AHS Principal's Newsletter

It's been a wonderful start to the school year and Friday was symbolic of that energy with our first pep rally! The Redhawk spirit infiltrated the gym as students competed in games, cheers, and more.

I believe part of the success of the start of our school year has been due in part to our shift to becoming a phone-free community. Students have been engaged in classes, lively in the cafeteria, and friendly in the hallways. We are proud to be recipients of a grant from the Attorney General's Office to support this implementation and look forward to providing more support and education around this shift. You can read more in the hyperlinked Daily News article - including how our Student Advisory Council has been heavily involved in the process.

To help with organization, all students received their good, old paper planners last week! During advisory, classes will be talking about executive functioning strategies and how to use the planners to help them keep track of their school work, co-curricular activities, and more! Research shows there is power in writing information down, so we hope families will loop around at home to encourage students to make use of their planners!

Keep an eye out for your child's quarter 1 progress reports and be sure to stay connected with your child's teachers and counselor with any questions or concerns. Thanks to all of our families for your support in making the start of our school year a positive one so far!

Finally, I want to take a moment to shout out two of the people who help to keep our building clean, cared for, and running smoothly - our MPFTs Rich Papa and Cody Baker! October 2nd is National Custodian's Day, but our gratitude runs year round. Thanks to these two for all they do for AHS!

Three questions you can ask your child this month to start conversation at home about school:

1. What was the the best part of the pep rally?

2. How have you felt having no phone at school?

3. What ways could you use that new paper planner this week?

As always, I appreciate the communication and collaboration with our families. Never hesitate to reach out!

With gratitude,

Dr. Ricci

September was a busy month in the AHS Library! Freshmen visited the library for orientation activities, sophomores picked out independent reading books, and upperclassmen utilized our reference books and online databases for research projects. It has been a great start to the school year, and I look forward to a wonderful fall.

-Victoria Maganzini, AHS Librarian

The student section cheered on our boys soccer team for their senior night!

Mr. Casto's Honors Engineering class is beginning to work on their blue boats, designed to collect water samples in our local waterways. This work is thanks to a grant Mr. Casto received from Toshiba. You can read the Daily News Article here.

I currently have one parent/caregiver vacancy on the AHS school council that I'm seeking volunteers to fill. To be eligible, you must be a parent/caregiver to a current student at AHS. This is a great opportunity to collaborate with AHS and bring the important parent perspective to the table.

The school council is comprised of teachers, students, parents, and community members, and works with me in four key areas:

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

2. Identifying the educational needs of students attending the school

3. Reviewing the annual school building budget

4. Formulating a school improvement plan

All meetings will be held from 3:00 pm in the Amesbury High School Bank Room. All meeting notices will be posted 48 hours in advance on the City of Amesbury website and are open to the public. Dates for this year are as follows:

Thursday, October 8th

Thursday, November 12th

Thursday, December 10th

Thursday, January 7th

Thursday, February 11th

Thursday, March 11th

Thursday, April 8th

Thursday, May 13th

June TBD

If you are interested in joining, please send an email to principal's secretary Michaela Casko (michaela.casko@amesburyma.org) by the end of the school day on Thursday, October 1st. Please include your name, the grade(s) of your child(ren), and a brief statement about why you're interested in joining the school council that may be used in the event the positions need to go to a vote. If there are more people interested than there are available positions, a vote will be held via Google Form that will be emailed out to parents/caregivers on Tuesday, October 6th by Ms. Casko.

If you have any other questions about the AHS school council, please feel free to reach out. I look forward to collaborating with those willing to share their time with our AHS community.

Fall sports have begun! Our new Dean of Students/Athletic Director, Mr. Genualdo, has been working hard to get information out to the community. This includes updating the athletics section of our website: Check it out!

Revamped and Updated Athletic Section within HS Website

Featuring:

• Registration Timelines and helpful hints
• Contact Info Page
• Schedules, Results, Standings, and Tournament Info

New Social Media Sites
IG Account: @amesburyredhawk

X Account: @AmesburyRedHawk

Wednesday, September 30

Cross Country Senior Day at Woodsom Farm vs. Hamilton-Wenham

Thursday, October 1

Girls' Soccer Senior Day at Landry Stadium vs. Pentucket - 6:00

Senior Class Advisors

Dave Miller - david.miller@amesburyma.org

Maddie Yeoman - madison.yeoman@amesburyma.org

Class Dues

As a reminder, class dues of $150 must be paid via cash, check made out to Amesbury High School, or on the Unipay website.

