Family Matters @ PHA

KNOW YOUR CAMPUS ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Early Childhood Campus (Grades PreK-3): T. Johnson, Principal tjohnson@phacs.org & Cathy Traniello, Assistant to the Principal ctraniello@phacs org or 617-284-7811

Upper Elementary Campus (Grades 4-6): Dr Tia Lites, Principal tlites@phacs org & Carol Saulnier, Administrative Assistant csaulnier@phacs.org or 617-684-8520

Middle School & High School/Collegiate Institute (Grades 7-12): Chris Douglas, Principal cdouglas@phacs org & Admin Assistants: Dominga Soto (7-8) dsoto@phacs org 617 284 7920 & Michele

Quinlan (9-12) mquinlan@phacs.org 617.284.7921

FAMILY LIAISONS

PHA provides all families interpretation and translation to ensure clear and open communication between home and school We have three staff members dedicated to communicating with families who speak Haitian Creole, Spanish, and Portuguese

PHA Website: wwwphacsorg

PHA Family Central: bitly/phafamily (website of the PHA family community)

Questions? Contact In Paik, Family & Community Engagement Coordinator, by email at ipaik@phacs.org or call/text 716-202-0301.

FAMILY ADVISORY BOARD

All family members are FAB members! We volunteer our time and effort to strengthen the PHA community We organize community celebrations and bring family concerns and potential solutions to the administration by holding FAB meetings and attending Board of Trustee meetings

ABSENCE LINES

Call if your student will be absent from school:

PreK-3: 617-284-7890

Grades 4-6: 617-684-8590

Grades 7-12: 617-284-7990

Spanish Family Liaison: Mercedes

Escorihuela mescorihuela@phacs org

Portuguese Family Liaison: Adriano Chaves achaves@phacs org

Haitian Creole Family Liaison: Abigael Pierre apierre@phacs org

PARENTS & FAMILIES

COMMUNICATION - JOIN THE PHAMILY

Families rely on the following ways to keep updated on student and campus life:

Grades PreK-3 use the SeeSaw app, your student's Take Home Folder (check their backpack daily), monthly Principal Newsletters (on SeeSaw and email), monthly Teacher Newsletters, and monthly online FAB Coffee Hours

Grades 4-6 rely on the REMIND text messaging app, quarterly Principal Newsletters, biweekly Teacher emails, and online Family Forums

Grades 7-12 use the REMIND text messaging app, biweekly Principal Newsletters (by email), and online FAB Forums (5 per school year).

Head of School Newsletters are emailed bi-monthly to all families

PHA Strong e-bulletins are emailed periodically from the Family & Community Engagement Coordinator

Let your teacher know the best way to contact you (e g , email, phone, text) and ask your teacher their preferred way of communication. Do not hesitate to ask questions

If you already use Remind, click “Add class” and type in the code b398g33

If you are a PreK-3rd Grade family, you can download the Remind app for freeit is a text messaging app for schools Then, you can click “Add class” and type in the class code b398g33

Social Media

Follow PHA's official social media channels with the handle @PHACharter. Search for the Facebook Group called “FAB Group PHA” and ask to join

Parent & Family FAB Hour

Every Wednesday, 5:30-6:30 PM on Zoom: bit ly/FABfamilyhourZOOM

Attend with your camera on, or listen while you are in the car, at work, cooking dinner & more

FAB (Family Advisory Board) Meetings

Attend your campus-specific meetings

Check the PHA website Events Calendar or email ipaik@phacs org for dates & times

PreK-3: Monthly online

Grades 4-6: Five times per year online

Grades 7-12: Five times per year online

FAMILY DIRECTORY

Most families choose to be included in our Family Directory Access it online: bit ly/2023FamDirect

POLICIES, RIGHTS & FORMS

Learn about our student and parent rights and expectations Helpful policies and forms at our school webpage:

www phacs org/apps/pages/documents

SCHOOL CALENDAR

Students and families are so busy, so we post all of our campus and online events on the PHA Website Calendar

Check it regularly:

www.phacs.org/apps/events

ESSENTIAL EVENTS

Prioritize the following school events and set aside time for these highly informative meetings about your child:

