Dear Colleagues,
As we close out an unprecedented school year, I want to share some resources with you on Juneteenth and LGBTQ+ Pride month. I also wanted to remind you that at the end of July we are hosting the Summer Institute in Plymouth MA at the 1620 Hotel from Wednesday, July 28 - Friday, July 30 (Pre-conference Tuesday, July 27). It is going to be a very special gathering - don't miss out!
I recognize that the resources I am sharing are coming towards the end of the school year, but I thought they still may be helpful for some of you who are going into next week. As a preview for next year, I intend to create a Padlet for each diversity celebration month with resources for elementary and secondary levels. I plan to add to the Padlet well in advance of the month. See below for a fuller description of the videos and podcasts below for Juneteenth and LGBTQ+ Pride Month. Each video and podcast is excellent.
Additionally, this edition includes information on the Soul of Leadership program for next year, and upcoming NASSP and NAESP information on conferences this summer. There are also updates on MSAA's outstanding Student Council and E-sports accomplishments across the Commonwealth.
Updates
Register for Summer Institute here. See below for a description of all the fabulous activities, keynotes, etc. MSAA thanks our Summer Institute 2021 Platinum-Level Sponsors: Comcast Internet Essentials, Franklin Covey Leader in Me, Horace Mann, Lifetouch, and Jostens
Soul of Leadership
Over the past three years, MSAA has partnered with Courage and Renewal Northeast to offer a unique professional learning experience for principals called “The Soul of Leadership: Courage, Presence and Integrity.” With grant funding intended to support transformational leadership from the Angell Foundation, 100 school leaders from a range of districts across Massachusetts have participated, including 45 this year in two state-wide cohorts. This year, 15 Assistant Principals participated for the first time. We have also experimented with shorter introductory sessions to the Essex County Learning Community and the 5 District Partnership.
The Soul of Leadership offers school leaders the time, space, and facilitation to do what Parker J. Palmer calls “the work before the work.” Soul of Leadership is intended to develop principals’ critical capacity for self-awareness, listening, reflection, and leadership while providing a lived experience of the process of building relational trust and offering strategies to help leaders strengthen SEL and social justice in their adult community. The program helps integrate reflective practices into the routine of administrative team meetings and helps teams apply these practices to their daily work.
This past year, our program was fully virtual. In the future, we will return to our initial blended format which includes single-day retreat sessions spread over the course of the school year combined with virtual small group Zoom sessions in between.
What’s Next?
Alumni Network: This past year, we worked with an Alumni Network of 25 school leaders from our first two cohorts. The Network will continue and expand to include those from this year’s new cohorts.
State-wide Cohort 4: We plan to offer at least one new state-wide cohort beginning in the fall – pending grant funding to offset the cost. If you are interested in participating in the new cohort(s), please use this Cohort 4 Sign-up. A link for official MSAA registration will be sent out when plans are finalized in late summer.
Feel free to contact me for more information.
Rick Rogers
Soul of Leadership Coordinator
rickrogers409@gmail.com
NASSP upcoming events
· National Student Council Conference (NSCC), June 22–25
This virtual event will feature keynote speakers, including U.S. Women’s gymnast Gabby Douglas and Change.org founder Ben Rattray! The conference will provide student council members and advisers from across the country the opportunity to sharpen their leadership skills and build their peer networks.
o NSCC21 Promotional Toolkit
· National Principals Conference (NPC), July 14–16
This year’s virtual event offers unmatched professional learning for school leaders from across the country. Featured sessions explore equity, wellness, and innovation, as well as leadership development based on NASSP’s Building Ranks framework. We hope to see you there!
o NPC21 Promotional Toolkit
NAESP Conference in Chicago Thursday July 8 - Saturday, July 11th
Register
MSAA Student Council Year in Review
Despite the many challenges of the pandemic, the members of the 2020-21 MASC Student Executive Board worked collaboratively throughout the school year to create an impactful lineup of virtual events for student leaders across the state. Led by MASC Executive Director and Middleboro High School Principal Paul Branagan, this group students met virtually on Saturday mornings throughout the fall and winter to plan, promote and deliver the same student council programming, in a virtual manner, that the MSAA membership has grown accustomed to. The following virtual programs were offered throughout the fall:
October 8, 2020 Student Forum: Tricks Up Our Sleeves/So You Wanna Run?
