As we head into graduation week, I wanted to share an uplifting story about one of our alumni. Initially, in the Class of 2020, Derek Williams suffered a tremendous loss his freshman year and struggled academically. Derek worked extremely hard and also had a love for playing basketball. He found success academically, graduated in 2021 from RHS, and then attended Quincy College for the past two years, where he has continued his academic success and played basketball at Quincy College. This week he signed his letter of commitment to Waldorf Warriors in Iowa, where he will continue his schooling and basketball career on the four-year track. Derek is an inspiration to us all, but one thing I have not mentioned is how friendly and great of a person Derek is! We wish Derek the best of luck!

5/29 No School Memorial Day

5/30 MCAS Science Grade 9 Training 8:10 AM

5/30 Graduation Practice 9:00 AM

5/31 Senior Breakfast, Parade to Elementary Schools & RMS, Yearbook Distribution 8:15 AM

6/1 Early Release PD @11:20 AM

6/1 Senior Academic and Athletic Banquet 7:00 PM

6/2 Graduation Practice 9:00 AM

6/2 Graduation 7:00 PM

6/3 Saturday School 9:00-12:00 PM

6/3 Rain Date for Graduation 11:00 AM

6/6 & 6/7 MCAS Testing Science for Grade 9 Students

6/7 Academic Hall of Fame and Underclassmen Award Ceremony 7:00 PM

6/12-6/16 Final Exams

On Monday, May 22nd, RHS students participated in the Boston Medflight Safe Teens Program, to raise awareness to safe teen driving. Fantastic job by all the students involved and special thank you to SRO Ethan Schnabel and Athletic Director Dan Kimball for coordinating the event. Thank you to the Rockland Police Dept., Rockland Fire Dept., Rockland Emergency Medical Services, Rockland Highway Dept., Auto-Tec Auto Body, Universal Auto Body, Magoun- Biggins Funeral Home, WRPS, and Lisa Grisolia for making this event happen today.

Congratulations to all the student inductees and members of the National Honor Society. The students did a fantastic job, and a special thank you to advisor Ms. Walsh for coordinating the event.

The following students were recognized:

Class of 2023

Sydney Blaney

Shelby Bohan

Emma Cameron

Shane Daly

Taina Dias de Souza

Esabella Defilippo

Toni Hawe

Kelly Kearns

Lucas Leander

MaryKate Leoncavallo

Lexie McKenna

Matthew Medford

Victoria Murray

Lina Nassif

Emma Radzik

Kaydence Tiffany

Class of 2024

Chelsea Amaral

Emaan Asad

Alice de Andrade

Cameron Babcock

Andrew Callahan

Ben Carpine

Ainsley Cavicchi

Anthony Ciano

Margaret Elie

Logan Finn

Meghan Gustin

Norah Glennon

Ava Hagan

Victoria Higgins

Victoria Hynes

Hannah Ivil

Samantha Murdock

Vivian Nguyen

Hope Sylvester

Emily Tsiantoulas

During the past week, Guidance counselors worked with Juniors in English classes.

The following things were discussed:

• College Letters of Recommendation - discussion included Who to Ask, When to Ask, Do’s & Dont’s and what documentation will be needed for recommenders (teachers and counselors). Information on recommendations will be posted in students Guidance google classrooms.

• College Admissions Testing - we encouraged students to take a second (or first) SAT or ACT exam. Here are the College Admission exam test dates & registration deadlines for 2023-2024.

• All students were encouraged to update their resume in SCOIR and counselors reviewed that process.

• Common App (the Common Application) - students created a Common App account and began filling out the demographic and education sections. Students can “roll over” their Common App beginning on August 1st - see here for more details.

• Students who do not plan to apply to a four year college (and chose not to create a Common App account) spent this time reviewing the Alternatives to College doc in their Google classroom (which they’ve previously discussed with their counselor). It includes resources for short-term training programs, trade & technical schools, the Armed Services, Unions and Apprenticeship programs, AmeriCorps, Job Corps and Employment.

All Juniors will soon be working on a draft Common App essay in English class. The writing prompts can be found here. Grade 12 English teachers will continue working with students on these essays in September, and we will host an Essay review night with College Admissions Reps in the Fall.

We will also be hosting a College Application Boot Camp on Wednesday, August 23rd - details can be found here. This is a great opportunity for students to get a head start on applications before school begins.

Please don't hesitate to contact your student's Guidance counselor with questions.

WRPS and student Rocco Correia worked together to put on this great video, recapping the 50th RPS Arts Festival. Very well-done!

Tuesday, 5/30

• There is a mandatory graduation practice at 9:00 AM in the RHS Gym. Being on time for the practice is critical! Seniors should plan on the practice going until 11:00 AM, but it may be shorter or longer depending on how engaged everyone is.

• Graduation caps and gowns will be distributed after the graduation practice only if the senior has fulfilled their obligations. These debts include students returning their Chromebooks and power cords during Senior Issues.

