2019 Opening Day & Convocation

We had a wonderful morning today as we greet our talented educators and support staff for the 2019-20 school year.  Here are a few pictures from the morning as well as a few from schools around the district.

It is going to be a great school year.

MPSD Upcoming Events

Here's a list of upcoming events going on throughout the district over the next few weeks:

Sunday March 10th thru Sunday March 17th
-North River Art Association Exhibit featuring the work of MPSD students
157 Old Main Street, Marshfield MA

Tuesday, March 12th
-School Committee Meeting- 7:00 PM @ Martinson Elementary School

Wednesday, March 13th
-MHS Winter Sports Awared Night- 6:30 PM

Thursday, March 14th
-District Wide Early Release
-MHS Pre Junior Prom Mandatory Meeting- 6:30 PM @ MHS Auditorium
-FBMS Evening of the Arts- 7 PM

Friday, March 15th
-MHS Senior Night Out
-Elementary & FBMS Trimester 2 Report Cards
-MES Talent Show- 6:00 PM

Saturday, March 16th
-SEMSBA Music Festival
-Marshfield Education Foundation (MEF) 9th Annual St. Patrick's Day 5 K Road Race- 10:00 AM @ Brant Rock Esplanade
-MHS Drama Club performs at Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild's Semi-Finals Competition- 9:30 AM @ Duxbury HS.

Monday, March 18th
-School Committee Meets with Advisory Board- topic is FY20 Budget- 7:00 @ Town Hall
-MHS Athletic Preseason Begins

Tuesday, March 19th
-Elementary Trimester 2 Evening Conferences- 6:00 PM

Thursday, March 21st
-Elementary Trimester 2 Afternoon Conferences
-Drug Story Theater- 6:30 PM @ FBMS Auditorium
-Marshfield High School's MHS Idol- 6:30 PM @ MHS Auditorium
-Marshfield Education Foundation Meeting- 7:00 PM @ Ventress Auditorium

Friday, March 22nd
-Eames Way School Talent Show- 6:30 PM @ FBMS Auditorium

What a Week in the MPSD

It's been an exciting week for the Marshfield Public School District.  In the last seven days, there have been a number of new and exciting events along with some impressive accomplishments throughout the Marshfield Public Schools.  Let's take a look back at what's been going on and continue to celebrate all that is good in the MPSD.

Saturday, March 2nd- The Boys & Girls Club of Marshfield hold their annual gala and recognize Jacquie Roderick as their Your of the Year:

In addition, a big congratulations go out to Kathryn Maull, Makenna Hanlon, Ryan Curley & Jack Marcella for being Youth of the Year Nominees.

Sunday, March 3rd

MHS Drama Club Hosts the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild (METG) Competition
After a messy Saturday, the competition was moved to the MHS auditorium on Sunday, March 3rd.  The MHS team, performing Crimes of the Heart, competed against a number of talented teams from across the region and were the Festival Preliminary Winner.  They will now move on to the METG Semi Finals, which will be held in Duxbury on March 16th.  -

Monday, March 4th- SNOW DAY



Tuesday, March 5th

*Kickoff events for Read Across America Week across the district.

Wednesday, March 6th

*The MHS InvenTeam had their Mid-Grant Technical Review at the Presentation Center.  The students did a fantastic job presenting where they were with their invention and explained to a packed house what they need to do before they compete at the Eureka Fest at MIT in June.

*And at the same time the InvenTeam was presenting, the gym at MHS was filled with hundreds of students and fans coming together to watch the District Wide Volleyball Tournament.  A good time was had by all.

Thursday, March 7th

* The Furnace Brook Middle School made the news with a story on Mr. Sawyer's snow shoe grant coming to life.  Thanks to the support of the Marshfield Education Foundation (MEF), Mr. Sawyer, a PE teacher at FBMS, was able to outfit his class with snow shoes that were used in his PE class.  Here's a link to the article in the Mariner.

FBMS Snow Shoe Project

* MHS Student Council shines at Massachusetts Association of Student Council Conference. The MHS Student Council once again showed they are one of the strongest Student Council delegations in the state at the annual conference on Cape Cod by winning the MASC Gold Council of Excellence. In addition, the event saw their members take the polar plunge for Special Olympics. In addition, Junior, Dana Kenneally, was elected MASC President for the 2020 school year. What an amazing week for our Student Council.

Friday, March 8th

* The students and staff at the Martinson Elementary School had a grand event to start the day that celebrated the beginning of their One Book One School project.  Thanks to the generosity of the Martinson PTO, every student and teacher received a copy of The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles.   There will be activities all throughout the upcoming week related to this book and on Friday, the 15th, the author, Michelle Cuevas, will pay a visit to the MES.

* Marshfield High School DECA team sets school record at regional competition!!  The MHS DECA team breaks the school record as 16 students qualify for International Competition in May.

MHS Athletics-

*Finally, we want to recognize a few of our athletic teams who competed at an exceptionally high level.

The MHS Cheerleading Team, who has performed exceptionally well all winter, were competing this weekend in the State Championships at Tantasqua HS. They had qualified through strong performances at regional events leading up to the state championships. They've had a fantastic season.