October 22, 2020 Speaker Series: Phil Boyte
October 30, 2020 Presidents’ Dinner
November 5, 2020 Student Forum: Casting a Spell
November 19, 2020 Speaker Series: JC Pohl
December 3 Officershop
The great work of the Student Executive Board continued through the winter in planning a two-day virtual MASC State Conference. Replicating an in-person, overnight event that typically takes place at the Resort and Conference Center in Hyannis, MA was not an easy task, and the MASC Student Executive Board enthusiastically accepted the challenge. Their planning included the conference schedule development, state officer elections, the annual Polar Plunge and working in subcommittees to select the annual MASC award recipients. As a result of their efforts, over 700 student leaders and student council advisors registered for the MASC Virtual State Conference on April 9-10, 2020. The highlights of this virtual event included:
· Conference Schedule
Day One – Opening General Session and Keynote Speaker Jake Kelfer
Day Two – General Sessions, 19 Student-led Workshops, Advisor Sessions, Regional Meetings and State Officer Elections
· State Officer Elections (2021-22)
President: Jade Moynihan - Foxborough Regional Charter School
Vice President: Paige Money - Tahanto Regional High School
Secretary: Megan Raymond - Oxford High School
State Delegates:
Alexis Quirk - Dracut High School
Skylar Gravell - Westborough High School
Evan Hemingway - Tantasqua Regional High School
Emma Pszeniczny - Minnechaug Regional High School
· Polar Plunge for Special Olympics Massachusetts
917 Student Council members participated from 54 schools
33 teams reached fundraising levels over $500
$87,1779 total raised for Special Olympics Massachusetts
MASC was presented with the “Golden Plunger Award” as a top fundraiser in Massachusetts
· MASC Award Presentations
Unsung Hero Awards - Recognizing individuals who go above and beyond the call of duty on a regular basis with little or no recognition
Aml Rachid - Shepherd Hill Regional HS
Brigid McCarron - Melrose HS
Liam Randall - Nauset Regional HS
Gracelyn Tatta - Greenfield HS
James Rokas Award - Recognizing achievement and potential in student leadership
Lila Peddie - Middleboro HS
Molly Starczewski - Shepherd Hill Regional HS
Samantha Mikulskis - Mahar Regional School
Alexis Quirk - Dracut HS
Top Ten Projects - Recognizing top ten most outstanding projects as determined by the State Board
Blackstone Valley Tech, Duxbury, Middleboro, Nauset, Oakmont, Oxford, Plymouth North, Shepherd Hill, Walpole, Westborough
MASC Administrator of the Year
AJ Loprete – Principal, North Reading High School
MASC Advisor of the Year
Kerry McMenimen – Student Council Advisor, Walpole High School
MASC Distinguished Service Award
Bill Gaine – MSAA/MIAA Executive Director
Congratulations to the members of the 2020-21 MASC Student Executive Board for demonstrating selfless leadership and service to student councils across Massachusetts during such challenging times. The MSAA membership offers its gratitude and appreciation to these student leaders for a job well done throughout the 2020-21 school year!
2020-21 MASC Student Executive Board Members
State Officers:
Greta Russo - Rockland HS (President)
Wes Moran - Duxbury HS (Vice President)
Abby Donahue - Minnechaug Regional HS (Secretary)
State Delegates:
Nickole Biedrzycki - Oxford HS
Thiago Ferraz - Norfolk County Agricultural HS
Grace Gillam - Mahar Regional School
Mika Pelletier - North Andover HS
Regional Presidents:
Noah Miles - Middleboro HS
Haley Moore - Blackstone Valley Regional Voc/Tech HS
Nessren Ourdyl - North Reading HS
Willow Scappace - Greenfield HS
E-Sports
MSAA Esports – 2021 Spring Season and Finals Information; Upcoming 2021-22
The MSAA had another successful season of Esports! We continue to grow the number of participating schools and also add more gaming opportunities for students.
