Newsletter: Back to School Info & Important Dates

SEPTEMBER 3, 2023

School Starts on Tuesday!

We're so excited! Back to school is finally here and there's a lot going on. This newsletter is jam-packed with important updates and information to kick off the new school year. Please read carefully!

HSA and SAC Meetings & Important School Dates

Mark your calendars! September is a busy month at school, with a bunch of opportunities to connect with fellow Mastermanners, and get the year off to a good start.

September 5: First day of school!
September 6: SAC meeting (see details below)
September 11, 8-9 p.m.: SAC Teaching and Learning committee meeting. Most of the work done by SAC is in committees. The Teaching and Learning committee is the place to discuss concerns impacting the learning of students and offer input that can be communicated to administration and staff. Students, parents and teachers are invited to attend the meeting. Meetings are scheduled for the 2nd Mondays of each month. (Join Zoom Meeting https://philasd-org.zoom.us/j/89170837993?pwd=VDFzZldyMDI1U2IyL0ttcGRYSUc2dz09 (https://philasd-org.zoom.us/j/89170837993?pwd=VDFzZldyMDI1U2IyL0ttcGRYSUc2dz09), Meeting ID: 891 7083 7993 Passcode: 143290)
September 12/13, 7:30 p.m. (TENTATIVE): New families, please hold the dates for a Zoom welcome event with opportunities to learn more about the ins and outs of Masterman and get your questions answered. We are waiting for confirmation of one or the other date and will keep you posted!
September 19: HSA general meeting, 7:30 pm on Zoom. Meet the new board, learn about plans and opportunities to get involved this year!
September 22: Celebration of Life for Denise Fennell, former Masterman main office staff. 5 pm on the roof, weather permitting
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, but please mark your calendars now.

J R Masterman SAC invites the Masterman community to attend the first SAC meeting of the year, scheduled for Sept 6, from 6-7:30 p.m. SAC is the parent/community organization within the structure of the SDP that provides a forum for discussing substantial issues of school affairs. If you wish to submit an item to be placed on the agenda for the first meeting or subsequent meetings please write jrmastermansac@gmail.com or fill out this input form https://forms.gle/MHM3kGc9K5RDmcUv7

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89602803975?pwd=UW5qcWx4RThIVTNEZHJFQy9Qd295dz09

Meeting ID: 896 0280 3975

Passcode: 649322

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FULL CALENDAR

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

First Week of School

Updates from Dr. Payne:

HAPPY NEW (School) YEAR Masterman Community! Please use the following links to access our welcome letter for the new school year.

Arrival, Drop-off, & Transportation Updates:

Middle School students will enter via doors on the patio (facing Spring Garden St.) and High School students will enter through the 17th St. door. More details about first day procedures are available in the information Dr. Payne sent out at the end of the day Friday.

If you plan to drop students off, please be aware that there is often heavy traffic around the city and immediately around the school for the first few days. We advise you to leave extra time, pay extra attention to safety, and consider dropping your child off a block or two away from the school.

Great news! In case you missed it: Students who use regional rail will no longer need to upgrade their SEPTA transpasses. You can find more info in Dr. Payne's Welcome Letter linked above.

Schedules & Class Information:

Final A/B class schedules can be found in Infinite Campus.

For families who are new to the district: In order to access your child’s schedule and other information in the school district online portal, you will need their Student ID number and a confirmation code from the school. In order to get that set up, you can call or stop into the Masterman main office Monday-Friday between 9:00 am and 2:00 p.m.

Heat Wave:

The temperatures in Philadelphia are forecasted to be in the mid-90s most of the first week of school. Masterman's School Nurse, Ms. Bagley, has advised students to wear loose, lightweight clothing and stay hydrated. In addition, she advises parents to review the CDC's Summer Heat Safety Tips.

Health & Safety Updates & Masking Requirements:

The School District of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) have been working closely throughout the summer to determine the best health and safety measures as students return to school. Updated General COVID-19 Protocols for the 2023-2024 school year can be found here.

The most important change: This year, masking will be optional for students and staff except:

When determined necessary by Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) to mitigate a classroom, school-wide, office-wide or department-wide outbreak.
When a student or staff test positive for COVID-19. In this case, students and staff exposed to COVID-19 should wear a mask for 10 days after their last date of exposure.

Students and staff may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect themselves and others. You can always find the latest information by visiting the COVID-19 Information Hub or the Health & Safety Protocols website. Find additional information from the School District to help you prepare to return to school at www.philasd.org/ringthebell.

Fall Sports Information

High School sports officially started on August 14. If you have a high school student that is interested in joining a sport, it's not too late. Don't forget - sports teams need managers, too. You don't have to be athletic to join a team. As a small high school, we need student participation to keep our sports teams going. That means 9th graders! Meet new friends, get fit, and have fun. No experience required. As an added bonus, athletes get to leave school early on game days!

