Good Afternoon,
My name is Tom Gallagher and I am the Director of Athletics at Ipswich High School. I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome you to Ipswich High School and to our athletic program. I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and to share some important fall sports information with you.
Schedules:
All game schedules can be found at www.mascores.com The site is live and will reflect any changes we make immediately. You can also sign up for alerts through this site, which will email you when changes are made. You can also find varsity scores, records and coaches emails through this website.
If you do not have access to a computer, you can call our Sports Hotline at (978) 356-3137 x. 333. Messages are recorded daily at this extension with game and other pertinent information.
If you do not have access to a computer, you can call our Sports Hotline at (978) 356-3137 x. 333. Messages are recorded daily at this extension with game and other pertinent information.
Handbook:
Here is a link to our student-athlete handbook: 16-17 Student-Athlete Handbook
All of our policies and procedures are contained within this document. Here are a few I like to highlight:
1. Attendance: Students must be in school for a majority of the day in order to be eligible that day for after school activities. For weekend activities, Friday will be the determining day. A half-day will be determined to begin at 8:30 AM or end at 1:30 PM. A student coming in at 8:30 AM must stay in school for the remainder of the day. Likewise a student leaving at 1:30 PM must be in school by 7:45am.
Students who provide advance notice of absence are also required to obtain permission from the principal prior to the absence if they wish to be eligible on that day. When attending an appointment, please bring us back a note verifying the time(s) you're out of the building. A student may not accumulate more than 5 tardies per quarter and remain eligible. Once eligibility is lost, it's not regained until the next quarter begins.
2. Eligibility: In order for a student to be academically eligible for a season, s/he must have obtained passing
grades in four major classes (20 credits) or its equivalent during the previous marking period. The
term of eligibility will be based on the issuance of report cards. Final grades from the previous
year will count for fall eligibility, except for freshmen, who start their high school career with a
clean slate.
3. Physical Exams: All students must pass a physical examination within thirteen months of the start of each season. A physical exam will expire 13 months to the date of exam and will need to be updated to continue participation. All physical exams should come directly to the athletic department and not the nurse's office.
4. Bona Fide Team Member: Membership on a team requires a commitment to be at all practices and games whenever possible. There are circumstances and instances, however, when this may not be possible due to family, religious, medical or other school-related commitments. A team member may not miss a high school practice or game in order to participate on a non-school team practice or game. Encourage your child to talk to their coach about specific policies within their team.
5. Chemical Health: A student-athlete shall not, regardless of the quantity, use, consume, possess, buy/sell, or give away any beverage containing alcohol, any tobacco product, marijuana, steroids, or any controlled substance. It is not a violation for a student to be in possession of a legally defined drug specifically prescribed for the student's own use by his/her doctor. Upon confirmation of a violation by the principal, a student will be suspended 25% of the season for a 1st offense and 60% for a 2nd or subsequent offense. Penalties are cumulative and carry from season to season and year to year when applicable.
6. Transportation: If a student has an unusual circumstance (such as an academic or religious commitment) and must be transported to/from an athletic event in private transportation, s/he must have a written note signed by her/his parent/guardian explaining the situation. The note must then be signed by the principal or assistant principal and the athletic director. Otherwise, players are expected to travel to and from games with the team.
7. Lockers/Locker Room: Students should not bring valuables to school, but if they cannot avoid this, and cannot leave their
valuables in the main office, they must take the responsibility to lock them up in their athletic or
physical education locker. The school holds no responsibility for items left in the building. Items
left unlocked in the locker room will be discarded.
8. Athletic Trainer/Medical: Ipswich HS is fortunate to have on staff a part-time athletic trainer who holds office hours after school daily and some nights and weekends. A schedule will be posted weekly with their hours on the athletic training room door.
Our athletic department should be informed of all injuries, either minor or major and the athletic trainer should always be involved with your child's medical care. If your child does see a physician, they will need to bring our athletic trainer a note before they will be cleared to resume participation. If your child is under the care of our athletic trainer and/or team physician, a clearance note is not necessary. They will communicate directly with you about your child's status and participation.
This is not an exhaustive list, but simply a few highlights I like to share with families each season. All parents/guardians and student-athletes were required to read and sign-off on the student-athlete handbook as part of the registration process.
If you have questions or if I can be of any assistance to you throughout the season, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at: tgallagher@ipsk12.net or by phone at (978) 356-3137 x. 193.
Sincerely,
Tom Gallagher
Director of Athletics
