Masconomet Middle School Newsletter 1

Middle School Newsletter From: Dr. Flaherty

Week of: April 4, 2016 dflaherty@masconomet.org

April 2016

Monday, April 4 C day

After school help 2:20- 2:50 p.m. Annie rehearsal: Warbucks, Grace, Annie, Bert Healy, Roosevelt, Drake,

Howe, Rooster, Lily, Hannigan Selections from Scenes: 7, 8, 10, 11

3:00 – 5:00 p.m./ Auditorium

Tuesday, April 5 D Day

After school help 2:20- 2:50 p.m. MathCounts 2:15 – 3:15 p.m.

Annie rehearsal: Rooster, Hannigan, Lily “Easy Street”

3:00-5:00 p.m.Auditorium

Wednesday, April 6 E Day

After school help 2:20- 2:50 p.m. Annie rehearsal: Annie, Orphans,

Hannigan, Bundles “Scene 1”

3:00-4:00 p.m. Chorus Room

Thursday, April 7 F Day

After school help 2:20- 2:50 p.m. Annie rehearsal: Full Cast

Stumble Through! 3:00 – 5:00 p.m/Auditorium

Friday, April 8 A Day

STEM 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

Messages from Principal Flaherty: Join Us on Twitter @Masco_Principal

Masco Excels Paperwork for Trimester 3 Excels programs went home with students on Friday, March 25th. Space is limited in some of the programs, so participation is a first-come, first-served process. All programs will run for six consecutive weeks (unless otherwise noted). Registration has been extended until this Friday, April 8th. Excel programs will begin the week of April 11th. (See attachment below)

Math Team Congratulations, Masco Math Team for a fantastic win in the 5th and final meet on Thursday, March 31st! The team went to Ipswich for the final meet of the season, determined to do their best to end this great season with a win. The teamwork was excellent, spirits were high, and every team member deserves our congratulations for this record-breaking season. Masco won every round at the competition! There were many high scorers last night, and Masco won three awards!

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The leading scorers were:

Justin Crosby, Erika Ding and Jacob Rabold who tied for first place at the meet. Close on their heels were: Rachel Chang, Katherine Johnston, Jack Mumley, Vansh Patel and Emma Spofford. Let’s wish our 8th graders all the best in high school math team next year, and a welcome back in September to the current 7th graders. Well done, Masco Mathletes!!

Middle School Science Fair Winners

Our annual Science Fair was held last Thursday, March 31st. Congratulations to all our winners!

7th Grade 1st Place Katie Bernard- How does an Electric Motor Work? 2nd Place Eric Malarczyk- Can you Take the Heat? 3rd Place Andrew Gallagher- Going Green: Biofuel vs. Motor Oil Honorable Mention Morgan Johnson- Splitting Water Abigail Moisan- Ice Melting with Carbon

8th Grade 1st Place Michael Lariviere - Resonant Frequency Experiment 2nd Place Jason Murley - Hydroelectricity 3rd Place Jared McKenna - Aerodynamics and its Effects on Downhill Skateboarding Honorable Mention Jack Gilmore - Robotic Arms

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International Dinner The annual International Dinner was held last Wednesday, March 30th and was a big success! It is the ONLY event in our district that brings both the middle school and high school together, includes the Music Department and other interdisciplinary subjects (Passport Activity) and the community. Thanks to all the parents, students and staff for their continued support of this event!

Grade 7 Lunch Seating Configuration Update

We met with grade 7 student council members last Monday and Thursday to listen to their opinions and thoughts regarding the increased structure of students sitting in the cafeteria by team. The students demonstrated a thorough understanding of issues and concerns, as well as, provided good insights and suggestions for us to consider moving forward. We plan to meet with a faculty committee today after school to hear their feedback and suggestions of strategies to help all students grow to meet our Core Values. We will hold an assembly with students later this week to describe any changes, if any, to the current seating arrangements in the cafeteria. Furthermore, we will again explain and reinforce the Core Values we expect from everyone through the spring. We will continue to provide parents with further updates in next week’s Principal’s Update

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Masco Millions The March Challenge Boys vs. Girls has come to an end and the girls have won the challenge. The challenge was very successful as both the boys and girls submitted pages read. The results March 25 - 31: 7thgrade boys 355 pages, 7th grade girls 658 pages and 8th grade boys 0 pages and 8th grade girls 1558 pages. The Grand Total for the Month: Boys: 36,697 pages and Girls: 75,784 pages. Excellent job girls! Congratulations to most of the teams for their effort on this week’s Masco Millions. Please remind the students to enter their pages for any reading they do for school or independent reading.

Results: All Team weekly results 2,571 pages and the Grand total: 744,226 pages. Our two trophy winners for the week are 7 Blue (513) by only 3 pages and 8 Red (1,014). Please continue to encourage your students to enter pages read from their textbooks, short stories, or any other reading you do as a class. These figures represent the numbers logged in by 3:00 PM Thursday, March 31, 2016.

Team Week Total Total

7 Blue 513 80,047

7 Red 500 173,713

7 White 0 102,763

8 Blue 544 73,283

8 Red 1,014 157,378

8 White 0 157,763

Coalition Newsletter The latest edition of the Coalition newsletter has arrived and it is bursting with information and resources! A few features you will find.... My Life. My Future. My Choice -- the tagline on the positive community norms posters that are up in Masco High School. Wondering what impact these positive messages about normative behaviors can have on young people's decision making? Opioid abuse rates and overdose deaths continue to climb. What can we DO as parents/caregivers AND members of a caring community to combat this scourge? Take a look at some effective strategies for keeping our youth safe and our community healthy. Talking to your teen about opioid use and abuse is a critical first step. We offer some tips for you to help get the conversation started. During the teen years the brain experiences a significant burst in development. What impact might regular marijuana use have on the developing brain? Researchers think they know. All this information and more is in the latest edition of the Coalition newsletter. Click here to open!

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Upcoming Dates of Importance:

April 11, 2016 Early Release Day, 12:20 p.m.

April 18- April 22,2016 Spring Vacation (HW Free Vacation)

May 5, 2016 Trimester 3 Midpoint

May 9, 2016 Early Dismissal, 12:20 p.m.