Weekly News
September 20, 2019
Calendar of Events 2019-2020
September 26, 2019: Open House (6-8pm)
September 27, 2019: Early Release Day
October 4, 2019: Picture Re-takes
October 14, 2019: No School (Columbus Day)
October 15, 2019: No School (District Professional Development Day)
October 15, 2019: Travel Information Night. 6pm
October 19, 2019: PSAT Testing
October 22, 2019: School Council Meeting; 2:30-3:30pm
October 22, 2019: Financial Aid Information Night
October 25, 2019: Early Release Day
October 26, 2019: 2nd Annual Halloween Festival hosted by GD Student Council
TBD: Open Mic Night
November 1 & 2, 2019: Fall Theater; You Can't Take It With You
November 14, 2019: Parent / Teacher Conferences (Day 1/2)
November 15 -19, 2019: Give Kids the World Service Trip (Orlando, FL)
November 21, 2019: Parent / Teacher Conferences (Day 2/2)
November 28, 2019: Happy Thanksgiving (10am Annual Football Game at Tyngsborough)
December 2, 2019: Winter Sports Begin.
December 21, 2019 - January 5, 2020: Winter Vacation
January 20, 2020: No School (MLK Day)
January 24, 2020: End Quarter 2 / Semester 1
February 15 - 23, 2020: February Vacation
March 12, 2020: Spring Open House (6:00 - 7:30)
April 3, 2020: End Quarter 3
April 18 - 26, 2020: April Vacation
May 15, 2020: Junior Senior Prom (early release day)
May 29, 2020: Graduation (6pm)
June 12, 2020: Scheduled last day of school
Open House
Please join us for our Fall Open House which will take place from 6-8pm on Thursday, September 26th. During the Open House parents will have the opportunity to hear about programs offered at GDRHS and meet with their student's teachers as they follow their schedules. Administration and Guidance Counselors will be on hand to answer questions as well. Hope to see you there!
Important Fan Information
Football Opens Tonight vs. North Middlesex
In previous seasons, spectators were allowed to cross the track into the grass portion of the infield. This will not be a possibility tonight in order to protect the investment made to resurface and paint the track. Spectators will be restricted to the bleacher area. Spectators are welcome to stand along the fence line which provides unobstructed viewing as well. We hope to see you there. Students are reminded that no backpacks are allowed into the stadium.
Go Crusaders!
A message from GDEF
So thankful for all this organization does for GDRHS and all of our schools....
Travel information Night for 2020-2021
Travel information night will take place on Tuesday, October 15th beginning at 6:00pm in the Black Box Theater.
Can you guess where GD students have opportunities to travel during 2020-2021?
GDRSD - Postural Screening-Freshman Students
From our Medical Office
Dear Parents/Guardians of Freshman Students,
Groton Dunstable Regional High School will conduct state-mandated postural screenings during Physical Education classes throughout the school year for Freshman students. If your child is not enrolled in a PE class this school year then your child will be screened in the Spring.
The Postural Screening Program is intended as a supplement to your child’s primary health care. The purpose of postural screening is to detect signs of spinal curvature at the earliest stages to prevent its progression. Postural screenings are performed annually in grades 5 through 9, the time of the most rapid growth and when signs of spinal curvatures typically appear.
The school nurses will conduct these screenings. Boys and girls will be screened separately and privacy will be maintained at all times. The screening is a simple 30 second observation of the back with the shirt/top removed. If your child has any unusual findings, you will receive a letter recommending further evaluation by your child’s physician.
If you DO NOT want your child to participate in the postural screening, or if your child is being monitored by your healthcare provider please make the request to cshea@gdrsd.org by September 30, 2019.
Please call the school nurses, Cheryl Shea or Leah Caruso at 978-448-6362 ext. 1018 if you have any questions.
Class of 2022 Fundraiser
Please support the sophomore class by shopping online at Yankee Candle! Online sales are open now and will ship directly to your house. Perfect for seasonal gifts! Click here to start shopping! (Group Number: 990072197) Online sales are open until January 8th.
Attention Juniors
The tour will be on December 11th from roughly 7:45am until 12:00pm (you will be back for D block most likely). Transportation to and from school will be provided. There are only 10 spots available.
If you are interested in attending, please see Mr. Brown in guidance ASAP.
MEFA College Financing Seminar
Parents and students are invited to attend a free seminar on paying for college, which will be held on Thursday, October 17th, at 6pm in the Blackbox Theater. This seminar is offered through MEFA, the Commonwealth’s authority on planning, saving, and paying for college. An experienced MEFA representative will provide an overview of the college financing process, including types of financial aid, how to apply, and financing options for your family. Before the seminar, be sure to visit MEFA’s website — mefa.org — to download a copy of the seminar presentation in English or Spanish and explore other tools and resources to assist you in the college planning process.
