Panther Press

February 3, 2025 - Volume 7 - ISSUE 18

Welcome to the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School Newsletter! It is designed to keep everyone (parents, students, staff, and community members) informed of the many events that are happening in and around the school. It contains links, pictures, and videos so that you have a more interactive experience and the ability to learn more about various topics.

Communication is incredibly important to understanding so we ask that you share our news as much as possible. We also welcome feedback! It is the only way to continuously improve. So, please interact, get involved, and let us know what you think by contacting us and sharing our news!

2/4-2/5/2025: Biology MCAS retest

2/5/2025: WH Panther Release - 11:40 Dismissal

2/7/2025: Junior Parent Coffee with the Counselors

2/13/2025:8th Grade Curriculum Night 6-8PM

2/14/2025: District Early Release - WHRHS 10:15 Dismissal

2/17-2/21/2025: No School - Winter Recess

2/28/2025: Senior Scholarship Assembly during WIN

3/6-3/7/2025: ELA MCAS Retest

3/11-3/12/2025: Math MCAS Retest

3/12/2025: WH Panther Release - 11:40AM Dismissal

3/20/2025: School Day SAT for registered students

3/21/2025: District Early Release - WHRHS 10:15AM Dismissal

3/25-3/26/2025: ELA MCAS for Grade 10 Students

4/3/2025: 135th Day of School - Quarter 3 Ends

4/4/2025: Quarter 4 Begins

4/4/2025: District Early Release

4/9/2025: Parent-Teacher Conferences 12:00PM-2:00PM and 6:00PM-8:00PM

4/18/2025: District Early Release - Good Friday - WHRHS 10:15AM Dismissal

4/21-4/25/2025: No School - Spring Recess

4/30/2025: WH Panther Release - 11:40AM Dismissal

Your students teachers are all introducing and explaining a new document to students as we start the second semester. It is out new Academic Integrity Guideline.

I have included it here for everyone to look at and understand. It has a few new things pertaining to both the process and outcome when a student is found to be breaking the guidelines.

Have you heard of the great opportunity offered to support students? It happens every day during the last period. Students, through a software app called MyFlex have the ability to:

• sign up to meet with a teacher for extra help
• finish an assessment or other types of work
• go to the Library to read or study
• go to the gym for some physical activity
• lift weights or work out in the weight room
• socialize in the cafeteria or Performing Arts Center

There are all types of other activities going on as well. Students just have to make sure they sign up. There are some restrictions put in place. Students can be "locked" into a class for extra help. They also might not be able to sign up to socialize if they are failing a core course.

Make sure you ask your student about this block of time. It is a great opportunity!

Why do we always judge the entirety by a moment instead of our moments by the entirety of the picture? Doing that gives negative self talk a lot more power.

Success isn't achieved in a straight line, but when looked at over the long term, continuously moves closer and closer. Stick to well formed habits and use the strategy I talk about in the video to keep moving forward in a good frame of mind, even in the face of setbacks.

Thanks for watching! Check out what I'm talking about in the video and let me know your thoughts!

Junior parents and caregivers are invited to attend Coffee with the counselors on Friday, February 7th from 7:30am – 8:30am in the Courtyard Cafe at WH. As a follow up to our College Admissions Seminar, we recognize that many parents have similar questions regarding how to navigate through the college admissions maze and we are here to help! Please register here: Junior Year - Coffee with the Counselors

Massasoit Community College offers many certificate, associate degree and transfer programs. There are also a lot of cost saving benefits within MassEducate (FREE tuition and fees!), MassTransfer and Commonwealth Commitment programs. Interested in applying? Admissions representatives will be at WH on Wednesday, March 5th for an Instant Decision Day. See your counselor if you'd like to signup for this great opportunity!

On Friday, February 28th the School Counseling Department will host a Scholarship Assembly for all seniors during WIN block. We will review steps to completing local and community scholarship applications. All local and community scholarships will open on March 1st with a due date of April 4th. Mr. Ganshirt from Dollars for Scholars (DFS) will also review the application process for DFS scholarships during the scholarship assembly. DFS application will open on February 1st with a due date of March 15th.

