Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Dear Friends of Gateway:
Here is this week’s installment of Gateway’s weekly e-newsletter. As always, your feedback and suggestions are invited.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Genius without education is like silver in the mine."
-- Ben Franklin
COMING EVENTS: A schedule of activities for the week ending March 17, 2007 is now posted. (Items for this calendar should be submitted at least two weeks ahead of time!)
UPCOMING MEETINGS: The Public Hearing for the 2007-08 school year budget will be held on Wednesday, March 7, 2007 in the Gateway Performing Arts Center. This meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be the last and best opportunity for the public to weigh in on any proposed changes to educational programs, student fees, town assessments and any other budgetary items, before the School Committee votes to adopt the budget on March 14, 2007. The next regular meeting of the Gateway Regional School Committee will be on March 14th at 7:30 p.m. at Littleville Elementary School. The School Committee is scheduled to vote to adopt the 2007-08 budget at that meeting. The Friends of Gateway are now meeting the first Tuesday of every month. Their next meeting will be March 6th at 7 p.m. in the Superintendent’s Office. They will begin working on Articles of Incorporation to become an education foundation for Gateway. New members are needed and should feel welcome to attend. As always, the public is invited and encouraged to attend all meetings.
CHANGES TO MARCH AND MAY STUDENT SCHEDULES: Parent-teacher conferences will be held on March 26, 2007, a difference from the calendar in student handbooks. Students will have school on March 19, but not attend on March 26. In related news, high school students in grades 9, 11, and 12 will again have 5 delayed-start days this spring so that 10th graders can take their MCAS exam without interruption. Please read the complete article for important information on bus schedules on those dates.
GRANT FUNDS BIOTECHNOLOGY SUMMER CAMP FOR GIRLS: Girls in 7th and 8th grade who want to explore the field of science will have a special opportunity to do that this summer—at either Gateway High School or Holyoke Community College—thanks to a $15,000 grant from Pioneer Valley STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) NET. Two 2-week sessions will be offered, at no cost to students. Details in the complete article
Registration is on a first-come, first served basis; the registration form can be printed and mailed back.
PRESCHOOL SCREENING FOR 3 AND 4 YEAR-OLDS: Gateway is offering a developmental screening for all 3 and 4 year old children in the Gateway towns. This screening is conducted to identify where children are in their developmental growth, as well as look at any concerns or questions parents may have. Parents must call to schedule an appointment for a screening Please click here for more information.
HIGH SCHOOL HONOR ROLL FOR SECOND TERM: Principal Kathleen McSweeney has announced the First, Second and Third Honors students for the second marking term this year. Click here for the list.
HIGH SCHOOL MOVES FORWARD TOWARD ACCREDITATION VISIT: Principal Kathleen McSweeney has announced that her school has submitted their final report to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) in preparation for their accreditation visit in May. The report was compiled after a 1 ½ year self-study period involving input from staff, students, parents and community members. The complete article has more information.
THIS WEEK AT THE GATEWAY FAMILY CENTER: We continue our Friday lunchtime series with "Reading to Young Children- Choosing Books and Activities" led by Margaret Nareau, the Huntington Librarian. Ms. Nareau has chosen some books to read to the children, and will informally lead a discussion with parents. This begins at 11 AM, but the 10 AM Playgroup activity will be book making. Lunch will follow. Next week, Friday March 16th, our resident Health and Safety guru, Ed Vivier, will lead a discussion on Household Safety Hazards. Last Friday, we postponed our parent topic "Healthy Eating/ Healthy Habits" to March 30. These programs are sponsored by the Hilltown Community Health Centers with funding from the Massachusetts Children's Trust Fund. As always, all of our programs are free of charge and open to the public. For more information, please call Kim Savery at the Family Center 667-2203 x3.
MYSPACE TO DO AMBER ALERTS; WORKING ON PREDATOR SAFEGUARDS: Myspace.com, the wildly popular social networking website for teens and young adults, has begun posting amber alerts to help find missing children. They are also working on new protocols to try to stop adults contacting teens on the network. Myspace has been in the news over the past two years, linked to sexual assaults and abductions after predators made contact with victims through the website. Click here for a news report on new efforts underway by the site.
REMINDERS:
- NEW AEROBICS & YOGA CLASSES TO BEGIN IN MARCH: Registration will begin this week for a new session of yoga and aerobics classes, offered by the Gateway Wellness Center. Aerobic Classes will run for 7 weeks and will begin March 20th. Yoga classes will also run for 7 weeks, but will begin March 7th. Fees are reduced for members of the Gateway Wellness Center, but classes are open to non-members as well. Click here for more information.
- MIDDLE SCHOOL DANCE ON MARCH 16: "The Spring Fling" sponsored by the Student Advisory Council on Friday, March 16 at 2:15 - 4:30PM for grades 5 & 6 and 6:00 - 9:00PM for grades 7 & 8.
- SPAGHETTI WEEKEND AHEAD! Spaghetti lovers rejoice! Chester Elementary School is holding a spaghetti supper fundraiser on Friday, March 9th, and Blandford holds another on Saturday, March 10th! Chester’s supper will have seatings at 5 and 6 p.m., with a raffle for theme-based baskets created by each grade. Then help Blandford Elementary School “Shade the Gym” by attending a special fundraiser on March 10th. The event will include a silent auction, dinner, and student performances. Proceeds will be used to purchase shades for the gymnasium, to improve assemblies that involve films, speakers, or performances. Ticket prices and further details are in the complete article.
- GATEWAY SCHOOL COMMITTEE COMING TO A TOWN NEAR YOU: The Gateway Regional School Committee has announced that it will again hold meetings in all seven district towns during this school year, so that town officials and area residents will have greater access to those meetings. The next “town” meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 14th at Littleville Elementary School. In the meantime, the School Committee will meet at the Gateway complex on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of January and February. Read the complete article for details.
- DISTRICT SAFETY HOTLINE: A reminder that the Gateway Regional School District has a confidential Safety Hotline in place, for students and community members to share their concerns. Just call 685-1050 and leave a message.
IN CLOSING, the Superintendent’s Corner for this week is attached. This week, Dr. Hopson reports on last week’s meeting between town officials and our state legislators, as they reviewed the negative impact the Governor’s Budget (House I) had on Gateway.
Have a great week!
Wendy V. Long, Editor
|
