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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 regular meeting of the Plymouth School Committee will be Monday, April 1, 2013. School Committee meetings are held at Plymouth Community Intermediate School in the Little Theatre. Meetings begin at 7:00 p.m.
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Weekly quote:
"Teach your children by what you are, not just by what you say."
- Jane Revell & Susan Norman
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News from the Visual and Performing Arts Department
Federal Furnace Elementary music and art collaboration
"The Moldau" is a piece of music about a river and its journey. The students listened to the piece of music in music class and brainstormed what they imagined was happening in the music. They did a short writing piece and then used that to create art work in the art room. This collaborative work was created by Kathy McMinn, Music Teacher at Federal Furnace Elementary and Lisa Whynott, Art Teacher at Federal Furnace Elementary.
http://youtu.be/c-toKPEGZHw
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/c-toKPEGZHw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
High School Musical performances tonight and tomorrow, don't miss it!
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Manomet Elementary School News
Manomet Elementary School is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year, and we are looking for staff or student alumni who may have memorabilia from years gone by. If you are interested in sharing a memory of the good ole days with a classroom or making a donation to our memory box, please contact our principal, Dr. Fraine @ pfraine@plymouth.k12.ma.us. You may also call the school @508-830-4380. Donations should be sent to the school no later than April 11. If you are interested in volunteering your time, or mingling with other alumni, our celebration assembly will take place on April 12th from 1-3pm.
4th graders @MES designed Leprechaun Traps, using simple machines, as part of their science curriculum. The students had fun creating inventive ways of trapping an unsuspecting leprechaun. Many used gold to entice the little guys. The students had the late afternoon on Friday to show the school community how their traps worked. They were able to take their traps home and try their luck there!
Chloe Baker entices her Leprechaun with Lucky Charms!
Donovan Baker is ready to set the trap!
Dylan Zemotel developed a trap door.
Lillian Robertson and Emma George show off their hard work!
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Cold Spring Elementary School News
Plymouth was well represented at the regional Destination Imagination tournament in Whitman-Hanson Saturday. Cold Spring School and Manomet Elementary sent a total of 15 teams to the rally--the most from any regional district. Teams all competed with an "Instant Challenge" and a "Central Challenge" that they have been working on for several months. Mrs. Hillman and Dr. Fraine's team from Cold Spring took home third place ribbons. Juliette Trask's team from Manomet finished 3rd as well. This program, which promotes creative problem solving and critical thinking, is facilitated by parent coaches. We appreciate their time and support. The students worked hard, had fun, and learned valuable lessons about working on a team.
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Hedge Elementary School News
Hedge School is awarded the ExxonMobil's Educational Alliance Program Five Hundred Dollar Grant
Shan Muhammad, Manager at the VERC Commerce Way Mobil, nominated Hedge School for the annual ExxonMobil Educational Alliance Program. The program awards grants to promote math and science, which "enriches students' lives, creates future opportunities and strengthens the educational fabric within the schools themselves." On March 22, 2013, Shan awarded Hedge School a five hundred dollar check to use toward materials and programming in Math and Science. This is the second time in three years Shan awarded Hedge School with the grant. We cannot thank him and ExxonMobil enough for their continued support!
On Tuesday, March 12th, the Hedge School Wellness Club organized a special breakfast to celebrate National Breakfast Week. Thanks to Mrs. Kneeland, our cafeteria manager, we had a large variety of fruits, entrees and other delicious breakfast foods to choose from. Some of the healthy breakfast items were: grapes, bananas, cheese/egg omelets, whole grain muffins, juices, cereals and low fat milk.
Wellness Club members decorated the cafeteria with Fuel Up to Play 60 posters and some posters of their own design. They shared ideas about how to eat healthy and the importance of playing at least 60 minutes a day to stay fit. The breakfast was well attended by Hedge children with over 60 children joining in the fun. We look forward to other FUTP60 activities this spring!
