Monday, June 22, 2020

Week 15 Update: Graduation Date Set!

Families,
Hope everyone is enjoying the weather. For our underclassman, YOU MADE IT! The year is officially over!!! I am really proud of the effort that you made over the last 3 months. For the vast majority of you that kept up with your schoolwork, you put yourself in a great position to graduate next year. For the very few that did not,well, we have some serious work to do in September. This will be the last update of the school year. I wish you and your families a relaxing summer break. Here is the last bit of news you need to know.

WE HAVE A DATE FOR GRADUATION!! We will celebrate our Seniors on Sunday Evening, August 2nd. PVMHS Graduation will be the night before. If you have not submitted a video, I will give you until THIS FRIDAY JUNE 26TH. I would encourage all of you to participate in both events. 

Underclassman: If you have anything that needs to be turned in, you can stop by Peabody High this Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday between 8-2. Let me know if you have any questions.

It was one of the craziest school years of my 15 year career. Hopefully we will be back in September to a somewhat normal school year. If things change, I will reach out. Until then, Enjoy the break.
Mr. B

Friday, June 12, 2020

Week 14 Update! Almost Done!!!!!!!!


Families,
Well, we are almost there!!! We are down to our last week of remote learning. I encourage all of my students to give it your best effort and complete as much as you can. We can make next year that much easier by completing the work now. For my Seniors, here is some news.
  • All Seniors except THALLYS SIMAO have picked up their cap and gown. I have reached out to Thallys and his family several times a day for the last 2 weeks. If anyone has contact with him, please tell him to email me ASAP! 
  • Senior Video: I need your video's this week. In last week's memo, I asked for a clip of you saying the pledge of allegiance.  Several people reached out inquiring if I was trying to make a political statement with this request. The answer to that is no, plain and simple. My intentions were to edit the students in the introduction of the video saying the pledge. I have seen this done in other video's and thought it would be a cool feature. With all that is going on in the world right now, I guess my timing was off. If you do not want to participate in this feature, I will leave it out. However, this is what I need: You ( in your cap & gown) saying a few words. It can be anything you want. Please keep it under 1 minute. I would recommend thanking your loved ones, and the Northshore Mall for their support. I need the video's BY FRIDAY! If you do not want to submit a video, just email me saying you are not interested. However, the more people that participate, the COOLER THIS VIDEO WILL BE! I have a lot of "special guests" that have submitted video's. Trust me, this is going to be really cool. Please submit something to me! 
  • I should have a date for graduation within the next week or 2. I will send it your way when I have it.
Reach out if you have any questions.
-Mr. B 

Monday, June 8, 2020

Week 13: Weekly Update & New Info for Graduation



Families,
Hope everyone enjoyed your weekend.  For our Underclassman, only 2 more weeks left. I am not sure if anyone watched the news and saw the guidelines for reentry to school next year. If not, Channel 5 did a great job of highlighting the major points. 10 students per class and wearing a face mask may be the new norm. I will be honest, I would not be shocked if we start the year in remote learning. With that being said, our Jr's need to make a better effort from here on out. You all have a wonderful opportunity to finish your classes. Your effort as a whole needs to be better.  Now for our SENIORS!!
  • It was really great to see most of you on Friday as you picked up your Cap & Gowns. I really missed seeing you all each day ( even those of you that drove me crazy!). For the handful of you that missed out, I will be at the Mall School on THURSDAY @ 8:30 SHARP!! I only plan on spending 15 minutes there so make sure you are on time and I will get you your Cap & Gown.
  • I have been planning Graduation. It will not be exactly the same as normal. However, I have a really cool idea on how to make this day somewhat normal and very special for our graduates. However, I have an assignment for every graduate.....
  • First: I need each student to film themselves saying the pledge of allegiance in the cap & Gown ( Trust me)...
  • Then: I would like each student to film themselves ( in Cap & Gown) thanking their loved ones, the special people in their lives, and anyone that they believe helped them make graduating possible.  Also, thank the Northshore Mall for their support!
  • Finally: Students have the opportunity to film themselves saying anything that they would like. Tell a story, Share the importance of the day, tell their favorite memory of their tie at the Academy. Just try to make it under 1 minute. 
I need the video shared with me by Friday July 19th.  I really think that everyone will really enjoy what I have planned. As long as everyone contributes something, this day will be very memorable.. Stay tuned for more details..

That's it for now. My underclassmen, FINISH UP STRONG!!
Mr. B 

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Week 12. IMPORTANT INFO FOR ALL GRADUATES!!!!!!!!

Students & Families,
It was REALLY AWESOME to see some of our students come to the school last Monday. It was the happiest I have been in a long time. Every Senior with the exception of 2 ( You know who you are!)  is completely done! My 2 stragglers are working with me and should be done next week. To all of our seniors, I could not be more proud of you! You have faced many challenges throughout your 12 years of school. When the biggest challenge arose, you overcame it! You EARNED YOUR DIPLOMA. No one can ever take away that from you. Continue to use the lessons you have learned with us and you will all have very bright futures. I am working on a plan for graduation and hope to have something finalized in the coming weeks.  For now, this is what you all need to know!

