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Tuesday, October 16, 2007
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: “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist . . .using technologies that haven’t yet been invented . . . in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” – former Secretary of Education Richard Riley
COMING EVENTS: A schedule of activities for the week ending October 26, 2007 is now posted. (Items for this calendar should be submitted at least two weeks ahead of time!) Reminder: the early release day for October is tomorrow!
UPCOMING MEETINGS: The next meeting of the Gateway Regional School Committee will be October 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Chester Elementary School. The first half-hour of all School Committee meetings this year will be dedicated to planning for the future. Click here for specifics on next week's meeting. The Friends of Gateway will meet on November 6th at 7 p.m. in the Superintendent’s Office. The public is invited and encouraged to attend all meetings.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM NAMED “EXEMPLARY” WITH GRANT AWARD: They’ve had to trim expenses, set fees, and conduct fundraisers to make up for the declining funding in their grant through the Massachusetts Department of Education. But the DOE gave the Gateway Middle School Afterschool Program a lift with an “Exemplary Program” grant award, which will provide funding for the next 3 – 5 years. Read the complete article for details.
GMS fifth graders visit Pleasant Valley Audubon Society in Lenox as part of "Nature Rocks" afterschool program; L-R: Mariah A., Sierra S. and Darcy L.
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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.
LITTLEVILLE WRAP-AROUND OPEN FOR EARLY RELEASE DAYS: Parents of Littleville students are reminded that the Wrap Around Program will be open until 6 p.m. on early release days. Parents should send an afternoon snack on those days. Pre-registration is required and prices are set for the full program hours, and for children who will be picked up at 3 p.m. Please contact the school office for more information.
STEP-AEROBIC CLASSES AVAILABLE THROUGH GATEWAY WELLNESS CENTER: Classes have been scheduled for beginner/intermediate and intermediate/advanced levels. Click here for schedules, prices and enrollment information.
LITTLEVILLE PTO COLLECTING BOX TOPS, BOTTLE CAPS: A reminder that the Littleville PTO is collecting Hood Sox Tops, which must be turned in by October 29th…the school could win a visit from a Red Sox player! They are also collecting a variety of box tops (Betty Crocker, General Mills, Ziploc, Pillsbury, etc.). The list is impressive so please contact Barbara Small through the school for a complete flyer.
PARENT FACES $222,000 FINE FOR SHARING COPYRIGHTED MUSIC ONLINE: E-School News reports that a 30-year old woman was ordered to pay almost a quarter of a million dollars for downloading and sharing copyrighted media online, without paying for them. This is the first case of its kind to not be settled out of court. Jammie Thomas, a single mother of two children aged 11 and 13, was accused of downloading music without permission and sharing it online through a Kazaa file-sharing account. Thomas stated that her IP address was spoofed or hacked, and promised to appeal. The 24 songs she was accused of sharing could have been purchased on a legal download site for less than $1 each. If Thomas fails to win on appeal, a portion of her wages will be garnered to pay the fine—probably for the rest of her working life.
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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.. |
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REMINDERS:
- “PROJECT BEANIE BABIES”: Littleville’s PTO is collecting new and used Beanie Babies for U. S. marines to distribute to Iraqi children. Please drop off Beanie Babies at the school.
- HIGH SCHOOL PROGRESS REPORTS: Principal Kathleen McSweeney reports that high school progress reports for term one were mailed on October 11th.
- OCTOBER EVENTS THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL GUIDANCE OFFICE: Click here for a list of activities taking place through the high school guidance office this month.
- PRUDENTIAL SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY AWARDS: The high school guidance office has announced that applications are now available for the Prudential Spirit of Community Award. Students who have made a difference in their community over the past year could win $1000 and a trip to Washington D.C. next May. These prestigious awards are sponsored by Prudential Financial and the National Association of Secondary School Principals; over 75,000 students have been honored in the past 12 years. If you are a high school student and feel you’ve recently made a positive difference by volunteering, visit www.prudential.com/spirit and submit your printed application to the high school guidance office no later than October 31, 2007. Contact the Guidance Office (685-1107) for more information.
- CONWELL BOX-TOP CONTEST: R. H. Conwell’s PTO is holding a box top contest, and the winning class will earn a special treat. Students are bringing in box top logos from General Mills products and sending them to school. The logos are then turned in for funds to purchase additional school materials and supplies.
- 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!
- HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS SCHEDULE ON THE WEB: The fall sports schedule for Gateway Regional High School can be found on the web.
- 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. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and this week Dr. Hopson discusses our partnership with the Southern Hilltowns Domestic Violence and how they have worked with high school students to promote healthy dating relationships at Gateway. Read the entire column for details.
Have a great week!
Wendy V. Long, Editor
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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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