Gator Bites 12/12/2024

Hello Gateway Families!
This will be our last Gator Bites before the new year!
I hope everyone has a safe and happy winter break and a fantastic holiday.

Sincerely,

Kristen Smidy, Superintendent

ksmidy@grsd.org

We are excited to be piloting our instructional vision this school year, and we are lucky that our partnership with the Barr Foundation provides us with resources to support this work. Each school has an allocation of funds from the Barr Foundation to do outside the classroom engagement activities with students related to our instructional vision. Additionally, there is funding for professional development and study tours for staff. Here are details of how those funds are being used so far.

Gateway Regional

The Gateway Regional group has developed a plan for grades 6-12 of student learning experiences that will help to prepare students for life after high school, including educational opportunities, career interests and planning. Some of these experiences will be piloted during this school year, while others will kick off next school year. The current plan includes:

• Grade 6: Welcome to Team Gateway

• Students will participate in team-building activities and learn about the school.

• Grade 7: Our Community

• Students will explore options within our schools and in the larger community.

• Grade 8: Educational Opportunities

• Students will visit community colleges and learn about the high school programs.

• Grade 9: Career Exploration

• Experts from a variety of fields will visit to present hands-on workshops.

• Grade 10: Considering the Future

• Students will visit 4 year colleges.

• Grade 11: Preparation for Life

• Students will attend a local college fair and engage in learning about life skills.

• Grade 12: Senior Celebration

• Seniors will have a celebratory banquet and lead activities with younger groups.

Littleville

The Littleville team has been working on a number of different experiences connected to the instructional vision, including both school-wide projects and single-grade events. These include:

• Grades 3-5 participated in a Hartford Wolf Pack School Learning Day on November 19 to apply their understanding of physical science to a fun, real-world setting. Students got to observe friction, force, motion, and more concepts in physics, as applied to a hockey game. In addition to watching this incredibly exciting game, students were visited by Sonic, the WolfPack mascot, and got to cheer for some of their teachers as they participated in a competition on the ice!

• Kindergarten students participated in a String Instrument Workshop with Daniel Rose and members of the Springfield Orchestra on November 15 in the band room.

• All grade levels will be involved in an “Author’s Experience” with Daryl Cobb as he brings ‘writing to life’ on March 24, involving students in grades K-5.

https://authorvisitsandassemblies.godaddysites.com/daryl-cobb

• There are plans in the works to match high school students with elementary students for mentoring and support which will be an exciting, multi-year endeavor.

• Littleville recently hosted their annual Holiday Craft Fair on November 23, which was a great success. Student vendors and artisans from GRS created some of their fantastic crafts and goods!

Chester

The Chester team is undertaking several school-wide initiatives to engage students in hands-on learning.

• Chester is excited to work with the Teaching with Trout Program through MassWildlife! This program involves raising brook trout from eggs to adulthood, teaching ecology, water quality, and conservation, with a celebratory outdoor educational event and fish release planned for the end of this school year.

• The Composting Program educates students on sustainability, with all students excited to learn about proper sorting of waste, recyclables, and compostables. Fifth graders are taking a leadership role in managing classroom compost bins and plans for a composting system during lunch.

• The Student Media Club provides exciting and engaging opportunities for third graders to create student-led videos, promoting creativity and teamwork as they write, film, and edit their own projects. All third graders signed up, and the first group of students is finishing the production of their video!

• Chester is also delighted to announce that the school is preparing for a production of Willy Wonka, with fifth graders in lead roles and third and fourth graders in supporting roles, utilizing purchased production materials.

• Lastly, the school will host a Whalemobile in-school field trip, where Pre-K through fifth grade students will explore a life-size inflatable whale, learning about whale anatomy, conservation, and the role of whales in the ecosystem. These projects aim to foster environmental awareness, creativity, and teamwork across various grade levels.

District-Wide

A process is being developed to coordinate with individual grades on planning events. Staff members are encouraged to contribute great ideas for Barr funds for projects and to share out through our internal monthly instructional vision board. A number of staff school study tour trips are also being coordinated, including trips to Kentucky, Maine, Providence, Boston, and New York City. These trips are meant to give staff members opportunities to explore how transformation and innovation are taking place at other schools, and to give staff new ideas to immediately try out at Gateway schools.

Friday, December 20: Full day of School for all

Monday, December 23-Wednesday, January 1: Winter Break

Thursday, January 2: Return to School

It Takes a Village is holding two special events for Gateway families.

1. Gateway families are welcome to make an appointment on Tuesday, December 17th to access the resources (toys, clothes, etc) from It Take a Village as part of the larger Toys for Tots distribution. Please sign up using the link below. Sign ups close by Friday.

bit.ly/Villagetoys

2. There will also be an open day for Hilltown families specifically on December 18th from 10am-6pm. Hilltown families are welcome to stop by It Takes A Village to select toys and gifts for their children. No appointment is needed for this amazing event.

It Takes A Village is located at 2 E Main St in Huntington. We are fortunate to have this community partner.

Every Gator Bites, we will share a safety tip for our community.

As we enter winter break, we will be sharing some general tips from MEMA as well as a winter emergency preparedness flier. Please review these tips for winter safety!

It is a pleasure to work in a district that has amazing educators at every level.

The Harold Grinspoon Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award is an opportunity to honor one Gateway Regional staff member for making a difference to our students. The award winner gets a number of fantastic prizes, but most importantly the public honor of being recognize for the hard work they do. Criteria is determined by the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation.

