GMS Weekly News and Notes
Weekly Updates
This week's cover art comes courtesy of the GMS Mural Club. Our students completed their latest project just in time for the celebration of Cultural Heritage Week. Tremendous thanks to Ms. Owens and the members of the Mural Club for another stunning decorative addition to our school.
This week, the Canton Public Schools art show will take place Monday through Thursday from 6-8PM in the CHS gym. Please come out to see the wonderful art work that is produced in all of our schools!
Term 4 Progress Reports were posted to PlusPortals on Friday May 17, 2024. The Progress Report is a snapshot of the academic average and grade of each class at the halfway point within the term. The Progress Report will show you the Subject (class), Staff (teacher), numerical average, and current grade.
To access the Progress Report:
Log on to the PlusPortals.
Next to the student's name and picture click MORE.
In the green menu bar below select CLASSROOM.
Select PROGRESS REPORTS and click on COMBINED REPORTS.
Congratulations to all of our students for successfully completing their required MCAS tests for the year! Our 8th graders will participate in a field test in Civics later this month, which will close out our standardized testing calendar for the year.
GMS Cultural Heritage Week Recap
Tremendous thanks go out to the best Dean of Students anywhere, Karim Gibson, for coordinating a series of very special events on our campus this past week. What follows is an email that Mr. Gibson wrote to everyone who contributed, but I think it should be shared with our entire GMS community as everyone's presence contributed meaningfully and joyfully to the week.
From Mr. Gibson:
I can't put it into words how fortunate I am to have each and every one of you contribute your time, which is precious, your talented gifts which are a blessing and your support, which went above and beyond. Friday was such a moving and special event for Galvin Middle School and the community of Canton. I am glad that we were able to have a positive gathering of people uniting to celebrate culture.
During our Cultural Heritage Week, it was great seeing staff and students take part in our theme spirit days. Personally, Friday's Rep Your Country's Flag Day, was my favorite. So many students had flags from over 40 nations and connected with their heritage and realized that they share countries of origin with their peers.
Thank you to...
Ms. Miranda (Scribble Dibble and temporary tattoo artist)
Ms. Inam (Henna)
Ms. Akin/mom and Ms. Butler (Hair Braiding)
The Sharon Chinese School
The Irish Step Dance Ensemble
Grooversity
DJ Brady Wong
DJ Peter Heredia
Mr. and Mrs. Heredia
Simara Glemaud
Shawn Smith-Manzi
Mrs. Coates
Mrs. Price
Thaneia Norville
Julia Manzi
Elysah Nozine
Jaron Jean-Baptiste
Juneld Clermont
Avika Shukla
Mr. Mulhern
Ms. Zhao
Mr. Folan
Ms. Gabriel
Officer Mullaney
Mr. Mulhern
Mr. Spillane
The Custodial Crew
Mrs. Olsen
Ms, Killian
Mrs. Greco
Mrs. Delaney
Mrs. Brathwaite and CAPT
The Hansen Elementary School
Mr. McGibbon
Briana Cruz
Olivia LeBlanc-Parisien
Members of Student Leadership and Mr. Fuller and Ms. Dineen
The Step Team
Cafeteria Staff
Cole Harrington
Abigail Francois
Norah Francois
Mrs. Bajramovic
Mrs. Burrowes
Mrs. Canavan
Mrs. Coelho
Gabby Christopher
Darren St. Cyr
Victoria Lin
The Planning Committee
Mrs. Seamans-Christopher
Ms. DeRosa
Mrs. Achille
Mr. Brathwaite
Mrs. Yin-Tate
Mrs. Dixit
Mrs. Gonzalez
Cultural Heritage Night
We welcomed hundreds of members of the Canton community to GMS on Friday evening. The food was awesome, the performances were even better, and a great time was had by all! What a way to enter the home stretch of the school year!
Heartfelt gratitude goes out to our students, staff, and family members, and special guests who volunteered their time and talents to make this such a special celebration!
GMS World Language Awards
Congratulations to our grade seven and eighth grade Spanish and French students! Grade eight students received awards who scored well on their AAPPL tests. This is a national test that measures students’ language proficiency. These students achieved the proficiency level of Novice 4 and Intermediate 1. The grade 8 Spanish and French award recipients are: Claire Higgins, Jaxson Mateo, Ahliyah Valdez, Charlotte Wilson, Miley Guzman, Aurore Eugene, Grace Caminiti, Luna DosReis, Emily Grant, Elmustafa Kosta, Danielle Sheppard, Sydney Watters, Keagan Gray, Aida Sfeir, Clara Jojutu, Colette Ma, Parker Marcelonis, Emma O'Hare, Spring Le and Thomas Oliver.
Grade 7 students also received awards for academic achievement and growth. We are very proud of their hard work and accomplishments.
To celebrate, students participated in an awards ceremony and enjoyed refreshments while listening to authentic music. We are proud of our students and look forward to another year celebrating world languages and culture.
Mme Backmender, Sra. Bajramovic, Sra. Doherty, Sra. McNeil, Sra. Moore, and M. Snipe
Campus Highlight: More Fun With Energy
From Ms. Winchell:
7th grade students are experimenting with many types of potential and kinetic energy as they create catapults and roller coasters! Lots of excitement, learning, and competition!
Campus Highlight: Homework Challenge Champions!
From Ms. Stuart:
The 7th grade Grizzlies hosted a team event to honor the student champions of the March Madness homework challenge. Students were tasked with the goal of completing all their homework for the month of March. The winners played in a basketball knockout game to see who would be crowned the 2024 March Madness winner. Congratulations to Rachael Smith!!! She earned her name on Grizzly Team trophy taking the title from last year’s winner Michaela Singleton!
Congratulations to all the students who participated in the challenge!
