Announcements November 9 - 13, 2015

Morning Announcements
Join us for "Light for Loved Ones "on Saturday, 12/5.  Students Ashley Sewell and Samantha Taddei are hosting this event at Kiwanis Beach in Upton.  The event is dedicated to those who have been affected by cancer.  All proceeds go to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.  Visit their Facebook page "Light for Loved Ones" for more information.

This Friday, 11/13, help spread positivity around our school!  If you see a sticky note with a compliment or positive message, pass it on.  This idea is based on Operation Beautiful.  Stay Positive.

Reminder to all swim team members to fill out all sides of BOTH athletic forms, which can be found in the office.  Questions?  Ask Senior Carly Thibodeau.

Attention Senior Football Players:  This is the last call for the Central MA Football Officials Scholarship.  Please see Mrs. Hefez to turn in your application or if you have any questions.

Sign ups for winter sports will be this week during all lunches.  Student-athletes should bring all forms and athletic fee of $175.  Forms are available in the main office.  No one can participate in tryouts unless forms are tuned in prior to start of practice on Monday, 11/29.

Personal Care and Hygiene Item Collection - Now through November 24th there will be a collection box in the main office for the Mendon-Upton community.  Any donations are greatly appreciated.

The Nipmuc Book Club will hold their meeting on Thursday, 11/12 after school until 3 p.m.  All members - please bring your book.

StuCo thanks everyone that participated in the leak raking activity on Sunday, 11/8.

Win an authentic autographed Rob Gronkowski jersey!  Tickets: 1 for $10, 3 for $20.  See Mr. Allen or Mr. DellaRovere for tickets.  All proceeds benefit the Nipmuc weight room.

News from the Athletic Department
Field Hockey - Game Tuesday, 11/10 at 4:45 p.m. at Grafton High School vs. Lunenberg.  Tickets will be sold at the gate - $7 adult, $5 student.  No noisemakers or backpacks allowed in the stadium.

Boys' Soccer - Game on Wednesday, 11/11 at 7:00 p.m. at Foley Stadium in Worcester vs. Millbury.  Tickets sold at the gate - $7 adult, $5 student.  No noisemakers or backpacks allowed in the stadium.

Football - Last home game of the year will be played on Saturday, 11/14 vs. Saint Peter Marian at
1 p.m. at Nipmuc.

Student Feature Friday - Project 351 Ambassador Maya Simpson

Freshman Maya Simpson, Project 351 Ambassador

In this week's Feature Friday post, I'm excited to share the volunteerism of Nipmuc freshman Maya Simpson. Over the course of the past year, Maya has worked as the Mendon representative to Project 351, a youth leadership organization comprised of 351 students - one from each community in the Commonwealth - who participate in volunteer projects that strengthen our communities.

The website for Project 351 states that "leaders dream, dedicate, persevere, collaborate, create, inspire, appreciate, and find a singular and meaningful way to leave their mark on the community and the world." Maya's hard work as an ambassador for the program certainly qualifies her as a leader.

In this week's feature, I asked her a few questions about her participation in this awesome program.

Q: How did you become involved in Project 351?
A.  I was chosen as Mendon's ambassador for Project 351. I honestly had no idea what it was until I was sitting in the office at Miscoe when I found out I had been chosen. I was told that the eighth grade teachers come up with a small list of students that they think should be the ambassador for that year. The seventh grade teachers then choose one person from that list, and the eighth grade teachers say yes or no. I had no idea that I would ever be chosen for this, but I was.

Q: What are your responsibilities in serving as a Project 351 Ambassador?
A.  Ambassadors are given the option to lead service projects in their hometowns. During Spring Service, in 8th grade, I led a clothing drive to benefit Cradles to Crayons, a non-profit organization that helps homeless families. For Fall Service, I plan on leading a food drive that will benefit the Mendon and Upton food pantries.

Q: What has been the valuable/meaningful part of your participation in the project?
A.  There are so many meaningful and valuable parts of being in Project 351. First, I have met so many people through Project 351, it's unbelievable. Many of them are people I probably never would have heard of otherwise. Second, Project 351 has taught me so many things, and I can never put into words how much that has positively influenced who I am as a student, an ambassador, and as a person in general.

If I had to choose one thing that is the most valuable, it would have to be that Project 351 showed me that there is a leader inside of me. I have the capability to accomplish things and help others. Project 351 has also shown me that everyone has the capability to be a leader. Sometimes you just need an opportunity to get your ideas out there.

Learning to be a leader, to me, is a lot like learning a new language. The more you use it, the better you get. Some aspects of it are easy, and you catch on fast. Others aren't so easy, and it takes some time before you understand it fully, but everyone still has the capability to learn it.

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Maya will be running a drive at Nipmuc from December 1 - 14 in order to collect snacks, canned fruit, and other food to support local food pantries.

