January 22, 2023

Good afternoon MHS families,

As we approach the end of the first semester I want to provide a bit more information on the digital pass system we will be utilizing for the remainder of the year. The SmartPass system will be put in place building-wide starting Monday, January 30th. Students will have a 10-minute homeroom period to distribute new schedules to students who need them, and to view a short slide presentation outlining the SmartPass system which includes teaching students how to create a pass.

I have put together an FAQ document based on some of the questions I had when researching digital systems and questions from parents I have spoken with over the last several weeks. The FAQ document can be accessed here. I hope you find the information in the document helpful, and if you have any questions we need to consider moving forward, please don't hesitate to reach out. Families can also find helpful information at the SmartPass website: https://www.smartpass.app/support

As a reminder, we have an early release day on Wednesday where students will be dismissed at 11am, lunch will be provided.

We are also working to plan an informational night for parents centered on teen vaping, and initial details of the night can be found below. I hope notifying families as early as possible with the date and time is helpful, as I know the emphasis on teen vaping is a concern for all.

Mansfield Public Schools and the Mansfield Board of Health will be sponsoring a parent information night centered on substance use and sparking conversations with teens.

The event will be held on Wednesday, February 15th from 6:30pm-8:00pm at Mansfield High School.

More information regarding the event will be included in future newsletters leading up to the event.

Starting Monday we are going to be more vigilant with monitoring parking in the senior lot. Some students are parking in the wrong space or parking in the senior lot without permission. We are going to be checking student tags next week to ensure that only authorized students are parking in their spaces. Any student who parks in the wrong space will be required to move their car to the correct spot. Any student who is not authorized to park in the senior lot will be required to move to the junior lot. If your child drives to school, please have a conversation with them about parking in the appropriate space.

We are currently still waiting to lock in a date for Graduation 2023. We have recently been in contact with representatives from the Xfinity Center, and while we could not lock in a date, priority dates were requested. We have requested June 4th, 5th, 6th, and 1st as priority dates, in that order.

While we cannot provide a set date at this time, we hope the information provided is helpful.

Our annual College Planning Night will take place in person on Thursday February 2, 2023 at 6:30 in the Mansfield High School Auditorium. We will have a panel of admissions representatives from area colleges both public and private. Please mark your calendars and we look forward to seeing both students and parents at the event. While this program is geared to members of the Class of 2024 it is open to all grades.

MHS students’ artwork will be on display at the Mansfield Public Library for the month of January. The artwork on display is created by students from grades 9-12 that are enrolled in Art 2, Advanced Studio Drawing, Portfolio Preparation and Watercolor and Beyond.

The attached photo includes Kerry McIntyre- Visual Arts Teacher and Stacie Hooper- Youth Services Librarian.

Student exhibits include:

Michaela Ng, Sophie Curry, Mackenzie Murray, Marissa Medeiros, Kye DeAngelis,

Jenna Iglehart, Melina Boudway, Jillian Koppy, Lily Devlin, Mia Almeida, Tori Walsh,

Norah Puleo, William Kirley, Rosie McIntyre, Isabelle Cervasio-Dyer

Time is running out to order your yearbook!
Go to www.yearbookordercenter.com (our school number is 5468) to order your book online. Yearbooks will only be available to order until January 20th. There may not be any books available in June so order now. Any extra books that may become available to be sold in June are $90 so order now to save!

Ads: Celebrate your senior! Advertise your business! Buy an ad in this year's book. Go to https://www.yearbookordercenter.com/product/yearbook_ads to order. The absolute final deadline to order is February 24th.

The yearbook staff is collecting senior flashbacks! Flashbacks are photos of groups of students at school events from kindergarten to 11th grade! Email your photos to yearbook@mansfieldschools.com The deadline for flashback submission is February 14th.

In an effort to combat the ongoing challenge of vaping within our school (and others), please take a look at and utilize the various resources provided below to learn more about vaping in order to start/continue the conversation with your child. Making progress in this area is a group effort, and we want to provide support for families at home with these resources.

General Info:

What parents need to know

Quick Facts about vaping

Vaping and the impact of Covid

Vaping can't harm teens?

Information on Quitting:

How to quit

This is quitting

Nicotine withdrawal and how to cope

We recently received a call from Gillette Stadium regarding their updated event schedule. They informed us that our original prom date of May 6th has been bumped for event purposes, and we want to communicate the new date as quickly as possible in order for everyone to plan accordingly moving forward.

We have rescheduled the prom for juniors and seniors to Friday, May 26th 2023 from 6-10pm.