March 29, 2021
Dear Quashnet School Community,
Another sign of Spring - the cover is back on the tent in front of our school! This outdoor classroom is a great place to learn or to take a break. We are grateful to DPW for all of their ongoing support and hard work with so many additional tasks this year.
They are working very hard to prepare classrooms for full in-person learning. Our grade 4 - 6 classrooms now have approximately 20 desks in each room. Over this weekend and next week, DPW will be spacing and marking the desks to ensure at least 3 feet between all students. The gym and cafeteria have been set up to accommodate additional student seating as both spaces continue to be lunchroom spaces. We will be maintaining 6 foot distancing in the lunchrooms. This is necessary as everyone is unmasked during lunch.
Mr. Kapulka and I hosted four Zoom assemblies this week, one for each grade level. We discussed changes coming to Quashnet on April 5 and things that will stay the same. Aside from classes having more students in Grades 4-6, recess will look different. Students will still be in mini-cohorts for recess and lunch. The schedule will be adjusted some to ensure no overlap in the recess schedule, and as of April 5th, each group will have access to the entire recess area. Students asked good questions about recess, lunch, snack time, and the bus. Snacks will be outside the classroom, and teachers will plan for mask breaks. Note, there is no change in Grade 3. On the buses, students will be able to be two to a seat. New seating charts are being finalized along with adjustments to routes and times. Look for this information coming soon. 
That's right, Term 3 begins this week. Report cards will be shared with families electronically on Wednesday, March 31. Be sure to check your inbox for a secured message from me. If you prefer a hard copy of the report card, please send an email to Mrs. Pagano at epagano@mpspk12.org or call 508-539-1550.
Great news for Grade 6 students - every Grade 6 student will receive a Quashnet School 2020-2021 Yearbook as a celebration of 4 years of hard work and achievement before heading off to MMHS. (If a Grade 6 student has already purchased a yearbook, a refund will be issued.)
All future "graduating" classes from Quashnet School will also receive a free yearbook in Grade 6. The yearbook is available for purchase for students in Grade 3-5. Use this link to order today. The deadline for ordering the yearbook online is April 9.
The website to order the yearbook is: ybpay.lifetouch.com
Yearbook ID Code: 9872821
Have you considered your child's participation in pool testing? Superintendent DeBoer shared this information on Friday. It is not too late to sign up and have your child participate. Quashnet students are tested at Quashnet.
WEEKLY MPS COVID-19 POOLED TESTING PROGRAM: Participation in this program is voluntary, and there is a rolling enrollment--your child may join at any time. We conducted our first pooled testing on Monday, March 22nd (5 pools--43 individuals), and all test results were NEGATIVE. A student can only participate in this program if parental consent is provided. For more information and to access the consent form to participate, please click this link. Please check out this MPS pool testing demonstration video.
This is the last week for the food drive. Thank you for all of the donations so far - please keep it coming! K-Kids and Student Council Members will be delivering Stop & Shop bags to classrooms to collect the non-perishable food items and on Friday, 4/2, will come by classrooms to collect bags. The class that collects the most donations wins a free special activity.
All of the food items will be sent to the Falmouth Service Center and the Christ the King food pantry to support local families. Thank you for supporting Quashnet K-Kids, Student Council, MMHS, and our community!
I was fortunate to participate in training this week sponsored by the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office called Keeping Children Safe and Secure Online. The training included speakers representing both local and national law enforcement agencies.
This statistic was shared as a national trend and is quite alarming:
40% of students in Grades 4-6 have spoken to someone they DON'T know while online.
67% of students in Grades 7-9 have spoken to someone they DON'T know while online.
65% of those students, gave their name, date of birth, email, and/or school
Recommendations for parents/guardians:
*Most importantly - a parent/child relationship is NOT EQUAL - parents pay for the phone and internet. Monitoring a device and gaming site is necessary to keep children safe. Children can tell you the right rules for online safety but are not always socially or emotionally prepared to make the right choice. They need you!
Reminder: There are two more early release days coming to help with the transition to full in-person learning. This Friday, April 2, and Friday, April 16, students will be dismissed at 12:30 PM. If there are special dismissal instructions, please send an email to your child's teacher and qsattendance@mpspk12.org or send in a note.
As we continue to adjust learning models and school protocols, there have been zoom parent meetings and a lot of information shared. The links to the Zoom meetings are on Superintendent DeBoer's Friday Happenings email. If you have specific questions or concerns, please never hesitate to call 508-539-1550 or email me at mobrien@mpspk12.org.
Have a wonderful week ahead,
Respectfully,
Principal O'Brien
from
Lucy O'Brien
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