Newsletter: Back to School Night, First HSA Meeting, & More!

SEPTEMBER 17, 2023

It's almost sweater weather...

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald

We hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend and are ready for another full week of school!

We wish a happy and sweet new year to all who celebrate Rosh Hashanah!

We join in the District and the city in kicking off a joyful and educational Hispanic Heritage Month. Check out this roundup of great events around the city, and read on to hear about how Masterman is marking the occasion.

Meetings and Important School Dates

Mark your calendars! There are many ways to connect with the Masterman community.

THIS WEEK (more details about all events below):

TONIGHT! September 17, 7 pm: SAC Ad Hoc HS Admissions Committee Meeting
September 18, 7 pm: SAC Climate and Culture Committee Meeting
September 19, 7:30 pm: HSA GENERAL MEETING
September 21, 5:30–8 pm: BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT
September 22, 5 pm: Celebration of Life for Denise Fennell

UPCOMING:

September 25: NO SCHOOL (Yom Kippur)
September 29: HALF DAY, 3-hour early dismissal (Staff Development)
September 30: Community volunteer work day. Lend a hand to repair and beautify Masterman’s indoor and outdoor spaces! Details to come.
October 6 (Note the new date): High School Fall Picnic. Chaperones needed. See details below.

You can find the full SDP calendar here for 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 school years.

Back to School Night (BtSN)!

THIS Thursday, Sept. 21, 5:30–8 pm at school

This is a great opportunity to meet your students' teachers, get information on what they will be learning this year, and ask questions.

BtSN is an in-person only event. It will begin at 5:30 pm, with the Fall Title I Family Engagement Meeting.

At 6 pm, Dr. Payne will give the Principal's address in the auditorium, and rotations to classes will begin at 6:20 with your student's 1st Period class.

BtSN is designed for parents only, but the school team understands it is not always possible for parents to keep kids at home. If your student(s) come with you for childcare purposes, please make sure they stay with you and are supervised.

While you're there, stop by the HSA table to say hello, take a membership form, or buy some Masterman merch!

FIRST HSA MEETING IS TUESDAY NIGHT ON ZOOM

Tuesday, September 19, 7:30 pm

DO NOT MISS this chance to learn about everything the HSA does and get involved! We’ll hear from all HSA board members, plus Assistant Principal Lennon and a parent representative from SAC, so you’ll be totally up to date on school affairs. And we open the floor at the end for community members to raise “new business”—ideas or concerns that you want to bring to the HSA’s attention.

All are welcome—and multitasking with your camera off is totally OK.

Dial-in info and more info about our monthly meetings are on our website. And in case Zoom’s not your thing, mark your calendar for our next general meeting (October 17) to be held in person at school (with snacks!).

JOIN MEETING

A Celebration of Life for Denise Fennell

Please join the Masterman community on Friday, Sept. 22 at 5 pm on the Masterman school roof.

RSVP here

If you would like to speak at the event, please email esolomon@philasd.org.
To contribute flowers, balloons, decorations, please email jwaber@philasd.org.
If you have any photos for our slideshow, please email kkelter@philasd.org.
To contribute a Ms. Fennell themed raffle basket, email jdonahue@philasd.org.

AROUND MASTERMAN

Updates from the School Team

You can find the School Community Update Newsletter sent out on Fri. Sept. 15 HERE. This update includes a message from Principal Dr. Payne, student shoutouts, an update on a masking directive for 6th grade, staffing update (welcome new 6th grade teacher, Ms. Kemp!), calendar items, and info on the school selection portal. Translations are included as well.

National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

Kudos to the Masterman students who have been named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists! Learn more.

Vir Acharya
Candelaria M. Beatty
Ella S. Berman
Joshua E. Cohen
Nicolas J. Dorazio
Brian Eng
Anya E. Finlay
Sivan N. Frankel
Larry Huang
Giselle Jap
Chris Ji
Tino G. Karakousis
Rosalie J. Kraines
Justin T. Liu

Chaperones Needed for High School Fall Picnic on 10/6!

The Student Government Association (SGA) is planning the High School Fall Picnic for 10/6. The plan is to leave Masterman on foot around 8:45 a.m. and walk to Von Colln Field. Students can play, relax, eat, and enjoy time with classmates. Small groups may go to Wawa and Whole Foods on a set schedule with a chaperone. We will dismiss from Von Colln by 2:45 p.m.; students may leave from there or go back to school.

Parent chaperones are needed to volunteer. Volunteer clearances are required. If you are able to volunteer, please complete this form.

