Dear Mashpee Community,

Every day is precious. Together we can make 2018 a year of amazing moments! With the arrival of a new year comes a time to reflect on the past year and to make resolutions or goals for the future. People who set goals are more likely to succeed than people who do not. Setting a goal is about making a commitment in words, and words have the power to create a better future. Goals communicate, to ourselves and to others, the belief that we are capable of overcoming obstacles.

As a reminder, the very BEST students attend the Mashpee Public Schools. I ask that you embrace them and celebrate what makes each one special. As of today, we have completed 42.8% of school year 17-18. We strive to ensure that academic engaged time is maximized for each student and that each student demonstrates growth. The success and well-being of every student in our district are always at the forefront of our daily work and every decision we make.

Community Connections We are very thankful to Jeanne Dennis, President of the Mashpee Women’s Club and the Club’s members for their very generous gift of $12,000 to the Mashpee Middle-High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) program for the purchase of a cold storage unit for our culinary program and three editing suites for the media communications program. We are grateful for our partnership with the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe which resulted in a varsity girls’ and a varsity boys’ basketball game being play at the Tribal Government Center on December 19th. It was an outstanding event in a beautiful facility. We thank the tribe for welcoming our students, staff, and families to this event. All three schools were overwhelmed by the generous donations received to support our neediest of students and their families during the holiday season. Each school’s staff, Dino’s, our Southport friends, Mashpee Kiwanis, Knitting Clubs, the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department, Deer Crossing Real Estate Association, E.J. Jaxtimer Landscaping, Mashpee Police Department, Cape Cod Church, Toys for Tots, Mashpee Orthodontics, Mashpee Town Hall employees, and Dunkin Donuts made contributions that brightened the season for many. We so appreciate the generosity and support of our caring “connected community. Reminder: A Bay State Textiles White Collection Box has been placed at the Mashpee Middle-High School and also at the Coombs School. These boxes provide an easy opportunity for our families and community members to discard unwanted clothing (including shoes), purses, household linens, stuffed animals, etc. The items donated are picked up on a weekly basis. Based on the weight of the textiles collected, a rebate is paid to the Mashpee Public Schools. This is an easy way for our connected community to eliminate unwanted textiles from their homes and at the same time support our students and our programming. Mashpee Middle-High School (MMHS)

Congratulations to MMHS teacher Amanda Hough for being selected as a presenter at the 2018 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference. Amanda will be highlighting a global learning project between students at MMHS and students in Laos. Congratulations to MMHS students Sonia Hellwig and Iyano Fermino who were named finalists in the 17th annual Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Sportsmanship essay contest. Honorable Mention (published) students include Tess Hachey, Kelley Skantz, Ainsley Kiefer, Parker Shea, Kyle Puchol, Ashley Keleher, Haley Welch, Tiffany Hassey, Rachael Woodward, and Sophia Costa. We are very proud of these students.

Mashpee A Connected Community

January Update Superintendent Patricia DeBoer

It’s GREAT to be in MASHPEE!

A group of MMHS student-leaders are participating in a Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Program at MMHS. These students receive ongoing training to be “game-changers” within our school community—peer leaders who gain skills to work proactively to prevent gender violence, sexual harassment, and bullying. MVPs include: William Baker, Sydney Burke, Paige Cabral, Matthew Fish, Ben Kennedy, Taylor Lacava, Jenaya Perry, Sydney Pinhack, Sydney Puchol, Hailey Thomas, Nathan Ware, Caesar Hendricks, Hannah Binette, Maddelyn Souza, Sadicka Bowen, David Mendoza, Cassie Baker, Anthony DelGuidice, Mikayla Frost, Xavier Gonsalves, KoBI Howerton, Kristin Kondracki, Noah Tellez, Connor Westcott, and Molly Ryan. MMHS students who earned honors and high honors for Term 1 were recently recognized. Students in grades seven and eight were celebrated with an afternoon ice cream social. Students in grades nine – twelve and their parents participated in a Renaissance Breakfast. Thank you to Food Services Director Gus Stickley for the delicious breakfast treats. Thank you also to music teacher Andy Troyanos and his talented student instrumentalists for their outstanding musical performance at the breakfast. We thank these many recognized students for the effort they put into their academics.

Congratulations to Senior Brianna Cheatham for being selected as our recipient of this year’s Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents’ Certificate of Academic Excellence Award. Brianna is ranked 4th in a graduating class of 102 students with a weighted GPA of 102.8%. She is a true role model for both students and adults. She exudes compassion, reflection, responsibility, and dependability. She is a people person who makes everyone around her feel special. Brianna is a standout in the classroom, on the field and court, and in the community. As the secretary of the Class of 2018 for the past four years, she had brought a high level of service-oriented activities to her role. Whether it is as the Vice President of the Key Club, or active member of the National Honor Society, Brianna is involved in most all aspects of Mashpee. As a varsity cheerleader, Brianna brings grace, positivity, and genuine school spirit. She has been a dancer since age 3, dancing competitively for the past eight years. Brianna currently serves at the secretary for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Youth Council. She is proud of her school, her community, her Tribe, and, most importantly, her family and friends.