Orientation events - August/September

Family Fall Festival (PreK-Gr 12) - October

International Night (PreK-Gr 12) - May

Listening Conferences

Curriculum Nights

Family-Teacher Conferences

Morning Meetings with your Student (PreK-Gr 6)

Student-Led Conferences (Gr. 7-12)

Advisor Check-in Meetings (Gr.7-12)

FAFSA Night (Gr 12) - October

College Readiness FAB Forum (Gr 6-12)

Exhibition Day (Gr 9-12) - March

Graduation (Gr 12) - June

If you are not familiar with these events, please ask your Te h C Ad i i t t b t them

ATHLETICS

Come and support our sports teams! PHA offers cross-country, volleyball, soccer, basketball, cheerleading, track, baseball, and softball

See our team schedules & learn how your students can participate here:

www phacs org/apps/pages/athletics

FAMILY RESOURCES @ PHA

UNIFORM CLOTHING

PHA dress code consists of a PHA polo shirt (navy blue for Grades K-10 and gray for Grades 11-12) with khaki pants or a khaki skirt For Physical Education days, students wear a navy blue t-shirt with solid gray or navy blue sweatpants If you or your student is unsure about any items including headwear or shoes, just as your Campus Administrator or Principal

You can purchase new school uniforms from Collegiate House online at https://www collegiatehouse com/productcategory/prospect-hill-academy/ or in store at 14 Hig Street in Medford You can also find items at Lands End online only: landsend com/school

PHA family volunteers run the Community Uniform Closet, which allows families to recycle and reuse uniform clothing, to keep up with our growing childre Family volunteers collect, clean, and package used uniforms year-round, and offer them for FREE to all students and families.

SCHOOL MEALS

We are pleased to be able to offer school meals free to all of our students, thanks to our Community Eligibility Provision status Families still must order meals ahead of time, to ensure we receive enough meals and avoid wasting food To order, families must set up a MySchoolBucks account through PowerSchool Follow the instructions here: https://bit ly/MyschoolbucksHowTo

Then, you and your student use MealOrders com to select meals Watch this video to see what this looks like: https://youtu be/CML8y0sl1lY

Questions or concerns? Email meals@phacs.org to reach Meals Program Director Michelle Doyle.

If your students have grown out of their uniforms, please donate them by dropping them off in a bag at any campus Main Office

PHA THRIVE

The PHA Thrive program offers a supply of nutritious snacks for children over the weekend, free of charge, if you would benefit from receiving additional food

Any child enrolled at Prospect Hill Academy is able to receive a weekly bag Just email ipaik@phacs org with your student's name and ask that they be added to the Thrive program

Typical items in a Thrive Weekend Snack Bag can be seen in the photo to the right

Thrive Welcome Wednesday Dinners are FREE community dinners held once a month from November through March Stop by the Early Childhood Cafeteria and share a delicious hot dinner with other families, students, staff, teachers, and friends

PHA is grateful to partner with Community Cooks to make Welcome Wednesdays happen

Thrive Monthly School Markets are FREE mini-farmers markets open to the school community Stop by once a month in the Upper Elementary School Yard at pick-up time to pick up free groceries including fresh produce and pantry items

PHA is grateful to partner with Food For Free to make Weekend Snack Bags and School Markets possible

FAMILY TECH @ PHA

Each Middle and High School student receives their own school Chromebook They are responsible for taking it safely between home and school each day For questions and repairs, stop by the Family Tech office in the High School (54 Essex St ) during the school day or email familytech@phacs org any time

Families bring their energy, spirit, and unique perspectives into our children's learning environment when they volunteer, and volunteering allows you to experience PHA's learning community firsthand.

Students benefit from seeing families interacting and working with their teachers and staff Students feel motivated when they see the adults in their lives actively taking an interest in their education

SCAN THE QR CODE

Scan the QR code at left to select from a long list of Volunteer Opportunities across campuses year-round

PHA MISSION

PHA VALUES

www phacs org

@PHACharter

Prospect Hill Academy Charter School will prepare each student for success in college, inspire a lifelong love of learning, and foster responsible citizenship

Eight core values guide our school culture and frame how we talk about school:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

High Expectations

Equity

Personalization

Cultural Proficiency

Collaboration

Balance

Inquiry

Accountability