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Hornet Happenings
MERHS Newsletter
"If you meet 29th February, think of something unique for it is the only day that defines a year as a leap year. It is the only day that makes February truly unique." - Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
National Merit Scholarship Candidates
MERHS is pleased to congratulate the following students for their recognition by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. This is an annual academic competition among high school students for recognition and scholarships. Students are entered by taking the PSAT/NMSQT.
Joanna Shan and Finnian O'Hara were recognized as commended scholars by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Adrian Kuehnemund has been named as a finalist to be considered for the National Merit Scholarship. Congratulations!
Debate Team Accolades
National Honor Society Tutoring Opportunities
The National Honor Society is now offering tutoring services to all students in the middle and high schools. The tutoring is typically hosted in the learning commons after school from 2:15-3:30. If you are interested, please reach out to the president, Finn O’Hara, at oharaf@meapps.org, so that he can connect your child with a member of the NHS that can help with the given subject and on the specified days. Thank you!
World Language News
Spanish 2CP students are playing a team "sentence search" game to review the movie they have been watching. Team members have to find sentences around the school and bring back the info to their teammates to help fill in the blanks to complete descriptions about the movie, plot and characters.
The AP French students are getting ready for the final push before the AP exam, with lots of listening, reading, speaking, analyzing and comparing. They are working on individual research projects about new technologies in the Francophone world.
Costa Rica
Forty-two Spanish students from MERSD went on a linguistic and cultural immersion tour of Costa Rica during February Vacation! The group traveled all throughout the country from the Arenal Volcano Region, to the Caribbean Side, to the Turrialba Region, to the Pacific Coast, to the artisan city of Sarchí, and ended the trip with an unforgettable folk dancing dinner high above the bright lights of San José. The group did a wide variety of activities including: visiting a school, a coffee plantation, a chocolate plantation, ziplining, hiking, white water rafting, and kayaking. They saw monkeys, iguanas, a sloth, and an 18-foot crocodile named Mike Tyson. They also visited the Pacific Coast beaches and made empanadas in a food workshop with the head chef at a four-star hotel. The trip was full of biodiversity, positive energy, and plenty of rice and beans. The energy of the trip was catapulted to another level thanks to an amazing guide named Jimmy and an equally amazing bus driver named Victor. Pura Vida!
The World Language Department is so very grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Bilsbury, Mr. and Mrs. Vosseler, Ms. Buckley-Harmon, and Ms. Krause for spending their precious vacation time with our students! Thank you so very much!
Students learned to use the Metro virtually, and worked together on a monument of Paris.
International Week 2024
The World Language Department is looking for volunteers to present during International Week. The goal of International Week is to expose students to various cultures around the world through first hand experiences. If you have traveled abroad for work, a vacation or volunteer services, come and share your experiences with our classes. We will be celebrating from March 20th through March 22nd. Please contact Michelle Magaña at maganam@mersd.org.
Social Studies News
In US History I, students are working on a Data-Based Question (DBQ) examining what freedom truly looked like for free Black people in the North. As a class, students are defining what freedom looked like in the 19th century and what freedom should look like when it comes to human rights. After the DBQ, students will be analyzing the experiences of enslaved people in the South and how violence against enslaved people turned into acts of resistance and rebellion. Students will also investigate different art forms within the resistance movements such as spirituals, poetry, testimonies, and more.
In Evidence-Based Argumentation, students are finishing a project using the Rogerian Method. Students were able to choose a topic they felt comfortable examining multiple sides of an argument and presenting a narrative that provides equal space to all perspectives. The purpose is to find "common ground" within each argument. After the project, we will begin our next unit examining how evidence is used in documentaries. Using this new medium in class, students will analyze different categories of documentaries and deduce the arguments from within the narrative.
School Counseling Updates
March 7. The annual Greater Cape Ann Career & College Fair will take place at the Gloucester High School Fieldhouse on Thursday, March 7 from 5:30-7pm. Over 80 colleges/universities and almost 30 businesses/trades participated last year. More information coming in a few weeks.
March 8. The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) will be offered to interested juniors and seniors. The test is scheduled to begin at 8am and takes about two hours. The ASVAB is a career exploration and vocational aptitude test. It is not necessary for a student to be interested in military service in order to benefit from the results outlined in the comprehensive testing report. Students may pick up the "Permission to Test" form in the school counseling office to sign up.
March 21. For juniors and their families . . . A College Admission Rep Panel on Thursday, March 21 from 6:30-7:30pm will be an informative webinar with three of our favorite admission professionals from UMass Lowell, Holy Cross, and Dickinson College. This is a popular program each year and a highlight for juniors considering college. The webinar link will be sent to all juniors and families in mid-March.
MCAS dates
Mark your calendars for the upcoming MCAS testing dates:
ELA - March 26th & 27th
Math - May 21st & 22nd
Biology - June 4th & 5th
MERHS Drama Club presents Death of A Dead Guy by William L. Bowman, Jr., which will be performed at the METG Drama Fest in March, 2024. The Massachusetts High School Drama Festival, a competitive program that typically includes 112 one-act plays produced by member high schools. The competition is organized across three levels; preliminary, semi-final and State Finals. Student excellence in acting and technical design is recognized at each level. Of the 112 one-act plays that enter the festival, fourteen will be selected as State Finalists, of which three will be named winners. Two schools chosen from the State Finalists will go on to represent Massachusetts in the New England Drama Festival, the regional showcase of secondary school theatre.