Breaking News From Gateway
 
March 25, 2008

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: “In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins, not through strength but by attitude." – H. Jackson Brown

COMING EVENTS:  A schedule of activities for the week ending April 5, 2008 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 March 26h at 7:30 p.m. at R. H. Conwell Elementary School. The agenda includes a presentation of Chester and Conwell parent survey results by Principal Tom Nadolny, approval of the 2008-09 district calendar, and consideration for pre-approving Superintendent Hopson’s trip to California (to be paid for by Apple) for a podcast on sustainable one to one laptop computer programs. Gateway is one of six school districts nationally to be invited to participate in this podcast. Extra agendas and handouts will be available for visitors. The next meeting of the Friends of Gateway will be April 1 at 7 p.m. in the Superintendent’s Office. The public is invited and encouraged to attend all meetings.

GATEWAY SBHC AT BOSTON EVENT: The Gateway School-Based Health Center sent representatives to the statewide celebration of School-Based Health Centers in Boston, on March 3rd. Read the complete article for more information.

Gateway Junior Jessica L. Pittsinger (center) is flanked by SBHC Director Marge Barnett and Nurse Practitioner Shirley Hodges, as they visited the Boston State House as part of the Massachusetts School-Based Health Center Awareness Day, March 3, 2008.

 

SIXTH GRADE PLAYWRIGHTS AND CHESTER THEATRE COMPANY PRESENT: “ON THE OTHER HAND. . .THE DILEMMA PLAYS”: Don’t miss the Spring 2008 presentation of the Gateway Middle School Playwright Program “On The Other Hand…The Dilemma Plays”, performed at the Gateway Performing Arts Center on April 4 and April 5 at 7 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door, and are $5 for adults, $3 for students. Proceeds will help sustain this award-winning project! Click here for details on this semester’s intriguing theme! Or, check out the program's flyer.

FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT ON PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN SCREENING: Any hilltown family with a child who will be 3 or 4 years of age by April 28th is eligible to participate in the district’s annual Preschool Screening. Children who will be five years old on or before September 1st should participate in the district’s Kindergarten screening. Details on dates, times, and how to schedule an appointment in the complete article.

CHESTER PARENT ORGANIZATION SPAGHETTI SUPPER AND RAFFLE: Tickets must be purchased by March 31st for the annual Spaghetti Supper and Raffle on Friday, April 4, 2008. Seating times are 5 and 6 p.m. Families and friends are welcome! Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for children; children 3 and under eat free. (No family will pay more than $20). Dinner includes spaghetti and meatballs, salad, rolls, beverage and dessert. A raffle of donated items will also be held. Please make checks payable to the Chester Parent Organization. Call Tracey (354-6443) if you have questions.

STUDENT COUNCIL SUPPORTS SOPHOMORES DURING MCAS TESTING: As the Class of 2010 buckles down this week to their first three days of MCAS testing, the Gateway Regional High School Student Council did its part to support their peers by providing drinks and snacks to the test-takers. Like their predecessors, the Class of 2010 must pass the MCAS exam in order to receive a diploma; unlike those who tested before them, the passing score is now 20 points higher.

R. H. CONWELL SCHOOL SEEKS MINI-COURSE TEACHERS: R. H. Conwell Elementary School will again hold a four-week series of mini-courses for their K-4 students. Mini-courses will be held on the first four Fridays in May, from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. The school is seeking volunteers to teach; the PTO will reimburse instructors for materials. Past offerings have included basketry, sewing, cooking, baton twirling, gymnastics, outdoor games, nature studies, babysitting, computer, macramé, collage, board games, and origami. Volunteers are sought to teach, assist teachers or provide childcare for the younger children of teachers/assistants. Please contact the school if you are interested in helping.

REPORTS WEIGH IN ON “ARTS AND SMARTS”: The Dana Foundation has released a compilation of studies from seven different universities on the relationship between arts education, brain development and thinking skills.
REMINDERS:
  • THREE LATE-STARTS NEXT WEEK FOR GRADES 9, 11 AND 12: For the fourth consecutive year, students in grades 9, 11 and 12 will have two-hour delays on the dates that tenth graders are taking English Language Arts and mathematics MCAS examinations. Students must pass these high-stakes tests—at the even higher passing score now required in Massachusetts—in order to receive a high school diploma. Read more in the complete article.
  • MIDDLE SCHOOL “HOOPS FOR HEART” FUNDRAISER: Students and staff at Gateway Regional Middle School will create a little “March Madness” of their own on Friday, March 28th, marking their third annual basketball event to raise funds for the American Heart Association. Read on for details, including how you can add to the donations!
  • PARENTS ASKED TO RETURN SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CENTER ANNUAL REGISTRATION FORMS: Students who receive medical services from the Gateway School-Based Health Center (SBHC)—open to all students in grades 5 – 12—must have a registration form completed each year. Gateway’s SBHC has mailed forms home to all parents/guardians of students attending the middle and high schools. This update is required by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which funds the SBHC. Click here for more information.
  • SAVE THE DATE FOR GRADE 9 & 10 PARENTS: The Gateway Guidance Department will host a MEFA (Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority) seminar for parents/guardians and grade 9 & 10 students on Wednesday, April 16 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. This Early College Planning Seminar will cover important topics around course selections, extra-curricular activities, standardized tests, finding colleges, and college financing. More details to come!
  • BAND BOOSTERS BOTTLE AND CAN DRIVE: The Gateway High School Band will conduct their annual Bottle and Can Drive fundraiser on Saturday, April 19th from 9:30 to 3:30. Donations can be brought to the high school during that time, or dropped off ahead of time at the band room from 2 – 4 p.m. on Thursday April 17 or Friday April 18. All bottles and cans with a Massachusetts deposit will be accepted!
  • GATEWAY CALENDAR CHANGES FOR PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE AND EARLY RELEASE DAYS: This article outlines three major calendar changes that will be taking place in March, May and June. Read more about the dates in the complete article.

  • FOURTH GRADE PARENTS/STUDENTS—SAVE THE DATE FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL ORIENTATION: Gateway Regional Middle School will be welcoming current fourth graders in June, as they prepare to transition from their elementary schools to the regional middle school next fall. Students will visit the Middle School for a morning of activities that includes tours, sitting in on fifth grade and special subject classes, a scavenger hunt, having lunch, and being treated to a brief concert by the current Grade 5 band. Blandford and Russell visits will take place on June 9th. Chester, Conwell and Littleville students will visit on June 10th. Students will be bussed from their elementary school, and the visits will take place from 9:30 to noon. The week’s activities will conclude with a student and parent/guardian orientation on Thursday, June 12th from 6:30 – 8 p.m. in the Gateway Performing Arts Center. Save the dates for these fun and informative events!

  • GATEWAY TO PARTICIPATE IN STATE SPECIAL EDUCATION SURVEY: Parents and guardians of Gateway students who receive special education services will receive a survey from the State Director for Special Education in Massachusetts in April. Click here for details.

  • SNOW DAYS COULD IMPACT APRIL VACATION: Spring Break for Gateway students and staff is scheduled for April 21 – 25th, but not if the district incurs too many more snow days.  Read more in the complete article.
  • 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.
  • 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, this week’s Superintendent’s Corner is now posted. This week, Dr. Hopson looks at the issue of creating a Capital Improvement Stabilization Account, as a long-range strategy to manage costly maintenance and repairs, and ultimately save money. Read the entire column for details.

 

Have a great week!

                                                                                           Wendy V. Long, Editor

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“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

© 2008, Gateway Regional School District