Gym Uniforms

Official Masterman gym uniforms are not required. Students are asked to wear sneakers and dress in clothes they can move in (e.g. T-shirt and shorts or sweatpants) for gym class that are any combination of the school colors - blue, gray and white. If you would like to purchase a gym uniform for your student, please email Mr. Otarola to ask about prices and a timeline for their availability, votarola@philasd.org.

There is also comfy sportswear available in the Masterman logo store.

Student Clubs

High School: There will be an info session on Tuesday, Sept. 19 during 1st Period for 9th Graders and new 10th Graders to learn more about club options. In addition, a list of all clubs will be published on Masterman's website soon.

Middle school students should look for updates in their Google Classroom app to learn more about joining clubs.

Athletics Update

The HSA Athletics Committee is working with the School Administration to provide helpful information to all community members regarding our Athletics programs at Masterman. A new feature that was recently released is a Masterman Athletics Calendar for all Sports. This calendar view will track game cancellations (and rescheduled games) which was a topic this week.

Coming soon: We are in the process of making additional information and links available to the community in a new webpage on the Masterman School website. You can also find the GUIDE TO ATHLETICS AT MASTERMAN (A complete update on Masterman's sports teams, coaches, and athletes for the start of school) and the SPORTS PHYSICAL FORM (PIAA) on the HSA school forms & documents page.

If you are interested in joining the HSA Athletics Committee, please contact Athletics@mastermanhsa.org.

Middle School Sports - Anyone interested in middle school sports should complete the PIAA Sports Physical form and submit it to the Athletic Office. Fall Sports Golf and COED Soccer will begin on or about 9/20/23. No one will be permitted to participate without a completed medical form. Any questions ask anyone in the Athletics Office, which is located in the gymnasium or reach out to Mr. Otarola at votarola@philasd.org.

Music News

Middle school band, choir and keyboard clubs are starting this week.
String lessons also start this week.
High school ensembles have already begun and are sounding great already.

Here is the information about ensemble dates and times.

Here are the music lesson schedules.

For any questions about our music program, feel free to contact Mrs. Neu at kkelter@philasd.org.

Hispanic Heritage Month!

We celebrate all of the Latine/Hispanic students, families, and teachers in the Masterman Community! Latine/Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15 thru October 15 and is a national celebration to honor the history, culture and influence of current and past generations from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

Here are some of the ways Masterman will recognize Hispanic Heritage Month (please reach out by Mrs. McPherson with any questions). HOLA will be leading these activities:

Plan to present one Latin celebrity a day during morning announcements (in English and Spanish by Spanish and HOLA Students).
We will do Dominó Olympic for the whole school (one day for High School and one day for Middle School).
We will have powerful presenters for Spanish roots and organizations (Taller Puertoriqueño).
During this month, we will do creative arts (poems and craft arts which represent Spanish countries) to honor the Spanish countries of our students of the school and others.
On October 6th, the Latin Band of last year will come back for middle school.
HOLA will be reading books that represent Spanish culture for 5th and 6th graders.
There will be a Baseball game in Honor of Roberto Clemente!
Mi país, mi mundo (my country, my world): Latín students will have the opportunity to share about their cultures.

Prepare Now to Chaperone School Events and Trips!

The school district requires certain clearances and background checks for all adults entering the school or accompanying students at field trips and other events. Get your clearances now and submit them to the main office so that you're ready to help out come September. Info is here.

HSA & SAC UPDATES

Fall Membership Drive

Help us reach our goal of connecting with every family at Masterman! Join the HSA today by making a donation to our annual membership drive or signing up for free.

Membership is open to families, staff, students, and alumni! Donations are welcome from absolutely everyone.

JOIN NOW!

Welcome Event Recap

Thank you and WELCOME to the over 150 people who attended last week’s Zoom program for new Masterman families. We are very glad to have you as members of our community, and it was so energizing to hear about all the things going on at our school from teachers, administrators, parents, and our amazing STUDENTS!

In case you missed it, or just want to see our smiling faces again, you can view the recorded Zoom here. And here is a list of the most frequently asked questions, with answers!

Lots of other useful guides, documents, and forms on the HSA resource page.

Returning families might want to take a look, too!

SAC Update

All parents, teachers and students are encouraged and invited to attend SAC committee meetings, which are all on the school calendar. Your participation in the process is vital to our school community. Lend your voice and input to these substantive conversations.

