The Cohasset Compass

Dear Cohasset Public Schools Community,

It's amazing to me that this is the last Cohasset Compass that I am writing for the 2024 - 2025 school year and that I've just about completed my first year as Superintendent of the Cohasset Public Schools. As I think about the year, there is so much to celebrate and to be grateful for. One of the things I'm most excited about as we close out this school year and look forward to the next is our new strategic plan. This new plan was presented to and approved by School Committee at the May 21, 2025 meeting. This plan is, formally, the work of the last five months, and, informally, for the last year.

I am incredibly proud of this new plan and of the people who helped bring it to fruition. Since early March, this group of individuals came together six times for three hours at a time to review and analyze data; revise our district’s mission, vision, and core values; identify our priorities; and write our strategic initiatives. What was most exciting to me about this group was that it truly represented all of our stakeholders - administrators, teachers, parents, and students. So, I’d like to say thank you to: Dr. Leslie Scollins, Rock Roberts, Susan Owen, Michael Stapleton, Brian Scott, John Mills, Alex Sullivan, Amy Gaudette, Aleisa Gittens-Carle, Bob Erlandsen, Karin Johnston, Ed Savage, Malone Yemini, Gabby Madden, Katie Kenealy, Paddy Foley, Dylan Jewell, Charlotte, Tabaczynski, Stephanie Williams, Dominique Vecchiolla, Kiera Lynch, Madden Wosneski, Jen Lesky, Craig MacLellan, Garisbel McDonough, Jessica Brooks, Danielle Topalain, and Allison Corbett.

I'd also like to give a special shout out to the students who were on the committee. It is never easy to be a teenager in a room of adults and speak up, speak your truth, and impact the outcome of the work. The students on our committee, however, did just that. We started our first session telling the students how important they were and they more than rose to the occasion. Their voices and stories were powerful and their impact lives in the plan you have in front of you. I hope our student representatives will continue to play a role in the work we have ahead of us.

Together, we developed this new strategic plan which serves as a comprehensive roadmap to our future. It will guide our growth and development for the next five years. It will help keep us focused and on track. It was designed based on our data and is representative of what is more important to address in our district right now. I truly believe it will lead us to a future that exceeds many of our expectations.

To access the May 21, 2025 presentation, please click here. The final draft of the full plan will be shared with the public at the start of the 2025 - 2026 school year.

In closing, I'd like to thank all of you for making my first year as Superintendent a wonderful one. It truly is an honor to serve in this role. I wish you all a wonderful summer and look forward to a new school year that will start for grades 1-12 on Tuesday, September 2, 2025!

Ever Onward,

Sarah

• Cohasset Middle School & Cohasset High School @ 11:30AM
• Deer Hill Elementary School @ 12:15PM
• Joseph Osgood Elementary School @ 12:20PM

Lunch will not be served.

Congratulations on a tremendous school year! As we finish strong in the last week of school and move into the summer months, I wanted to remind you of the last day of school dismissal schedule, our summer hours, and some back to school dates-to-know.

Summer Office Hours:

The following are our typical summer office hours (please know that any changes that impact this schedule will be communicated by the individual schools / posted on the school and district webpage):

Cohasset High School:

July: Tuesday – Thursday, 8:00 – 12:00

August: Monday – Friday, 8:00 – 2:00

Cohasset Middle School:

July: All requests/visits should please be directed to CHS Main Office

August: Monday – Friday, 8:00 – 2:00

Deer Hill School:

July: Please email Principal Alex Sullivan to schedule any in-person visits.

alsullivan@cohassetk12.org

August: Monday – Friday, 8:30 – 2:30

Joseph Osgood School:

July: Tuesday - Thursday, 8:30-12:30

August: Monday – Friday, 8:00 – 2:00

Central Office:

July: Monday – Thursday, 8:00 – 3:00, Friday, 8:00 – 12:00

August: Monday – Thursday, 8:00 – 3:00, Friday, 8:00 – 12:00

Kicking off the 2025 - 2026 School Year:

While I don’t want any of us to wish summer away, I do want to be sure that the start of the 2025 - 2026 school year dates are on your calendar. Please mark:

• Tuesday, September 2, 2025 as the first day of school for all students grades 1 - 12, Wednesday, September 3, 2025 as the first day for our Kindergarten students, and

• Monday, September 8, 2025 as our first day of school for our Pre-K students.

On May 7, Principal Scott shared the results of the work of the CHS Cell Phone Task Force with the CPS School Committee. During that report, he shared that the CHS Away For the Day Pilot was a success and that the task force all agreed that students should not have their cell phones during class. The task force was somewhat split on if high school students should have access to their phones during break, utility, and lunch. The School Committee engaged in conversation about this policy decision at the May 21 meeting and again at the June 4 meeting. At their next meeting on Wednesday, June 18, they will vote on whether the CHS cell phone policy will be Away For the Day for the full day or only during classes. The June 18th meeting will be the final opportunity for those interested to provide public comment.

