(978) 887-2323 Fax (978) 887-7243 ccullinane@masconomet.org
Middle School
Catherine F. Cullinane, Principal
Extension 6122
Dear
Students and Families:
I am very
pleased to begin my third year at the
As we plan
for our academic year at the Middle School, many students and parents wonder
about each student’s team assignment.
The administration and guidance counselors assign students to one of the
three teams at each grade level. Some of
the variables that go into the mix are a balance of boys and girls, a mix of
students from each town, and a variety of academic abilities. Due to the complexity of the team
assignments, we cannot accept or honor requests from parents or students
regarding a change in team assignment.
Our team assignments allow all of the students to make new friends each
year. We are firm on this issue because
we believe that children can have a successful experience no matter what team
they have been assigned to. We know
students and parents are eager to know their assignments; therefore, we now
mail them the information at the beginning of August.
Previously
our teams consisted of four teachers, Math, English, Science, and Social
Studies. We now have five-person teams,
with a Special Education teacher added to each team.
As you may
already know, we give each student an agenda book at the beginning of the
year. Students who record their homework
and long-term projects daily and have a consistent time and place to complete
homework are generally successful in school.
It is important for students to clean out binders, notebooks, backpacks,
and lockers periodically and discard unnecessary clutter.
As a
student’s workload increases, knowing how to study and organize materials are
important skills. The Middle School
offers a Study Skills class. We also offer
Academic Support, which means all students return to homeroom at the end of the
day to review the assignments in their agenda books. If they have forgotten to get a book or paper
from a teacher, they can retrieve it at that time.
We
continue to offer Health in Grade 7.
Students receive two trimesters of Physical Education and one trimester
of Health. Students in Grade 8 also
receive a trimester of Health. First
Aid, Nutrition, and Wellness courses have taken the place of study halls. These courses are assigned contingent on a
student’s individual schedule.
We
welcomed six new teachers and four new tutors this year. Several teachers retired last June. It was a busy spring interviewing to fill
these positions. We are pleased to
welcome these new teachers to our staff.
Thank you
for your support as we strengthen our Middle School programs and
practices. If you have any questions,
please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Catherine
F. Cullinane