Gator Alley Newsletter

Greetings!

I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing Super Bowl Weekend! As we inch closer to the end of February, I would like to wish everyone an enjoyable and restful February break!

Last week was Counselor Appreciation Week. We are fortunate to have four amazing counselors. Thank you to our School Adjustment Counselors, Mrs. Barrett and Ms. Blume, and thank you to our School Counselors, Ms. Allen and Ms. Johnson.

We have a few new staff members joining our team. Ms. Sophia Dobosz will be taking over as our middle school PE teacher; Luke Cannizzario will be working as an afternoon custodian; Whitney Antosz will be joining our Learning Lab as a Educational Support Professional. Welcome to everyone!

Calling Attendance Line:

If your student is going to be out of school, please be sure to call the attendance line at 413-685-1100. It is very helpful for us to know when a student is going to be out so we can update attendance more efficiently. Attendance calls go out at 9:00am from the school if your student is absent. If you call in an absence you will not receive this call.

Lost and Found:

Our lost and found is very full of hoodies, water bottles, hats, gloves, and more. If your student left something behind at school, please encourage them to stop by the lost and found located in the front lobby.

Important Notes and Upcoming Events:

-Culture Committee discussions with grades 6, 7 & 8: On January 29th four groups of 8-12 grade students accompanied by a staff member visited classes in 6th, 7th and 8th grade for student-led discussions about discriminatory and hurtful language being used among the student body. The discussion/lesson was designed by students and featured the student authored slogan, Better Words, Better Community, Better Gateway.

-Graduation commencement speaker confirmed: We are happy to share that Ms. Luppino will return to Gateway on May 31st as the Commencement Speaker for the Class of 2024. Ms. Luppino retired in June of 2020 after more than 30 years teaching 7th grade ELA at Gateway.

-Student shadows continue as a prerequisite for Barr Foundation school visits. We now have over 40 members of the Gateway community (students, parents, school committee members, teachers, support staff and administrators) confirmed to visit schools throughout New England and across the country in an effort to Dream about Gateway’s future.

Please make sure that students are charging their chromebooks at home or bringing their chargers to school. Most of our classes use computers regularly, so students need to be able to use their technology.

If you have questions please do not hesitate to reach out to me, at wsullivan@grsd.org or 413-685-1109, or Interim Assistant Principal Crawford at kcrawford@grsd.org.

Best,

Dr. Sullivan, Principal

Important dates this month

-School Council: Thursday, February 15

-Winter Pep Rally: Friday, February 16

-Semi-Formal: Friday, March 1

Past Editions

January Newsletter

December Newsletter

November Newsletter

October Newsletter

September Newsletter

At our latest School Council Meeting, the council approved a School Improvement Plan for the remainder of the 2024 school year. Please click the link if you would like to take a look. The council will work to create an improvement plan for the next three years by June 2024.

This week is Spirit Week! We hope to see everyone dressed up to show their school spirit. Also, the last day to buy Semi-Formal tickets is this Wednesday.

Come cheer on our Gator athletes this winter season! Here is the schedule for the remaining games. Congratulations to all of our winter athletes on a great season. A big shout-out as well to our seniors. Senior Night for Girl's Basketball has been rescheduled for today at 6:30.

Sign ups for spring sports (baseball and softball can be found on the website. The deadline to sign up is February 23. If you have any questions, please reach out to our Athletic Director, Matt Bonenfant (mbonenfant@grsd.org). *Please have an up to day physical with the nurse.

Last weekend, our wrestling team competed in the Western Mass Championship. Eli Gilbert won in his weight class and Caiden Walker came in sixth. Congratulations to all of our wrestlers.

On February 10, nine Gators participated in the UMAS Honor Band Festival. Students spent all day and evening rehearsing with conductors and Music ED. Majors at UMass, and put on an amazing performance after just one day together with students from all over New England. Congratulations to Jesse B, Eliza M, Justin R, Jeffery A, Michael W, Ana H, Anya N, Taegan C, and Leah F.

How to Help Prevent the Winter Blues

• Helpful tips :
• Go for a walk/be outside while it's light out! Sunshine can help in a multitude of ways. Don't let the darkness get you down!
• Eat nutritious meals/snacks. This can help with your energy levels- as it's easy to feel tired or fatigued during this time of year.
• Example: Creating yogurt parfaits with yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, and granola!
• Enjoy some feel good and positive movies/books
• Recommendations:
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
• A Fragile Engagement by Allison Saft
• Movies: Leo, Sleepover, Paper Towns, 17 Again
• Mindfulness tip for when you're feeling tense or stressed: Gratitude Exercises

When you first wake up each morning, before you do anything, for at least 30 seconds do this morning contemplation:

• Remind yourself how lucky you are.
• Just decide that, "Im going to give it everything I've got, to make this day a beautiful day. I'm going to be kind to everyone I meet. I'm going to be gentle and sweet to everyone, even if they hate me. I love my life and I look forward to today".

Every day, before you get out of bed, remind yourself like this. It's a great way to start the day, to protect against the 'weeds' of negative thoughts.

We are deep into Phase 2 of our work with the Barr Foundation. Last month a group of eight visited two schools in California and three schools in Arizona. The trip was full of learning and excitement. The Barr Core Team is working on sharing what we learned with the community. This month, we will be heading to Colorado over February break to see a few schools, and heading to Lynn and Malden to visit KIPP and MVRCS.

As a reminder, for reaching our goals in terms of engagement in the "Learn Phase" the following events are being planned for the spring.

High School:

-Cornhole Tournament (guided by Wicked Cornhole)

-Outdoor Televisions

-Art and Graphic Design Activities

-Portable MiniGolf

-Cookout

Middle School:

-Mobile Video Game Trucks

-Obstacle Courses

-Cookout

The PTO is also doing a Gift Card Fundraiser. I have added the link to join here.

https://www.raiseright.com/enroll?enrollCode=8F3LSK5WJVK7. There is also an app that you can download that is very user friendly.

The next PTO meeting is Wednesday February 28, at 8:00pm. If you have any questions, please reach out to the PTO President Kristina Schultz at kschultz@grsd.org

Email: wsullivan@grsd.org
Website: grsd.org
Location: 12 Littleville Road, Huntington, MA, USA
Phone: (413)685-1100