Tuesday, November 21, 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.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” -Robert Frost
COMING EVENTS: A schedule of activities for the week ending December 2, 2006 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 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.
PUBLIC INVITED TO DISCUSS EXPANDED SCHOOL DAY/YEAR: Students, parents, staff and community members are invited to a public meeting on a grant-funded planning process that will determine whether or not Gateway students increase their time in school by 25% in the 2008-2009 school year. The meeting will be held on November 29th at 7 p.m. in the Gateway Performing Arts Center. Click here for details.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ SOCCER TEAM! It was a dream season for the Gateway Boys’ Soccer team in their run for a Western Massachusetts Division III Title this month, and they appeared unstoppable during their first three tournament games. The Gators knocked off #9 St. Mary’s (5 – 1); #5 Holyoke Catholic (4 –1); and even # 1 Frontier (1 – 0) before falling in the final game to Monson (1-0). It was an outstanding run and outstanding season for 8 seniors: Dan Anderson, Chris Brackett, Jed Cummings, Garrison Gamble, Tim Mayhew, Jason Lariviere, Colin Powers, Marshall Prokop, David Root and Luke Ryan.
GATEWAY ACTING COMPANY TO PERFORM STUDENT-WRITTEN PLAYS: The Middle School Playwright Program—a partnership between our Middle School, the Chester Theatre, and the Gateway Acting Company—will showcase plays written by sixth grade students this fall. The public is invited to attend the series of one-act plays on December 1st or 2nd, beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets at the door will be $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students, and sales are a vital part of continuing this wonderful project. Read on for details.
THREE GATEWAY MUSICIANS SELECTED FOR WESTERN DISTRICT SR. CONCERT: Three music students from Gateway Regional High School were accepted by audition into the Western Massachusetts Sr. District Music Festival this year. Two vocalists (Kristina Loomis and Joshua Oleksak) will perform with the Festival Chorus, and Jennifer Mason will perform with the Festival Concert Band. Mason has also earned an audition for the All-State Music Festival. Click here for details.
RUSSELL PTO HOLDS SPAGHETTI DINNER BENEFIT: The Russell Elementary School PTO is holding a Spaghetti Dinner for the Pisani Family at the Gateway Cafeteria on Saturday, December 2nd. The dinner will be held from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $7.00 per person, or $25 for a family. Tickets may be purchased at the door; advanced tickets are available at Russell Elementary School, the Russell Library, the Russell Town Hall, Blandford Country Store, and B & D Variety Store in Huntington. The dinner is being held to benefit the widow and children of Bob Pisani, who died in a motor vehicle accident in October.
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! Read on. . .
NOVEMBER HS FORUM ON 27TH: The November High School Forum for parents and community members will be held on Monday, November 27th from 5 – 6 p.m. in the High School Principal’s Office. This is an opportunity for people to meet with Principal Kathleen McSweeney and Assistant Principal Laurie Marvel to discuss any areas of concern, have questions answered, or provide input on HS issues. Please feel welcome to participate!
HS REPORT CARD ANNOUNCEMENT: Parents and students are advised that the report cards mailed home earlier this month contained an error on attendance data. Grades will remain unchanged in the second run of the report cards, which will post corrected attendance for the first quarter of the year and are being handed out to students this week. The computer program ran the first report cards using last year’s attendance data.
FOOD DRIVE FOLLOW-UP: Student Council Advisor Diane Uliana reported that over 300 pieces of food were collected during the recent food drive. The Junior Class—which brought in over half of those items—took first place in the competition for spirit points.
GATEWAY FAMILY CENTER NEWS: The Gateway Family Center is offering a short talk on the dangers of exposure to Carbon Monoxide, detection systems, and steps to take at home on November 29th at 10 a.m. Ed Vivier, EMT of the Middlefield Police Department and Becket Ambulance will lead this discussion. This even is FREE of charge and open to the public. This will take place during normal playgroup hours, so children are always welcome. For more information, or to register, please call Kim Savery at the Family Center (667-2203 ext. 3).
KIDS SEE MOMS AS THEIR MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE OF HEALTH INFORMATION: In a survey of almost 1500 youth between the ages of 8 and 18, the America on the Move Foundation found that 70% of young people look to their mothers for information on health, including nutrition and exercise. And the majority of youth today (56%) are worried about the fact that one or both parents are overweight, which might have serious health implications for their families. With Thanksgiving as the official holiday of overeating—and the gateway to a full six weeks’ of high fat and high calorie temptations—check out the America on the Move Foundation website. It has vital information on eating better and moving more to become healthier—for kids, adults, and families.
REMINDERS:
- 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.
- GATEWAY TO HOST ELDERS FOR 15TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY CONCERT AND LUNCHEON: The Gateway Regional School District is pleased to extend a warm invitation to area senior citizens for the 15th Annual Holiday Luncheon and Concert at the Middle/High School complex on Wednesday, December 6th. Read the complete article for details.
- 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.
- MUSIC DEPARTMENT FRUIT SALE: The Gateway High School Music Department is taking orders for its annual fruit sale until Monday, November 27th. Oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and tangelos are all available—along with some combination orders. See any band or chorus member to order.
- LITTLEVILLE CAN COLLECTION TO SUPPORT INJURED ATHLETES: A reminder that Littleville Elementary School will be collecting rinsed returnable beverage containers as a fundraiser to support two young athletes who were paralyzed while training. See details in the complete article.
- 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.
- WINTER WEATHER CLOSINGS AT GATEWAY: Although the month has been unseasonably warm, winter is nonetheless approaching and parents and students may wish to review our protocols for announcing school delays and cancellations. Whether you use the telephone, Internet, or other media—you’ll want to take note. Also, be advised that these same systems will be used in a school emergency. Click here for details.
- 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, December 13th at Blandford Elementary School. 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 describes the budget development process for next year, which is now underway for the School Committee and district administrators. Of major concern is the $3 million gap between what the state says it should cost to fund 11 core components of operations, and what those cost in the real world. Hint: this gap might be caused by the state’s assumption that items like health insurance only increase at the rate of inflation. Read the entire column for details.
Have a great week!
Wendy V. Long, Editor
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