Dear Families,

Please see below for this week’s announcements.

COVID Testing
Supplemental Low Income Survey
Dismissal Updates
Burger King Updates
Attendance Update
PSAT Update
Rocktober
Upcoming Family Town Halls
Community Events/Announcements

Stay safe and be well!

Sincerely,

Sharon Liszanckie
Executive Director

I. COVID Testing

At Boston Prep, health and safety is our number one priority. We ask for your help, as families, in a few ways.

Keep your child home if they are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19. If you believe your child is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 or has been exposed to someone with COVID-19, please immediately contact our nurses, Ms. Golafaie, Ms. Etheart and Ms. Fenoglietto, at nurses@bostonprep.org. Our nurses will partner with you to determine whether your child must remain home from school and for how long.

If you have not yet registered your child for our FREE COVID testing program, please do so now!

II. Supplemental Low-Income Survey

As you may know, Boston Prep receives additional state and local funding to support learning for students whose families are identified as low income. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education identifies most (but not all) of these students already, by identifying students who receive public assistance. These families will start to receive a letter and form this week going home with your child or in the mail. Using this process, we have already identified a majority of our families who fall in this category. However, we need to gather data from more families to ensure we have captured all families in this category.. PLease take some time to fill out this survey to help with the collection of this data.

Our goal is for 100% of families who receive this letter to complete this form. We believe that the school has an opportunity to receive between $250K and $500K in additional funds based on families completing this form, which can support instructional activities, social-emotional learning, student clubs and organizations, college counseling and alumni support. We are asking for your help in ensuring that our school community receives every single dollar to which it is entitled.

If you need assistance or have questions , please contact our Family Operations Manager, Madelyn Ruizdeporras at 617-333-6688 ext.: 424 or mruizdeporras@bostonprep.org.

IMPORTANT: This Supplemental Low-Income Data Collection Form will in no way impact your child’s access to free lunch and breakfast. They will continue to receive those meals free each day.

III. Dismissal Updates

Our students and faculty have been working incredibly hard this fall. We know that in order to be our best, we all also need time to care for ourselves. As a result, we will provide space for our community to rest and rejuvinate. Please see additions to the calendar for the following date:

Friday, November 12th: No School

IV. Burger King

Last week we shared an update re: Ross Field and this week we are writing about Burger King. We know that many students are going to Burger King before and after school to purchase meals and are being good community members and customers. That said, there have also been instances of overcrowding in the Burger King, students lingering there when not purchasing items, and students spending time in the Burger King, then arriving tardy to school because they are lingering past 8am. There have also been a handful instances of Burger King employees calling the police to report situations that we believe lacked validity, and we supported students with the police and with the Burger King team in these moments.

However, today there was an incident where two high school students stole items from the Burger King and this was recorded on camera. Burger King management shared this with school leaders and there is a meeting planned tomorrow to discuss. They have asked for our help in speaking with our community about being good neighbors and good customers of the Burger King. We will continue to do that at school, and we would appreciate any and all support at home on this topic. Today the Burger King team called us to work through the issue, but we can’t control that this will be the case moving forward. Thank you for talking with your child(ren) about what could occur if the Burger King team chose to take another route (outside of the school’s hands) and for discussing how we can be good neighbors in and around Hyde Park.

We have long been a school that believes that we reflect our community and our families when we wear the school uniform both inside and outside of the school building. As a school we may not agree with the Burger King being across the street from us, but we certainly believe that they deserve our respect and compassion as neighbors regardless. Any information reported to the school regarding concerns at Burger King will be handled with discretion and with the privacy of all individuals involved at the forefront. Please reach out to our Assistant Principals, VaLonda Harris and Eric Tabb, with any questions or concerns.

V. Attendance Update

Attendance is crucial to a student’s success at Boston Prep. Students cannot master the content and skills of our rigorous academic program without being in school and on time every day. If your child has had a certain amount of unexcused tardies and/or unexcused absences, you will start to receive a letter in the mail or by email explaining the status of your child’s attendance, along with next steps taken. We also ask that you please remind your child to have their swipe card ready upon arrival and swipe in on time. As a reminder, 8:01am is considered tardy!

If you have any questions in regards to the attendance policy or this letter, please do not hesitate to email: attendance@bostonprep.org

VI. PSAT Update

All juniors will be taking the PSAT on Tuesday, October 26th. The exam will be from 8am-12pm. Students receiving extended time should finish the exam closer to 2pm. Breakfast and lunch-to-go will be provided. There will be no classes for these students after the exam. Students will be dismissed.

Students are expected to arrive at Boston Prep in uniform on test day.

VII. Rocktober in the Middle School

Here you will find the October calendar with details for Rocktober.

Stay tuned for all the fun details we have planned for the month!

VIII. Upcoming Family Town Halls

Our next Family Town hall is scheduled for Wednesday, October 27, 6:00 PM.Please click on this link to Register. Visit our website to view our other upcoming Town Halls.

IV. Community Events/Announcements

Enrollment is now OPEN!: If you have a child that is entering grades 6-10 next fall and would like them to enroll at Boston Prep or know someone who is interested in enrolling in Boston Prep for the 2022-2023 school year, enrollment is now open.
Apply today and SPREAD the WORD! You can apply by heading to this link: application.
- Upcoming Workshops: Throughout October, Harvard Medical School, in collaboration with the Biomedical Science Careers Program, will be hosting a series of workshops for students and families focused on a variety of post-secondary topics. As you and your family begin to think about your student’s post-secondary plans, these workshops will assist you in learning more about applying to college, how to prepare for the financial cost of college, and highlight various internships and summer opportunities.
  To learn more about each session, as well as sign up, please check out this flyer! For questions, reach out to Aaron Canto, the Director of the Persistence Project, at acanto@bostonprep.org
College Open House and Tours: With school closed on November 11th and November 12th, the College Counseling Office recommends and encourages seniors to utilize this time by visiting local area colleges and universities. Many institutions will be offering open houses and campus tours on these days. Wondering what schools would be worth checking out for your senior? Reach out to Sarah Dewey (sdewey@bostonprep.org) or Aaron Canto (acanto@bostonprep.org).
Extracurricular activities: To learn more about the clubs at Boston Prep and external extracurricular programs, check out the Boston Prep Extracurricular Programs website (linked here).

APPENDIX: FAMILY QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, September 15 - Friday, October 15: Celebrate Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month
Wednesday, October 6, 6:00 PM - Back to School Night
Monday, October 11 - No School (Indigenous Peoples’ Day)
Tuesday, October 12 - Early dismissal at 12:00PM
Friday, October 15 - Early dismissal at 12:00PM
Tuesday, October 26 - PSAT (Juniors only)
Wednesday, October 27, 6:00 PM - Family Town Hall
Thursday, November 4 - Picture Day
Thursday, November 11 - No school (Veterans Day)
Friday, November 12 - No school
Wednesday, November 17, 6:00 PM - Family Town Hall
Wednesday, November 24 - Friday, November 26 - No School (Thanksgiving holiday)

Have questions?

Please don’t ever hesitate to reach out with questions! You can contact your child’s advisor or utilize any of the email addresses below.

For questions about yellow school buses, MBTA passes, and transportation: transportation@bostonprep.org
To report an absence or tardiness: attendance@bostonprep.org
To submit a physical exam record or to discuss health-related topics: nurses@bostonprep.org
For information about resources, please familiarize yourselves with our boston prep resource page: https://www.bostonprep.org/resources
For other questions: info@bostonprep.org