By Sadie Biehl
Two Mashpee robotics teams returned home earlier this month from the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas with an award and lots of great experiences.

The two teams representing Mashpee High School were the Aviators, with Katrina Mayen and Jamie Hughes, and the Out of Stock team, with Ethan Lu, Sam Johnson, Cam Perry, and Sean Ware. Each team was in a separate division, with the Aviators placing 19th in their division and Out of Stock placing 23rd in their division. 

Throughout the past year, the students have been meticulously designing and building their robots to participate in games formulated to showcase their skill. 820 teams from countries around the world, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Columbia, New Zealand and Taiwan were in attendance.

The Aviators took home the Inspiration Award, which was given to one team in each division. The team and the robotics team advisor, Mrs. Hough, agreed that this was one of the highlights of the trip. “The girls were given the award based on their ability to show great sportsmanship, compete at a high level, and earn the respect of other teams they competed against,” Mrs. Hough said.

By Ava Theodorides
After teaching for 24 years at Mashpee Middle High School, science department teacher Thomas Hoppensteadt, known to many as Mr. Hop, will retire after the 2021-2022 school year.

In his career, he has taught Integrated Science, Environmental, Physical, Earth and Space, Biology, and Ecology. He has been the MMHS science department chairperson since 2015. 

In Mr. Hop’s past, he worked as a fish and wildlife biologist and would help teachers and students learn about the environment, which led to him becoming a licensed science teacher, which he has enjoyed. 

In an interview with The Falconer, Mr. Hop said, “I will miss the students the most and seeing them grow as individuals in a variety of content areas, not just science, but to see that they have find their paths and their passions.” 

By Sadie Biehl
​From fashion design to painting and ceramics, artwork by six students from Mashpee Middle High School is featured in the exhibition, “Through Young Eyes,” at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis.

Mashpee art teachers Ms. Deschamps and Mrs. Troyanos have carefully selected six students’ artwork to put forward into the art show. Jamie Hughes, Camila dos Santos, Francesca Toews, Lila Burke, Lindsay Lu, and Isabella Eagan all have artwork that will be displayed in the exhibit.

The annual event showcases students' artwork from all across the Cape. More than 90 students will be being showcased from 15 schools on Cape Cod. A reception was held April 7 to open the show. The work will be displayed through May 8 at the museum, located at 60 Hope Lane in Dennis.

“[We] worked together to have a variety of pieces to showcase the wide variety of talent our student's have,” Ms. Deschamps explained to the Falconer. She also noted other factors that went into their decisions, such as skill, content, and the likelihood of each student pursuing a career in the arts. 

By Addison Wood and Kathryn Burchfield
Casey Fitzgerald, a 2020 Mashpee High School graduate, is getting a third chance at his senior project.

Casey's Classic is a golf tournament, and Casey’s legacy senior project, which will be held at Willowbend Country Club on April 24. All proceeds from the event will go toward the Jimmy Fund Clinic. 

100% of the proceeds raised at the golf tournament will be donated to the pediatric Jimmy Fund Clinic in honor of Casey Fitzgerald, who battled with pediatric cancer, and the many other children who do. The money will be used for life saving treatments and research that keeps kids in remission.

Casey Fitzgerald was diagnosed with stage lV Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the age of 14. With the help of the Dana-Farber Institute and the Jimmy Fund, Casey has been in remission. The goal of the tournament is to raise money for pediatric cancer research to help kids like Casey.

By Ava Theodorides
​The Ronald R. Bock Mashpee Chapter of the National Honor Society has selected Ms. Purdy for the “Teacher of the Year Award”.

In an interview with the Falconer, Ms. Purdy said, “It’s a tremendous honor, and I am very proud of the students that I teach. I feel the reason I am getting honored is the because of the collaboration between our amazing staff, supportive colleagues and exceptional students that I’m very proud of.”

There will be a plaque in the building dedicated to her. 

The students nominate and select teachers based upon scholarship, leadership, service, and character.

“I love what I do. I love working with students everyday. It’s been an enjoyable career on many levels, so being recognized as 'Teacher of the Year' is something that I am certainly happy about,” Ms. Purdy said. 

The award was presented to Ms. Purdy on Thursday night at the annual induction ceremony for new members of the honor society.

The full text of Ms. Purdy's remarks at the ceremony are below:

Interview by Peregrine Hughes

​The Falconer interviewed the new chef in town here at MMHS. His name is James Guay (pronounced Gee). He has had a plethora of highly elevated jobs, giving him all the more experience to bring to the culinary program in Mashpee. From pastry chef, to a teacher, he seems to be an extremely qualified employee of the school. Through this Q and A hopefully you readers will be able to glean enough insight and decide for yourself. 

The Falconer: What's your background in the culinary arts? 
Chef Guay: My passion for the field ignited even before my graduation from Cape Cod’s Technical high school in culinary arts. I have thirty-five years of foodservice experience in restaurants, hotels, theme parks, and retail shops along with participating in formal training for the foodservice industry. I have served in multiple positions, including line cook for eight years before starting my pastry career. 
The Falconer: What made you choose to teach at Mashpee? 
Chef Guay: I was looking for the opportunity to teach culinary arts at any high school on the Cape. After meeting Mr. Looney and Mr. Balestracci it was an easy decision for me that Mashpee Middle High School is a community with students that have the desire to learn.
The Falconer: What does the Prostart program provide for students?
Chef Guay: From culinary techniques to management skills, ProStart’s industry-driven curriculum provides real-life experience opportunities and builds practical skills and a foundation that will last a lifetime. 

