Panther Press

January 15, 2023 - Volume 6 - ISSUE 16

Welcome to the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School Newsletter! It is designed to keep everyone (parents, students, staff, and community members) informed of the many events that are happening in and around the school. It contains links, pictures, and videos so that you have a more interactive experience and the ability to learn more about various topics.

Communication is incredibly important to understanding so we ask that you share our news as much as possible. We also welcome feedback! It is the only way to continuously improve. So, please interact, get involved, and let us know what you think by contacting us and sharing our news!

January 19: District Early Release - 10:15AM dismissal Grading Day Semester 1 Ends

January 22: Semester 2/Quarter 3 Begins

January 23: Parent Portal Opens - Quarter 2/Semester 1 Report Cards available

February 6-7: Biology MCAS Retest

February 9: District Early Release - Professional Development

February 14: WHRHS Panther Release Day

February 19-23: No School - February Recess

March 4: ELA MCAS Retest

March 5: No School for Students - Election Day

March 6: ELA MCAS Retest

March 7-8: Math MCAS Retest

March 13: WHRHS Panther Release Day

March 22: District Early Release - Professional Development

March 26-27: ELA MCAS Grade 10 Students

March 28: Junior Prom (more details to follow)

March 29: No School - Good Friday

Whitman-Hanson's Mental Health Club (Active Minds) is reopening their sweatshirt sale fundraiser! These are a great item and help support activities calling our awareness to and supporting our needs with mental health.

Click on this link to place your order. We will be taking orders from now until January 24th!

Thank you all so much and we can't wait to see everyone in their Active Minds wear soon!

How often do we ask that question with no interest in the answer? How often do we answer it knowing the person who asked doesn't really want to hear our answer?

We can create more of an authentic focus on social emotional learning by taking small steps to increase empathy. Take the challenge in the video by taking a small step today.

Remember that everyone is on their own journey that continues long after you have stopped seeing them. Make that time a bright, positive moment. You'll be amazed at the difference you can make.

Check out the video and let me know your thoughts. I'd love to hear them!

Mark your calendars for our annual College Admissions Seminar that will be held on January 18th in the Dr. John F. McEwan Performing Arts Center at 6:30 PM. The program is open to students and families in all grades and will feature admissions representatives from Boston College, UMass Boston, and Massasoit Community College. This panel presentation will provide expert information on the College Admissions Process at WH, Opportunities at Two Year Colleges, Mass Transfer, The State College Admissions Standards, The College Essay, and How College Admissions Decisions are made. Click here to sign up to attend.

Do you need assistance completing the FAFSA, the form required to apply for college financial aid? Join MEFA for a virtual FAFSA Festival on January 24th from 4:00 PM-6:00 PM. You can log in anytime and you will be paired with an expert who can answer your FAFSA questions and help you complete the online application. Before you join us, we encourage you to start filling out the FASFA at fafsa.gov. Click here to RSVP.

On January 23rd and 24th, counselors will be visiting grade 11 English classes for a lesson on post-secondary planning for juniors. In addition to this important lesson, juniors and their parents are encouraged to attend the College Admissions Seminar on January 18th. A Coffee with the Counselors with a focus on college/post-secondary planning for Junior parents will be held on February 9th. Sign up details for that event will be available soon.

Although many colleges and universities will remain test optional in the 2024/2025 school year, it is important for students and parents to check out SAT requirements for colleges that are of interest.

On March 20, 2024, WH will administer The School Day SAT for Juniors during the day at WH. Interested grade 11 students may sign up online by February 1, 2024 using the QR code below, this registration link, or the Junior Class Google Classroom link. Payment of $60 must be turned in by Friday, February 2, 2024. The cost for students eligible for fee waivers is $8.00. Payment is made directly to Whitman-Hanson, and the school will pay the College Board. Please contact your school counselor if you have questions about eligibility for a reduced fee SAT. If you have trouble accessing the QR code, please contact Meghan Rivera at Meghan.Rivera@whrsd.org.

QR Code to sign up for School Day SAT. Test date is March 20, 2024. Sign up deadline is February 1, 2024. Payment deadline is February 2, 2024.

This FREE course for students in grades 11 and 12 is your opportunity to see what it takes to be a firefighter. Participants will take part in classroom and practical evolutions that will provide familiarization and orientation to the fire service. Participants will be provided firefighting gear and equipment to become fully immersed in the working conditions and environment of a firefighter. The program will provide participants CPR Training, FEMA Incident Command Training and other life skills in fire safety. This class is perfect for anyone who is considering a career in the fire service. Participants will be expected to attend weekly classes and give 100% effort. The only question is – do you have what it takes? The program runs on Wednesdays from March 6th - June 5th from 5 - 8 PM. Applications are due by February 1. Please check out the flier for more information and a link to the application.

“A problem is only a problem when viewed as a problem. All change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end."

