Miscoe Hill Weekly Update

Spring MCAS Dates for 2021

MCAS: We want to avoid spreading our tech support team too thinly. Therefore, our in-person students and our Stand Alone Remote (SAR) students will take the ELA and math assessments on different dates. At this time, the plan is for grades 5 and 8 SAR students to take the science MCAS remotely at the same time as their peers who are fully in person.
In Person MCAS Dates:

• 5/14: Practice test 8:30-9:30
• 5/18: Science grades 5, 8 only (includes SAR students taking remotely)
• 5/25: ELA test 5-8
• 5/26: Math test 5-8
• 6/8 Tentative date for Innovative Science Assessment pilot, Grades 5 and 8 (includes SAR students taking remotely)

SAR MCAS Dates:

• 6/2 ELA
• 6/3 Math

Our Miscoe Hill Grade 8 students are currently engaged in a project that empowers them to reflect on their interests and strengths to explore relevant career paths. Students recently completed the Strengths Explorer survey in Naviance, in which students are asked a series of reflection questions that generates a report with their Top 3 strengths. Naviance then uses the data from the Strengths Explorer to provide students with information on a wide range of fields and career pathways that are relevant to their report. Students spent the week before April reviewing potential career options and have selected one they would like to investigate further.

Now we need your help! The next step in this process is for students to interview someone in their field of choice. In the following form, you will find a list of careers that students have identified as their top choice. Please complete this simple form if you are interested in being interviewed by a student or a small group of students. Interviews will take place over Zoom and will last no more than 30 minutes. We are aiming to schedule the interviews for 1:45 PM during the school week; but if you are interested and unavailable at that time, we can likely work within your schedule. Please respond by the end of the week so we can begin scheduling interviews. We thank you in advance for your willingness to participate.

Questions? Contact Dave Quinn via email at dquinn@mursd.org

May 10th to May 21st, Project 351’s Mendon and Upton Ambassadors Kayla Vallecillo and Jocelyn Graham are hosting a clothing drive in partnership with Cradles to Crayons. They are accepting clothing donations that are new or gently used and that range from sizes newborn to youth large. The homeroom with the most clothes donated will win a class prize! Clothing Bins are placed outside of Miscoe, Clough, Memorial, and Nipmuc. If you’d like to participate in the competition, please place your donation in one of Miscoe’s donation bins with your student's homeroom teacher’s name. Thank you!

Registration is now OPEN for Virtual Summer Science Academy. Is your child entering grades 5 to 7? Do they enjoy the great outdoors? Do they love exploring the environment around them? Outdoor Environmental Adventures is the summer program you have been looking for.

Fee: The program fee of $40 is due at the time of registration. No refunds within 30 days of the program start date.

Grades: For students entering grades 5 to 7
Location: Your home, online, and the great outdoors (a nearby waterbody)
Dates: July 26 - 30, 2021
Time: There are 2 different sessions that students can choose from.

Additional information can be found on our website:

https://www.bridgew.edu/center/case/science-academy

To Register:

https://secure.touchnet.com/C20026_ustores/web/store_cat.jsp?STOREID=17&CATID=409&SINGLESTORE=true

This is a program designed to help students who are struggling with organization and work-completion. It will be especially helpful during the unique circumstances of this school year. WIN program runs on Tuesday and Thursday each week

W.I.N. After School Program Update - Please note the change in time for W.I.N. will start immediately after school and run until 3:30PM in Ms. Joyce's classroom, Room 220. Don't forget to bring a snack!W.I.N.

Please help support Miscoe Hill Athletics. Our athletic program is self funded. That means that equipment, refs, coaching tools, stipends etc, are all paid for through fundraising and athletic fees. All Miscoe Hill spring athletes will be selling these sheets. Click here to place an order.

On May 17 there will be a meeting during project block at 1:40PM in the lower gym for all interested students who want to play football next year at Nipmuc.

Fall 2021 Season of Nipmuc NFL Flag Football 1st-10th Grade!

