Principal's Newsletter

February 11th, 2024

Good afternoon MHS families,

It was an eventful week on the athletic front with our boy's basketball team, boy's track team, and gymnastics teams all earning Hockomock League titles this week. Both boy's and girl's track teams had incredible nights at the Hck Championships, with plenty of wins, school records, and possibly a couple of league records being broken! The gymnastics team went undefeated in the dual meet season and capped a great league season as overall Hock League meet champions! Our Quiz Show team will have their matches televised this upcoming weekend as well. Be sure to tune in each weekend to watch them complete in the WGBH Quiz Show Championships. There are few new pieces of information in this week's newsletter, so be sure to read below for details on a variety of things.

The U.S. Education Department (USED) recently announced that data from college-bound students’ Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) will not be delivered to colleges until March. While news of this delay is disconcerting, here is some guidance and information for students and families:

• Students should still complete the FAFSA. If they are experiencing technical errors, they should be patient and keep trying, especially when it comes to reaching Federal Student Aid (FSA) by phone. Students can also contact their prospective colleges and let them know that they are having problems with their submission. Federal Student Aid continues to correct errors.
• Anyone who has submitted their FAFSA but needs to make corrections will be able to do so once the FAFSA data is processed in March.
• National college access organizations are urging colleges and universities to extend financial aid and admissions deadlines in light of the delayed data. Colleges that depend on the FAFSA to make aid offers will most likely be delayed in sending offers to students. However, there is widespread understanding that students need these aid offers to make a college decision.

To help students and families with the new FAFSA, which went live on December 30, the Massachusetts Education Financing Authority (MEFA) is holding several online events, including one on “Navigating the Challenges and Delays of the New FAFSA” for students and families from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 21.

Senior Families: Graduation has been confirmed for Sunday, June 2nd at the Xfinity Center. More details will follow.

Seniors! We need your flashback photos! The yearbook staff is collecting old pictures of groups of students from sports, school events and field trips! Please email them to yearbook@mansfieldschools.com

Celebrate your senior! Advertise your business! Be a part of Mansfield history! Buy an ad in the 2024 yearbook! - Go to www.yearbookordercenter.com (school number 5468) to design your ad and order

For more yearbook information check out our google site: https://sites.google.com/mansfieldschools.com/mhsyearbook/order-a-yearbook?authuser=0

The Mansfield local scholarships will be available through SCOIR beginning March 1st. Please do not miss out on this great opportunity to access scholarship funds to help support your college education. We are so fortunate to have generous sponsors across the Mansfield community who value the opportunity to support our students. If you have any questions please see your counselor.

The week of February 26th all students in grades 9-11 will attend an assembly to learn about the course selection process for the 2024-2024 school year. Each student will receive a Course Registration Guide and will be able to access their recommendations on Aspen/X2. The 2024-2025 Program of Studies is available on the MHS School Counseling Department website.

Assemblies will take place on the following dates by grade:

Tuesday, February 27th: Grade 11

Wednesday, February 28th: Grade 10

Thursday, February 28th: Grade 9

Dates to Register for Classes (current grades 9-11):

Students and parents will have access to the Aspen/X2 registration portal to register for classes from Tuesday, February 27th - Sunday, March 10th. The Aspen/X2 portal will close at 11:59 pm Sunday, March 10th.

Timeline of Course Registration Events:

• February 27th to 29th - Counseling Assemblies to explain course selection process

• February 27th to March 10th - Students (Grades 9-11) register for classes online with parents

• March 12th to April 12th - Counselors meet with each student to discuss their course selections and finalize the registration process.

• May - MHS Scheduling Team will start to build the schedule

In addition to the instructions for course registration in the Course Registration Guide, Aspen has a video to explain the course selection process online, the video can be found at Follette

On Wednesday, March 13th at 6:30pm in the MHS Auditorium, the School Counseling Department will host College Planning Night where counselors will meet to review the college admissions process and how MHS students navigate the process with the support of their counselors. We strongly encourage parents/guardians to attend to help support their child. Students are welcome to attend as well.

Spring Sports Registration

Registration for Spring sports will open on 2/7. There will be a sign up meeting on 2/7 at 7:00 in the high school auditorium for parents and players to go over the registration process and MIAA regulations. Following the group meeting, there will be break out sessions for individual sports with their respective coaches. For more information, please visit athletics.mansfieldschools.com or reach out to carrie.ciccarelli@mansfieldschools.com.

Tune in next weekend to watch the Mansfield High School Quiz Show Team on GBH. Only 17 schools in

Massachusetts qualified for this prestigious televised tournament. The Hornets will be competing

against the Foxes of Roxbury Latin in what should be an exciting opening-round match. The competition

will air at the following times:

February 17 th 6:00PM GBH2

February 17 th 11:30PM GBH44

February 18 th 1:00PM GBH44

February 18 th 5:00PM GBH2

Parent/Guardian conferences are scheduled for Thursday, March 7th. Conferences will be held during an afternoon session from 12:00pm-2:30pm, and an evening session from 6:30pm-8:30pm. Further details and information regarding signing up will be included in a future newsletter.

Please note: conferences are held in person.

The class of 2027 is hosting their first fundraiser this Monday, February 12th at Bar Pizza. From 4:00-8:00pm use the code MHS27 and 20% of the proceeds will go to the class of 2027. You can use this code online or in-person.

Vaping in high school continues to be a concern across the country. At MHS we have hired 2 hall monitors, instituted a digital pass system, and developed a vape education program in order to continue to try and support a safe and healthy environment for all our students.

In an effort to combat the ongoing challenge of vaping within our school (and others), please take a look at and utilize the various resources provided below to learn more about vaping in order to start/continue the conversation with your child. Making progress in this area is a group effort, and we want to provide support for families at home with these resources.

General Info:

What parents need to know

Quick Facts about vaping

Vaping and the impact of Covid

Vaping can't harm teens?

Information on Quitting:

How to quit

This is quitting

Nicotine withdrawal and how to cope

Russ Booth - Principal

Abigail Barlas - Assistant Principal, Student Support Services

Matthew McGuire - Assistant Principal, Grades 9 & 11

Ellen Noto - Assistant Principal, Grades 10 & 12

Timothy Tichacek - Assistant Director, Special Education

Tim Selmon - Athletic Director

Email: russ.booth@mansfieldschools.com
Website: https://mhs.mansfieldschools.com/
Location: 250 East Street, Mansfield, MA, USA
Phone: 508-261-7540
Twitter: @MHSHornets