1. Make the most out of the least

It’s not about what you have, but what you do with what you have. Some people think that they need all the money and resources in the world to be successful or to be happy. No way! If you think that way, you’ll never be satisfied because you’ll always be operating from a place of unfulfillment. Ever heard that gratitude is the gateway to more blessings? Try operating from a place of gratitude.

2. Plan, Plan, PLAN

Planning is a simple and effective way to take hold of life and figure your stuff out, yet so many people don’t do it. It doesn’t have to make you a serious or rigid person. Being a planner just means that you reduce your mental load. You can go about your day without that extra stress of what needs to get done. The best part? It only takes up a fraction of your day, yet it ends up saving you so much time!

3. Make time for what you need

Many people live life with the understanding that there’s never enough time. We’ve got all the time in the world, it’s about HOW we spend it. If something’s really important to you: fitness, friends, family, self-care, or anything else that makes you happy - MAKE THE TIME. It’s all about balance.

4. Take care of your things

Take care of what you have. It costs you more to replace things than to look after them. This goes beyond just material things. Show some love and appreciation for all the things in life because not everything is easy to come by. Water your flowers and your garden will grow, ya know?

5. Make a habit of it

Consistency is the root of all habits and positive changes. You gotta keep at it, it’s crucial! Small daily actions = big progressive changes. If you’re not really about it, it won’t happen. This requires some real self-discipline, but the results are LIT-E-RALLY life-changing.

6. Find what motivates you

Who/ what are you doing it for? Figuring out what motivates you can really keep you on track. When you understand that you can reach whatever goals you have, big or small, it motivates you to keep going. Picture your dream life, visualize it with a mood board if you need to. Staying motivated isn’t always easy, so give yourself those powerful reminders to reflect on.

7. Surround yourself with love

When you surround yourself with love, everything in your life just feels better. Surround yourself with people who motivate and boost you to do better. When you allow toxicity into your space, it can really be draining. Say NO to all of that. Remember...the love's gotta come from within too! Love yourself unconditionally and watch how much lighter life feels when you’re not constantly tearing yourself down.

8. Don’t compete or compare

As soon as you compare your journey to someone else's, you’ve already lost. There’s just no point! No two lives are the same. Just because you’re not where you want to be, it doesn’t mean you won’t get there. As the saying goes, “A dream delayed is not a dream denied”. All comparing or competing will do is make you damn miserable.

9. Make room for others

Living a truly fulfilled life means being able to make space for others. It’s all about recognizing that the world is so much more than you. How are you going to help boost and encourage others? How are you going to build for better? These are the keys to building a more wholesome life.

10. Don’t let people’s expectations of you dictate how you should live

And lastly, if you want to live your best life, you have to let go of everyone's expectations of you. Choose your happiness every single day. All the validation you need should be internal. At the end of the day, you are your biggest cheerleader and YOU get to dictate how you live.

All the good stuff won’t just happen overnight, but it can happen sooner than you think if you do the work and stay consistent. Are you ready for some POSITIVE change? You can do it!

School Counselors:

Mrs. Carrigan

Mr. Murphy

Mrs. Selig

Mrs. Cunha

Mr. Amado
Ms. Rivera (Administrative Assistant)

School Adjustment Counselors:
Mrs. Siden: Grades 10 & 12
Mrs. Robichaud: Grades 9 & 11

Transition Room Counselors

Mrs. Scheim

Ms. Dauksevicz

On January 8 and 9, the peer mentors from Students Against Destructive Decisions had their second visit to Whitman Middle School and Hanson Middle School. Their presentation focused on how mental health is just as important as physical health, and they demonstrated different coping skills with their 6th grade mentees.

The peer mentors once again blew us away with their capabilities of learning the content and delivering it to the 6th grade students in an engaging and meaningful way. The 6th grade students were not only active participants, but very receptive to the information they learned about mental health and they felt comfortable sharing with their mentors. SADD's peer mentors will be visiting both middle schools again at the end of March to help their mentees build self-esteem, self-confidence, and resiliency.

Students who need to retake the Biology MCAS will do so on Tuesday February 6 and Wednesday February 7. Ms. Folan, a biology teacher here at WH, will be running review sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour after school beginning in January. Students are welcome to attend any and all sessions if they are taking the Biology MCAS in February. If there are any questions, please contact me at theresa.scott@whrsd.org or your student’s school counselor.

There is some great modeling going on in the Whitman-Hanson science classrooms! Students in Ms. Jones’ Astronomy class worked on creating their Solar System Projects, while students in Mr. Rozen and Ms. Ripley’s chemistry class built models of ionically bonded salt crystals! Way to work on the science practice of developing and using models!

• The Poetry Out Loud competition will be held on January 17th in the PAC.

• IXL mid-year testing will be starting this week in grades 9-11 to assess student progress. Please encourage students to give their best effort during testing.

• Spellman Oratorical Competition will be held on March 21st - more details to follow.

