Indoor Walking Track at MHS

Here is a link to the new MHS Walking Track application for those interested in accessing the indoor track inside the MHS gymnasium. 

 

The track will be available to Marshfield residents on weekdays between the hours of 5:00 - 6:30 AM and 5:00 - 8:00 PM.  The track will be closed on holidays, vacation weeks and any day the school is closed.

 

The link will explain the process by which you will be able to attain an I.D. badge that will gain you access the MHS Walking Track.  We hope you will be able to take advantage of this wonderful resource.

Pictures From Marshfield Night at the Celtics Game- Wednesday, January 27th

Officer Reidy, Officer Cleary , Officer Kelly and Officer Egan representing the Marshfield Police Honor Guard at the Celtics game.

 

MHS Cheerleaders getting the crowd going prior to the game.

 

 

 

MHS Chorus warming up below the Garden.

 

Smiling Marshfield students serving as "Anthem Buddies" before the start of the game.

 

7th Grade Travel team getting ready to take the court at halftime.

 

The AMAZING MHS Chorus singing the National Anthem in front of 18,108 fans.

 

Dedicated cheerleaders using their Chromebooks to do homework during the game.

 

 

Members of 6th grade Travel team getting ready to take the court prior to the start of the game.

 

 

 

 

Marshfield FACTS Meeting- Monday, February 8th at 3 PM

Below is a message from Jen Cantwell about the next Marshfield FACTS meeting:

 

"Thank you for your interest in Marshfield FACTS (Families Adolescents and Community Together against Substances) 

We are a community coalition working to prevent substance abuse through a more connected community.

Our next meeting is Monday, February 8th at 3:00 PM in the Seth Ventress Auditorium, 76 South River Street. Hope to see you there. 

Marshfield FACTS continues to grow and we are interested in reaching out to groups and individuals in these 12 sectors of the community: 

1. Youth 

2. Parent 
3. Business 
4. Media 
5. School 
6. Youth-serving organization 
7. Law enforcement 
8. Religious/Fraternal organization 
9. Civic/Volunteer groups 
10. Healthcare professional 
11. State, local, or tribal governmental agency with expertise in the field of substance abuse
12. Other organization involved in reducing substance abuse

One simple way to help build the coalition is to invite a friend or colleague you think could contribute to our collaboration. Please feel free to forward this message to anyone you know who might help. I'm happy to answer any questions they might have. 

Youth Health Connection is holding Hidden in Plain Sight training on February 1st, please RSVP to karin_farrell@sshosp.org if you are interested in going to this training.

Don't forget to like us on Facebook 

Looking forward to seeing everyone on the 8th. We've got lots to talk about!" 

3rd Annual Wonder Fair @ FBMS- Friday, January 29th

The third annual Wonder Fair will take place in the FBMS gymnasium on January 29. This fair, inspired by the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio, is being brought to us by SEPAC and ties into our Peace Builders initiatives.

The Wonder Fair is an experiential fair to broaden awareness of disabilities. The fair’s theme is inspired by the book Wonder by R. J. Palacio (a former FBMS One Book, One School selection).  This collaboration between FBMS, the Special Education department, and the Marshfield SEPAC is designed to expose and educate students about the differences found among individuals. All sixth grade students will visit stations highlighting various disabilities to learn how individuals live with and overcome challenges so that they can participate equally within their community. The hope is to increase knowledge about disabilities and learning challenges and to foster positive inclusive attitudes toward individuals living with these conditions. Eight stations will highlight various disabilities for participants to learn about and experience.

The list of stations includes:

Autism Spectrum

Learning Disabilities 
Communication
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) / Behavior  
Sensory
Anxiety / Social / Emotional 
Physical 
Medical

A big thank you goes out to SEPAC for their great work bringing this important learning opportunity to the students.

"Superintendent's Corner" Cable Show

I wanted to share a link to my new cable show, The Superintendent's Corner.  The show will be produced at least once a month with the help of students in Mr. Shacochis' television broadcasting program at Marshfield High School.

The goal of the program is to meet with various stakeholders from throughout the district to discuss interesting initiatives and programs that are going on throughout the District.  For our first show, I interviewed Principal Pat Sullivan from the FBMS, along with Ms. Lisa Lynch, an English teacher at the FBMS. The topic was the One Book/One School initiative that began three years ago at FBMS. A great deal of the discussion centered on this year's One Book read, The Finest Hours, which will be coming to the big screen this week, as a Disney produced movie.  In case you did not know, The Finest Hours was written by Marshfield's own, Casey Sherman.

I hope you enjoy the show.

Preliminary FY 17 Budget

The School Committee is now in the process of building their FY 17 Operating Budget, with the help of my administrative team.  Last Tuesday, we had the first reading of our preliminary budget for the upcoming school year.  There will be additional discussion on the preliminary budget during the SC meeting on Tuesday, January 26th, which will also serve as a public hearing on our preliminary budget.

We will spend a great deal of time, leading up to the Annual Town Meeting in the spring,  analyzing and revising our final budget number.  We will keep you aware of what we are working on throughout the process.  If you cannot attend meetings or miss them on cable, you will be able to keep track of our work by looking at pertinent budget documents that we will make available to you on our website.

During last week's meeting, I presented a PowerPoint that summarizes our objectives in the budget process and where we are with regards to a preliminary number.  Here is a link to that PowerPoint. Additional information will be posted as we review it with the School Committee.

MHS Peer Leaders Collaborate with Scituate High Students to Help Carolina Hill

I wanted to recognize and thank the six MHS Peer Leaders who collaborated with students at Scituate High School last Friday night at an event that benefited the Carolina Hill shelter.

