MRHS FRIDAY FOCUS Weekly Newsletter
MRHS VOICE: Vision of Innovation, Creativity & Excellence
Building Connections Through Communication!
Endicott Survey
On Monday, May 15, 2017 Monomoy Regional High School will take the first step as a community toward collecting data to assist us with our accreditation self study. All students and teachers will take the Endicott Survey, a professional survey administered by Endicott College that is designed to measure all aspects of life at MRHS. This survey will ask questions about the school’s core values and beliefs, curriculum, instruction, assessment, culture and leadership, school resources for learning, and community resources for learning. Starting in the fall this data will be used to help us assess our progress as a school system toward our goals as well as providing us with a better understanding of areas that may need improvement. The expectation is that ALL students and faculty will participate as the survey is designed to respond to the entire school community. This data will be the basis of our New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) self study.
Parents will also receive an invitation by email to participate in the survey. It is our hope to have as many families respond as possible in order for us to have an honest representation of parent experience at MRHS. Your results will be reported back to us anonymously. The survey should take approximately 30 minutes. Please look for the survey to arrive on Monday from Endicott College. MRHS thanks everyone in advance for their participation. Your honest answers will help guide us to make positive changes and celebrate current success.
Grade 10 MCAS Reminder
We'd like to remind all parents and guardians that our grade 10 students will be taking the MATH MCAS Tuesday and Wednesday, May 16th and 17th. We ask your help encouraging your child to rest, relax, get a good night sleep and eat a nutritious breakfast. Our cafeteria is open before school and offers a delicious breakfast and we will also be offering students health bars and water.
Attendance and arriving on time are of great importance in ensuring your child is prepared for the exam. We have asked our teachers to not assign homework, or have our grade 10 students taking quizzes or tests during these two days in an effort to support our students with this very important graduation requirement. We are here to help, so please contact us, or your child's guidance counselor with any specific questions or concerns.
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!
Each year during the first week of May we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week. I really enjoy hearing all the great things that parents, students and administrators do during this time of year to celebrate their hard working and dedicated teachers.
At MRHS we pride ourselves on being a Home Away From Home, a family. Our focus this year has been on treating EVERYONE in our school family as special and unique. We’ve celebrated the concept that “You Are Important” at MRHS, and take the time to build relationships with our students, families, community members, and with each other. In a recent interview, junior Tommy Graham was asked by an applicant what he thought about MRHS. Tommy, without hesitation, said “I just love it here, I don’t really know how to explain it, I just do.” He looked around at all the teachers, parents and administrators in the room and said “You Are Important here.” This is not the first time I’ve heard this or witnessed this - this is the norm at MRHS. This is because of what you do in the day to day grind of your very difficult and demanding job. Your daily positive interactions with our students, parents and each other make an impact. You matter, and You Are Important.
As is our tradition at MRHS, we will be honoring ALL the adults in our building this week. You ALL contribute to our positive school culture and the success of our students. Each year the administrative team gets excited thinking about a special way to show our appreciation to our great teachers, teaching assistants, counselors, administrative assistants, nurse, custodians, resource officer and support staff. This year we wanted to take the time to share with you how unique and special you are to us, just as you did for our students. Each of you has a card with your name and picture on it. We sat together and, one at a time, discussed each of you and all your positive attributes. We placed these qualities on your card and hung all the cards up adjacent to the student “You Are Important” wall. We titled the wall “We Appreciate You - You Are Important.” This exercise was so powerful and enjoyable for us. It allowed us to reflect on what makes each of you so special to us. We hope you have as much fun finding your card as our students did when we surprised them with the cards you made. We also hope you enjoy the reminder, from the administrative team, that you are valued and appreciated.
Janie, Bill & Mike
Our "You Are Important" Wall Expands!
You Are Important Student's of the Week
A huge SHARK SHOUT OUT to all the artists and performers who made Senior Arts Night such a wonderful evening. Special thanks to Carol Trull, Bernadette Waystack, Rose Richard, and Amanda Kosloski for all you do for our students!! Thank you to Bill Lutz and the Pilgrim Congregational Church for making this
Shark "Shout Outs" MRHS's way of Appreciating the Great People That Make Our School "A Home Away From Home"
Dear Abbie, Aidan, Alana, Aleidy, Alyssa, Aoife, Ben D, Ben R, Caroline, Charbel, Chase, Erin, Haylee, Isabelle, Jack, Jessica, Jodi, Kaitlin, Katie, Kira, Kyleigh, Liam, Lucy, Mackenzie, Rachel, Sarah, Seamus, Sean, Tommye, and Veronica,
What a great day yesterday! Thank you all for stepping forward to help with the Middle School Energy Carnival.
