ROCKLAND HIGH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

It has been an incredibly busy, wonderful week at Rockland High School filled with celebrations and ceremonies.

Graduation was held on a beautiful, breezy evening last Friday. Congratulations to all of the members of the Class of 2025! We are so proud of all of their accomplishments. A few candid photos are included. The entire ceremony can be accessed on the WRPS YouTube channel.

Science MCAS for ninth graders took place this week on Wednesday and Friday, which wraps up all testing for the school year. Make-up testing will take place early next week. Students who missed either session of the science MCAS will be required to take the makeups before taking their finals.

On Wednesday evening, three members of the Rockland High School school community were inducted into the Academic Hall of Fame (see photo). Congratulations to:

• Katrina Bergman (class of 1984)
• Maureen Ellis-Schnider (class of 1971)
• Richard Little (class of 1960)

We also recognized the academic achievement of our underclassmen. Congratulations to the following award recipients:

UNDERCLASSMEN ACADEMIC AWARD WINNERS 2025

The Rensselaer Medal - Abigail Gustavsen

High Honors in All Three Terms

• Grade 11 – Riley Boylan, Madison Dever, Anderson Dore, Harrison Holbrook, Molly Lucas, Kiley Murdock, Ashlyn Ready, Kyara Williams
• Grade 10 – Gabriella Lynch, Kylee Mann, Nora Medford
• Grade 9 – Claire Carpine, Lyla Davey, Abigail McDonagh, Johanna Simpson, Colt Wardwell

The Saint Michael’s College Book Award - Kyara Williams

Academic Excellence Certificates and Academic Letters (Honor Roll for 6 consecutive terms or a total of ten terms)

• Grade 11 – Riley Boylan, Kailyn Kubek, Cooper Larouco, Molly McCrorey, Isabella Porto, Caleb Walo, Davonne Wilson
• Grade 10 – Kaitlyn Asplund, Delaney Babcock, Jolene Craig, Shara Da Silva, Mitchel DeAraujo Silva, Paige Faherty, Maria Eduarda Ferreira dos Reis, Lillian George, Ella Hutchinson, Ryan Jackson, Andrew LeBarron, Madelyn Leoncavallo, Gabriella Lynch, Avery Lyons, Gia Madi, Kylee Mann, Layla Meade, Nora Medford, Michael Miller, Madalyn Moriarty, Lycia Nassif, Danny Nguyen, Maura Pala, Gabriella Persichini, Colin Rau, Jack Reardon, Sophia Sarro, Ashley Seder, Megan Sullivan, Emma Wood

The Boys and Girls State Seminar recipients - Masoumah Alkhateeb and Anderson Dore

Hugh O’Brian Award recipients - Tuline Farah and Nola Finn

Mass STAR Youth Leadership Award recipient - Lillian George

The Suffolk University Book Award recipient - Cailey Kelleher

The Endicott College Book Awards recipient - Molly Lucas

The Seal of Biliteracy recipient - Clara deOliveira

Academic Achievement Awards

ART

Gr. 9 Beatrix Poukkula, Riley O’Connell

Gr. 10 Lalya Meade, Gabrielle Persichini

Gr. 11 Sarah McWilliams, Hannah McWilliams

ENGLISH

Gr. 9 Lyla Davey, Mikaela Murray

Gr. 10 Lillian George, Lycia Nassif

Gr. 11 Kiley Murdock, Mae Richardson

WORLD LANGUAGE/SPANISH

Gr. 9 Jonathan Muturi, Liam Callahan

Gr. 10 Layla Meade, Avery Lyons

Gr. 11 Kiley Murdock, Sophia Viejo

WORLD LANGUAGE/FRENCH

Gr. 9 Talia Dior Da Costa, Hannah Corbett

Gr. 10 Lycia Nassif, Nola Finn

Gr. 11 Kira Mason, Jaycee Comeau

HEALTH

Gr. 9 Aditya Sugunan, Lavinya Medeiros

MATHEMATICS

Gr. 9 Abigail McDonald, Abigail McDonagh

Gr. 10 Layla Meade, Avery Lyons

Gr. 11 Harrison Holbrook, Abigail Gustavsen

MUSIC

Gr. 9 Elijah Leroy-Severe, Talia Dior Da Costa

Gr. 10 Ashley Seder, Gabriella Lynch

Gr. 11 Joseph Quinn, John Vaz

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Gr. 10 Madelyn Leoncavallo, Jason Hennessy

