THE NAVIGATOR
School Edition, February 14, 2020
Newsletter
Important Upcoming Events
District Happenings:
February Break – February 17-21
3/17/20 All-School Chorus (at Deer Hill), 7PM
3/18/20 - All School Band, HS Gymnasium, 7PM
Half Day: Educator Half Professional Development Day – March 19
No School: Educator Full Professional Development Day – March 20
Cohasset High School
Spring Sports Meeting - March 9, 2020 at 6:30 PM
Class of 2021 College Planning Night - March 10, 2020 at 7:00 PM
Junior District Festival - March 13, 2020 - March 14, 2020
MCAS ELA - March 24 – March 25th
Cohasset Middle School
Geography Man Presentation - March 11, 2020
End of Term II – March 13, 2020
Grade 6 ELA MCAS - March 30, 2020 - March 31, 2020
Deer Hill Elementary School
PSO Meeting – March 10, 2020, 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Trimester Ends - March 12, 2020
Progress Reports Send Home - March 19, 2020
PK-5 Conferences March 25, 2020 -Mar 26, 2020
Grade 5 ELA MCAS - March 30, 2020 - March 31, 2020
Joseph Osgood Elementary School
Mr. Dykas Dance Party - March 9, 2020 - March 13, 2020
School Start and Ending Times Confirmed for 2020 - 2021 School Year
Deer Hill Read Your Heart Out Day
"Today at Deer Hill we celebrated Read Your Heart Out Day, an opportunity to slow down the pace of our curriculum and tap into the joy of reading for reading's sake. It is my hope that beyond this one day, an emphasis on joyful reading permeates our school. It is absolutely, positively true that explicit reading instruction has a critical role in our reading curriculum. However, developing those skills is not mutually exclusive to fostering a love of reading in and of itself. From our yearly Read A Thon, to our weekly Reading Rovers, to promoting choice in student book selection on a daily basis, students at Deer Hill not only read to learn but also read because it is fundamental to how we connect with the world around us (and it's fun!)."
Osgood Celebrates 100th Day of School
State Champion Boys Cross-Country Team Visits Statehouse
Swim and Dive Team Takes Home Second Place at MIAA Division 2 State Championships
CMS Faculty discusses Gender Identity with PFLAF
KINDNESS UPDATE
Here is a poignant and timely message written by Principal Scott..."
Dear Families,
There was an interesting commercial for New York Life that ran during the Super Bowl and piqued my interest as someone who's studied ancient Greece. In the ad, the narrator describes the variety of Greek words for love -- filia (friendship), storge (familial), eros (passion), and agape, this very rarely used word that describes a love that's born out of selfless action.
I've always been fascinated by the term as it's the only descriptor of love that I can find which isn't conditioned on any one or any thing. It' isn't dependent. Agape isn't a love that suggests that we are passive recipients of affection but describes love in a way in which we become active creators of love when we do things that put others before ourselves, often at great personal sacrifice.
This year we've focused a lot on culture and on relationships as being at the heart of culture. We've emphasized that we want students to feel connected -- to each other, to our school, to a purpose. Students have created vehicles that give a voice to a variety of groups seeking connection -- the Diversity Club, the Asian Culture Club, the Safe Harbor Youth Ambassadors, our Captains Council, Student Council, and the National Honors Society. Most of these organizations aren't contractual. They aren't promoted in the papers. They're just people -- adults and students -- coming together to spread messages about important things.
The events of this past week have damaged relationships and left many students struggling with how to move forward. I applaud that they chose not to be silent and I'm impressed by the maturity they showed by recognizing that what was needed from them were more opportunities for healing and conversation and fewer avenues that created more anger and fear.
Students recognized the need to articulate our collective voice as a school community. To shout from the mountain that this isn't who we are and this isn't what we do. To face the hard truth that this isn't a problem for someone else's kids but a systemic and pervasive problem of increased racism, sexism, antisemitism, anti-asianism, and anti-islamisist sentiment that has been steadily rising for years among us as a community.
It happens on our fields, on our stage, and in our classrooms. It happens in our basements. It happens in our homes. At the parties we host and at the parties we silently condone. Sometimes it happens through our own example. It's the same problem that I described in an earlier newsletter, a description of a campaign about hateful language, a campaign ultimately rejected by many adults for being "too controversial", the same sentiment that was shared when we talked about race last year. It's the same problem that I addressed at Back to School Night.
As the commercial states, "it takes courage, sacrifice, [and] strength" to create justice through agape, but it is through dialogue and empathy and accountability together that we will build a culture in which such hateful behaviors are not tolerated. It will mean something because it will be our culture, one that is built by us and lived by us; not one that is imposed on us, artificial, and reactive, driven by vengeance.
It's time to own it. It's time for all of us in the community -- students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community organizations -- to own it and come together to solve it.
I'll leave you with the words of the student group that met on Wednesday, penned by senior Ally Forrester.
To the members of the Cohasset community --
How can you come to school and be surrounded by people yet be alone? How can you be in a place of learning where people feel passionate yet feel like no one cares? As we search for community, our actions and use of language can prove to create strong connections or dangerous divides.
