The Ram Review
Northbridge Middle School Newsletter
Week of October 4 - 8, 2021
Good Afternoon NMS Families!
I hope you all enjoyed a nice long weekend. We are part the halfway mark of the 1st quarter which will end on November 2nd. We had assemblies to address the tik-tok challenges that were put out on social media challenging students to disrupt their schools, and I am happy to say the students have been great! Please remember to talk to your children about the dangers of social media. Special thank you to our parent members of the School Council! Your help and dedication is very much appreciated. Our next family event is planned for Saturday, October 23, and sponsored by our new Student Advisory Club. We will continue to hold community events for our families throughout the year. I hope you enjoy our newsletter, and as always, feel free to reach out to our admin team with any questions or concerns.
I hope you all enjoyed a nice long weekend. We are part the halfway mark of the 1st quarter which will end on November 2nd. We had assemblies to address the tik-tok challenges that were put out on social media challenging students to disrupt their schools, and I am happy to say the students have been great! Please remember to talk to your children about the dangers of social media. Special thank you to our parent members of the School Council! Your help and dedication is very much appreciated. Our next family event is planned for Saturday, October 23, and sponsored by our new Student Advisory Club. We will continue to hold community events for our families throughout the year. I hope you enjoy our newsletter, and as always, feel free to reach out to our admin team with any questions or concerns.
John Diorio
NMS
Community- Pride- Commitment
Meet Our School Adjustment Counselors
Ashling Kelly-Keegan
Ashling Kelly-Keegan, our newest member of the Adjustment Counselor team for House 1 came to us 2 weeks into the school year here at Northbridge Middle School! Miss Kelly-Keegan (or Miss KK as the students call her) is a first generation American with parents who immigrated from Ireland. Miss Kelly-Keegan attended Anna Maria and attained her undergraduate degree in Social Work and a Masters degree in Clinical Social Work. Prior to working in a school setting, Miss Kelly-Keegan worked as a Behavioral Health Director of a long-term group home for adolescent girls and as a trauma therapist. Miss. Kelly-Keegan loves spending her free time at the beach, reading or snuggling with her Goldendoodle, Finnbar. Miss Kelly-Keegan has loved every moment of her transition to NMS! Her goal each day is to support her students in identifying their strengths and skills and sense of humor to support their successes in the classroom.
Gina Gambaccini
Gina Gambaccini, our House 2 Adjustment Counselor, has been working at Northbridge Middle School for 7 years. Ms. Gambaccini attended Worcester State University where she attained an undergraduate degree in Psychology. Ms. Gambaccini also obtained her graduate degree and CAGS in Counseling Psychology from Anna Maria College. Prior to working in schools, Ms.Gambaccini worked as a staff and clinician in both residential and outpatient settings. Ms. Gambaccini enjoys spending time with her family, loves music, sports and being outdoors. Ms. Gambaccini works daily to support students with the development of their coping strategies and with managing situations more effectively.
Tony Kissell
Tony Kissell, our House 3 Adjustment counselor, has been working at Northbridge Middle School for 5 years! Mr. Kissell was born in New Hampshire and moved to Massachusetts while in High School. Mr. Kissell attended Assumption College (before it was a University) and attained an undergraduate degree in Human Services and Rehabilitation studies and a graduate degree in School Counseling. Prior to working in schools, Mr. Kissell worked as an assistant-program supervisor in a residential setting. Mr Kissell likes spending time with his Wife, Sarah and their cat, Sugar! Mr. Kissell loves working at NMS! His goal each day is to assist his students in reducing barriers to learning and finding opportunities to grow as people!
Student of the Month
Our first Student of the Month awards ceremony will be Wednesday, October 13th, at 8:30am. This will be in person for the student award winners but remote for parents. Ms. Signoretti notified families of award winners on Thursday. The link is included below.
http://meet.google.com/rez-rcta-qna
NMS School Council
Our first School Council Meeting was Thursday at 2:15pm. There were five teachers and five parents in attendance. The Council starting working on the NMS School Improvement Plan and NMS dress code. Everyone had great ideas regarding the Teaching & Learning Objective. Our next meeting will be Wednesday November 3rd at 3:15. Thank you to all who participated.
Two of our amazing posters from the Student Advisory Club
Student Advisory Club
The student advisory club will meet monthly to discuss important issues with our school. The Advisory is a key time for discussing important issues and helping students become invested in doing their part to create a strong, vibrant, healthy school community.
Our first meeting was Wednesday, October 6, and over 40 students were in attendance! Because this is so important for our school community we are looking at different options to allow as many students to participate as possible. This week the members of the student advisory club are busy making posters to promote our family movie night.
If interested please come by or email Mr. Stien at jstien@nps.org.
Our first family movie night is Saturday, October 23, at 6:30 pm. This event is sponsored by our new Student Advisory Club. We will show the movie Hocus Pocus on our new inflatable screen. We will hold this event outside, weather permitting. We will move inside to the auditorium if it rains. Tickets are only $5 for individuals and $10 for an entire family. Refreshments and snacks will be sold. Come join the fun and be part of our community!
NMS Movie Night
Hocus Pocus
October 23, 2021
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Our community closet will be open this Weds. 10/13 from 2:15-4:15 pm. Please contact Ms. Wildfeuer at twildfeuer@nps.org or any of our adjustment counselors for more information. We have an amazing selection of gently worn clothing available!
Upcoming Dates
Student of the month- Wednesday, October 13 at 8:30am
Family Movie Night- Saturday, October 23 at 6:30pm
Grades close- Tuesday, November 2
Early Release Day- Wednesday, November 3