Gr. 11 Thomas Hynes, Davonne Wilson

BUSINESS

Gr. 9 Ariana Medina, Joseph Cedrone

Gr. 10 Jonathan Ferreira, Mimi Nguyen

FAMILY CONSUMER SCIENCE

Gr. 9 Malikai Haskins, Brandon Geloran

Gr. 10 Madelyn Leoncavallo, Olivia Panaro

Gr. 11 Jomarian Bayer, Masoumah Alkhateeb

SCIENCE

Gr. 9 Claire Carpine, Johanna Simpson

Gr. 10 Avery Lyons, Lycia Nassif

Gr. 11 Kiley Murdock, Abigail Gustavsen

HISTORY/SOCIAL SCIENCE

Gr. 9 Talia Dior Da Costa, Isabella Florenco-Ramos

Gr. 10 Jack Reardon, Avery Lyons

Gr. 11 Anderson Dore, Abigail Gustavsen

OVERALL OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC ACHIEVER

Grade 9 Lyla Davey

Grade 10 Gia Madi

Grade 11 Harrison Holbrook

Final exams begin next Tuesday. During final exams, there will be one exam in the morning, then lunch, then a second exam. This procedure is followed Tuesday through Thursday. L block final is Friday morning, then makeup exams Friday afternoon and Monday, June 16. Students who do not have to make up any finals are free to leave after their L block exam. While the "last day of school" is technically Monday, June 16, only students making up exams will be required to attend that day. The Final Exam Schedule is attached.

6/9 - Last day of classes

6/9 - Science MCAS makeup testing

6/10 - A and B block finals

6/10 - Athletic Awards Banquet, 5:30 PM

6/11 - C and D block finals

6/12 - E and F block finals

6/13 - L block final and make-up exams

6/16 - Make-up exams and LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! (if students do not need to make up finals, they do not have to report to school.)

The sophomore class fundraiser was fun for all! Mr. Capone, Jomarian Bayer and Abby Harlow emerged victorious.

This week, Guidance counselors worked with Juniors in English classes (or individually).

The following things were discussed/reviewed:

• College Letters of Recommendation - Discussion included: Who to Ask, When to Ask, Do’s & Don'ts, and what documentation will be needed from recommenders (teachers and counselors). Identifying Your Recommenders Worksheet and Tips for Getting Great Recommendation Letters are in students' Guidance Google classrooms.
• All students have created a résumé in SCOIR - they should keep their résumé up to date - it can be used for recommendation letters and job applications, and some colleges let students upload their résumé into the application.
• Common App (the Common Application) - The Common App is one application that students can use to apply to multiple colleges. Students created a Common App account and began filling out the demographic and education sections. Personal and demographic information students entered will save and roll over on August 1st; see here for more details.

All Juniors are or will be working on a draft college essay in English class, using the 2025 - 2026 Common App Essay Prompts. Essay resources are also available in the Guidance Google Classroom. 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. Students can bring a copy of their draft essay to get feedback from college admissions representatives.

We will host a College Application Boot Camp for rising seniors on August 20th. Details can be found here. This is a great opportunity for students to get a head start on applications before school begins. Registration information will be sent out in early August.

Here are a few additional resources for Juniors and families:

Things to do the summer before Senior year

6 Best College Planning Jobs for Parents

Financial Aid & Scholarship Resources for Juniors: We will host a Financial Aid Night in the Fall. Details will be shared in September.

Registration is open for the SAT and ACT for the 2025-2026 school year. Students can sign up for a Saturday SAT at collegboard.org and the ACT at actstudent.org. RHS will give a School Day SAT on October 8th. Students will sign up for the School DAY SAT through Guidance in September.

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

Regards,

The RHS Guidance Department

See the attached flyer for information about our summer school program.

As the weather is warming up, we need to work harder to stay hydrated. Please remind your student to carry water or another appropriate form of hydration to school.

Drinking water helps maintain the balance of body fluid. The functions of bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients and maintenance of body temperature.

During the winter, water vapor escapes from our bodies through our breath. You can see it escaping when you are outside in the freezing cold air. Just because you don’t sweat as much during the summer does not mean your body is not losing water.

Water helps keep your skin looking good. Your skin contains plenty of water and functions as a protective barrier. Dry skin is more susceptible to damage and breakdown. Drinking more water helps our bodies push impurities and waste through our bodies in order to keep us healthy and energized.

Water helps energize muscles. Cells that don’t maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes can result in muscle fatigue. When muscle cells don’t have adequate fluids, they don’t work as well.

Water can help in digestion and aid our bodies to properly process the food we eat. Foods with higher water content are absorbed more slowly by the body and help you feel full. Water rich foods include fruits, vegetables, broth based soups, oatmeal and beans.

Updated stories are available in The Veritas.

School Website

Aspen Student & Family Portal

Arbiter Live- Athletic Schedules

Breakfast & Lunch Menus

Monday, June 9 is the last day of classes for grades 9-11. Final exams begin on Tuesday, June 10. See the attached information about the final exam schedule.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

CHeryl Schipper