Recent incidents in our community have left students with a variety of feelings and while these feelings vary, our actions can unite. We can support each other, care for each other and share messages of love. We can show respect, compassion, and heal hurt. We need to challenge ourselves to stand up for what is right, to reach out to those in need, and to appreciate and value everyone in our life.
While we can’t change the actions of the past, we can do better. We can hold each other accountable, expand our education and search for positivity in difficult situations. It is never too late for change.
On Wednesday a group of students was supported in a discussion about an issue that goes beyond the school and into our community. The issue of respect for one another has been brought to the front of our consciousness throughout the year: our senior class just recently participated in a Challenge Day which focused on strengthening bonds and empathy with one another. Our students discussed how to best highlight those feelings of empathy in order to create a lasting cultural change. The meeting left a lot of people feeling really hopeful towards enacting change, a change that many students feel is long overdue.
In the last few days, our school has been a place of conversation, and now it’s time to extend that message. Our community must come together. This is a call for students, teachers, administrators, families, and friends to change the dialogue.
Sincerely,
Brian T. Scott
FEBRUARY HAPPENINGS AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Cohasset Students to Present Little Women on February 27 & February 28
METCO UPDATE FROM METCO DIRECTOR MS. ALEISA GITTENS-CARLE
Celebrate Black History Month
Please see information by clicking on the link below to learn about some activities you can partake in to celebrate Black History Month.
Feel free to contact Ms. Aleisa Gittens-Carle or Ms. Atisha Winslow at (781)383-6117 with any additional questions.
From the Director of Finance and Operations...Michael MacMillan
The first draft of the State's Budget indicated a little more money for Cohasset than was expected and the School District leadership team have firmed up the list of priority of items to be funded next year.
The first step in the development of the State's budget for FY21 was taken on January 22nd, when the Governor released his proposed budget. This budget includes the proposed aid (funding) and assessments (charges) for municipalities. The Governor's proposal will be examined by the House Committee on Ways and Means, which will then release its own proposed budget - see here for more information on the state budget process: https://malegislature.gov/Budget/FY2021/.
The Governor's proposal indicated a slight improvement on Cohasset's forecast for FY21. While the forecast state aid was within a dollar of the Governor's proposed budget, the state assessments were around $80,000 less than expected.
Further positive news was that the number of Cohasset students expected to attend the South Shore Vocational Technical High School was revised down reducing that cost to the town by $27,576.
This translated to an increase to the draft school budget of $26,534. The reason it wasn't more was that the Technology department's budget was increased by $67,060 to fund more secure email software. The Technology department supports the Town and School departments and it's budget is appropriated before the Town / School budget split is applied.
On Monday, February 3rd, the School Leadership team met to review the list of budget priorities for the next school year. At this meeting, the following items were presented as essential for next year's budget.
The final budget (and the priorities included) will have to be approved by the School Committee before being submitted to the Town.
What's next?
There will be a detailed budget presentation at the February 26 School Committee meeting (7pm, Cohasset Middle High School, Community Room).
There will then be a Joint meeting of the School Committee, Selectmen and Town Advisory Committee. On March 4th, there will be a public hearing on the budget before the School Committee votes on the final budget to be submitted to the Town.
Any Questions?
Please contact mmacmillan@cohassetk12.org with any questions you might have.
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Compass: Assistant Superintendent Leslie Scollins, Ed.D.
Digital Learning Committee
Professional Development
Course Reimbursement Requests
From the Office of Mary Buchanan, Director of Student Services
Office of Student Service:
Events and Happenings in January and February:
Individualized Education Program (IEP) Progress Reports will available the same day as Report Cards although will not be visible on the Aspen Portal at this time.
Cohasset High School student IEP Progress Reports were mailed home on January 28, 2020. If you have questions about IEP Progress Reports, please reach out to The Office of Student Services at 781-383-6104.
Peer Preschool Process
Preschool Peer Lottery for morning and afternoon sessions was held on February 3, 2020. Parents were notified of status on February 4, 2020. Preschool Parent Orientation will be held on February 28, 2020 at 10:00am for the morning session and 1:00pm for the afternoon session. The location for the Orientation will be Joseph Osgood School, Preschool classroom. Questions about the preschool process can be directed to Mary Buchanan at 781-383-6104 or mbuchanan@cohassetk12.org
Special Education Parent Advisory Council SEPAC
There was a General SEPAC Meeting held on February 5th where updates to the preschool process, coteaching at the middle/high school level and language-based programming were discussed. Additional information regarding Dyslexia screening and evaluations were also discussed. The group also discussed upcoming professional development opportunities for inclusive education.
There was a SEPAC presentation held at the Paul Pratt Library on February 6th for Social Strategies in Social Settings that provided information, tools and resources for parents to help their children navigate social interactions throughout their day in and out of school.
We are excited for Cohasset's 250th Celebration
Trivia
The Roman God Cupid was said to be the son of what other famous female deity?
Have a Great February Break
Please follow me on Twitter for daily updates from the Cohasset Public Schools
Email: psullivan@cohassetk12.org
Website: https://www.cohassetk12.org/
Phone: 781 383 6111
Twitter: @SuperCohasset