New Theme, Old Traditions Take SHAPE AT Mashpee Christmas Parade
By Maile Biehl
​The fourteenth annual Mashpee chamber Christmas parade took place on December 7. With the theme this year being "Christmas around the world", many unique floats were on display.
The parade was kicked off at Deer Crossing in Mashpee with the Colum Cille Pipes and Drums Band from Cape Cod, followed by horses and The Mashpee Middle High School Band performing multiple songs.
Every year, a group in the parade wins Best In Parade and this year, the winner was Quashnet School's Carousel of Kindness. This award has been a part of the Mashpee Chamber Christmas Parade for many years and each year, a different group or float is awarded.
Mashpee's environmental Club is Getting Their Hands Dirty
Last Thursday, as the snow was falling and most were at home with hot cocoa and holiday movies, members of the MMHS Environmental Club dedicated an hour after school to a trash audit. Students sampled one bag from the recycling bin and one bag of trash, to study what their peers are throwing away, and whether their waste was rightfully placed.
So, what exactly does this mean? A trash audit is defined as an analysis of the trash or recycled product actually being collected by a certain dumpster--that is, what people throw away in a certain place, and whether this waste is being correctly disposed of. The purpose of performing a trash audit is often to create a more complex profile of what makes up local waste, and how this trash can be better utilized.
Outside The Classroom with Mr. O
Interview by Maile Biehl
The Falconer: How's your first full year teaching here so far?
Mr. Ouimet: So far, my first year teaching has been going pretty well. The fact that I got to substitute here and work as a paraprofessional here for the last three years leading up to this has helped a lot with transitioning. I knew most if not all of my students already before the year started so I did not have to worry quite as much about fitting into the culture here and I have just been able to focus on the academic side of things and lesson planning and all that.
The Falconer: What drew you to teaching here rather than somewhere else?
Mr. O: I think, just the experiences I had substitute teaching the first two years I was here led to me really wanting to stay in Mashpee. It was just a great community overall. Before working in Mashpee, I was in Wareham substituting for a year at the middle school. I enjoyed it a lot. That's kinda where the interest in teaching for me was sparked but it was much crazier, a crazier building and a just, very different atmosphere. So Mashpee was a nice change of pace and I really liked how things are run, how administration handled things and just in general, the student body is just made up of just great kids and great people, just the whole package. It's just a good place.
MMHS Seeks New Ways to Curb Vaping
By Paul Menke
The start of the 2019 school year marked a heightened agenda for Mashpee Middle High School: Eliminating vaping from its grounds. Two powerful anti-vaping messages were delivered by Dr. Jeffrey Spillane and Johnathon Thompson on Sports Night, signifying the start Mashpee Public School's full-fledged commitment to eradicate student vaping.
The school's new initiative is in line with efforts by Governor Charlie Baker, who recently signed into law a temporary ban for the sale of all vaping products.
But what steps need to be taken to fulfill the school's promise? You may have noticed the desks and teachers stationed outside of hall bathrooms during class time recently, but it turns out that they are not recent at all.
New Later start time: Is it Beneficial?
Since the first day of school, there has been one notable difference for MMHS students: a later school start time. With a fifty minute delay, bringing first bell from 7:30 to 8:20, Mashpee scholars and staff found themselves affected in multiple ways.
​The change has been largely polarizing to students and faculty alike. Supporters of a later start time often highlight the benefits of teenagers receiving more sleep, including an improved academic performance and focus. Meanwhile, opposers point out the schedule disruptions caused by an hour's delay, affecting daycare, sports, extracurriculars, and even jobs.
Parting Thoughts From Ms. Vaughn
The Falconer: What was your biggest inspiration in becoming a teacher?
Ms. Deborah Vaughn: After being personally involved with the events of 9/11 in my former career, I wanted to do whatever I could to make the world a better place. That's when I decided that teaching was the career that I could reach and make a difference in many young adults lives so they, in turn, could make a positive impact on the future for all of us.
TF: What was the most enriching class you got to teach throughout your career?
DV: I absolutely loved all of my classes, but if I had to choose one course that I truly loved, it would be AP Language and Composition. It was always like magic to watch students learn to specifically focus on empowering their "voices", realizing the power of words, and using language in their writing and conversation to have those "voices" heard.
Mr. O'Donnell Retires After Years at Mashpee Middle-high School
Every student who's taken Psychology, Law, or World History with Mr. O'Donnell before can vouch to his stories, love of music, and famous Jeopardy test reviews.
A teacher at Mashpee Middle-High School for over eighteen years, Mr. O'Donnell has become an impactful figure within our community, and not just because of his epic vinyl collection that covers the walls of his classroom.
Renewed MMHS AV Club Allows Students To Become Filmmakers
By Conor Baron
​The Audio Visual Club, also known as the AV Club is a new after school club that has recently been brought back to Mashpee by Mr. Chiuppi. The club meets weekly to work on a variety of different projects involving videos and podcasts.
"The AV Club was brought up by myself, but really it was originally something that happened at Mashpee in the years prior," Mr. Chiuppi, known as Mr. QP, added. When this club was first created a few years back, it allowed students to do newsreels, video clips, and other projects that allowed students to have access to the kind of technology and opportunities that involve that club. Unfortunately as technology upgraded, the originally equipment was out of date.
So when, Mr. QP brought the club back up, soon after, it was decided that a new studio could be built up in the library. Mr. Looney helped by allowing the club to have more new up to date equipment. From that, the present AV club is back here now.
Programming the Future: Mashpee Robotics Programs take STEM Challenges to New Heights
The Mashpee Robotics Team accepting winning awards at the Cape Cod Mini Maker Faire, 4/27/2019
Would you want to learn how to program a robot? Design it? Remotely control it? Although this may seem only possible in the future as a middle or high schooler, Mashpee students from grades 7 through 12 do it everyday either in their Robotics elective class, or after-school as a part of the Mashpee competitive robotics team, both led by Ms. Hough.
"The robotics team is two-fold," she said. Ms. Hough continued on to describe how the robotics team plays two important roles: it offers curious students the opportunity to explore programming and building robots, and also provides dedicated STEM trainees with the chance to compete with other high schools across the region.
Each year, the VEX Robotics Competition sends out a challenge to participating high schools, and robotics students must build a fitting robot to complete that challenge and compete against another school's in a two minute game. During the game, only fifteen seconds of the robot's actions are pre-programmed. The rest is student-controlled.
Anti-Vaping Poster Contest Ends Friday
Mashpee Public Schools are teaming up with local organizations to fight against vaping through a school-wide poster contest.
This competition, headed alongside the Mashpee Substance Abuse Task Force and the Kiwanis Club of Mashpee, offers students the chance to win a $100, $50, or $25 gift card by creating an original poster that "shares the harmful effects of vaping and how to resist peer pressure," according to the contest flier.
Entries and forms must be submitted by March 22, all of which will be displayed on April 2 at the Drop-In Night at the Mashpee Community Health Center.