November 22, 2011
Dear Friends of Gateway:
Here is this week’s installment of Gateway’s weekly e-newsletter. Back issues of Breaking News and past Superintendent’s Corners are posted in the GRSD News Archive (under “News” on the district website). As always, your feedback and any suggestions for improvements are welcome.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "This week, let us affirm the importance of education and recognize that we all share in the responsibility to educate our students," - 2011 Presidential Proclamation for American Education Week (11/13 - 11/19)
UPCOMING MEETINGS: The next meeting of the Gateway Regional School Committee will be December 14th in the Gateway library. It will be the only meeting in December for the committee. The public is welcome to attend these meetings, which begin at 7:30 p.m. Please note that any questions or concerns should first be brought to the appropriate district staff member (i.e. a specific teacher, principal or Central Office staff member). The first agenda item of every school committee meeting is hearing issues that are not on the posted agenda.
The next meeting of the Friends of Gateway will be Tuesday, January 3rd at 9:30 a.m. in the Superintendent's Office. New members are welcome to join this group, which supports district communications and volunteers.
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: Top Row--Perfect MCAS Scorers from the high school; Student Council Members loading up Pastor Quirk's truck with food drive items; Bottom Row--Gateway Seniors qualifying for the Adams Scholarship; the Vocabulary Parade at Littleville, and students and staff participating in 'America Recycles Day'.
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PERFECT!!! FIVE HS STUDENTS EARN PERFECT SCORES; 21 SENIORS QUALIFY FOR ADAMS SCHOLARSHIP: Principal Laurie Marvel honored Kimberly A. Bolduc, Alexandra A. Grzybowski, Samantha G. Levreault, Emily Potorski, and Kristine M. Vorwerk--all juniors at Gateway Regional High School, for earning perfect MCAS scores in tests taken last spring.
VOCABULARY PARADE AT LITTLEVILLE: As part of this year's celebration of American Education Week, Littleville Elementary School held its first ever Vocabulary Parade on Thursday, November 17th at the school.
BRUNCH, CONCERT AND DOOR PRIZES ON DECEMBER 7TH: Helping mark Gateway's 20th Annual Sr. Citizen Brunch and Concert, area businesses are donating wonderful items for door prizes.
HIGH SCHOOL HONORS 'AMERICA RECYCLES DAY': Members of "Be Green"--the school's recycling group--led a celebration of 'America Recycles Day' on November 15th.
PENNY SOCIAL ON DECEMBER 2ND: The high school choirs are holding an old-fashioned Penny Social on Friday, December 2nd, beginning at 5 p.m.
STUDENT COUNCIL HOSTS SUCCESSFUL FOOD DRIVE: "It was one of our most successful food drives to date," reported Student Council Advisor Diane Uliana. "Students and staff really rallied to help such a worthy cause."
ONLINE BAND FRUIT ORDERS: Orders for grapefruit, oranges, tangelos and more can be submitted and paid for online until November 28th. Click here for instructions.
ATHLETIC BOOSTER CLUB TO MEET: The Gateway Athletic Booster Club will meet on Sunday, December 4th at 6 p.m. in Stanton Hall. New members are always welcome!
COLLEGE APPAREL REMINDER: A reminder to all students and staff at Gateway--all are encouraged to wear college apparel on Wednesday, November 23rd, as part of the Alumni College Fair. Spirit points will be awarded.
SR. CLASS PARENTS MEETING: Parents/guardians of students in the GRHS Class of 2012 are reminded that there will be a meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 29th in room 154. We will discuss the Sr. Class Trip, fundraising events, and dates of importance to seniors.
CONGRATULATIONS CHESTER RAFFLE WINNERS! Susan Beaudry of Middlefield won first prize (100 gallons of home heating oil) and Ralph Barnard of Blandford won second prize (a cord of firewood). Congratulations to both and thank you to everyone who purchased tickets for this fundraiser.
WEBLINK OF THE WEEK:
AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK: Click here for the National Education Association's website on American Education Week (always the week before Thanksgiving), that includes a historical timeline.