Students from the Class of 2025 who wish to apply for a Dollars for Scholars scholarship award may begin filling out their student profile on February 1st. The profile can be found at www.whitmanandhanson.dollarsforscholars.org under the “Student & Parent” section. Students may fill out the profile and return to update it regularly. By creating a profile, a student will automatically get access to Scholarship America’s valuable resources and will have the opportunity to match and apply for local and relevant national scholarships. The deadline for submission is March 15th. Any questions about DFS, please contact Mike Ganshirt at michaelgans@yahoo.com.

Any graduating high school senior who resides in Whitman and Hanson and has a 2.5 GPA is eligible for a DFS scholarship. Students who reside outside of Whitman & Hanson and attend Whitman-Hanson Regional High School and have a 2.5 GPA are also eligible. In addition to scholarships, students will find college guidance, financial aid advice, video tips and much

more. The list of national scholarships is changing frequently, so students are encouraged to return to their profiles often. For assistance completing the application, follow the handout: A quick look at submitting your application for our chapter’s scholarships.

Grief is one of the most complex emotions to experience, it comes in so many different forms. It is often uncomfortable, scary, and can be present for a long time. At other times, we can feel as though we have resolved our feelings about a loss or change but may experience sadness or grief many months later. Grief is SO confusing, remember that grief looks and feels different for everyone, so the way you are grieving a loss, may not be the way that another person is, and that's okay. So… let’s talk about it! Our School Adjustment Counselor, Mrs. Robichaud has a Grief Group that runs every Tuesday during WIN in Room 122. Sign up in your MyFlex! You are not alone!

If your child is struggling or having a difficult time please do not hesitate to reach out! Here is also a link to local mental health resources!

Students in Mrs. Dempsey's Spanish 4 Honors classes recently started reading the novel, Vida o muerte en el Cusco. The book is about a girl and her mom who take a trip to Cusco, Peru and what happens on their trip. The students are doing an amazing job reading their first Spanish novel and are excited to take their Spanish skills to the next level!

Mr. Floeck was the "Mystery Person" in Ms. Ferrara's class this week! Students in Spanish 3 read a text in Spanish about Mr. Floeck's childhood and had to guess who it was. They drew pictures to represent everything they understood and shared them with Mr. Floeck. Students love guessing who the Mystery Person is and enjoy making connections with teachers by sharing their likes, dislikes, and fears.

The WH Math team will be competing in their last meet of the season on February 6 at East Bridgewater High School. Best of luck to all of our Panther Mathematicians who will be competing!

Students in Geometry, Algebra I, Algebra I/II, Algebra II and Algebra II/PC have completed their midyear IXL diagnostic testing. Students who have been working hard on their individualized skill plans to meet the 30 minute/2 proficient skill expectation should see that they have shown significant growth since the diagnostic they completed at the start of the school year. They will continue to work on their plans for the remainder of the year to continue to improve and strengthen their math skills.

Accessing IXL Diagnostic Reports: Families can access student IXL diagnostic scores by signing into the student’s IXL account and navigating to the diagnostic stats page:

• Sign in to the student’s IXL account

• Click the Assessment tab

• Click See your levels in the top left

Students in Mrs. Edkin’s classes are exploring utilizing vertical workspaces to encourage a more interactive, collaborative, and dynamic learning environment. Here are a few key impacts:

1. Increased Student Engagement: Vertical workspaces give students the chance to engage more physically in the learning process. When students write on a vertical surface, they are more likely to stay actively involved in solving problems and sharing ideas. The act of standing and moving around may help keep students focused, especially in a subject like math that can sometimes feel static.
   
   

2. Collaborative Learning: Vertical workspaces can facilitate group work and peer interactions. When students work together on a shared space, they can exchange ideas and strategies, encouraging collaboration. This social aspect helps students learn from each other and refine their understanding of math concepts.
   
