CPS Parent Update
October 28, 2026
Homecoming & Halloween Weekend!
CPS Parents & Guardians,
Thursday: Dress like your favorite character from a book, movie, or tv show
Friday: Whaler Pride Day! Dress in Blue & White as we kick-off HOMECOMING with games vs. MV on 10/31/26. GO WHALERS!! Be on the lookout for information about NHS's Friday Night Pep Rally, and Homecoming Parade on Saturday morning... and don't forget Halloween... parade on Main St at 4:00pm on 10/31/26.
We have had some issues with students being ineligible to play in athletic contests due to their grades. Please see the section below reminding parents of our Student-Athlete policy at CPS.
Please be on the lookout for a 'Virtual Backpack' for key information on the CPS page of the NPS website. Otherwise, there is a monthly calendar section here in this newsletter that lists upcoming events and there are month-to-month calendars on the NPS Website and printable calendars.
Video version of this newsletter: CPS Parent Update - Video Version - 10/28/26 (not ready yet)
Thank you,
CPS Admin Team
CPS Vision Statement
CPS creates an equitable, inclusive, and challenging learning environment for young adolescents to develop skills that foster independence, build student voice, and strengthen decision-making to ‘Do the Right Thing.’
C - Collaboration
P - Perseverance
S - Scholarship
October - November 2026 Calendar
Friday, October 30, 2026 - CPS Mid-Trimester Progress Reports Printed
Saturday, October 31, 2026 - NHS Homecoming - Island Cup Game vs. MV
Tuesday, November 3, 2026 - Election Day - NO SCHOOL for Students - Professional Day for Staff
Wednesday, November 11, 2026 - Veterans Day - NO SCHOOL
Tuesday, November 17, 2026 - NPS School Committee - NHS LGI - 6:00pm
Wednesday, November 18, 2026 - ACK Special Education Parent Advisory Committee - 6:00pm
Thursday, November 19, 2026 - CPS School Council - CPS Cafe - 3:00pm
Thursday, November 19, 2026 - CPS Principal's Coffee - CPS Cafe - 5:30pm
Wednesday, November 25, 2026 - Sunday, November 29, 2026 - Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL
CPS Sports Page. - then, go to top tab SCHEDULES
CPS Athletic Eligibility
ALL course grades must be passing (65% and above)
Players can always practice, but no playing in games and no off-island early dismissal/travel until all grades passing.
We check student grades on Monday mornings. That snapshot determines eligibility for the week until the following Monday.
Teachers available for extra help Monday - Thursday after school for X-Block 2:30pm - 2:50pm
Additional tutoring starting SOON (Not Yet) on Tuesday and Thursday nights 5-7pm
*students can appeal to principal and share an ‘action plan’ of how they are going to improve grades to get a ‘waiver’ to play
ASPEN GO app
Google Classroom
OPEN HOUSE INFORMATION
Be ON TIME for School (In Homeroom before 7:50am - Doors Open at 7:45am)
10th Tardy (per trimester) - 20 minute office detention after school
15th Tardy (per trimester) - 20 minute office detention after school
20th Tardy (per trimester) - 1 hour Saturday detention 9am - 10am
25th Tardy (per trimester) - 2 hour Saturday detention 9am - 11am
Resets to zero at the beginning of each trimester (12/14/26 and 3/29/27)
If late to school after 8am, no athletic play that day (games or practices), and no play for the weekend if this happens on a Friday (also applies to dances/semi-formals)
Cell Phones/Apple Watches/Meta Glasses
These personal devices are not allowed at CPS between 7:50am and 2:30pm
Students secure their phones/watches/Meta glasses in their YONDR pouch for the day
1st: Confiscated by teacher to front office - returned at the end of the day
2nd: Confiscated by teacher to front office - parent called to pick up phone
Please support us!!
FOOD/SNACKS/LUNCHES
We've also had to speak to students about selling these items to other students.
No Uber Eats or Door Dash to the school for lunch.
Take Out Food dropped off for lunches can be a problem - If you must drop off lunch, please inform your student to check for their lunch on the table in the vestibule outside the CPS front office. Please minimize; full pizzas, catered spreads, brownies, cupcakes, and even smoothies can be a source of envy to other students in the cafe.
We have evolved a long way from bag lunches and lunch boxes. A reminder that 'hot lunch' is FREE each day and consists of many choices including different types of pizza every day.
MCAS RESULTS
CPS 2026 MCAS Results
Scoring Scale:
440-469 - Not Meeting Expectations
470-499 - Partially Meeting Expectations
500-529 - MEETING EXPECTATIONS
530-560 - Exceeding Expectations
MCAS Achievement Averages of all CPS students:
2026 Results:
ELA: 489
Math: 489
Science: 499
Civics: 492
2025 Results:
ELA: 489
Math: 489
Science: 498
Civics: 491
2024 Results:
ELA: 486
Math: 487
Science: 492
% of Students in either the Meets or Exceeds Tier for MCAS:
2024 CPS ELA: 28%
2024 State Average: 39%
2025 CPS ELA: 35%
2025 State Average: 42%
2026 CPS ELA: 35% (SAME as 2025)
2026 State Average: 40%
2024 CPS Math: 22%
2024 State Average: 41%
2025 CPS Math: 27%
2025 State Average: 41%
2026 CPS Math: 29% (UP 2 since 2025)
2026 State Average: 41%
2024 CPS Science: 34%
2024 State Average: 41%
2025 CPS Science: 46%
State Average: 42%
2026 CPS Science: 46% (SAME as 2025)
State Average: 41%
Civics Not Tested in 2024
2025 CPS Civics: 32%
State Average: 39%
2026 CPS Civics: 36% (UP 4 since 2025)
State Average: 40%
Link to CPS State Accountability
CPS has been in the 20-40th percentile over the last 10 years. Our goal is to move to the top half in the state by getting above the 50 percentile. For 2025 we were at the 38 percentile, and have increased to the 46 percentile for 2026! As you can see above, our student performance averages and percentages scoring Meeting/Exceeding Expectations for 2026 are almost identical to 2025.
