Dartmouth Public Schools
Kindness Matters
#WHATSYOUR17
Despite Mother Nature’s refusal to let go of winter, our schools have been able to reschedule its Safe and Kind Schools assembly. Each school focused on the importance of coming together to spread kindness, empathy and peace. I was particularly pleased to see our middle and high school students collaborate with staff to plan and implement the rallies. Moments of silence, words about kindness, reminders about safety strategies and gratitude for first responders were all part of the various events. The high school students challenged all to go out of their way to do something positive for others. The movement, coined #whatsyour17, asks students and staff to flood social media with good deeds for 17 days! There is no doubt a powerful message is being sent; we believe in building strong relationships as a way to foster a community of people that care for and depend upon one another.
Peter Senge, author of Schools That Learn, states good connections start with recognition. A learning organization needs a clear expression of “I See You”; the ability to recognize each other’s identity and value. In his book, Senge brings this concept to life through a description of language exchanged by native people in Africa living below the Sahara. Among the tribes of northern Natal, the most common greeting, equivalent to our English “hello” is the expression “Sawubona” which literally means I see you. People reply to the greeting by saying “Sikhona”, which means I am here. The order of this exchange is vital: until you see me, I do not exist. By seeing me, you bring me into existence. The spirit of this exchange is founded in Ubuntu, a frame of mind that suggests a person is a person because of other people. When you embrace this concept, your identity is based on the fact that you are seen and that people around you respect and acknowledge you as a person. Orland Bishop, founder of Shade Tree Multicultural Foundation in Los Angeles reveals this concept empowers us to explore our mutual potential and encourages us to communicate and participate in each other’s lives.
This powerful message prompts us to reflect upon the ways we interact with colleagues and students. Do our actions foster positive connections that result in respect and recognition? Are we behaving in ways that support each other? Have we done all we can to ensure our learning environment allows each student is seen and respected? How do we come together to create a school that learns and helps our students find their identity and come to believe they exist? Let’s keep the Safe and Kind schools theme going! #WHATSYOUR17?
Check out Orland Bishop @ https://bit.ly/1rYAV9r
What is your #17
Dr. Gifford fills Nellie's candy jar.
DHS Cafe Tuesday offering free coffee to staff!
Showing gratitude with handwritten thank you notes for our student leaders
Looking for a Good Book?
Dartmouth High School is engaging students in standards using real literature! The Book Trailer Project is brought to you by the dynamic book-loving duo: Ms. Brittingham and Ms. Lawrence. Earlier this semester, students in Ms. B's block one honors class visited the LMC and selected free reading books with the help of Ms. L. The project is designed to establish baseline annotation skills to help move students from summary to analysis. Upon completion, students used their notes, ideas, and personal devices to create these original preview trailers to encourage others to read! Enjoy DHS's book trailers.
DMS SAFE and KIND Assembly
Young Authors in Action
DHS Ted Talks
Dartmouth High School hosted TED Talks again this year. Student speakers volunteered to partake in this endeavor and it was amazing how the students become so professionally polished in such a small amount of time. Thanks to Hilary Sousa, DHS World Language Instructional Coach/Lead Teacher and Elizabeth True, DHS Social Studies Teacher for guiding students through this process!
Elementary Grade Level PD
Elementary teachers district wide met by grade level for half-day curriculum meetings for science and ELA. Led by the CIA (Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment) teacher leaders, feedback was collected on the second science unit and updates for the upcoming unit were discussed. CIA Teacher Leaders will use feedback discussed and student work to tweak units. As we continue to align and refine our ELA curriculum glows, grows, and questions were examined. Our goal is to align our ELA curriculum both horizontally and vertically and establish a seamless curriculum with rigorous expectations. This guarantees a smooth transition from one year to the next. In addition, a cohesive curriculum supports a collaborative environment in which teachers work to ensure consistency with respect to content, common language and best practice. The high level/quality of discussion illustrated the continued commitment of DPS teachers to provide the best for their students.
DHS Robotics Teams
Dartmouth Public Schools sent two teams to the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition.
Students captured the event for us in a summary!
TEAM 7571
During our first match at the FTC State Championship we were able to complete a full cypher which is quite an accomplishment. The rest of the competition we gave it our all but our opponents got the best of us so we will not be moving onto Super Regionals. On a better note one of our members is one of two finalists in the state for the Dean's List Award out of over one hundred entries.
TEAM 13406:
We started the day off pretty well, we had our sensor working and we were able to test the new things we built. We won our first two games by a landslide and we were in a pretty good mood. As the competition became more challenging we played as hard as we could, but we experienced some minor malfunctions resulting in some issues with our robotic arms. Soon, things began to not work properly. We gave it our all and overall we had a pretty good day. We may have not made it past the State Tournament, but as a first year team, we made it much farther than any of us even dreamed of going. As a team, as a family, we came together to do something that nobody thought a first time team could do. We have already started plans for next year and are ready to make it past the state tournament next year.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Dartmouth Public Schools Staff Spotlight
NAME: Rosa Costa
School/Postion: DHS Mathematics Teacher
Hometown: Born in São Miguel. Live in Dartmouth.
Education: Bachelor of Science in Math And Masters in Education- concentration in Mathematics. UMass Dartmouth.
One goal I have achieved in my career so far that I feel most satisfied about: Having to work hard to get where I am.
A long term goal I am working toward: Continue to learn new ways of teaching math
Role model or someone who has had a great impact on my life: I have two - My parents
If I could travel anywhere in the world it would be: India
If I could eat dinner with someone famous, dead or alive, it would be: Mariza
Pet Peeve: Leg-shaking, tapping
Favorite leasure time activity: Lace crochet
Favorite movie: Stand and Deliver
Favorite book: Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Browning
I think the world’s greatest invention is: Computers
My favorite motto or saying: “Look at this baby”
What I like best about working at DPS:
The people I work with and the students who try their best.
CAMP INVENTION
Dartmouth Public Schools is hosting Camp Invention again this summer DPS staff are eligible for a $30.00 registration discount for campers. Promo Code is: HOST 1 code per Employee, covers up to 5 Campers on an order To be eligible, employees of the host district/school of the Camp Invention program must enter their district email in the section under the promo code. The HOST promo code is unavailable for CIT pricing.
Monday, Jun 25, 2018, 08:00 PM
Dartmouth High School, Bakerville Road, South Dartmouth, MA, USA
Teen Safety Summit
Wednesday, Apr 11, 2018, 08:30 AM
Venus de Milo Business Office, Grand Army of the Republic Highway, Swansea, MA, USA
Rods and Cones Art Exhibit
Tuesday, Mar 27, 2018, 06:00 PM
Russells Mills Schoolhouse
DMS Drama Club Presents the LION KING JR.
Get your tickets now! Support our your drama students
- Thursday, April 5th 7 PM
- Friday, April 6th at 7 PM
- Saturday, April 7th at 1 PM