Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Updates
I attended Hudson Memorial School’s Curriculum night for students and families. School administrators provided an overview for families on new school programs being implemented this year, including morning meeting, and student-led conferences. Morning meeting and student-led conferences have been shown to be successful strategies in engaging students in their learning.
Ms. Ripel, Assistant Director of Student Services, and Ms. Moore, Behavior Systems Development Advisor, and I had a meeting with the NH Department of Education to review progress on the Project Aware Grant. The Project Aware grant is targeted to create multi-tiered systems of support for behavior. Progress has been made in many areas. This is the last year of this grant, and part of these meetings is to plan what resources and programs will continue after the grant expires.
Last Friday, NH Teacher of the Year Christian Cheetham and students from the Air Force JROTC program joined the Commission and Deputy Commission of Education to tour the Mount Washington Observatory. Students learned about the extreme weather environment at Mt. Washington and used weather instruments to measure changes in air pressure, temperature, and winds as they rode the Cog Railway to the top. Alvirne High School social studies teacher Seth Garon and School Board chair Gretchen Whiting participated.
On Wednesday, September 20, the Palmer Center at Alvirne High School will host STEM Day at the CTE center and Hills House. The event will include hi-tech demonstrations, advanced equipment and hands-on technology from companies including the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, BAE Systems and ARMI/BioFabUSA. HMS seventh grade students will attend as part of the “Exploring your future” program and all high school students are encouraged to check it out.
Communication Updates
In the district update last week, safety information was shared with families and staff. School safety is the district’s highest priority, and the information shared explains training and school practices and what to do in case of emergency. This information is available on district and school websites under the Families and will also be sent home by hard copy to families with students in preschool through grade 8.
On the district website, there are several calendars including a calendar for each school and one for the school board. This week we have added a calendar for Hudson Memorial Athletics, which has been shared with HMS families and is available on the website. Alvirne High School athletics uses a shared platform with other school districts through the state NHIAA. This week we will launch a google calendar for Alvirne’s fall athletic calendar. This will be shared in my weekly email address and through social media.
On Thursday, September 28, the Hudson School District and Town of Hudson will host “State of Town” at the Barnyard Café in the Palmer Center at Alvirne High School. A news item is on all the district web sites, a Facebook post has been shared, it is posted on the sign in front of the SAU and shared in my weekly email address last Thursday. We are looking forward to this event and will have student CTE ambassadors in attendance to offer tours to anyone that is interested.
Legislative Updates
The legislative filing period started last week in the NH House and as of this afternoon, there were 677 bill titles filed. Some of the proposed bills are parental rights, a revision to FAFSA bill, non-academic surveys, 4 adequacy funding bills, and a bill proposing universal school breakfast and lunch.
Other Updates
Today, I visited students at the Early Learning Center at Dr. H.O. Smith School and first grade students received a class of 2035 tee-shirt. This was the students' first school assembly of the year, and they were excited to be part of the class of 2035!
I attended the Alvirne football game on Friday night and the football team played a tough Windham team. There was great school spirit, a large crowd, and the band had an amazing halftime show that included a solo on electric guitar by Ryan Gasdia.
Last Friday, I attended the NH School Administrators Association meeting and we heard from New Hampshire’s Kid Governor, Haydin Simmons. As part of her presentation, we heard about her advocacy work on supporting families that need support due to food insecurity. The programs include Spring NH Food Drive and End 68 Hours of Hunger.
The New Hampshire Department of Education provided an update on civics and the resources available at NHCIVICS.ORG, including civics k-12 curriculum library.
Ms. Erin Hennessey, the NH Deputy Secretary of State, shared a status update on NH primary and school calendars. The date has not been finalized, but the primary election must occur 7 days prior to any other primary. The NH Secretary of State is also sponsoring a 4th grade “I Voted” sticker contest. The contest encourages students to create a sticker for the NH Primary. Additional resources included a NH Pocket Voter Guide for first time voters.
Last week, Police Chief Dionne and Principal Bowen attended the first public hearing at the Board of Selectmen meeting regarding restricting public access to Memorial Drive during school hours. The second public hearing is scheduled for September 26. After this hearing, pending the outcome, the district will work with Town Department officials to take the next steps in this process.
Respectfully submitted,
Daniel Moulis, Ed. D
Superintendent