Monday, April 26, 2021

Lynn Lyons Webinar on April 28, Second Chance Cars Organization, MCAS Reminder (remote learning), & Senior Masquerade

I hope this email finds all members of the CCHS community doing well.  April vacation is now in the rearview mirror and we are entering the final stretch of the school year. I want to use this opportunity to remind everyone that very rudimentary, basic, and reasonable health and safety measures make a large difference in both the school community's physical and mental health.  Masks are to be worn all day unless eating.  Social distancing of six feet should be maintained when possible, and less than six feet is allowed when greater distances are not attainable.  Washing your hands, maintaining a clean physical space - whether at lunch or in class - and remaining home when sick or symptomatic; all remain vital components of our collective responsibility to ensure the safety of all members of our school. 


“NOW What? Helping Families Manage Emotionally During Uncertain Times”

Presented by noted author, national speaker, and therapist Lynn Lyons, LICSW

For Parents and Caregivers of High School Students: Wednesday, April 28, 7:00 to 8:15 PM online
Please pre-register in order to receive the login link at:
https://bedfordps-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9FkApoH6QpGKIewlsUHGnQ

Description 
Children and teens were struggling with increasing rates of anxiety and depression prior to 2020, and this past year didn’t help!  Parents and caregivers need strategies to help children (and themselves!) manage the uncertainty of our current environment as we recover and move forward. This presentation describes the skills needed for emotional management including how to increase flexibility, tolerate uncertainty, communicate effectively and replace catastrophic thinking with problem-solving.

About Our Presenter:

Lynn Lyons, LICSW, is a psychotherapist who is known to bring powerful ideas and strategies that effectively address anxiety. For more information about Lynn Lyons, visit About Our Presenter: 


Please take a moment to check out this two-minute clip of Lynn: Meet Lynn Lyons
and this one (about three minutes): Letting Go of the Best with Lynn Lyons


This project is supported through a collaboration with the Towns of Bedford, Concord, Carlisle, the Community Chest and the CHNA15 DoN funds from Lahey Hospital and Medical Center.






Second Chance Cars 


High School Volunteers Theo Randall ‘23, Jonah Brockman ‘23, Sanjeev Sridhar ‘24, Shawn Wu ‘23, Will Finn ‘22, Clark Stevenson ‘21 & Founder of Second Chance Cars Dan Holin.

Over the past couple of months, six local high school students (listed above) have been volunteering at a non-profit organization called Second Chance Cars (SCC). SCC aims to help citizens returning from service, prison, or rehabilitation by providing them with a low-cost, operational car. They are also one of the few non-profit organizations in the state dedicated to providing affordable and accessible transportation to workers. SCC collects donations of “orphaned” cars, refurbishes them, and awards them to workers with a 12 month, 0% interest loan of $900.

Many of these returning citizens struggle with getting to work, keeping a job, and paying bills if they don’t own a car. Public transportation can often be unsafe, unreliable, time-consuming, and expensive. These issues have especially increased with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic over the past year. Through awarding workers with affordable and accessible transportation, SCC provides them with a much higher chance of securing a living-wage job. With a more reliable job, those same workers are much more likely to stay on top of payments and can afford to spend more time and money on themselves and their families. By paying back the $900 loan, 85% of car recipients improve their credit score. The average car recipient also sees an income increase of more than $23,000 per year.

The high school students have been working on spreading the word about SCC in as many ways as possible in hopes of catching the eye of potential donors. They are aiming for graduating high school seniors who are moving off to college, jobs, or the next chapter of their lives. However, any donation is greatly appreciated! Please reach out to info@secondchancecars.org if you have questions or any interest in donating. Also, feel free to check out their website, secondchancecars.org or facebook page @getowork for more information. Thank you for your support!









Senior Masquerade
On Wednesday, May 26th the school will be hosting a special event for members of the senior class, a Senior Masquerade Under the Stars. This formal event will include live music, games, food trucks, and a few other surprises. The event is being organized by Class Government and I'm certain will be a memorable evening for our seniors.

The event is only for members of this year's CCHS senior class, no guests are permitted. Students need to be dropped off by a parent/guardian, drop off is from 7:30 - 7:50, and must be picked up by a parent/guardian at the end of the event, 11:00 pm. Students may not leave the event early.


MCAS Reminder


As a reminder, all current 10th graders (YOG 2023) will be required to take the MCAS this spring.  Here are the relevant dates

  • May 5 and 6: ELA MCAS

  • May  19 and 20: Math MCAS

  • On the two Wednesday test dates (May 5 and 19) we do not need all busses due to the fact that only sophomores are in-person. Most students will finish before 2:41, and we welcome parent/guardians picking students up at CCHS when their student completes testing; however, we will send out a form to gauge how many students will need a bus at 2:41. Information is forthcoming.

  • On the two Thursday test dates (May 6 and May 20), sophomores will proceed to on-campus, in-person learning after testing is concluded.

  • Lunch will be available on all testing days.

  • For now, only grade 10 students will be participating in MCAS testing.  Additional information can be found here in Principal Mastrullo’s blog.


For all four testing dates, only grade 10 students will be on campus.  All grade 9, 11, and 12 students will be virtual and attend their classes via zoom from home.







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