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Federal Furnace Elementary School NewsFederal Furnace Fifth Graders Have Been Busy! Leprechaun Traps On March 15, 2013, the 5th grade students at Federal Furnace showed their St. Patty's Day spirit by designing and building some incredible leprechaun traps. All of this tied into a technology unit in Science. Each student had to build a trap using Simple Machines. They all followed the Design Process, starting with a simple diagram, and ending with a marvelous trap. Parents and other students were invited to see these masterpieces. Now we are certain that there are NO leprechauns lurking at Federal Furnace School! By: Cydney Adams, Fifth Grade Student          Pi Day On March 14, 2013, the 5th grade classes at Federal Furnace celebrated Pi Day. Pi Day is a day of celebration for Math Enthusiasts everywhere. Even ancient Egyptians and Babylonians knew about Pi and that it is a never ending number. On the fourteenth of March, the fifth graders did activities that had to do with learning about 3.14. First, they learned that a circle was divided by its diameter, the result will always equal about 3.14 or Pi. Lastly, the classes all ate real pie and had a great time learning about Math Pi! By: Cydney Adams, Fifth Grade Student
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Nathaniel Morton Elementary School NewsNMES is celebrating a month of Math Madness in March. Highlighting the focus was the annual K-2 Family Math Night which took place on 3.14 (what a perfect Math date!) Over 100 students and their families were involved with activities that focused on various standards of Math such as Patterns, Probability and Number...and don't forget fun! The activities were organized by staff and many National Honor Society student volunteers from PNHS. Students also used their Math skills toward a great cause in a service learning opportunity to help peer-aged students as a combined $4000 was raised in their participation in St. Jude's Math-a-thon. Students were sponsored based on how many math problems they could solve during a one week period. The monies raised were donated to St. Jude's Hospital for Children. Many thanks to Assistant Principal Chris Morgan for organizing. Finally, each day in March students have been greeted with a problem of the day. The topics cover all areas of Math including some logic or creative thinking problems. Student participation has been strong and some classrooms have asked for it to continue past March. We'll have to see how to factor that into the equation of their day.   
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South Elementary School News
World Famous Zoologists
Fourth grade teacher, Mrs. O'Neil has enhanced her animal adaptation science unit over the past two years using some of the great lessons and resources at ARKive.org.
ARKive Education has free presentations, activities and teacher notes on a variety of subjects including science, geography, English and art. It is also packed full of links to amazing wildlife photos, videos and fact files for student research.
After a study of physical and behavior adaptations, students investigated animals that live in specific habitats that they were assigned. They noted features that allowed the species to find food, escape predators and survive weather conditions. They used this information to design their own species with two behavioral and three physical adaptations and create a model of it in its habitat.
To document their learning they worked to create a script for a screencast to highlight the features on their newly discovered species. This year we used the Explain Everything app on the iPad. With the help of parent, Mrs. Romano, this worked very well! Using pictures taken with the iPad of their animal models, they recorded audio while annotating the special features of the animal. The app also allowed for an easy upload to YouTube for sharing.
Please check out these amazing new species discovered by our own "World Famous Zoologists" on our South Elementary's YouTube channel:
Click here for the YouTube channel!
To learn more about the project please click this link!
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PSMS NewsSharing & Giving Olivia Slayton, a 6th grade student in Mrs. Lybarger's class recently won $125 for her second place finish in the VFW Patriot Pen Essay Contest. This week, Olivia presented Mrs. Lybarger with a $75 check as a donation to the PSMS Relay for Life community service project in support of the American Cancer Society. Thanks to Olivia for her generosity and sense of community and for serving as a positive role model at PSMS!  Cover Story The winner of the Plymouth Public Schools Budget Book Art Contest was PSMS's own Emily Kunkle! Her entry was selected to be on the cover of the book, which will be distributed at the Annual Town Meeting in April. Emily, a 6th grade student in Mrs. Adelmann's class, will be honored along with several other winners at an upcoming School Committee Meeting. Congratulations to Emily for a job well done!  Stepping Out on St. Patrick's Day In addition to wearing green and serving corned beef, PSMS has been treated to another St. Patrick's Day tradition. For the fourth consecutive year, Vanessa Townsend, now an 8th grader has performed for the student body, entertaining them at lunch. Dressed in full costume and accompanied by her friend, Maggie Nicholls, Vanessa has demonstrated her step dancing skills since she was in the 5th grade. Vanessa has enjoyed performing for her fellow students as much as they have enjoyed watching this talented young lady. Now that Vanessa will be moving on to high school, we will miss her enthusiastic performances. Vanessa, thank you for a wonderful four years!  Career Day The Fifth Annual PSMS Career Day was once again a success. Students in 7th and 8th grade were visited by twenty-one professionals from Plymouth and surrounding communities. Some of the career topics included; medical, finance, small business, politics, media/broadcasting, education, art, music, jewelry-making, law/criminal justice, dog training, marketing, culinary, automotive, cosmetology and engineering. Students attended three separate sessions based on their career interests and had the opportunity to interact with the speakers and ask questions about their profession. The speakers shared why they enjoy what they do and what educational background and preparation was required for success. Career Day is part of our overall goal to promote college and career awareness at an early age. Thank you to all of our speakers for their time and expertise.     Comics, iPads & Literacy Ms. Alexandra Grundt, our Library/Media Specialist has been working closely with our 5th and 6th grade students and staff this year around literacy and the use of technology. Ms. Grundt recently did a lesson with Mrs. Anderson's 6th grade class introducing them to the new iPad cart. Using story boards for a comic strip, the students learned how to take photos using the iPad and how to create folders and albums. The students were asked to sign Student Agreement Contracts and were very excited to learn about the iPads and how they can be used to create their comic strips. Ms. Grundt's lesson met the Common Core Writing Standards, the MA Technology Literacy Standards, 21st Century Skills, the MA Visual Arts Curriculum framework as well as the MA Library/Media Curriculum Frameworks. This lesson is just one example of how literacy and technology have become a cultural part of the PSMS learning experience.    
