Welcome Back!
It was a joy to welcome our students back to school this week! Our staff and administration spent the first two days of school helping our students get acclimated or re-acclimated to life at GMS. Students were greeted with some new main lobby displays, sharing places our staff have traveled and encouraging students to dream big this year!
As a school community, we emphasize the importance of respectful and positive relationships between and among all students and staff. We see this as the foundation of success in school, and we welcome the partnership of our families in helping to cultivate this culture. We look forward to working with you!
In the spirit of getting set up for the best school year possible, here are a few suggestions for how best to support your middle schooler at home during the year:
- Establish a Monday-Thursday schedule for the after school hours. Be sure to schedule in time for school work, practices, rehearsals, and leisure time. The schedule does not need to be the same each day, but posting a schedule somewhere at home, and sticking to it, helps to build executive functioning skills.
- Keeping bed time and wake-up time consistent is enormously helpful in helping students in this age group maintain their well-being. Middle schoolers still need 8-10 hours of sleep consistently.
- Limit access to screens, particularly phones and smart watches. Students should not have access to these devices overnight. Establishing a cut-off time (8PM or so), and storing phones and smart watches overnight will help improve their quality of sleep which can help reduce stress and anxiety.
- Please audit your student's phones regularly so that you are aware of all the apps they have available. Having conversations about their social media use can help parents and guardians better understand how and with whom your students are communicating. They will not always enjoy these conversations (which may be putting it mildly), but they're worth it. If they know they can come to you with an issue related to social media, it helps us solve problems faster.
- Finally, please reach out to anyone at GMS any time you may need assistance with anything. We are here to help!
Safety First
One of the most important components of the first days of school is our staff thoroughly reviewing all safety procedures with our students. On Thursday, students from all three grades participated in a "walk-through" fire drill. Our students did a great job listening to directions, and following our evacuation procedures.
A few general safety reminders for students and families to review together:
- It is very important for students to use sidewalks and cross-walks when arriving at, or leaving, school each day. We ask that parents and guardians who drop off in the morning, please do so at the front sidewalk. Do not drop students off in the staff parking lot as it creates a potentially hazardous situation.
- Students should not run in the corridors, or engage in any pushing or shoving (even playfully) during the school day.
- All students who ride a bus should follow all safety instructions from the driver at all times. Students should remain seated until they reach their stop, and should not engage in any disruptive behaviors (yelling, throwing items, squirting anyone with water etc.). Students who engage in such behaviors will be removed from the bus for a period of time.
- Students should report any behavior that causes them or someone they know to feel unsafe or unwelcome at school. Students may report such behaviors to any adult in the building, and we will follow up as appropriate while maintaining reporter confidentiality.
GMS Cross Country
Hello Canton families, we're excited to be back and getting our cross country season underway! This week, some of our 7th and 8th grade students had the opportunity to pick up some of the paperwork necessary to register for the fall sports season, but rest assured all GMS students grades 6-8 still have the chance to participate. In the coming days more information regarding the season will be sent out to students and families. Whether or not your child already has some of these forms, one thing you can do right away is make sure your child has an updated physical on file with the nurses office. If you have any questions or concerns you can reach out to any of us coaches or our athletic director Ryan Quinn.
Can't wait to get started!
-Coach Kulas, Coach Dineen, and Coach Gonzalez
Bulldog Nurses' Blip
Welcome from Nurse Lindsey and Nurse Tara. We look forward to a great year and working with new and returning GMS families. A formal welcome letter to come soon! Just a quick reminder, if your child has a medication, please send in next week. As students are in middle school, Epipens and inhalers can be carried by students and dropped off to nursing. Epipens and inhalers need to be in a pharmacy labeled box along with a Physician order and signed parent consent. Medications and orders must be in to attend field trips. Let’s get those medications in!
Important dates to note
Monday, September 2nd: All CPS schools closed in observance of Labor Day
Thursday, September 12th: GMS Open House, 6-8PM
Wednesday, September 18th: Early dismissal day for students, school dismissed at 11:05AM
Thursday, October 3rd: All CPS schools closed in observance of Rosh Hashanah
Monday, October 7th: First GMS School Council meeting, 5PM, GMS Library
Monday, October 7th: GMS CAPT meeting, 6:10PM, location TBD
William H. Galvin Middle School
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