessayguy.com/)
During this free event, you’ll have a chance to hear from different colleges and universities from across the U.S., and in Canada, Australia, Asia and the U.K. You can choose which colleges you want to hear from by registering for their sessions, and ask questions of the college representatives live.
College Essay Guy Virtual College Fair
Wednesday, June 8th
3pm - 6:45pm PDT
Register here: https://www.strivescan.com/collegeessayguy/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Summer+Virtual+College+Fair+on+June+8th&utm_campaign=College+Fair+Webinar
- Connect with over 30 colleges and universities from around the world
- Join me in the opening session as I share How to Develop a Preliminary College List in Under an Hour (and yes, you can literally leave this session with a prelim list of schools)
- 6x6 format: 6 schools present for 6 minutes each (super efficient way of getting to know many colleges/universities)
StriveScan "Launch Pad" offers FREE opportunities for students to explore mini info sessions about various colleges clustered into certain majors/ future careers or other high interest categories - https://www.strivescan.com/launch/
Check out pre-recorded sessions for:
Business, STEM, Social Sciences, The Arts
Register for upcoming LIVE sessions for:
Colleges by Size, En Espanol, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
Want to be considered for BHS National Honor Society as a senior?
Here’s what you should be doing:
- maintain an overall 3.3 or better BHS GPA
- complete minimum of 15 hours of community service (Sept 2021 – August 2022) - If you'd like a tool for keeping track of your community service, you can use this google doc organizer - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OStrm_4nJw0_rheAZVLYJpWGwsTO1IHSXMfBbtWFJQI/edit#gid=0. Make and save a copy of it to maintain your own record. You'll be able to submit this as part of your application in your senior year.
- NHS info blast shared to all eligible seniors in May and applications completed in early Sept 2022
JUNIORS AND SOPHOMORES
PreACT takers… Did you miss the PreACT score report zoom presentation last Thurs X block? Lenny Libenzon, BHS College Counselor, offered this overview of the PreACT score report - https://bhs.brookline.k12.ma.us/guidance/pre-act-score-explanation-session
If you haven’t picked up your PreACT score report and test booklet, please go to your counselor’s office to collect it before the school year ends! If you have Dean Fig as a counselor, please come to the 285 Guidance suite to pick up your report.
SOPHOMORES
If you are taking APUSH next year, this is a required meeting:
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Jun 2, 2022 11:10 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: APUSH
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://psbma-org.zoom.us/j/96139946058?pwd=YjdKQ01mSHRWSDBwaStSZ1NOVTVZQT09 (Links to an external site.)
Passcode: 898743
9TH GRADERS
Reminder that 9th grade Science MCAS testing is coming up Tues June 7 and Wed June 8. All 9th graders are being prepared in their Physics classes and will test on the morning of these dates.