DECEMBER 11, 2022

General Meeting This Week

We want to hear from you! Join us at the next HSA meeting to lend your voice to help shape our priorities and strategies to best support our students. We have important decisions to make as an organization in how best to address the challenges we face as a school and community.

We are providing this forum for parents to become involved and have a voice in school affairs. Bring all your ideas, concerns, and suggestions!

Tuesday, December 13

7:30–8:30 pm

JOIN VIA ZOOM

Meeting ID: 852 2719 9318

Passcode: 1Wd0ZR

OTM: +16465588656,,85227199318#,,,,*282591#

Mark your calendars for future meetings:

Jan 10

Feb 7

Mar 7

April 11

May 9

Membership Drive

Join the HSA and support our effort to connect with every family.

Why join the HSA?

It signals a commitment to the school community.
It strengthens the collective voice of families in school affairs.
It helps the HSA reach you with important information.
It allows you to be listed in the printed member directory.
It’s free!

Get listed in the 2022-2023 Member Directory

IF YOU JOIN BY DECEMBER 23!

This year, the HSA is preparing a directory so that families can find each other outside of school. It will be compiled and printed in January.

To be listed, you must fill out a membership form before the winter break. If you are already a member, you still need to fill out the form to opt in to the directory.

Do it today, and help spread the word!

JOIN NOW

We need each other.

Teacher Grants

This week the HSA delivered funds to each Masterman teacher and staff member, to be used right away for supplemental instructional materials and initiatives.

This would not be possible without all of the HSA members—past, present, and future!—who have supported the HSA. Thank you! And huge thanks to the Grants Committee and HSA Treasurer Erica Vanstone for rolling out teacher grants so quickly.

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.

The holiday season is a great time to give these heroes a boost. And to make your gift go even farther, sign up for Amazon Smile and designate Masterman as your charity of choice. A percentage of your purchase costs will be sent to us as a donation.

A Step Forward

High School Student Government and the HSA partnered to install period product dispensers in bathrooms. Products are free, organized, and clean. Students are already appreciative!

AROUND MASTERMAN

Winter Concerts

Students in the choirs, orchestras and bands have been working hard to prepare a beautiful program of music.

Middle School Concert: Thursday, December 15, 6:00 pm

High School Concert: Thursday, December 22, 6:30 pm

There will also be a high school concert during the school day, 6th and 7th periods.

Tickets are $5, sold at the door. Participants do not need a ticket. If cost is an obstacle please email Ms. Neu. This admission fee helps to cover the cost of sheet music, instrument repair, piano moves, etc. You can also sponsor the music program with a donation. More information here!

Athletics Update

High School Winter Sports have started, and the team schedules are available. Consider attending a game/meet to cheer on your Blue Dragons!

Boys Basketball (Varsity) - Click for Schedule

Boys Basketball (JV) - Click for Schedule

Girls Basketball (Varsity) - Click for Schedule

Boys Swimming - Click for Schedule

Girls Swimming - Click for Schedule

Indoor Track (Girls & Boys) - Schedule is pending

Did you know?

There are 73 High Schools that are members of the Philadelphia Public League (PPL)
Each Sport is broken into conference (typically 8-15 schools). Last year, both Masterman basketball teams (boys and girls) won their conference!
The Masterman Girls Swim team won against the entire PPL!!

It's not too late to join a High School team. There is room for more athletes on all teams except Boys Basketball. Middle School sports will start in January (more information to come). Please contact Athletics@MastermanHSA.org if you have any questions!

High School Student Newspaper

Check out the November 2022 issue of Masterman Voices, featuring student spotlights, teacher profiles, horoscopes, and pieces on this election season, spikeball, and more!

Middle School Food Drive

The Middle School Student Government is hosting a food drive for the Philabundance food bank. Send canned food, 100% juice, packaged pasta/rice, spreads, and more into morning advisory.

The Advisory with the most donations will win a pizza party!

