The CMS Tide Weekly Newsletter

Members of CMS 8th grade Peer Leader Program met with 6th grade cohorts on Friday during utility. The students facilitated activities with their cohorts to promote relationship building and social emotional learning. The Peers Leaders and the Program Advisor, Mrs. Duggan, utilized activities they learned during this fall's training with consultant J.C. Pohl. Peer Leaders meet with their cohorts each month.

" I thought it was really nice--they were all really kind and fun kids", stated Liv R., a 6th grade student. "I really liked the survey because it shows they care how we feel about things and they want to know what is important to us."

During the activity, the Peer Leaders led students in various activities, games, and asked them to complete an interest survey. The Peer Leaders will continue to meet monthly with their grade 6 peers.

We would like to remind our students and families that CMS is a cellphone-free zone.

Students utilize technology throughout the day as they use their devices (Chromebooks, MacBooks, tablets, PC laptops, etc.) to access our curriculum and create wonderful displays of their learning. However during the school day, students are not permitted to use cellphones unless expressly permitted by a teacher to accomplish an academic goal.

When students are allowed to use their cellphones, they tend to become distracted throughout the day as they follow social media, communicate with others, play games.

Students’ ability to attend to the learning within the classroom or be present enough to authentically connect with people around them is diminished. This is why CMS has a rule prohibiting the use of cellphones during the school day. The consequences for violating this rule is that the phone is surrendered to CMS administration and is returned at the conclusion of the school day after a conference with an administrator. Upon a second violation, the student must surrender the phone and it only will be returned to a parent (rather than the student) after school. The student is also assigned an after school detention.

When students are found using airpods (bluetooth speakers connected to a cellphone), the airpods are surrendered along with the phone. The same consequences are assigned as above.

Please help us keep our student connected to their learning and the people around them. Parents, please do not call or text your students as they will be assigned consequences as above. If you need to contact your child immediately, please contact the CMS Main Office at 781.236.1070 and we will get them the message. Otherwise allow them to focus on and enjoy their surroundings and friends.

Thank You.

Reprinted from the CPS Navigator School Newsletter 2.11.22

In addition, at last Wednesday evening’s Cohasset School Committee Meeting, the Committee was informed of the District’s intention to remove all spacing restrictions, in all of our buildings, beginning after February break. This change will fully re-establish our cafeterias as dining spaces and our gymnasiums as exercising spaces in all schools within the District.

Reprinted from the CPS Navigator School Newsletter 2.11.22

On Thursday morning, Governor Baker announced that Massachusetts will not be extending the mask mandate for schools, and that, effective Monday, February 28, 2022 masking becomes a “local decision.” Here is the memo sent by Commissioner of Education Riley to district superintendents regarding this announcement. Currently, we are mask optional for all students and staff at Cohasset High School, Cohasset Middle School, and Deer Hill Elementary School regardless of individual vaccination status. At the Wednesday, February 16, 2022 Cohasset School Committee Meeting, the Cohasset School Committee will discuss and vote to determine if Joseph Osgood School will be mask optional for students and staff beginning on February 28, 2022. It will also be determined if masking will continue to be required of visitors in all or any of our buildings.

The following requirements for masking will continue throughout the District:

• Masking will continue to be required on all school buses for students and staff, per federal mandate, until further notice.
• Masking will continue to be required for students and staff returning from quarantine (for up to five days, inside and outside while attending school / work) in conjunction with quarantine timelines and guidance.
• Masking will continue to be required in school health offices and medical waiting rooms, per Department of Public Health (DPH) order.
  

Masking for winter sports are guided by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) requirements. Today, the MIAA stated that in order " to remain consistent with the DESE mask requirement update, beginning February 28, 2022, the MIAA mask-wearing protocols will end. Moving forward as we navigate the winter Statewide Tournament, we will adhere to host school and venue-specific restrictions. Member schools will need to communicate with and respect the specific protocols set forth at the local level."

