September 27, 2020 

Dear Quashnet School Community. 

We have just completed our first full week with the Mashpee cohort and we are ready to welcome back the Falcon cohort tomorrow, Monday, September 28. Obviously, the ideal would be for all Mashpee Falcons to be together but it is great to see our remote learners connecting to the classroom virtually. The teachers and staff have been masterful in their delivery of content, sharing their screen, conducting read alouds, calling on students at home and at school - it is an educational revolution on many levels! 

My request for parents, guardians, grandparents, or daycare providers, please keep in mind that although your child is at home learning, they are still a part of a bigger classroom.  The teacher is managing 16-21 students at a time.  When zooming, teachers will answer student questions, but they cannot conference with an adult.  Please send your concerns to the teacher in an email, a private message, or call the office and leave a message.  When he/she is not teaching, they will be in touch with you and problem-solve any situation. Please keep in mind that schoolwork can be hard, your child(ren) are learning and growing and that takes time and effort. Please consider this perspective: "Struggling in math (or any subject) is like sweating in basketball, it means you are in the game." Learning should be hard work! 

Are you familiar with the idea of a growth mindset vs a fixed mindset?  Please reinforce with your at-home learners that they might not have it YET - but with practice and effort, it will come.  Check out Mrs. Hill and Mrs. Boyd's landing page and playlist- they have a whole page dedicated to "not yet!" Below are some examples of phrases that will support that growth mindset.  

Over the next week, students will be participating in the STAR Reading and Math Benchmark assessments.  These assessments are a diagnostic tool for teachers to see where students are performing independently. Please know these assessments are NOT graded, rather the data is carefully reviewed and helps teachers tailor instruction to meet the individual needs of students. 

For our at-home learners, scrap paper should be used, no guessing, focus and do your best. STAR uses adaptive technology, meaning it will adjust the questions for students based on how they are answering the questions.  In math particularly, students are surprised when they are given content they might not have seen before, but the assessment is designed to determine where a student is performing. Teachers will explain this to students, but our at-home parent-teachers need to know that perspective too! The key -INDEPENDENT work! Teachers will be providing specific instructions to all learners. 

Mashpee Public Library continues to be a fabulous partner in education.  A new Fall Reading Challenge is just beginning - below is a message from Janet Burke, Children's Librarian.  

Say goodbye to summer and hello to autumn with Mashpee Public Library’s new Fall Reading Challenge! How would you like to earn a free cupcake from Cupcake Charlie’s just for reading this fall?   The Library will mail a cupcake token to every student who reaches the minimum goal of 1,000 minutes of reading. 

Students in preschool through grade six are being asked to read for 20 minutes a day at least 5 days per week this fall.  20 minutes x 5 days x 10 weeks of fall = the goal of 1,000 minutes.  You can select your own reading materials including books, magazines, graphic novels, and audiobooks... any kind of reading counts!

Students can log the minutes that they read online and will earn a virtual badge for every 250 minutes.  Registration is available now and logging begins October 1, 2020, and runs through December 15, 2020.  Just like the Summer Reading Challenge, there are four levels of accomplishment:  

Bronze Medal Reader - over 500 minutes

Silver Medal Reader - over 1,000 minutes

Gold Medal Reader - over 2,000 minutes 

Platinum Medal Reader - over 3,000 minutes.  

In order to participate in the Fall Reading Challenge, patrons will be using the library's new Online Reading Tracking Software called Beanstack.  Readers of all ages can register today in seconds as individuals or a family.  If you are already registered on Beanstack, just log in and join the Fall Challenge!  If you have any questions about using Beanstack, please email jburke@clamsnet.org.

Register for the Mashpee Public Library 2020 Online Fall Reading Challenge at https://mashpeepubliclibrary.beanstack.org/reader365 or download the Beanstack app.

It is always a great time to read!  Thank you to our community partners, Kathy Mahoney and Janet Burke, at Mashpee Public Libray.  

Not only is it fun to get a token for a cupcake, but there is a tremendous amount of research that supports at least 20 minutes of sustained reading per day.  At Quashnet School we ask that students read for a minimum of 30 minutes of sustained reading after school. 

READING is an investment in your child's future, it's not just homework!  

 

There is a difference in 1,792,000 words - astounding!  

READ - your child deserves this advantage.  

To any Falcon family drivers, we have added cones to the parking lot in an effort to get more cars off of Old Barnstable Road during drop-off and pick-up. Grade 3 parents and the Mashpee cohort had our line moving faster. Thank you families for having students ready to hop out of the car all along the front walkway and to drivers for not getting out of the car.  It helps everyone. All students who are picked up should have received an orange placard to put on the dashboard. If you did not get one or need an additional placard, please email Mrs. Pagano at epagano@mpspk12.org and we will get it to you. Thank you for your help and patience.  

On a personal note -

During my daily rounds this week visiting classrooms, it was wonderful to see students outside learning in the fifth-grade garden, participating in art class outside, and discussing a novel in the shade and on the grass. I have included pictures from the week on the photo tab above. Students and staff are resilient!  I am not sure how I got so lucky to spend my days with such amazing people and in such a wonderful environment of learners. So grateful each day!

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead, 

Principal O'Brien