Opening of School
This is my first report to the School Committee since the opening of school for all students on Wednesday, August 28. We’ve had a great opening week of school. All faculty returned to work on Monday, August 26th and participated in our annual Opening Meeting, where we welcomed new staff, congratulated our new Professional Status and Master Teachers and shared our adventures from summer break. Our 7th and 9th grade students attended orientation at their respective schools on Tuesday, August 27th. Seventh grade students engaged in a series of activities to get them accustomed to the middle school building and to learn about their new teammates and teachers. Our 9th grade students participated in a program led by our High School Peer Leader Organization. On Wednesday, August 28, all students in grades 7-12 returned to school and met with their teachers and attended class meetings. On Thursday, August 29th, both schools ran a “Monday” class schedule to compensate for the Labor Day Monday holiday. By Tuesday, September 3rd, both schools were operating as though we hadn’t been off for ten weeks. I want to make sure to thank our Maintenance Team, our Administrative Assistants, our Cleaning Crew and our 12-month administrative team for their work in preparing for the opening of school. We will have a report on our summer accomplishments at the September 25th School Committee Meeting.
Welcome to Our New Masconomet Faculty!
I am happy to welcome our new faculty to Masconomet. New teachers came to Masconomet for orientation on Wednesday, August 21st, where they met with members of the administration, and Kathy Natalie, our Mentoring Coordinator. Our new teacher induction program includes a series of meetings that run throughout the school year. Each new teacher is also assigned a mentor, who also meets regularly with their assigned new teacher. Our new administrators, teachers and paraprofessionals are:
| District Positions | |
| Kevin Cyr | Director of Teaching and Learning |
| Jared Cassedy | Performing Arts Dept Chair |
| Middle School Faculty | |
| Leslie Pedersen-Crowther | Special Education Program Coordinator |
| Emily Hogan | Math Teacher |
| Kevin Gallant | Band Teacher |
| High School Faculty | |
| Kevin Carens | Special Education Program Coordinator |
| Thomas O’Riordan | Math Teacher |
| Arianna Natoli | Math Teacher |
| Catherine Duval | Chorus Teacher |
| Student Services Faculty | |
| Gillian Hosman | District Reading Specialist |
| Brian Tripoli | Special Education Teacher |
| Mason Tosch | Special Education Paraprofessional |
| Mark Verry | Special Education Paraprofessional |
| Trevor Schonewald | Special Education Paraprofessional |
Parent Communications Guide
Masconomet always seeks to promote good communication – with parents, the Towns, and within and among the schools themselves. To this end, our Executive Leadership Team has developed a Problem–Solver and Communications Guide, which is intended to help us foster effective communication through putting members of the community in touch with the best person to answer their specific question. The guide can be accessed from the front page of the Masconomet Website under the “Helpful Links” heading.
The Problem–Solver and Communications Guide provides parents and community members with the appropriate contacts at Masconomet for a number of common issues, such as academics, attendance, student records and special education/student services. Because problems and concerns are best addressed at the source, we suggest that parents should always begin at this step. For example, the chain of communication for a concern about a grade on an assignment would be to begin with the teacher who assigned the grade, then to the appropriate Department Head, and then to the Principal or Assistant Principal. If the concern is not resolved, the last step in this process would be the Superintendent. If you have a question about a topic that is not listed on the Problem–Solver and Communications Guide, the best place to start is the main office of either the Middle or High Schools where our administrative assistants will then direct you to the appropriate person in the District.
In addition to the Problem-Solver and Communications Guide, our Stay Connected with Masco page lists the different types of information and the methods we use to communicate to parents and community members about what’s happening in our schools.
September 11th Memorial
On Tuesday, Masconomet students and administration joined with members of the Boxford, Middleton and Topsfield Police and Fire Departments to plant the American Flags for Masconomet’s annual September 11th Memorial Display. Thanks to Masconomet Parent Ed White for organizing the display for the past few years. The memorial was originally coordinated by Masconomet students Cole O’Malley, Nate Hopper and Olivia O’Malley (no relation to Cole) in 2006. For the past 18 years, the Flag Memorial has continued as an annual tradition at Masconomet to remember those killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Middle School Open House
Masconomet Middle School will be hosting their annual Open House on Thursday, September 12 at 6pm in the auditorium. The program will begin with a parent presentation followed by a mock schedule walk through at 6:30. During this time, parents will be able to meet their child’s teachers and hear about their classes. Please come in to make an in-person connection with your child’s teachers.
Parent Coffees
This year, the Middle and High School Principals and I will be continuing our practice of holding a series of Parent Coffees. These informal sessions are an opportunity for parents and members of the public to meet face-to-face with their principals and me to ask questions and discuss any issues they may have. Parent Coffees will be held on Friday mornings at 8:30 AM in the Middle or High School Libraries on the dates listed below. Please check in at the Main Office of the school and you will be escorted to the library.
| Middle School Parent Coffees | High School Parent Coffees |
| September 20 | September 27 |
| October 18 | October 25 |
| December 6 | November 15 |
| January 24 | December 13 |
| February 28 | January 17 |
| March 28 | February 14 |
| April 18 | March 21 |
| May 30 | May 23 |
If you have a question or concern and don’t know where to start, please consult Masconomet’s Problem–Solver and Communications Guide
To make sure you stay up to date on Masconomet news and information, Stay Connected with Masco outlines Masconomet’s communication methods.
Both our Middle and High School Principals publish weekly blogs with information from their schools. For more school-specific info, please see the High School Principal’s Masco Memo and the Middle School Principal’s Weekly Update.
News from the Masconomet Superintendent 