Kindness Award Winners
Congratulations to this week's Kindness Award Winners. Thanks for making GMS a brighter place for everyone!
Student Leadership Council Applications
Calling All Leaders! Any student interested in applying for GMS Student Leadership for next year should visit Ms. Dineen in room 216, or Mr. Fuller in room 305 for more information. Students will need to complete an application, as well as ask a teacher for a recommendation. Applications must be submitted by Thursday, May 29th. All applicants will be notified of acceptance prior to the last day of school. If you are currently a 7th grade member of Student Leadership, please look for an email with specific information on how to reapply for next year. Please reach out directly to Ms. Dineen or Mr. Fuller with any questions.
Please reach out directly to Ms. Dineen (dineenj@cantonma.org) or Mr. Fuller (fullerj@cantonma.org) with any questions.
Civic Action Projects
From Mr. Natale
Our 8th graders students will begin working on their Civic Action projects soon. The overall objective for these projects is to have students take part in a process-driven inquiry into a problem in our community. Students will be developing ideas and goals, engaging in lots of research and data gathering, and will present their information at an end of the year showcase. The showcase will take place on Thursday, June 6th from 8:00 am through 10:30 am on the 3rd floor. We will be opening the presentations up to 8th grade families and community members. Please look out for an email invitation. We hope to see you there.
Remaining 2024 MCAS Schedule
SOCIAL STUDIES/CIVICS FIELD TEST
8th Grade Only: May 29th and May 30th
Bulldog Nurses' Blip
Happy May!
Ways to Alleviate Seasonal Allergy Symptoms (without medications)
Springtime environmental allergies are among us in full force. Common symptoms are itchy eyes, itchy throat, sneezing, coughing, or swelling of the sinuses. They can appear mild or confused with cold symptoms and the dreaded conjunctivitis.
Even with daily antihistamines there are gaps in symptom relief! Here are some things we can do to help alleviate these symptoms.
1 . Take a shower before bed to rinse off and pollen that may be in your clothes and hair. Bringing allergens into the bed can make symptoms worse and can cause sleep disturbance
2 . Cold compress and irrigation to eyes help alleviate swelling and rinse pollen out of the mucosa. Non-medicated nasal spray and blowing your nose will help clear swelling and irritation
3. Bring a water bottle to school! Some antihistamines can be dehydrating. Ensuring adequate water intake will help prevent “drying out*.
4. Applying a moisturizing agent like Aquaphor to the inside of the nares to prevent nose bleeds.
We understand allergy symptoms can feel miserable and can impact your child’s mood and academic performance. These symptoms are very treatable! We practice these interventions in the health office and encourage it at home.
Have a great spring!
Best,
Lindsey Coppola RN BSN
Tara Medeiros RN BSN MSN
Better Speech and Hearing Month
From Ms. Fogel:
May is "Better Speech and Hearing Month"! We invite you to learn a little about the role of a School Based Speech Pathologist, as well as the importance of Vocal Hygiene (some tips being: Rest your Voice and Drink Plenty of water! This year we have plenty more information ready to share!
Haitian Heritage Month
Asian-American and Pacific Islander Month
GMS Math Intervention during X Block
My name is Phoenix Harris and I am the math interventionist here at the Galvin. Every week I am hosting a grade specific math extra help session during X-Block. The sessions will be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Tuesday's will be dedicated to 8th grade, Wednesday's to 7th grade, and Thursdays to 6th grade. Students or their parents are able to fill out the google form to sign-up weekly on an as-needed basis. For example, students may sign up every week or if a student was absent for a few days, although they typically would not need extra assistance, it may be beneficial for them to attend a session to help them get caught up. The Google Form for sign-ups will close the morning of the session and open back up the day after. Students will receive a reminder email to attend the morning of the session. Please be sure to sign up in advance as space is very limited.
6th Grade X-Block Math Intervention
Pay and Ride Applications
Please check your emails for the 2024-25 Pay and Ride Forms. An electronic form was emailed for each student, to one household member. Please check with other household members and your spam inbox if you do not see this email.
The Pay and Ride form must be completed every year whether your student will require transportation or not. The cut-off date for the 2024-25 Pay and Ride form is June 7th. Please complete the electronic form as soon as possible.
Incoming Kindergarten Pay and Ride forms were completed at the time of registration. You will not receive an email for your incoming 2024-25 Kindergarten student.
More information regarding the Pay and Ride Program, including fees and payments can be found HERE. Payment is not due at this time. Applicable invoices will be sent by MySchoolBucks by the end of June.
If you have questions or did not receive the 2024-25 Pay and Ride email, please email transportation@cantonma.org with your student’s name and school of attendance.
For 8th graders heading to CHS next year:
GMS CAPT Corner
Please join us for our next CAPT meeting on Monday, June 3rd at 6PM in the GMS library.
Please check out the GMS CAPT website for all updates!
Important dates to note
May 20th through May 23rd: CPS Art Show, 6-8PM in the CHS Gym
Friday, May 24th: Unity Day at GMS
Monday, May 27th: All CPS schools closed in observance of Memorial Day
Monday, June 3rd: School Council meeting, 5PM in the GMS Library
Monday, June 3rd: GMS CAPT meeting, 6:10PM in the GMS Library
Thursday, June 6th: 8th Grade Civic Action Project Showcase, 8-10:30AM
Events Around Town
William H. Galvin Middle School
Courtney Gaboury, Administrative Assistant
Jim Spillane, Assistant Principal
Karim Gibson, Dean of Students
William Kickham, Assistant Director of Student Services (6-12)
Ginny Martin, Special EducationTeam Chair
Email: mulhernj@cantonma.org
Website: https://www.cantonma.org/gms/index
Location: 55 Pecunit Street, Canton, MA, USA
Phone: 781-821-5070