September 30, 2018


Dear Quashnet School Community,

What a beautiful weekend!  I hope you were all able to get outside and enjoy this wonderful weather and the Oktoberfest! 

On Tuesday, October 2, individual MCAS reports for each Quashnet student who participated in the Spring 2018 MCAS testing will be mailed to families. This report will include your child's performance rating in ELA, Math, and Science for Grade 5 only.  Should you have any questions at all regarding this report, please call.  I am happy to meet with families regarding your child's progress in meeting the expected grade-level standards and overall MCAS performance.  The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education also has a website available to parents to assist you further.  This can be found by clicking this link: www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/parents.  You will find various resources including reports in multiple languages. If your child participated in MCAS testing at a different school other than Quashnet, I suggest you call that school and provide them with your new address in order to receive your child's scores. Spring 2019 MCAS testing dates can be found on the MCAS tab above. 

Last Thursday and Friday, Superintendent DeBoer shared a brief review of the district's performance.  I am very proud of the students' efforts and teachers' work in preparing students to meet the robust demands of the Next-Generation MCAS. Over the next several weeks, we will be analyzing the data from a whole-school perspective and also to identify individual student needs. Data from standardized assessments allow us an opportunity to evaluate our instructional practices, our curriculum, and the learning environment. Our findings will be shared following a thorough analysis of the data.   

Congratulations to our 2018-2019 STUDENT COUNCIL representative!  Each year, every sixth-grade classroom elects two students to represent them on the Quashnet School Student Council.  This group of student leaders will plan social events for the students, initiate special projects, and suggest ways to improve our school. Mrs. Johnson and Mr. Williams are the co-advisers for the council, and I know this group will do a fabulous job for our school!

LJ Laguna, Hannah Roger, Lola Sullivan, Emma Kelley, Carson Atteberry, Rowyn Lowney, Cordelia Oakley-Robbins, Caroline Cotton, Alyssa Burri, Savanna Hartman, Bryce Clark, Ayesha Shafi, Isabella Andrini, and Wyatt Seely

Every Wednesday at Quashnet School we celebrate our Students of the Week.  Teachers recommend students to receive this recognition based on a variety of positive attributes. If your child comes home with one of these special recognitions be sure to ask WHY they received it. Here are some of the wonderful reasons that students were selected this week as Student of the Week. 

1. I can always count on ______ to be an example of what READY to learn looks like. 
2. _______ shows great classroom skills.  He follows directions, volunteers to help in the classroom, and is always ready to work.  
3. ________ has been an awesome role model to his peers in the first few weeks of school.  He truly demonstrates the Falcon Five every day of school. Keep up the great work! 
4. ________ is an enthusiastic student.  He has been tremendously helpful to his classmates and teachers. His manners are fantastic! 
5. _______quietly and diligently works hard every day. She is a fabulous Falcon Five follower.  

Check out the grade level photos of Students of the Week on the photo tab above!

Quashnet students are the best! 

Construction Update:  We are making progress! If you have been to school lately, you will see the fencing in the front of the building has been removed.  The windows and EFIS are all complete in the front of the building. The temporary wall in the front entryway and along the sixth-grade hall has been taken down.  It is feeling a little bigger around here and certainly brighter! One of the third-grade bathrooms has been out of order due to some construction debris in the pipes, but that has been repaired and is now back in service. The last windows to be completed are in the back of the building near the maintenance door and cafeteria. That is moving along at a great pace and hopefully, the temporary wall in the cafe will be down before we know it. It is an exciting time to be at Quashnet to watch the transformation of our building. Looking forward to completion in December. 


Monday night, 10/1,  is the first meeting for the Botvin LifeSkills parent/guardian/caregiver group.  We are very fortunate to have the support of Mashpee Kiwanis Club who provided the funding to bring this research-based program to our families.  Thank you Stacey Schakel, MPS Nurse Coordinator, Mrs. Greta McCue, Quashnet School guidance counselor, and Deputy Shaun Cahill, from the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office for facilitating this valuable workshop.  Thank you, Mr. Gus, for always being there with your culinary skills to prepare anything and everything we need!

Do you ever wonder what teachers and school staff do on a professional day? They work REALLY hard! Last week, Quashnet staff reviewed and planned instructional strategies based on  STAR data from the beginning of the year and preliminary MCAS data. Mrs. Terrill and Mrs. Brooks, Directors of Instructional Technology shared updates to Google Classroom and introduced other Google tools to assist with instruction.  This coming Friday, the staff will be participating in a full day training on Think Kids - A Collaborative Problem Solving Approach. This training will focus on strengthening and aligning social/emotional learning within our schools. We recognize that these days can create a daycare challenge for some families, but it is invaluable learning time for staff to best serve your children. Professional days are hard work days - we truly appreciate this time.   

PTO UPDATE:  

October is a busy month for the Quashnet School PTO.  The book fair runs from October 26 - November 2. Your help is needed! This is a great way to get involved and support all the students at Quashnet School.  

Click here to volunteer:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4CA4AE29AAFB6-enchanted

Wishing you all a wonderful week and long weekend. 

Reminder:  No school for students on Friday, 10/5, for staff professional day. No school on Monday, 10/8, in observance of Indigenous Peoples Day. 

Respectfully, 

Mrs. O'Brien