Nominee must:

• Be certified by the state of Massachusetts as a teacher
• Be currently employed as a full time teacher in a PreK-12 school
• Spend the majority of their school day in direction instruction of students
• Rating at least Proficient in most recent evaluation (don't worry about checking this)

Nominees Additional Criteria:

• Utilize excellent teaching practices
  
• Be effective and creative
  
• Have a profound impact on students
  
• Support and positively impact other teachers' practices
• Participate in professional development
• Have evidence of going above and beyond in the classroom and school community

Please nominate a teacher who you believe meets this criteria. Nomination forms should be submitted no later than December 20, 2024. Winners will be announced in late January/early February of 2025.

Please complete this nomination form.

See this link for updates.

https://www.grsd.org/departments/food-services

Congratulations to the student athletes who made Fall PVIAC All-League!

Boys Cross Country: Jacob Maynard

Boys Soccer: Ivan Chepurenko

Girls Cross Country: Ava Christie, Anna Niles

Girls Soccer: Addison Green, Jayliana Rivera

Attention Winter Sports Families: The Gateway Athletics Booster Committee needs parent volunteers in order to open the Gator Booth next week for all of our home games. So if you want to be able to buy food and drinks during the game, tell your parents to contact GABC on their Facebook or Instagram pages to volunteer! NHS student volunteers welcome for community service hours.

December 2024 events: Kids and Families

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Every Tuesday 4:30-5:30PM

All Ages Story time

Stop by with your little ones to hear a story and play with sensory toys.

Every Wednesday 10:30-11:30AM

Book Squirms

Stories, songs and sensory play for children 0-5 and their caregivers. We play, do art and socialize! It’s a great way to meet new families in town!

Saturday December 14th CommuniTea Reads Adult Book Club 11AM

and our Annual Holiday Cookie Social 12:30-2PM

Our book club is reading “Small Things Like These” by Claire Keegan. We will discuss the novel and talk about potential reads for 2025! If you haven’t read the book, it’s still OK to join in!

Our holiday cookie social is a great time to bring cookies to share with friends, or just come by to sample treats make by others and spread holiday cheer.

Saturday December 21st 10AM-2PM

All ages drop in holiday crafting. We will bring out all the supplies for making cards.

Monday December 23rd 2-6PM

All ages drop in holiday crafting. We will bring out all the supplies for making cards.

Library hours: The Porter Memorial Library will be closed on 12/24/24 and 12/25/24 for Christmas and also closed 12/31 and 1/1/25 for New Years!

Thursday December 26th 5-6PM

Sleepy PJ Story time! Wear your pajamas to the library and listen to a late afternoon story.

Friday December 27th 4-5PM

Pokemon Party! Pokemon fans gather around our big table and trade cards, compete in trivia and talk about the game and collecting.

Saturday December 28th 10AM-1PM

Bouncing off the walls! Make a bouncy ball at the library and then take it to the town hall gym to make it bounce like crazy!

Monday December 30th 2-6PM

Open Lego build and mini figure swap. The library has Legos…we’ll set them out for an open building time and if you want to trade mini figures from your own collection, now’s your chance!

Save the Date for January! 1/11/25

Meet the author of The 2025 Farmer’s Almanac…local farmer and poet David Bartone!

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December 2024 Newsletter

We wish you a holiday season filled with joy!

RUSSELL PUBLIC LIBRARY HOURS:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 3-7pm, Tuesday & Thursday 10am-2pm, Saturday 10:00 am -1:00 pm The library will be closed on December 24th, 25th, 31st and January 1st

Please join our updated Facebook page and connect with our other resources there.

Check out StoryWalks® Sponsored by the Hilltown Family Center at the Noble View Outdoor Center, All Person’s Trail and behind the Russell Public Library around our Community fruit trees and play area.

Exciting News! The Russell Public Library will be joining the CWMARS Library System in early 2025. Please stop by in December to sign up for a new library card and enter your name in our gift certificate raffle. Check it Out, we will also be launching a new Library Website and Instagram in early December.

Kids: (ages 3-9) Saturday, December 14, from 11:00-12:00 for All Aboard for Gingerbread, with Ms Jennifer. Together we will decorate gingerbread train cars, play pass the parcel and hear a winter story. Register by email rpldirector@townofrussell.us, call 413-862-6221 and leave a message, or come in and sign up at the library by December 12th.

Adults: Thursday, December 19th, from 6:00-8:00 join us to create winter holiday themed Quilling. Quilling involves using strips of paper that are rolled, looped, curled, twisted and otherwise manipulated to create different shapes, and glued together to create decorative designs. Decorate a framing mat, make an ornament or card. Register by email rpldirector@townofrussell.us, call 413-862-6221 and leave a message, or come in and sign up at the library by December 16th.

Kids: We will have our massive Lego collection with the Bric It, with building plans available on Tuesday, December 24th from 10:00 to 12:00. On Thursday, December 26th from 10:00 to 2:00 PM we will have materials available for Cardboard Architecture.

Please reach out if you have questions or concerns!

Chester Elementary School:
Principal Vanna Maffuccio vmaffuccio@grsd.org

Littleville Elementary School:

Principal Melissa McCaul mmccaul@grsd.org

Assistant Principal Martha Gendron mgendron@grsd.org

Principal Dr. Will Sullivan wsullivan@grsd.org

Assistant Principal Valerie Zeh vzeh@grsd.org

Athletic Director Matt Bonenfant mbonenfant@grsd.org

Superintendent Kristen Smidy ksmidy@grsd.org

Gateway Regional School District

Website: grsd.org

Location: 12 Littleville Road, Huntington, MA, USA
Phone: 413-685-1100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GatewayRegionalMA?mibextid=LQQJ4d