Cold Spring School News

The entire school population at Cold Spring including students and staff made a giant "wordle" with the theme "What School Means to Me." In addition to school subjects such as Math, Reading, Science and Spelling, some of the more common ideas included "learning," "honesty," "hope," "opportunity," "sharing," "happy," "responsibility," "new beginnings," "cooperation," and "excitement." Making this display also reinforced the idea with staff and students that we are all in this together, and we can create, share and inspire each other when we work together!  

Federal Furnace News

Federal Furnace has been honoring community helpers this week as we remember September 11th. All grades, classes and individual students have participated in some way.  Many classrooms read stories and discussed heroes and community helpers, a bulletin board depicted images and vocabulary reflecting the phrase, "We are America," and all students attended a school-wide ceremony.

The first graders completed a project that involved the idea of lighting 3 candles on Sept. 11 at dusk. Red symbolized firefighter/EMS, Blue stood for police and military, and white represented the civilians. They wrote a poem and made candles out of construction paper. This is a picture of Mrs. Riordan's first grade class holding their projects.

Mrs. Riordan's 1st grade class   

-by Lily ten Berg, Gr. 4   

-by Bobby Murray, Gr. 4

-by Erin Goonan & Emmie Kelly, Gr. 5

-by McKenzie Tieman, Gr. 5

-by Andrew Hogan, Gr. 4

This is a bulletin board created by Art Teacher Lisa Whynott.

-the Quilt from Arizona     

The school sent thank you letters and notes to the Emergency Room at Jordan Hospital.   

Federal Furnace also honored the memory of Jennifer Lynn Kane, a Federal Furnace alumnus who was a civilian casualty on September 11, 2001. A quilt created by schoolchildren in Arizona, whose teacher was a friend of a friend Jennifer Kane's, is hanging in the Federal Furnace Lobby. Finally, the Jennifer Lynn Kane Peace Garden outside the school continues to be tended by volunteer staff, parents and students. All students received a bookmark donated by the Kane Family.

Members of a special chorus from Federal Furnace will perform on Plymouth's waterfront on Sunday, September 11th, at 1:30. They will be led by their music teacher, Mrs. Kathy McMinn. 

South Elementary School News

Fourth grade students enjoyed an instrumental music demonstration featuring band and string instruments this past Wednesday
morning. Parents of students who may be interested in taking music lessons are invited to attend a meeting at South High School on Wednesday, September 14th at 7 p.m. Rental instruments and lesson books will be available that evening and the "Rent to Own" program will be explained.

South Elementary School will host the first of two Open House events on Thursday, September 15, 2011 from 6:30 until 8:00 p.m. First grade, third grade and fourth grade students and their parents are invited to attend to meet teachers, tour the
school and learn more about South Elementary, its curriculum and its school culture.

The South Elementary School PTA will hold its first meeting of the year on Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 7 p.m. in the IMC. All members of the South Elementary School community are invited to attend this meeting.

A second Open House event will be held on Thursday, September 22, 2011 from 6:30 until 8:00 p.m. at South Elementary School. Kindergarten and second grade students and their parents are invited to attend. 

Plymouth South High School News

Upcoming Events:

Sept. 9th - Opening Football game at PSHS  7:00 PM

Sept. 10th - Car Show - PSHS Parking Lot 11 AM-4 PM

Sept. 28th - Senior College Planning Night at PNHS 7-9 PM

Oct. 7th - PSHS Octoberfest

Nov. 5th - Homecoming     

The first phase of Plymouth South High School's technology update is moving forward.  Teachers are using ENO board technology to instruct their students in the classrooms. 

Congratulations to the following staff members for becoming Department Heads:
Matt Carpenito - Foreight Language
Elizabeth Bettencourt - English
Kathy Marks - Science
Sally Stevens - History
Tom Hicks - Math  

Plymouth North High School News

North Open House

Plymouth North Open house is scheduled for Thursday, September 15th 6:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M.     Parents will participate in a shortened version of their child's day, attending each class as their child would. Parents may pick up a copy of their student's schedule in the Cafeteria upon arrival to North.  Hope to see you there!