Your willingness to learn a station at 8 a.m., put in a long day of teaching, and then help clean up, is a tribute to your character. I was very impressed by your ability to maintain the focus of the kids you were teaching, to innovate to make a concept clearer or an activity work better, and to be patient and friendly to a wide variety of students. The Middle School teachers made many positive comments about you, about how smoothly everything ran and how engaged their kids were.
I want to be sure you know how much I appreciate each and every one of you!
With love and admiration,
Sally Andreola
Shoutouts to substitute teachers Sandra Hayden and Paula McMahon for their work this year with my history classes; it's great to have teachers so knowledgeable and experienced taking over when I have to be out so much, as I've had to be this year. Both Sandra and Paula can follow even the most detailed lesson plan and the students lose no ground in their studies.
A shoutout to Donna Myrbeck, who assists in two of my history classes, working with students who need extra help in class, and doing much, much more. Donna can step in when I'm out to resolve difficulties so that substitutes can teach more effectively, and can be counted on to help me make sure that the materials and assessments I use in class are appropriate for each student. She is also a great help in working on managing the classroom and giving feedback to me about instructional methods. Her warm presence in the classroom makes it a better place.
A shoutout to Jeannine Windle, who manages a cash register in the cafeteria -- and all the students who pass by it -- for being unfailing polite and attentive to so much that is going on in the cafeteria. We are very lucky to have Jeannine!
Matt Brown
History Teacher
Shout Out to Science Teacher & Department Chair Kari Flint who has been accepted to the Cape Cod STEM Network's Teacher in Residence program again for this summer! She will be working with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy!
Shark Shout Outs to Peter Moynagh for using his lunch time to get pizzas for the students in our public relations focus groups all this week.
Matt Brown, James Otto and Liz Hoff for joining our culture committee this month and offering great solutions yesterday!
Sean Burke for tirelessly efforts recently in supporting our ALP kids - he went out of his way to problem solve and offer compassion. His work ethic is inspiring.
Bill, Janie and Mike for creating positive statements and pictures for all of our staff on Main Street! Really adds to our collective culture of caring about and recognizing each other.
George Sowpel
What a wonderful night Senior Arts Night was!!! MRHS has many wonderful,gifted,talented students And wonderful supportive parents. It was such a joy!! This is how the community should get to know MRHS,through our education programs, Arts and Sports programs.Again, A wonderful evening,
Sharon Gleason
Good afternoon. I would like to give a shark shout out to the 40 students (from all grades) who played hoops in the gym today. Everyone was VERY well behaved and enjoying themselves and getting some exercise!!!
Thank you!
Dave Alexander
Huge Shark Shout Out!
On behalf of 118 Girl Scouts from the towns of Harwich, Chatham and Brewster we would like to send a HUGE shark shout-out to MRHS art students: Kaitlyn Germann (grade 9), Sarah Blake (grade 9), Kate Owen (grade 11), Jill Hemeon (grade 11), Abby Starkweather* (grade 9), Brandon Chase* (grade 12), Anna Plum (grade 8), Kelly Simundson* (grade 12), Ashley Simmons* (grade 12), Caitlin Daley* (grade 10) and Hannah Marty* (grade 10). (* denotes members of the National Art Honor Society[NAHS])
These AMAZING students took time out of their busy schedules and spent this past (very rainy) Saturday with us teaching the girls about art in nature. Based on Girl Scout badge requirements and under the guidance of NAHS advisor Mrs. Liane Biron, student teams developed five 75-minute long workshops revolving around our camping theme of: Art in Nature - My Favorite Art Camp. Workshops included: Drawing, Garden Art, Gifts of Nature, Wearable Art and Symphony.
During their jawsome hour, the students planned out what they wanted to do with the Girl Scouts, determined how they would accomplish things and calculated what supplies they would need for their workshop. Each workshop ran twice for groups of approximately 20 Girl Scouts ranging in age from 5-14. All the students had a very positive way of interacting with the Girl Scouts, knew to adapt to the Girl Scouts when necessary and played well off of each other.
Some of the Girl Scouts’ comments included: “This is so cool!”, “I loved this!”, “Can we do this again next year?”
There is great leadership and teaching skills in this group of students. It was a privilege to spend the day with them. We were most impressed and would welcome them back any time!
Sincerely,
Wendy Fisette & Kelly Gallant
Encampment Directors
Congratulations! Ashley Simmons was selected by her visual arts teachers to receive the $1000 award from the Creative Arts Center in Chatham.