Sara Allocca, Katie Olson, Nadiesha Desilva Jennings, Caroline Vincent, Cassidy Murphy and Sarah Leoffler traveled to Scituate High School last Friday to work at a fundraiser with members of that school's Community Service Learning program.  At the event, parents could bring their children to the SHS gym and leave them with students from Scituate & Marshfield who would entertain them with a variety activities, while the parents enjoyed a night out.

The money raised helped fund a service project that provided "birthday boxes" filled with presents, cake mix, and other party supplies for homeless children living at Carolina Hill shelter in Marshfield.  According to event organizers, "the event was fantastic and the kids there seemed to have a blast!  They were able to collect about 35 birthday presents for kids at Carolina Hill and the group was able to reach their goal of raising over $700 as well.  That money will now go to get all of the party supplies to fill the birthday boxes for each of the kids in the shelter."

Kudos to the students at SHS for coming up with this wonderful idea and a big thanks to the members of the MHS Peer Leaders who took part in the event to help support a fantastic organization.

Update on Injured Student

Good afternoon. I wanted to provide you a brief update to the note I sent home last night.  The 6^th grade student who was injured yesterday afternoon, Roberta Rodrigues, is still hospitalized but is doing better and the family has shared that they expect a full recovery.

The family also shared that Roberta loves messages of encouragement and perks up when she hears that others have wished her well.  With that in mind, they have formed a Caring Bridge web page, http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/robertarodriguez, where you can send her a note of encouragement.

The family appreciates the tremendous support and words of encouragement they have already received and Roberta is looking forward to getting better and returning to school.

Thank you again for your support and kind thoughts.

 

 

Update on MPS Student

Good evening.  I write to you tonight with some sad news.  I want to inform you that a female student in the 6^th grade was struck by a car while crossing the street at the intersection of Furnace and Forest Streets this afternoon, at approximately 3:40 PM.

The Marshfield police and fire departments responded to the accident immediately and the child was taken by helicopter to a Boston area hospital for further evaluation and treatment.  At this time, we have not been able to speak with the parents and therefore, we will not be releasing the child’s name or any information pertaining to the nature of any injuries the child may have been sustained.  When appropriate, and with the family’s permission, we will try and keep you updated on the situation.

School administrators will be meeting with their crisis team before the start of school tomorrow and they will be monitoring the well-being of their students and staff throughout the day.  Counselors from across the district will be available as well to assist.

At this time, we are keeping the child and her family in our thoughts and prayers. 

Updated DESE Restraint Regulations

Beginning January 2016 revisions to the DESE Restraint Regulations, 603 CMR 46.00 are required to be implemented across the commonwealth.  The Regulations apply not only at school but also at school-sponsored events and activities, whether or not on school property.  Changes include:

*  Revised definitions of restraint;

* Addition of the definition of “time-out”;

*  New prohibitions on the use of prone restraint;

*  Revised/additional reporting requirements after restraint has been used.

The updated School Committee Policy can be found on the MPSD website. 

In addition, information for parents that include the following are available in the updated school handbooks:

•      Methods of preventing student violence, self-injurious behavior, and suicide including crisis planning and de-escalation of potentially dangerous behaviors among groups of students or individuals.

•      Descriptions and explanations of alternatives to physical restraint as well as the school’s method of physical restraint for use in emergency situations.

•      Methods for engaging parents in discussions about restraint prevention and use of restraint solely as an emergency procedure.

A Night Out to Benefit Carolina Hill

If you are a parent, and live in the South Shore area, grab a well-deserved night out after the holidays and help a great cause!  Drop your kids (K-6) off at Scituate High School this Friday from 6-9 pm for a fun night filled with activities. Admission is $15 or a small toy donation. Your child will get to enjoy games, music, arts and crafts, and a movie, and also includes includes pizza, a drink, and ice cream. All proceeds go to create "birthday boxes" filled with presents, cake mix, and other party supplies for homeless children living at Carolina Hill shelter in Marshfield.  This is a fantastic service project designed by three sophomore students in the Community Service Learning class at Scituate High School.
See the link below from the Patriot Ledger for more information.

http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20151218/NEWS/151216146
Thanks to Nona's Ice Cream in Scituate and Blue Moon Pizzeria in Norwell for their donations!

If you are not able to attend, but would like to make a donation. Please make checks out to Scituate High School and send them c/o Heather Willinger/Perfectly Packaged Parties, 606 Chief Justice Cushing Hwy, Scituate, MA 02050.

Kindergarten Lottery-January 20th

Please note that the annual Kindergarten Lottery will take place on Wednesday, January 20th at 10:00 AM in the Seth Ventress Auditorium.

Upcoming Music Events at MHS

I wanted to make sure you marked your calendar for a few upcoming events taking place at MHS. The first is our 18th annual Evening of Jazz on Tuesday, February 9 at 7:00 in the MHS auditorium.  We will have all the district's jazz groups (FBMS and 3 MHS) and a faculty band perform. 

The second is somewhat new.  It is the 5th annual South Shore Concert Band Exchange Concert on Wednesday, February 10 at 6:00 in the MHS auditorium.  MHS' Wind Ensemble and those from several other area high schools (Duxbury, Scituate, Hanover, etc.) will perform for each other.  While it's not the first time Marshfield has participated, it is the first time we will host the event. 

We hope you can join us and help celebrate our wonderfully talented musicians.

Inclement Weather Alternate Bus Stops

Due to this afternoon's inclement weather and slick road conditions, and after consulting with the DPW, our buses for the FBMS and the five elementary schools will utilize the Inclement Weather Bus Stops.  Here is a link to these Alternate Stops.

In addition, the late bus for the FBMS is cancelled for today.