As a reminder, it is important to remember that anyone can certainly choose to wear a mask in any of our buildings, or in any of our sporting or other events, at any time. Also, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the DPH strongly recommend that unvaccinated individuals wear masks in school settings. Once again, the masking policy will be discussed at the Wednesday, February 16, 2022 Cohasset School Committee Meeting, which takes place in the Cohasset Middle School and Cohasset High School Learning Commons and which is streamed live on Zoom, Facebook, and Cohasset 143 at 6:00PM. Your participation in that meeting is encouraged

Thursday morning, Governor Baker announced that Massachusetts will not be extending the mask mandate for schools, and that, effective Monday, February 28, 2022 masking becomes a “local decision.” Here is the memo sent by Commissioner of Education Riley to district superintendents regarding this announcement. Currently, we are mask optional for all students and staff at Cohasset High School, Cohasset Middle School, and Deer Hill Elementary School regardless of individual vaccination status. At the Wednesday, February 16, 2022 Cohasset School Committee Meeting, the Cohasset School Committee will discuss and vote to determine if Joseph Osgood School will be mask optional for students and staff beginning on February 28, 2022. It will also be determined if masking will continue to be required of visitors in all or any of our buildings.

The following requirements for masking will continue throughout the District:

• Masking will continue to be required on all school buses for students and staff, per federal mandate, until further notice.
• Masking will continue to be required for students and staff returning from quarantine (for up to five days, inside and outside while attending school / work) in conjunction with quarantine timelines and guidance.
• Masking will continue to be required in school health offices and medical waiting rooms, per Department of Public Health (DPH) order.
  

Masking for winter sports are guided by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) requirements. Today, the MIAA stated that in order " to remain consistent with the DESE mask requirement update, beginning February 28, 2022, the MIAA mask-wearing protocols will end. Moving forward as we navigate the winter Statewide Tournament, we will adhere to host school and venue-specific restrictions. Member schools will need to communicate with and respect the specific protocols set forth at the local level."

As a reminder, it is important to remember that anyone can certainly choose to wear a mask in any of our buildings, or in any of our sporting or other events, at any time. Also, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the DPH strongly recommend that unvaccinated individuals wear masks in school settings. Once again, the masking policy will be discussed at the Wednesday, February 16, 2022 Cohasset School Committee Meeting, which takes place in the Cohasset Middle School and Cohasset High School Learning Commons and which is streamed live on Zoom, Facebook, and Cohasset 143 at 6:00PM. Your participation in that meeting is encouraged

As we work with our community through these difficult times, Cohasset Public Schools makes many resources available to the community on its website and Superintendent Sullivan's Navigator newsletter contains up-to-date information about COVID in the Cohasset community as well as the school system. It is available online here

All students are required to attend school for 180 days. As of today, the new last day of school (half day) for the 2021 -2022 school year is Thursday, June 30, 2022. Please see below for an updated school calendar.

CMS will participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in February, 2022. NAEP is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students know and can do in various subjects. NAEP is different from MCAS because it is a common measure of achievement across the country. The assessment is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, within the U.S. Department of Education. The results are released as The Nation’s Report Card, which provides information about student achievement to educators, parents, policymakers, and the public.

A sample of 8th graders will take a mathematics or reading assessment. In addition to subject-area questions, students voluntarily complete NAEP survey questions. These questions provide valuable information about participating students’ educational experiences and opportunities to learn both in and outside of the classroom. More information about NAEP survey questions is available at https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/parents under the section “What Questions Are on the Test?”

The assessment takes approximately 2 hours for most students, which includes transition time, directions, and completion of survey questions. Families of students chosen to participate will be notified in January.

The information collected is used for statistical purposes only.

· Your child’s grades will not be affected.

· Students may be excused for any reason, are not required to complete the assessment, and may skip any question.

· Participation in the NAEP assessment is voluntary,

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