**Pictured in the photo are Ashley Simmons with Linda Simonitsch, Melissa Kraycir and Jen Stello
Congratulations to Ms. Angie Chilaka for receiving a citation from Bill Keating for her years of service in Human Rights on Cape Cod
High school Human Rights group in front of the human rights quilt they made
Emily Greco (senior) was awarded a certificate by the Barnstable Human Rights Commission for her outstanding role as president of our HRA
MRMS & MRHS Student members of our Human Rights group.
Congratulations- Chatham Rotary Club Student of the Month (May) Carly Donovan!
Never Too Early To Think About Summer.....Reading!
Aloha! Best Buddies Ball - Having a Great Time!
Spring Sports Synopsis
WEEK OF: May 5th - May 11th
By: Hannah Potter
This week, Varsity Girls Softball blew Martha’s Vineyard out of the water with a big win. Girls Golf beat Nauset in a very close match. Seniors, Annie Howard and Erin Smeltzer were tied until the last hole when they beat them for an overall victory for the sharks. The sailing meet against Old Rochester on Monday was cancelled. Boys Tennis lost to Sandwich on Monday. Girls Tennis beat Sandwich 5-0 on Monday. Boys Baseball suffered a tough loss on Tuesday to Sturgis East, but Varsity Softball beat Sturgis East. Boys Tennis lost to DY on Tuesday, and Girls Tennis beat DY. Boys Lacrosse beat Sturgis East in a big win on Tuesday while Girls Lacrosse lost against Sturgis West. Girls Golf beat DY
On Wednesday, Sailing lost to Sandwich. Varsity Boys Baseball had a big win over Cape Cod Academy on Thursday, winning 11-0. Senior, Owen Cottle, got a triple to bring three runs home for the sharks. Varsity Softball beat Barnstable, 6-2, on Thursday. Girls Lacrosse lost a hard fought battle to Saint John Paul II. Boys Lacrosse also lost to Saint John Paul II. Girls Tennis beat Sturgis on Thursday while Senior Captains, Carly Donovan and Caty Street, contributed great matches for the sharks. Girls Golf lost to Duxbury Boys Tennis lost against Sturgis on Thursday. Freshman, David Malone, won his match, 6-2, 6-3, for the sharks. Seniors, Conner Tyldesley and Rudy Fratus, had strong attitudes for the team throughout their match. Girls and Boys Track have a big meet next Monday at Sacred Heart so stay tuned for the results!Monomoy RHS Athletics Weekly Schedule
WEEK OF: May 15th - May 21st
MON, 5/15: Varsity Baseball vs CCT 4:00 pm
JV Baseball vs Sturgis West 4:00 pm
Boys Tennis vs Sacred Heart 3:30 pm
Girls Tennis @ Sacred Heart 3:30 pm
Girls Lacrosse vs Sacred Heart 3:30 pm
JV Girls Lacrosse vs Sacred Heart 5:00 pm
Girls Golf vs Silver Lake 3:30 pm
TUES, 5/16: Varsity Boys Baseball vs Sturgis West 4:00 pm
Varsity Softball @ Sturgis West 3:30 pm
JV Girls Softball @ Sturgis West 5:00 pm
Boys Tennis vs DY 3:30 pm
Girls Tennis @ DY 3:30 pm
Boys and Girls Track @ Sacred Heart 3:30 pm
Boys Lacrosse @ Sturgis East 4:00 pm
Girls Lacrosse vs Sturgis east 6:30 pm
Girls Golf vs Falmouth 3:30 pm
WEDS, 5/17: Varsity Baseball vs Sacred Heart 3:30 pm (Veterans)
Sailing vs SJP
THURS, 5/18: Varsity Softball vs SJP 3:30 pm
Boys Lacrosse @ FA 4:00 pm
Girls Lacrosse vs FA 4:00 pm
JV Girls Lacrosse vs FA 5:30 pm
FRI, 5/19: Varsity Baseball @ SJP 4:00 pm
JV Baseball @ SJP 4:00 pm
Boys Track @ Nauset w/ Sturgis 3:30 pm
Girls Track @ Nauset w/ Sturgis 3:30 pm
SAT, 5/20: Varsity Baseball @ DY 11am
JV Baseball @ DY 11am
Freshman Baseball vs DY 11am
Varsity Girls Lacrosse @ Falmouth Academy 11:00 am
JV Girls Lacrosse @ Falmouth Academy 12:30 pmProject Purple Kids- Letting our Senior Class know that "You Are Important!"
Kim and Sydney Parker and Hannah Novotny (middle) are busy making gifts for the senior class - wishing them well when they head off to college.
