Tuesday, October 9, 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: "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome."
- Booker T. Washington
COMING EVENTS: A schedule of activities for the week ending October 19, 2007 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 October 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Library/Media Center (2nd floor) at Gateway MS/HS. 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 October 9th at 7 p.m. in the Superintendent’s Office. This is different from their custom of meeting the first Tuesday of each month. The meeting was rescheduled to accommodate the R. H. Conwell Open House. The public is invited and encouraged to attend all meetings.
BAND BOOSTERS MEET TONIGHT: The Gateway High School Band Boosters will meet in the bandroom at 6 p.m. tonight to plan for the spaghetti supper fundraiser and concert on November 1.
Gateway Regional High School Band marching at the
Big E on September 26, 2007.
OCTOBER EARLY-RELEASE DAY: Students will be dismissed two hours early on Tuesday, October 16th for staff professional development. Preschool programs will close at 11 a.m. MS/HS will be dismissed at 12:10; elementary schools will be dismissed at 1:10. Lunch will be served. Remaining early release days for the rest of this year are: Dec. 4, March 18, April 8 and May 20.
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.
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..
HIGH SCHOOL PROGRESS REPORTS: Principal Kathleen McSweeney has announced that high school progress reports for term one will issued on October 11th.
JOHNNY APPLESEED UPDATE: Next time you are on the lunch menu page of the Gateway website (“General Information” drop-down menu), scroll down to see photos of the apple-picking at High Meadow Farms, part of Harvest Week September 24 – 28. Click here for additional photos.
TEENS ARE USING TECHNOLOGY FOR MORE THAN SOCIALIZING: A new study, “Creating & Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social and Educational Networking” shows that teens and ‘tweens are using technology for educational purposes, as well as social ones. Almost all (96%) of students with online access use chat rooms, text messaging, blogging and online social communities (Facebook, MySpace) but also found that one of the top topics of conversation in those forums is education. Over half (60%) used the Internet to explore college and careers and conduct college planning and learning outside of school. Almost all (96%) of school districts polled in the study said that at least some of their teachers assign homework requiring Internet use.
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.
- 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 recent practice. 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.
- WELLNESS CENTER TO START UP AEROBICS & YOGA SOON: Gary St. Peter reports that the Wellness Center is getting ready to offer aerobics and yoga classes. He’d like to hear from anyone interested in attending, to try to find the day and time that works best for each class. If you are interested in joining a class, please contact Gary (685-1040 or email gstpeter@grsd.org ).
- 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.
IN CLOSING, the Superintendent’s Corner for this week is attached. This week, Dr. Hopson outlines the steps that must still be completed before the School Committee votes on Expanded Learning Time at their November 28 meeting. Read the entire column for details.
Have a great week!
Wendy V. Long, Editor
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