QRMHS Family Newsletter

Dear Families,

As we observe Prevention Month this March, particularly during the week of March 17th, we want to take this opportunity to remind our students of the importance of making healthy choices and staying drug- and alcohol-free. This is an especially critical time, as students are at an impressionable stage where the influence of peers and external pressures can play a significant role in shaping their decisions. We encourage all of our students to wear purple this month, as the color symbolizes the fight against substance abuse and promotes a united effort toward building a healthier future for our youth. Did you know that in Massachusetts, over 30% of high school students report having tried alcohol, and nearly 20% have used marijuana before the age of 18, according to the 2022 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which surveyed over 20,000 students across the state. These statistics highlight the need for continued awareness and open conversations about the consequences of substance use.

As parents, you play an essential role in supporting prevention efforts. Start by having open, honest conversations with your children about the risks of substance use. Set clear expectations and boundaries while reinforcing the importance of making responsible choices. You can also be a positive influence by modeling healthy behaviors and providing opportunities for them to engage in substance-free activities. Additionally, encourage your child to get involved in school or community programs that promote wellness and offer support to peers who may be facing similar pressures.

As we work together to guide our students, let’s remember the words of Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General: "The greatest gift we can give our children is a healthy future." Let’s make this month a reminder of the power of prevention and the importance of staying drug- and alcohol-free.

With warm regards,

Ms. DeMorais, QRMHS Principal

03/19

03/20

03/25

03/26

03/27

The morning announcements will now be posted on the home page of Aspen (link that reads: Daily Announcements). We encourage all students to check the announcements daily for important information.

The middle school counseling department focused this month on how to spread love and kindness to our friends.

Updates from Grade 6:

Mrs.Veber visited 6th Grade Social Studies during the first week of February to discuss Social Media safety. Mrs Veber discussed the following tips with the students on how to be safe on social media:

• Set accounts to private.

• Keep passwords private.

• Never share your exact location.

• Don’t use your whole name.

• Only accept followers that you personally know.

• Get parent permission to have accounts.

• Never agree to meet people you don’t know.

After discussing how to be safe on social media, the students were put to the test and had to determine whether different social media postings were safe or unsafe.

Updates from Grade 7:

Mrs. Veber will be pushing into 7th grade during the month of March to discuss conflict resolution with the 7th grade.

Updates from Grade 10:

Mrs. Gaspar and Mrs. Hubbard will be working with grade 10 students on resumes during flex block lessons in March! We are excited to continue our work in Naviance, developing and establishing students' post-secondary plans.

Updates from Grade 12

Instant Decision Days are coming to Quabbin!

Mount Wachusett Community College will be here on Wednesday, 3/26/25, from 8:00am - 1:00pm.

Quinsigamond Community College will be here on Wednesday, 4/2/25, from 8:00am - 1:00pm.

During each event, an admissions counselor will meet with our seniors individually to process and approve their applications, answer their questions, and help them with their next steps.

Information has been sent to all seniors and their families via email and posted to the Guidance Google Classroom for YOG 2025. It is also posted on daily announcements. If your senior is considering either The Mount or QCC, they are strongly encouraged to sign up!

Updates on Course Selection for SY 2025-26:

Students have all selected their courses for next school year. Please be sure to check in with your student and review their selections in the Aspen portal. If you or your student have any lingering questions regarding their selections, please do not hesitate to reach out to their counselor!

Spring 2025 athletic registration is now OPEN through March 14th.

Please note that MS teams are open to grades 6-8. MS students also have the opportunity to try out for girls’ golf, girls’ tennis, JV/varsity baseball, and JV/varsity softball. If they decide to try out and don’t make a high school team, they can then try out for MS at the later tryout date (high school teams start 3/17, MS teams start 3/31 and Unified Track and Field starts on 4/1.) MS track athletes should register for the MS team only. There may be an opportunity to “call up” some MS track athletes during the season (or at the end) to the varsity level, depending on the need and event.

All schedules, including practices and games, can be found HERE.

Reagan Laprade Gr.12, Abigail Falconi Gr. 11, and Violet Kelley Gr. 10 set a new SCHOOL RECORD in the team Pentathlon in Boston. Falconi has also set the individual point record. Their hard work & dedication all season has paid off!

Spring Sports Registrations

If your student has signed up for spring sports, please make sure I have received a physical in the Nurse’s office. All physicals must be within the last 13 months for your child to participate. Please have your student bring the physical to me in the nurse office or you can have the doctor’s office fax it to me directly at 978-355-9803.

