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Tuesday, November 20, 2007
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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: “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward
COMING EVENTS: A schedule of activities for the week ending December 1, 2007 is now posted. (Items for this calendar should be submitted at least two weeks ahead of time!)
UPCOMING MEETINGS: If you missed last week’s School Committee Meeting, you missed a presentation entitled “What If” as part of the long-range planning; a vote to change the March parent-teacher conference day; a request to take a group of students to Spain in the 2008-09 school year; an update on the Blandford Septic System; and further discussion on the proposed flyer distribution policy. The next meeting of the Gateway Regional School Committee will be November 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Blandford Elementary School. The first half-hour of all School Committee meetings this year will be dedicated to planning for the future. The Friends of Gateway will meet on December 4th at 7 p.m. in the Superintendent’s Office. The public is invited and encouraged to attend all meetings. |
HILLTOWN HEALTH CENTERS TO OFFER DENTAL SERVICES AT GATEWAY SCHOOLS: Using portable equipment that can easily move from school to school, Dr. Emily Bowdon will provide dental services to students at their schools and registered dental hygienist Liz Spooner will do cleanings and x-rays. Read on for more information about this innovative program—and one of the first in the state to provide a full range of services (including sealants and fillings) at school!
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Gateway Superintendent Dr. David Hopson and Ed Sayer, Executive Director of the Hilltown Community Health Centers, sign an agreement to partner for the Gator Grins Dental Outreach Program, providing dental services at all Gateway schools. |
SCHOOL AWARDED FOR HAVING ‘A LOT OF HEART’: “What’s good about this is that it raises money for something important,” said Principal Joanne Blocker as she accepted an award from the American Heart Association for raising $1735 during last year’s Jump Rope For Heart event. Click here for details.
NHS MEMBERS TO SERVE AREA ELDERS AT HOLIDAY LUNCHEON: Members of the Dana O. Webber Chapter of the National Honor Society will be serving lunch to senior citizens from the seven Gateway hilltowns, at the annual holiday event on December 5th. Click here for more information about the event.
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.
LITTLEVILLE BEANIE BABY COLLECTION HAS ENDED: The Littleville Beanie Baby collection for U. S. troops has ended; the beanies are being sorted and packaged for shipping. Thanks to everybody who donated! We will have a total count in an upcoming issue of Breaking News.
HIGH SCHOOL REPORT CARDS were mailed home on November 15, 2007.
WHAT IF? At last week’s school committee meeting, members and the audience viewed a presentation entitled “What If?”—the follow-up to the “Did you know/Shift Happens” piece developed by Karl Fisch, a teacher at Arapahoe High School in Colorado. Google The Fischbowl—Karl’s blog (interesting reading on its own). You can download “What If” in a number of media choices, including mp3, power point and windows media player.
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REMINDERS:
- GATEWAY SCHOOLS CLOSE FOR THANKSGIVING RECESS: All students in the Gateway Regional School District will have a half-day on Wednesday, November 21st. Middle and High Schools will be dismissed at 10:45 a.m. Elementary and Preschool will get out at 11:30 a.m. The Wellness Center and Littleville Wrap Around will remain open on the 21st, but will be closed on Thursday and Friday for the holiday. The Wellness Center will reopen 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, November 24
- GATEWAY TO HOST AREA SR. CITIZENS FOR ANNUAL CONCERT/LUNCHEON: The Gateway Regional School District extends a warm invitation to area senior citizens for its Annual Holiday Luncheon and Concert at the Gateway Performing Arts Center on December 5th. Click here for additional details.
- WINTER WEATHER CLOSINGS AT GATEWAY SCHOOLS; HOW WILL YOU KNOW? With winter fast approaching, it is time for parents and students to review how to find out if school is delayed or cancelled due to winter weather. Click here for details on radio and television, telephone and Internet options for finding out if school is open!
- 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.
- SCHOOL COMMITTEE HITS THE ROAD AGAIN THIS YEAR; WILL MEET IN ALL SEVEN TOWNS: Huntington is covered, with the majority of School Committee meetings taking place at the Gateway complex on Littleville Rd. The school committee will meet in the other six member towns this year, in keeping with practice over the past several years. This is done to make it easier for community members and town officials to attend at least one school committee meeting a year. It also allows school committee members to visit the outlying Gateway schools. Additional information is in the complete article, or go to the School Committee Calendar on the district website.
- 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!
- 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 discusses the issue of change and gives thanks to everyone who continues to support public education. Read the entire column 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 when school is in session 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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