The Panther Press
Official Newsletter of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School
Welcome!
December 8, 2019 - Volume 2 - ISSUE 14
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!
Important Dates to Plan
December 10 - WHRHS Holiday Concert 7:00PM in Performing Arts Center
December 12 – Delayed Opening
December 20 – Alumni Day
December 23-January 1 – Holiday Recess
January 2 – Students Return from Holiday Recess
January 15-21 - Semester 1 Mid-Year/Final Exams
January 20 - No School – Martin Luther King Day
January 21 - Quarter 2/Semester 1 Ends
January 22 - Quarter 3/Semester 2 Begins
January 23 - Combined Honor Society Induction 6:30PM in Performing Arts Center
January 24 - Early Release – District Grading Day
January 29 - Semester 1 Report Cards available n Parent Portal
February 5-6 - MCAS Biology Retest
February 7 - Early Release – District Professional Development
February 13 - HS Delayed Opening
February 13 - Panther Praise 8:15AM in Performing Arts Center
February 17-21 - No School - Winter Break
March 2 & 4-5 - MCAS ELA Retest
March 3 - No School for Students – Presidential Primary Election
March 5 - HS Delayed Opening
March 6 & 9 - MCAS Math Retest
March 17 - Shakespeare & Company Grade 12 students
March 18 - Naviance Night 6:30PM in Room 159 & 161
March 19 - HS Delayed Opening
March 23 - Spellman Contest 6:30PM in Performing Arts Center
March 24-25 - MCAS ELA Grade 10 Students
March 27 - District Early Release – Professional Development
March 27 - Junior Prom – Canoe Club 7-10PM
2019-2020 SEPAC meetings
All meetings held on the 2nd Tuesday of the month from 6-8pm
in the Whitman Hanson Regional High School library
Please check out our website for more information
January 14th –Anxiety Presentation Part 1 - Students (7-8pm Middle & High School)
February 11th – Anxiety Presentation Part 2 - Parents (7-8pm Middle & High School)
March 10th – BCBA Presentation (focus topic TBD) (7-8pm Middle & High School)
April 14th – Occupational Therapy Presentation
May 12th – Speech and Language Presentations on Language Pragmatics (meeting will be held in WHRHS Courtyard Café due to Arts in Bloom being held in the WHRHS library) (7-8pm Middle & High School)
Student Selected Staff Member of the Month Announced!
Mrs. Amy Floeck!
Comments from students indicate she is a supportive, engaging teacher who not only cares about the curriculum, but also about how successful her students are as people. Students also commented about how "she isn't hard to approach" and "she listens to her students and even implements their ideas into the class."
Be sure to congratulate Mrs. Floeck when you see her!
Dr. Christopher Jones
Give of Yourself!
Too often we get caught up in the stress of giving to make others happy because we think of material value rather than what we have to offer of ourselves. This causes us to stay in a scarcity mindset where we worry if what we have done is good enough instead of thinking that we are giving our best.
I talk about three steps that will help you move from stressing over the “right” gift to creating an abundance of relivable value in the video below.
Find and identify value that we have inherent to ourselves
Match our skill set to what other people need
Give our time and personal abilities
Take the challenge and share with me what happened. I would love to hear your results!
Our Story...
Take a look and feel free to comment...this is our story...and everyone is part of it.
Mr. David Floeck
High School Dismissal
Dismissal time at the high school is a very busy time and we want to insure the safety of everyone in the parking lot.
If you are picking up your child after school, please be reminded that any parking or idling in the fire lanes is strictly prohibited. We have noticed that vehicles are parking/waiting on both sides of the parking lot loop causing some real safety concerns. When vehicles are parked on both sides of the loop it is very difficult for vehicles to pass through and it also blocks the vision of drivers; which creates a real safety concern for our students who are walking through the parking lot.
We ask that everyone please take great care when picking up your child and please do not park or idle in the fire lanes. All vehicles should yield to the school buses and leave the driveways open so they may exit the campus safely and in a timely manner. Thank you for helping to maintain a safe and orderly dismissal process for our students.
Mrs. Ruth Carrigan
Massachusetts AFL-CIO Scholarship Exam
All graduating seniors are eligible to compete for the ALF-CIO scholarship. To qualify, students must register on-line by December 20, 2019 at: www.massaflcio.org/scholarships . The exam will be administered at Whitman-Hanson on Wednesday, February 10, 2020. In order to be eligible for a scholarship, students must take the Labor History Exam. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO publishes a Labor History Study Guide, which covers a broad range of the history of working people organizing for justice in the United States. New for 2020, an interactive study website will be available, featuring supplemental materials and quizzes to test your knowledge.
Dual Enrollment - Introduction to Aviation and Aerospace- Cape Cod Community College (Plymouth Airport Location) will be offering the Introduction to Aviation and Aerospace course for Spring semester (Jan. 24 – May 15). The course will be held on Friday afternoons (3:30 – 6:00 p.m.) at the state-of-the-art CCCC hangar facility at the Plymouth Airport. While this course is available to all students, it provides a perfect opportunity for high school juniors or seniors to take an introductory course if they think they may be interested in pursuing a career in Aviation Maintenance Technology at CCCC or a career in Aviation at any institution. Through the S-STEM Scholars Program and the National Science Foundation*, grant money may be available for students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch and who are interested in pursuing STEM career fields (including Aviation). Interested students should complete the Dual Enrollment application found on the CCCC website here. The deadline to register is January 10. Questions can be directed to Sharon Boonstra at sboonstra@capecod.edu.
