Superintendent’s Report to the School Committee, 11/13/24

Thanks to Masconomet Community for Supporting the Middleton Fire Department

On Thursday, November 7^th, Principals DiNardo and McManus and I delivered over $1600 in gift cards to the Middleton Fire Department to say “thank you” for their efforts in battling the brush fire that has been burning in Middleton. 

The gift cards were donated by Masconomet families and faculty and staff over the prior week and collected by the Middle and High School Main Offices.  We appreciate the outpouring of support from our families and faculty for the Middleton Fire Department.

Congratulations to the Cast and Crew of The Addams Family

On November 1^st and November 2^nd, the Masconomet High School Theater Company presented the musical The Addams Family.  Congratulations to the entire cast and crew of the production for putting on a great show!  Thanks also to Mr. Brian Pereira and the faculty advisors to the Theater Company.  All the hard work definitely showed through in the performance.

Congratulations to Our Fall Athletic Teams

Our Masconomet High School Fall Athletics Teams enjoyed very successful seasons.  Here’s an update on how our teams fared this year:

Boys’ Soccer finished their regular at 14-2-2 and entered the MIAA D2 Tournament as the 11^th seed.  The boys won their first-round playoff game against Marlborough, 2-1 and lost in the second round to West Springfield, 1-0.

Cheerleading participates in the D2 North Championship on Sunday November 17 at Billerica Memorial HS. Tickets can be purchased online here.

Cross Country participates in the D2 state championship on Saturday November 16 at Ft. Devens. The girls’ race starts at 12:30 and boys’ race starts at 1:15.  The Boys finished 5^th and the Girls 6^th at the D2A Meet on November 9.

Field Hockey finished their regular season with a 13-5-0 record and earned the 15^th seed in the MIAA D2 Tournament.  The team won its round of 32 game against Leominster, 2-0 and lost its round of 16 game against Somerset-Berkley Regional, 5-0.

Football finished its regular season at 6-2 and entered the MIAA D3 Tournament as the 8^th seed.  The team then lost to Milford, 24-15 in MIAA D3 Round of 16 on November 8. Football hosts Malden Catholic in a non-playoff game on Friday November 15 at 6:00.  

Girls’ Soccer defeated Oliver Ames, 3-0, in the D2 Round of 8 on Wednesday, November 13.  Their next game will be the State Semi-Finals against Mansfield on Monday, November 18th at 5:00 PM at Walpole High School. The team finished the regular season undefeated at 17-0-1 and entered the MIAA D2 tournament as the #1 seed.  They have already won playoff games against Melrose (3-0) and Westfield (6-0).

The Golf Team finished third overall in the MIAA D2 North Tournament held on October 16.  Cole Velardo finished first in the individual D2 North Competition.  The team finished 9^th overall in the D2 State Tournament held on October 21.

Volleyball completed the regular season with and a 16-4 record, which was good enough for a 12 seed in the MIAA D2 tournament.  The team won their first playoff match against Silver Lake Regional, 3-1 and lost in the Round of 16 to Westwood, 3-0.

Masconomet Students Learn about Our Electoral Process

Over the last few weeks, Masconomet students have been very involved in learning about and participating in our National Election.

Masconomet Students Volunteer at the Polls

In coordination with the Tri-Town Clerks, over 40 students volunteered for two-hour shifts at the Topsfield, Boxford and Middleton polling sites on election day as well as during early voting.  Students were helping poll workers sign in and sign out voters, tabulate early voting ballots and greet the community as they came through the door. Some of our 18-year-old students even cast their first ballot!

The Swing State Challenge!

Students in Grade 8, 10 and 11 participated in the “Swing State Challenge” prior to the election on November 5th. Each Social Studies class divided up the seven swing states, did demographic and polling research on each of them, and then made a prediction on how each state would “swing”.  No two maps looked the same! 

Winners:  

• There was a four-way tie with classes guessing 5 of the 7 swing states:  Hughes AP Gov, Maciak CP U.S. History Period 1, Quinn Honors U.S. History Period 2, and Mitchell Honors U.S History Period 5.  
• Mr. Mitchell’s period 5 class was the overall winner by correctly guessing the popular vote distribution and five of seven swing states.
• On the staff side, the Guidance/Counseling Department guessed all of the swing states correctly.

Edward M. Kennedy Sophomore Field Trip

On November 5, Election Day, Masco Social Studies teachers Kim Marini, Laura Greeley and Peter Magner accompanied 100 sophomores to the Edward M. Kennedy Center for the Senate.  They participated in the Voting Rights Senate Simulation in which they role-played Senators from around the country.  Masco sophomores engaged with experts in committee hearing, built the bill from scratch and then argued the bill on the Senate floor.  A great day for experiential civics learning!

Massachusetts Ballot Question #2 and MCAS Testing

Ballot Question 2, regarding the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam, has been approved by voters. What does this mean?

The question asked voters whether students should be able to graduate high school without achieving a certain competency on the MCAS exam.

Since the question passed, MCAS testing competency is no longer a requirement for students to graduate high school. The standard for high school graduation is now determined by the district rather than by the State. Students must still complete all district graduation requirements. 

However, MCAS testing will not be eliminated. State testing is federally mandated, so Masconomet students will continue to take the MCAS exams on the current state schedule.  All students in grades 7, 8 and 10 will be tested annually in English/Language Arts and Mathematics.  Additionally, students in grade 8 will be tested in Civics and students in grade 9 will be tested in Science and Technology.

High School Parent Coffee on November 15

Our next High School Parent Coffee will be held on Friday, November 15 in the High School Library.  Parents are asked to check in at the main office to sign into the building.  They will then be escorted to the library for the Parent Coffee.

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