Principal's Update - Friday, September 5, 2025

Jessica Cook

September 5, 2025

Dear Shawsheen Students, Families, and Colleagues,

It was great to welcome students back into the building this week to kick off the 2025-2026 school year! When students return on Monday, we will be following a Week 2 schedule, which means grades 9 & 11 will report to shop, and grades 10 & 12 will report to academics. Please review the rest of this update carefully for important updates and requests for feedback.

Class Meeting Presentations

We started off the school year with class meeting presentations to review key topics with students. You can view those presentations by clicking on the links below.

Survey - Shawsheen Course & Program Offerings

We are looking to collect feedback to inform decisions about future course and chapter 74 program offerings as the district works toward implementing a new master schedule and securing funding with the MSBA for a new building. Please submit this brief (3 question) survey by Friday, September 19, 2025 by clicking of the following link: Survey: Shawsheen Course & Program Offerings - September 2025.

2025-2026 School Council Election Process for Parent/Legal Guardian Representatives

There are three spots on the School Council for parents/legal guardians of current Shawsheen students. The election process for the 2025-2026 school year will take place as follows:

  • If you are a parent/legal guardian of a current Shawsheen student and you are interested in serving on the School Council for the 2025-2026 school year, please fill out the 2025-2026 School Council Parent/Legal Guardian Representative Candidate Form by Tuesday, September 16, 2025 to have your name and overview included on the ballot.

  • By Friday, September 19, 2025, parents/legal guardians of current Shawsheen students will receive information about each candidate and a link that will allow them to submit their votes electronically. All votes must be submitted by Friday, September 26, 2025.

The SVTHS School Council is a representative group consisting of staff, parents/legal guardians, students, and community members. The SVTHS School Council meets monthly in the School Committee Room at 2:15pm. The SVTHS School Council will meet on the following dates:

  • Wednesday, October 8, 2025

  • Wednesday, November 5, 2025

  • Wednesday, December 3, 2025

  • Wednesday, January 7, 2026

  • Wednesday, February 4, 2026

  • Wednesday, March 11, 2026

  • Wednesday, April 15, 2026

  • Wednesday, May 13, 2026

The Shawsheen Valley Technical High School (SVTHS) School Council is charged with five major areas of responsibility, which are to assist the Principal in:

  • Adopting educational goals for the school that are consistent with local educational policies and statewide student performance standards.

  • Identifying the educational needs of students attending the school.

  • Reviewing the annual school building budget.

  • Formulating a school improvement plan.

  • Reviewing the student handbook each spring to consider changes in disciplinary policy to take effect for the following school year.

2025-2026 Student Leadership Opportunities

Student Cabinet & Student Representatives to the School Committee

The Shawsheen Valley Technical High School (SVTHS) Student Cabinet is a representative group of Shawsheen students who meet regularly throughout the school year with the Principal to provide feedback and speak on behalf of the students at Shawsheen. Meetings will take place at 2:15pm on the dates arranged. The students in this group elect the Student Representative to the School Committee. The Student Representative to the School Committee is expected to attend monthly School Committee meetings (the last Tuesday of each month at 7:00pm) and provide a report to the School Committee at each meeting.

All students interested in serving on the SVTHS Student Cabinet for the 2025-2026 school year must submit the 2025-2026 SVTHS Student Cabinet Application by Tuesday, September 16, 2025. Students will be notified by the beginning of October if they have been selected to be on the Student Cabinet or not. If more students apply than the number of spaces available, we will select students to create a representative group reflective of the Shawsheen student body based on student demographics, sending town, grade-level and vocational/technical program.

School Council Student Representatives

The Shawsheen Valley Technical High School (SVTHS) School Council is a representative group consisting of staff, parents/legal guardians, students, and community members. Elections for School Council Student Representatives are held through the Student Council which meets regularly in Ms. Mountain's room (room 538). All students are invited to participate in the Student Council and therefore to participate in the student election for the School Council Student Representative. Students interested in joining the School Council and participating in the election should see Ms. Mountain with any questions.

Reminders re: New Attendance Policy

During the class meetings on September 3, we reviewed the new attendance policy with students. This information was shared with families at the end of last school year, over the summer, and in the 2025-2026 SVTHS Student Handbook. As a reminder, you can review the  Changes to Student Attendance Policy document to review all attendance-related changes. Specifics regarding the changes to unexcused absences are outlined below as well.

Excessive Absence:

  • A student will fail all academic and vocational courses for the year if they have more than 12 unexcused absences for the school year.

  • A student will fail all academic and vocational courses for the quarter if they have more than 4 unexcused absences in that quarter.

  • Students can have a maximum of 12 unexcused absences for the school year, or a maximum of 4 unexcused absences in a quarter.

Individual Course Attendance:

  • If a student has more than 12 unexcused absences for the year in an academic or vocational course they will fail that course for the year.

  • If a student has more than 4 unexcused absences for the quarter in an academic or vocational course they will fail that course for that quarter.

  • Consequences for excessive absences also apply when students have excessive absences in individual courses. A student will be considered as unexcused absent from a course if they miss that course due to an unexcused tardy, an unexcused dismissal, or an unexcused absence from school.

Attendance Make-up Days:

  • Students will be limited to 2 attendance make-up days per quarter, and no more than 6 attendance make-up days per school year.

  • Attendance make-up days will be offered on designated Saturdays and designated week-days over school vacation weeks throughout the year for students who exceed more than 4 unexcused absences for a quarter or more than 12 unexcused absences for the school year .

Appealing Unexcused Absences:

  • If a student exceeds the allowable amount of unexcused absences, they can appeal to the Principal. Each student can access this appeal process 1 time over their four years at SVTHS.

Sincerely,
Jessica Cook
(she/her)
Principal

Click here to view links to important resources (School Calendar, Student Handbook, Etc.)

Important Dates/Reminders: