Principal's Newsletter

February 24, 2023

Good afternoon MHS families,

I hope everyone was able to enjoy a restful week! As we return from vacation, there are several things coming up in the next few weeks. Several of our athletics teams will begin their state tournament games, our percussion and winter guard will host their own showcase, and our performing arts department will present the student-directed one-act play "Do Not Go Gentle." We also have parent conferences coming up in March and our course registration process is set to begin this week. Be sure to read below for the details of many of these events and other updates.

I hope everyone is able to enjoy their weekend prior to returning to school on Monday and we look forward to seeing everyone back next week.

Parent Conferences

Our second round of parent conferences are scheduled for Thursday, March 9th from 12:00pm-2:30pm and 6:30pm-8:30pm. Please be on the lookout for Koalandar sign-up invitations from our staff on Tuesday afternoon.

As a reminder, all conferences are scheduled to be in-person meetings and are limited to 5 minutes to allow for as many families to attend as possible.

Cap and Gown Information

On Tuesday, February 28th all seniors will be asked to provide their height measurements to a representative from the cap and gown company during their lunch period. It is important for seniors to stop by the table in order to ensure they have a cap and gown that fit properly for their graduation ceremony.

Course Registration Info: Grades 9-11

This week students will begin the course registration process for the 2023-2024 school year. Teachers completed their recommendations prior to vacation and students will have that information available to them starting on Tuesday, February 28th. Additionally on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week students will have a presentation on the course selection process from the Director of School Counseling in their English classes. Students will have the opportunity to select their primary and alternate choices in Aspen/X2 from February 28th through March 9th. Starting March 14th - April 28th school counselors will have individual scheduling meetings with all students to review selections and answer any questions. The following resources will be shared with students on Tuesday, February 28th via email:

Course Registration Presentation

Course Registration Packet

Program of Studies

Online registration tutorial

Student-Directed One-Act Play!

The MHS Theatre Department will present, Do Not Go Gentle by Suzan Zeder on March 1st at Mansfield High School at 6:30 pm & March 4th at Sharon High School at 10:00 am as part of the METG One-Act Play Festival.

The Massachusetts Educational Theatre Guild's (METG) Annual High School One-Act Play Competition runs through March. The cast and crew will compete against other schools in Massachusetts. The March 1st show at MHS is a free preview performance. The student directors (Elisa Romero and Zachary Schreiber) will ask for audience feedback following the show. The preliminary competition will be held at Sharon High School on March 4th. Tickets will be sold at the door for $10 and include admission to eight shows that day. The first performance will begin at 9:00 AM. Mansfield is scheduled to perform at 10:00 AM.

Do Not Go Gentle is about 84-year-old Lillian Barron (Emersen Pierce), the vibrant, funny, wise, and recently deceased matriarch of the Barron Family. During her lifetime, Lillian shared a special, long distant relationship with her granddaughter, Kelly (Annie Neary), and suffered an estrangement from her son Windsor (Jerry Ridlen). After her death, Lillian discovers that she cannot "move on" until the rifts are somehow mended. Windsor and Kelly come from overseas to settle Lillian's affairs and are aghast to discover that the walls of her house have been painted with wild, sometimes humorous, sometimes horrific murals and drawings. As they unravel the secrets of the paintings, the two make astonishing discoveries about themselves and a special relationship between Lillian and a neighborhood child (Tyler Iovino). This powerful, poignant play explores the wonder of words and the transformative power of art as it offers humor and hope to anyone who is, or has been, a grandparent, parent, or child.

Directed by: Elisa Romero & Zachary Schreiber

Featuring: Kayley Fredericks, Mary Fullerton, Tyler Iovino, Annie Neary, Emersen Pierce, Jerry Ridlen

Crew Members: Rachel Beegle, Ben Coady, Aanahat Dhillon, Liv Harnden, Jenna Iglehart, Zoey Roth, Matthew Smith, Ryan Smith, and Alexa Pike

MCAS Reverse Half-Days

During MCAS testing MHS will have reverse half-days for any student in grades 9, 11, and 12. The reverse half-days will allow our grade 10 students to take the MCAS and then attend classes without missing any academic time in class. The dates for the reverse half-days are below and can also be found on the district calendar which is also linked at the bottom of the newsletter.

ELA MCAS:

March 28th and 29th

Math MCAS:

May 16th and 17th

Students in grades 9, 11, and 12 will report to school at 10:20am in order to begin classes at 10:30am.

Further information regarding schedule and bus pick-up will be shared in future newsletters.

Various Vaping Resources

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