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PCIS NewsThe Math Games This past Friday, Gemini 6 participated in our second Math Tournament of the year. Each homeroom competes in different math categories with five classmates as representatives. The homerooms participants' include the classes of Ms. Campbell, Mrs. Sims, Mrs. Jepson and Ms. Shaw. Each category then has five questions for the different homerooms aforementioned. This particular tournament included review questions from our Everyday Math Units 2-4. The particular operations students were asked to solve included problems involving long division, two to three digit multiplication and lastly conversions for fractions, decimals and percentages. Students were provided with whiteboards to aide in solving problems. When students finished solving they rang a bell to indicate they had finished the problem. The students look forward to the event and showed unbelievable sportsmanship and enthusiasm for all homerooms included. The event is a lot of competitive fun. Students brought signs saying things like "Keep Quiet, We're thinking." "Bring the Noise" and signs encouraging their friends and homeroom. Ms. Campbell, Ms. Shaw, Mrs. Jepson and Mrs. Sims were very proud of students' excitement for math and hope to hold the tournament sometime again in the near future and review our Math Language and Geometry skills!    
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Plymouth North High School News
NHS Minute to Win It
PNHS National Honor Society held a Minute to Win It competition on Thursday February 28. Twenty
two teams of two competed and the first place team were seniors, Ariel Gaspar & Bridget Guiney. Taking Second Place was the senior team of C.J. Porter and Riley Woolson. In third and fourth place respectively were junior Tommy Duddy playing with sophomore Jack Decoste and sophomores Will Durant and Chris Surdam. It was a very fun and competitive evening. Many thanks to the NHS committee for coordinating such a great event.
Congratulations to the Plymouth North High School Dance Team
The Plymouth North High School Dance team made it to the Regional competition for the first time in the team's history. Congratulations to the girls for placing 6th Saturday, March 9th at the Braintree High School Regional competition.
Plymouth North Fashion Show
The Plymouth North Class of 2014 presented its annual Junior Prom Fashion Show on Thursday, March 21st at 7:00 P.M. in the Plymouth North High School Performing Arts Center. The event was highly successful with over 200 guests in attendance.
The show had fashion, flair, a little comedy, music for the young and old, door prizes and of course, dancing.
Emcees Pat Fey and Emily McDonald, made the event fun and definitely entertaining.
Thanks to all who attended for supporting the Class of 2014.
"How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying"
The Plymouth High Schools' joint musical production,
"How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying",
will be presented on Friday, March 22nd at 8 PM
and Saturday, March 23rd at 2 PM
in the Plymouth North High School Performing Arts Center.
Tickets are $8 for Students/seniors and $10 for Adults, and can be purchased at the door before each performance, or in advance from any cast member, or during designated times at our box offices. Please call 508-591-0894 for more information on advanced ticket orders.
South Shore Regional Science Fair
On Saturday, March 9, 2013, Plymouth students competed at the South Shore Regional Science Fair held at Bridgewater State University. The following students participated in the fair.
PNHS
Sophia Auduong
Ashley Gilligan
Karen Marquis
Jessica Morgan
Rachel Pereira
Diana Riordan
Sydney Silva
Hunter Simard
Emily Whynott
- Jessica Morgan PNHS 1st Place and South Shore Regional Science Fair Top Scoring Project
- Karen Marquis PNHS 2nd Place and South Shore Natural Science Center Award
- Sophia Auduong PNHS 3rd Place
Also, Jessica Morgan was selected to attend this year's International Science Fair in Phoenix, AZ from May 12-17. As the top scoring project in Region V Jessica will represent the region and the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair organizations.
