Shark Bytes

At MRMS, we use SHARK traits to help guide our work with students. Service, Hard Work, Accountability, Respect, and Kindness are fundamental values that we seek to model and instill in students. As you read our newsletter, this week, in past, and in the future, you will be able to see these elements being lived out by our students and staff! Thank you so much for taking time each week to keep up on all our SHARK accomplishments and celebrations!

In Service,

Abby Dudley

Principal

School Counselor Appreciation Week: Join us as we celebrate our school counselors this week. Ms. Hayden, Ms. Bay, and Ms. Chace work tirelessly to know each student in the building by name, strength, and need. We encourage students and families to reach out to your school counselor to let them know that you appreciate their support! #kindness

Health and Beauty Drive Update: Congratulations to Ms Lower's class for winning the health and beauty drive competition with a total of 93 items! As a school, we collected 439 health and beauty product items. #service

January Announcement Challenge: Thank you to all the homerooms who were able to solve our January scramble challenge. To increase attentiveness during announcements, we gave letters each day during morning announcements. Each homeroom had to create a tracking system, and then solve the puzzle on the last day! While we had 18 homerooms who were able to solve the puzzle, congrats to Ms. Milan's homeroom for being the first to bust the code. A special thanks to Sawyer C. who was able to figure it out before we even gave the last letter! #respect

Grading: With the closing of grades last week, these were both posted in Aspen, and sent home with students on Friday. Thanks to the amazing MRMS student body for all of your academic accomplishments this quarter. We will be reading honor roll and passing out honor roll pins at lunches this week. #hardwork

Second Semester: We have officially entered the second half of the school year. The Spring always promises to be a busy time of year with countless activities, performances, field trips and MCAS. As the time moves so quickly, please help by checking Aspen with your students, and helping them plan for any assignments that they need to revisit. #accountability

Spirit Week is Coming! Thanks to our Student Leadership program for arranging our upcoming spirit week. Please see the schedule below if you want to help your student start to plan! #service

2/12 – Comfy Cozy Day

2/13 – Hawaiian Clothing Day

2/14 – Valentine’s Day Colors

2/15 – Locals Only (wear your best Cape Cod gear)

2/16 – Shark Day (Monomoy gear)

SBIRT Screenings: 7th grade students will participate in SBIRT screenings this week. Direct communication was sent out about this to 7th grade families. Please reach out to Ms. Hayden with any questions. #accountability to the State of Massachusetts.

Chatham Preschool: Monomoy Regional School District will be expanding its early childhood education offerings by opening a morning integrated preschool session at Chatham Elementary School for the 2024-2025 school year, in addition to the existing program at Harwich Elementary School. Read more here.

Clubs Ending: Clubs will be ending on 2/16.

Winter Coats: As the weather continues to get cooler, students will still have the option to get fresh air as a part of our lunch routine. If students are choosing to go outside, please help them remember to bring proper gear for the weather. Students MUST bring their outerwear to lunch as they are not able to return to their lockers once lunch has begun.

MRMS Yearbook! Please follow the link below to order your child’s yearbook. The yearbooks will not be given out until the last day of school. If you have any questions please contact Amanda Rice arice@monomoy.edu. If you have any pictures of current 2023-2024 MRMS school sports that can be added to the yearbook, please e-mail them to mrmsyearbook@monomoy.edu Order your yearbook today! Yearbook ID Code: 14867124

MCAS Testing Dates: Please see the Spring MCAS testing dates below. We ask that families support MRMS by ensuring that students are in school for each testing window. MCAS, like MAP, is an important performance indicator that helps us make informed decisions for students, and it is important to have all eligible students participate!

Mass.gov • A helpful resource that provides information on utility bills and rights Cape Cod

Times Needy Fund • 1-800-422-1446 or info@needyfund.org • Urgent financial assistance for Cape Cod & the Islands families including utilities. Payments are made directly to vendors through a voucher system

Lower Cape Outreach Council • 508-240-0694 or lcoc@lcoutreach.org • Short-term financial assistance for qualified applicants for payments of essential household services such as electricity, gas, rent/mortgage payments, and medical expenses. • Must be a resident of Brewster, Chatham, Harwich, Orleans, Truro, Wellfleet, or Provincetown.

Libby Arnold Stevens Emergency Assistance Program • 508-432-0015 or kim@hech.org • One-time emergency assistance for housing, utilities, and transportation. Payments are made directly to the service provider. • Must be a resident of Barnstable County with a year-round lease or mortgage, which is the only residence.

Massachusetts Good Neighbor Energy Fund • 508-775-0364 • Available to any Massachusetts resident with temporary financial difficulty who cannot meet an energy expense. • The resident must not be eligible for state or federal energy assistance. • Income must fall between 60-80% of the state’s median income levels.

St. Vincent's de Paul Societies • Provide emergency financial, clothing, and food assistance. Each one is independent and administered separately. Contact the one closest to where you live to ask about eligibility.

South Shore Community Action Council, Inc. • 508-746-6707 • Eligibility is based on gross income, household size, and vulnerability to heat costs. • If you are living in non-subsidized housing and your heat is included in your rent, fuel assistance can reimburse you for a portion of your rent.