QRMHS Family Newsletter

Dear Families,

Happy October! It has been a positive and busy month so far! Students are now fully immersed in the school year and participating in various extracurricular activities. We are also now mid-way through the quarter and progress reports have been sent out to students and families. If your child is struggling in any way, please reach out to his or her teacher, counselor, or any administrator. We are here to support them.

Additionally, as we enter the month of October, we are reminded of an important cause that affects our school and community—Bullying Prevention Month. This is a time for us to reflect on the importance of creating a safe and inclusive environment where all students feel valued, respected, and supported.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2024 Massachusetts schools continue to face challenges related to bullying (including cyberbullying) . According to recent data, about 66.2% of students reported being bullied at some point in their lives, with 42.9% experiencing bullying in the last 30 days and 33.8% of students reported being cyberbullied at some point in their lifetime. These statistics highlight the ongoing need for prevention and intervention in schools to foster safer environments for students. By working together, schools can create a safer, more supportive learning environment for all students. Additionally, bullying can have long-lasting effects on the emotional, mental, and academic well-being of students. As educators and role models, we have a critical responsibility to foster a culture of kindness, empathy, and respect in our classrooms and throughout the school.

Here are some ways you can support your child at home:

• Talk to your children: Make sure your children understand the impact of bullying and how important it is to be kind and supportive of their peers. Keep the lines of communication open, so they feel comfortable sharing any concerns.
• Encourage empathy: Reinforce the idea that everyone is unique, and differences should be celebrated, not ridiculed.
• Monitor online behavior: In today’s digital world, cyberbullying is a growing concern. Help your children navigate the online space responsibly and ensure they understand the consequences of online bullying.

Together, we can make our school a place where all students feel safe, supported, and able to thrive. Let’s continue to work together to create a school community where kindness, respect, and inclusion are at the heart of everything we do. As Maya Angelou so eloquently stated: "Each time a man stands up for an idea, or acts to improve the lot of others...he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope." It is thus our COLLECTIVE responsibility as educators, students, and parents to protect students and promote a culture of kindness, tolerance, and equity. Thank you for your continue partnership!

With warm regards,

Ms. DeMorais, QRMHS Principal

10/02

• School Photos: HS Gym
• 6:00 pm: Musical Rehearsal-Auditorium

10/03

• School Photos: HS Gym
• 6:00 pm: Pep Band Rehearsal-Auditorium

10/04

• 2:00 pm: Musical Rehearsal-Auditorium

10/05

• 9:00-1:00: Senior Bazaar
• 4:00-8:00: Senior Bazaar Bonfire & Smores

10/06

• 3:00-6:00: Musical Rehearsal - Auditorium

10/07

• 6:00 pm: Musical Rehearsal-chorus room/MS gym
• 6:00 pm: Financial Aid Night-Auditorium

10/09

• 6:00 pm: Musical Rehearsal-Auditorium

10/10

• 6:00 pm: Pep Band Rehearsal-Auditorium

10/11

• 2:00 pm: Musical Rehearsal-Auditorium

10/14

• 6:00 pm: Musical Rehearsal-Auditorium

10/16

• 6:00 pm: Musical Rehearsal-Auditorium
• 7:00 pm: HS Fall Concert-Auditorium

10/17

• 6:00 pm: Pep Band Rehearsal-Auditorium
• 7:00 pm: MS Fall Concert-Panther Gym

Updates from High School:

Mark your Calendars! The Guidance Department's Financial Aid and Scholarship Night is on Monday, October 7, 2024 at 6 PM in the QRHS Auditorium. We will host a presenter from MEFA (Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority) who will provide a free informational session for students, families, and community members about college financing. We look forward to seeing you there for an informative evening!

SATs

Quabbin is an SAT Test site in November (11/2/24) and May (5/3/25). If your child is interested in taking the SAT they can sign up directly through collegeboard.org. If November or May is not convenient, there are other testing locations throughout the state in other months. All of this information is located on the CollegeBoard website. If your child qualifies for a fee waiver, please have them see their School Guidance Counselor to access it. If your child wishes to prepare for the exam, they can find resources here: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/practice

College Visits

Visits from college representatives started this past week! This is a great way for juniors and seniors to learn more about colleges that they may be interested in attending. College visit sign ups are available to all juniors and seniors in Naviance. We will post regularly in the Google Classrooms so that students are aware of which colleges will be coming. Please encourage your child to sign up!

