Current Families

2026-2027 School Handbook
 

School Handbook  

Uniform Guide

Shirts

All students are required to wear green, black, or white polo shirts featuring our current logo. These are available only through the Rocket Shop. 

McNicholas High School has transitioned to Lands’ End as our uniform provider. Class of 2030 students are required to purchase uniform skirts from Lands' End. 

Girls’ Skirts

• Plaid *Now Available!
• Black
• Gray

Boys’/Girls' Pants and Shorts

• Khaki
• Black
• Gray

Lands' End UNiform Guide   Lands' End Ordering Site
For questions about the Student Handbook or uniform guidelines, please contact

Blackbaud has replaced PowerSchool as our student information system, and Canvas has replaced Schoology as our learning management system. We believe that this new software will produce a more user-friendly, streamlined experience while contributing to student learning.

Families and students will interact with Blackbaud to manage student records, report cards, transcripts, and attendance. Canvas will be used for online instruction, grading, and assignments.

Both Blackbaud and Canvas are now live and accessible to students and parents. More information about activation and login procedures can be found here.

If you have questions, please contact Mrs. Julia Thornton.

McNicholas students are expected to attend school regularly and to be punctual; however, if a student is late or needs to miss school for some reason, a parent/guardian should report the absence before 8 a.m. Please call 231-3500 x5120 and leave a message with following information: student’s name, grade, reason for tardiness or absence, and a phone number where the parent can be contacted. Absences lasting longer than one day should be reported each day unless a circumstance such as hospitalization has been reported.

Please also note:

• If a student needs to be dismissed early, he or she should bring a note signed by a parent. These notes must be turned in to Mrs. Cheek in the main office before the school day begins. 
•  If a student is missing school due to a doctor's appointment, he or she must bring a note from the doctor upon return so that the absence can be excused for medical reasons.
• If a student is not feeling well, and would like to go home, he or she needs to report to the front office before contacting parents.  The main office will contact parents and help arrange for an early dismissal.  

To report an absence, please contact attendance@mcnhs.org or call (513) 231-3500 x5120.

Books are a great way to explore and travel, even when you have to stay where you are. Where will you go via a book this summer? 

The English Department has chosen to explore diverse voices for Summer Reading 2026. Every student is required to read the work(s) in his/her grade level by the first day of the 2026-27 academic year. 

Please note that students enrolled in an Honors or AP English class will have additional reading and assessments for English. CCP English students are also expected to participate and will be responsible for the test the first week of school. 

Summer Reading Details

For questions, please contact

Thank you for your attention to the McNicholas parking lot rules and regulations.  Your cooperation will create a safer campus for our students and parents.

Traffic Flow

Parents dropping off students may do so only at the island off of Beechmont Avenue. Please do not drop off students in the lower lot, the visitors lot, or from the Paradise lot. 

When dropping off students in the morning, please enter the parking lot and pull as far forward as possible on either side of the island to prevent back-ups on Beechmont Avenue. Please do not allow students to exit a vehicle on Beechmont Avenue. 

After students exit vehicles, please turn left to exit the parking lot at the Brachman Avenue traffic light. Please do not turn right on Brachman Avenue and exit through the Mt. Washington Presbyterian lot or through the Paradise lot. Brachman Avenue is one-way out to Beechmont Avenue, and traveling against one-way traffic creates dangerous situations for our students and jeopardizes our good neighborhood relations. 

Please drive slowly, especially when entering and exiting Paradise Lane. 

Between 7:20-8:15 a.m., Paradise Lane is one-way, enter only. Cars may not exit Paradise Lane to Berkshire during that time. 

Between 2:30-3:15 p.m., Paradise is one-way, exit only. Cars may not enter Paradise Lane off of Berkshire during that time. 

Parking

Students who drive to school must purchase a parking permit.  Purchase
Students must have a valid driver's license to purchase a spot. The McNicholas Facilities Department will regularly check for permits throughout the school year. Parking is limited, so be sure to secure your spot early. 

Park only in assigned, marked spots.

Open faculty spaces are available for general parking after 3:30 p.m. 

