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Friday notes is a weekly update from Superintendent Gary E. Maestas on the happenings within the Plymouth Public Schools.
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Plymouth Public Schools School Committee Meetings:
The next Plymouth School Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 4, 2010 at Plymouth Community Intermediate School. The meeting starts at 7:00 P.M.
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Weekly Quote:
"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."
-- Henry Brooks Adams
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Plymouth On Demand is Here!
Exciting things are happening on the Plymouth Public Schools' website! A new feature has arrived called Plymouth On Demand. This new feature is like utube for Plymouth schools! It is an archive for all of the video shows in the district.
Plymouth on Demand will have content such as T.V. news shows (inluding the new Plymouth news- see next article) as well as professional development video content. School committee meetings can be viewed through Plymouth on Demand. It will also showcase happenings all over the Plymouth School District in video format. If you've missed anything or just want to know more it's all there on Plymouth on Demand!
To get access to Plymouth On Demand simply log on to the Plymouth Public Schools' website and click on the Plymouth On Demand button.
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The New Plymouth News
The New Plymouth News is the first ever district wide TV news show. It is hosted by Dan Riley, the founder of Ed TV, and Kristen DiGravio.
ED TV's inception was over a year ago, and it has produced many sucessful news shows including Panther TV, PNN and FFTV. However, after speaking with many parents in Plymouth there seemed to be an element missing. ED TV often focused on big events and while this is very interesting and worthwhile, some of the wonderful events that go on each day in the classrooms in Plymouth were being missed. In Dan Riley's words, "we wanted to bring these events into your homes to see what makes the Plymouth students and school district so unique."
The first news show for Plymouth On Demand is now on the Plymouth Public Schools' website. The stories being covered are as follows:
South High Reads to South Elementary Students
Pen Pals Meet at PCIS
Rachels Challenge
Planetarium Makeover
Students Raise Money for Cancer
It is truly an interesting new look at what goes on in the Plymouth Schools and how inspiring the Plymouth Public School students are!
To see the first Plymouth On Demand news show click on the following link and then on the "Plymouth On Demand" button on the right side of the screen:
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Plymouth Third Graders Help Raise the Mayflower's 400th Anniversary Logo Flag
On September 16th, Plymouth's 400th Committee unveiled the logo for the celebration of the landing of the Mayflower to take place in 2020. Eight third graders, representing the class of 2020, were invited onboard the Mayflower to help raise the logo flag. Speakers included Paula Peters and Ken Tavares from the 400th Committee and Senate President Therese Murray. Participating students were Matthew Manfredi (Cold Spring), Jalyn Dias (Federal Furnace), Joshua Turner (Hedge) Abby Churchill (Indian Brook), Faith Duquette (Manomet), Cameron Garvey (Nathaniel Morton), Alexis Muratore (South) and Jeffrey Knight (West).
The students and their class have been taking part in special activities as they progress through grade levels to commemorate their special status.
Mr. Tavares said the students' role in the celebration will increase as the anniversary nears. The students will eventually become ambassadors for the year-long celebration.
Plymouth students from the Class of 2020 pose with Senate President Therese Murray wearing T-shirts featuring the newly unveiled 400th anniversary logo Thursday evening onboard Mayflower II.
A flag bearing the new logo for Plymouth's 400th anniversary celebration in 2020 flies from the mast of Plimoth Plantation's Mayflower II.
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Plymouth Police Sponsor National Take-Back Initiative
The Plymouth Police are coordinating an initiative that is part of a national effort called the "National Take-Back Initiative." It is being held this Saturday, September 25, 2010 at the Plymouth Police Station from 10:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m.
The goal is to have families clean out their medicine cabinets to remove potentially dangerous controlled substances from within the reach of our nation's children. When children have access to any type of medicine it is a major safety issue. This one-day effort is intended to bring national focus to the issue of increasing pharmaceutical controlled substance abuse.
Some guidelines about the program are as follows:
-The program is anonymous.
-Prescription and over the counter solid dosage medications, i.e. tablets and capsules accepted.
-Intra-venous solutions, injectables, and needles will not be accepted.
-Illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine are not a part of this initiative.