In addition, the Boys Ice Hockey team finished another amazing season with an appearance in the MIAA Super 8 Hockey Tournament.  They won their "play-in" game over St. Mary's which qualified them for the Super 8.  They then played hard but came up a bit short in competitive games with B.C. High and Framingham HS.  This was the 2nd time in 3 years they made it to the Super 8.

Inclement Weather Alternate Bus Stops For Tuesday, March 5th

Good evening.  With today's warm temperatures, the melting snow left many streets wet.  With colder temperatures slated for tonight, some areas may have icing on the roads overnight.  As we've done in the past, to assisst with buses traveling the more hilly parts of town, we will use alternate bus stops from our "Inclement Weather Bus Stop Changes" link on the main page of the district website for Tuesday morning (March 5, 2019).  

Here is the LINK to the page so you can see if your child's stop is impacted by these changes.  If you have any additional questions, do not hesitate to contact your child's school in the morning.

Thank you and have a good night.

Marshfield Education Foundation (MEF) Presents "Angst", January 10, 2018

The Marshfield Education Foundation (MEF) is thrilled to present Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety, a documentary designed to raise awareness around anxiety. The film includes interviews with kids, teens, educators, experts, parents and a very special interview with Michael Phelps.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health issue in the United States, with 40 million Americans older than 18 suffering from an anxiety disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Three-quarters of those with an anxiety disorder experience their first episode by age 21.

“Many people don’t understand how debilitating mental illness truly can be, and even more than that, how common it is,” Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps said in the film. “Yet people are afraid to have the serious discussions about it.”

Filmmakers Scilla Andreen and Karin Gornick directed “Angst” with a clear goal in mind: to raise awareness of anxiety disorders and begin those serious discussions about how anxiety impacts lives. Their hour-long film features conversations with young people who are living with anxiety disorders, telling stories of solutions and of hope.

The screening will take place at 7:00 PM on Thursday, January 10th in the MHS Auditorum.  After the screening, MEF will host a panel of experts to direct a Q&A Session. This is a free community event.

Additional information on this event can be found on the MEF website:  http://www.marshfieldfoundation.org/site/news-and-events/angst/

MPSD Named to College Board District Honor Roll

Marshfield Public School District Placed on the College Board’s 9th Annual AP^® District Honor Roll for Significant Gains in Student Access and Success

373 School Districts Across the U.S. and Canada Are Honored

The Marshfield Public School District (MPSD) is one of 373 school districts in the U.S. and Canada being honored by the College Board with placement on the 9th Annual AP^® District Honor Roll.  To be included on the 9th Annual Honor Roll, the MPSD had to, since 2016, increase the number of students participating in AP while also increasing or maintaining the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher. Reaching these goals shows that this district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are ready for AP.

“I am extremely proud of our students and staff,” exclaimed Superintendent of Schools, Jeffrey Granatino.  “This honor is a testament to the hard work put in by our students on a daily basis, and it also reflects the effort and academic leadership provided by our teachers and administrators at all levels.  This was a team effort.”  Marshfield High School Principal, Robert Keuther shared, “We are excited by our students’ results and it reinforces our focus on creating classroom experiences that are rigorous, engaging and fun.”

National data from 2018 show that among American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students with a high degree of readiness for AP, only about half are participating. The first step to getting more of these students to participate is to give them access. Courses must be made available, gatekeeping must stop, and doors must be equitably opened. The MPSD is committed to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and motivated students of all backgrounds.

“Success in Advanced Placement is a combination of students’ own motivation and the opportunities educators provide for them,” said Trevor Packer, senior vice president of AP and Instruction at the College Board. “I’m inspired by the teachers and administrators in this district who have worked to clear a path for more students of all backgrounds to earn college credit during high school.”

   

Helping more students learn at a higher level and earn higher AP scores is an objective of all members of the AP community, from AP teachers to district and school administrators to college professors. Many districts are experimenting with initiatives and strategies to see how they can expand access and improve student performance at the same time.

In 2018, more than 4,000 colleges and universities around the world received AP scores for college credit, advanced placement, or both, and/or consideration in the admissions process. Inclusion in the 9th Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on a review of three years of AP data, from 2016 to 2018, looking across 38 AP Exams, including world language and culture. The following criteria were used.

Districts must:

Increase participation/access to AP by at least 4% in large districts, at least 6% in medium districts, and at least 11% in small districts;

Increased or maintained the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students taking exams and increased or maintained the percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students scoring 3+ on at least one AP Exam; and

Improve or maintain performance levels when comparing the 2018 percentage of students scoring a 3 or higher to the 2016 percentage, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70% of its AP students earn a 3 or higher.

When these outcomes have been achieved among an AP student population in which 30% or more are underrepresented minority students (American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander) and/or 30% or more are low-income students (students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch), a symbol has been affixed to the district name to highlight this work.

The complete 9th Annual AP District Honor Roll can be found here:  https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/score-reports-data/awards/honor-roll

Mrs. Fortin receives $1,200 Grant From Toshiba

Congrats to 6th Grade Math Teacher, Mrs. Christine Fortin, for receiving a $1,200 grant from Toshiba Business Solutions.  The money will go towards creating a new problem solving station at the Furnace Brook Middle School.

She was one of 18 teachers across the nation who received this grant.

Here's a link to the article on this wonderful achievement:

Mrs. Fortin's Grant From Toshiba