GMS Weekly News and Notes

At GMS this week, students and staff members honored veterans. We celebrated family, friends, and community members who are either currently serving in the military or have in the past. These tributes are powerful expressions of gratitude, respect, and love for all of those who answered the call to serve. We join the entire Canton community in expressing our deep thanks to the Veterans among our families and friends, for the service they have offered to their country.

We look forward to inviting our students' parents and guardians to virtual or in-person conferences on Wednesday, November 20th. A more detailed email containing information about the conferences and the sign-up procedure will be sent to families on Tuesday morning. The online portal for conferences will open to families at 4PM on Tuesday.

A few notes on the end of the first term:

• First, a reminder to families that student attendance is a top priority within the district, and a key accountability measure at the state level. While life circumstances can occasionally require lengthy absences in the middle of a school year, it is very important that families aim to have their students report to school as often as possible. Strong attendance is critically important for students to be able to fully access the curriculum and other resources.
• Active and open communication is also a key priority for us in Canton and at the Galvin. We do encourage parents and guardians to reach out when they have questions. Generally speaking, we expect that staff members will respond to inquiries within 48 hours. In many instances, the reply will be quicker, but I do ask that all members of our community respect that window as our teachers are often managing a heavy volume of inquiries. Along the same lines, please understand that weekends, holidays, and vacation weeks are times for our staff to focus on their own families. If there is an urgent situation, it is helpful to contact an administrator directly or call the main office. I appreciate everyone's understanding around communications.
• The end of the first marking term presents a great opportunity for a conversation with your student about how things are going, and areas where your student may need some help. We are here, and ready to support with any questions or concerns that come out of those conversations!

Picture re-takes will take place on Monday, November 25th starting at 8AM. Any student who wishes to sit for a re-take will be invited to do so at that time.

Congratulations to our first Kindness Award Winners of the school year. Staff members recognize students for acts of kindness they see throughout the year. Thank you to these students for making GMS a happier place!

From Ms. Winchell:

Seventh grade classes completed a “spooky” weathering scavenger hunt in our GMS outdoor classroom. Student explored examples of mechanical and chemical weathering such as frost wedging, living organisms, root pry, acid rain, oxidation and more!

Ms. Robinson's students worked on a variety of projects this week.

From Coach Kulas:

On Saturday, the top runners from the cross country team competed in the state meet in Devens. These runners were selected based on their outstanding performance over the course of the season. They did a fantastic job and made their coaches proud, congratulations to all of them!

Representatives from the girls team were Allie Carty, Abigail McAdams, Sydney Merchant, Nora Vieira, Nora Driscoll, Sammie Nagle, and Olivia Raffetto.

Representatives from the boys team were Cam Lyons, Charlie Cacioppo, Jon Iriarte, Austin McFadden, Ben Place, Matthew Ray, and Ryan Walsh.

Special shoutout to 8th grader Cam Lyons for placing 9th overall in the team race event!

The GMS Drama Club's Fall Play will take place on Friday, December 6th and Saturday, December 7th in the CHS auditorium. Both shows start at 7PM. Click on the link below to get your tickets. We hope to see you there!

https://gmsdramaclub.ludus.com/200452352

Museum of Black and Brilliant Inventors and their STEM Contributions

Any student or parent who is interested in participating or having their child participate in the Black History Month Project in February, please see or contact Mr. Gibson for details.

The Galvin Middle School Project is heading toward two key town votes. Save the Dates: November 18 Special Town Meeting and an Anticipated Ballot Vote on December 10.

Want to learn more about the GMS Building Project, see design renderings, or review timelines, please click on this LINK. If you have any questions, please email info@galvinmsproject.com.

The Galvin Middle School Project Team will be at the Sunday, October 20 Fall Fest at the Canton Farmers Market, and there will be a Community Forum at GMS on Wednesday, October 23 at 6:30 p.m.

This week's fact comes to us from the Math department:

"A study by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop found that children who regularly used an educational math app over two weeks showed a 15% improvement in math skills compared to those who did not" (Jain, 2024).

Welcome to full blown cold, flu, and everything else season.

You may have noticed in the news more information about “walking pneumonia”. Walking pneumonia is a kind of respiratory infection that causes milder symptoms than the typical pneumonia we would see in people who are immunocompromised or the elderly. Symptoms can be different based on the kind of pathogen that causes the illness. The predominant bacteria that is causing this season’s wave is called Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

With the predominant strain of bacteria, we may even see more strep-like symptoms like voice hoarseness and sore throat. So when you get the dreaded call in the middle of the day from the school nurse for a sore throat and headache, we also consider pneumonia as a possible infection.

Common ways to treat pneumonia

Your doctor may order a chest xray or diagnose your child based on symptoms alone. (side note, even if you don’t have a stethoscope or are trained in listening to lung sounds, put your ear up to your child’s lungs - if you hear something that doesn’t sound like your own breathing when you plug your ears, then there is probably something going on!).

People with pneumonia are usually given antibiotics and supportive therapies that help relieve discomfort like humidified air, medications that reduce swelling and pain, or cough drops.

What to do if your child has any of these symptoms!

Anytime your child has a fever, they should stay home from school. Sometimes their symptoms can start with mild presentation (vague headache, fatigue, stuffy nose), and turn into something else. Be in touch with your pediatrician to determine if your child needs more than rest to recover. We want to protect our vulnerable families and appreciate when kids can keep most of their germs at home!

May the odds be ever in your favor!

Lindsey Coppola, RN
(508) 584-1070 x3110

Tara Medeiros, RN

(508) 584-1070 x316

The next GMS CAPT meeting will take place on Monday, November 4th at 6:10PM in the GMS Library. We invite all interested parents and guardians to attend!

Monday, November 11th: All CPS schools closed in observance of Veteran's Day

Monday, November 18th: Special Town Meeting

Wednesday, November 20th: Parent-teacher conferences at GMS (sign-ups start this week)

Monday, November 25th: Picture re-takes, 8AM, GMS Cafetorium

Wednesday, November 27th: Early dismissal day

November 28th and 29th: All CPS schools closed for Thanksgiving

Check out the latest events from around town!

At a Glance - New Event(s)

• Transgender Day of Remembrance - Nov. 17

Courtney Gaboury, Administrative Assistant

Jim Spillane, Assistant Principal

Karim Gibson, Dean of Students

Ginny Martin, Student Services Team Chair

Email: mulhernj@cantonma.org
Website: https://www.cantonma.org/gms/index
Location: 55 Pecunit Street, Canton, MA, USA
Phone: 781-821-5070