Express
 
Plymouth Public Schools- Weekly News
November 22, 2013
Vol.#6   No. #12   
District Events 
If you would like to see a calendar of all our district events, please click on the link below.
 
Voyager Magazine
If you would like to download the Voyager Magazine's Spring/ Summer 2013 edition,
click on the link below.

 
If you would like a hard copy of the magazine, please stop by my office at 253 South Meadow Road.
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Introducing Voyager Express

 
 Over the past 5 years, the Plymouth Public Schools has sent out a weekly newsletter. We've also released the first edition (Spring/ Summer) of the Plymouth Voyager, a magazine intended to highlight in-depth news from around the district. I have decided to integrate the Friday newsletter, formerly known as Friday Notes, as a sister publication of the Plymouth Voyager and reintroduce it as the - Voyager Express. Please Enjoy.

 

 

Science News
Club Invention is coming to Plymouth this summer!  This program will run for just one action-packed week only.  Each day, children will work in teams as they rotate between four fun thematic modules.  Each module brings new challenges to build upon what was learned the previous day.  Your child will:
-collaborate to build prototypes, following the example of National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees;
-upcycle and re-engineer with gears and gadgets, developing critical-thinking skills and creativity; and
-explore STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) enrichment, motivating a group to develop solutions to real-world problems.  
 
The program will run for one week only at PCIS, July 7-11, 2014, from 9:00 am - 3:30 pm each day.  Students entering grades 1-6 are eligible.  The cost of this program is $245.

To register, follow this link:   http://bit.ly/1a4SucU.

For more information, check out http://clubinventionne.org.

Contact Alison Riordan, Science Curriculum Coordinator with questions.
508-830-4477 or ariordan@plymouth.k12.ma.us


High School Science Fair
The 2014 Plymouth Public Schools High School Science Fair is being held on 
Tuesday, February 11, 2014 at Plymouth North High School.  As in the past, this year's science fair will showcase the talent of high school students in science and technology/engineering from both Plymouth North and Plymouth South High Schools.


Volunteers play a critical component in the success of this annual event.  If you are interested in volunteering (e.g., judges, hallway assistance) please click here.  

If the link does not work, please copy and paste this into a web browser

Please note that most volunteers are needed between the hours of 4:00 pm and 6:30 pm.  Volunteers are also invited to the awards celebration following judging.

 

 

 

 


Visual and Performing Arts News
 

 

 

Tonight! The Plymouth North High School's Drama Club will be presenting Rumors on Friday, November 22 and Saturday, November 23 at 7pm at the Plymouth North High School Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $8.00 and can be purchased at the door the night of the shows.

The University of Massachusetts Marching Band, which includes Sara Amell, Francis Schulze, Kathleen Normile, James Shetler, Katie Ozelius, and Kelley Brennan from the town of Plymouth, was chosen this year to march in the morning parade.

    While the band has marched in three Presidential Inaugural Parades, this year marks their first appearance in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is broadcast all over the world.

With nearly 400 members, the UMass Marching Band is the largest collegiate marching band in the northeast and has had the honor of winning the Sudler Trophy, which is the highest honor a college marching band can receive.

 

 

News from the Elementary Library Media Specialists
 

 
Looking for some resources to support the John F. Kennedy memorial activities taking place this month?  Take a look at some of these "This Day in History" sites as well as some others focused on J.F.K..

 

 

 

... John F. Kennedy Library and Museum · Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum · Nixon Presidential Materials · Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum ...
Federal Furnace Elementary School News

 

 
Fourth grade students in Ms. Martin's class used their creativity to inspire their persuasive writing. They made unique turkey creations at home and then wrote persuasive essays in attempt to save their special turkey from the 'chopping block' on Thanksgiving. Students will share their essays and vote on the most convincing early next week. Gobble, gobble, and good luck!







 

 
West Elementary School News
  
The students in Mrs. Haynes' and Miss Reid's classes completed an animal unit of study. Students completed detailed reports and compiled their information into creative products, such as mobiles, paper mache characters, dioramas, puppets, and clay sculptures. Both classes presented their projects to their peers.
 
