Plymouth Public Schools

If you are an individual looking for mental health services (and reside in Plymouth) consider using Interface Referral Service to help guide you through this process. Upon calling a referral counselor will:

➡️ Learn about your reasons for seeking services
➡️ Identify your insurance information
➡️ Schedule an appointment with a provider that fits your needs and takes your insurance

Seeing Beyond the Stars

(This content is provided by Insight Observatory www.insightobservatory.com.) Recently, a student of Mrs. Runyon’s 8th-grade science spent this past Christmas holiday traveling around the state of Texas with a stop at the famed McDonald Observatory. This astronomical observatory is located near the unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County western Texas, United States, where the stars are so brilliant one almost feels like falling up into them! Why are stars so much more brilliant in those western skies than they are to us on the east coast? And how can we see beyond them?

Grade 8 students in Mrs. Runyon’s science class at Plymouth South Middle School, Plymouth, Massachusetts discussed these and other questions before embarking on a journey through space via Insight Observatory's Astronomical Telescopes for Educational Outreach (ATEO) remote telescope network (https://www.insightobservatory.com/p/services.html). Students selected deep-sky Messier objects to research, hunting for objects that both inspired them, as well as were visible in the January skies of the northern and southern hemispheres.

Working in groups, the students presented and taught each other about these objects, and decided which ones to select for imaging using Insight Observatory's Educational Image Request (EIR) form (https://www.insightobservatory.com/2018/01/educational-image-request-form-classrooms.html). After the deep-sky image requests were uploaded to the telescope queues, acquired and processed, the students compared their images with those taken from the Hubble Space Telescope. They discussed the differences between the image qualities gathered from the ATEO remote telescopes and Hubble, both in location and structure.

Insight Observatory would like to thank Mrs. Runyon and her 8th-grade science students for participating with its "Bringing the Universe to the Classroom" program. At the same time, the Plymouth Public Schools would like to thank Insight Observatory for their commitment to our district.


Mrs. Runyon's 8th-grade science students research possible deep-sky targets to image through Insight Observatory's Astronomical Telescopes for Educational Outreach (ATEO) remote telescopes in the computer lab at Plymouth South Middle School. Photo credit: Karen Runyon.	Mrs. Runyon's 8th-grade students compare images of deep-sky objects such as nebulae, galaxies and star clusters taken with Insight Observatory's ATEO remote telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope. Photo credits: Karen Runyon.	Just a few sample images taken by 8th-grade science students at Plymouth South Middle School, Plymouth, MA. M78 and M45 imaged on Insight Observatory's 16" f/3.7 astrograph reflector (ATEO-1) in New Mexico, USA and M42, and M43 imaged on the 12.5" f/9 Ritchey-Chretien (ATEO-3) located in the Rio Hurtado Valley, Chile.

Mrs. Runyon's 8th-grade science students research possible deep-sky targets to image through Insight Observatory's Astronomical Telescopes for Educational Outreach (ATEO) remote telescopes in the computer lab at Plymouth South Middle School. Photo credit: Karen Runyon.

Mrs. Runyon's 8th-grade students compare images of deep-sky objects such as nebulae, galaxies and star clusters taken with Insight Observatory's ATEO remote telescopes and the Hubble Space Telescope. Photo credits: Karen Runyon.

Just a few sample images taken by 8th-grade science students at Plymouth South Middle School, Plymouth, MA. M78 and M45 imaged on Insight Observatory's 16" f/3.7 astrograph reflector (ATEO-1) in New Mexico, USA and M42, and M43 imaged on the 12.5" f/9 Ritchey-Chretien (ATEO-3) located in the Rio Hurtado Valley, Chile.

Summer is Coming Fast!

Imaginations will soar this summer in the all-new Camp Invention program, Elevate! Campers in grades K-6 will spark their creativity and build collaboration skills while controlling their very own flight simulation robot, protecting Earth’s ecosystems, designing the ultimate sports complex and learning the value of their ideas! Local educators will lead fun, hands-on STEM activities inspiring children to ask questions, overcome obstacles and be confident in their innovative ideas. Register at invent.org/camp.

Plymouth Community Intermediate School July 6-10, 2020 from 9:00 am - 3:30 pm daily

It is anticipated that this week-long adventure will fill. Please do not hesitate to register.

Cold Spring Student Lighthouse Bingo Night

The Student Lighthouse Team at Cold Spring held their annual BINGO night fundraiser on Wednesday, February 12, 2020. Everyone had fun playing BINGO and winning prizes!