Bus Transportation

McNicholas families who are living in either Forest Hills School District or New Richmond School District and need bus transportation for the school year will need to contact their respective district transportation department directly no later than June 30th. 

Forest Hills School District: (513) 231-3335

New Richmond School District: (513) 553-2616

For questions about parking, please contact

McNicholas High School uses FinalForms, an online forms and data management service, to complete and sign mandatory school forms as well as necessary athletic forms.

Back-to-school forms for all students must be complete and electronically signed by parents and students no later than the first day of school each year. 

Parents must complete the forms first. Once the parent portion is complete, then the student receives an email via his/her McNicholas email account prompting him/her to sign the forms.

Please note: Incoming freshmen and transfer students will not be able to sign the forms through their school email until they have set up their McNicholas email accounts at their tablet pick-up in August.

If your student is playing a fall sport, the Athletic Department needs your information sooner than the first day of school. Therefore, forms for fall athletes must be complete and electronically signed by parents by June 30. Student signatures on these forms aren’t required until the first day of school.

Directions

FinalForms

For questions about forms, please contact

Visit the calendar page of our website at any time to see information about school and other events. A link to the calendar page can be found at the top right-hand corner of every page of our website. (If you are on a mobile device, click on the menu icon to see it.)

View the video below to learn how to get the most out of the calendar page, including how to sync the calendar to your desktop or mobile calendar apps.

Calendar

Calendar tutorial

Christian Service Program

Our Christian Service Program seeks to challenge students to "grow toward Full Stature in Christ” by living out the Gospel values. All students are required to serve for at least 40 hours before graduation, but most far exceed that minimum requirement. A minimum of 20 hours must be completed prior to the end of a student’s sophomore year and an additional 20 hours must be completed in advance of the Senior Capstone presentation.

Students are encouraged to partner with one of the suggested agencies listed below.

Suggested Agencies

For the 20 hours of service that students complete during their last two years, they are required to step beyond their comfort zone and to serve the underprivileged by practicing the “works of mercy” in the spirit of Matthew 25.  
 

Recording Service Hours

Students must log their service hours using x2VOL.

x2VOL

Century Club

The vast majority of McNicholas students go far beyond the required hours of community service.  The honorary Century Club has been established to recognize those who complete over 100 hours of service during their time at McNicholas.  Membership in the Century Club is determined by adding all service hours completed helping the underprivileged and no more than 60 hours of other kinds of service.

If you have questions about service hours, please contact

All students enrolled at McNicholas are expected to apply for a state-funded scholarship for the 2026-27 school year.

EdChoice Scholarships
 

• If you received an EdChoice Scholarship for the 2025-26 school year, use this EdChoice Scholarship Renewal Form to renew your scholarship for 2026-27. If your adjusted gross income is above 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, you do not need to complete the income verification process, but you will need to show proof of residence.
   
• If you did not receive an EdChoice Scholarship for the 2025-26 school year, use this EdChoice Scholarship Request Form to apply. You will need to complete the income verification process (for Expansion only, not Traditional) as well as show proof of residence.

All EdChoice renewal and new applications must be emailed to edchoice@mcnhs.org, as well as a copy of a current utility bill showing proof of residency. McNicholas will process the applications and forward to the state of Ohio.

Questions about EdChoice? Please email edchoice@mcnhs.org or call 513-231-3500 x5178.

Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship

The Jon Peterson Special Needs (JPSN) Scholarship Program through the Ohio Department of Education provides scholarships to students who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) from their district. To qualify, a student must have a current IEP from his or her district of residence and all parties, including the parent, must be in agreement with the IEP. The amount of each scholarship is based on the disability identified on the student’s Evaluation Teacher Report (ETR). 

The scholarship typically covers the cost of the SAIL Program.

Use this JPSN Scholarship Application to apply for OR renew a JPSN Scholarship for 2026-27. 

For questions about Jon Peterson, please contact

McNicholas is using Blackbaud Financial Aid Management for financial aid applications for the 2027-2028 school year. Applications are open from September 1 to November 16, 2026.

Financial Aid Application  

To learn more about application steps and FAQs, visit the Tuition & Financial Assistance page.