Tuesday, September 4, 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: “You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” – Woodrow Wilson
COMING EVENTS: A schedule of activities for the week ending September 14, 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 on September 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the HS/MS Library Media Center (2nd floor). The Friends of Gateway will meet on September 4th at 7 p.m. in the Superintendent’s Office. The public is invited and encouraged to attend all meetings.
DEADLINE FOR OCTOBER SAT’S APPROACHES: The Gateway High School Guidance Department reports that students who need to take the October 6, 2007 SAT’s must register by September 10, 2007. Students who plan on attending college after high school should plan to take the SAT exam. Any high school seniors, particularly those applying for Early Decision (ED) or Early Action (EA) should strongly consider signing up for the October 6th test date. Additional information is available in the guidance office, including instructions for registering on line, as well as paper registration materials. Please see your guidance counselor or Ms. Iglesias for assistance.
DISTRICT NOTIFICATION OF ANNUAL YEARLY PROGRESS: As required under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the district must provide annual notification of our performance on the most recent Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam, taken each year by students in grades 3 – 10. You may recall that the NCLB Act requires that all public schools have 100% of students passing their state exam (MCAS for us) by the year 2014. The Department of Education took the starting scores of each public school in 2003 and set target goals for each year thereafter that would result in 100% passing by 2014. Schools that increase scores each year to meet the set goals make “Annual Yearly Progress”. Schools that do not increase their scores earn an improvement status. Click here for more information on the 2007 AYP status for Gateway Schools.
UPDATES FROM THE GATEWAY FAMILY CENTER: The Gateway Family Center (located in the grey building across from the Huntington Fire Station on Route 20) is now registering families for our “School Readiness” program. This year, the group will meet on Tuesday mornings from 8:30 to 10:30, beginning on September 18. This program is designed to help preschool-aged children and their families prepare for school. It is limited to 10 families, with priority given to those who are not enrolled in other programs. The curriculum includes preliteracy, premath, science, language and social skills (along with a little bit of Spanish!) that are approached through a variety of art projects, games, music, etc. For more information, or to register, please call Kim at the Gateway Family Center (667-2203) or email her at FamilyCenterKim@aol.com .
The Gateway Family Center is also sponsoring a workshop entitled Keeping Our Children Safe, on Friday, September 14th from 10 – 12 at the Center. This workshop will focus on recognizing and dealing with child sexual abuse. Click here for the flyer on this important workshop.
RAISING ACADEMICALLY SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN: Think it is just a teacher’s job to educate students? Research has shown—again and again—that parents are the most important teachers in the lives of children. This list of suggestions, compiled by the Maryland Department of Education, offers concrete strategies for parents to use to help their children get the most out of education.
REMINDERS:
- WELLNESS POLICY REMINDER: The district Wellness Policy went into effect last year. The entire policy is posted on the district website. There are also links to other valuable resources, including ideas for classroom and school celebrations that are in accordance with the policy.
- GATEWAY WELLNESS CENTER TO RESUME REGULAR HOURS: The Gateway Wellness Center will resume full operations on September 4th. It will continue to be open from 5:30 – 7:30 a.m., but the afternoon/evening hours will expand to 2:30 – 9:00 p.m. Saturday hours will remain 8:00 a.m. to noon.
- HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS SCHEDULE ON THE WEB: The fall sports schedule for Gateway Regional High School can be found on the web.
- GATEWAY CONTINUES 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. Click here for additional details.
- GATEWAY ATHLETIC BOOSTERS MEET SEPTEMBER 9TH: The September meeting of the Gateway Athletic Booster Club will be held at Stanton Hall (Huntington) at 7 p.m. on Sunday, September 9th. More volunteers are needed to fill several key positions for the busy upcoming high school sports season. If you cannot attend but are interested in helping, please contact Deb Lariviere @ 667-3121.
IN CLOSING, the Superintendent’s Corner for this week is attached. This week, Dr. Hopson details the school committee’s recent decision to dedicate the first half-hour (7:30 – 8 p.m., 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month) of school committee meetings to long-range planning for the district. Read the full column to decide if YOU might want to be part of shaping the district’s future!
Have a great week!
Wendy V. Long, Editor
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