January 8, 2023 

Greetings Quashnet School Community, 

 Bulletin board by Mrs. Schneeweiss, English Language Teacher.

 

It sure was nice to welcome the sunshine today as last week certainly was soggy and damp. Luckily, we were able to get outside for most recess blocks during the week and enjoyed some fresh air. The field and playgrounds are windy which often makes it feel colder than it is at home. Students should dress appropriately for recess and the weather. As a reminder, it is also a good practice to write your child's name or even just your last name on jackets and sweatshirts. It does help us identify the owner of these lost items. 

Superintendent DeBoer shared in her Friday's Happenings that we would be having a safety/ALICE drill this coming week. To prepare, students met with School Resource Officers Katie Hennessey and Peter Cogswell last week to discuss the importance of school safety and how we keep each other safe in any situation. It was discussed how important it is to stop and listen to all school announcements during the school day, follow the directions of the adults, and be quiet when instructed to do so. 

These drills are intended to help us know what to do in an emergency. They are compared to fire drills. Knowing what to do in any situation will empower us to make good decisions. We are required to have four fire drills per year, and responses are timely and orderly because of that practice. We appreciate Mashpee PD and FD for their proactive support of school safety. 

ST Math Update  - Jiji is on the move! 

Click here for this week's video: ST Math Update for January 3, 2023 

Following the holidays, many students have been excited to share their new smartwatches and cell phones. These personal devices should be TURNED OFF during the school day or set to school mode and stored in a student's backpack or a designated area in the classroom. 

Please remind students NOT to be texting or calling during the school day. If you do need to get a message to your child, just call the office at 508-539-1550 and we will get a message to your child or they can call you from the office or health office. Smartwatches and cell phones are very expensive items and are best left at home and used outside of school. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. 

This coming week, students will be engaged in STAR Reading and Math Winter Benchmark testing.  Each assessment should take students approximately 30 minutes. Students do not study for these assessments, but they are expected to use all the strategies they have learned in class. For math, students are encouraged to use scrap paper to help with problem-solving. With reading, students should use all their strategies for comprehension and vocabulary skills.  

The results of these benchmark assessments help us determine how well students are responding to instruction.  We analyze the results at a grade level, by class, and on an individual student basis. This data is especially helpful in planning lessons, adjusting instruction, and meeting a student's specific needs. 

How can a parent/guardian help with this process? Encourage your child to take the assessment seriously, to take their time but work steadily, to use paper and pencil to solve problems, and to read each question carefully. Unlike some other tests, STAR is similar to MCAS - never leave a question blank. We appreciate your support. The accuracy of this data is very important.

You may have seen the article in Mashpee Enterprise on Friday about Deputy Shaun Cahill from Barnstable County Sheriff's Department. Deputy Cahill retired on Friday from a successful career with the Sheriff's Department.  We have been very fortunate at Quashnet to have worked with Deputy Cahill for 12 years. Over that time, he worked with fifth and sixth graders teaching the GREAT Program.  Students learned about choices and consequences.  Deputy Cahill engaged with students at lunch and recess to reinforce these important lessons. He was instrumental in helping to support Cape Kid Meals at Quashnet, which is a supplemental food program for students. Prior to Covid, Deputy Cahill taught an evening parenting class with Nurse Stacey and retired counselor, Mrs. McCue. We appreciated the Christmas trees he would secure as donations that we could provide to families. These are just a few of the ways Deputy Cahill supported Quashnet and MPS. We thank him for his service and wish him well in his retirement. Grade 6 GREAT lessons will be incorporated into Mrs. Pimental's Health and Wellness classes for the remainder of this year. 

The following opportunity has been shared by our counselors: 

This Monday, January 9, is an EARLY RELEASE day with student dismissal at 12:30 PM.  

Monday, January 16, there is NO SCHOOL in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. 

With gratitude, 

Principal O'Brien