Coming up this week:

Sunday, September 17, 7 pm: Ad Hoc HS Admissions committee, to discuss the school selection process for this year. Submit your questions in advance; use this link to join the zoom.

Monday, September 18, 7 pm: First SAC Climate and Culture committee meeting, to discuss how to preserve the culture of academic excellence at Masterman, and potential resizing of school to accommodate all qualified 8th graders who wish to continue at Masterman. Join the meeting (Meeting ID: 817 2600 8429 Passcode: 846564).

Last week:

The Teaching and Learning committee met on Monday, Sept 11. Discussion items included teacher vacancies and learning loss, tardiness and missing of instruction, bell-schedule related issues that affect learning and extracurriculars and some safety concerns in the morning. The committee also started conversation around looking at course progression and curriculum as one school instead of a separate middle and high school. We were thrilled to welcome both new and returning parents for a robust conversation about learning at Masterman. Comprehensive meeting notes will be shared at the SAC meeting Oct 4 and will be available on the SAC website after the meeting. Teaching and Learning committee meetings are scheduled for the 2nd Monday of every month.

Funding Spotlight: Masterman Library

Masterman is very lucky to have a library and a full-time librarian! Students can use the library for research, as a space to meet for clubs or homework, and to check out books just for the love of reading.

Masterman teachers work closely with Ms. Kearney to make sure our students understand the purpose of the library and of research. They keep the shelves stocked with books that correlate with current school projects and teach students how to access them. Check out all of the resources and updates that Ms. Kearney posts on the school website and on Instagram.

Did you know that many of the school library’s needs are funded by the HSA? Tons of volunteer hours and donations have supported Ms. Kearney for years in making the library a welcoming space and functional resource.

Last year, we contributed about $8000 in books, supplies, subscriptions, and speaker fees, to keep the library stocked and ready to serve every student in the building. This year, the need is even greater with less money coming internally from the school budget.

Help us continue to support the library, along with other critical supplies, clubs, and events throughout the year! Click here to join our 2023-2024 Annual Membership Drive which has set a goal to raise $50,000 to support our amazing teachers and students!

Masterman Logo Gear

Support our school and show your Masterman pride with a new tee, hat, bag, shorts, or water bottle.

SHOP NOW

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

Connect with Other Families

One of the best ways to stay connected with other families is through Facebook groups. These groups are not run by the HSA, but moderated by individual parents with kids currently in each grade.

To connect with other families for transportation and neighborhood-based support, you can use this form. Submit your contact info there to receive a link to the shared spreadsheet.

National Suicide Prevention Month

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. This provides us with an opportunity to focus attention on the issue, reduce stigma, and raise awareness.

Please encourage your student(s) to reach out to their school counselor if support is needed.

School Counselors: -

Ms. Nelson- students in grades 5-11 with last names beginning with the letters A-Haw and seniors with last names A-G
Mr. Allen- students in grades 5-11 with last names beginning with the letters Hay-Pha and seniors with last names H-Me
Ms. Marcus- students in grades 5-11 with last names beginning with the letters Phi-Z and seniors with last names Mo-Z

If any student or family member needs immediate assistance, please call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

This website compiled by the School District contains helpful resources, links, and tips for students and families.

In addition, there is a free webinar, The Positive Impact of Exercise on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention/Free Webinar with Dr. John J. Ratey, on Sep 26, 2023 08:30 PM EST. You can register here.

School Selection

The school selection window is open now through October 27, 2023 at 11:59pm. This process allows students currently in pre-kindergarten through 11th grade to apply to attend any school with available space outside of their neighborhood or catchment area. There are a number of changes to the school selection process this year.

Visit the school selection website to learn more about the process.

Our Future is Science Mentorship (OFIS) Program Opportunity for 10-12 Graders

The OFIS Program looks at the intersection of STEAM & social justice. The program is a near-peer, virtual experience that pairs high school mentees with STEAM graduate student mentors to help facilitate an academic year-long journey of mentorship, scientific learning, community engagement, and career exploration. This program pays HS student mentees a $1000 stipend, is virtual, and all materials are provided.

High-schoolers (10-12th grade) residing in the U.S. are eligible to apply and applications for mentees are due by Sept. 30, 2023. Learn more and get details on applying HERE.

SUPPORT

We need each other.

Donate to the HSA today and help fund this year's programs, activities, and improvements!

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.

Your donation today accelerates our fall membership drive.

DONATE NOW

Thank Our Auction Sponsors

Over 100 businesses donated to the spring auction last year to support the Masterman HSA. Show your gratitude by supporting them in return! Browse the list here.