Mar 2025 GATEWAY Depart Newsletter

GATEWAY (Gifted and Talented Education With All Youth) Vision Statement:

All Barnstable Public School students will experience joyful and inclusive learning environments that pave the way to continuous learning, curiosity, change-making and meaningful engagement with the world around them. We aspire to create a learning community with students and educators engaging in challenging, authentic, adventurous, meaningful, and affirming experiences so that learning, independence, and achievement may flourish for all.

Learning in GATEWAY will provide opportunities for students to

• develop talents based on interests
• engage in enrichment and extension, through thought-provoking topics, which reflect their own experiences and those of others
• engage in advanced, rigorous learning beyond the grade level standards
• think critically and creatively about their learning and communicate effectively with others
• build growth mindset and perseverance for task commitment
• develop civic mindedness that prepares them to make meaningful contributions in their communities and beyond
• experience connections in multiple content areas which align to instruction in various educational settings within a student’s day

Our goal is to create learning environments where educators and students achieve more than they imagined possible.

The Barnstable GATEWAY Program sponsors and supports Future Problem Solving & Scenario Writing, and Mock Trial as formal competitive programs.

This is an annual state-wide competition sponsored by the Massachusetts Bar Association. This is the 40th year of the competition. Schools who compete are given a fictional court case which includes the Mock trial rules, the stipulations of the case that both parties have agreed to, 3 sworn witness affidavits for each side of the case (Prosecution/Plaintiff and Defense),and pertinent statutes and case law. This year's case was a civil lawsuit in which the plaintiff, Alex Parker was suing Devon Roy for negligently providing alcohol to minors at his son's graduation party, which led to a car accident in which Alex Parker was severely injured.

Schools compete by region in the preliminary rounds. Schools must prepare both sides of the case and assign roles (Lawyers and witnesses) for both sides. There are three trials in this round and the school who wins the most trials advances to the Regional Competition. This year Barnstable won the trials against Cape Cod Academy, Falmouth Academy, and Falmouth High School.

The Regional Competition is made up of the top 28 schools in Massachusetts that competed. Schools are randomly matched with an opponent and a coin toss determines which side of the case you will be arguing. In our Regional competition we were matched against Franklin High School. We argued the plaintiff's side in this round, and unfortunately we lost, the final score being 88 to 95. Franklin advanced into the Fab 14 round and then again onto the Elite 8.

“This is an outstanding accomplishment for the Barnstable Team to just make the Regional level of competition, and I think it speaks highly of us that the team that ultimately did beat us, is now in the top 8 schools for the competition.” - Coach Jennifer Holland

Please reach out to the Teaching and Learning Office or your school's GATEWAY Specialist for more information.