The Panther Press
Official Newsletter of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School
Welcome!
September 9, 2018 - Volume 1 - ISSUE 1
Welcome to the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School Newsletter! It is designed to keep everyone (parents, students, staff, and community members) informed of the many events that are happening in and around the school. It contains links, pictures, and videos so that you have a more interactive experience and the ability to learn more about various topics.
Communication is incredibly important to understanding so we ask that you share our news as much as possible. We also welcome feedback! It is the only way to continuously improve. So, please interact, get involved, and let us know what you think by contacting us and sharing our news!
Twitter Contacts!
There is a lot of additional information on Twitter. Individuals are sharing news, observations, updates, important announcements, and the story of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School on a daily basis. Take the time to follow these people!
Jeff Szymaniak (Superintendent) - @WH_Super
George Ferro (Asst. Superintendent) - @gmferrojr
Chris Jones (Principal) - @DrCSJones
Bob Rodgers (Athletic Director) - @WHathletics
Ruth Carrigan (Director of Counseling Services) - @WHRHSGuidance
Student Council - @WHStuCo
Many of our teachers and athletic teams are also very active on Twitter. Make sure you follow them to receive updates, class activities, and a glimpse into the classroom! A lot of our story may be found on #WHPantherPride and #PantherNation
Important Dates to Plan
September 13 – Delayed Opening
September 13 – Europe Trip Parent Meeting 6:30PM in Performing Arts Center
September 25 – College Fair 6:30PM Library & Student Dining
September 27 – Delayed Opening
October 2 – MEF College Financing 6:30PM in Performing Arts Center
October 6 – SAT at WHRHS
October 6 – Homecoming Dance 7-10PM in Gym
October 8 – No School – Columbus Day
October 9 – Picture Retakes
October 10 – CFL Grade 12, PSAT Grades 10-11, Class Elections Grade 9
October 18 – Early College Planning 6:30PM in Performing Arts Center
October 23 – High School Fall Concert 7:00PM in Performing Arts Center
October 25 – FASFA Night 5:00PM
November 8-9, 13 – MCAS ELA Retest
November 9 – Quarter 1 Grades Available on Parent Portal, Appointment Plus Open for Parent-Teacher Conferences
November 12 – No School – Veteran’s Day
November 14-15 – MCAS Math
November 15 – Parent-Teacher Conferences by Appointment Only 12-2PM, 6-8PM
November 21-23 – Thanksgiving Break
November 26 l- Winter Sports Start
November 29 – Grade 8 High School Orientation 6:30PM
December 6 – National Honor Society Induction 6:30PM in Performing Arts Center
December 11 – High School Winter Concert 7:00PM in Performing Arts Center
December 22 - January 1 – Holiday BreakCredit for Life Fair
Principal's Forum!
Are you a parent, student, teacher or community member?
Come to his open forum on Thursday, September 20 at 6:30PM in the Performing Arts Center (PAC).
Mrs. Julie Giglia, Tajh Hunter, Hope Cimino, Ryan Brennan, and Jake O’Brien
WHRHS's Spin for Change Project one of eight recipients in the country awarded the Leavey Award!
What is the Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education?
Since 1977, Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge and the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation have honored outstanding teachers for bringing passion and creativity to their classrooms as they teach students about entrepreneurship and the free enterprise system.
The awards program recognizes American educators at the elementary, junior high school, high school, and college levels for innovative and effective techniques in teaching entrepreneurship and the free enterprise education.
What is the Spin for Change Project?
Spin for Change is a social entrepreneurship project completed by our Whitman-Hanson Regional High School’s Entrepreneurship class in the spring of 2017. Teams of students pitched many innovative business proposals for class projects and students unanimously voted on a student designed 3D printed Fidget Spinner that we could sell and the proceeds went to student-voted charity Whitman-Hanson Best Buddies. Students used 3D printer technology to create student-designed 3D spinner prototype and refined a product that customers would buy.
The Spin for Change Project will be showcased at Gillette Stadium at the MassCUE technology conference in October of 2018. Four students (Tajh Hunter, Hope Cimino, Ryan Brennan, and Jake O’Brien) who worked on the Spin for Change project will be sharing this social entrepreneurship project with Mrs. Julie Giglia at this event.
You can see a video of the project here.
Dr. Christopher Jones
Nice To Meet You!
Typically, I use this space to discuss topics ranging from issues that have arisen to educational items to personal improvement. It really depends on the week. I also include links to my blog and often a 4 minute video. I encourage you to always provide honest feedback, subscribe, or follow these forms of communication. It let's me know whether or not you are getting value from what I am providing.
Let me start this by sharing a recent blog post about gaining more time in your day. It is titled 3 Ways to Add More Time to Your Life and addresses the strategies of saying no, keeping a balance in mind, and blocking your time. I believe it is very relevant and timely given the new schedules and demands the new year requires on everyone's time. So please consider reading. It may help you with some routines. Speaking of which, the video below addresses the most important routine of all...our morning! Give it a watch and feel free to give feedback.