 
However, the next event to be held is the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair. This fair will be held May 2-4 at MIT. Participants to the state fair will include:
Sophia Auduong PNHS
Karen Marquis PNHS
Jessica Morgan PNHS
As mentioned above, the International Fair will be held the week after the state fair. Jessica Morgan will be attending.
PNHS New York Model United Nations
Twenty four Plymouth North students attended the New York Model United Nations from Wednesday, March 6th through Saturday, March 9th. Students represented the country of Antigua-Barbuda and worked in committees to come up with resolutions on real international issues. There were over 3,000 students attending the conference from all parts of the world and nation. The Plymouth North students represented our school well as students were attentive, engaged and respectful. In addition to the conference the group visited the 9/11 memorial on Thursday morning.
Eagle 5K
Student Nicole Borofski, for her Senior Project, organized a 5K race. If you are interested in running at this event see the information below.
Sunday March 24th 2013
Start time:10:00 am
Plymouth North High School Track
Registration starts at 8:30 am ( on site registration - 30.00)
All Proceeds go to the Chad Kierstead Memorial Foundation
Mass-DECA Career Development Conference
PNHS DECA students attended the Career Development Conference in Boston this past weekend and we are excited with the overall outcome of the event. Fourteen of our students have earned a trip to Anaheim, California the week after April vacation. We are so proud of our wonderful, hardworking DECA competitors.
The following is a list of the winners:
- Vicky Gilmore and Anna Colbert, 1st place, Hospitality and Tourism Team Decision Making
- Sarah Liskov and Ryan Boudreau, 4th place, Hospitality and Tourism Team Decision Making
- Will DiGravio, Shawn Westcott, and Ben Pieroni, First Place, Entrepreneurship Innovation Project
- Kiley Schranze, Catherine Achille, and Nicole Varasso, Fashion Merchanding Promotion Plan, 3rd Place
- Matt Moore, Marketing Management Series, 1st place
- Leif Burgess, Calvin Ellis and Frank Gomes, Virtual Business Restaurant and Virtual Business Dollars and Cents.
 
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Plymouth South High School News
 With March being Youth Arts Month, we hope everyone gets a chance to stop by the lobby and enjoy the fantastic artwork by some of our talented students.
On Wednesday, March 13th the following students attended workshops at the Old Colony YMCA's Annual Youth Conference at Bridgewater State University. Sara Schlecht, Kaitlyn Galbreath, Colin Harty, Shane Mulligan, Kevin Fournier, Caroline Gallagher, Ashley Gallardo, Alec Vozzella, Alexis LaForest, Timothy Cosseboom, Lexi Armfield, Kelsie Gagner, Anthony Schena, Dylan Oxsen, Shaun Duncombe, Brendan Harty, Sam Bazarewsky, Emily Belcher, Julia Daly, Bri Fragata, Lexy Halpin, Christina Jaros, Dylan Finlay, Drew Guadagno, Ryan Harty, Jessica Holland, Vanessa Tirrell, Emily Kelly, Makayla McShane, and Alana Barnes. The Old Colony Y designed this event to be a day of learning and empowerment for high school students, where they could have an opportunity to meet other students their age and discuss the issues they often face in their day-to-day lives. The day consisted of a keynote speaker, workshops, lunch and a resource fair. Our students attended workshops on Anti-Bullying, Team Building and Be the One.
Thirteen Marketing students have qualified to compete at the International Career and Development Conference in Anaheim, California April 23rd-27th.
Jameson Giamo - 2nd place and Mike Flohr - 4th place in Professional Selling.
Kristen Eckman and Amanda Ward - 4th place for Fashion Merchandising Promotion Plan
Shannon Anzuoni - 2nd place and Shelby Arnold and Rachel LaFountain - 4th place in Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan.
Alex Hunt, Liam McKee, and Devin Messenger - 4th place for Entrepreneurship Promotion Project.
Carley Fernandes, Sara Schlecht, and Max Stephens - Gold level re-certification for School-Based Enterprise.
The following students placed in the Top 10 in their areas of competition:
Carley Fernandes, Steve Kennedy, Sara Schlecht, the team of Drew Guadagno, Ryan Harty, and Chase Reed, the team of Katie Buker, Andrew Creed, and Kyle Nickerson, and the team of Haley Cannucci and Nicole Dzengeleski.
Congratulations to all!