CAP & GOWN PICK U IS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3RD
  (PLEASE HONOR SAFE PHYSICAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES AND COME TO THE SCHOOL DURING THE ALLOTTED TIME BASED ON LAST NAME. THANKS!)
  • 8:00-9:00 Last Name A-D 
  • 9:00-10:00 Last Name E-H 
  • 10:00-11:00 Last Name I-L 
  • 11:00-12:00 Last Name M-Q 
  • 12:00-1:00 Last Name R-S 
  • 1:00-2:00 Last Name T-Z  
 Seniors park in the teacher parking lot by the football stadium, or nearby. (Social gatherings around cars prohibited)
 All senior Chromebooks must be returned 
 Pick up graduation caps and gowns 
 Pick up yearbooks 
 Drop off senior pictures for teachers (place in sealed envelope - make sure teacher names are on pictures so they may be distributed)

Please reach out if you have any additional questions or concerns. Enjoy the weekend. 
Mr.B

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Week 11. Important info for Seniors


We are almost there Seniors!!!! Most of you are done with your work. A few of you will finish by Friday. A small, small portion, well, If you don't figure if out quick you will be back next year.. Not good. Here is some very important info for Seniors

If any Senior owes a textbook, library book, or ROTC uniform, drop off is this Thursday 5/28/. Cap & Gown, all graduation material will be distributed next Wednesday, 6/3 Here is the schedule:

Thursday May 28 8:00-2:00 
Senior textbook and supplies drop off (PLEASE HONOR SAFE PHYSICAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES AND COME TO THE SCHOOL DURING THE ALLOTTED TIME BASED ON LAST NAME. THANKS!) 
8:00-9:00 Last Name A-D 
9:00-10:00 Last Name E-H 
10:00-11:00 Last Name I-L 
11:00-12:00 Last Name M-Q 
12:00-1:00 Last Name R-S 
1:00-2:00 Last Name T-Z 
 Seniors park in the teacher parking lot by the football stadium, or nearby. (Social gatherings around cars prohibited)  Each department will have an area set up for seniors to drop off textbooks, class supplies (such as cameras), library books, and ROTC uniforms  We will NOT be collecting Chromebooks at this time.  All school owned items must be returned, and food service accounts must be paid in order to receive your diploma

Wednesday June 3
 - Chromebook return,Cap & Gown, Graduation item pickup (Same Time Frames by Name as Above)  Seniors park in the teacher parking lot by the football stadium, or nearby. (Social gatherings around cars prohibited)  All senior Chromebooks must be returned  Pick up graduation caps and gowns  Pick up yearbooks  Drop off senior pictures for teachers (place in sealed envelope - make sure teacher names are on pictures so they may be distributed).

Let me know if you have any questions!
Mr. B

Friday, May 15, 2020

Week 10! The Final Countdown!!!


Families,
We are approaching the last days for our seniors! Despite the hardships, this is still a very exciting time for everyone. I want to keep everyone up to date on the latest. Here is what is new:

On Monday, the School Committee voted unanimously to postpone graduation. The hope is that we can have a ceremony as close to normal as possible. The new date for the High School Graduation is Friday, July 31st. For those of you on Facebook, I would highly recommend following Peabody Access Television ( PAT). They live stream the school committee meetings each week. It is a great way to keep up with things. 

Mall Graduation: I will follow suit with the High School Plans. However, I am not going to pick a date as of yet. I meet with Northshore General Manager Mark Whiting weekly to discuss the status of the Mall. As of now, the Mall has furloughed almost all of their staff and are awaiting work from Governor Baker in regards to reopening. I am exploring several options so please, try to be patient. 

Seniors: Most of you are basically done or in the process of finishing. The last day of school is next Friday, May 22. I will be at the Academy for students to clean out their lockers and get any last item they may want from 10-12. STUDENTS MUST WEAR A MASK AND HAVE GLOVES OF THEY WILL NOT BE ADMITTED INTO THE BUILDING! 

Cap & Gown will be distributed to students the following week via cube side pickup at PVMHS. I will release details of the event as soon as Dr. Lord makes his plan public. 

Please, reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Enjoy the weekend!
Mr. B

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Week 9 & Graduation Info

Parents,
Hope you are all well. We are now looking into week 9 of online learning and for the most part, students have been doing well. On average, students are spending 12.5 working on school work each week, That is about 2.5 hours a day! Most of the Senior class is in great shape to get to the finish line. However, there is still a small number of Seniors that are really cutting this close. Remember, the "last day" for Seniors is May 22 and ALL CLASSES MUST BE COMPLETED BY FRIDAY MAY 29TH. I have been emailing all students and parents almost daily so there should not be any confusion as to where each of you stand. If there is any confusion or if anyone has a question, just reach out to me and I will set a time where we can have a conversation on the phone. In other news:

Graduation: We are still having ongoing discussions as to how and when High School Graduation will be. During last week's school committee meeting, the consensus amongst the committee is that we have graduation on June 5th. That is not official. When we DO have a date I will reach out immediately. 

Mall Graduation: There are several factors that I am dealing with. One being the date and time of the High School graduation and the other being the status of the Northshore Mall. The Mall does not have a reopen date as of this week so that has made planning a bit more difficult. I ask for a little more patience. I will keep you all updated within the next few weeks. 

Cap/Gown & Yearbooks will be distributed via pickup at PVMHS. Right now, Dr. Lord is looking at the week after Memorial Day. Once Dr. Lord sets a date, I will let you know. 

Again, let me know if you have any additional questions. Happy Mothers Day to all the Moms! 
Mr. B