Mr. Dave Floeck
Welcome Back to School!
We have survived the heat and have gotten off to a great start to the school year!
I wanted to thank all parents, students, and staff for their patience as we implemented some new drop off and pick up procedures at the high school. With the use of the new inner loop at the high school we have been able to move traffic more smoothly and reduce the amount of time spent in traffic. We understand it is not perfect but we are doing our very best to get everyone to school quickly and safely. We ask everyone to drive safely and follow signage and directions by school personnel so we can insure the safety of all at the beginning and end of the school day!
Counseling - Mrs. Ruth Carrigan
The School Counseling Department welcomes you back the 2018/2019 School Year. The year is off to great start, and we wanted to make sure to let you know about these upcoming activities and important dates.
SAT Deadline – The registration deadline for the October 6 SAT is today, 9/7/18. Seniors planning to take the SAT should sign up today at www.collegeboard.org to avoid paying the late fee. WHRHS is a test site for the October SAT, and fee waivers are available for students qualifying for free or reduced price lunch.
College Essay Project – On Thursday, September 13th, Heidi Erickson, Senior Associate Director of Admissions from Quinnipiac University will be spending the day with senior students to offer them expert advice on the college essay. All seniors will have an opportunity to participate in the College Essay Project where students compose their essays in English class, and then essays will be sent to college admissions partners for review and feedback.
WHRHS College Fair – Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 25 when WHRHS will host a regional college fair from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. Approximately 100 admissions officers representing colleges, universities, post-secondary schools, and military branches will be in attendance. Bring a bag to take home college admissions materials.
Financial Aid/College Financing Workshop – Please join us in the PAC from 6:30 – 8:30 PM on Tuesday, October 2, 2018 to learn more about the financial aid process. A representative from the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) will be presenting.
PSAT Administration – The PSAT will be administered to all students in grade 10 and 11 during the school day on Wednesday, October 10th. The PSAT/NMSQT assesses the critical reading, mathematics, and writing skills students need for college and beyond. The PSAT is a great practice for the SAT and will help determine college and career readiness of students.
#WHPantherPride
The #WHPantherPride section is filled with shout outs to staff and students here at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School. They are our way of recognizing hard work, creative thinking, and characteristics that make us proud to be part of this community. Please contact Dr. Jones if you wish to give a "#WHPantherPride" award to someone!
The whole staff at WHRHS for..."making this year a fantastic opening! Despite a new Principal and some difficult weather they all made relationships with students a priority in an effort to continue the warm, welcoming atmosphere at WHRHS!" - Dr. Jones
Mr. Jeff Szymaniak and Mr. George Ferro for..."having one of the best openings to a school year (by many staff accounts) the district has had in many years! They did this while acclimating themselves to brand new jobs and helping multiple new administrators get started!# - Dr. Jones
After-School Enrichment - Mrs. Maureen Leonard
Afterschool Enrichment Opportunities - Does your son or daughter need help with homework? If your answer is yes, we hope you will consider our Afterschool Enrichment Program In addition to homework help, the following classes are available: Let’s Find Success, Art Therapy, Our Minds Matter, Healthy Cooking, and Cultural Club. There is a late bus available at 4PM Monday through Thursday. Please contact Maureen Leonard at 781-618-8020 for more information.
Athletics - Mr. Bob Rodgers
It has been a great start to the new school year in WH Athletics. We have more students participating this year than any time in the last 10 years. However, we still have room for more! In particular, we would love to see even more freshmen enjoying the benefits of high school athletics. If you know of someone who you think may want to join a team, please send them my way. We have room in the following sports: Freshmen football, Freshmen boys and girls soccer and boys and girls cross country.
Students will have a chance to get their new SuperFan Cards this week during lunch. In order to get the cards, the students have to agree to sign our sportsmanship contract. The card will entitle the students to all kinds of discounts ranging from free admission to reduced rates. In addition, we often give out prizes reserved exclusively for our SuperFans.
As a reminder the best place to follow Whitman-Hanson Athletics is at our website, www.whathletics.com as well as twitter @whathletics. Another great resource is the MIAA App. It is free and available at the app store. If you follow us at all these places (or even just one of them) you will always be notified every time we make a change to the schedule. You can put the schedules right on your phone.
Here is a recap of our first full week of sports action.
The football team came just as advertised Friday night before the largest crowd in recent memory. The team used a balanced attack to easily beat Marshfield, 41-13. Senior captain Ethan Phelps ran for 70 yards on 9 carries including 2 touchdowns. He also threw for 2 more TDs, one to Brendan Frawley and another to CJ Guliani. Billy Martell ran for a 13 yard score and Nate Beath added a 1 yard run. Quinn Sweeney led a swarming defensive attack with 10 tackles. The team will return to action Friday night at home against New Bedford.
