Enrollment Drop Shows Need For Sustainability Initiatives CHATHAM — Selectmen acknowledged Tuesday that something must be done to address plummeting enrollment at Chatham Elementary, but shied away from any plan that calls for the closure of the school. Any long-term fix must be considered in the context of efforts to attract and retain young families in town, they said. As he previously did before the sc...

Monomoy Regional High School’s new principal Jen Police and her staff are ready for the school hallways to once again be filled with the sounds of students engaged in learning come Sept. 14, though this year it won’t be quite as many, nor learning in quite the same way as they did in the days before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived on Cape Cod. Only about half to two-thirds of the school’s 687 students will be in...

HARWICH – Sometimes working backwards can be a good thing, at least when it comes to creating a school reopening plan in the midst of a global pandemic. According to Superintendent Scott Carpenter, that’s what district educators did in creating the plan for Monomoy Schools, securing its approval from the School Committee on Aug. 6. The plan, Carpenter said, was drafted after looking at similar plans from ot...

Parents Given Option Of Continuing Remote Learning   HARWICH – While many school districts are preparing plans for three possibilities – a full return to school, a partial or hybrid return, and the continuation of remote learning – the 47-page draft Monomoy plan only includes a hybrid learning plan and plans to shift back to remote learning if necessary. A full reopening, said Superintendent of Schools Scot...

HARWICH – As colleges and universities across the country, including the University of Massachusetts, announce continued remote learning for the fall semester, parents in the Monomoy Regional School District are eagerly awaiting plans for the reopening of schools this fall, which Superintendent Dr. Scott Carpenter said at this point still remain unclear. “The priority from the state is getting people back into...

CHATHAM – Because of declining enrollment, there will be only one kindergarten class at Chatham Elementary School next year. The continuing drop in the number of Chatham elementary-age students has also created a disparity between the per-pupil costs at Chatham and Harwich elementary schools, which may require adjustments to the way the Monomoy Regional School District funds its early education program. “Th...

Teacher Appreciation Week took on a whole new meaning this year courtesy of COVID-19, with thanks not only to the educators who continue to support their students remotely, but also to the many parents that have risen to the challenge of distance learning with gusto. Jessica Muldoon of Harwich has four children: Quinn, in fifth grade at Monomoy Regional Middle School, Maeve, in second grade, and twins Rowan an...

As the COVID19 crisis continues to impact people across the globe, students in local districts got back to the business of learning thanks to modern technology and dedicated educators in the Monomoy and Nauset school districts, as well as at the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School. Monomoy Superintendent Dr. Scott Carpenter said he began working with district administrators on remote learning several weeks ago ...

The halls of local schools are largely empty this week after concerns about COVID-19, the virus that causes coronavirus, continue to impact communities at the local, state and national level. In an email to parents from Superintendent Dr. Scott Carpenter, the Monomoy Regional School District announced Saturday that schools would close as of March 16, likely through the end of the district’s April vacation, wit...

CHATHAM — Educators know that a key way to boost school performance in older children is to encourage reading, almost any kind of reading, when they’re young. So in Chatham, they’ve found a new way to bring the books to the kids. As part of the Monomoy School District’s effort to encourage early childhood literacy, school officials and volunteers have installed a Little Free Library at Lake Street Terrace, a C...

CHATHAM – Even as the Castle in the Clouds playground at Harwich Elementary School was being demolished, work was ramping up on a new playground at Chatham Elementary School. The new community playground is the culmination of a years-long process to improve the play areas on the east side of the Depot Road school and included upgrading drainage and installing irrigation. Work began a few weeks ago on the main ...

Already endorsed by the Monomoy Regional School Committee, a plan to allow Head Start and the YMCA of Cape Cod to operate early childhood programs at Chatham and Harwich elementary schools has passed muster with selectmen in both towns. Superintendent of Schools Scott Carpenter said the lease of the classroom spaces must be finalized by the state education commissioner, but the new programs are expected to beg...

Orleans Elementary School Orleans Elementary School hosted an evening of science fun at STEM night.  Over 200 members of the school community were in attendance to participate in more than a dozen hands-on activities to help students learn about Cape Cod’s waters and how to protect and understand this resource.  This was a program of the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension in coordination with AmeriCorps Cape Cod a...

Fund Our Future Forum Shines Light On Impact Of Budget Cuts  BARNSTABLE/HARWICH – While the Monomoy Regional School Committee again reviewed the proposed budget for fiscal year 2020 prior to its approval March 14, educators from several Cape districts shared the impacts of budget cuts in a Fund Our Future forum held at Cape Cod Community College. The Monomoy budget totaling $40,751,482 was unanimously appro...

CHATHAM – Voters at May's annual town meeting will be asked to spend $295,000 in community preservation funds to upgrade the playground at Chatham Elementary School. The community preservation committee endorsed the proposal last week after trimming $56,000 from the community playground committee's initial request. For more than four years a dedicated group of parents, school administrators and town officia...

HARWICH – In the midst of budget season comes a new debate for the Monomoy Regional School District: whether to replace Spanish with a science/STEM curriculum at the elementary level. While no decision has yet been made, the matter sparked a lengthy discussion at the Feb. 12 school committee meeting. Superintendent Scott Carpenter said the proposal for the curriculum change came from a strategic planning fo...