Breaking News From Gateway

January 2, 2008

Dear Friends of Gateway:

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here is this week’s installment of Gateway’s weekly e-newsletter. As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.”- Hal Borland

COMING EVENTS: Schedules of activities for the weeks ending January 5, 2008 and January 12, 2008 are 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 January 9th at 7:30 p.m. in the MS/HS Library Resource Center (2nd floor). Extra agendas and handouts are available for visitors. 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.

THE 2008-09 SCHOOL YEAR BUDGET: The district intends to increase next year’s budget by approximately 2.6%, which will yield an average 5% increase in town assessments, Superintendent David B. Hopson announced to the Gateway Regional School Committee at their December 12th meeting in Montgomery. The Superintendent presented a preliminary budget overview, which can be viewed on the district website.

GATEWAY NHS MEMBERS WORK TO MAKE HOLIDAYS BRIGHTER: “Wal-Mart gave us our own cashier,” enthused a student shopper. “We had carts and carts full of items and they opened a special register just for us!” Read on in the complete article.

NHS Member Stephanie Banach helps shopper Heather Boudreau make a holiday gift selection at Littleville's "Small World Gift Shop"

SCHOOL RAISES FUNDS FOR FAMILY WHO LOST HOME: When 7th grader Jolene Bertram’s family lost their home in a fire on December 8, the Gateway Regional Middle School sprang into action. Click here for the results.

GMS students with Richard and Laura Lee Bertram (back row) and daughter Jolene (center).

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.: Over 45 Middle School students were caught in the act—of being good! As a result of demonstrating respect to others, students were honored by Principal Todd Gazda and School Nurse Leader Linda Dugas, and can now wear a bracelet embossed with the word “respect”. Click here for details.

HIGH SCHOOL RECEIVES FORMAL ACCREDITATION LETTER: While Principal Kathleen McSweeney was expecting the written verification of her school receiving full accreditation, she was nonetheless pleased to see the list of commendations from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Read on for specifics.

MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS SET TO RAISE FUNDS: The Blue & Gold Committee and Student Advisory Council have organized two student events as fundraisers for three local charities: the Gateway Food Pantry, the Caleb Bouffard Fund and the Bertram Family Fund. On Friday, January 11th students in grades 5 & 6 can participate in an Open Gym & Pizza event afterschool. That evening, students in grades 7 & 8 can be part of a Dodgeball Tournament from 6 – 8:30 p.m. Any community member wishing to contribute to support these student-run projects should send a donation to the middle school office, c/o B&G/SAC Community Service Project. Questions? Please contact advisor George Hart at 685-1239 anytime and leave a message.

MIDDLE SCHOOL TERM 1 EFFORT AWARDS: Click here for a listing of Middle School students who earned Good and Excellent Effort Awards during the first term marking period.

NEW YEAR, NEW YOU! The Gateway Wellness Center is offering a new session of aerobics classes, to begin on January 8th. Anyone who has made a fitness resolution for 2008 might want to think of joining the Cardio Blast Aerobics Class! Read on for more information.

MID-YEAR EXAM SCHEDULE: High School mid-year exams will be held on January 24th, 25th and 28th. Exams for blocks one and two will be held on Thursday, January 24th. Exams for block three and four will be held on Friday, January 25th. (The 24th and 25th are half-days.) Mid-year exams for block five will be held in the first period of January 28th. The last day of the first semester will be January 29th. Second semester will begin on the 30th, and students will switch their lunch and advisory times for the remainder of the year.

HIGH SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING: The School Council for the high school is scheduled to meet on January 7th from 4 – 5 p.m. in the Principal’s Conference Room. The public is invited to attend and new members are always welcome.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PUBLIC FORUM: Area residents are invited to attend a Public Forum to discuss the FY 2008 Southern Hilltowns (including Russell, Huntington, Chester and Middlefield) CDBG application. The purpose of the forum is to identify community needs and town projects that would benefit from grant funding. The Forum is scheduled for Thursday, January 3rd at 7 p.m. at Stanton Hall, Huntington. Residents, municipal officials community groups and non-profit organizations are encouraged to attend.

DOING RESOLUTIONS THIS YEAR? See how your New Year’s Resolutions compare with the ten most popular resolutions made by Americans, along with helpful resources for achieving each. Click here for the USA.Gov page on popular resolutions.

REMINDERS:

BUS SAFETY REMINDER: Please be reminded that it is unlawful to pass a bus that is in the loading/unloading area of a school when the red lights are flashing. Parents are also reminded to acknowledge the No Parking signs at each Gateway school.

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.
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.
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! 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.

IN CLOSING, the Superintendent’s Corners for the past two weeks attached. On December 21st, Dr. Hopson wrote about the midway point in the school and towns fiscal year. In a column dated December 28th, the Superintendent thanked the many people who volunteer to the benefit of our students, and extended an invitation to the annual volunteer dinner on February 8th. Read both columns for details.

Have a great week!

Wendy V. Long, Editor

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