The MHS Community Update
October 11, 2021
Middletown is an educational community committed to providing academic, civic, and social tools essential for the future success of our students.
Principal's Report
And just like that, Columbus Day Weekend has come and gone!
As we move into my favorite season of the school year, I'm happy to see that Middletown High is abuzz with school spirit and pride. This is timely in the sense that this week we are hosting our annual Spirit Week! Students are asked to dress up in a variety of ways while attending school this week to represent their #IslanderPRIDE.
Additionally, work continues on the administrative end with a variety of program-based grants and initiatives that are sure to bring teaching, learning, and the overall Islander experience to the next level! Stay tuned for more positive information on this front to come in the very near future!
In the meantime, please remain happy, healthy, and well!
Yours in partnership,
Jeff Heath, PhD
Principal
Middletown High School
401-846-7250
Dr. Heath's Dashboard
1) Monitor and creatively consider ways to increase reading, writing, and math proficiency across disciplines.
2) Enhance the MHS brand across a variety of mediums including social media, building-based documents, the school website, social media, and traditional/non-traditional programming.
3) Establish and begin work on a 3-year, rotating Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment (CIA) Curriculum cycle to improve the continuity and outcomes associated with MHS instructional; practices.
4) Develop and implement an organic and meaningful MTSS process with the ultimate goal of improving ALL students' progress towards 4 year graduation.
5) Observe classroom teaching and social interactions with the aim of improving student feelings of connectedness, student engagement, and teacher-student relationships.
MHS Spirit Week Has Begun!
It’s been a long time coming, but I’m happy to announce that it’s finally here!
Islander Spirit Week 2021 has begun!
Please see below for a list of this week’s events and related details.
Should you have any questions regarding any of the scheduled events or the week itself, please let me know!
Theme Days
Friday 10/8 (Last Friday)- Pajama Day- The Islander Community was asked to wear their favorite PJs to school
Tuesday 10/12- Jersey Day- Students and faculty are asked to wear their favorite jerseys to school
Wednesday 10/13- Hallway Day- Each grade level and their advisors will be asked to decorate one of our hallways in MHS to determine who has the ultimate school pride
Thursday 10/14- Color Day- Each grade level will be asked to wear a specific color repping their year of graduation (Freshman: Pink; Sophomores: Red; Juniors: White; Seniors: Black)
Friday 10/15- Blue and White Day- The Islander Community comes back together to sum things up by wearing Blue and White clothing to demonstrate our school-wide spirit
Special Events
Pep Rally 2021
When: Friday, 10/15 12:35 - 1:40pm (Last Period)
Where: The hill and field in front of the MHS front parking lot
Details: Broken bleachers and global pandemics don’t slow us down! The MHS Pep Rally 2021 will be filled with competition, games, music, and spirit on the MHS campus. Students are strongly encouraged to turn their school spirit up to a 10 for our first school-wide pep rally since the 2019-2020 school year!
Homecoming Dance
When: Saturday, 10/16 7:00-10:00pm
Where: MHS Cafeteria and Front Patio
Details: Due to COVID restrictions, this event is limited to MHS students only. Students must arrive at the dance by 7:30pm to be allowed in and will be allowed to leave the venue no earlier than 9:00pm. On Friday, 10/15, we will be administering COVID rapid tests to students who do not have proof of vaccination on file but wish to attend the dance. Students who do not test or who do not have proof of vaccination will not be allowed entry to the dance. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Athletic Events
Girls’ Tennis Home v. North Smithfield
When: Tues, 10/12 @ 3:30pm
Where: Gaudet Courts
Boys’ Soccer Home v. Narragansett
When: Wed. 10/13 @ 6:00pm
Where: Gaudet Field
Girls’ Volleyball Home v. Westerly
When: Wed. 10/13 @ 6:00pm
Where: Gaudet Gymnasium
Girls’ Soccer Home v. Moses Brown
When: Thurs 10/14 @ 6:00pm
Where: Gaudet Field
Homecoming Football Game v. Narragansett
When: Fri, 10/15 @ 7:00pm
Where: Gaudet Field
MHS Picture Day (Thursday 10/14 and Friday 10/15)
MHS Open House (October 13th) 6-8pm
Looking forward to seeing everyone Wednesday night!
Warm Welcome to New Faculty and Staff!
A) Mr. Shane Richards! Mr. Richards brings his unique perspective to us by way of the Rhode Island School of Design! Mr. Richards began with us earlier last week and will be replacing Mr. Allen Waite (Retired) in our Career Education department.