The Plymouth Police are sponsoring this initiative with the full support of the Plymouth Public Schools and the Plymouth Youth Development Collaborative (PYDC) which is funded by a federal Drug Free Communities Grant. For more information about the initiative click on the following link: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/takeback/ |
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News from the Plymouth Public Schools' Guidance Department
Parents of seniors: The Plymouth Public Schools' Guidance Department is sponsoring three important fall workshops on college planning and the college selection process, as well as a college fair:
PNHS senior parents:
Senior College Planning Night:
Thursday, September 30, 2010 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the PNHS Auditorium
PSHS senior parents:
Senior College Planning Breakfast (pastry & coffee):
Friday, October 1, 2010 from 7:30-9:00 a.m. in the PSHS Backstage Area
There will also be a district-wide Financial Aid Workshop for parents of seniors (*we welcome parents from both PNHS & PSHS to this event) on
Wednesday, November 17 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the PNHS Auditorium.
Plymouth Public Schools' College Fair: Over 130 college, university and post-secondary representatives (including the armed services) will be in attendance:
Tuesday, October 19, 2010 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at PSHS
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Back to School at Nathaniel Morton
On Thursday, September 16th and Tuesday, September 21st Nathaniel Morton welcomed students and their families back to school. The halls were overflowing with students eager to show their families their new classrooms and introduce them to their new teachers. As they passed through the halls they could read about what NMES teachers did on their summer vacations, as well as admire some spectacular student artwork.
Once again this year, the NMES Open Houses featured a Parent Fair. Local organizations were invited to set up tables and share information about programs and services that are available to NMES familes. Some of this year's attendees included: NMES PTA, Plymouth Police Department, Plymouth Fire Department, Plymouth Public Library, Plymouth Recreation Department, Old Colony YMCA, Jordan Hospital, Boys & Girls Club, Plymouth Family Network, Polished LCC, Cub Scouts, Plymouth Guild for the Arts and more... Families who attended could enter to win fabulous door prizes donated by local companies. Donations were provided by Franklin Park Zoo, Edaville Railroad, Pilgrim Belle Harbor Cruises, Captain John Boats, Snip Its, Peter McRae Karate, Monster Subs, Blockbuster Video, and Jordan Hospital.
Parents also had the opportunity to sign up for countless volunteer opportunities at the school. It was wonderful to forge new relationships with local organizations and have such amazing support from so many local groups, but what was most inspiring were the number of families in attendance.
The Boys and Girls Club of Plymouth educates parents at the parent fair.
 Samantha Moore, a student in Mrs. Morgan's first grade classroom shares her goal for the year through her art work. |
South High School News
Anti-Bully "Train the Trainer" Program
The following students have been selected to be part of an anti-bully "train-the-trainer" program in conjunction with Plymouth South Middle School:
Ryan Alwardt, Lila Boriello, Lucas Cantwell, Joe Danner, Melanie Dorn, Devin Fox, Bridgette Harold, Alex Hunt, Tracey Ivan, Matt Jaaros, Allessandra Kopp, Anastasia Kopp, Brenna McGinnis, Jake Mele, Paige Murphy, Shannon Paul, Kathy Payzant, Hanna Shepherd, Steve Whyte, Alex Vozella and Amelia Vozella.
Students attended a training on September 21st and will attend a second training on December 7th. The Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) out of Bridgewater State College facilitated this training. Thank you to all students involved.
Upcoming Dates at PSHS:
PSHS School Council Meeting - Wednesday, September 29th at 6:30 PM
Booster Club meeting Thursday, September 30th at 7:00 PM
PSHS Open House - Thursday, October 7th @ 7:00 PM
Sam Fry Memorial Scholarship 5K Road Race - Sunday, October 3rd. Start 9:00 AM at Cabby Shack.
Plymouth Vocational Technical Education will hold its annual fall Program Advisory Dinner on Wednesday, October 20th. Program meetings will take place at 6:00pm and dinner will be served at 7:00pm. This year's guest speaker will be State Representative Vinny deMacedo.
Changes in the Graphic Arts Curriculum
Graphic Arts recently has made a curriculum change to Graphic Design and Visual Communication. This year, graphic students will be learning all aspects of TV and Film Production. The program has added a new production studio, digital film cameras and a Mac lab for editing.
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PCIS News
The Magazine Drive is here!
PCIS's popular Magazine Drive Fundraiser is back and just in time for holiday gift giving. Save up to 80% off the cover price of current or new subscriptions to magazines like People, ESPN Magazine, Everyday with Rachel Ray, and Disney's Family Fun magazine!
40% of total sales go back to PCIS. This drive once raised over $40K. The importance of these funds are crucial as they help fund enrichment programs, after school clubs and sports, and field trips for our students. Sales have decreased in the past years and in turn, this has decreased the amount of money available for these programs. As always, we appreciate your support. Sales begin now through October 17th, 2010. |
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Gary E. Maestas, Superintendent
Plymouth Public Schools
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