Good morning and welcome to a new work week!  This is a very important week at MHS as Tuesday and Wednesday mark our annual MCAS testing in mathematics for all sophomores.  As this is a high-stakes test that is a prerequisite for graduation, we do everything to ensure that the school has the best possible environment for test taking.  If your child is a sophomore, please ensure that he/she has a good night's sleep and has eaten a nutritious breakfast.  These common sense measures go a long way in ensuring success.

Second, as we prepare to graduate the Class of 2011, it is imperative that seniors who need to do so file their attendance appeals by Tuesday, May 31; this is prior to the students receiving their final report card. Teachers will be talking with their students who are in jeopardy of losing credit the week of May 23, but I also suggest that your sons and daughters seek out this information as well from their teachers.  For the chart of absences and credit loss please refer to the student handbook.  Appeals will be determined in time for the administration to finalize the graduation list on Tuesday, June 7.

Have a great week!

Cordially,

Dr. Joseph Maruszczak

Principal 

Back row, l to r:  Catherine Hamel, Walter Xu, Noah Kane, Kayla Allen, and Melissa Kirejczyk; front row, l to r: Andrea Lahlum, Amanda Zieselman, Lexie Raczka, and Nicole Fontes; Insert photo: Erin Bruno

The MHS Administration and Guidance Department have recently released the top ten students of the Class of 2011.  Based upon the cummulative GPA after three and two-thirds years, these students are the top of 383 students (the largest class to ever graduate MHS).  In addition to being individually recognized at Class Day ceremonies on June 9, these students will be honored at a special breakfast by the United Chamber of Commerce on May 20 and a lunch by the Mansfield Rotary Club on May 24.

The valedictorian of the class is Walter Xu, who will be attending Cornell University in the fall.  The salutatorian of the class is Amanda Zielseman, who will be attending Dartmouth College in the fall. 

The other students in the top ten (alphabetically, followed by their college of enrollment this fall) are:  Kayla Allen (Wheaton College), Erin Bruno (Boston University), Nicole Fontes (Boston College), Catherine Hamel (Notre Dame University), Noah Kane (Northwestern University), Melissa Kirejczyk (Northeastern University), Andrea Lahlum (Smith College), and Alexandra Raczka (Dickinson College).

Congratulations to these outstanding students!

The Mansfield High School Percussion Ensemble is currently in the running for a $5000 grant from the Boston Herald's Bandemonium competition. This ensemble has seen a great deal of competitive success in the past few years and continues to need financial support to reach their goals. The Bandemonium competition is an opportunity provided by the Boston Herald and Ernie Boch Jr.'s Music Drives Us foundation. Local school music programs in Massachusetts have an opportunity to compete for this grant and the MHS Percussion Ensemble is getting their chance between May 18 and 23. All you have to do is go online to the Boston Herald website by clicking on the link at the end of this article during those dates and click on the "thumbs-up" to vote for the percussion ensemble. This is the toughest round of voting and we need all of the votes that we can get. Please support our program by voting for the MHS Percussion Ensemble, and please vote often! Thanks for all of your support! Here is the link:
http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/general/view.bg?articleid=1337005.

Last spring, the MHS All-Sports Boosters won a $5,000 grant from Liberty Mutual's Responsible Sports Program thanks to parental and community support. This spring, the Boosters and the Gridiron Club are working together to win the grant, and they need your help! It's easy, it's free, and takes just a few minutes of your time - just take a short quiz on the Liberty Mutual website and credit your points to the Gridiron Club. The top six organizations in the country will win. Please visit the Boosters' website for more details:  www.mansfieldboosters.org

Right now, Mansfield is #15 in all schools, if we get 175 more people to take the test below we can break into the top 6 and win.  Help us today!