REMINDERS
- COLLEGE AWARENESS WEEK: Next
week marks the 7th Annual College Week at Gateway Regional High School,
and includes seminars on completing college applications, career
searches, writing an admissions essay, scholarships, resume writing, a
parent workshop on financing a college education, and--of course!--the
Alumni College Fair.
- THANKSGIVING BREAK: Schools
in the Gateway Regional School District will have a half-day on
Wednesday (November 23rd) and will be closed on November 24 and 25 for
the Thanksgiving recess.
- HOLIDAY PLANT SALE: The
Junior Class is selling poinsettias and cyclamens for the December
holidays; the complete article has details on how to order. Click here for an order form.
- LONG-SLEEVED TEE-SHIRT SALE: Here's a perfect holiday gift for any high school student--a GRHS long-sleeved tee shirt. Kendal Rooney entered the winning design
in a recent contest (Chelsea Derrig and Allyson Gardner were
runners-up). Shirts are $20 each and can be ordered through any member
of the Class of 2014; or contact Jodi Cabral-Croke at 685-1240 or
jcabral-croke@grsd.org.
- YEARBOOK BUSINESS ADS: The Portal, Gateway Regional High School's
annual yearbook, is selling advertising space for businesses. This is a
great way to advertise your business locally and also helps make the
yearbook as affordable as possible. Click here for
a pricing guide, and contact Avery Lavigueur (alavigueur@grsd.org) or
Marilyn Durken (mdurken@grsd.org) by December 2nd if you wish to
purchase an ad.
- WINTER WEATHER CLOSINGS AT GATEWAY: From
the better-late-than-never department (!) here is information on how
students, staff and parents can find out whether or not school is closed
due to weather.
- COLLEGE FINANCING WORKSHOP: Parents
and students are invited to attend a free, comprehensive presentation
on college financing, offered by MEFA on November 22, from 6-8 p.m. This
event is part of the high school's annual College Awareness Week.
Please RSVP to ensure handouts.
- HOLIDAY HELP AVAILABLE FOR FAMILIES IN NEED: For
the 18th consecutive year, the Gateway National Honor Society will be
working with the Hilltown Social Services Center to help families
provide holiday gifts for children up through age 12. Read the article
for information on how to submit your confidential wish list.
- GATEWAY ALUMNI INVITED TO WORK ANNUAL COLLEGE FAIR: Graduates
of Gateway Regional High School are invited to return to Gateway the
day before Thanksgiving to speak with current students about their
college and military experiences.
- SAT AND ACT TEST DATES: Click here for the 2011-2012 SAT and ACT test dates, which include registration deadline information.
- GATEWAY SAFE SCHOOLS PLAN: In the event of an emergency at your child's school, please do not call or drive to your child's school. We need to keep phone lines and roadways clear in an emergency. Please remain by your phone and wait for information and instructions from school staff, which will be sent using our auto-dialer. It is important that parents keep school secretaries up-to-date with their contact information.
- SCHOOL SAFETY HOTLINE: As part of our Safe Schools Plan, the Gateway district has a Safety Hotline (685-1050), which is checked regularly by the district's Security Monitor. The hotline is a voice mailbox that can be used to report harassment, drug or alcohol concerns, vandalism and school safety issues. The purpose of the hotline is to help keep Gateway schools safe for all.
IN CLOSING, this week's Superintendent's Corner is now published. This week, Dr. Hopson discusses the differences between teaching to a test, and educating a "whole child". Read the entire column for details.
Have a wonderful week!
Wendy V. Long, Editor
To subscribe to this newsletter, send an email request to wlong@grsd.org. To unsubscribe, look for information at the bottom of your e-newsletter.
“Breaking News From Gateway”
Is published weekly by the Gateway Regional School District
12 Littleville Rd.
Huntington, MA 01050
For questions or feedback, please contact Wendy Long @ (413) 685-1003 or email wlong@grsd.org
© 2011, Gateway Regional School District