The Mansfield High School community lost a great friend, coach, and mentor this weekend with the passing of Coach Al DeSimone, the founder and president of the Mansfield Gridiron Club.  He was 81 years old.

Coach DeSimone served as a volunteer assistant coach for the football team for over 19 years. He made a dramatic difference in the lives of many young men who have played in the highly successful program. He will be missed by so many in our community.  A wonderful tribute to Coach written by the Mansfield Patch's Mike Hardman may be found here.

Calling hours will be from 4:00-8:00 pm on Tuesday at the Bolea-Amici Funeral Home, 115 North Main Street.  The funeral will be at 9:00 am at St. Mary's Church on Wednesday.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Mansfield Gridiron Club towards a scholarship in Al's name, PO Box 481, Mansfield, MA 02048.

All MHS parents should realize that the next two weeks will be busy for all students.  Here's just some of the highlights:

Wed., 5/25- National Honor Society Induction Ceremony, 7:00 pm

Thurs., 5/26- MCAS Biology Review, 6-8 pm, for all interested freshmen and sophomores NOT in a bio section this trimester.  If interested for your child, please email Science Department Chair Janet Hogan.

Tues., 5/31- Senior Final Exams Begin.  The senior exam schedule can be found on the MHS website.

Wed., 6/1 and Thurs., 6/2- Reverse Half Days- Biology MCAS Testing in the morning for ALL freshmen and sophomores (they come to school at the regular time); All juniors and seniors arrive at 10:30 am.

More information on the above, including the schedule for all Senior Week activities, may be found at the MHS website.

The Senior All Night Party is scheduled for Friday, June 3rd from 12:00 midnight to 5:00am Saturday morning (check-in starts Friday night at 11:30pm).  This is the first year the Senior All Night Party will be held at the Foxboro YMCA.  Permission forms were sent to all seniors and are due back by Wednesday May 25th.  Additional copies of the permission form can be obtained in the MHS Main Office.

Additionally, the All Night Party committee is seeking volunteers for the night of the event.  Parents of juniors are needed during the event to pass out food and help with chaperoning - this is a great way to see what is involved with planning the event for your soon to be seniors. Parents of seniors are also needed to help with set-up and take-down.  If you are interested in helping out, please email Lisa Buron at lisa.buron@mansfieldschools.com.

Attention all parents of those girls interested in playing hockey as an interscholastic sport next year:  The next meeting with MHS Athletic Director Joe Russo to discuss next steps will be Thursday, May 26 in the MHS Library at 6:00 pm.  At this meeting, parents from Oliver Ames (our potential co-op partner) will also be present.