On March 2nd, the PSHS Drama Club went to Bourne High School to participate in the METG High School Drama Festival, an annual state-wide competition. The following students performed the one-act comedy "The Auditioners" under the direction of Ms. Debra Greene. Maddy Arnold, Sam Cheung, Sienna Condon, Greg Costello, Quinn Darling, Jason Davies, Tim Faucett, Jeff Forte, Brian Garrard, Marisa Kanter, Chantal Mackiernan, Margaret Mori, Shervin Radfar, Kyle Richard, Anthony Schena, and Alex Swiniarski. Though PSHS did not advance to the next round, four students received recognition awards for their acting achievements: Sam Cheung '13, Jeff Forte '13, Kyle Richard '14, and Anthony Schena '14.
Last Friday at the SkillsUSA District Competition, 26 students from both Plymouth North and Plymouth South received awards. There were seven schools and over 500 students who participated in this year's competition.
Congratulations to the following medalists:
Bronze Medals
Cameron Pejouhy -Automotive Service Technology
Ryley Carroll - Computer Programming
Katt Dupuis - Cosmetology Under 500 Hours
Caitlyn Hynes - Photography
Jason Waters - Power Equipment Technology
Emaleigh Ferguson - Restaurant Service
Team of Adam DeBenedictis & Travis Lovell - Digital Cinema Productions
Silver Medals
Kyle Richard - Advertising Design
Katelin Geller - Commercial Baking
Kelsey Firth - Cosmetology Under 500 Hours
Ryan Burgess - Culinary Arts
Brianna Maloney - Nurse Assisting
Jessica Whiting - Photography
Chris Holland - Electrical Wiring Construction
Daniel Tighe - Industrial Motor Control
Team of Drew Webster & Ryan Gagne Mobil Robotics
Jackson McAdams - Welding Sculpture
Gold Medals
Julia Daily - Restaurant Service
Sidney Silva - Medical Terminology
Team of Dominick Colangelo & Jason Davies - Mobil Robotics
John Germain - Welding Sculpture
In addition to the medal winners, Aidan Mulligan and Patricia Backlund have been chosen to run for SkillsUSA Massachusetts State Executive Council
PROJECT 351 WINTER CLOTHING DRIVE!
Help your neighbors, save valuable space, have fun with your kids, and get a tax deduction for donating used winter clothing!!!! In support of Cradles to Crayons Foundation, a PSMS student is teaming up with Plymouth's premier indoor playground facility to collect good, used winter coats, boots, and other cold weather gear to help families in need. As the 2013 Ambassador to Massachusetts Project 351, Plymouth South Middle School 8th grader Makena Rivera-Concannon was challenged to organize a community benefit initiative through Project 351 "Spring Greening" Program. With help from local business owner Debby Carroll of Imagination Island, Makena hopes to help a lot of kids and families stay warm next winter by making it easy, fun, and even tax deductible to drop off clothing donations between Monday April 1st and Friday April 5th at Imagination Island, 12 Resnik Road (near Colony Place) in Plymouth. Besides doing something good for your community and local families in need, you save storage space, get a tax deductible receipt for your donation, and discount admission to the South Shore's premier indoor kid playground and party destination - Imagination Island!
Please help kids and families stay warm next winter! It can be easy, fun, and even tax deductible! Drop off clothing donations between Monday April 1st and Friday April 5th at Imagination Island, 12 Resnik Road in Plymouth.
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Guidance Announcement
2013-14 Course Selection Process
The course selection process for current grade 8-11 students is underway. The steps for selecting courses are fairly simple. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child's guidance counselor.
Counselors have presented and distributed the Program of Study booklets to students in groups.
Core academic subject teachers have inputted their core course recommendations for their students as well.
Counselors are now meeting individually with students (up through early April) to review the student's course selections and the teacher course recommendations. The counselor and student complete the Course Request Sheet together, including course numbers, names, levels, and credits. Students are expected to be fully scheduled into 35 credits. Please note that students do not always get their first choice of electives. Priority is given by grade level, with seniors first. Every attempt will be made to find a related elective. Students should indicate alternate course choices on the form.
The form then goes home for parental review and approval. If your student is considering taking a different course level from the teacher's recommendation, we recommend the student discuss it with the parent and then to contact the teacher in order to get his or her perspective. If the student still wants to change the level then the parents need to complete a Course Override Form (available through the guidance counselor).
Return the completed Course Request Sheet (signed by student and parent) to the Guidance Department.
In June, before the end of the school year, students will receive a confirmation sheet of the courses they have requested which will include course titles, number of credits and and course level.
Final schedules with teacher and period assignments are handed out on the first day of school.
Please contact your child's guidance counselor if you have any questions.
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Gary E. Maestas, Ed.D Superintendent
Plymouth Public Schools
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