College and Career Center

The College and Career Center is open! This is a space where students can come to meet with Mrs. Csorba and Mrs. Gaspar to work on college or job applications, scholarship applications, and much more. It houses resources and is a comfortable space for students to research and explore colleges and careers they may be interested in! Drop-in sessions for seniors are on Thursdays during flex block.

College Fair Field Trip

Mrs. Csorba and Mrs. Gaspar had an amazing trip to a NEACAC College Fair with 50 juniors and seniors! All of the students represented Quabbin so well! These students had the opportunity to speak with over 100 colleges and universities at the fair.

Grade 9

Mrs. Ward will be in flex blocks throughout the month of October to deliver lessons to all freshmen about the basics of high school. Students will learn about credits, graduation requirements, promotion requirements, what a GPA is, how to get involved, and how to access support when needed.

Grade 12

Senior Guidance Lessons about the college application process are underway! Mrs. Gaspar and Mrs. Csorba are available for individual follow up appointments with students to discuss any specific questions they may have about college or career planning. All resources from the lesson can be found in the Senior Guidance Google Classroom.

Updates from Middle School:

Our counselors work hard every day to spread positivity! When you visit the Middle School, check out the new bulletin board that our middle school counselors put together for the month of October!

Grade 6

Ms. Breton visited all 6th grade classes at the end of September to get to know all of her new students and to review all of the supports available throughout the school. In addition, each student added themself to the Guidance Google Classroom. The Google Classroom is a great resource for students and a place where we will post important updates throughout their years at Quabbin.

Grade 7

Ms. Breton will be visiting all 7th grade classes this month! Ms. Breton will review all of the available supports within the school. She will also have a discussion on self-advocacy skills and how to effectively utilize those skills as students move through middle school.

Grade 8

Mrs. Ward has been very busy getting together a variety of opportunities so that 8th graders can think about their options for the future and explore their strengths and interests!

Mrs. Ward is in the process of delivering lessons to all 8th grade students on important aspects of grade 8 and how to plan for the future. As a part of this lesson, she is reviewing the technical high school application process for any interested student. As part of our career exploration, students will be using interest inventories to identify individual interests, strengths, and preferences. By connecting these with various career options, students can gain valuable insights into potential career paths that align with their passions and abilities.

There will be a field trip for any student interested in touring Monty Tech on October 25th. Permission slips are currently available in the Blue House Office and must be returned no later than October 16th. Monty Tech is also having an open house on October 28th.

Pathfinder Tech field trip announcement coming soon!

On October 30th, we will have a High School Options Fair available to all students during lunch. No sign-up is necessary. There will be a table with representatives and information from Pathfinder Tech, Monty Tech, and Quabbin available at that time to speak with students and answer any questions that they may have. Please encourage your child to visit the tables!

A Monty Tech after-school program called VIP will run for four Mondays: Nov. 25, Dec. 2, 9, and 16. Registration will open on October 29th. A bus will be available to take students from Quabbin to Monty Tech on the listed dates. Monty Tech will send you sign-up information directly once it is available. More information about this program will follow from Monty Tech.

Monty Tech applications are currently available on their website. Starting in November, paper copies will be available in the Blue House Office. Completed applications should be turned in to the Blue House Office by February 1st.

Pathfinder Tech applications will be available on their website and should be submitted electronically directly through their website.

Both Monty Tech and Pathfinder will host interviews at Quabbin in the springtime for any student who has applied. Mrs. Ward will deliver an Interviewing Skills workshop before the interviews.

Varsity Unified Basketball started last week with their first practice. Congratulations to our Unified Program, outstanding coaching staff, lead by our head coach/liaison Rich Zalneraitis, and most importantly, all of the Unified athletes and partners on becoming a UNIFIED CHAMPION SCHOOL. We will be organizing a “banner unveiling” for sometime in November.

See description below:

Special Olympics Massachusetts has announced that Quabbin, a school with Special Olympics Unified Champion School® programming, is receiving national banner recognition for its efforts to provide inclusive sports and activities for students with and without intellectual disabilities. Quabbin is receiving this distinguished status as a result of meeting 10 national standards of excellence in the areas of inclusion, advocacy, and respect. These standards were developed by a national panel of leaders from the Special Olympics and the education community.

