November 3, 2019

Dear Quashnet School Community,

Have you turned your clocks back yet?  It will be a little brighter tomorrow morning as we begin our day and darker an hour earlier. 

Today's blog post looks a little different today.  I am experiencing technical difficulties including images and photos in today's posts.  All of last week's photos can be found on the photo tab.  It was great to see so many families attend the book fair and come for breakfast. I also know how much the teachers appreciate the support in the classrooms for special projects. Thank you, parents, grandparents, guardians, and family members for being so supportive of these projects by volunteering your time. 

Fifth and sixth graders attended an important assembly last week on cyber communication.  The presentation was by the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office which focused on the dangers and the importance of appropriate texting and posting on social media sites. I have shared several of the slides from the presentation on the photo tab above.  One important message is, "The most dangerous word in the digital environment in SEND." Once something is sent, that information can end up anywhere whether it is words or a photo. You can't get it back.  Another important fact is that students believe that posts go away on TikTok and Snap Chat for example - well they don't!  The digital information is kept on servers, and ANYONE can take a screenshot of that post and re-send it anywhere.  

For parents, one suggestion is to check how many followers your children have on Instagram, Snap Chat and other sites. The greater the number of followers the greater probability they have no idea who is really monitoring their posts. Some students have over 200 followers - if they can't name them - who are they?  Please remember that your children's devices belong to you, you control it.  CHECK IT - MONITOR IT - for safety and appropriateness.  This is a skill that needs to be taught.  

This coming Friday, November 8th is our annual Veterans Day Assembly. We are honored to welcome all veterans to Quashnet School. I have attached the RSVP to the Sunday email, just return it as soon as possible. It will be Red, White and Blue day at Quashnet. 

Got Candy?  Quashnet School K-Kids will be collecting Halloween Candy throughout the week. If you have an overabundance of candy, help us put it to good use. The candy donations will be divided into care packages to send to deployed troops.  K-Kids will include notes of gratitude with each care package. If you have a family member or friend that you would like to see get a Quashnet care package, please send the name and address to smanning@mpspk12.org.  

Quashnet School PTO board, Amber Smith, Kim Schafer, Cathy Lewis, and Kim Santos, did an outstanding job with the Book Fair last week. Thank you to ALL the volunteers and families for supporting this event. The time and effort for this event is huge. The book fair proceeds support all students and classrooms.  THANK YOU! 

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead! 😊

Respectfully, 
Principal O'Brien