1st Semi-Annual Math & Science Fair plus More!

You are invited to attend the 1st Semi-Annual Math and Science Fair to be held this Thursday, January 10th, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in the MHS library. Students from all honors level math classes, Geometry classes, and Honors Chemistry II have been working diligently on designing and implementing subject-specific projects and will be presenting their research in an exhibition forum. Come see the amazing projects these
students have developed!

Next week marks the end of the first semester. Students have final exams scheduled on Thursday and Friday, January 17th and 18th. Those two days are also 1/2 days for students with dismissal at 10:35am. Please refrain from having your children miss either day or have them dismissed if at all possible. Our teachers have worked hard to prepare their students for the concluding assessments and having students absent only hinders the teachers' abilities to complete the courses.

And finally, school administration and staff have been consulting with the Monson Police Department to ensure our protocols are current and inline to provide the safest environment possible for our students. One concern is the building access before school. Policy states students are not allowed in the building before 7:22am. Past practice has allowed our students to enter the high school prior to this time. Unfortunately we are finding that many students begin roaming the building with no supervision before school begins. We are working on a solution that will allow students who must arrive early access to the building while maintaining a safe and supervised environment. I ask that if possible, please do not have your children arrive before 7:22am. If needed, students can still enter the building and we will continue working on developing a supervised area for your children.

Thank you for your time. I appreciate the support as we continue to serve your children. Take care and have a wonderful evening.

Galileo Testing

Hi everyone. Below is the text of a Connect-Ed message and corresponding email I'm sending to all freshmen and sophomore families this evening. Please let me know if you have any questions. I'm excited for this new venture as it promises to better prepare our students and allow us more immediate feedback to ensure we're targeting weaknesses and building on strengths PRIOR to MCAS. Take care!

Good evening, this is Dr. Linkenhoker, the Principal of Monson High School. I’m calling this evening to inform all parents that we are starting with our Galileo testing next week in all freshmen and sophomore Math, English, and Science courses. The district instituted the Galileo assessment in the middle school last year. This year, we’ve expanded to Quarry Hill and Monson High School. The purpose for this assessment is to provide valuable information on student growth during the school year. Having this data will allow teachers and administrators to review the results and make immediate instructional changes when needed to better support our students.

This is not unlike the athletic arena where as a coach we are charged with preparing our team for the championship game. In this case, the championship game is the annual MCAS testing in Math, English, and Science. Our teachers (i.e. coaches) work with our students throughout the year to build student skills with the goal being that all students are Advanced or Proficient when MCAS are administered. The flaw in previous years was that we never had our students play in any games before that championship game. We never truly knew throughout the year where our students stood so we could focus on weaknesses and build on strengths before that championship game. Galileo will be those so called games. We will garner information on strengths and weaknesses so we can better prepare our students prior to MCAS.

While Galileo is not a high-stakes test for our students, I am asking that as parents we encourage the students to focus and try hard. This is the only way we can truly know where they stand. The testing schedule will span over the next two weeks. Students will take the test in their specific Math, English, or Science courses so there is no impact on the other subjects. This test if completely computerized and the results will be available soon afterwards. The plan is for students to test three times during the course. These intervals will allow us to evaluate student growth and ensure we are successfully progressing towards Proficient and Advanced levels.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office. I appreciate the time and your support as we strive to provide the best possible education for your children.

Have a wonderful evening.

Fall Open House Reflection

Thank you to all families who attended our annual Fall Open House Last night. This is an important piece in building a strong and positive relationship with the school and your child's teachers. The following is the attendance data from the Open House:

Freshmen: 57% of families attended
Sophomores: 45% of families attended
Juniors: 37% of families attended
Seniors: 32% of families attended
Total: 44% of families attended

Please mark your calendars for Thursday, February 7, 2013. This will be our annual Spring Open House. I encourage all families to attend as your child will have all new courses and thus all new teachers then. If you attended last night then you should also attend on 2/7/13. If you weren't able to make it last night, I would highly recommend the Spring Open House.