The primary activities within these standards include Special Olympics Unified Sports® where students with and without disabilities train and compete as teammates, inclusive youth leadership, and whole school engagement. National banner schools should also demonstrate they are self-sustainable or have a plan in place to sustain these activities into the future.

The Unified Champion Schools® model is a strategy for schools Pre-K through university that intentionally promotes meaningful social inclusion by bringing together students with and without intellectual disabilities to create accepting school environments, utilizing three interconnected components: Unified Sports, inclusive youth leadership, and whole school engagement. As many as 16 million young people are taking part in inclusive experiences through the Special Olympics.

The Unified Champion Schools® model is supported by the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education. This model has been proven, through research, to be an effective and replicable means to providing students with and without disabilities the opportunity to form positive social relationships and promote a socially inclusive school climate.

Mark your calendars. Our 2 home games for Unified Basketball this fall are:

Oct. 10th vs. Gardner and Oct. 22nd vs. Wachusett.

Congratulations to Quabbin Regional High School for receiving National Banner recognition from Special Olympics North America! Our school has been selected from a national certifying body for achieving standards of excellence in the areas of inclusion, advocacy and respect! The athletes, partners, students, coaches, volunteers, teachers, staff and administration at Quabbin Regional HS have all played key roles in creating a social climate where everyone feels included and respected for who they are. We are 1 of only 19 schools in Massachusetts and among 202 schools nationwide to achieve this status for the 2023-24 school year. Well done, Quabbin Regional High School!

On Tuesday, October 29th, ALL juniors will take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). The PSAT is a valuable exercise for SAT preparation and affords all our students the opportunity to qualify for a National Merit Scholarship. All juniors will be expected to participate on October 29, 2024 (this includes third-year students who are currently coded as sophomores and have enough credits to possibly become seniors next year).

Furthermore, there are an additional 15 spots available for interested sophomores. Sophomore students interested in participating must pay an $18.00 fee: payable via check or money order (made payable to QRSD) to the Gold Office by no later than October 15, 2024. First come first serve. Payment is required to reserve your seat.

We encourage students to visit the College Board website here to prepare for the test day. There are three different options to prepare on this web page. First, there is a direct link to Khan Academy, a free comprehensive resource for SAT prep. In addition, students can take a full practice test on BlueBook, the digital platform for College Board exams. Students will need to download the app on this website. Finally, there are free, downloadable official practice tests online or on paper.

If you have any questions or concerns about the PSAT/NMQT please contact Assistant Principal Jason Gilmartin at jgilmartin@qrsd.org.

Learner Profile Attribute of the Month - Open-mindedness

In October, we are focusing on the IB Learner Profile attribute of "open-mindedness." At Quabbin, we encourage our students to be open to new perspectives, embrace diversity, and consider multiple viewpoints. Developing open-mindedness helps our students grow as individuals and build connections with others. Join us in celebrating this important attribute by talking with your children about how they are exploring different perspectives in their studies and daily lives!

IB in the High School

We are excited to have seven junior IB Diploma candidates embarking on their two-year journey toward earning the prestigious IB Diploma. Over the next two years, these students will engage in a rigorous and well-rounded curriculum, including courses in six subject areas, designed to challenge their critical thinking, creativity, and global awareness. In addition to their coursework, they will complete the Core, which includes the Extended Essay, a 4,000-word research project on a topic of their choice; Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS), where they take on projects that involve personal growth and community engagement; and the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course, where they will explore the nature of knowledge and how we know what we know. We are proud of these students for embracing this challenge and look forward to supporting them through this academic and personal growth experience! Sophomores (Class of 2027) can decide to become IB Diploma candidates when they sign up for classes in the spring of 2025.

If you have any questions about IB courses or the Diploma Program at Quabbin, please contact our IB Coordinator and Instructional Coach, Eleni Marinelli, at emarinelli@qrsd.org.

Welcome Back! Here are some important reminders for the start of the new school year:

Student Health Information Forms and Physicals

Please return the Student Health Information forms to the main office and send in a copy of your students’ most recent physical exam.

Please contact the nurse by phone or email if your student has:

• A new medical diagnosis or change in health or emotional status;

• A newly prescribed medication or a change in their current medication;

• A serious injury, illness, or hospitalization;

• An injury that will require a wheelchair/crutches or elevator use;

• A contagious disease (e.g. covid, chicken pox, flu, strep throat, pertussis);

• Extended period of absence with atypical symptoms; or

• Recent changes in family history that may affect your child.