   

3. Visual Learning and Memory Retention: Having students visually represent their thinking on large surfaces can help reinforce learning. When students display their work for everyone to see, it allows them to engage with math concepts in a tangible, visible way, which can enhance memory retention and understanding. It’s easier to track and follow thought processes when the steps are visually displayed.
   
   

4. Encouragement of Multiple Solution Strategies: With vertical workspaces, students can showcase different methods for solving problems. This promotes critical thinking and helps students recognize that there isn’t always one correct way to solve a problem. It opens up opportunities for discussion and reflection on different approaches.
   
   

5. Greater Feedback Opportunities: Teachers can walk around the room and provide instant feedback while students are engaged with vertical surfaces. This gives teachers a chance to assess individual or group understanding in real-time and provide targeted guidance or clarification.
   
   

Space for Creativity: Math isn’t just about solving problems; it’s also about exploring different ways to think and approach challenges. Vertical workspaces can provide a creative outlet for students to visually experiment with different strategies, drawings, or connections that might not come across in more traditional desk-based work.

Our swim team closed their season this weekend at the Patriot League meet taking 7th place overall. The team had some excellent swims highlighted by the 200 Medley Relay consisting of Liv Berte, Brielle Shelly, Emi Cooke, and Kylie Dwyer took 6th place with a time of 2:17, they also placed 7th in the 200 Freestyle Relay with a time of 2:04. Lily Wilkinson, Hanna Simpson and Lia Wigmore and Laya Maloney all went person best in the 200 Freestyle. Brielle Shelly placed 5th in the 100 Fly and 4th in the 100 Breastroke. Liv Berte also placed 5th place in the 100 Freestyle and 8th place in the 100 backstroke. Kylie Dwyer placed 16th in the 50 freestyle with her personal best. Hanna Simpson went a personal best in the 100 Freestyle dropping 14 seconds! Sarah Anderson had a personal best in the 100 Breastroke dropping 3 seconds, Lia Wigmore also had a personal best in the 100 breaststroke. This was a great end to the season. On the boys side Sam Fernandez placed first in the 100 Fly and was on the 4th place finishing 200 free relay team.

In girls basketball, captain Lillie MacKinnon made her incredible return from an ACL tear on Friday night shocking her doctors and PT team with her incredible tenacity and work ethic. Lillie entered the game in Hingham late in the contest to help the team secure the 44-37 win. Sophomore Maliah Pierre poured in a game high 15 points and Junior guard Alayna Bathalon chipped in with 9 points off of the bench (3 three pointers). Freshman Madeline Moore gave the Panthers great minutes off the bench and added 6 points. The team is now 10-5 overall and 10-2 in the Patriot League. Whitman Hanson hosts Duxbury on Tuesday night and will honor their 6 seniors for Senior night.

The boys basketball team won both league games this week beating both Silver Lake and Hingham. All five starters scored in double figures Friday in Hingham led by senior Captain Jason Paretchan (16 points) and senior Jah Estrela (14 points) as the Panthers posted a 67-57 win at Hingham. Senior Dylan Perrault (13) and Juniors George Tsiantoulas (12) and Josh Manchester (10 points) power the Panthers. The team battled one of the best squads in the state on Sunday afternoon dropping a 2 point decision to Mansfield as the Panthers now sit at 13-2, 11–1 in the Patriot League.

The boys hockey team got back into the win column on Saturday with a convincing 9-1 win over Marlborough. Whitman Hanson got four goals in the first by Caine Allen, Aidan Murphy (1st career goal), Nick Beltramini, and Jack Sjostrom to take a 4-0 lead after 1. Marlborough scored first in the 2nd on the power play to make it 4-1, but Whitman Hanson scored four more unanswered goals by Domenic Visocchi, Luke Tracey, Pat Ryan, and Josh Tobin to make it 8-1 after 2. Whitman Hanson scored one in the third from Chris Ryan, to make it 9-1. Nick Zaccaria made 12 saves. Sophomore Connor McGuirk saw first time action this year coming in for Zaccaria in the third, and stopped all 8 shots.