Our field hockey team is off to a great start tying defending league champion Scituate in the opener and beating East Bridgewater, 1-0 on Friday. The win over EB was a thriller as Lauren Clark cashed in for the game winner with 1:50 left to play. The two teams will have a rematch in EB on Tuesday at 7pm. In the season opener it was Delanie MacDonald scoring the Panthers lone goal. In both games, the defense was outstanding. Sophomore Maddie Savicke looks like a veteran in net.
Our golf team was only able to squeeze in one match this week as their other matchup was postponed in the middle of the round by rain. The good news is the Panthers won their one contest beating North Quincy on the road, 239-285. Senior captain Owen Manning led all golfers with his 2 over par 36, while juniors Matt Korzec and Ian Brown each turned in a 5 over par performance. Sophomore Aidan Miller also shot a 6 over. The team plays on Monday at East Bridgewater but its pretty much a home match as the two schools share the same home course.
The Whitman Hanson girls' soccer team opened the season with a 5-1 non-league win over Notre Dame of Hingham on Wednesday. Freshman Nora Manning opened the scoring in the 19th minute when she took an Alexis Billings (2 assists) feed and put the ball by the keeper. A short time later Manning set up fellow freshman Kelsee Wozniak for the first of her 3 goals on the night. Notre Dame cut the deficit to 2-1 at the half but the Panthers erupted for 3 second half goals. Wozniak picked up her second and third of the night while Olivia Borgen (2 assists) rounded out the scoring. Goalkeeper Skylar Kuzmich was outstanding in net turning away 11 Notre Dame shots while Samantha Smith, Ava Melia, Sam Perkins and Erin Wood were solid defensively. The team doesn’t play again until Wednesday night under the lights here at WH against Plymouth North at 6:30pm.
The boys soccer team opened the season in impressive fashion beating Cohasset, 1-0 last night. W-H scored first off a corner from senior Nolan Clack to junior captain Jason Brodeur. Near the end of the first half Nolan Clack assisted again to sophomore Brad Pelissier to make it 2-0. Cohasset came out to prove a point in the second half, and they kept W-H on their heels for the majority of the half. Cohasset finally got on the board with a beautiful free kick from their center midfielder to make 2-1. Cohasset continued to bring a great attack, but W-H held strong and finished the game 2-1. Whitman- Hanson is now 1-0 on the season (0-0 in the Patriot League).
In Girls Cross Country, The Pembroke Titan Girls (1-0) placed the first five runners in its meet at Whitman-Hanson (0-1) to win 15-44. Whitman-Hanson's top three finishers were Senior Captain Maeve McDonough (19:21), Junior Tori Boss (19:31) and Junior Niki Kamperides (19:36.)
The Whitman-Hanson Boys Cross Country (1-0) team placed 9 runners in the top 11 and took the 24-36 win on its 2.6 Mile course over the Pembroke Titans (0-1.) Pembroke placed first with Cole Radke (14:41) leading the way and third with Robert Kay (15:51.) Whitman-Hanson's scorers included Sophomore Theo Kamperides (2nd, 15:41), Sophomore Liam Cafferty (4th, 15:56), Junior Brandon Hager (5th, 15:57), Junior Nick Hanley (6th, 16:10) and Junior Captain Adam Solari (7th, 16:14.) Also running well for the Panthers were Sophomore Matt Butler (8th, 16:17), Junior Dyllan Burns (10th, 16:56) and Freshman Evan Jewett (11th, 16:57.)
Whitman-Hanson volleyball traveled to Rockland on Thursday for a non-league game. The Panthers lost against the defending South Shore League Champions 0-3. The set scores were 19-25(R), 19-25(R) and 20-25(R). As a team the Panthers were loud and strong all three sets. They played smart with high energy especially in the third set when they held a steady lead. The Panthers fought hard with many excellent blocks and digs. Whitman- Hanson struggled with service errors and keeping up with the fast-paced Bulldogs. Leaders on the court include Junior Tri-Captain Alexis Connolly with positive all around play in each set, Junior Tri-Captain Olivia Martin with outstanding effort (plus a pancake save), Junior Marissa Connell taking command of the middle and Junior Brooke Beauregard making her varsity debut with confidence in the back row. The Panthers are 0-1 overall, 0-0 in league and host Silver Lake Monday 9/10.
Our cheerleaders don’t have a competition for a few weeks but they were outstanding at the football game on Friday. Their halftime performance gives every indication that the Lady Panthers will once again be one of the best in the state.
Sports Shorts
Varsity Field Hockey 9/5/2018
Contact Us
Email: christopher.jones@whrsd.org
Website: https://www.whrsd.org/our-schools/whrhs
Location: 600 Franklin Street, Whitman, MA, USA
Phone: (781) 618-7020
Twitter: @DrCSJones