Please keep your student home from school if they have/had:

• VOMITING at any time in the past 24 hours;

• DIARRHEA at any time in the past 24 hours; or

• FEVER (100.0 or greater) at any time in the past 24 hours. Students must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of Motrin or Tylenol before coming back to school.

COVID-19, Flu, RSV, and other Contagious Respiratory Illnesses

The most current guidelines are attached.

Student Absence

If your student is going to be absent from school, please call the school (prior to 7am if possible) and leave a reason for the child’s absence when calling.

Parents may excuse all absences of 2 days or less, with a maximum of 7 parent excused absences in a school year. Excuse notes written by parents that are not received within 3 school days of the student returning will not be accepted. Student absences of 3 or more consecutive school days may only be excused by a note from a medical provider indicating the date(s) of the absences, reason for the absence, and be signed by a physician or licensed health professional. Please note that emails are the best means of providing excuse notifications. Please see the Student Handbook for more information on Attendance.

Medications

• Students that carry emergency medications must have prior written approval on file in the health office.

• All medications must be brought to the health office by an adult and must be delivered to the school in a pharmacy or manufacturer-labeled container. Please ask your pharmacy to provide separate bottles for school and home.

• The following forms must be on file before we give your student medication at school:

• Signed consent by the parent or guardian to give the medication, and

• Signed medication order. This order must be renewed as needed and at the beginning of each academic year.

• Short term medications (i.e. antibiotics or prescribed short term medications) may be given without a physician's order if delivered to the school in a labeled container and with signed parental consent.

I hope you all have a wonderful school year! Please feel free to reach out with questions or concerns!

Quabbin is honored and excited to announce that our NJROTC program has once again been awarded the Distinguished Unit with Honors distinction, placing our program in the top 20% of NJROTC programs in the area! This prestigious recognition reflects our excellence in administration, academic performance, military proficiency, and the tremendous support from our school.

A special thank you to Capt. Brennock and Lt. Frydel for their outstanding leadership and guidance. Their dedication has ensured that our students consistently embody the naval core values of honor, courage, and commitment.

Congratulations to our cadets. Let’s celebrate this proud achievement for our school community!

The High School Band along with some members of the Quabbin Community Band made a GREAT showing at the Barre 250th parade on Saturday.

Our fall musical, Beauty and the Beast is steadily coming together for November. Isabel Coviello and Julia Tuttle presented to the school committee last week about the process and school-wide collaboration that goes into a production like this. Here is a link to the slide show they presented.

Upcoming Concerts:

High School is October 16th at 7:00PM in the auditorium.

Middle School is October 17th at 7:00PM in the Panther Gym.

Please join us. The kids LOVE when you come and see how talented they are. They really, really do notice!!

The Q-Munity Closet is available for any student or family connected to Quabbin Regional School District. Resources such as food, clothing, and hygiene products are available free of charge. All referrals are confidential and the Q-munity Closet can be used by contacting Principal Demorais at: pdemorais@qrsd.org, Adjustment Counselor Shannon Harris at: sharris@qrsd.org, or School Social Worker Nicole Mooney at nmooney@qrsd.org.

We are currently accepting donations of food for the pantry.

Quabbin was honored to welcome nationally recognized public speaker Stephen Hill on Wednesday Sept 25th. Stephen shared his life story, of young substance use, addiction, and recovery with our 10th, 11th and 12th grade students. His presentation didn't just focus on his own story, but also on his friends and peers, and their experiences with substances and the paths they took in life,. He acknowledged that not everyone who uses substances ends up with an addiction, nor is everyone who is harmed by substances because of their own addiction. He talked about the effect older students had on his choices, in his desire to be "cool" or fit in with older friends or follow what he saw as their choices. He shared the struggles his younger brother faced having to live in his shadow in the school and the community. We hope that students came away with the understanding that even if their use isn't being caught by administration or adults, they are still having an impact on themselves and those around them.

We are grateful to Q-DRUG, and the Drug Free Communities grant, for supporting this and other prevention events in our district and our communities. Q-DRUG is available to support all members of the Quabbin area, and can be reached at quabbin.drug@gmail.com or by text at (978)257-2001

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