January 29, 2023

Good morning MHS families,

There are many great things happening at MHS as we head into the second semester. Our percussion and winter guard teams are gearing up to head into the heart of their competition season, our athletic teams have had a few of their senior nights, and many teams are primed to make the state tournament. Many of our clubs and activities are also making plans for the spring, such as our ActiveMinds group helping with the planning of our wellness week.

One major event we have coming up centers on a topic that continues to be a concern of mine and of course, many parents; teen vaping. While we continue to be present in the halls between periods and work to institute a digital pass system during class time, there are students who still vape during the school day. One way we are trying to combat this behavior is by providing resources and support to families at home and hosting a parent information night.

Mansfield High School will be hosting an informational parent night on Wednesday, February 15th, and I want to encourage all parents/guardians who are concerned with teen vaping to not only attend but also to help get the word out to parents/guardians of our younger students as well. Our ability to decrease the number of students who vape is a group effort and this event is another step we are taking in the Mansfield Public School System to help support that effort.

In the future, we will be looking to host an event geared toward students. Any parent or guardian who would like to help provide a resource we can evaluate is welcomed and encouraged to do so.

We will also continue to provide resources through the newsletter to any family who wants or needs access to them.

Be sure to check out the other important information contained in this week's newsletter, and I hope everyone has a great week.

Mansfield High School will be hosting a Healthy Decision Making parent night on Wednesday, February 15th at 6:30PM in the high school auditorium. Parents with students of any age are encouraged to come to learn how you can support healthy discussions with your child. Details about the event are below.

This week we will be instituting our digital pass system with the whole school. Students will learn how to log in and create a pass in their homeroom, and teachers will review their own expectations regarding how it will be used in their classroom during each class. Below are resources that were available in last week's newsletter.

Parent FAQ

SmartPass site resources

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