Every day brings us closer to spring! Unfortunately, this weekend marks the beginning of daylight saving time. Regardless of where you stand on the debate, the clock change is particularly difficult on teens. Therefore, this weekend and the days following will bring a natural opportunity to talk with our young people about the importance of good sleep hygiene. They will blame their tiredness and cranky mood on losing sleep this weekend, but the problem is much more far-reaching. According to Johns Hopkins pediatrician Michael Crocetti, M.D., M.P.H. , teens need 9 to 9½ hours of sleep per night—that's an hour or so more than they needed at age 10. Anyone who lives with a teenager during the school year knows that the sleep deficit is real, and it has real effects on our young people's mental, physical and emotional wellness, not to mention their academic performance. Please see the full-text article here.

Additional articles on this topic: Mass General Brigham; the American Academy of Pediatrics; and National Institutes of Health.

Get some rest. We'll see you on Monday!

Sincerely,

Gail DeCecco, Principal

Donald Izzo, Assistant Principal for Grades 10 & 12

Ai-Ling Chang, Assistant Principal for Grades 9 & 11

John Herald, CTE Director

Doug Kelley, Dean of Activities and Athletics

Many thanks to Dighton Fire Department for their support with Mega Mover Transport Chair training this week. The portable transport unit will help us safely evacuate students from the second floor in case of an emergency.

Thank you to DRRHS Safety Committee Co-Chair Mr. Nardozzi and Director of Instructional Technology and Infrastructure Ms. Ashley, who co-facilitated a Crisis Go training for faculty and staff this week.

SRO Hathaway and SRO Bennett invite you to follow them on their new Facebook page, "Dighton School Resource Officers," designed to help strengthen outreach to parents, families, and the community.

Special Education Director Dr. DiGioia is leading the district's equity and inclusion work and is seeking feedback from all stakeholders about equal access for all students to our district's programs.To gather this information, we are asking for just a few minutes of your time to complete this survey. We value your input and believe that it is essential to create an action plan that addresses any concerns that may be identified. Please find a link to Dr. DiGioia's full-text letter here.

SEPAC stands for Special Education Parent Advisory Council. Please consider supporting the SEPAC fundraiser.

The Social Studies Department has just been awarded a Civics Project Showcase Grant. This will allow a group of DRRHS students to travel to Clark University in Worcester on Friday June 2 to present their civics project and receive feedback on it. The Department was previously awarded a Civics Grant in June 2022 which made it possible for all students to travel to the John F. Kennedy Library and participate in the Words and Deeds Program for no cost. Please follow this link to the DESE website for more information.

We are proud to share that the DRRHS Environmental Club is partnering with Tree-Plenish. Tree-Plenish is a student-led 501(c)(3) non profit organization with the mission of empowering students to create a more sustainable and equitable future through community tree-planting. They plan to plant 400 saplings on April 29, 2023, to offset the school’s energy consumption from the past academic year. These trees will be planted at all 5 schools and in residents’ yards throughout our communities.

Please visit our website to learn more! http://tpevents.org/school/3157. Deadline to order is March 29, 2023. We still need $1500 more to reach the goal of 400 saplings. To sponsor our Environmental Club and to donate money to offset the cost of the trees, please use this form https://treeplenish.typeform.com/to/AWu6DgCN. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Karen Rose, Environmental Club Advisor at krose@drregional.org.

• Students in the Class of 2024 who have not yet taken and passed the MCAS ELA and/or Math will exams will have a make-up exam opportunities this month. ELA will be held on March 8th and 9th. Math will be held on March 14th and 15th.
• Students in the Classes of 2025-2026 must pass MCAS ELA, Math, and Biology to graduate with a high school diploma.
• Students in the Class of 2025 will take the ELA MCAS assessments on March 28th and 29th. The Math exams are scheduled for May 16th and 17th. We will be holding an assembly for sophomores next week to review MCAS expectations. In the meantime, please encourage your child to begin reviewing the MCAS practice tests.
• ELA MCAS practice: go to the link and select the computer based test for 10th grade
• MATH MCAS practice
• Students in the Class of 2026 will take the MCAS Biology assessment on June 6th and 7th.
• BIOLOGY MCAS practice

HEAD OVER HEELS is a bold new musical comedy. This laugh-out-loud love story is set to the music of the iconic 1980’s all-female rock band The Go-Go’s, including the hit songs, “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Vacation,” Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth” and “Mad About You.”

A hilarious, exuberant celebration of love, HEAD OVER HEELS follows the escapades of a royal family on an outrageous journey to save their beloved kingdom from extinction—only to discover the key to their realm’s survival lies within each of their own hearts (Broadway Licensing).The performance times are: March 23, 6:30 PM; March 24, 6:30 PM; March 25, 1:00 PM. TICKETS MAY BE PURCHASED ONLINE THROUGH THIS LINK.

Our Best Buddies chapter here at the school is participating in a spring fundraiser through MCM Fundraising. This is the great company that we do our Pie Fundraising in November.

This spring fundraiser is for cookie dough, butter braided pastry and an assortment of other amazing items. Our group would truly appreciate your support. HERE is the direct link with all of the items available and where you can order online.

FamilyID.com will be opened up for Spring Sports registrations on Wednesday, March 1st and close at midnight Friday, March 31st. User fee payments will be due by Friday, April 14th. If there is a financial hardship, please contact Mr. Kelley. All athletes MUST have an up-to-date physical on file with the nurse prior to participating in a Spring Sport.

All of our games are scheduled on Arbiter Sports. You can search game schedules and pre-purchase tickets on GoFan.co. Our student-athletes appreciate your support.

Click here to learn more about the benefits of joining our substitute teacher pool.

This is a reminder the Dighton Rehoboth schools will use the Apptegy alerts system for weather-related messages. It is not our plan to use local media outlets. All messages will be sent through Apptegy via text, RoboCall, and email. Apptegy uses the contact information in Aspen. To modify your contact information, please contact the Main Office.