For more information, please contact one of our coaches (see table). Please note - students need to have a completed sports physical form (signed by a doctor) to participate in Athletics. For information and questions about high school sports and teams, please contact Mr. Otarola at votarola@philasd.org.

Middle School sport options at all SDP schools can be found here. Under the District's eligibility rules, middle school athletics is defined as 6th grade through 8th grade. Masterman is offering two sports this Fall: Co-ed Golf and Co-ed Soccer. More details will be provided during the first weeks of school.

Volleyball intramurals are also an option in the fall. All middle school fall sports will begin in mid- to late September. Watch for announcements after school begins. All sports except for intramurals require a PIAA sports physical, available here.

Music News

New Students:

The music department is excited to welcome our new Masterman musicians. If you are interested in participating in music lessons or choir, please fill out this google form. Students who participated last year at Masterman DO NOT need to sign-up again.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3zlEew3aeK6S6MwyvYP4yOIjCYu1jHcnb08qZ7guGexdfQw/viewform?usp=sf_link

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

High School Musicians:

High School Orchestra, Choir, and Jazz Band will start the first full week of school.Stay tuned for dates and times! Middle school groups will start once lesson schedules are made and instruments distributed.

School Affairs

Bell Schedule

With the return to school this year, our students and teachers are adapting to a new bell schedule, with complicated impacts—some anticipated, and some not. We remind families to be patient as everyone works to smooth out wrinkles and get used to new routines. The important thing, we can agree, is to help our kids feel supported and welcome in this transition. We also want to acknowledge, frankly, that there is ongoing community upset about the shift.

Unfortunately, the move of advisory to the end of the day solved one problem while creating another. The very early lunch periods now scheduled for 5th and 7th graders (10 a.m. and 9:15 a.m.) are problematic. It should be outside the bounds of District operations for this to happen, as some research shows it affects children negatively from both health and academic performance standpoints. But, sadly, Masterman is not the only school where children are given their “lunch” break at such an early hour. As always, we are communicating the strong community reaction to the school administration. We admire and appreciate all of the school community members, from students to teachers to families, who have voiced concerns, respectfully and constructively, as we believe that beneficial and balanced changes could have been made with greater community participation.

Concerns About Heat: We Hear You!

We have heard concerns from many families about the conditions inside Masterman School when there are consecutive days of high temperatures, since Masterman is not included among the District schools set to close early in severe heat. As we know, many—but not all—classrooms have window air conditioning units, but the large common spaces, including the cafeteria, gym, auditorium, and hallways have no cooling system. This issue has been under discussion at least since last year, and we are communicating this concern to school administrators once again. We are exploring ways we can support the administration in seeking assistance from the District to set and complete an action plan in a reasonable amount of time.

School Selection Update

This week, the District released selection criteria for Masterman and the rest of the criteria-based admission school, which can be found here. It appears that Masterman’s criteria are unchanged from last year. We are disappointed that the District did not consult with community groups (HSAs, SACs, or SGAs) at Masterman or—as far as we know—any other schools in setting the criteria. We hope that such consultation will take place in the future, as we believe that school communities across the city have an important stake in the future of their own schools.

Celebrating Ms Fennell

The staff formed a committee to Celebrate Denise Fennell, our beloved secretary following her passing. Ms. Fennell was a wonderful woman, who in addition to her work in the office, spent a great amount of time building community and spreading sunshine throughout the school. The committee’s first event was a small one for our staff. We did a white elephant exchange during our lunch break this Thursday. This is an activity that Denise Fennell did with us many times and we all loved.

Other things we have planned are a scholarship in her name to be awarded at graduation, continuing her ‘Kiss the Cast’ at the musical and continuing her scavenger hunts on the PA system.

The committee looks forward to partnering with the Home and School for a Celebration of Life in honor of Ms, Fennell on September 22nd at 5P.M. This event will take place on the roof (or in the gym if it rains). Any member of our community who would like to celebrate Ms. Fennell with us is invited. More information and an RSVP will follow in a future newsletter.

Call for HSA Volunteers and Leaders

If you are interested in helping out in any capacity next year, now is a great time to connect.

You can make as large or small of a commitment as you wish—there is something for everyone to do! We especially need people interested in helping with planning social events to help build community!

Email president@mastermanhsa.org or membership@mastermanhsa.org if you have a skill or interest to contribute! And plan on attending the first HSA meeting on September 19 to GET INVOLVED.

INFO & RESOURCES

Carpool and Neighborhood Connections

Are you looking for families to carpool with, or willing to offer advice to new families about transportation from your area of the city? The Home & School Association has created a way to share your neighborhood and contact information to connect with other families for transportation and other support. Please take a moment to complete this form so we can help connect you with other interested families. Parents/guardians can submit information and receive a link to the shared spreadsheet.

Connect with Other Families on Facebook

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.

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.

Masterman Logo Gear

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

CLICK HERE TO SHOP

Use code LABORDAY20 to SAVE 20% off orders $199+ at Squadlocker.com.

SUPPORT

We need each other.

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

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.

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.