B) Ms. Katherine Mangano! Ms. Mangano is set to begin as MHS's new Student Success teacher this upcoming Monday, on October 18th. M
Social Media Reminders
To begin the year, the district is making a big push to increase our communications via social media. Please be sure to follow, retweet, like, and recommend our district social media accounts to anyone who is interested in following along with the countless successes of the Islander Community. #JointheWave
@WeareMiddletown
Audience: Faculty, Parents, Community, Education ProfessionalsAudience: Students, Faculty, Parents, Community
Audience: Students, Parents, Community
Update: MHS Club Fair Success!
Held during Advisory, this event asked student representatives to advertise their clubs for our entire student body. With over 20 clubs in attendance, there really was something for everyone! Clubs included, the Surf and Ski Club, Video Game Club, Islanders Committed, Math Team, Dungeons and Dragons Club, Best Buddies, Future Business Leaders of America, Medical Careers Club, School Newspaper, Drama Club, and more!
With so many students cycling through our offerings, many clubs have reported having higher participation to begin the year than ever before! On behalf of building admin I can say that we're really excited to see the great successes that you are sure to have this year! Great job Islanders!
Middletown High School Guidance Caseload Shift- REMINDER
In order to best service our students and support our programming, building administrators and the guidance department made the collective decision earlier this year to re-align our guidance caseloads. This means that your student(s) may have a different guidance counselor this school year. Please see the information below to determine if this shift impacts you:
SY 2020-2021 Guidance Assignments (No Longer Used as of Sept 8, 2021)
Mr. James Williams (Gr 9-12 Last Names A-L)
Ms. Christine Clancey (Gr 9-12 Last Names M-Z)
NEW SY 2021-2022 Guidance Assignments (*Effective September 8, 2021)
Ms. Christine Clancey (Gr 9 All students; Gr 9-12 All English Language Learners; Gr 9-12 All East Bay Works; Director of the Freshman Anchor Academy)
Mr. James Williams (Gr 10-12 Last Names A-K)
Ms. Kirstin Stahl (Gr 10-12 Last Names L-Z)
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this adjustment, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly via email at jheath@mpsri.net or by calling the MHS main office (401) 846-7250 and selecting the “principal” option from the automated menu.
Reminder: Absentee and Dismissal Phone Calls
Looking for Access to Your Learner's Information/Grades?
Are you looking to update your contact information? How about looking to access your student's grades? Curious if your student has any recent disciplinary infractions or attendance hiccups? All of these items and more can be accessed via the parent portal of our student information system, PowerSchool. To create a PowerSchool account, please put in a request for a login name and password with our district technology department. The link to make this request can be found here. Click on "IT Help Desk" and follow the associated prompts to get your information.
Important Events
10/11- Columbus Day- No School
10/12- Spirit Week: Jersey Day
10/13- Spirit Week- Hallway Day
10/14- Spirit Week- Class Color Day (Freshmen: Pink; Sophomores: Red; Juniors: White; Seniors: Black)
10/14- MHS Picture Day (Gr 9-11)
10/15- Spirit Week- Blue and White Day
10/15- MHS Pep Rally
10/15- MHS Homecoming Football Game v. Narragansett (7pm at Gaudet Field)
10/15- MHS Picture Day (Gr 9-11)
10/16- MHS Homecoming Dance 7-10pm
10/19- MHS Flu Clinic 8-11:30am
10/21- MPS School Committee Meeting 3:30 - 5pm
10/29- MHS Halloween Celebrations! Dress up in costume!
Want to learn more about our school and our guiding principles? Check out these resources...
I read this one a few years back and as a public school advocate and admin, I feel like this is a must read if you haven't given much thought to private v. public schooling in America. An eye opening read that helps us to see how national, regional, and local education policy shapes the way that our children attend school.
Dr. Heath's Video of the Month
This TED talk by Marc Raibert demonstrates the power of robotics as we move into the future! Located just over 75 minutes away in Waltham, MA, we've been trying to get in touch with them for our own private demo! They're harder to get in touch with than the President, but we're going to keep trying!
Enjoy!
Jeff Heath, PhD
Email: jheath@mpsri.net
Website: https://wordpress.com/view/theinquisitiveislander.wordpress.com
Location: 130 Valley Rd, Middletown, RI, USA
Phone: (401) 846 - 7250
Twitter: @MHSPrincipal20