Learn to Code

The Fife-Penn CS Academy Coding Club is a free after-school program for students in grades K–8 where students learn how to code and join a group of supportive peers and role models. The club is led by computer science students from University of Pennsylvania Engineering, and the Masterman chapter meets at school on Thursday afternoons. Questions? Contact Marissa Robinson (mrobinson@steppingstonescholars.org) or Zachary Minken (zminken@philasd.org).

REMINDERS & RESOURCES

Know Your Deans

Deans Nichole Geiger (Middle School) and Justin Gilken (High School) are keystones of the Masterman student experience. They maintain communication with students via the grade-wide Google Classroom and coordinate school-wide activities like spirit week and special events, in addition to responding to student infractions of the Masterman Handbook and SDP Code of Conduct. They are also there to represent students, mostly in academic matters, and to lend a needed ear to students and parents with all kinds of concerns, keeping their office doors and email inboxes open. On top of all this, they both also teach (middle school math and high school English and film, respectively), coach, and sponsor student activities.

College Preparation Resources

Did you know that your high school student has access to an extensive college planner booklet put together by our magnificent Masterman counselors? For 9th and 10th graders, this can be "think/plan ahead" information; for 11th and 12th graders, there are concrete steps to take in the application process. You can find the booklet along with additional resources on Masterman's Counseling website.

PSATs

FYI: High school students received their scores this week on the PSATs they took earlier in the fall. Check with your child or school counselors for information on how to access them.

Volunteer in School

Do you know how to complete your clearances in order to volunteer in school?

Here are the steps:

1. Watch a video about volunteering and take a quiz. This quiz is very common sense, and you can resubmit answers you get incorrect. You will receive an emailed certificate of quiz completion and should print.

2. Read, sign and print the Volunteer Code of Conduct.

3. Submit Child Abuse History Clearance. Print Certificate.

4. Do PA State Criminal History Check. Print Certificate.

5. Sign Volunteer Affirmation if you have lived in the state for the last 10 years. If not, you will have to do the FBI clearance.

6. Make a copy of your COVID vaccination card.

7. Submit all these items together to Ms. Fennell in the school office.

Links to all these pieces can be found here: Volunteer Support – Family & Community Engagement (philasd.org) and Masterman’s Family and Community Engagement Liaison Ms. Lori Galiano can help! lgaliano@philasd.org

REMINDER: Tutoring Resources

National Honor Society Drop-In Tutoring

There is a new schedule for this in-school resource:

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)

Everyone is free to drop in as needed.

If you have any questions please contact the HS Dean, Mr. Gilken, at jgilken@philasd.org.

Virtual Tutoring

The School District has made free tutoring available for all students in Grades 3 to 12. Registration is now open for Cycle 2 for Reading, Math, Algebra I and II, Geometry, and English I-IV. Please register with one of our district vendors: Catapult (Grades 3–6), Tutor Me (Grades 3–8), or FEV (Grades 6–12).

Thank you, Dr. Payne, for sharing this information!

IN THE COMMUNITY

Feeling Competitive?

Every K-12 student in Pennsylvania is invited to participate in the Pennsylvania Invention Convention. Creativity, critical thinking, innovation, teamwork, and communication skills are recognized as the skills that prepare students for increasingly complex school, work, and life environments. The Pennsylvania Invention Convention gives students recognition for creating inventions to solve real world problems. Applications are due January 12, with a chance to win cash prizes.

The Philadelphia Solar Energy Association has just launched a student contest to Imagine a Clean Energy Future. The contest has three categories: Visual Arts, Language Arts, and Video. The contest is open to all students in the region in grades 5–12. Students may submit entries in one, two or all three categories. Prizes will be awarded in the spring during Earth Week, and winning entries displayed publicly. Applications due February 28.

PSBR (Pennsylvania Society for Biomedical Research) invites submissions for its three student contests: Essay, Poster, and Digital Media. Students of all ages in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey have the opportunity to discover the connection between biomedical research and their life. All contests offer cash prizes and an invitation to an Annual Awards Dinner on June 1, 2023. Applications due March 12th.

Show ‘em what you’ve got, Dragons!

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.