Yearbook Deadlines

October 2 - Yearbook photo day

October 9 - Senior portraits due

October 16 - Parent recognition ads due

December 1 - Last day to pay class dues to have name embossed on yearbook

Contact Barb Leary or Lindsey Alley for any yearbook-related questions:

barbara.leary@amesburyma.org

lindsey.alley@amesburyma.org

Junior Class Advisors

Pat Foley - Patrick.Foley@amesburyma.org

Michelle Parsons - Michelle.Parsons@amesburyma.org

Class Dues

As a reminder, class dues of $150 must be paid via cash, check made out to Amesbury High School, or on the Unipay website.

Sophomore Class Advisors

Matt Sydow - Matthew.Sydow@amesburyma.org

Erika Lynch - Erika.Lynch@amesburyma.org

Class Dues

As a reminder, class dues are $175 if paid before June 2027 (dues increase to $180 after this year.) Dues must be paid via cash, check made out to Amesbury High School, or on the Unipay website.

Freshman Class Advisors

Lauretta Bailin - Lauretta.Bailin@amesburyma.org

Emi Burrell - Emicel.Burrell@amesburyma.org

Class Dues

As a reminder, class dues are $170 if paid before June 2027 (dues increase to $190 after this year.) Dues must be paid via cash, check made out to Amesbury High School, or on the Unipay website.

Hello AHS Families,

I hope you're all doing well and are adjusting to the new school year!

Friendly reminder to please review the APS Student Health Guidelines and complete the Student Health Form if you haven't done it already and return to school asap!

If your child will need to take medication during the school day and/or your child has an epinephrine auto-injector, asthma and uses an inhaler, has seizures, diabetes, or other health concerns, please review the APS Nursing Page for more information about the APS Nursing Department & Team, Health Forms, Medical Information and Resources. Refer to the Nursing page on the district website. and complete the required paperwork for the following: Medication administration during the school day, epinephrine auto-injector, asthma / inhaler, seizures, diabetes, or other health concerns. Medication will NOT be accepted without the necessary forms completed which includes the Medication Administration Plan, Medication Order from the Medical Doctor and Action Plans.

Please do not hesitate to contact me via email with any questions or concerns - I look forward to hearing from you!

Let’s Go, AHS Redhawks!

Warmly,

Nurse Michelle

Michelle Parsons

Email: michelle.parsons@amesburyma.org

Phone: 978-388-4800 x1206

All members of the Amesbury community are welcome to attend a flu shot clinic on Thursday, October 8th from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM in the AHS Cafeteria. Flu, Covid, Pneumovax, Shingles, and Tetanus immunizations are available. Please note: You must complete the attached consent form and bring it, along with your insurance card, to the clinic. Scan the QR code above or click here for more information and to reserve your spot!

Hosted by Amesbury Public Schools Health Services in collaboration with Stop and Shop Pharmacy

This one has been in my queue for a while, and I finally got around to listening to the audiobook. If you need a feel-good read, this one did it for me!

Here's a summary from goodreads.com:

Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.

Have an idea for what I should read next? Email me your suggestions!

September 28th

Freshman Class Elections

Thursday, October 1st

Empowering Our Community: Family Forum

6:30 p.m. - Cashman Elementary

Friday, October 2nd

Yearbook Photo Day

Wednesday, October 7th

First Quarter Progress Reports Available

Friday, October 9th

PRT Day - 11:30 Dismissal

Senior Portraits Due

Monday, October 12th - NO SCHOOL

Indigenous Peoples Day/ Columbus Day

Tuesday, October 14th- Friday, October 30th

Texas Roadhouse Roll Sales - Class of 2029 Fundraiser

Wednesday, October 14th

Student Council - Full Council Meeting | AHS Cafeteria | 7:00 pm

Friday, October 16th

Yearbook Parent Recognition Ads Due

Friday, October 30th

Halloween Rally - 1:00

Senior Dress-Up Day

Breakfast and lunch are free to all students!

A la carte items and/or additional meals may be purchased as well.

If your child has an allergy and/or dietary restriction, our cafeteria manager, Beth Brown, can help to accommodate. You can reach her at bethany.brown@amesburyma.org

Email: danielle.ricci@amesburyma.org
Website: https://ahs.amesburyma.gov/
Location: 5 Highland Street, Amesbury, MA, USA
Phone: 978-388-4800
Facebook: facebook.com/amesburyhighschool