Good morning, and a happy March to all of you!  Let's hope that weather-wise, this month is more of a lamb than a lion!

 

I would like to share with you the remaining half days until the end of the academic year so you may appropriately plan.  They are:

March 12, March 19, April 5, May 14, and May 27 (all for teacher professional development). There will also be half days on March 19, June 21, and June 22 (to administer exams at the end of the 2nd and 3rd trimesters).  Also, the annual spring Parent-Teacher Conferences will be Thursday, April 29 from 12:00-2:30 pm and 6:30-8:30 pm. Students will be dismissed early on this day. I realize that the original school calendar had this day delineated as March 11, but it was moved due to the fact that the date was so close to the conclusion of the 2nd trimester (March 19).

 

Finally, I'd like to congratulate all of our winter sports teams on having such successful seasons!  Particularly noteworthy are the performances of the boys' indoor track team (state champions!) and girls' indoor track team (second in the state).  The MHS Gymnastics Team battles for the state championship this Wednesday night.  Both the girls' and boys' basketball teams are progressing nicely through the MIAA Division I South Tournament, and will appear in the semifinals in games tonight and tomorrow night.  I had the pleasure of being at Saturday night's boys' hoop game, an amazing 71-67 win over arch-rival Franklin.  Never, ever have I seen such a thrilling high school game and such a strong sense of school and community pride from the 1200 Hornet fans packing the gymnasium.  Wow! 

 

Have a great week!

 

Dr. Joseph Maruszczak

Principal

The Mansfield High School Percussion Ensemble and Color Guard are both off to great starts to their 2010 competitive seasons. The color guard recently won first place in their division at the Dartmouth High School Competition on February 20th. The percussion ensemble came in second in their division. This is the percussion group's first year as a marching percussion ensemble. In the last three years, the percussion program has been named a world-class silver medalist and has brought home two world championship titles at the Winter Guard International World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. The MHS Percussion Ensemble and Color Guard competed this past Sunday at Blackstone-Millville Regional High School. Come and support these two groups on Saturday March 20th in the MHS gym at 2 pm when they host the New England Scholastic Band Association for one of the biggest competitions in the state!

The MHS Guidance Office is pleased to announce that local scholarship applications are now available to the Class of 2010.  Information and applications can be picked up in the guidance office or downloaded from the guidance website(www.mansfieldschools.com/guidance).  Please be mindful of all deadline dates and required information for each scholarship - not all requirements are the same!

In addition to the local scholarships, all seniors should be checking their Naviance accounts for national scholarship opportunities.  Any information MHS receives about scholarship opportunities is posted under the "scholarship" tab in Naviance. 

 
For students in grades 6 - 12, Rockland Trust is sponsoring the 2010 National Volunteer Week Essay Contest.  Differing denominations of savings bonds will be awarded to six winners of the essay contest.  This year's topic is "Volunteers - Build A Better World."  Essays must be received by April 5, 2010.  Please come to the guidance office to pick up an application.

The Citizens' Scholarship Foundation of Mansfield will hold their next monthly meeting on Tuesday
March 9, 2010 at the Mansfield High School.  CSF is a nonprofit organization of volunteers from the community which raises funds to provide scholarships to the students of Mansfield.   Last June, CSF awarded approximately $45,000 in college scholarships to high school seniors and college
re-applicants from Mansfield at the annual Scholarship Awards Night.

CSF conducts successful fundraising endeavors, including Holiday Window Painting, direct mail campaigns, Walkway to the Future and recycling through "Got Books".

Our organization is seeking additional members and with new ideas.  We welcome anyone interested in knowing more about our efforts.  CSF invites interested residents to become involved in this
worthwhile endeavor.  Meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month during the school year, at the Mansfield High School at 6:30 p.m. in room 243.  Please join us on March 9, 2010!  Everyone is
welcome.  Feel free to contact us by email at csf@mansfieldschools.com for more information.