In all the registration CRAZINESS going on right now, we are very excited for Early-Registrations to begin! Yep, August is right around the corner! Lol! Just like last year, our Nipmuc NFL Flag Football program is for co-ed Fall 2021-2022 Grades 1-8 and the NEW 9/10 Travel. We will also have a Spring Flag Football Clinic again this year so the kids can build skills while getting in some early Flag Football Fun! See Below.

Spring Flag Football Skills Clinic - MAY 15th & 22nd @ 5:30-830

We will also have a Flag Football Skills Clinic on Saturday, May 15th and Saturday the 22nd which you can register for. This is a great pre-season training option with speed/agility drills, Passing, Wide Receiver skills, and much more! Not to mention all the fun the kids will have! The Clinic will run for two days, from 5:30-8:30pm at The New England Baseball Complex(NEBC) in Northboro where we hold our games. We will have a Former NFL Pro Quarterback trainer on the last day running drills for the kids! We highly encourage players from all levels to participate as this will help develop and improve skills from last year. Cost is $55 per player. Price includes both days.

The 2021 Flag Football Season

We can't wait to get started! The 2021 Season will start in the first week of August and will go all the way through the end of October. Player evaluations will most likely be at the end of July, 1st week of August. We have also opened up the option for Sunday morning games to help with the overflow of games if necessary.

Please also consider volunteering to be a coach or assistant coach. Last year we had a great turnout, but this year we expect our numbers to increase quite a bit! We will need coaches in order to handle the amount of kids so please consider volunteering!

nipmucflagfootball.com for more information and to get registered!

When registering - NOTE: You have to register the player for 1 of the above and add it to the cart, then you can "Register Additional Players" to add the other if you are signing up for both. That will allow you to pay for both in one checkout.

For more information on either of these events, go to nipmucflagfootball.com

The following are the New DESE guidelines for those who have been exposed to COVID-19:

All close contacts should be tested but according to the new guidelines, A close contact in the classroom or on the bus(someone 3 to 6 feet away for more than 15 minutes masked) no longer needs to quarantine although should still test on day 5 and self monitor for 14 days. If symptoms develop then the student should self isolate and get tested. If the student is determined to have been less than 3 feet away for more than 15 minutes (masked or unmasked) then they do still have to quarantine as below. These changes are only for the classroom or the bus. Close contacts outside of these two areas or outside of school will still need to follow all of the guidelines below.

• Close contacts should quarantine for at least 7 days, provided that all of the following are satisfied:

• They are tested (either polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or antigen test) on day 5 or later from their last exposure to the positive individual and receive a negative test result

• They have not experienced any symptoms up to this point

• They conduct active monitoring for symptoms through day 14, and self-isolate if new symptoms develop

• At least 10 days, provided that all of the following are satisfied:

• They have not experienced any symptoms up to this point

• They conduct active monitoring for symptoms through day 14 and self-isolate if new symptoms develop

• No test is necessary under this option for the purposes of exiting quarantine

• At least 14 days after the last exposure to the person who tested positive, if:

• They have experienced any symptoms during the quarantine period, even if they have a negative COVID-19 test; or

• They are unable to conduct active monitoring of symptoms

Thank you to all families who have reached out to us regarding travel plans. As you may know, the Travel Order has been changed to a Travel Advisory. Please click here to view these changes. Testing after traveling to a high risk state is no longer required but it is strongly advised.

At this time, MURSD will be following the Travel Advisory. This means we will no longer be requesting documentation of a negative PCR or Abbott BinaxNOW antigen test in order for students to return to school.

Miscoe Hill Middle School is taking part in a wonderful fundraiser for Mendon and Upton. This spring and summer would be a great time to use your firepit. We have great bundled wood for $10.00. All proceeds will help benefit people in our communities that may need financial assistance throughout the year.

If you would like to purchase wood and support this fundraiser, please email Bill McInnis at wmcinnis@mursd.org to make arrangements. Students (who will be wearing masks and adhering to COVID-19 protocols) will carry bundles of wood to your car and place them in the trunk.

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