Sleep & Electronics

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics; children and teens need at least 1 hour of physical activity each day, 8-12 hours of sleep each night (depending on age), and time away from screens/media.The use of screens in the hour leading up to bedtime has been linked to poor sleep quality, which can impact a child’s physical and mental health.

The vast majority of students have access to some form of electronics or technology, whether it be a phone, tablet, television, or computer. Studies show that using devices with screens before bed can increase the amount of time it takes to fall asleep, especially for children, and can reduce the quality of sleep overall. Blue light, often emitted by electronic devices, can also trick the brain into believing that it is day time, thus reducing the amount of melatonin produced by the brain. Blue light can also reduce the amount of time spent in certain sleep cycles, such as REM, which are imperative for cognitive function.

Overall, the effect of screen time and electronics on sleep is significant. As a result, it is recommended that individuals avoid screen time an hour before bedtime in order to ensure a good rest. It is also encouraged, especially for children, to read or find another relaxing activity that can ease them into bedtime. Ensuring that students receive the proper amount of sleep is important in setting them up for success during the school day.

Update on Contagious Diseases

We’ve seen a few cases of flu and strep in the past few months. If you are not aware, you are now able to get an over-the-counter flu and covid test through amazon or your local pharmacy. If you have a positive flu/covid/strep result, please let me know, so that I can keep track of the amount of cases we are seeing in the school.

Reminders

• It is extremely important that if your child is on antibiotics, that they complete their FULL course of prescribed antibiotics. If your child is resistant to swallowing medication, you can ask their doctor about the one-time injection for treating strep.

• Following any illness, it is helpful to switch out your child’s pillowcase and to replace their toothbrush.

• Frequently wash your child’s water bottle.

Fragrances

Please encourage your children to refrain from using perfume, cologne, strongly scented lotions, and strongly scented hand sanitizers. Many students are sensitive to artificial fragrances and can experience respiratory symptoms, nausea, or headaches as a result of exposure.

As always - please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!!

As you know, DECA is an international organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. Through competitive events, DECA gives students the opportunity to develop real-world skills that will help them excel in their careers. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the following 10 DECA students for their outstanding accomplishments this past weekend at the state-level competition:

Kevin Boles and Ethan Salvadore
Category- franchise business plan
Madeline Rigney and Grace Manna
Category - community giving project
Addison Christiansen
Category - accounting application
Sylvan Rector
Category - financial consulting
Jahzara Tweedell and Summer Young
Category - quiz bowl team
Luke Salvadore and Quinn Geary
Category - start up business plan

Luke and Quinn finished 6th place in the state of Massachusetts and earned a spot at the international competition in April.

Their dedication, talent, and hard work have truly paid off, and this achievement is a testament to their commitment to excellence. Each of them has shown exceptional skill in their respective events, demonstrating not only their knowledge but also their ability to think critically and adapt to various challenges. This success would not have been possible without the guidance and mentorship of Mr. Bergman, whose dedication and hard work in mentoring each student, fine-tuning their projects, and offering invaluable advice, truly made a difference. His support has been pivotal in shaping these students' abilities and helping them reach new heights. Congratulations again to each of them and a special thank you to Mr. Bergman for his tireless efforts to help these students shine!

Catching Up - On Saturday, the 8th of March, Cadets traveled to Mattituck, NY on Long Island for a Brain Brawl competition and Drone competition. Hunter LaBier, Isabel LaBelle, Micah Cerezo, Quin Fauteux, and Jacoby Hartshorn matched wits with 9 other teams from the northeast while Aiden Fuller and Auguste Bellerose raced drones through the halls of Mattituck High. The Brain Brawl, well didn’t go so well, but the Drone Comp resulted in a second place finish for Quabbin! The Drone team is now preparing for a rather large competition on the 22nd of March in New London, CT.

Preparations for the NJROTC Ball and Lock-In (14/15 March) are in full swing. We are still looking for a few more, so if you would like to volunteer to help out at the Lock-In, give Captain Brennock a call at extension 2123!

This past Thursday night we kicked off our tour of Berlin-Krakow-Prague & Budapest in April of 2026. Over 50 families attended the presentation and within 5 hours 22 Cadets have committed to the tour!! Thank you for your trust in us to provide a safe and educational once-in-a-lifetime experience. There are still plenty of seats available for Cadets!!

Next week is the annual NJROTC National Academic Exam that will see 25 Cadets in teams of 5 taking an NJROTC specific exam.

Congratulations to all of our students in grades 4-12 who performed at our festival concerts this week! We had over 500 student musicians and 1,500 audience members come through our doors this week. We are very proud of all of them!

