The Panther Press
Official Newsletter of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School
Welcome!
June 5, 2022 - Volume 4 - ISSUE 33
Welcome to the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School Newsletter! It is designed to keep everyone (parents, students, staff, and community members) informed of the many events that are happening in and around the school. It contains links, pictures, and videos so that you have a more interactive experience and the ability to learn more about various topics.
Communication is incredibly important to understanding so we ask that you share our news as much as possible. We also welcome feedback! It is the only way to continuously improve. So, please interact, get involved, and let us know what you think by contacting us and sharing our news!
Important Dates to Plan
June 7-8 - STE MCAS – Grade 9 Students
June 17 - Early Release – Grading Day
June 20 - No School – Juneteenth Independence Day
June 23 - Early Release – Last Day of School
Parent Portal Opens – Quarter 4 Grade 9-11 Report Cards
MCAS
Grade 9 students will be taking Science MCAS on Tuesday, June 7 and Wednesday, June 8, and we wanted to provide some important reminders.
Testing Rooms
Students should check their schedules, on Infinite Campus, to verify their testing room assignments. The MCAS testing room assignments are located at the bottom of the Master column for Semester 2.
Chromebooks
Students should bring their school issued chromebooks, fully charged, to their testing room. Students who have been using their own devices, opted out of having a school issued device, will be provided a school issued chromebook for the testing.
Attendance
It is important that students arrive on time and ready to work. The proctors will begin the testing session immediately and tardy students may not be allowed into the testing session as it will cause a disruption to the students working.
Cell phones and Smart Devices
Cell phones, smart watches and other smart devices are strictly prohibited during the testing sessions. Students will be instructed to turn off and place all devices in their backpacks. All backpacks will be placed in the back/side of the room and will remain there until the entire testing session has completed. At no time during the testing session, whether or not a student has finished their test, are students able to access their backpacks or any electronic devices. If a student is found with any electronic device during the testing session, they will be removed from the testing room and we are required to notify the state and their test may be invalidated.
We wish all our students taking the MCAS tests the best of luck. Get a good night sleep, eat a good breakfast and come prepared.
Welcome Summer!!!
The staff of the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School is pleased to share a wonderful opportunity we are offering to assist high school students, “on the road to success”.
The Summer Enrichment Program will offer a summer experience through a fun and engaging interdisciplinary program. The program will incorporate summer reading, academics, hands-on project-based learning, community service learning, social emotional support, field trips, and athletic activities that will foster peer and staff relationships. Participating in this FREE program offers students numerous opportunities to assist as they navigate high school, including college and career preparation and job seeking skills.
The summer program will begin on Tuesday, July 5, 2022 and will run Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., through Thursday, July 28, 2022. As an incentive, students who successfully complete the summer program will receive 4 high school elective credits. Snack and lunch will be provided daily. Transportation is not included.
We strongly encourage you to discuss this summer program with your child and encourage him/her to participate in this positive learning experience. To take advantage of this opportunity, please fill out this registration form and return it to Christopher Szkutak at WHRHS 600 Franklin St. Whitman, MA 02382, by June 10, 2022. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to call 781-618-8020 or reach out via email.
We look forward to supporting your student!
Dr. Christopher Jones
Advocate Honestly
The next three weeks will cover the three strategies I spoke about in my speech to the 2022 graduates. The strategies were advocate honestly, practice positivity, and treat everyone as a fellow human being. I have included the text of my speech followed by video explaining each in more depth.
Speak up for yourself and others in an honest way. People have agendas and don't always give you the full story. Sometimes they can’t for specific reasons. Sometimes it isn’t about being dishonest. They just have their own perspective. Sometimes…they are lying. The point is don’t get caught up in other people’s drama because you haven’t taken a step back to examine the larger story.
Instead, keep an open mind, examine other viewpoints, hold on to your beliefs, and then stand for what you believe in an honest, open way. If you see something wrong, speak out. If you see something right, champion it. All too often we let the negative drown out the positive simply because the negative is louder.
Check out the video below and here more of an explanation!
Remember, this is the first of three videos I'm doing from my graduation speech. I hope you find value in each of the messages. Let me know your thoughts and if you try them!
Our Story...
Not everyone outside the walls of our awesome school get to see the fantastic things going on each day. This short video is meant to showcase some of the great things occurring at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School during the week!
Take a look and feel free to comment...this is our story...and everyone is part of it.
School Counseling - Mrs. Ruth Carrigan
Underclass Awards - On Tuesday, June 21, WH will be hosting our annual Underclass Awards Ceremony at 7:30 AM in the Dr. John F. McEwan Performing Arts Center. Students receiving awards (and their parents/guardians) will be notified by school email/Campus Messenger next week. Award recipients and their parents/guardians are invited to join us for the ceremony.