The Falconer: Do you plan on staying for the long haul with teaching culinary, or is it onto bigger and better ventures after this year? 
Chef Guay: This is the best and biggest opportunity in Mashpee! I am working on becoming a full-time teacher, because; I want to continue to invest in my students' success.  I do want to be part of the community, and I feel I am a value. 

The Falconer: How are you liking this school so far? 
Chef Guay: This experience has been inspirational because of staff, colleagues, and most of all students. 

The Falconer: What have students and or staff specifically done to make you enjoy the school?
Chef Guay: The students are enthusiastic when I introduce a new food item or introduce a new ingredient that they have never seen before.  I enjoy the students creativity and ideas students bring from adding some enhancement to flavor or presentation. I see students thinking about the foods and how they can improve on the assignment. Cooking in general is a collaboration. The staff have been very supportive and go above and beyond to make me feel part of the team.

The Falconer: What are new changes to the program that students can look forward to? 
Chef Guay: Students should look forward to an elevated curriculum with an emphasis on life skills. 

The Falconer: How will these skills translate to real life? And why should a student care about these skills?
Chef Guay: Everyone needs to eat in real life! I do not know anyone that can hire a chef to provide meals for a lifetime. In life everyone will work in food service at some point because they are the easiest jobs to get without experience.  In life, foods we eat could make people ill from a foodborne illness. Students should care that the information I provide can be used for a safe meal for individuals or dinner for your friends and family. Cooking and preparing a meal for family will be important in everyone's future. Students should take this opportunity to learn as much as possible for free.
After graduating from High School any culinary education will cost money, and your time. Many chefs will not be able to spend time teaching or care to keep an employee on staff for very long without basic skills. The culinary skills can be used interminably with creativity and imagination. What's for dinner ?

By Addison Wood, Emily Doolan, and Kathryn Burchfield
​
The future of masks in Mashpee schools may be decided today.

The Mashpee School Committee will be holding a meeting at 1:30 this afternoon to vote on if the school will continue to wear masks following the state lifting the mask mandate in school or not, according to an email from Mashpee Superintendent DeBoer. That means students should know by this afternoon whether masks will be required when we get back from February vacation.

The school committee will receive guidance from the Mashpee Board of Health, which met yesterday evening to discuss the possibility of lifting mask mandates in our school.

Other schools in Massachusetts have already chosen whether to lift their mandate following the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education updated policy on masks: that as of February 28, the state will not longer require masks in schools. One of these schools includes the Falmouth School district, which has decided not to require masks, as reported by an article from the Cape  and Islands NPR station.

The Falconer has asked around within the Mashpee High School about if people want the school mandate to continue. Eight out of twelve students said they would opt to wear their masks despite the meeting’s decision. Three people answered that they’d like the mandate to end. One person was unsure and could see both the pros and cons of the decision.  

Mr. Tarsky started earlier this month as interim principal of Mashpee Middle High School. He will be the interim principal for the remainder of this school year, taking over from Mr. Balestracci and then Mrs. DeBoer and Dr. Hanscom.

​The Falconer sat down with Mr. Tarsky to ask about his background, his goals for the school, and whether he wants to become our next full principal. Did you know that he worked on a fishing boat in Alaska, served in the military, and attended Yale University?

Interview by Addison Wood
The Falconer: What made you decide to become an educator?
Mr. Tarsky: I’ve always thought that education is the most important thing in life, up there with family. It is the wellspring from which every career spawns. Whether you become a doctor, lawyer, a mechanic, your education is what links you career wise. So I think it's super important that schools do their jobs well. I can’t think of a more important line of work than education. That understanding of the grand purpose of education is what drove me to be a part of it. I’ve always enjoyed public service, whether it be teaching or being an administrator, and I think it’s of the highest calling.”

The Falconer: What is the greatest challenge you faced on your way to becoming an educator and how did you overcome it?
Mr. Tarsky: It can be difficult to get a job. I was a career changer, I was in the military. The transition from being a soldier to starting a new career path was difficult for a variety of reasons. Troops to Teachers, a program that transitioned soldiers to the education sector was helpful. When I got off of active duty in the army, the Troops to Teacher program helped me find a job at Lawrence High School where I taught ELA and ESL. It was a challenging switch though, the pay wasn’t always great, and as any first year teacher would tell you, teaching is a very demanding job. It can be difficult to get your bearings in those first few years.

By Maile Biehl
​The last thing many students here at Mashpee Middle-High School would be that their principal would leave less than half way through the year. This was a major shock to many students. It was even sad for some. 

With Mr. Balestracci's departure, students and families were made aware that the district intended on hiring a permanent replacement for the 2022-2023 school year. To replace him for the remainder of the year, Mr. Tarsky came on board on February 1 as interim principal. 

But because Mr. Tarsky was hired only for the rest of this year, the school still needs to find a full replacement. How will that process go? Who will be the next full principal at MMHS?

According to information from Mrs. DeBoer, this process is going to take place throughout the months of February and March of 2022.

By Addison Wood
A new group of MMHS students and teachers are working to combine interviewing and photography to tell the stories of immigrants who have journeyed to Mashpee. 

Mrs. Purdy, Mrs. Reynolds, and a group of students from the Human Rights Club have partnered with Mrs. Troyanos’ Photography Club, and are exploring the power of stories through what they are calling “The Immigration Project.”

The goal of the project is to capture the stories of immigrants, and to open our eyes to the cultures and experiences of new Americans. The project strives to discover and share the stories of the people who surround us, and ourselves.