The CMS Tide Weekly Newsletter

The Cohasset School Committee regularly focuses on the wonderful things happening at our schools. At Wednesday's School Committee meeting, the spotlight shone brightly on CMS. After a brief introduction of our school's emphasis on developing student voice, Ms. Paula Jewell and Mrs. Erin Ryan, advisors to our Student Council, presented our new and novel approach to the student organization.

The goal in redesigning our Student Council was to allow for broader student participation and more opportunities for students to develop voice and agency in improving their school. Ms. Jewell and Mrs. Ryan's presentation can be found below.

In order to discuss StuCo, four members of the student council presented to the School Committee. They discussed their reasons for participating and the ways in which they hope to shape StuCo and enhance their school. Their passion and competence was enthusiastically received by committee members. Stay tuned for more information about StuCo activities in coming weeks and months!

As discussed earlier in the year, CMS has partnered with Cohasset SafeHarbor and contracted with Partnerships in Education and Resilience (PEAR) to use their Holistic Student Assessment (HSA) to promote the social-emotional development of our students. The HSA is an online survey that provides a social-emotional “portrait” of the unique strengths and challenges of our students. The HSA was administered in September and data was analyzed by faculty in October.

The survey is organized around PEAR's "Clover Model" which highlights four essential elements that people of all ages need in order to thrive, learn, and develop: Active Engagement, Assertiveness, Belonging, and Reflection.

CMS data indicates that the most common strength of our students is: emotion control. Emotion control is a resiliency that behaviorally looks like:

• Be able to maintain or regain focus in the face of distractions
• Remaining physically in control of their body, even when angry
• Can easily follow behavior expectations
• Persisting in the face of frustration
• Being able to effectively resolve conflicts
• Being an excellent peer mediator

The most commonly seen challenge was assertiveness. In the Clover Model, assertiveness measures confidence in putting oneself forward, advancing personal beliefs, wishes or thoughts, and standing up for what one believes. Common assertive behaviors as described by the model include:

• Being decisive and proactive
• Being heard often
• Being autonomous and independent
• Having a strong influence on others and high leadership potential
• Being a strong advocate for fairness for themselves or others

The CMS faculty and leadership have implemented numerous actions to facilitate the development of student voice and agency in order to help students develop the skills to transform assertiveness from an area of challenge to a strength.

The redesign of our Student Council (described above) is a major project aimed at developing these important skills among our students. The faculty has implemented scores of smaller interventions in their classrooms and across teams to foster student voice as well (please see the small sample below). We look forward to continuing to support our students successfully develop academically and personally.

Be part of the Cohasset Thanksgiving Tradition by registering for the Cohasset Thanks-For-Giving 5k Road Race. Proceeds from the race benefit the Cohasset Recreation Department and the Clark Chatterton Memorial Fund. Runners and walkers are welcome, and the first 650 registrants will receive a race t-shirt.

You can go the the Cohasset Recreation Department website to register for the race: https://www.cohassetrec.com/info/activities/program_details.aspx?ProgramID=14223

Oftentimes when dealing with personal or family issues, we feel overwhelmed because we lack experience and expertise with handling these issues. We want to be sure our families know that they are not alone--there are many resources on the South Shore that can help.

Community Resources

Wellspring Multi Service

Website: wellspringmultiservice.org

Address: 814 Nantasket Ave Hull, MA 02045

Phone: 781-925-3211

Contact: Jenny Gerbis, Community Outreach, ext. 127, jenny@wellspringmultiservice.org

Baystate Community Services

Website: baystatecs.org

Address: 1120 Hancock Street, Quincy, MA 02169

Phone: 617-471-8400

Email: info@baystatecs.org

Cohasset Food Pantry

Address: 129 So. Main Street, Cohasset, MA 02025

Phone: 781-383-0219 ext. 25

Cohasset Rotary Club

Website: cohassetrotary.org

Email: cohassetrotaryclub@gmail.com or pwmcohassetrotary@gmail.com

Interfaith Social Services

Website: interfaithsocialservices.org

Address: 105 Adams Street, Quincy MA 02169

Phone: 617-773-6203

Email: info@interfaithsocialservices.org

Safe Harbor Coalition Cohasset

Website: safeharborcohasset.org

Address: 35 Ripley Road, Cohasset, MA 02025

Phone: 781-783-5293

Contact: Nicole Balaschi, Program Director,

Email: safeharborcohasset@gmail.com

The CMS administration and faculty communicate with our families using many digital and traditional means. Our weekly newsletter, the CMS Tide, will be sent to families and students every weekend. It is also posted on our school website and shared via Twitter (@comsprincipal).

We call it the CMS Tide because just like we find when we walk along the beach, the tide brings to us treasures from the deep. It helps us picture what is going on just beyond where we stand. The CMS Tide supplies news, images, stories about life at CMS to our families each week,

We hope you enjoy each issue this year!

Since July 2014, Safe Harbor Cohasset has been working to promote awareness and implement resources to help make an impact on the substance use in the community. The group has members from across the spectrum in the community, including, but not limited to, Paul Pratt Memorial Library, Cohasset Recreation Department, Cohasset Police Department, Cohasset Public Schools, Second Congregational Church, town leaders, health professionals, parents, youth, fire personnel, and concerned citizens. In September 2017, Safe Harbor was awarded a federal Drug- Free Communities (DFC) Support Program grant, which focuses on preventing substance use among youth ages 12-17.

Since then, the group has worked to foster a strong and inclusive community that allows youth to strive and encourages healthy, educated and responsible choices about drug and alcohol use. The mission is supported by evidenced based, prevention focused, sustainable policies and youth- focused programs, such as Ground Level Café and the Safe Harbor Youth Ambassador Program. To learn more, and to find resources for both parents and teens, visit the Safe Harbor website at safeharborcohasset.org. Keep up to date on the latest news and trends by following Safe Harbor on Facebook at www.facebook.com/safeharborcohasset, on Twitter @cohsafeharbor, and on Instagram @safeharborcohasset.

Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu observed "In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity."

These are certainly difficult times and many parents and families are experiencing great stress. Our ability to cope is regularly challenged and, understandably, there may be times when individuals can no longer manage their emotions. It is important to know where to turn when we reach that point.

To help our families, we share this contact list of support providers--Mental Health and Crisis Contacts These support providers offer great opportunities to help receive help when those we love are struggling to manage.

The Cohasset Middle School is a grade 6-8 school dedicated to the development of the whole child. We are an inclusive, supportive, and safe learning environment committed to excellence and growth. Our community values experiential, collaborative, active learning that is rigorous and relevant, and fosters creative, responsible contributors to a global society.

Website: https://www.cohassetk12.org/Domain/9
Location: 143 Pond Street, Cohasset, MA, USA
Phone: 781.383.6100
Twitter: @comsprincipal

We are very excited to partner with Partnerships in Education and Resilience (PEAR) in order to promote the positive social-emotional development of our students. There is increasing evidence that helping students feel good about themselves, their school and their relationships improves their learning.

We will administer PEAR’s Holistic Student Assessment to students in grades 6-8. As part of this effort, your child will be asked to complete a brief survey about him or herself at the beginning and end of the year.

Designated school staff will have access to these results. This information can help staff tailor teaching and support programming to our student body’s unique strengths and needs.

PEAR will use data from our school for research and educational work. Students' names will never be used as part of this research. If you have any questions about this effort, please contact Principal Mills at jmills@cohassetk12.org