Librarians from the Groton and Dunstable Public Libraries Visit GD
Special Thanks to Ms. Cook for organizing this event and sharing the story....
September is Library Card Sign-Up Month, and the local public libraries came to GD to celebrate on the Thursday, September 19, the day students received their school ID cards.
Young Adult Librarian Deb Dowson and Circulation Librarian Lisa Baylis from the Groton Public Library and Children's Librarian Karen Debrecini of the Dunstable Public Library met with students in the front commons during break and lunches to help students renew or sign up for library cards and how to access digital services from home. They also reminded students of the programs and opportunities available to them at the public library.
In addition to signing up for cards, students signed up for volunteer opportunities, whether it was tutoring at the Dunstable Public Library or teaming up with the Groton Public Library to help with story time. Debrecini also had a sign-up list for GD students interested in local babysitting jobs.
Students enrolled in Spanish classes forged a partnership with Dowson and Baylis to develop a plan for celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at the library and borrowing children's books, written in Spanish, to read to 4th graders later in the semester.
"They were thrilled to learn how they could use our services for their celebration," Dowson said, "and we were thrilled to help.
The librarians will be returning to GDRHS for Open House with parents on September 26.
Photo (Below): Lisa Baylis and Deb Dowson of the Groton Public Library set up a table in the front commons to promote the use of their library. (PHOTO: Amelia Drislane)
College Visits
From our Guidance Department
Our Guidance Website:
Check out our GDRHS Guidance site!
PSAT Dates and Registration
The PSAT will be proctored at the high school on Saturday, October 19th at 7:00 am. Registration is now open, please register by September 30, 2019. Cash/Checks payable to GDRHS are due in guidance by October 4th.
Click here for registration page.
AP Testing
All AP students are required to have a college board account.
for registration (AP teacher will provide an access code for each AP class).
for access to digital resources (New this year)
for receiving AP scores
Earlier AP test registration (moved from spring to fall semester)
Students taking a semester one AP or a full year AP are required to order their exams by November 1, 2019
Students taking a semester two AP are required to order by March 10, 2020
Exams are $100 for each exam
Registrations after the deadline will be assessed a $40 per exam late fee
More information will be provided by your student's AP teacher. If you have further questions email mcain@gdrsd.org.
Picture Re-Takes
Yearbook Information
SENIOR PORTRAIT DEADLINE
Reminder to the SENIORS of the Class of 2020 and their PARENTS: SENIOR PORTRAITS are due on OCTOBER 25. If you haven’t scheduled your photo session, do so as soon as possible.
Here is our information sheet containing PORTRAIT PHOTO SPECIFICATIONS to give to your photographer as well as SENIOR TRIBUTE AD design and purchasing information for PARENTS and FRIENDS of SENIORS.
Our official school photographer is MARK LAWRENCE PHOTOGRAPHERS. They offer affordable portrait rates for GD seniors.
FALL TEAM PHOTOS AND ORDER FORMS
Our Mark Lawrence school rep, Lisa Dipalma, is working with our new Athletic Department to set the TEAM PHOTO date for our fall teams. ANY PARENT WISHING TO PURCHASE A SPORTS PHOTO PACKAGE for their child should open this link to open and print a pdf order form.
PARENT PHOTOGRAPHERS OF JV TEAMS
Although Mark Lawrence Photographers take team photos and action photos of varsity teams for us, we only contract with them to take the team photos for our JV teams. IF YOU ARE A PARENT WHO TAKES ACTION PHOTOS of your child's JV games, please share your best action photos with us. One of our goals this year is to get more complete coverage of our JV teams, and your photos would help us do that. You can email your photos as attachments to hsyearbook@gdrsd.org or drag them into this shared folder: JV Teams Parent Photo Submissions. Thank you in advance for sharing!
Travel Opportunities for this School Year
It is not too late to sign up for travel opportunities this school year but time is running out.
We still have limited spots available for the following trips....
Peru (Language Immersion)... To register or get more information visit https://www.eftours.com/tour-website/2139392MX or
see Ms. Penchansky
South Africa (Science, Culture, & History)... https://www.eftours.com/tour-website/2149969EE or see Mr. Reid or Ms. McHugh
France / Italy (Art Focus)... See Ms. Kostich if interested... https://rsvp.eftours.com/xs4dcny
Panama (Science and Technology)... - To register or get more information visit https://www.eftours.com/tour-website/2137917MH or
see Mr. Rocheleau or Ms. Salemme
Europe; Summer 2020 (with Homestay experience)... To register or get more information visithttps://www.explorica.com/My-Account/My-Tours/TourCenter.aspx
or see Mr. Arena.
Follow us on Twitter
@GDPrincipal
and for news from Mr. Ricard and our athletic department...
@GDCrusaders