JANUARY 22, 2023

Happy Lunar New Year to those who celebrate! The HSA wishes everyone good fortune, health, and abundance in the Year of the Rabbit. Our hearts are also with our Asian community members in the wake of yesterday’s shooting in Los Angeles.

To learn more about Asian traditions celebrating the new year, check out the website of the National Museum of Asian Art or attend a local event.

Photo: Brianna Spause for Philadelphia Parks & Recreation

School Selection Process Update

Initial lottery results for the 2023 school selection process were released at the end of the day on Friday, January 20. Our thoughts are with all of our 8th-grade families as they process their outcomes and consider their choices for next year.

The Outreach Committee has scheduled a Zoom chat for 8th-grade families:

Monday, January 23, 6:30 pm

Click here to join

We invite anyone—parents/guardians, students, teachers, and administrators—at Masterman and beyond to use this Google form to register feedback about the lottery system and process. Please share widely! The HSA will share these comments with the School District.

NEXT HSA MEETING:

FEBRUARY 7, 6:00 PM IN PERSON

This meeting is being organized jointly with Masterman administration and SAC to discuss the vision and mission of the school.

Before attending, we invite you to look at the documents we have shared on the HSA website from the last meeting.

FUTURE HSA MEETINGS

March 7 | 7:30 pm | Zoom

April 11 | 7:30 pm | Zoom

May 9 | 7:30 pm | Zoom

JOINT HSA/SAC

DEIAR COFFEE CHAT

February 9 | 7:30 pm | Zoom

SAC World Language Survey and Town Hall

The Teaching and Learning Committee of the Masterman School Advisory Council has created a survey and town hall meeting to provide input to School Administration regarding World Language at Masterman.

Until the 2020–2021 school year, French and Spanish were offered 5 days a week for all students in grades 8 through 11. In 12th grade, students who elected to continue their language studies could take Advanced Placement language.

Last year, upon the retirement of a French teacher, the administration decided to delay hiring a replacement for the 2022–2023 school year in order to assess the World Language preferences of the school community. Here is the chance to provide your input.

World Language Town Hall, January 25 at 6:00 pm on Zoom

Respond to the Survey Here

In addition, a meeting to discuss Title I is set for January 26 at 6:00 pm on Zoom.

New: This event will be followed by an informal meet-up for ALL HIGH SCHOOL PARENTS!

Join us at 7 pm at McCrossen’s Tavern, 529 N 20th Street.

9th Grade Parent Reception

Friday, January 27, 6:00–7:00 pm

In person! Masterman School Library

Masterman HSA is hosting a parent reception for 9th grade parents on Friday evening. We want to usher in 2023 by creating space for families to get to know one another. Join us for snacks, conversation, school info, and community!

Please fill out this RSVP form so we can plan for refreshments.

Are you a 9th grade parent who would like to help host & welcome other 9th grade families? Contact Aubrey White, the HSA High School Liaison, at hsrep@mastermanhsa.org.

Masterman's Spring Auction Is Approaching!

Saturday, March 18, at Rodeph Shalom, 615 N Broad St.

The auction committee needs your help! Join this Zoom meeting tomorrow (Monday, January 23) at 7:30 pm or email auction@mastermanhsa.orgto get involved.

Other Important Dates

Wednesday–Friday, February 1–3: HALF DAYS, parent-teacher conferences

Friday, February 17: HALF DAY, teacher professional development

Monday, February 20: NO SCHOOL, Presidents Day

Friday, March 24: 6th Grade Family Social, after school at Masterman

NEW INITIATIVE:

GET ACCESS TO YOUR CHILD’S GOOGLE CLASSROOM

The HSA is coordinating with the middle school and high school deans to facilitate adding guardians to students’ Google Classroom accounts.

This is a great way to stay informed about your child's activities and opportunities at school. Once you are entered in the system as a guardian, you can choose to receive a daily or weekly summary of posts to the Google Classroom feeds for each subject your child is enrolled in, as well as grade-wide announcements about events, activities, and other things you need to know. Once you are added, it stays in place from year to year throughout your child’s time at Masterman.