10 Reasons to Be Excited about the 21st Century Learning Conference

"We believe that it is important for students to see how their education will be useful to them and seek to make connections between the academic work and the world beyond the classroom. "

- Nipmuc Regional High School Beliefs about Learning

On Monday, Nipmuc will host its first "21st Century Learning Conference" for all students. The conference welcomes more than 30 professionals and community leaders to our campus to offer sessions on college, career, and community readiness in partnership with our teachers. The conference is a highlight event of our newly formed 21st Century Learning Center. I'm excited to share some of the many reasons that we are thrilled to host this event!

10 Reasons to Be Excited about the 21st Century Learning Conference

1. Collaboration with professionals and community leaders. We are thrilled to welcome more than thirty professionals, national speakers, and community leaders to run workshop sessions for students.
2. Developing the growth mindset. Based on the research by Carol Dweck, the growth mindset is a belief that our most important abilities – like intelligence or talent – can be developed through hard work and dedication. As the theme of the conference, the growth mindset will be highlighted in the sessions offered by teachers and guest presenters. 
3. Achieving our school goals! Nipmuc has embraced the challenge of teaching & assessing the skills that make our content come to life. Monday’s conference is a feature event of our 21st century learning center as we establish college, career, and community readiness for all of our students. 
4. Professional learning experiences. Our day is modeled after professional conferences. Students had the opportunity to select their sessions and customize their day.
5. A variety of options. Check out our schedule for the event to see the many choices available to our kids.
6. Dressed for success! Part of the professional learning experience is coming dressed for success. Students have been asked to come in business casual dress for a day of professional learning.
7. Meaningful college readiness training. College representatives and our school counselors will offer a variety of sessions on getting ready for college. Some of the college prep sessions include, “Tackling the College Essay”, “Trends in College Admissions: What You Should Know”, “Entering College Undecided – Making the First Year Count”, “Paying for College: Don’t Panic”, and “Be the Best You Can Be: Tips and Tools to Avoid the Freshman 15”.
8. Authentic, real-world learning experiences. Check out our offerings on topics like entrepreneurship, financial literacy, composing a resume, getting your dream job, taking control of your day and many more that give students the chance to build a skill set needed for life beyond high school.
9. Keynotes that will leave a lasting impression. Nipmuc is thrilled to welcome Mike McGuinness, Director of the HR Policy Foundation’s jobipedia.org, and Cindy Taccini, Director of Health Communications for Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc, to provide collaborative keynote and endnote speeches for all students.
10. Providing our students with a competitive advantage. Teaching and learning at Nipmuc has never been more impressive. We’re excited about the many ways that this event expands our curriculum and gives our students the skills they need and the competitive advantage they deserve! 

21st Century Learning Conference

On Monday, November 9 Nipmuc Regional High School will host its first 21st Century Learning Conference. The day will provide students with the opportunity engage in a day of learning focused on college, career, and community readiness. Faculty members and thirty professional partners will be running conference sessions helping students to develop skills for life beyond the walls of our school.

The conference schedule can be accessed here.

Students are asked to register by the end of the day on Wednesday (11/4). Information for registration has been sent to all student email accounts. Students should bring their iPads to the conference and are asked to "dress for success" (business casual) as they engage in a day of professional learning.

Each student will attend one keynote/endnote session and select two breakout sessions much like one would do at any professional conference. The breakout sessions are anticipated to be no larger than 25 students. Over 130 students have already registered. Our students are encouraged to sign up right away before sessions fill up completely!

Questions and/or technical problems may be directed to Beth Hennessy, Community and Career Coordinator at: ehennessy@mursd.org

Announcements November 2 - 6, 2015

Morning Announcements
All students are reminded to check their student email for an invitation to next Monday's 21st Century Learning Conference.  See Mrs. Hennessy in room 230 with questions.

Attention Sophomores!  Don't forget to buy your FAST t-shirt this week!  Only $10 for a great shirt - buy yours before Friday.  See Mr. Moloney (room 333) or Mrs. Blackburn (room 238) today!

Sign-ups for winter sports will be next week during all lunches (11/9-13).  Student-athletes should bring all forms and athletic fee of $175.  Forms are available in the main office.  No one can participate in tryouts unless forms are turned in prior to the start of practice on Monday, 11/29.

Girls Lacrosse Meeting for any girl considering playing this spring - Thursday, 11/5 in Miss Manzella's room 337 - blue wing.

Mrs. Field's CSI class will be eating 3rd lunch today.  Please come directly to class C block.

Volunteer to rake leaves for local senior citizens on November 8th for community service hours.  For more information, contact Scott Estabrook - estabrooks16@student.mursd.org - or have a StuCo member invite you to the Facebook event.

Students are reminded to check their student email for an invitation to Monday's 21st Century Learning Conference.  See Mrs. Hennessy in Room 230 with any questions.

Win an authentic autographed Rob Gronkowski jersey!  Tickets:  1 for $10 - 3 for $20.  See Mr. Allen or Mr. Della Rovere for tickets.  All proceeds benefit the Nipmuc Weight Room.