 
 

 

  

Grade 2 is disguising Turkeys, and looking at Wampum patterns, and giving thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 West students giving thanks!

 

 

 

Honoring our Veterans!!




PCIS News
 
The Mercury Gold 7th Grade Team at PCIS recently held an award ceremony in the Little Theater to recognize student achievement for term 1.  Team teachers presented "Gold Stars"  to Ryan Lamele and Kaitlin Kiley for high academic achievement, to Brian Maddock for his diligent work ethic, to Andrew Bilodeau for amazing kindness and to Rebecca Holmes for outstanding team spirit!  Mr. Paladino and Mrs. Madden also presented certificates to students who read more than 1,000 pages term 1 and became members of the Mercury 1,000+ Page Club.  Forty-six (46) gold team members reached our 1,000 Page Club for term 1 and collectively  read 84,115 pages!!!  The team thanks the PCIS PTA for funding the award certificates.  







Plymouth Community Intermediate School Falcon Pride Students created patriotic postcards for our Senior Veterans. They were delivered to the Senior Center and other nursing homes in the Plymouth area on Veterans day.  This small gesture was in honor of all the service members that gave their time to defend the freedom we enjoy today.  Thank you Veterans!!!





PCIS Students and faculty have been collecting and donating food for our annual PCIS Thanksgiving Food Drive.  Thanks to our generous school community, PCIS will be donating over 40 PCIS food baskets.   Each family will receive a complete turkey dinner, with all the Thanksgiving dinner staples, including a turkey.  These baskets will also include additional an assortment groceries for families that will extend way beyond Thanksgiving.  We are still looking for some items for the baskets.    Thank you to those that have already donated.  Your generosity is overwhelming.  

  1.  

  2. Aluminum Foil

  3. Cereal

  4. Yams

  5. Peanut butter

  6. Jelly

  7. Soup

To get in the Thanksgiving spirit PCIS held it's annual Turkey Trot.  Students and staff from PCIS ran the 1 mile course yesterday to build spirit within the building.  Winners from each grade, and house will have a turkey donated in their name to 1 of the 40 baskets being donated to families in need.  Congratulations to all that came out and supported this great cause.  Keep trotting...

 

 

 

 

In Ranger's 7th grade ELA, the students worked long and hard to write as beautifully and honestly as they could about their lives and the meaningful events that they have experienced.  The students did such an amazing job with their memoirs that Ms. McClintock decided to have a few of them submit their work to be published.  PCIS was lucky enough to have 3 of our students chosen to be published.  Nick Stec, Bret Cole, and Eddie Payzant were all published in a national teen magazine and website called Teenink.

 

Teenink, a national teen magazine and website devoted entirely to teenage writing, art, photos and forums allows students to participate and submit work. It is distributed through classrooms around the country. Teen Ink magazine offers some of the most thoughtful and creative work generated by teens and has the largest distribution of any publication of its kind.  We are very proud of the three young students who have been published by Teenink so far and hope for even more publications in the future!

 
 

PSMS News

 

Write Stuff Stars

Each term, PSMS celebrates student literacy and writing. Teachers submit the names of students who deserve special recognition for a particular piece of writing. This work can be produced in any class and is considered a fine example of written expression. Congratulations to the following students who were recognized this week at the Term 1 Honors Celebration:  

 

Grade 6 - Megan Broderick, Kristina Cote, Connor Cyr, Hannah Eaton, Michael Hanson, Macy Joyce, Hannah Masterson, Holly Parks, Marie St. Germaine

 

Grade 7- Ryan Callahan, Nick Caruso, Delaney Gosse, Kaitlynne Russell, Catherine Tolland, Lucienne Quirk

 

Grade 8 - Ayala Dayan, Colleen Egan, Michelle Mei, Brett Riley, Jake Worrick

 

 

 

 

 

Art Lesson

 

Fifth grade art students measure each other, checking against Leonardo DaVinci's Vitrivian Man formula of Height equals Arm Span.