Earlier this year, the district engaged Mr. Mark Ottavianelli, former Athletic Director from Taunton, to perform a complete assessment of the Cohasset athletics program based on the New England Association of Schools and Colleges's (NEASC) recently developed athletic standards. Mr. Ottavianelli shared his findings at the June 4 School Committee meeting.

Mr. Ottavianelli's final findings stated: "Cohasset High School has a strong, successful educationally based athletic program that provides many opportunities for their student-athletes. The student-athletes' proud work ethic, character and drive is instrumental in attaining their academic, social, and athletic success. The dedication and commitment of the coaching staff and school administration to their student athletes and their safety and well-being is sincere and admirable. The interest and passion of the community is strong and needed for the success of their children. All stakeholders involved have the best of intentions and the student’s well-being as a priority. Passion and involvement lead to differences in opinions in many cases. The school and the athletic program can build upon their success by reviewing policies and procedures, developing communication skills, and working together to improve a highly successful program that will benefit all students in the future."

More information about the steps CHS will take to build upon the current successes of the athletics program and address the recommendations will be shared with the School Committee and the CPS community in the fall. You can click here to access the full report.

Please join us as we commemorate Juneteenth and celebrate the news of the Emancipation Proclamation reaching Texas on June 19, 1865 (a full two years after it was signed). We are very excited to mark this as our FIFTH celebration of this important holiday on the South Shore. Join your neighbors in celebrating the resilience and culture of our Black and Brown community with live music, dance, food for purchase, kids’ activities, and more! Free and open to all.

Learn more at https://hinghamunity.org/event/5th-annual-juneteenth-celebration/

Date and Time: Thursday, June 19, 4:00-7:00 pm

Location: The Bandstand at Hingham Harbor

Sponsored by the South Shore Unity Council

As we continue to talk about how to keep our children safe, happy, and healthy, we will keep talking about the impact of social media and need to add to that the achievement culture that exists in Cohasset. Throughout the strategic planning process we heard from our students though surveys, forums, and in one-on-one conversations that they feel an extreme pressure to achieve at high levels in all areas of their lives. What does this mean for them? What does it mean for us as parents and educators? They are asking us to talk about it, so we are. Join us in this important discussion and pick up your copy of Never Enough at Buttonwoods.

Keeping up with our Anxious Generation purposeful play and responsible risk taking challenges, I am inviting you to join in on our summer activities. This summer, our challenges are:

Purposeful Play Challenge

Let's get creative! Summer is here and the options are plentiful! That said, Sandy Beach is a beautiful spot that we are so fortunate to be able to access, so go build a sandcastle, jump in the waves, or collect shells and sea glass.

Responsible Risk Taking Challenge

This summer evaluate where your child is based on age and developmental stage and help them set a goal to do one new thing and to do one thing independently that they've only ever done before with support.

Cohasset is a community comprised of experts in a wide variety of fields. In order to deliver more authentic, hands-on, project-based learning experiences to students, the Cohasset School Committee, in collaboration with district leadership, is working to develop a "Community Resource Guide." This Guide will serve as an invaluable resource to our classroom teachers and school staff, as it will provide them with a comprehensive database of all stakeholders and interested parties who are willing to share their background, experience, and expertise in furtherance of our mission to Empower Students to Improve Communities.

There are many different ways in which one might participate in this endeavor, including classroom presentations, hosting or facilitating field trips, creating shadow or internship opportunities, or assisting with project-based learning experiences.

If you are willing to share your unique talents, passions, interests, and/or expertise, please click this link to fill out a brief interest form. We thank you for your willingness to volunteer your time in order to deliver impactful learning experiences to CPS students.

Onward and Upward,

Your School Committee

We are also excited to announce that the Cohasset Public Schools has a new Facebook page. Our District used to rely on Twitter to share news, announcements, and updates, however, we are shifting away from that platform and will now be sharing similar information via Facebook. We invite you to click here to Like and Follow our page to stay on top off all of the latest CPS news.

MPY is pleased to offer proven resources to help students' families thrive. Explore this curated collection of quick videos and informative handouts thoughtfully grouped by relevant topics. Each segment below is filled with proven, practical, and easy-to-implement video solutions on a wide range of parenting challenges.

Some offerings include:

• Inspire School Success for Elementary, Middle & High School Students

• Parenting Principles for Progress not Perfection

• Support Your Anxious Child

• Help Your Neurodiverse Child Thrive (ADHD/ASD)

Click her to learn more and see all of the offerings.

• June 17: Last Day of School (Early Release, see times above)

• June 18: School Committee Meeting @ 6:00pm