Quashnet School Seventy-eight students were recognized for their perfect attendance for the first 60 days of school. These students were fully present with no tardies or early dismissals. Congratulations to our Term 1 Falcon Award recipients for consistently going above and beyond to help others: Grade 3, Liam Assad; Grade 4 Isabella Pereira; Grade 5 Brandon Alves and Aimen Iqbal; and Grade 6 Taylor Willman. Thank you to fifth grade teacher and National Elementary Honor Society (NEHS) Advisor Elizabeth Babich for organizing a memorable induction ceremony. It was a student-centered event with powerful and meaningful messages for both the students and their families. The Quashnet Chapter of the NEHS welcomed 24 new members. Congratulations to fifth graders: Isabella Andrini, Luke Klopfer, Logan Wills, Carson Atteberry, Wyatt Seely, Hans Jacobson, Samara Andalib, Savanna Hartman, Benjamin Josselyn, Lindsey Lu, Madison Mauro, Hannah Rogers, Bridget Raymond; and to sixth graders: Cooper Rozum, Abigail Stone, Loc Phu, Mackenzie Willey, Michelle Espinoza-Bruch, Brooklyn Gonzales, Lucas Dehelean, Kylie Farhadi, Andrew Kelley, Alexander Murray, and Hayley Wenzel. A general contractor has been hired for the Quashnet School Repair Project. The total scope of the project includes a new roof, replacement of all exterior doors and windows, the EFIS system (stucco area around the exterior of the building) will be replaced, and the bathrooms will be brought up to code. Although the bulk of the work will be done over the summer, we will see signs of activity and prep work potentially starting soon. Over this past vacation week, contractors measured all the windows and exterior doors. Some prep work in the ceiling near the art room is expected over February break, and the entire building will be power washed over April vacation. There will be construction beginning soon after that. The focus is on student learning and safety first. Any and all contractors you may see on school grounds will have a background check and issued a pass to be here. As the dates and locations of the work become solidified, we will be sharing information through regular updates. We are very thankful for the Town's support with this project; our kids deserve a school to be proud of and one that doesn't leak!

The Quashnet School’s 2nd Annual Family Pasta Dinner was a great success with over 200 meals being served. Thank you to Mrs. Porter, Mrs. Stroshine, Mrs. Babich, Mrs. Littleton, Mrs. McCue, Mrs. Stickley, Miss Sweeney, Mrs. Avtges, Miss Forsberg, Mrs. McBrien, Mrs. Geggatt, Mrs. Emery, Miss Manning, Mrs. Morrison, Mrs. Blount, Mr. Gus Stickley, and Principal O’Brien for going above and beyond to support our families. What an amazing event! Coombs School Congratulations to Margie Mitchell who retired on December 22nd after a 32+ year career as an educator in the Mashpee Public Schools. We are so grateful to her for all that she has done to teach and support our students. Best wishes, Mrs. Mitchell. We hope all your retirement years will be filled with good health, wonderful adventures, and joy. Mrs. Jones’ first graders were the first to reach 25 points for following the Falcon Five in the Library! They celebrated just before the break with a “Game Day”! They had fun playing old-time games likes Sorry, Uno, Guess Who, Dominoes and more! While this was fun for them, it was also a great learning opportunity as well! They practiced critical thinking, cooperation, problem solving, counting, and reading skills. In their STEM special, kindergarteners studied natural resources and learned how to be expert recyclers. They know that paper is made from trees, glass is made from sand, and that plastic is made from oil. The students love using their blue recycling bins to take better care of their school and their planet. Our first graders have wrapped up their study of hibernation and migration, including the study of how sea turtles migrate. They loved seeing the tracking device glued to a turtle’s shell and how scientists watch them swim across entire oceans. Students know that when the water starts to warm in the spring, the sea turtles of Cape Cod will migrate back to us. Students also learned that they can help sea turtles by cleaning up the plastic trash from our beaches. Second graders in STEM kicked off their chemical and physical change study with a fun experiment: making butter the “old-fashioned way” by shaking heavy cream over and over in a glass jar. They loved seeing the changes in color, shape, and thickness in this experiment and also sampling the butter at the end!

We are grateful for the opportunity we have been given to serve the families of Mashpee. We are continuing our district-wide implementation of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) so that every student has access to instruction, curriculum, and an environment that ensures achievement of his/her academic and social/emotional projected growth. Thank you for trusting us with your children.

It’s GREAT to be in Mashpee—A Connected Community. Please explore these links to stay connected to us: Mashpee Public Schools' new website: https://www.mpspk12.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/PDeBoerMPS or https://twitter.com/MashpeeSchools Mashpee Public Schools' Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/MashpeePublicSchools/ Mashpee Public Schools' Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mashpeepublicschools/ Coombs School Principal’s Blog: https://kccfalconeye.blogspot.com/ Quashnet School Principal’s Blog: http://qsmashpee.blogspot.com MMHS Principal’s Blog: http://mmhsprincipal.blogspot.com/ MMHS Athletic Schedules: http://miaa.net/schools/public/MashMa Town of Mashpee—Calendar of Events: http://www.eventkeeper.com/code/events.cfm?curOrg=02649

MMHS Senior Brianna Cheatham: This year’s Massachusetts Congratulations to Mrs. Mitchell for her 32+ year career as an Association of School Superintendent’s Certificate of educator in the Mashpee Public Schools. Excellence Award Recipient Grade 3 Falcon Award Winner: Grade 4 Falcon Award Winner: Grade 5 Falcon Award Winner: Liam Assad—with his parents Isabella Pereira—with her parents Aimen Iqbal—with her mother

Grade 5 Falcon Award Winner: Grade 6 Falcon Award Winner Brandon Alves—with his parents and teacher Mr. Greggerson Taylor Willman—with her father and her friend Piper Milde Riley Gingras, Jack MacDonald, and Colby Rogers Making butter in Grade 2 STEM Class at the Coombs School Tyler McMahon and Riley Gingras