Spring Season 2021 Participation
Rocket League – 35 school teams (105 players + substitutes)
League of Legends – 26 school teams (130 players + substitutes)
Other Varsity Titles but not enough for league (New games for Spring 2021)
FIFA (soccer) – 1 team
MADDEN (football) – 1 team
Spring 2021 Champions and Finalists
Shrewsbury High School “CEO’s” were the champions of Rocket League and the Shrewsbury High School “Gatekeepers” were the champions of League of Legends.
Acton-Boxborough Regional High School were the runner-ups in League of Legends, while Wachusett Regional High School “WachuLeaguers” were the runner-ups in Rocket League!
Planning for School year 2021-22
With PlayVS, we have worked to expand schools and participants. Effort will be focused on trying to gather more interest in the following new games:
FIFA (soccer)
MADDEN (football)
*New* for Fall 2021 – Ninetendo games
Splatoon 2 “action multiplayer” will be available to schools starting Fall 2021
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe “racing game” will be available to schools starting Spring 2022
Starting a new Esports Team
If interested in starting a team at your school, you should have an advisor or other individual signup for information from PlayVS at this link. Signing up at the link does not obligate you or your school. It simply gets your interest logged and PlayVS will reach out to answer questions and support however you need.
Please now that many, many schools have esports players at your school already. It is very popular throughout the country and with high school aged students.
Summer Institute
Mark your calendars! Wednesday, July 28th- Friday, July 30th (Pre- conference Tuesday, July 27th) The Summer Institute, a three-day conference for all school administrators, offers an unparalleled gathering and learning opportunity each summer. Register
The MSAA is proud to announce the Summer Institute in our new venue set in historic Plymouth, MA. The Hotel 1620 will be the host for SI 2021 and for 2022-2023.
This year’s conference will prove to one of our best with outstanding speakers scheduled. JC Pohl, a nationally recognized “School Culture and Mental Health” professional, will kick off the conference on Wednesday morning. Thursday morning will feature best-selling author Sean Covey, who wrote the book, the 7 Habits of Effective Teens. Sean has written extensively on The 4 Disciplines within Me, The Leader in Me, and the 7 Habits of Effective People. On Thursday we will look forward to DESE Commissioner Jeff Riley’s report on the status of education in the Commonwealth. Finally, we are excited to announce another outstanding leader who will address our attendees, Coach Sherry Winn. Coach Winn is a two-time Olympian, National Championship Basketball Coach, and a three-time Amazon best-selling author.
The institute offers over 40 exciting and informative presentations from practicing administrators in our state, networking with colleagues, exposure to MSAA Corporate Sponsors, opportunities for family fun, access to all historic Plymouth has to offer, and the amenities offered by the hotel.
The theme for our conference is “Unite and Ignite 2021,” and this is a great way to get excited and prepared for the new school year! Check out this cool SI video made by the SI Committee.
Videos/Articles/Podcasts
The first two resources are from the website Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance). The first resource explains the history of Juneteenth and the second is a podcast titled Queer in America. The third resource is appropriate for elementary students, it is a Brain Pop explaining Juneteenth. The fourth resource is also a Brain Pop for elementary level explaining LGBTQ+ month and why we celebrate it. The next resource is from Vox and is a very informative short video on the history of Juneteenth. The next video explains why we have LGBTQ+ Pride month in the United States. The last resource, again from Learning Justice, speaks to how to teach "hard history".
Closing Message from Bill Gaine
On behalf of MSAA and Executive Director, Bill Gaine: Congratulations on a remarkable year! You persevered and provided your students with a safe and special year of learning. You tackled the issues at hand, not only the challenges of the pandemic but societal issues such as racism, anti- Semitism, and violence against the AAPI community. You did this thoughtfully and with strong commitment to helping our students and staff confront these issues together. Please enjoy some time off and we look forward to seeing you in Plymouth in July!
Warm Regards,
Beth
Beth Wittcoff
MSAA Assistant Executive Director
MSAA Matters Newsletter
Middle Level and Elementary Committee Liaison
Ring Central Gatherings
