Cohasset Public Schools
Empower Students to Improve Communities
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Dear Cohasset Families, Students, and Staff:
We are pleased to announce that, upon unanimous vote, Ms. Sarah Shannon has been offered the position of Superintendent of Cohasset Public Schools, subject to successful contract negotiations. We will send another update, once contract negotiations have been completed, but we wanted to ensure prompt messaging on this important decision.
We thank everyone who participated in this extensive and important process and we are excited about what the future holds for our district.
Onward and Upward,
Your School Committee
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Greetings Cohasset Families,
As you may be aware, a total solar eclipse will be visible on Monday, April 8, 2024. The eclipse is forecasted to begin shortly after 2:00PM Eastern Time and will last about two and a half hours until about 4:30PM Eastern Time. I wanted to update you on our educational plans and on our safety considerations.
Safety Considerations:
The guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) promotes us notifying students that they should not look directly at the solar eclipse without eye protection. We will be informing students of this guidance at all our schools on the morning of the eclipse. In addition, the Cohasset PSO has provided regulation safety glasses for all elementary students and our administration has regulation safety glasses available for all middle and high school students to ensure that if classes view the eclipse as an educational opportunity that students will be able to view the eclipse safely. No outdoor after-school activities, including all sports, per the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Sports Medicine Committee guidance, will take place during the eclipse time. Communications will be forthcoming regarding individual after-school activities, which are impacted by the eclipse.
Educational Opportunities:
Weather permitting, all elementary students (grades K-2) at Joseph Osgood and (grades 3-5) at Deer Hill, as well as all middle school students, will be viewing the eclipse in a supervised manner with regulation safety glasses just before dismissal. Teachers will also be educating the students regarding the eclipse. At the high school, students will learn about the eclipse, and viewing opportunities will be more class specific. Participating students will be issued regulation safety glasses. If you would like to opt out your elementary school, middle school, or high school student from potential viewing, please contact your child’s principal by calling your child’s main office.
We are excited about these wonderful learning opportunities for our students. Please see below for additional information regarding the eclipse from DESE. Have a wonderful day.
Sincerely,
Patrick Sullivan, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Cohasset Public Schools
Information about the April 8, 2024, Eclipse
A total solar eclipse will be visible from many parts of the US on April 8, 2024. While no location in Massachusetts will experience totality, some parts of the state will see over 95% coverage of the sun if weather permits.
The eclipse will begin shortly after 2 PM ET and will last about two and a half hours until about 4:30 PM ET.
Path of the April 8, 2024, Eclipse
A solar eclipse occurs with the moon passing directly between the Earth and the Sun. The moon is much smaller than the sun, but because it is so close to the Earth it can appear to partially or complete block the image of the sun.
This map developed by Xavier M. Jubier provides information about the path of the eclipse, and the maximum amount of coverage at a chosen location on Earth.
Educational and Informational Resources for the April 8, 2024, Eclipse
The eclipse may overlap with dismissal for many Massachusetts schools. We recommend preparing students to safely experience the eclipse. Please instruct students not to look directly at the eclipse without proper eye protection.
- Visit NASA's website for a comprehensive information about the eclipse.
- These resources are available in several languages for families and community members:
- The NASA website and NSTA website contain multiple lesson plans and resources for educators.
- NSTA's website contains a document with relevant information for school administrators.
- This video from the Fiske Planetarium contains information for administrators about student safety during the eclipse.
- There are many cultural stories surrounding eclipses. The Exploratorium website contains information about various cultural eclipse narratives and histories.
- Free eclipse glasses may be available through your local library and the Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries program.
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The 2024-2025 district calendar was approved by the School Committee on 3/13/2024. Click on the image below to see the full calendar.
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The Fiscal Year 2025 School Budget Public Hearing scheduled for March 13, 2024, at 5:30pm has been canceled. It will be rescheduled to April 10, 2024.
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Dear Cohasset School Families:
The Superintendent Search Committee (SSC) is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a series of open discussion forums for families (there are separate forums for staff as well) relative to the superintendent selection process. The first group of family forums will be held in the next two weeks, with the purpose of providing our school families with an opportunity to share perspectives with the SSC as we review applications and conduct semi-finalist interviews (NOTE: semi-finalist interviews, unlike finalist interviews, are held in private session as to protect confidentiality interests of candidates).
The first group of family forums will be held at the following times:
Elementary Family Forum (in-person only): Wednesday, March 6, 6PM-7PM in the Deer Hill Innovation Commons
Secondary Family Forum (in-person only): Wednesday, March 13, 4:30PM-5:30PM in the MS/HS Learning Commons
District-Wide Virtual Family Forum (ZOOM ONLY): Thursday, March 7, 6PM-7PM. A link for this forum will be shared with the district in a separate email.
Once semi-finalist interviews have been completed, and finalist candidates have been identified and announced, there will be a second group of family forums in which families will be able to directly engage the candidates themselves. Information relative to that process will be forthcoming as we progress to that point in the selection process.
We look forward to hearing from your family at one or more of the forums!
Onward and Upward,
Your SSC
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Click on image below for the most current Edition of The Navigator: Superintendent's Newsletter
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Click HERE for Navigator Newsletter Archives
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Click image below for CPS COVID19 Information
From Commissioner of Education Riley’s memo to Superintendents sent on August 15, 2022:
“The Commonwealth is not recommending universal mask requirements, surveillance testing of asymptomatic individuals, contact tracing, or test-to-stay testing in schools. Districts and schools are reminded that there is no longer any statewide masking mandate in schools (other than school health offices) and there is no testing requirement for schools.” We will continue to respect the right of individuals to wear masks at any time during the school day.
“Effective August 15, 2022, all students and staff in childcare, school in grades K-12, or participating in out-of-school time (OST) and recreational camp settings should follow the updated isolation and exposure guidance issued by DPH, in alignment with recently issued guidance from CDC. No asymptomatic person should be excluded from school as a result of exposure, regardless of vaccination status or exposure setting.”
An additional link on isolation and exposure guidance can be found here:
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-isolation-and-exposure-guidance-for-the-general-public
Weekly Town of Cohasset Covid Report as of 6/24/2022