Paperwork Reminder

All students received multiple documents requiring parent signatures on the first day of school.  These documents must be returned to the Main office ASAP, they are past due. 

Bus Passes

North students will receive their bus passes on Tuesday, September 13th during their H block advisory.  Bus passes may be purchased in the main office of Plymouth North.

It's Time for Robotics 

Monday afternoon Robotics Team meetings will begin on Monday, September 12th from 2:20 P.M until 3:30 P.M. in room 222.  All interested students are invited to participate.

Senior Class Meeting

The Senior Class will meeting on Monday, September 12th at 2:10 P.M. in room 107.  All Seniors are invited and encouraged to attend.  This big year of events, we hope to see you there to help with the planning.

Class of 2011 Yearbook Supplements

If you purchased a yearbook for the Class of 2011, a supplement to that yearbook is now available for pick up at the main office. Siblings of graduates may pick up supplements with a written note from the parent. Supplements must be signed for to ensure proper distribution. If you know someone that graduated in the year 2011 please pass this information along to them.

Senior College Planning Evening for Parents: Wednesday, September 28 from 7:00-9:00 PM in the Plymouth North High School Auditorium

The Plymouth High Schools' Guidance Departments (North and South) are inviting parents/guardians of our seniors to a combined College Planning Information Meeting on September 28th, 2011, from 7:00-9:00 PM, at the Plymouth North High School Auditorium.

This will be an excellent opportunity for you to learn how the guidance counselors are assisting students through the application/admissions process. Also, we will share helpful information to guide you, as you assist them in this challenging process.  The final year of high school can be both exciting and stressful. Working closely together will ensure a more productive and positive experience for seniors and parents!

Since the counselors have already met with students last year, and we are presenting a "College Application Process" workshop in senior classes this fall, we have designed this evening program specifically for parents/guardians.

Should you be unable to attend, please be aware of the following:

1. Transcript Requests are due in the Guidance Office two weeks prior to the application deadline set by the college.

2. NCAA Clearinghouse Applications are required to play Division I or II sports in college. Students who intend to play a collegiate sport should see their counselor and got to www.ncaa.org.

3. CSS Profiles (financial aid forms) are required for those students planning to apply to private colleges that require them; go to www.collegeboard.com.  

4. Access PNHS and PSHS Guidance Websites via www.plymouth.k12.ma.us for a calendar of events, including SAT exam dates, upcoming financial aid workshop, scholarship information, and informational websites and resource links.

5.  Plymouth High Schools' Annual College Fair, Tuesday, October 18, 2011, 6:00- 8:00 pm; All Cape College Day College Fair, Wednesday, October 19, 3:30-5:30 pm; Financial Aid Night, Wed., Nov.16, 7:00-9:00 pm; Local Scholarship Evening /Senior Parents Night, March TBD, 7-8 pm.

The Guidance Department looks forward to seeing parents of seniors on September 28th. Please save the date on your calendar!

Unified Arts Department News:

We are happy to welcome Michael Caple as our new Unified Arts Director. Mr. Caple and his wife live in Plymouth with their two children, and he was the former Art Director for the Franklin School District.  In addition to Mr. Caple we have 7 new additions to the Unified Arts Department they are:

Lea Hodgkins, Music Teacher - Plymouth South Middle School  
Brandon Coon, Choral Director - Plymouth South High School
Justin Canzano, Band Director - Plymouth South High School
Elyse Robbins, Visual Art Teacher - Cold Spring Elementary and West Elementary
Jennifer McCarthy, Visual Art Teacher - Nathanial Morton Elementary

Andrew Shaw, Music Teacher - Hedge Elementary and Indian Brook Elementary
Sarah Cristani, Visual Art - South Elementary

This weekend the High School Band will be performing at tonight's PSHS football game and they will be performing the National Anthem at the 9/11 Memorial Dedication near Quintal's Market  on South Spooner St., North Plymouth at 9:30 Sunday morning.

We have relocated to a new office space at Plymouth Community Intermediate School and our new phone number is 508-830-4469 - we look forward to hearing from you.

We have lots exciting events to see and hear during the year, be sure to check Friday Notes for upcoming events.