January 2, 2022 

Happy 2022 Quashnet School Community, 

I hope you have all had a great holiday season with time to spend with family and friends. COVID-19 continues to create challenges for many of us while traveling and in gatherings with the recent surge. Hopefully, 2022 will bring some relief with increased vaccinations and booster shots.  

At school, we will start the year off still wearing masks throughout the day and on buses.  PLEASE be sure to send your child to school with a mask and an extra one in their backpack.  Reminders to wear a mask correctly is appreciated, and we will encourage frequent handwashing and sanitizing.   

As a reminder, if your child is symptomatic, please do not send them to school. Absences should be called in by 9:15 AM to 508-539-1550 or send an email to qsattendance@mpspk12.org. If you have health-related questions, Nurse Terri, the Quashnet School Nurse, can be reached at 508-539-1550 x4155 or you may contact the District Nurse Coordinator, Nurse Stacey at 781-775-7605. 

Congratulations to more big winners of the PTO Falcon Bucks! The Final Falcon Bucks winners have been added to the list. Winners will be called by the PTO board and checks may be picked up at the Quashnet School office.  If you are unable to pick up your winnings, please let the PTO know and it will be mailed to you. 

THANK YOU for supporting the PTO and Quashnet School. 

12/1 Tyler DiMare

12/2 Lori Coar 

12/3 Trish Antone 

12/4 Lisa Holland 

12/5 Sandra Alves 

12/6 Kate and Ryan (?) 

12/7 Bette Shae

12/8 Oscar Ramirez 

12/9 Josh Merrion  

12/10 Gabby & Mike (?)  

12/11 Kathy Harrington  

12/12 Julia Pacheco  

12/13 Deb Hoxie 

12/14 Tom Brown 

12/15 Craig Condinho 

12/16 Mark Lawrence 

12/17 Bertha Hicks 

12/18 Janet McCarthy 

12/19 Maggie Nowinski 

12/20  Trevor Davis 

12/21  David Serafini

12/22  David Button 

12/23  Bob Ryan 

Thank you to Amber Smith, Kim Santos, and Brianna Cavaco for such a successful fundraiser! 

Session 1 after-school clubs will come to an end the week of January 25. A new list of offerings will be shared with families asap with an anticipated sign-up date on Sunday, January 9 - 16. Be on the lookout!! A link will be included in the upcoming QS Blog posts. Session 2 clubs will begin the first week of February and run through the end of May. 

Congratulations to QS librarian, Mrs. Pons, for receiving a Cape Cod Five Mini-Grant for a new initiative, Windows and Mirrors Book Club. The book club will allow students to explore a world of diversity through reading. Look for the club in the session 2 offerings! 

 

The Vex Robotics Competition is at MMHS on Jan. 8, 8AM-2 PM.  

Team Quashnet will be competing on January 8th under the leadership of Mrs. Whiddon, QS STEM teacher. The QS Team has worked hard to prepare and build their robots.  I am sure they will make us all proud! 

A message from Mrs. Whiddon: "VEX competitions have a specific game that changes each year.  This year, the game is called "Pitching In" and teams will have their robots collect balls, move them to a specific spot on the playing field, then have the robot climb and hang from a bar.  Some of the game is operated with remote control and some of them requires teams to program their robot to do tasks.  These competitions are held worldwide and teams can qualify to compete at the next level.  Here is a link showing a quick summary of how this year's game works.  The competition is open to teams in the region who are competing with the same type of robot- VEX IQ (MMHS students build and compete with a different version of VEX robots)."  Go TEAM QS!   

NEW DATE, same time, and place! 

                                                                                                              

Please help us wish Mr. Withington and Keiki all the best as they will soon embark on a new adventure. The "old dog" is ready to retire and so is Keiki! Both can be found greeting and supporting students and staff every morning and throughout the day. Their first day of a well-earned retirement begins on January 14th. Congratulations Mr. W and Keiki!    

                                                                                                                                                 We are very fortunate to have two amazing school counselors, Mrs. Morrison and Ms. Maggiacomo, who will team together with Ms. Abrantes. Ms. Abrantes is a full-time intern who has been working alongside the counselors since September. Together, they will be working to ensure students receive any and all needed support. If your child receives services from a school counselor, there may need to be some shifting of primary counseling support. You will be notified of changes. If you have any questions or concerns, please call or email, 508-539-1550/ mobrien@mpspk12.org. 

We are so grateful to two MMHS Project 351 ambassadors, Hannah Rogers and Skyla Rimple for running two successful fundraisers to support Cape Kid Meals.  Cape Kid Meals provides supplemental food for students over the weekend and for school vacation weeks.  Skyla Rimple sponsored Ride for Hunger in December and Hannah sponsored the latest loose coin drive at Quashnet School. Together these students raised over $1500. These funds will support students right here at both Quashnet School and the Kenneth C. Coombs School.  THANK YOU for supporting these initiatives, Project 351 ambassadors, and Cape Kid Meals.  

                         

With gratitude and hope for a healthy and prosperous New Year, 

Principal O'Brien