Check Out Abigail Sullivan's "Transcendentalism Project" Video (above) from Walden Pond Trip-Awesome!
Nice job Sean Gould and Michael Hemeon completing all 20 miles of the walk for hunger in Boston today. Way to represent Monomoy baseball.
MRHS, Harwich & Chatham Fire & Police Host Blood Drive to Honor Our Heros
Please join us as we honor all of the men and women who have served this country and those serving now. Deputy Chief Steve Xiarhos visited MRHS (Ms. Chilaka's Class) to discuss the life of his son Nicholas who lost his life in Afghanistan. The Cape Cod Blood Center is named in honor of Nicholas.
MRHS Students in Ms. Chilaka's class are working with the Harwich - Chatham Police and Fire Depts.
The co-chairs of this blood drive are Sophie Clingan- Sarah Gregory - Shivani Patel- Hannah Novotny.
See Details Below.
Having a great time... can't feel our fingers but Marine and Environmental science classes are having fun learning about erosion!
A walk to benefit Cape Cod residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias steps off Saturday in Harwich.
The 12th Annual Remembery Walk – Dave Birtwell Memorial for Alzheimer’s starts at 11 a.m. at Brooks Park and features special guests State Senator Julian Cyr (D-Truro) and State Representative Sarah Peake (D-Provincetown).
The event was created to honor Birtwell who died from the disease at the age of 84 in 2006. Birtwell’s grandson, who was a teenager at the time, came up with the idea to honor his grandfather.
Since the walk’s inception, more than $150,000 has been raised with proceeds benefiting The Alzheimer’s Family Support Center of Cape Cod in Brewster.
The Center provides free counseling, support groups, educational seminars, memory screenings and more.
The word “remembery” was coined by Birtwell when he combined the words remember and memory while pointing to his head saying “this remembery doesn’t work very well anymore!”
For more information and to register for the walk, visit rememberywalk.org.
Mr. Walsh’s Eighth Grade English and English 9 Honors students recently completed their second Independent Reading Projects of the year.
Tech Talk Tuesday - Courtesy of Ms. Sheila House
This Mother’s Day I am going to ask for my family’s undivided ATTENTION. We will put all screens away and have some fun-focused family time. I was reminded of the power of undivided attention when I spoke with a mom in Florida last week. She was running the community center that was hosting Screenagers, and out of the blue, she mentioned a Mother’s Day she had five years ago that was particularly memorable. She had asked each of her adult kids to leave all cell phones in the car for the evening, “We went for a walk then out to dinner and after we enjoyed some frozen yogurt, it was a fabulous Mother’s Day.” I am looking forward to a device-free Mother's Day.
As Mother’s Day approaches I have been thinking about my mom and her support over the years, and I am also thinking of non-family important women who have also helped me when I was growing up. I call these women Mentor Moms. When I was a teen I loved my jobs in part because of the many bosses that became mentors to me. At 15 I started working at a clothing store, Yarmo in Berkeley, California, where the manager, Kathleen Chesnick, was one of my first Mentor Moms. I loved how she trusted me and gave me more and more responsibilities. I knew I could always talk to her about things going on in my life.
Do your kids have any Mentor Moms? Perhaps a teacher, a friend’s mom, a boss? My daughter, Tessa, said that one of her Mentor Moms is her friend Cedar’s mother, Lisa Cox. My son Chase says that Mrs. Magidman, his former history teacher, is such a person to him. When he visits Seattle he always goes to see her.
As a mother, I welcome these extra eyes, ears, and hearts for my children to go to with good news, or heartbreaks or worries. I let them know that it is so important to build a community of caring people around them—there may be times that they don't want to talk with an adult in the family. Perhaps they don't know if or how they want to tell us things. For Mother’s Day this week I asked my kids to think of a Mentor Mom and make a card for them. Not only does this small action instill the importance of taking the time to thank people—but it gets them to become creative offline. SO COOL.
For this week's Tech Talk Tuesday, here are some questions to spark a conversation about Mentor Moms:
1. For everyone in the family, who are some women, outside of the family, who are Mentor Moms?
2. Is a screen-free Mother’s Day possible for your family?
For more discussion ideas, you can peruse past Tech Talk Tuesdays. If you are interested in seeing Screenagers, you can find event listings on our site and find out how to host a screening.
Stay in touch with the Screenagers community on Facebook, Twitter and at
www.screenagersmovie.com.
Warmly,
Delaney Ruston
Screenagers' Filmmaker
www.screenagersmovie.com
415-450-9585
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