Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Dear Friends of Gateway:

Here is this week’s installment of Gateway’s weekly e-newsletter.  As always, your feedback and suggestions are invited. 

NATIONAL PARENT INVOLVEMENT DAY IS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2006!

There are numerous ways that parents can be involved in education, and they don’t all take place at school!  Parents can (and do) volunteer in schools or classrooms, chaperone field trips, organize fundraisers, serve on committees, school councils, PTOs or booster clubs, and attend school meetings/events. Parents (and grandparents!) also support education when they help with homework, provide supplies needed to complete schoolwork at home, or simply read with their children every day.  Even attending annual town meeting is a way to support education.  Thank you parents!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:  “Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.” - Edward Everett

COMING EVENTS:  A schedule of activities for the week ending November 25, 2006 is now posted.  (Items for this calendar should be submitted at least two weeks ahead of time!)

UPCOMING MEETINGS:  If you missed the November 8th meeting of the Gateway School Committee, you missed a presentation by the Freshman Class Advisors and students regarding the proposed 4-year partnership with Kapolei High School in Hawaii, culminating in a Senior Class Trip to Hawaii (the School Committee granted preliminary permission to begin fundraising but requested additional details and contingency plans before granting final approval); an overview of budget comparisons between Gateway and other Western Massachusetts Regional Districts; and a discussion on increasing behavioral issues in the elementary schools. The next meeting of the Gateway Regional School Committee will be on December 13th at 7:30 p.m. at Blandford Elementary School. The next meeting of the Friends of Gateway will be Tuesday, December 5th at 7 p.m. in the Superintendent’s Office.  New members are needed and should feel welcome to attend. As always, the public is invited and encouraged to attend all meetings.  

MOCK ELECTION AT CHESTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MIRRORS STATE RACE:  Teacher Heather Cabral found a way to make lessons in government, current events, math and literacy relevant: her students hosted a school wide campaign and mock election. The project included researching the candidates and issues, running the mock election using voting protocols, and using math skills to create graphs and charts on final results.  They even helped write this article! Read on . . .

GATEWAY ALUMNI BROTHER AND TEACHER SISTER RAISE FUNDS FOR VICTIMS OF SPORTS INJURIES: Greg Piers (Class of ’83) has never been more inspired to train for the Ironman Triathlon. When he competes next April, he will carry the hopes and aspirations of two teenagers whose promising athletic careers were cut short by spinal cord injuries. His sister, Littleville teacher Dawne Piers-Gamble, is taking up the cause and helping fundraise to meet the mountain of medical bills and expenses that are emerging for Drew Donnelly of Arizona and Kelley Goddu of New Hampshire.  Details in the complete article.

HIGH SCHOOL COLLEGE/CAREER AWARENESS WEEK: The week of Thanksgiving will be packed with college and career planning activities for students at Gateway Regional High School.  Parents are invited to a college financial planning seminar; students will participate in career awareness day, and alumni will be back to present information on their college experience. Read more in the complete article.

SCHOOLS CLOSED FOR THANKSGIVING: A reminder that Gateway students will be dismissed after a half-day of school on Wednesday, November 22nd to begin the Thanksgiving Recess.  Middle and High School students will be dismissed at 10:45 a.m., and elementary students at 11:30 a.m.  Schools will remain closed for the rest of the week, and will reopen on Monday, November 27th.  Gateway Wellness Center hours are detailed in the complete article.

SAVE THE DATE - WELLNESS CENTER HEALTH FAIR: The Gateway Wellness Center is sponsoring a Health Fair for the public on Saturday, December 2nd from 9:00 – noon.  This event will be open to the public, and everyone who attends will receive a free 3-day trial membership.  The day will include exercise classes, goal setting and fitness program design, blood pressure screenings, nutritional information, giveaways and raffles, and much more!  Keep watching for more details!

SAVE THE DATE – GATEWAY MIDDLE SCHOOL PLAYWRIGHT PROGRAM: The afterschool Playwright Program, in partnership with the Chester Theatre, will stage a series of one act plays on December 1st and 2nd in the Gateway Performing Arts Center. The plays were written by sixth grade students and will be performed by professional actors from the Chester Theatre Company. This year’s theme is “Second Chances”.  Tickets will be sold at the door: adults $5.00; students $3.00.

NORTHAMPTON ARTS COUNCIL HOLDING YOUTH FILMFEST: The Northampton Arts Council is accepting entries for YouthFilm, part of the annual international film festival KidsBestFest, which will be presented February 19 –24, 2007.  Filmmakers in the Pioneer Valley aged 18 and under are invited to submit their feature length and short films for consideration.  All subjects and genre are welcome.  Submissions will be screened at the Academy of Music Theater in Northampton on February 24, 2007.  Please submit your film in DVD format, along with a completed entry form, which contains additional instructions.

R.H. CONWELL SCHOOL/MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND COLLECTING INK CARTRIDGES: The R. H. Conwell PTO is participating in Staples Recycle for Education, a recycling fundraiser.  Staples will pay the school $3.00 for each eligible cartridge.  Please help by sending empty inkjet or toner cartridges to the school with children.  If you are sending a laser cartridge, please enclose it in a box. The Middle School Band also continues to collect and recycle laser and ink-jet cartridges (but no toner) through a different program.  Those can be dropped at the MS Office to the attention of Beth Guertin.

HIGH RISK BEHAVIORS LINKED TO DEPRESSION IN TEENS: Once again, the Gateway School-Based Health Center (an office of the Hilltown Community Health Centers, Inc.) is conducting a depression screening among Gateway 9th graders.  Teen depression made national news last spring when new research findings from the National Institute on Drug Abuse linked depression to substance abuse.  It has long been assumed that teens who are depressed are more likely to drink or take drugs. This study verified the linkage, but suggested that the substance abuse came first and might have actually caused the depression. The study involved 19,000 teens, and can be read online.

REMINDERS:

Have a great week!

Wendy V. Long, Editor