Shark Bytes

This week MRMS celebrated our Fall Spirit Week. If you look below in Shark Sightings, you will see some of the happenings from the week. I want to take a moment to share with you the message I shared with our students Friday afternoon. A costume day, in a middle school, can certainly be a challenge. We like to provide fun opportunities like these when possible and they always bring the building to life. On Friday, our students were fun, excited, respectful, and responsible - This is a reflection on themselves and their adults at home, so THANK YOU!

This is the final reminder that MRMS will be hosting Something Wicked This Way Comes -- all Monomoy Middle School students are welcome to attend the Fall Fest Social on Friday 11/6/26 at the Middle School. Please check your grade's timing: Grade 5 is welcome from 5:00-6:00pm, and Grades 6 and 7 are welcome from 6:00-7:30pm. Fall colors and / or appropriate costumes are encouraged for attire. This is a fundraiser for the Class of 2029 (sophomores) and admission is $5. There will be snacks and drinks available to purchase for $1 each, so bring a couple of extra dollars for that. For both time slots, there will be music for dancing in the Slim Gym and Fall Films playing in the auditorium for chilling. All are welcome!

Sean Dutch

Principal

Monomoy Regional Agreement Working Group Update

The Harwich Select Board and Chatham Select Board have jointly established the Monomoy Regional Agreement Working Group to review the assessment methodology used to determine each town's financial contribution to Monomoy Regional School District. Its membership includes representatives from each town's Select Board, Finance Committee, and leadership, School Committee, as well as non-voting Citizen Representatives and Student Representatives from each town. In order to keep the community informed about the decisions and discussions of the Working Group, periodic updates will be shared by Brad Schiff, Chair of the Working Group and Chair of the Monomoy Regional School Committee.

Over the past few months, the Monomoy Working Group has begun to meet regularly, with the location of the meetings rotating between our two towns. At the first meeting, I was elected Chair of the group, and my School Committee colleague Ryan Edwards was elected Vice Chair. I am excited to be a part of this process and look forward to broad engagement around supporting our excellent school district.

We are entering into this process with open minds, and make no presumption about the outcome. Dr. Millen and Mr. MacMillan have provided us with a great deal of detailed data to help us learn and understand the myriad issues at hand. The Working Group will continue to review information before making any recommendations or changes.

Objectives: In our most recent meeting, we finalized our objectives:

1. Evaluate and analyze how the existing assessment formula affects each member town, and provide a clear, data-driven rationale for any proposed modifications.

2. Maintain transparent ongoing communication with the community regarding the working group’s progress and findings.

3. Optimize in-district student retention while upholding its excellence and rigorous operational standards.

4. Achieve balanced resource allocation by maximizing student capacity across all grades.

We are committed to ensuring that the process is undertaken transparently and without predetermination. I welcome input from our community, so if you have any questions or comments, please email me at brad.schiff@monomoy.edu. Stay tuned for our next update!

~Brad Schiff, Chair, Monomoy Regional School Committee, and Chair, Monomoy Regional Agreement Working Group

Resources and additional information:

• Town of Chatham website

• Agendas/minutes for meetings held in Chatham

• Video recordings of meetings held in Chatham

• Town of Harwich website

• Agendas/minutes for meetings held in Harwich

• Video recordings of meetings held in Harwich

• MRSD School Committee website

PAST ANNOUNCEMENTS

Keeping Kids Safe Online: Learn how to navigate safety discussions

Community partners including Children’s Cove, Barnstable County, the Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office, Monomoy Regional School District, and the towns of Chatham and Harwich are coming together to offer information and education to parents and caregivers on digital safety for young people. The event, titled Keeping Kids Safe Online: Learn how to navigate safety discussions, will be held on November 4, 2026 at 5:30 p.m at Brooks Free Library in Harwich and on November 9, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. at the Chatham Community Center. Both sessions will share the same information, so attendees can select the one that better suits their needs. Childcare will be available at both sessions. Registration is requested for these events:

• Harwich, 11/4/26, Registration Link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/sqqptp0XjK

• Chatham, 11/9/26, Registration Link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/8uRAbkC6vE

Parents, caregivers, and anyone engaged with youth are encouraged to attend this important conversation.

Transportation updates on town roadwork

We appreciate your patience and flexibility as our towns undergo a variety of roadwork projects. You will find the most accurate and current information about road closures and detours on our town websites and on the social media pages of local public safety:

• Town of Harwich Website - this page has weekly updates from the contractors, along with detours and recommended school transportation pickup and dropoff spots
• Harwich Police Facebook Page
• Town of Chatham Website
• Chatham Police Facebook Page

Support the SHORE Food Pantry

The SHORE Food Pantry at Monomoy Regional High School has been selected again as a nonprofit partner in the Stop & Shop Bloomin’ 4 Good Program! The SHORE Food Pantry will receive $1 for each $11.99 specially marked Bloomin’ 4 Good bouquet sold throughout the month of October 2026 at the East Harwich Stop & Shop location. The funds raised will help eliminate food insecurities for our Monomoy students, families, and community. Find more information on the food pantry at https://www.monomoy.edu/shore-food-pantry.

Previous Issues of Shark Bytes

Did you know that all past issues of the MRMS Shark Bytes newsletter are linked on our website? If you missed an issue and want to find the information, you can find them all on our site.

Bus Families: We appreciate your cooperation as our bus drivers navigate their routes for this year. During the first two weeks of school, check the posted schedules periodically, as times may be slightly adjusted as students and/or stops are added or removed from routes. Please be at your stop at least 10 minutes ahead of pickup time, as traffic, student absences, and other factors may impact the bus arrival time.

MRMS Renovation Project: Keep up on all things MRMS construction at

https://www.monomoy.edu/our-district/facilities/monomoy-regional-middle-school-roof-and-siding-projects.

During Native American Heritage Month, we give special recognition to the significant contributions the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of the United States, and to our region in particular. The name of our district is derived from Monomoyick, a Wampanoag term meaning “a mighty rush of water,” and from Monomoit, one of the villages of Wampanoag Nation. We honor and acknowledge that our schools are located upon the traditional lands of the Wampanoag People, and pay our respect to members past, present, and future.

The Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers (M.A.S.T.) has chosen Catherine Kane, STEM teacher at Monomoy Regional Middle School, to receive the 2026 Joann Blum Inspiration in Science Education Award. The recognition honors a teacher who develops educational opportunities to encourage colleagues and inspire students to see science in the natural world around them.