October (A look back)

We welcomed in the fall season at GHS with many activities and events:

-Open House for parents and families

-College Representative Visits, held in Our Guidance Counseling Office Suite.

-Homecoming Pep Rally and Semiformal Dance

-Fall Sports

-FLU / COVID Vaccine Clinic 10/28

Massachusetts defines Chronically Absent as missing at least 10% of days enrolled (e.g., 18 days absent if enrolled for 180) regardless of whether the absences are considered excused, unexcused and/or for disciplinary reasons. Being chronically absent can have a significant impact on a student's ability to read at grade level, perform academically, and graduate on time.

We are very excited to have Mrs. Paula Brault join our team as an Associate Principal. Please welcome Mrs. Brault paubra1@gpsk12.org to our Green Wave community. Paula joins our team after working for eight years in New Hampshire as a school counselor. She has also taught Math for a number of years prior to working in New Hampshire. She enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, and crafting in her spare time. Paula is a life-long learner as evidenced by her pursuing her doctoral degree from Plymouth State University.

-11/4: The First Marking Period Ends

-11/8: No School For Students / Teacher In-Service Day

-11/11:No School for Veterans Day

-11/14:Financial Aid Night: 6pm-8pm In The GHS Lecture Hall

-11/22:Honor Roll Ice Cream Social (celebration of our roll recipients)

-11/23:Early Dismissal Students and Staff

-11/23:Annual Turkey Trot and Lip Sync Battle / Pep Rally

-11/24-11/25: Thanksgiving Break

This week’s Parent Update will include:

• Celebrations and Upcoming Events
• Health Information
• Re-envisioning our School Facilities
• Safe Routes to School Survey
• Heating Assistance
• Staffing

CELEBRATIONS and UPCOMING EVENTS

Please join us in congratulating the Greenfield High School students who were inducted into the National Honor Society on Tuesday evening. Induction into NHS reflects that students have met qualifications under the four pillars of NHS: Scholarship, Service, Leadership and Character. Great job on achieving this accomplishment!

There is a vaccination clinic (flu and COVID) on Oct 28th from 3 pm – 5 pm in the Greenfield High School cafeteria. Information will be available on the website.

HEALTH INFORMATION

The district will continue to provide helpful information for families on the website, under Departments, Health. Please see the links below for information about hints for staying healthy and also about COVID or illness in general.

Staying Healthy

Should My Child Come to School?

RE-ENVISIONING OUR SCHOOL FACILITIES

Our parent/community meetings have concluded at this time. A summary of the pros, cons and outstanding questions or concerns from those meetings will be summarized and shared with our staff. The information will be shared with the School Committee at a future meeting for their ongoing discussion.

We would like to thank the folks who came to those discussions and offered valuable feedback.

If you need a copy of the report, it is available on the district website or you can request a hard copy from the Superintendent’s office. A summary document is also on the front page of the website. The Summary is available in Spanish, Russian and Romanian. Moldovan translation is on its way!

SYMPTOMATIC COVID TESTING CONSENT

Our nursing staff will be able to conduct COVID testing for students or staff who develop signs of illness during the school day for parents/guardians who provide written consent. Please use the link for testing on the district website under Departments and Health and Wellness.

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL

The Greenfield Schools are working with the Department of Public Works and the City to apply for a Safe Routes to School grant. This would provide funding for sidewalk replacement around Greenfield Middle School. The program goals are to make walking and biking to school safer and a more appealing way to get to school. We need your help to provide information for the grant. Please take a minute to complete the survey through the link below. We’d appreciate your feedback by November 10.

Safe Routes to School Survey

HEATING ASSISTANCE INFORMATION

We have included information about home heating assistance on our website. Please see the link below for more information.

Home Heating Resources

STAFFING

The district is still looking for Custodians and Instructional Assistants as well as substitute teachers and instructional assistants. If you are interested, please check the website and click the “Click here for employment opportunities” bar on the front page.