What you need to do:

Enter basic info—child’s full name, grade, advisory, and student ID, as well as the guardian’s name and email—in THIS GOOGLE FORM. (FYI: This form is hosted by Dean Gilken, not the HSA. The HSA is merely helping to facilitate the process, not collecting this data itself.)
Help spread the word! We hope every guardian who wants access will be able to find out about this initiative. So please forward, text, share on Facebook. Teachers, please tell your kids to tell their parents!

The sooner you submit your info, the sooner you can get access. In the final week of January, the school will begin entering guardian emails on a rolling basis and we will send you instructions for completing the process and choosing your settings.

AROUND MASTERMAN

High School Winter Formal

This year’s High School Winter Formal presented by the Peer Counseling Club is being sponsored in part by the HSA—and, wow, what a venue for the kids this year! The HSA wanted to give our students something extra special after years of canceled events due to COVID. The event will take place at NOTO (Not Of The Ordinary) on Saturday, February 18, 6:00–9:00 pm.

The school will need many chaperones! Sign up here.

While some kids love the idea of a winter formal, others may need a gentle nudge of encouragement. It will be a great night out with plenty of space for non-dancers too! The deadline to buy tickets for Mastermanners ($20) and guests ($25) is Friday January 27th. The ticket price includes food and drinks and the HSA is also offering financial support for any students in need of assistance, just see Ms. Nelson.

Athletics Update

Let's cheer on our Blue Dragons at senior day this week!

Monday (1/23) @ 3:15pm - Boys Basketball SENIOR DAY vs. Mastery Hardy Williams

Friday (1/27) @ 3:15pm - Girls Basketball SENIOR DAY vs. Nueva Esperanza

Congrats to our amazing student athletes who will be continuing their athletic careers in college next year!

Kai Rosser - Ursinus College (Soccer)

Victor Nordlof - Johnson & Wales University (Soccer)

Oliver Dmochowski - Wesleyan University (Baseball)

Alice Padula - Georgetown University (Crew)

Grace Padula - Stanford University (Crew)

If you have athletics news you would like to share, please email Athletics@MastermanHSA.org.

Masterman is a SpeakUp! School

Save the date! Masterman will be hosting a night of conversation through SpeakUp! on Thursday, February 16, at 6:00 pm.

This is an opportunity for students, parents, and school adults to have safe and brave conversations on topics that are important to and selected by students. A registration link will be shared at a later time.

Meanwhile, Ms Robinson is recruiting students for the Student Leadership Team. Team members will guide the school in building an honest and inclusive culture, develop speaking skills, decide what topics are important to them and their peers, and help create space to discuss them.

Please contact mrobinson@steppingstonescholars.org for information.

RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES

Report Card Conferences

Look for sign-up links for Q2 parent-teacher conferences on the school website soon. Meanwhile, the SDP Office of Family & Community Engagement offers these tips for making the best use of those precious minutes face to face!

In the Community:

Nikole Hannah-Jones Speaking at Penn

Penn's Center for Africana Studies presents its MLK Jr. Lecture in Social Justice, featuring Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine.

Wednesday, January 25, 5:30 pm

Free in-person and virtual tickets here

ICYMI: Eyes on College

Huge thanks to parent Elaine Shenk and counselor Heather Marcus, who compiled a grade-by-grade guide to college preparation. It includes a summary of what to keep an eye on—and what not to sweat over!—each year, along with links to helpful resources.

Also note this upcoming event for HS students from the College Board BigFuture program:

Five Tips to Manage Stress as You Plan Your Future

Wednesday, January 25, 7–7:45 pm

Dr. Laurie Santos, the professor of Yale’s popular course on happiness will answer live questions and give five tips to help make students' lives a little less stressful.

Rep Your Profession at Career Day

The Masterman HS chapter of the National Honor Society is bringing back Career Day. NHS students are looking for parents, friends of parents, and alumni who would be able to represent their profession by running a workshop.

Career Day will take place at Masterman on February 24, 10:45am–2:05pm. Each presenter will speak to rotating groups of students, for about 25 minutes at a time. Consider telling students about how you chose your career, your accomplishments, and how they can possibly pursue your career. There will be technology and assistance available to project Powerpoint presentations or any other digital information.

Willing to help out? Please email Ms. Solomon at esolomon@philasd.org.

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.