Dual Enrollment at Massasoit Community College – Spring and Summer 2020
There are two programs available to students through the Office of Early College Access—the Commonwealth Dual Enrollment Partnership program (CDEP) and the Massasoit Dual Enrollment Program (MDEP). Spring semester classes begin on Tuesday, January 21, 2020. Massasoit Dual Enrollment is open to students age 16 and over. Massasoit will be accepting applications for Spring 2020 through Monday, December 23, 2019. Any student interested in Dual Enrollment studies at Massasoit for Spring 2020 must complete Accuplacer testing by December 16, 2020. Students interested in Summer 2020 Dual Enrollment at Massasoit should start the application process in March. Interested students should check their school emails for dual enrollment applications and info that was sent last week.
Project Contemporary Competitiveness – PCC
PCC is a 6 week (or students can opt for a new four week program) residential summer program held at Stonehill College. PCC applications are now available in the School Counseling Office, and any student currently in 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th grade may apply! Completed applications are due to the WH School Counseling Office on January 15, 2020 and should include a $25 deposit, completed PCC application and scholarship application. For more information about PCC, please check out their website at https://pccasp.org.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to your school counselor.
Nathan Tassey!
Nathan put in the time and effort to place collection boxes in all the district’s schools to collect much needed items for the veterans. His older brother and sister have done this same process for six years, but now Nathan has taken the mantle. This year he collected about $2500 worth of toiletries, books, and clothing. This was all sorted and delivered to the Brockton VA hospital. - Mr. Paul Tassey
This is a great example of the impact one person who truly cares can have on those in need. Make sure you congratulate Nathan on a job well done when you see him! - Dr. Chris Jones
Mrs. Catherine Bouzan
Post-Grads Learn About Needs Versus Wants!
The Post-Grads are hard at work practicing paying their monthly rent and utilities bills with their personal checks. They practice budgeting (a plan for their money) by getting their weekly salary on Fridays. Then on the last Friday of the month they balance their bank accounts. On the first Thursday of the month they pay their monthly bills then on that Friday they get to shop in the Post-Grad Store. Its an important lesson to learn that you have to pay your bills first (needs) vs. wants (anything in the store).
Key Club Donations!
Key Club & Food for Thought Drive!
UPCOMING DATES
December 10th - Winter Concert Ft. Concert Chorus, Concert/Jazz/Poprock Band, High Frequency Show Choir/Pit Band & Something Natural A Cappella - Performing Arts Center, 7pm
December 14th -High Frequency Holiday Pancake Breakfast - Courtyard Cafe, 9am-12pm
December 16th - Drama Club Auditions - Performing Arts Center, 2pm
December 18th - Hanson Middle School Concert
December 19th - Whitman Middle School Concert
December 20th - WHRHS School Concert
Show Choir
Chorus
Senior Districts tryouts were a big success!!
Students that made Southeast Senior District Senior Chorus this past Saturday were:
Julian Anderson - 11
Emma Rogers - 11
Caitlin Veneto - 12
Lianne Leavitt - 12
Jill Feeney - 12
Grace Morgan - 9 !!!
Julian Anderson and Emma Rogers scored high enough (top 2 %!!) to qualify to try out for All-State Chorus in January!!!
This coming Tuesday Mr. Legge's chorus will perform during lunch for the Senior Citizens concert that will be hosted by Mr. Moriarty and Mrs. Scott's Student Council.
Band
Band is super excited to perform in our upcoming winter concerts! We've been working hard to prepare for a fun filled night for all. In addition to concert band, the jazz ensemble and pop rock ensembles will be performing. We look forward to performing for everyone!
This coming Tuesday Mr. Dondero's Concert Band will perform during lunch for the Senior Citizens concert that will be hosted by Mr. Moriarty and Mrs. Scott's Student Council.
“Something Natural” A Capella Group
We can’t wait to perform at the Holiday Concert on December 10th!
Drama Club
Meetings are Fridays 2:00-3:00 and auditions for our first production are Dec 16th at 2:00pm.
If you have any interest in getting involved, please email Brookescriven@gmail.com
Mrs. Cathy Brunelle
Students and staff have recommended 36 books! Read one and tell us what you think today!
More help in the library:
Mrs. Margaret Baker & Mrs. Kathleen Joyce
~Panther Health Clinic~
The Mass. DPH requires the school to do the following health screenings each year:
- Height and Weight, including BMI –grade 10
- Scoliosis Screenings- grade 9
- Vision and Hearing –grade 10
- SBIRT Screenings- grades 9 and 10
Please contact the school RN if you DO NOT wish your child to participate in any of the health screenings in writing. Scoliosis screenings will begin the month of January.
Flu Information
Flu season has returned! Please Note: There were approximately 61,000 deaths during the 2018-2019 flu season- ( per Centers for Disease Control). It is not too late to receive your flu shot for yourself and /or your family! The CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older. Please contact your child’s physician to schedule a flu shot.
Many pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreens, and Duval’s offer flu shots. The vaccine is free with a copy of your child’s insurance card.
Remember- the flu can be deadly!
Medication during the School Day
Please refer to the student handbook or the Health Services website regarding medication to be administered by the school RN during the school day. All prescription medications must be in the original prescription bottle with a written MD order and signed parental consent form. These forms may be downloaded from the website. Students are NOT allowed to carry medication with them during the school day. Please call Ms. Baker at 781-618-7452 or Mrs. Joyce at 781-618-7430 for any questions regarding medication.
Please do not hesitate to call the clinic at any time with any questions/concerns concerning your child’s health- we are here to keep your child healthy!
Athletics - Coach Bob Rodgers
Winter Sports Are Here!
Make sure you check out this section for the weekly updates and videos of the students!
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