College Essay Workshop - On Monday, June 13th, Brian Stevens, Assistant Director of Admissions from Rhode Island College will be visiting WHRHS to work with our Junior English classes to provide tips and advice as our rising seniors start to think about college essays and post-secondary planning. This program is a collaboration of the School Counseling and English Departments and is part of the WHRHS Panther Pathways initiative.
Free Career Training Opportunity in Automotive Technology and Welding - Adults (including recent graduates) aged 18 and over who are interested in Automotive Technology or Welding are encouraged to find out more about FREE 250 hour technical training programs that will be available at SSVT. Programs will run from September through December from 4 - 8 PM on Monday - Thursday evenings. For more information contact Paul Bello (pbello@ssvotech.org) or Michael Santos (msantos@masshireSS.com).
If you have questions about any of these programs, please contact your school counselor.
If you have any questions, please reach out for assistance.
School Counselors:
Mr. Amado
Ms. Rivera (Administrative Assistant)
School Adjustment Counselors:
Mrs. Siden
Ms. Dalton
English - Mrs. Amy Floeck
Important Announcements
On June 13th, all juniors will be attending a workshop with Brian Stevens, member of admissions at Rhode Island College, to learn about the college admissions process and the importance of the senior essay. Thank you to Mrs. Carrigan and the entire School Counseling Department for their continued partnership with the English Department on this very important process.
Walking through the classrooms...
World Language & Business - Mrs. Kristen Thomas
¡Os echaremos de menos, Clase de 2022!
Athletics - Mr. Bob Rodgers
Congratulations to the class of 2022!
We couldn’t be more proud of all you accomplished over your four years at Whitman Hanson. The commencement was truly something special with every speaker delivering meaningful messages to not just the class but to all in attendance. The highlight for me was watching our Patriot League scholar athlete and valedictorian April Keyes touch the heart of everyone in attendance by openly discussing living with a speech impediment. This remarkable young woman has excelled in athletics and in the classroom but she shared with everyone that her road was not always the easiest to travel. Everyone listening could relate as we all have challenges in our life. The hope is April’s message of perseverance and courage inspires others to pursue their dreams regardless of the challenges we face. When April was done speaking, the crowd rose to their feet with a well deserved rousing standing ovation.
April had a busy few days as she traveled to Westfield State College to compete in the Meet of Champions as one of the 32 top 400 Meter Hurdlers in the Commonwealth. April was seeded 23rd coming into the event and finished in 14th place overall in a Personal Record time of 1:07.42. On Saturday she finished 24th overall among the Commonwealth's top athletes in the 100 Meter Hurdles (16.492) in her final State Championship Meet. April's season continues when she and five of her teammates (Katelyn Bagley, Sydney Pires, Myah Kamperides, Mia Gocal and Willa McCoy) head to Notre Dame Academy to compete in the MSTCA South Heptathlon Monday and Tuesday (6/6 and 6/7- 3:30 both days.)
In boys track 6 student athletes will compete on Monday June 6th and Tuesday June 7th at the MSTCA South Decathlon. This meet will be hosted by Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro, Mass. starting at 3:30. The athletes involved are Senior Chase Baker, Junior Noah Roberts, Sophomores Jake Cappelletti, Alex Kehayias, Rob Silva and Freshman Sean Donovan. This is a challenging event with 10 events (races, hurdles, jumps, and throws) over the two days.
Our boys tennis team was the top performer of the spring for WH qualifying for the state tournament but unfortunately lost their home match on Saturday against Somerville. The day before the match, captain Aidan Hickey was the student speaker at graduation and told us what it meant when we say “We are Whitman Hanson” - he finished by telling us the Celtics will win in 6!
The boys lacrosse team qualified for the state tournament and will get a shot at Patriot League foe Scituate Tuesday at 7pm. We will update the game on Twitter as the night moves along.
The final awards from athletics are as follows:
Junior Cup: Matt Solari
Junior Plaque: Caitlin Leahy
Ed Clark (Given to the senior boy who exemplifies service, athletic ability and leadership): Jacob Donovan
Sue Moss (Given to the senior girl who exemplifies service, athletic ability and leadership): Mary Kate Ryan
Gurney Male (given to the top boy for sportsmanship, scholarly achievement and athletic accomplishments): Erik Dean
Gurney Female (given to the top girl for sportsmanship, scholarly achievement and athletic accomplishments) Ava Melia
Most Outstanding Senior Boy: Jake Caterer
Most Outstanding Senior Girl: Lauren Dunn
Dennis M. O’Brien Scholarships: April Keyes and Aidan Hickey
Finally, below you will see two pictures. One is of all of the students who played a sport during their high school career and the other is of all the students playing sports in college. In addition, here is the link to a video of the students playing in college.
Contact Us
Email: christopher.jones@whrsd.org
Website: https://www.whrsd.org/our-schools/whrhs
Location: 600 Franklin Street, Whitman, MA, USA
Phone: (781) 618-7020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrCSJones
Twitter: @DrCSJones