- Shawsheen Valley Technical High School
- Principal's Update - June 3, 2020
-
Shawsheen Valley Technical High School
Principal's Update
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Dear Shawsheen students and families,
I hope you and your loved ones continue to stay safe and healthy, and that the nicer weather we have been having has had a positive impact on everyone. The weather has certainly been kind to us for the recent events we have had to celebrate our seniors. Thank you to everyone who came out to cheer on our seniors during the car parade on Monday evening. The seniors certainly showed up to impress with their decorated vehicles! I am writing today with a few updates as we approach the last few weeks of the school year.
Dates for Graduation
We are currently working with the Billerica Board of Health to finalize our plans for graduation exercises and will share all of the details as soon as everything is approved. For your planning purposes, please note that we intend to schedule graduation ceremonies across three evenings: June 16, 17, & 18.
Senior Scholarships, Awards, Medals & Apprenticeship Cards
Last night we released our Virtual Scholarship & Awards Ceremony for the Class of 2020 in lieu of the Scholarship Night & Class Day events we would typically hold. If you have not had a chance to already, you can view it at the following link: Virtual Scholarship & Awards Ceremony. Students will be given the scholarships, awards, medals & apprenticeship cards they have earned when they receive their diplomas on June 16, 17 & 18. Congratulations to all of the recipients and thank you to the countless scholarship funds and organizations that have made these scholarships and awards possible for our students.
My School Bucks Reminder
If you have automatic payments set up for your My School Bucks account for the school cafeteria, please disengage it so that payments don't continue to be deducted. If you have questions please reach out to our School Nutrition Director, Robert Roach, at rroach@shawtech.org.
Pick-up of Student Belongings
Over the past three days we were able to safely and successfully bring seniors into the building to drop-off and pick-up materials. Based on what we learned from structuring that schedule, and in accordance with additional guidance issued by the Commissioner this week, we are putting together a schedule for students in grades 9-11 to retrieve personal belongings from the building before the end of the school year and will communicate that information by the end of this week.
Message from the Commissioner
Commissioner Riley issued a message earlier this week in response to the murder of George Floyd stating his commitment to continue to work with schools and educators "to address the inequities that stain our society" and his stance that "[a]s educators, we have a responsibility to help young people navigate the world. Now, more than ever, students need us to support them as they try to make sense of this tragedy." I agree fully with Commissioner Riley on this issue and encourage you to read his full message at the following link: A Message from the Commissioner. I am committed to supporting our staff to meet this responsibility and, as we wait for the resources mentioned in the Commissioner's letter, I have shared a resource with staff that can be useful to educators, parents, and students alike: https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race.
On a final note, I'd like to respond to the message our Superintendent-Elect Dr. Brad Jackson sent out to the Shawsheen community earlier today. I am honored to continue on as Shawsheen’s principal into next school year, I love this school and find great joy in the work we do to fulfill Shawsheen's mission for our students.
Best,
Jessica Cook
Principal