Mini Scientists in Mrs. Drollett's 2nd Grade Class

Mrs. Drollett's class experimented with "Matter" last week. They used solids, liquids, and gases to see what results they would get after predicting, in small groups, what would happen when we used baking soda, and vinegar. (They even tried "apple cider" vinegar to see if it would get the same results! And they did! Students put a balloon on top of the bottles to see what would happen! Interesting enough, most of the balloons filled with gas and a few collapsed. The students had fun being mini~scientists for the day!

Mrs. Foley's 3rd Grade Experiments

Mrs. Foley's 3rd grade class has been experimenting with magnets. Students conducted a variety of experiments with magnets, such as: making magnets "float", magnetizing paper clips, and testing a magnet's magnetic field through different states of matter, etc. In Students also observed what happens with iron filings when a magnet is introduced.

Grade 1 Valentine Assembly

Students in Grade 1 celebrated Valentine's Day with a loving assembly for their parents. They performed several heart themed songs and showcased their heart themed art work in the gym. To end the celebration, students made Valentines with their families. Thank you Ms. Macission, Mrs. Zani, Mrs. Oberg and Ms. Lueke for making this special day a success!

IBES Celebrates up for Valentines Day

Bulletin boards encouraging creativity, most loved school topics, and the meaning of love. Dr. Maestas was a guest in Aiden LaRaia’s 1st grade All his classmates wore red and learned about congenital heart defects. A lesson Aiden has learned first hand. Dr. Maestas read Knuffle Bunny Aiden’s favorite story and most favorite stuffy, he fondly refers to as funny bunny.

Big Day for Fifth Graders!

As you know, the 100th day of school is a BIG deal for our kindergarten students, and many activities typically take place to recognize this. But you may not know that this is also a big day for our 5th graders as well! Some quick math shows us that their first five years of 180 days each adds up to 900 days....And when you add the 100 from this current year, it means they have been with us for a total of 1,000 days!!!

One School One Book: James and the Giant Peach

Over the last month, West Elementary read James and the Giant Peach. Our PTA bought a copy of the book for each student, staff read aloud chapters, and families read chapters at home. Our culminating activity was our movie night. The school was transformed into scenes from the story. Thank you to all of the teachers that made this event possible.

Valentine's Concert

Congratulations grades 6, 7, and 8 orchestras on a successful Valentine’s concert on Tuesday. Fantastic performances all around! Students and families thoroughly enjoyed the concert!

Kindness Week at PCIS

Students and staff participated in Kindness Week by showing their spirit in their outfits and actions. Monday students wore bright colors and said hello to someone they don't know. Tuesday students had fun mismatching and complimenting someone they don't know. Wednesday PCIS teamed up for Kindness by wearing sports shirts and high-fived a new friend. Thursday students were twice as nice twinning to help out a teacher or classmate. Friday students wore pink or red and said thank you to a teacher or friend.

All Things Egyptian

6th-graders at PSMS are finishing up learning about the ancient Egyptian civilization. Mrs. Cardin's students decorated their own palettes, which were used by the Egyptians to grind minerals, with historical scenes and hieroglyphics. Mrs. Shannon, wearing authentic Egyptian garb, shared her passion for Egypt with Mrs. White's classes; she knew when she was in 6th grade that she would one day visit the country of her dreams. Mrs. Burkhead's and Mrs. White's students played the part of artists painting a pharaoh's tomb; notice the bright colors and attention to detail.

Phenomena Based Learning - Making Predictions and Observing Chan

Ms. Robbins' and Mr. Kowalski's Chemistry classes are using the phenomenon of "Toxins" to investigate chemical reactions. The students were challenged to predict the outcomes of different reactions based on their chemical equations. By performing and interpreting a series of laboratory experiments, students confirmed some predictions and had opportunities to refine their thinking as a group. Students also are learning to relate chemical equations and the language of chemistry to real-world observations.

Freshman Challenge Day

The three Freshman Academy teams battled it out for the top spot in this year's Challenge Day. Student groups participated in four main "stations", earning points toward the ultimate prize: pizza from Monte Christos. Stations participated in a range of academic and civic exercises: Relay races in the gym, engineering challenges in the cafeteria, escape room problem solving in the performing arts center, and creative digital culture building in the library. Students could also earn bonus points for answering any of several hidden questions which counted as "tech challenges". If a student found a QR code in their station area, they could scan and earn points for correct answers to core subject area questions.

This year's battle was close from the get-go. One point separated the three teams after three rounds. In the end, the "Gold Standard" prevailed and students on the Gold Team enjoyed their bounty in the cafeteria. Teachers identified several stellar student performers throughout the day who came away with prizes for their individual efforts.

Until next year, GO EAGLES!