January 31, 2021

Dear Quashnet School Community, 

We have been challenged! Last Tuesday, we met Brian Williams in a virtual assembly who is a nationally recognized youth speaker on kindness.  We were given 15 days to record a minimum of 5,000 acts of kindness as a school.  Approximately 75 schools across the country are working to be the leader of this challenge.  When you see your child perform any act of kindness - remind them to record it!  Each Quashnet student was given a kindness journal, but they can use just a piece of paper to write down all the kind deeds they are doing and then turn them into their homeroom teacher. Our goal- TO BE THE KINDEST SCHOOL!  I KNOW we will easily EXCEED the challenge 5000 acts of kindness, but can we double it?????  With the Kindness Ninjas at Quashnet and our amazing students, WE CAN DO IT!  

  Brian shared three steps to this challenge.

It is with small acts that you can bring a smile to someone's face.  Say hello, open a door, ask how someone is doing, help them, or let someone go ahead of you. Make a list and get started! 

Sometimes doing the RIGHT thing can take courage.  Be brave to do what is right.  Be brave to help and to stand up for others. 

Be brave, be kind, 

change the world! 

February 1-5 is National School Counselors Week!

If you have ever had the pleasure of meeting or working with Mrs. Morrison, Ms. Maggiacomo, or Mr. Withington, you would understand why there is a National School Counselors Week!  

We are EXTREMELY fortunate to have this talented, caring, and compassionate team of counselors to support our students, families, and staff.  

         💙 THANK YOU 💙

Valentine's Day is coming soon and like most events during COVID, it will need to look differently.  Please follow these guidelines to keep everyone safe and healthy.  

1. Paper valentines should be brought to school by February 9 and set aside for      48 -72 hours prior to distribution.

2. No food/ candy to be shared. 

3. Hand hygiene with collection and distribution by following physical distancing and masking protocols already in place.

The Kindness Challenge is just one challenge Grade 4 students have right now.  The Grade 4 team has started a reading challenge.  Who can read more books, the Mashpee cohort or the Falcon cohort?? GET READING GRADE 4 - we will be monitoring the progress.  Each book read = one link in a paper chain.  It will be very easy to see who is in the lead.  I will keep you posted - will it be Mashpee or the Falcons??? 

(PS - even remote students have been assigned a cohort, so you count too!!) 

The family read-aloud link with Superintendent DeBoer is HERE.

 

Yes, we will be participating in MCAS this April and May!  All students in Grades 3-6 will be assessed in English Language Arts and Mathematics.  Grade 5 students will also be participating in a Science and Technology/ Engineering test session. This year, we have been told that the assessment will be shorter.  We expect that there will be one session of ELA and Math versus two sessions of each in a typical year.  We are awaiting guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) as to how MCAS will be administered for hybrid and remote students. Once this information is received, I will share specific testing dates and protocols.  What we do know at this point is the testing window - Quashnet students will be assessed at some point within these dates.  

ELA: April 5 - May 7

Mathematics: April 26 - May 28 

STE (Grade 5 only): April 27 - May 28

Friday, February 5th is 

Wear RED for Women & the 

American Heart Association. 

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead. 

Be well and be KIND! 

Respectfully, 

Principal O'Brien