 

Plymouth South Middle School Grade 6

 

The students of Mrs. Chambers and Mrs. Burkhead's classes recently completed a memoir reading and writing unit in which they focused on how seemingly small moments can be powerful snapshots of our triumphs, challenges, ambitions and personal philosophies. After reading a series of short memoirs written by celebrated authors such as Sandra Cisneros, Ralph Fletcher and Jon Scieszka, students were introduced to some student generated memoirs that were every bit as powerful and well-crafted. As a culminating project students wrote, revised, and developed PhotoStory projects to accommodate their individual memoirs. As a final chapter to the memoir unit, students were challenged to turn the writing process around and rather than developing a detailed snapshot of their memory and feelings, they were asked to sum themselves up in 6 words. The Six word memoir project was an initiative developed by SMITH Magazine in 2006 in which editors challenged everyday people to submit their own Six-Word Memoirs. Since the project's inception Smith magazine has published a number of memoir collections from elementary school to secondary students and beyond.

 

A thank you to Ms. Canevazzi for her creative editing skills, which allowed students the ability to view a motivating video collection of 6 word memoirs generated by students across the country and set to inspirational music. The students were so creative with their own designs that we had them capture their "life's wisdom" on a t-shirt.

 


    

 

Thanksgiving Meals


Student Council collected food in homerooms and put together over 30 boxes of donations for local families. Gift cards for turkeys will also be included in the Thanksgiving baskets. 

  
  

 

 

PNHS News

 

 

Plymouth North High School

Voyager News

Friday, November 22, 2013

 

NHS Induction  National Honor Society inducted 62 new members on Thursday, November 21st.  Becoming a member of NHS requires a rigid application process.  Not only are grades important, but also a commitment to society.  Congratulations to the new members on a job well done.  

The evenings guest speaker was Vice Principal Kevin Farrell, he spoke about his years in education and his challenges in life both personal and professional.  He received a standing ovation for his speech.

A reception was held in the cafeteria immediately following the ceremony.  The reception was catered by the senior members of the National Honor Society.

 























French Exchange Program  The French program is excited to announce that we will be welcoming 21 students from Valbonne (in Provence), France to PNHS during the short week of Thanksgiving, 11/25-11/27. These students will be hosted by 20 PNHS students and their families and will follow their host student's class schedule.   On Monday, November 25th 20 North students will attend a welcome breakfast in the cafeteria with their exchange students.

 

Powder Puff  On Tuesday the Student Council hosted the North Powder Puff game.  We had a great turnout and some exciting match ups.  The first game of the night was between the Juniors and the Freshman.  While the Juniors had offensive possession the majority of the time the Freshman were able to come out victorious in a thrilling upset.  The second game of the night was between the Sophomores and the Seniors.  While the Sophomores put up a good fight they could not contain the speed and skill of the Seniors.   A group of brave teachers participated in a halftime game that was entertaining for all spectators.   The final game was between the Freshman and Seniors.  The Freshman had shown some athleticism and this was set to be an interesting battle.  While they gave it their best effort, the experienced seniors were too much for the Freshman to contain.  The Seniors won by a score of 14-0.  It was a fun night full of energy and school spirit!  Great job to all players and coaches involved.  Class of 2017  Class of 2016  Class of 2015  Class 2014  PNHS Staff

 

Rumors

 












PNHS Senior to Sign Letter of Intent  Congratulations to PNHS senior Brian Christian Jr.  Brian signed a Letter of Intent to play baseball at Northeastern University.

 


Plymouth North Cross Country  Congratulations to Plymouth North sophomore Jordan Callahan for placing 12th in the state championship earning her a spot on the All-State cross country team.  

PNHS Physical Education News

Along with a state of the art Library and Performance Art Center, Plymouth North is equipped with a fully functioning Fitness Center.  During Physical Education, students are given an overview of the safety rules as well as an introduction to each piece of equipment, how it benefits the body, and other important facts.   After students receive their introduction, students work to create a personal fitness plan designed to help achieve their own personal fitness goals. With a variety of machines, benches, cardio equipment, and other tools, every student is bound to find an activity that appeals to them.