Take care!

Target Taking Charge of Education

This morning I received a check from the store, Target, in the amount of $187.42. We received the check as part of Target's Take Charge of Education program. When customers use their "Red Card" when cashing out at Target they can state they want to participate in this program and assist Monson High School. By doing so, up to 1% of the purchases is donated to the school. This past year's contributions resulted in today's check.

I want to officially thank all of our MHS families and friends who participated over the past year. If you want more information about this program feel free to visit www.target.com/tcoe

Your willingness to support MHS will allow us to use this money to further support programming opportunities for our students.

Thank you!

Little Making a Big Impact

Congratulations to MHS Sophomore Rachel Little who was recently selected to represent New England on the Youth Preparedness Council. The YPC works with FEMA to discuss and prepare emergency response protocols.

There is a nice article chronicling Rachel's trip to Washington DC and her upcoming work with the Youth Preparedness Council. Check it out here.

The article mentions that Rachel wants to create a Community Emergency Response Team here at MHS. She and I spoke earlier this week to discuss ideas and next steps. If you're interested in helping Rachel out with this exciting opportunity feel free to contact me and I can make that connection.

Great job Rachel. You represent MHS and Monson well!

First Day of School

Below is the text of a Connect-Ed message scheduled for this evening. I believe this was one of the best first days here at MHS in a long time! I wish everyone continued success and a wonderful year! Please note in the Connect-Ed message that Open House is scheduled for next Thursday, September 6th from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Take care!

Good evening. This is Dr. Linkenhoker, the Principal of Monson High School. I’m calling tonight to share some important information with all families. First, I wish to thank the entire student body for an excellent first day. Our 1^st Annual Kick Off Pep Rally was a great success. I appreciate everyone’s attention and spirit and again congratulate all students recognized this morning for making last term’s honor roll. I hope to recognize more students at our 2^nd term Pep Rally to be scheduled in November.

Please mark next Thursday, September 6^th on your calendars. This is our fall open house. Open House will run from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Parents will follow their child’s schedule along with having an opportunity to meet their child’s SAP advisor. This is a great evening where you can meet the teachers and learn about classroom expectations, assessment practices, etc.

And finally, I want to remind families that school lunch prices increased this year to $2.75. If you have any specific questions pertaining to the lunches please contact Mrs. Melody Gustafson, the Food Services Director, at Quarry Hill Community School.

Once again, the school year is off to a great start. I wish everyone an enjoyable and successful year. Please do not hesitate to contact the office with any questions. Take care and good night.

1st Annual Kick Off Pep Rally

Below is the text of a Connect-Ed message being sent tonight to families who had students make the honor roll for the 4th term last year. We're beginning a new tradition this year in which we recoginize students on a quarterly basis who made the honor roll through a school-wide pep rally. This LINK is for the official schedule for next Wednesday's program.

Good evening. This is Dr. Linkenhoker, the Principal of Monson High School. I am calling tonight in regards to your son or daughter making the honor roll for the 4th term last year. We are starting a new tradition this year where we will hold quarterly pep rallies to recognize students who made the honor roll the previous term. Our first pep rally, to honor the 4th term awardees will be on the 1st day of school, next Wednesday. For an official schedule, please visit my blog at www.mhsprincipalblog.blogspot.com. Parents of awardees are welcome to join us in the gymnasium. Please arrive for 8:15am. Students will be called to the gymnasium at 8:25. The beginning of the program will be a traditional school-wide meeting with administration sharing important policies and expectations to the students. We will then transition to the pep-rally where we will introduce the entire MHS faculty and staff and then recognize the students who made the honor roll last term. I hope this is the start of a wonderful new tradition and I hope to see many of you here next Wednesday morning to celebrate your child’s success. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via email: linkenhokera@monsonschools.com or phone: 413.267.4589. Take care and have a wonderful evening.