• The end of quarter two is rapidly approaching! Please make sure all or your work is in as grades are closing.

Students in Ms. Medeiros’ Women Writers elective are studying "The Yellow Wallpaper", a short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in the late 19th century. This piece is considered a significant work in feminist literature and explores themes related to the oppression of women, particularly in the context of mental health treatment and societal expectations. It sheds light on the limitations imposed on women during that time and critiques traditional gender roles and the confinement of women to domestic spheres.

Junior students have been reading, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, a collection of interconnected short stories that revolve around a group of soldiers during the Vietnam War. The book explores various themes, providing insights into the psychological and emotional burdens carried by the soldiers. Additionally, students complete a biographical sketch of a character and provide details related to character traits, which encourages a close reading and textual analysis to identify explicit and implicit information about the character.

As winter sports are almost at the halfway point we have two quick reminders.

The first and most important is that grades close Friday. Our coaches receive a report from me on a weekly basis with their players' grades and the coaches do their best to motivate students to prioritize academics. However, it is the student’s responsibility to be sure they are keeping up with all of their work. They must pass 5 full credit classes to remain eligible.

The other reminder is that four of our winter sports use the MIAA power rankings to determine seedings in the state tournament. All teams that finish 500 or above automatically qualify for the playoffs as will all of the teams which finish in the top 32. You can see the power rankings every Tuesday and Friday at 11am at www.miaa.net .

Now to this week’s update –

Jenna Mishou has been putting on a show pulling down rebounds for the girls basketball team. She hauled in 16 boards against Duxbury and another 15 against Plymouth South (in only 3 quarters because the game was a blowout) this week. She also led the team in scoring Tuesday against Duxbury with 12 points as the Panthers won a close one 48-44. Junior Bella Miniutti hit two clutch free throws down the stretch to preserve the win. In the win over Plymouth South, Maliah Pierre, Cassidy Briggs and Bella all scored 10 points to pace WH to a 69-23 victory as the girls improved to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the league which is good for first place.

The boys basketball team also won a pair of games this week beating a very strong Duxbury team on Tuesday, 66-59. Sophomore Isaiah Bean Brittian had 16 points while captains Evan Yakavonis and Ryan Baker both added 15. On Friday, the Panthers turned in their best defensive performance of the season and Sophomore Caleb Baker tossed in 15 while Junior Jah Estrela added 10 to lead Whitman Hanson to a 53-37 over Plymouth South. Senior captain Brendan Moore had a strong game on the defensive end of the floor while also adding 6 points for the Panthers who have now won 5 straight to improve to 6-2 overall and 5-1 in the league which is good for first place.

Our wrestling team finished in 6th place overall at the Weymouth Invitational Tournament on Saturday. Captain Austin Gamber 138lbs started the team off by pinning his first opponent to achieve his 100th win. Austin is now one of seven in WH wrestling history to achieve the milestone. He also went on to place 4th in the tournament. Captain Charlie Lussier was Champion at 120lbs and was recognized for having the most pins throughout the tournament. Lawson Giove 106lbs was the champion of his weight class winning his first varsity tournament. PJ Katz finished 2nd at 113lbs. Captain Jacob Metivier 150lbs placed 6th and Heavyweight Eric Sildauskas also placed 6th. Tristan Forest 132lbs, Tim Donnelly 157lbs and Evan Milkowski 175lbs all had wins contributing to the team’s success.

The boys hockey team went 1 and 1 this week falling on the road to Pembroke 5-1 but easily beating Dartmouth, 7-0 at home. Jack Sjostrom netted his first goal of his career to help the Panthers end the first period 1-0. Whitman Hanson scored three goals in the second with goals by Zach Boss, Sjostrom (2nd of the night), and Alex Ethier. They added an additional three goals in the third with goals by Chris Ryan, Boss (2nd of the night), and Connor Shields. The Panthers got assists from Luke Tropeano (4), Ethier, Boss, and Osis. Nolan Munroe stopped all 16 Dartmouth shots to get his 2nd career shutout.

The girls hockey team has been battling injuries and illness but we hope to get back on track this week as the team seems to be getting healthier. WHSL did drop both games this week to Duxbury and Notre Dame. They travel to North Quincy tomorrow (Monday 1/15) to try and get back to their winning ways.

Illness has also sidetracked our gymnastics team as their meet on Friday was postponed.

Our swimming team is back in the pool Tuesday at Percy Walker in Duxbury when our WHSL team takes on Marshfield. A reminder that to find information on our team refer to the Silver Lake site as they are the host school of the co op.

Interested in more videos, reflections, and where a many of these ideas come from and are expanded on? Don't forget to check out and subscribe to my YouTube Channel and WordPress Site

Email: christopher.jones@whrsd.org
Website: https://www.whrsd.org/our-schools/whrhs
Location: 600 Franklin Street, Whitman, MA, USA
Phone: (781) 618-7020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrCSJones
Twitter: @DrCSJones