• Students should try on their cap and gown when they get home and hang them up. Seniors can contact class advisor Ms. Leighton if there are any issues with the cap and gown. Seniors are allowed to decorate their caps (must be decorated appropriately) but they cannot decorate their gowns.

Wednesday, 5/31

• Seniors should arrive (bringing their cap and gown) for breakfast at 8:15 AM in the cafeteria and then we will depart at 9:00 AM to each elementary school and Rogers Middle School. This parade is an opportunity for seniors to say goodbye to their elementary and middle school teachers and for the younger students to see the graduates in action! We will return by 10:30-10:45 AM. Yearbooks will be distributed at the Senior Breakfast. This event is optional. Seniors cannot receive their yearbooks in advance of the breakfast.

Thursday, 6/1

• Families should have received an invitation to the Senior Academic and Athletic Awards Night if their senior is getting recognized via email and the mail. Please tell your child that they are getting recognized so you can both plan on attending. Seniors join us for dinner at 6:00 PM in the cafeteria and families join us for the recognition ceremony inside the auditorium at 7:00 PM. Proper dress (business casual) is required for seniors. Any senior, even if they are not getting recognized and family members, are welcome to attend!

Friday, 6/2

• Graduation practice will be held at 9:00 AM. Seniors should meet in the RHS gym. The practice should go until about 11:00 AM, assuming seniors are on time and engaged.

• Seniors need to report to the Gym by 6:00 PM. Graduation begins at 7:00 PM. There is no ticket for graduation; each graduate can bring an unlimited number of guests!

• Proper dress is required for graduates (no flip flops, no sandals, no sneakers, no shorts, no jeans, no heels with spikes (hard to walk across the grass), and gowns must be zipped). Students may decorate their caps but cannot have anything on their gowns except for school-issued National Honor Society or school-issued military chords.

• If the weather is not good for graduation on Friday, the rain date is Saturday, June 3rd, at 11:00 AM.

This month, the Student Government Council showed some appreciation to staff members by making cards, doing a snack cart, and bringing around a beverage cart to help them keep “staying afloat!” On May 17th, SGC held the annual banquet. Here, there were freshmen election results, speeches and results for committee chairs, senior speeches, the passing of the gavel, and a lot of reminiscing on the year and all of the events that occurred. We’d like to say goodbye to our seniors Lexie McKenna, MaryKate Leoncavallo (this month’s You Rock winner), Bella Dangora, and Anna Ramponi. We wish you all the best on your next journey and appreciate the work you have done for this council! Below are the results of the Committee Chair Elections, as well as pictures from our events.

Finance and Fundraising Committee:

Chair, Victoria Hynes

Co-Chair, Logan Hatch

Spirit Committee:

Chair, Shannon Gustin

Co-Chair, Jessica Gillooly

Student Services Committee:

Chair, Josh Campoverde

Co-Chair, Regan Glennon

Community Service Committee:

Chair, Erin Maroney

Co-Chair, Anthony DeFilippo

This is a reminder that there is Saturday School scheduled for June 3rd from 9:00 AM until 12:00 PM. Any student is encouraged to make-up missing work or receive extra help. Teachers from the English, Math, Science, History, and World Language Departments will be there to assist students.

This week, juniors had the opportunity to tour Bridgewater State University and attend a College Fair. Thank you to our guidance counselors for taking students on this trip!

The Bulldog Brew is a coffee and donut shop run by students in our Pathways Program. This week, the Bulldog Brew closed for the year. Delicious coffee and donuts were enjoyed by staff, every Tuesday...thanks to work of our Pathways students! Thank you to our student workers and a special thank you to Mrs. Henry for making the donuts each week.

On Thursday, May 25th, RHS held its annual Senior Issues programming for the students in the Class of 2023. Students participated in a unity project, heard from guest speakers on the dangers of substance abuse, and got their CPR certification. Students were engaged and highly cooperative. Thank you to the Rockland Police Department, Rockland Fire Department, and several staff members for coordinating the event under the leadership of school nurse Ms. Fleur Pang.

On Thursday, May 25th, RHS Class of 2023 parents organized a cookout for our seniors. What an amazing event; thank you to the generosity of our families in the Class of 2023 and local businesses!

Below is a picture of our girls lacrosse team as they prepared for senior night and some pictures from the local newspaper! The girls lacrosse team picked up their first win of the season, on their last game Thursday, May 25th!

Some great pictures below and a nice article covering our girls softball team!

Congrats to senior Sydney Blaney for being honored at Holy Cross today by the

MBCA for the All-Academic team (for girls basketball).

Girls and boys tennis had their senior nights this week!

We are excited to announce that Mr. Steve Capone will be the new cross-country coach, replacing Mr. Murphy who is retiring at the end of the year.

Congratulations to our SSL All-Stars in Spring Track!

Great job by these Bulldogs helping with the Rotary Club can and bottle drive yesterday!

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John M. Harrison

Principal

Email: jharrison@rocklandschools.org
Website: https://www.rocklandschools.org/o/rockland-high
Location: 52 Mackinlay Way, Rockland, MA, USA
Phone: 781-871-0541
Twitter: @RocklandHS