2024 - We made 48% of our accountability targets
2025 - We made 80% of our accountability targets
2026 - We made 49% of our accountability targets
For 2026 we were 0/4 for points for science achievement and 0/4 for points for chronic absenteeism. This explains the drop in 2025 from reaching 80% of our targets to only 49% of our targets in 2026. The science 0/4 doesn't make sense since our science scores are our strongest. We will look into this, but could be based upon our strong performance in 2025 that causes any type of dip as compared to ourselves the previous year to be considered not making our science targets.
Chronic absenteeism is when a student has been absent for 18 or more days of the 180-day school year (missed 10% or more of the year). We have had a problem on Nantucket for years when families leave the island for extended periods of time for various family reasons. As long as students make up missed work when they return, we have accepted this trend as part of our resort-seasonal community.
2025 is weighted at 40% and 2026 is weighted at 60%, for an overall 2-year target percentage of 61%
Student Annual Verification in ASPEN & TECH AGREEMENTS need to be completed by 10/31
Just a reminder that at the start of every school year, parents have to verify and if necessary, update their student's information within our student information system (Aspen).
Here is the link to ASPEN
Once logged in, go to the Pages tab and look for the 'Click Here' for the Family Connection portal.
POP-UP Blockers have to be turned OFF for the page to load. (click on the little lines on the LEFT side of the address bar and go to Site Settings)
Click the Review/Verify tab, answer the questions, sign by typing a signature, and click the green submit tab at the end.
There is also an additional Tech Agreement document to review and sign before October 31:
CPS Honor Roll & Principal's List Targets
CPS Honor Roll: All grades 85% and above
CPS Principal's List: All grades 90% and above
65% is the PASS line at CPS, to be eligible to compete in CPS Athletics and participate in extra-curricular clubs, students need to be passing (65 and above) ALL of their classes
Chromebook Care
The fee structure is as follows and will be assessed by our tech support personnel:
Minor damage - $50
Major damage - $100
Chromebook beyond repair or lost: $250
Lost charger is a $25 fee
Lost Yondr pouch is a $35 fee
Chromebooks & Chargers
My School Bucks has been set-up to collect fees for damaged chromebooks. Parents will receive bills for broken screens, keys, and other mis-handled devices.
It is a $50 fee for an out of warranty repair and $100 for a second instance. Malicious damage to a chromebook COULD lead to full value replacement ($365) - depending on the extend of damage and what can be repaired or salvaged from the broken device.
Please talk to your student about taking care of their chromebook. Please remind them that they are 'loaned' to students for their time at CPS and are not their personal devices. Students should not put stickers on their chromebooks, they should not pick keys off the keyboards, and they should not charge their iPhones through their chromebooks. The batteries are not designed to charge cell phones.
Students also need to keep track of their chargers and charge their devices each night to be prepared for school the next day. Teachers do not have loaners in their classrooms. if a student forgets their chromebook, they can borrow a 'loaner' device for the day from the front office. We have a strict system of tracking loaners throuigh the front office and it takes the burden off of classroom teachers.
If a chromebook is faulty or the battery is not working properly, we will have replacement chromebooks available while waiting for a warranty repair.
Please take care of your school-issued chromebook!
Parent Role in a School Emergency
In the event of an emergency, parents will be provided instructions through our Raptor system. This will come in many different forms, but the fastest is via text message.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding campus safety, please contact Mellisa Devitt at:
508-228-7285 x1154 or devittm@npsk.org.
See something, say something...
This approach has been present in airports and other public spaces. A good reminder to our students to 'Do The Right Thing' and report anything suspicious. It will help us make CPS a safer and better place for everyone.
CPS Student Clubs
Art Club - Hayleigh Johnson
Yearbook Club - TBDGames Club - Ms. Reed
Book Club - Mrs. Hickman
CPS Pulse - Mr. Gonnella
LGBTQ+ Club - Ms. Lake
Drama Club - Ms. Gordon
Student Council - Jesse Shalett
Science Fair - TBD
LUNCH MENU - School Lunch FREE for ALL students
CPS is under 'Secondary' with the high school menu
Per the US Department of Agriculture, School Lunch will be FREE for ALL students for the 7th year in a row through June 2027.
Free breakfasts are available, too; must pre-order through Food Service - TBD for contact info
CPS Attendance Line: 508-228-7283 option 2
CPS School Council Parent Members
CPS School Council meets on the THIRD Thursday of every month at 3:00pm in the CPS cafe. We develop the School Improvement Plan, review the Student/Parent Handbook, and discuss monthly events, and hot topics at CPS.
Term ends 2029 - Eric Finger
Term ends 2027 - Meg Browers megbrowers@gmail.com
Term ends 2027 - Stacy Montes stacy@greyladyins.com
Term ends 2028 - Sarah Ray sarah.dawn.moe@gmail.com
In addition to the parents and community representation above, the CPS School Council also includes: one student representative from each grade, 3 CPS teachers, and the CPS Admin Team.
CPS Enrollment Update: 348
We are up one student since 10/13/26. One new student enrolled last week. We ended June 2026 at 358 students, so we are down 10 students since the end of the last school year. The enrollment at CPS at the end of June 2025 was 363 students.
Cyrus Peirce Middle School
Email: hortonm@npsk.org
Website: www.npsk.org
Location: 10 Surfside Road
Phone: (508)228-7283