FEBRUARY 26, 2023

Dear Masterman Community,

You may have seen that the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on our school and the HSA report in today’s paper. Media interest like this will hopefully help push district officials to improve the school selection process and support Masterman’s amazing students and teachers. The challenges we face cannot be solved without talking about them.

At the same time, these challenges can be painful to talk and hear about. Many of us are hurt or frustrated, especially as we have all been trying our best in difficult circumstances. Excellent teachers are moving mountains for our kids and have done a tremendous amount to adjust to rapid change. Families are coming together to provide mutual support. Students are doing exactly what they should be doing: working hard, learning every day, and building relationships.

Every member of our community is valued, and the HSA is committed to continuing the work of welcoming new students, building community, and supporting our educators in meeting all students' needs. Over the course of this year, we have created opportunities for orientation and connection among new and returning students and parents, but there is more to be done. Do you have ideas for additional programs or other kinds of support that the HSA could facilitate? Please let us know here. We would love to hear from you—and to work with you to make it happen.

YOU ARE INVITED

Please join us for the JR Masterman Home & School Association’s Annual Spring Auction!

Saturday, March 18

5:30–10:00 pm

Rodeph Shalom, 615 N Broad St.

Ticket and sponsorship sales are NOW OPEN!

Early-bird tickets (now through March 4): $45

Advance tickets: $50

At the door (subject to availability): $60

Ticket price includes food, drink, and entertainment throughout the evening. It is a great, fun night, and proceeds go back into the school, supporting all the HSA programs that help Masterman students reach their full potential.

Please invite your friends and contacts to contribute to the auction either by sponsoring or by donating an item or gift card. They can do so directly through the auction site above or by filling out a donation form or a sponsorship form and emailing the completed form to auction@mastermanhsa.org.

See you at the auction!

UPCOMING EVENTS

March 1: SAC Information Program

March 2, 3, and 4: Masterman Musical

March 7: HSA Meeting

March 9: SpeakUp! Event

March 15: SAC Meeting

March 18: Masterman Auction

March 24: Sixth Grade Student Social

March 29–31: Parent-Teacher Conferences

SDP SCHEDULE

Friday, March 3: HALF DAY

Friday, March 17: HALF DAY

Weds–Friday, March 29–31: HALF DAYS

FUTURE HSA MEETINGS

March 7 | 7:30 pm | Zoom

April 11 | 7:30 pm | Zoom

May 9 | 7:30 pm | Zoom

WHAT IS SAC?

The School Advisory Council (SAC) is separate from the HSA. It is a team composed of family members, the school principal, teachers or other school-based staff, students, and community members, organized by the District. Next month, applications will open for the Masterman SAC elections to be held in April.

This week, Masterman’s FACE liaison Lori Galiano will be holding a "What is SAC?" meeting for anyone who may be interested in running and would like to learn more.

Wednesday, March 1, 6:00 pm

Email lgaliano@philasd.org or jrmastermansac@gmail.com for information.

AROUND MASTERMAN

Masterman Musical: THIS WEEK!

“OHMIGOD you guys!” Don’t miss Masterman’s BIGGEST event—Legally Blonde: The Musical!

See the collaborative work of 250 middle and high school students: on stage, in the orchestra pit, and backstage in crew and tech!

$10 at the door gets you a fun show AND that warm, fuzzy feeling of seeing our students pull together, work hard, and make our school community proud!

Running just THREE nights:

Thursday, March 2 through Saturday, March 4

Ticket sales begin at 5:30 pm at the door and show starts at 6:30 pm.

Thursday is student night! Student tickets only $5!

Info: kkelter@philasd.org

Masterman SpeakUp! Event

You're invited to Masterman's SpeakUp! event:

March 9, 6:00 pm

This is an opportunity for members across our school community to convene and openly and safely discuss the topics that matter to students. The goals of this event are:

To increase transparency
To deepen trust
To build community

Topics for discussion that participants can choose from are:

Visibility, Communication, Transparency
Homophobia
Lack of Community
Admissions Process

Students (grades 6–12), School Staff, and Parents/Caregivers are invited to join.

Questions? Contact Marissa Robinson (mrobinson@steppingstonescholars.org).

Athletics Update

Congrats to Ms. Tooke and our NEW Boys and Girls Squash teams for winning the Philadelphia Public League (PPL) Championship!! Masterman swept the team competitions with the girls team defeating Girls’ High 7-0, and the boys claiming a narrow 4-3 victory over Carver. To learn more about the team and their accomplishments, click here.

Congrats to the Varsity Girls Basketball team who beat Mastery Charter North on Friday. The girls have a 18-1 record heading into State Playoffs on March 10.

Senior Shout Out: Congrats to Kevin McHale who will be continuing his athletic career playing tennis at Arcadia University next year.

FREE Program for 7th & 8th Graders:

Philadelphia City Rowing offers a fun and FREE program that introduces students in 7th and 8th grade to the sport of rowing. The program is conveniently located (walking distance from school) on Boathouse Row. Enrollment for this program is open now through March 15th. Click here for more information.

Debate Champs

ICYMI: Check out the article about our HS debate team in the Inquirer this week.

RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES

Mental Health Corner

A message from Masterman’s counselors:

This week the SDP officially launched Kooth, an online mental health and well-being platform designed to provide high school students with access to personalized, digital mental health and wellbeing resources. Kooth will be available 24/7, at no cost, to high school students District-wide.

SDP parents are invited to two informational workshops where they will have the opportunity to discuss more about Kooth, the services offered to students and online safety procedures and protocols. The online workshops will be held on Tuesday, February 28 at 10:00am and 6:00pm (Zoom links here).

Students can visit us.kooth.com/philasd to find more information and to sign up. Flyers are also posted in the stairwells.

Student mental health is a top priority. We hope that Kooth will be a helpful resource.

NAMI Program

The counselors received this information and we wanted to share this resource with families:

NAMI Family-to-Family is a free, 8-session education program for family partners, friends, and significant others of adults living with mental illness. The next program begins March 8. Click here for more information.

Reminder: NHS Tutoring Always Available!

Students in all grades can drop in as needed for help from Masterman HS student members of the National Honor Society during these hours:

Mondays, 7:30am – 8:15am in Room 214 (for everyone)

Tuesdays, 8th Period in Room 312 (for HS students)

Wednesdays, 8th Period in Room 305 (for 5th- and 6th-grade students)

Thursdays, 8th Period in Room 312 (for 7th- and 8th-grade students)

This is a free resource for everyone! If you have any questions please contact the HS Dean, Mr. Gilken, at jgilken@philasd.org.

Spread the Word

Do you have news or announcements that you want to share with the school community? Is there information you'd like to see featured here?

Email newsletter@mastermanhsa.org.

Connect others with the HSA by forwarding this email or sharing this link to subscribe to the newsletter!

SUPPORT

There are many ways to give to the Masterman community. Here are a few.

HSA ANNUAL FUND

Donations fund the many programs and initiatives of the HSA that support our school, teachers, families, and students. Whether you are able to give $5 or $500, your gift is meaningful, and signals your commitment to our community.

TEACHER WISH LISTS

Want to give direct support to specific teachers or your child’s classroom? Masterman teachers have updated their Amazon Wish Lists with the items they need to supplement the HSA’s Teacher Grant program.