Tuesday, September 18, 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: "A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words, and deeds is like that. We won't sit down and feel hopeless. There's too much work to do." – Dorothy Day
COMING EVENTS: A schedule of activities for the week ending September 28, 2007 is now posted. (Items for this calendar should be submitted at least two weeks ahead of time!) Please note the early release day today—we no longer have late-start days for staff professional development.
UPCOMING MEETINGS: If you missed the last School Committee meeting, you missed their first discussion about long-range planning, which involved a homework assignment from the Superintendent: people are to think about what they’d like to see in a Gateway elementary school in the future. The next meeting of the Gateway Regional School Committee will be on September 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Middlefield Town Hall. 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 high school Open House. The public is invited and encouraged to attend all meetings.
PARENT LITERACY NIGHT: Parents of Gateway students in grades K – 6 are invited to a special event entitled, “Your Child and Reading” on Wednesday, October 3 from 7 – 8 p.m. in the Gateway Performing Arts Center. Click here for the full article; you can also view the flyer that went home with students.
MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND NEWS: Instrument rental night for band members will be Thursday, September 20th in the main entryway of the school, from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Any fifth grade student interested in band, who has not signed up yet, should see Mrs. Guertin as soon as possible. The band will be recycling ink cartridges again this year as a fundraiser. Please place empty ink cartridges in a plastic bag and bring to the band room or Middle School office.
WELCOME TO ADDITIONAL NEW STAFF: We welcomed many new staff in our August 16th edition of Breaking News (go to our News Archive if you missed it!) but we’ve had a few more hires since! First, we are pleased to welcome Mr. Sasi Raj, who will be teaching high school English classes first semester while his American counterpart—our own Mr. Rod Kleber—teachers Mr. Raj’s classes in India. Ms. Susan King will be a secretary in both the Middle and High School offices. And we are delighted to welcome a former teacher and a former student back to the high school this year. Jean Garriepy, a retired Gateway teacher, will teach health part-time in the high school. Seth Gemme (Class of 2003) has been hired to teach high school mathematics.
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 ).
HOLYOKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE NEWS: Gateway High School’s Guidance Office would like you to know that HCC will be holding an Open House on Thursday, October 25th from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.; this is a great opportunity to learn more about degree and certificate programs, financial aid and student support services. Information sessions and tours are also held every Wednesday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., in Frost Building room 309. Information sessions for specific programs are also scheduled. Students interested in HCC’s Nursing Program can attend on 10/2, 11/16, or 12/4 at 1 p.m.; sessions for Practical Nursing will be held on 10/11, 11/8, and 12/13 at 1 p.m.; and for Radiation Technology on 10/15, 11/19, and 12/10 at 2 p.m. All meetings on specific majors will also be held in Frost 309. Visit the Holyoke Community College website for more information.
FAMILY DAY ON SEPTEMBER 24TH: Seven years ago, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University launched Family Day: A Day to Eat Dinner with your Children. The idea came about after ten years of research consistently found that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs. Family Day, which will be held on 9/24 this year, is a national movement that encourages families to frequently eat dinner with their kids and be involved in their children’s lives. Additional information about Family Day is posted on the CASA website.
REMINDERS:
- PHONE DIRECTORY FUNDRAISER: Tired of dealing with automated phone systems? If you are a Gateway parent, the Friends of Gateway can help a little—with an affordable directory of telephone numbers for every staff member in the district! For just $3.00 a copy, you can own this time-saving reference and save your cell phone minutes for other calls! The directories will be on sale at all seven Open Houses. Full details in the complete article.
- MIDDLE SCHOOL AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM/LATE BUSES TO START SEPTEMBER 24: The afterschool program at Gateway Regional Middle School is scheduled to open on Monday, September 24, 2007. This program, sponsored by the Hampshire Educational Collaborative, brings fun and educational programs to students in grades 5 – 8 after school. Activities include homework help, cheerleading, baseball/softball, MS Newspaper, dance, art club, Blue and Gold Committee and a series of “Wilderness Rocks!” field trips and workshops. Late buses are provided two days a week, although the bus stops differ from the regular bus runs. Click here for more information.
- 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 announces the award of $130,000 in “Pothole Funds” and explains the importance of writing to your state legislators NOW about changing the state funding formula for rural schools. Read the column for more information.
Have a great week!
Wendy V. Long, Editor
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