We are excited to announce that students will be permitted to use the facility after school hours on their own or with a friend under adult supervision. Students interested in working out after school should stay tuned and check the athletic bulletin board for specific times and days. We are always open to ideas and suggestions on how to offer a variety of opportunities to our students to help them stay fit. Please see your PE teacher if you have something you'd like to offer or share!

 

 

 

 

 

PSHS News

 

 PSHS Pays Tribute to John F. Kennedy



PSHS students Travis Lovell and Alexandra Zoebisch spent about a week in art
class painting the above photo of JFK on a door.





Our freshman academy partners each year with Tracey Chevrolet.  This
quarter, they are hosted a pizza party on Tuesday, November 18th for all
freshmen who have received high honors and perfect attendance.
Congratulations to the following students who were eligible to attend:
James Addison, Andrew Armenio, Alexandra Burch, Emily Cannon, Tyler
Chiocchio, Robert Colbert, Sydni Dabkowski, Sarah Donlan, Caroline Elrick,
Samuel Ferreira, Laura Francis, Alyssa Goyette, Cameron Hunter, Shannon
Lyons, Andrew Mahoney, Emily Manson, Kevin McManus, Nicole Mullally, Eileen
Murphy, Elizabeth O'Keefe, Jacob Rooney, Emily Spillane, Allysia Tavekelian
and David Trombly.





 

 


The following students have attended the 20th Annual MIAA Sportsmanship
Summit at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.  Mark Mineo, Tim Elrick, Justin Lamb,
Andrew Shortall, Caroline Loranger and Jessica Whyte.


Congratulations to our two-time ACL champion football team with their win
over North on Friday night to clinch the Division 3 South Sectional Title.
The panthers compete in the state semi-final game this Friday (11/22) at
7:00 p.m. vs. Stoughton High School AT Brockton High School.  Good luck to
the team!  Also thanks to all the fans who came out to support the panthers
and the eagles - it was a great night for the town of Plymouth.



The cheerleaders placed second at the ACL meet last week and then went onto
the regionals this past weekend at Dartmouth HS.  Congratulations on a great
season.



Monday of next week, our fall athletes will be visiting the local elementary
schools in Plymouth to participate in our annual reading program.  This is a
great tradition.  In addition, members of the football team will be helping
with clean up for the annual Plymouth Thanksgiving Day parade.



The winter concert is approaching quickly and it is December 10th at 7:00
p.m. at Plymouth South.



The interact club created a banner that was signed by many staff and
students and presented to our local veterans last week.  It was also
displayed at the annual "step up for vets" walk last Saturday.



Our student council is again working hard to prepare turkey baskets for
needy families in our school community.  Thanks to all local sponsors for
their generous donations.







Our final athlete of the week was selected today for the fall season.
Thanks again to G/G T-shirt promotions for their support and donations of
the shirt.  Matt Bremis who is a member of the football team and Kaitlin
Gellar who is on the cheerleading team were this week's award winners.
Katelin Gellar is a junior, a three year member of the cheerleading team,
and an outstanding student at Plymouth South High School.  She has been the
backbone of the cheerleading team this season, and has taken on a leadership
role in everything from motivating her fellow team members and pushing them
to exceed their own expectations, to uniting the team with her enthusiasm
and unwavering spirit.  Gellar has shown exceptional cheerleading and
tumbling skills, and continually works with others on the team to make them
better in this sport.  Excellent work!  Congratulations Katelin!



Matt Bremis led the Panthers both offensively and defensively in their
Sectional win over Plymouth North High School Friday night.  He is a senior
captain and the leading tackler on the stingy Panther defensive that is
giving up under 10 points a game.  Great work!  Congratulations Matt!







Every Friday, gym teachers are having "Fitness Friday".  Instead of their
normal routine, they rotate through a sequence of fitness activities such
as:  weights, steps, bikes, or exercise bands.





I

Above is a photo of Kevin Elliott and Josh Gates in Plymouth South High
School's newly designed Panther TV Studio. 

 
Sincerely,
 

Dr. Gary E. Maestas, Superintendent
Plymouth Public Schools