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Dear Friends of Gateway:
Here is this week’s installment of Gateway’s weekly e-newsletter. As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “It requires wisdom to understand wisdom: the music is nothing if the audience is deaf.” – Walter Lippmann
COMING EVENTS: A schedule of activities for the week ending December 22, 2007 is now posted. (Items for this calendar should be submitted at least two weeks ahead of time!)
UPCOMING MEETINGS: The next meeting of the Gateway Regional School Committee will be December 12th at 7:30 p.m. at Montgomery Town Hall. The School Committee, and those attending, will see a preliminary district budget overview, hear a presentation on the district behavior programs, continued discussion on the flyer distribution policy and the proposed trip to Spain. New business items include the first read of a proposed Field Trip Policy, and consideration for a Calendar Change to make up for the early release day that was missed due to bad weather. This will also be the final meeting where the first half-hour is dedicated to planning for the future. The Friends of Gateway will meet on January 8th at 7 p.m. in the Superintendent’s Office. The public is invited and encouraged to attend all meetings.
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115 AREA SENIORS ATTEND ANNUAL CONCERT AND LUNCHEON: Over 100 senior citizens from the seven member towns of the Gateway Regional School District attended the 16th Annual Holiday Concert and Luncheon. The 7/8 Grade Band, Show & Concert Choir, High School Jazz Band, and High School Concert Band performed, along with several small ensembles. Teachers Beth Guertin, Jerilyn Beauregard and Paul Sawyer led the student groups. Guests were then treated to a turkey dinner prepared by the Gateway Food Services Department, under the direction of Wendy McCaul. National Honor Society members served the luncheon. |
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FIVE GATEWAY MUSICIANS SELECTED FOR WESTERN DISTRICT CONCERT: Five music students from Gateway Regional High School were accepted into the Western Massachusetts District Music Festival, through competitive auditions. Three earned recommendations for the All-State Music Festival. Click here for more information.
TONIGHT’S MIDDLE SCHOOL CONCERT IS POSTPONED: Due to the threat of bad weather, the Middle School Concert scheduled for this evening is rescheduled for Wednesday, December 19th at 7 p.m. in the Gateway Performing Arts Center.
CHEER FOR CHARITY: The Gateway Regional High School Cheerleaders would like to announce a kick-off event for the Basketball season! All Gator fans attending the boys’ home game on Friday Dec. 14th (JV @ 6:00 and Varsity @ 7:30) will get 1/2 price admission fee with the donation of one unwrapped toy to be donated to Toys For Tots, or four food items for the Food Pantry. Adults will pay only $2 and students will pay only $1 with either of these donations! So come support your Gateway Gators and contribute to the giving spirit of the holiday season! Go Gators!!
GATEWAY BLOOD DRIVE OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY: The Gateway Regional High School Student Council is sponsoring a Blood Drive on Friday, December 14 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the high school gymnasium. The public is invited to participate. Read on for information on scheduling and becoming a blood donor. If school is cancelled on Friday due to weather, the blood drive will be rescheduled.
VACATION WEEK: All Gateway schools will be closed from December 24 through January 1, for seasonal observances. The Littleville Wrap-Around program will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday through Friday of that week; parents must register their students ahead of time. Please contact Littleville Elementary School (685-1301) for more information. The Gateway Wellness Center will be closed on December 2, 25 and January 1. Please call the Wellness Center for their holiday week schedule at 685-1040. Schools will reopen on Jan. 2.
HIGH SCHOOL CONCERT SNOW DATE: The weather is looking a little iffy for Thursday evening’s concert. If the concert is postponed, it is likely to be rescheduled for Tuesday, December 18th at 7 p.m. in the Gateway Performing Arts Center. We will send a special confirmation out to Breaking News subscribers if this happens.
BAND BOOSTERS MEET TONIGHT: The Gateway High School Band Boosters will meet this evening (Tuesday, December 11) at 6 p.m. in the Choral Room. The fruit order has arrived and will be sorted this evening. Fruit can be picked up at the winter concert.
MID-TERM PROGRESS REPORTS: Principal Kathleen McSweeney has announced that the second term progress reports will be issued before the holiday break.
TEACHER HOLIDAY WISH-LIST: Last year, the Washington Post printed this holiday wish list written by teacher Zahra Baig of the Bryant Woods Montessori School in Columbia. Too good to miss, this teacher wish list offers suggestions that emphasize parents presence, not presents, to support education and build student achievement.
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REMINDERS:
- PARENT REMINDERS ON RECESS: Elementary school recesses are held out-of-doors except during bad weather or severely cold weather. To stay warm and dry, children should come to school with a hat, mittens, warm coat and waterproof snowpants (or a pair of pants to change into). Parents are also advised to have children wear boots, and bring sneakers or dry shoes in backpacks. Snow boots are often too warm to wear all day indoors. Finally, families who have outgrown some of their hats and mittens might check with their town elementary school to see if they can use them for students who forget, or who don’t have, winter items.
- CHESTER ELEMENTARY “GIVING TREE”: Students at Chester Elementary School are participating in the school’s annual “Giving Tree” event all month. Students are bringing nonperishable food items into school to be donated to the local food pantry. This program was a huge success last year, with the school providing a substantial donation of food.
- GATEWAY CALENDAR CHANGE APPROVED: The Gateway Regional School Committee voted on November 14, 2007 to change the district calendar for the current school year. The parent-teacher conference day initially scheduled for March 24, 2008 will now be held on March 20, 2008, which will be a day off for students. The change was made to accommodate MCAS testing.
- R. H. CONWELL SCHOOL JOINS COMMUNITY FOOD DRIVE: Students at R. H. Conwell Elementary School are collecting non-perishable food as part of a community effort to collect 1000 food items for the Gateway Hilltown Food Pantry. The Food Drive will run until December 21st.
- SEASON PASSES AVAILABLE FOR HS BASKETBALL GAMES: Hoops fans interested in saving some money this season should consider a Season Pass to all home Basketball Games this year! Athletic Director Gary St.Peter has announced sales of Season Passes to Girls’ or Boys’ games for $30 (9 games), or a VIP PASS to both girls’ and boys’ games for $55 (savings of $17 on the season). Click here for details.
- GATEWAY PHONE DIRECTORIES ON SALE AT ALL SCHOOL OFFICES! Short of cash at the last Open House? You can still purchase a Gateway Phone Directory at any school office. Get one and keep it by your phone the next time you want to know if school is cancelled due to bad weather, report your child as absent, or follow-up with the school nurse on a playground injury. Read more in the complete article.
- VOLUNTEERS - SAVE THE DATE! This year’s annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner will be held on February 8, 2008 from 5 – 7 p.m. in the Gateway MS/HS cafeteria. The volunteer dinner is free to anyone who volunteers in a Gateway school by chaperoning field trips, working in a parent center or library, sponsoring student interns, serving on PTO’s, school councils or other committees, or working on fundraisers/special events—to name just a few examples. The dinner is sponsored by the Friends of Gateway. More details to come!
- HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS SCHEDULE ON THE WEB: The fall sports schedule for Gateway Regional High School can be found on the web.
- GATEWAY SCHOOL SAFETY HOTLINE: As part of Gateway’s School Safety Plan, the school safety hotline (685-1050) will remain in place for the coming school year. Monitored 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 students.
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IN CLOSING, the Superintendent’s Corner for this week is attached. In this week’s column, Dr. Hopson reflects on change and its occasional clash with tradition. Read the entire column for details.
Have a great week!
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To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, please send an email request to gatewaynews@grsd.org
“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
© 2007, Gateway Regional School District |
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