-We had FIVE middle school students accepted into the Junior Central Massachusetts Festival band, chorus and orchestra. Congratulate Aiden Leger and Amon Packard in chorus, Theodore Langer in band and Sebastian Palomera-Espinoza and Niki Nikakhlagh in the orchestra. Great work to all who auditioned!

-We have four students who have been accepted into the UMASS Honor Band Festival! Congratulate Tess Dunphy, Abigail Falconi, Rose Lyden and Lia Sherblom when you see them for this honor!

Our students competed this past Saturday at the theater festival competition at Leominster. In the words of Ms. Payne: "Our students were gracious, supportive of each other and the other schools, and truly absorbed in a wonderful day of theater. The only tears shed were tears of happiness and empathy. Our students represented Quabbin beautifully."

I am happy to also let you know that Isabel Coviello won an all-star award for directing and Aidan Mahoney and Winter Boyea both won all-star awards for acting. Quabbin's performance "Abigail, for Now", is moving on to the semi-final round in Framingham on March 15th. We are very proud of the cast and crew and the hard work of Ms. Payne and so many staff that supported our students. We are looking forward to our in-school performances on Friday this week.

March is a busy month for Q-DRUG!

Purple for Prevention Week will be back for its 11th year this year! We have pushed it back to March 17-21st 2025. Here is a list of things that we will be doing in the school and community during the month.

• We plan to have all students in grades 7-12 complete the Youth Health Survey on Thursday March 13th. The survey is the longer version this year, and does take about 45 minutes to complete. This data is what is reported to the CDC for our funding every 2 years, so this year is an important requirement for our grant. More information about the survey is available here.

• We plan to begin decorating our towns on the weekend of March 1st & 2nd. Please let us know what you think 🙂

• We plan to decorate our school March 12-15th, with students helping during the week and adults finishing whatever needs to be done over the weekend.

• We are planning to hold a door decorating contest beginning on March 12, with prizes awarded during the Purple for Prevention week. We will provide purple decorations, and painters tape in the teachers rooms. Please take what you need and return any extra. While we do work to put a lot into the box it only works if we share with each other.

• We will have a banner for students to sign, like years past, during lunches. Each student that signs the banner will be given a duck magnet this year.

• There will be a community education event being held at the Barre senior center on Wednesday March 19th at noon. Our whole community is involved in helping support our youth in making healthy choices.

• Parent education event about vaping on Friday March 21st, at 6pm during the middle school dance. This event is open to all parents, caregivers, teachers, coaches, and community members.

• Stephen Hill will be returning to Quabbin on March 27th for our 8th graders. We are working on planning a full day event for our 8th graders, to include Upstanders training led by a group of students who participated in our meetings and training previously.

More information about all these events and more will be coming throughout the days and weeks ahead.

Q-DRUG Vision: A Quabbin Region that is mentally, physically and emotionally healthy, allowing all to be addiction free.

Q-DRUG Mission: Quabbin Drug Response Unifying Group "Q-DRUG", works with our community to stand together to support youth substance use prevention. We seek to promote awareness and erase the stigma of substance use disorder to build a recovery supportive community.

With the help of our Post-Grad Program, we are working to expand the Q-Munity Closet to the New Braintree Grade School with clothing sizes catering to young children and adults. This space is designed for all community members to pick out clothing items that you, your family, or someone you may know could benefit from free of charge.

We currently have a significant supply of brand-new winter coats in a variety of sizes. If you, or someone you know could use one for this year, or looking ahead to next winter, please stop by.

The Closet will be open on Mondays from 12:00 - 2:00 at the New Braintree Grade School located at 15 Memorial Drive, New Braintree. If you are unable to make it at that time, please contact Ashley Roy at aroy@qrsd.org to make an appointment for a time that is convenient for you.

As this is a new venture for our Post Grad students, we invite you to extend this invitation to family members and friends, even if they do not have a need for resources at this time. We want to provide the students with a lot of foot traffic to build their communication skills, and praise them for all the hard work they have done getting this venture off the ground.

Stop by and say hello!!!

The Q-munity closet at the middle/ high school is still available, students are welcome to visit if they need any items during the school day, including for special events. The closet at school also has food items that students can take home and make easily. Students are encouraged to visit if they need any clothing items, including winter coats.

Contact Mary Whitelaw if you need assistance, mwhitelaw@qrsd.org

Quabbin Regional Middle/High School is a collaborative learning community, where all students have opportunities to achieve personal excellence in a safe and accepting environment.

Our mission is to prepare students to become self-reliant, life-long learners who are responsible and resourceful citizens in a global society.

Email: pdemorais@qrsd.org
Website: Home - Quabbin Regional School District (qrsd.org)
Location: South Street, Barre, MA 01005, USA
Phone: (978)355-4651