New England Aquarium Returning to QMS

Thanks to funding from the PAC and the Mansfield Cultural Council, traveling exhibits from the New England Aquarium will be returning to QMS next month. The PAC has been awarded a grant of $480 by the Mansfield Cultural Council, which along with additional funding from the PAC, will be used to sponsor a live animal classification lab for the 8th grade science classes. The Aquarium exhibits will be at QMS starting on February 29 for the White Team; Bronze, Green, and Silver teams will work with the exhibits later in March.

The Mansfield Cultural Council is a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

A story every parent should hear

Ryan’s Story

Monday, January 23, 2012

7 p.m.

MHS Auditorium

Free and open to the public

As part of the PAC’s continuing “Parenting” speaker series, John Halligan, a noted speaker on bullying and teen depression, will conduct a presentation for parents and the community called “Ryan’s Story”. Mr. Halligan’s son, Ryan, took his own life in 2003; he was just 13 years old. It was revealed in much greater detail after Ryan’s death that he was ridiculed and humiliated by peers at school and on-line.

Mr. Halligan’s presentation will give the perspective from inside the family of a child who was a victim of bullying and cover the lessons learned too late for his family regarding how to deal with bullying, cyber bullying and teen depression.

The presentation is geared to adults but is appropriate for middle-school aged children and older.

For more information, please visit Ryan’s Story or contact the PAC at qms.pac@gmail.com

Sponsored by the PAC and Mansfield Bank.

The After School Study Center

The After School Study Center is a new initiative launched by QMS and funded by the PAC, offering a friendly, quiet workspace where students can get extra help with everything from reviewing of class material to talking about study tips. The Study Center coordinator, Mary Chmielecki, and National Honor Society student tutors from MHS are available to work with QMS students individually or in small groups.

Who Uses the Study Center?

All QMS students are welcome to use the Study Center on a regular basis or just once in a while.

Why Use the Study Center?

Students use the Study Center to gain skills and techniques to improve learning, including general study habits, organization skills, or homework management.

Where is the Study Center?

The Study Center is located in Room 118, just around the corner from the Main Office, and is open from 1:50 – 2:50 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays each week (except on early release days).

For more information, please contact the QMS Main Office at 508/261-7530.

Download flier here: QMS After School Study Center

National Amusement/Showcase Cinemas Discount Movie Tickets

Back again in time for the holidays, the PAC is offering National Amusement/Showcase Cinemas Prestige Discount Movie Tickets.

Ticket prices: $35 for a 4-pack of single-admission tickets, or $8.75 each for individual tickets. Order forms (download here) should be returned with payment to homerooms or to the QMS Main Office by Friday, December 2.

Tickets will be distributed in QMS homerooms during the week of December 5 or may be picked up at the QMS main office on December 8 and 9.

QMS Scholastic’s Online Book Fair – Now Open!

If you’re all booked up during Book Fair week (or just want to keep shopping), be sure to visit the QMS Book Fair online at our customized link: QMS Scholastic.

Online Fair runs now through November 30.

All purchases will be shipped free to QMS in early December (in time for your holiday shopping), prepackaged with your child’s and teacher’s names on it.  Online Book Fair Benefits:

• With Internet access, grandparents and out-of-town family and friends can participate;
• If you missed the in-school Fair, you can shop online at their convenience;
• Customers can purchase “online only” exclusives like complete series sets, classic titles, and products not available at the in-school Fair.  There’s something for everyone, from preschool to adults.

Your purchases will help place new technology in QMS and new books on the school library shelves and in teachers’ classrooms.

Thank you for supporting the Book Fair this year!

Scholastic Book Fair

The Scholastic Book Fair returns to QMS next week!

November 7 – 10

QMS Main Lobby

Book Fair Hours:
Monday: 7:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Tuesday: 7:30 a.m  – 3 p.m./5:30 – 8 p.m.
Wednesday: 7:30 a.m. – 3 p.m./5:30 – 8 p.m.
Thursday: 7:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Students will visit the book fair during their ELA classes and can also stop by during lunch and after school. Parents are invited to shop during parent-teacher conference hours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Look for Classroom Wish Lists on display and consider buying a book for your child’s teacher for their classroom libraries.

Featured Books – 100′s more can be found at the QMS Scholastic Book Fair next week!

Scholastic Middle School Featured Titles

Document Cameras at QMS

Congratulations to Mrs. Simas on the Blue team! Her project on Donorschoose – a request for a document camera to use in her ELA classes and with the Hornets Hive literary magazine – was fully funded this past week thanks to donations from QMS families, support from Starbucks, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Horace Mann Insurance, and a little help from the PAC!

Wondering what a document camera is? In the simplest terms, a document camera is the next-generation, digital replacement of an overhead projector. But a document camera goes far beyond the simple functions of an overhead by allowing teachers to share not only transparencies, but documents, 3-D objects, microscopic images, moving objects, x-rays, slides, and more, in real time. With the ability to connect to a projector or monitor to provide large-screen viewing, a document camera allows teachers to easily create interactive learning opportunities for their students.

Through your support of QMS projects on Donorschoose (for Mrs. Etter, Mrs. DeGirolamo, Mrs. Ganshirt, Mr. Ganshirt, Ms. Goffe, and Mrs. Simas), document cameras have been brought into six QMS classrooms, introducing new technology into the middle school. The district’s Math Department has since provided document cameras for math teachers at QMS.

And Mr. Bacon goes to…

Congratulations to the following top-selling homerooms and students in the 2011 Magazine Drive:

Top-selling homerooms – will participate in the pig races or pig hurl

6th Grade
1st place: Ms. Roberts
2nd place: Mrs. Ganshirt
3rd place (3-way tie): Mrs. Verlezza, Mrs. Esper, and Mrs. DeGirolamo

Grade 7
1st place: Mrs. Kalthofer
2nd place: Mrs. Edgar
3rd place (2-way tie): Ms. Charette and Mrs. Lacey

Grade 8
1st place: Ms. O’Keefe
2nd place: Mr. Tebbetts
3rd place: Mr. Tucker

Top-Selling Students in each grade – Winners of a Pizza Lunch with 5 friends
6th grade: 2-way tie: Dre Danneker and Mason Fish
7th grade: Bella Cavicchi
8th grade: Zachary Porat

Top-Selling Student Overall – Winner of “Principal for the Day”
Brian Krentzman, 7th grade (Have fun!)

Dates for these prize events are being confirmed.

Congratulations again to all our prize winners, and thank you for supporting the 2011 Magazine Drive!

The “clickers” are coming

Jenn Edgerly from the Mansfield Public School’s technology department will be at the PAC general meeting on Wednesday, October 12 to demonstrate how the SMART Board response remotes (“clickers”) work. The PAC funded the purchase of ten classroom sets of clickers, which are being introduced into QMS classrooms this fall. Find out how the clickers are used from a student perspective and from a teacher perspective and learn more about how this new technology is being received at QMS by teachers and students.

Tri-Town Drug and Alcohol Awareness Partnership

Please join community members from the towns of Mansfield, Norton, and Foxborough for the next meeting of the Tri-Town Drug and Alcohol Awareness Partnership:

Wednesday, October 5
6:30 p.m.
MHS Library

The Tri-Town Partnership works to reduce the incidence of underage drinking and substance abuse in the communities of Foxborough, Mansfield, and Norton, through increased awareness and education, and collaboration among key stakeholders in all three communities.

If you have questions, or would like to be involved but are unable to attend this meeting, please contact Patricia Harrison, Mansfield Schools Nurse Leader, 508-261-7559 or by email at Patricia.Harrison@mansfieldschools.com