Tuesday, October 10, 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: “I am still learning.” - Michelangelo
COMING EVENTS: A schedule of activities for the week ending October 20, 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 October 11th at 7:30 p.m. in the Gateway Cafeteria. Agenda items include a presentation on the Curriculum by Janice Doppler and an Influenza Pandemic Update, including discussion on whether or not to approve the use of the MS/HS complex as an ISCU (Influenza Specialty Care Unit), should we experience a pandemic outbreak in the next few years. The Friends of Gateway are scheduled to meet on Thursday, October 12th in the Superintendent’s Office. The public is invited and encouraged to attend all meetings.
THREE STUDENTS NAMED AP SCHOLARS: Three graduates from Gateway Regional High School have earned AP Scholar awards from the College Board, in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program Exams, taken in May 2006. Janine Beauregard and Vitaly Yusenko earned the AP Scholar Award; Sarah Hopson received a National AP Scholar Award (the highest honor granted), and was also named an AP Scholar With Distinction a year ago. Read the complete article for details.
OCTOBER LATE-START DAY: Gateway students will have a two-hour delay on Thursday, October 19th for teacher professional development. There will be no morning preschool on that day. The days work like a late start for snow days: students will be picked up at their regular bus stops and arrive at school two hours later than usual. Staff will report at their regular time and will participate in training planned for that morning.
FLU FACTS - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has begun a health campaign for the coming flu season. Any flu has the potential to be serious, but there are steps that you and your family can take in order to be prepared for the coming flu season. These steps are simple, common sense approaches to staying healthy. Once learned, they are also beneficial when faced with any contagious illness. Wash your hands often; sneeze into a tissue or your inside elbow; avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth; avoid close contact with people who are sick; and STAY HOME WHEN YOU ARE ILL! For details and additional information on how to take care of someone who has the flu, click here.
REMINDERS:
- 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, October 25th at R. H. Conwell Elementary School. Read the complete article for details.
- PSAT EXAMS ON OCTOBER 18: Juniors and sophomores will be taking the PSAT exams at Gateway Regional High School on October 18th, they must have signed-up by October 2nd in order to do so. The PSAT exam is a practice test for the SAT, a national admissions exam required by most 4-year colleges in the Northeast.
- BLOOD PRESSURE CLINICS SCHEDULED AT SBHC: As a service to Gateway staff members, the School-Based Health Center will be holding free blood pressure clinics once a month. The first clinic will be held on Wednesday, October 18th from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. Upcoming dates include November 16th and December 13th, from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
- SPRINGFIELD SYMPHONY SEEKS STUDENT PIANISTS/CONDUCTORS: Young pianists (ages 10 – 20) who live within 60 miles of Springfield, are invited to submit an audition CD of “Rhapsody in Blue”, to apply to perform with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) during the annual Music Matters Youth Concerts in March, 2007. The CD, an application form and a $15 non-refundable application fee must be postmarked by December 1, 2006. Finalists will be notified by mail and invited to an audition at Holyoke Community College on January 16th. In addition, the SSO is seeking a teenage musician (aged 13 –17) with strong musical training, who is currently active with a band, chorus or orchestra and can read a piano or conductor’s score, to conduct a Christmas work at the Holiday Pops concert on December 2nd. For further information on either music opportunity, please see Mrs. Beauregard at the High School, or email jbeauregard@grsd.org .
IN CLOSING, this week's Superintendent’s Corner is now posted. In light of recent violent events in schools in Colorado, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, Dr. Hopson discusses Gateway’s emergency preparedness policies and planning, which cover both natural and man-made disasters. Read the entire column for details.
Have a great week!
Wendy V. Long, Editor
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