Principal's
Desk
February
2010 - March 2010
Dear Parents/Guardians:
The second quarter of this
school year certainly saw a great deal of activity.
Pilgrim was visited by the Rhode Island Department
of Education on February 2 for the Commissioner’s
Review. This was an opportunity to have RIDE
personnel see how we are progressing with our
Diploma System by talking to teachers, staff and
students. Their report should be out sometime in
April.
Second quarter report cards
were distributed on Monday, February 8.
Parents/guardians are reminded to always check
grades and comments to get an accurate picture of
how their child is progressing. Keep in mind the
attendance policy as we get close to the
end-of-the-year social activities—“At any point in
time that a student’s combined absence and lateness
exceeds twenty percent (20%), she/he will be denied
social and/or athletic participation”. Over the
years, a number of students have presented doctors’
notes in May and June in order to reduce the
excessive absence/lateness total in order to attend
“end-of-year” social events. If a student is absent
for a number of consecutive days, we need to receive
a doctor’s note upon a student’s return to school.
As we begin the third
quarter, we have a number of student teachers from
various local colleges who are working with our
regular faculty members. We wish them well as they
finish up with their undergraduate studies, and
embark on their new careers.
Following February vacation,
the process of meeting with some seniors and their
parents/guardians began. These informational
meetings are a yearly event for those seniors who
are having difficulty meeting the four requirements
for graduating in June. Please be mindful that the
four major requirements in order to receive a
Warwick high school diploma are as follows: sit for
the annual NECAP state test in junior year,
successfully complete twenty-two Carnegie units in
coursework required by the Warwick School
Department, successful completion of a
digital/electronic portfolio which for this senior
class includes eight pieces (two in English, two in
mathematics, two in science and two self-selected
pieces; the self-selected must be scored as
proficient) and successful completion of a senior
project (and all the elements that are associated
with it).
The month of March also saw
the kick-off of our major fundraising
campaign—Pennies for Patients on behalf of the
Leukemia and Lymphphoma Society. Once again, this
year, Mr. Miller’s advisory won the “Lunch with the
Principal” and limousine ride to a restaurant of
their choice. We will see in April how Pilgrim
compared to other schools in the state regarding our
fundraising efforts for the society.
Interim reports were
distributed on March 2. Parents/guardians should
read the results of these very closely as we head
into the fourth quarter. Our most recent NECAP
scores arrived at all schools in March. Based on
some of the data, we as a district will continue to
develop strategies to make all of our students more
successful.
March had a great deal of
extra-curricular and athletic events take place. On
March 6, the Pilgrim Robotics Team took part in the
Robotics Tournament sponsored by the New England
Institute of Technology. Our Future Business Leaders
of America (FBLA) students had their annual banquet
in which two of our students, Jackie Steinkamp and
Josh Mason, walked away with a number of outstanding
awards. The Pilgrim hockey team defeated East
Greenwich High School in the state quarter-finals.
Unfortunately, the team lost to North Kingstown in
the state semi-finals. Despite the loss, the team,
under the direction of Mr. David Tober, represented
Pilgrim exceptionally well. March also saw our
annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament, and the
faculty-student basketball game. Of course, the
faculty triumphed once again! Our tanks to Mr.
Miller for organizing both events. The annual
“Senior Follies” took place on March 19. Once again,
Mrs. Cote out-did herself in organizing the
tremendous talent that we have at Pilgrim. In
addition, on March 21, our Academic Decathlon did
very well while competing with schools around the
state. Our thanks to Mrs. Wallace for preparing our
students.
“Mr. X” took the Pilgrim
Mock Trial team to new heights this year. The team,
made up of a number of underclassmen, will be a
“team to be reckoned with” next year. On March 25,
Warwick Veterans and Pilgrim had our annual
fundraiser to benefit the scholarship funds of the
two Vets students and two Pilgrim students who died
tragically within the past four years. Finally, our
spring Blood Drive was held on March 26. Once again,
Pilgrim faculty, staff and students “stepped up” and
delivered large quantities of blood to the R.I.
Blood Center.
With only about three months
left in the 2009-10 school campaign, let’s continue
to work hard to make all of our students as
successful as they can be.
Sincerely,
Dennis T. Mullen
Principal