The girls hockey team had an impressive performance Saturday against the top team in the state but lost the game to Hingham, 2-0. Sadie Watchorn turned away 40+ shots in goal and the WHSL defense led by Sam Webb kept Hingham's high powered offense in check for most of the night. WHSL plays Pembroke Wednesday evening 5:50pm at Hobomock Arenas.

Whitman-Hanson Girls Track and Field secured their first win of the season, defeating Silver Lake 53-46 on Thursday night at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. Junior Victoria Sheehan led the way with a season-best, state-qualifying time of 7.71 in the 55-meter dash. Sheehan also placed second in the long jump and was part of the victorious 4x200 meter relay team, which posted a season-best time of 1:57.79. Senior captains Molly Burnett and Willa McKay, along with sophomore Calleigh Mahoney, rounded out the relay team. McKay added a win in the high jump, matching her season best of 4’6”, while Burnett claimed victory in the 300-meter dash with a season-best time of 45.51. Freshman Mya Andrews took first in both the mile, with a new personal best time of 5:46.50, and the 2-mile. Senior captain Chloe Handlin won the 600-meter race, and sophomore Gabrielle Lyons placed second, setting a new personal best of 2:07.18. The Panthers, now 1-3 for the season, will look to build on this momentum as they head into next Saturday's Patriot League Championship meet.

The Whitman-Hanson Boys Track (0-5) lost to Silver Lake Regional 66-34 Thursday evening at the Reggis Lewis Track and Athletic Center. The Panthers got winning performances from Senior Nolan Keyes in the 55Hurdles (10:13) and Junior Kevin Brzuszek with wins in the Long Jump (20' 2.75") and 55 Meter Dash (6.89). Junior Captain Ben Andrews posted a new Personal Best of 4:54.81in the winning the Mile and ran an impressive 11:04.78 in his 2 Mile victory. Others scoring for the Panthers included Lexton Tobias (300), Zack Geagan (1000), Jackson DeLue (2 Mile), and Sean Donovan and Sean Germaine in the Shot Put.

Whitman-Hanson wrestling traveled to Hanover Friday to participate in a Quad meet with the host, Weymouth and Nauset. Whitman-Hanson wrestled tough, coming away with a 48-28 victory against Nauset but fell short against Hanover and Weymouth losing 54-18 and 36-17, respectively. Leading the way for the Panthers was Captain Tristan Forest who won all 3 of his matches via pin. Louden Giove had an amazing night, winning all 3 of his matches as well. Captain Tim Donnelly had an impressive showing tonight with 2 wins. Daniel MacPhee and Lawson Giove earned 2 more victories each tonight. Brandon Grimaldi, Christian Grimaldi, and Richard Jernstedt all had clutch victories tonight against Nauset to secure the win.

Whitman-Hanson/Duxbury Varsity Gymnastics had a great win tonight (128.4) against Pembroke/Silver Lake (127.5) for our senior meet. Senior Sadie Kitchens competed on the floor, senior captain Emma Galpin competed on vault and floor, and senior captain Carly Reid competed on vault, beam and floor. Senior captain Katelyn Ferraro competed on bars, had a beautiful floor routine and an explosive vault both scoring an 8.5. Juniors Caitlin Henderson and Sophia Orlandi helped the team with their 8.3 and 8.4 vault scores. Junior Jaycelyn Gomes had a very graceful beam routine scoring an 8.0. Freshman Millie Mahoney tied for first on the vault with an 8.6 and had a beautiful floor routine with an 8.45. Sophomore Kiera Roulac won the meet in the all-around with a 32.75 including a tie on the vault with Ferraro for 2nd place, a 2nd place beam score with an 8.05 and a 1st place floor routine with an 8.65. Our next meet will be the Patriot League meet on Friday at Starland at 7:30 PM.

Interested in more videos, reflections, and where a many of these ideas come from and are expanded on? Don't forget to check out and subscribe to my YouTube Channel.

Email: christopher.jones@whrsd.org
Website: https://whs.whrsd.org/
Location: 600 Franklin Street, Whitman, MA, USA
Phone: (781) 618-7020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrCSJones
Twitter: @DrCSJones