Weekly News
March 13, 2020
Calendar of Events
April 3 - 4, 2020: A Midsummer Night's Dream (to be rescheduled)
April 3, 2020: Course selection forms(hard copy) are due in Guidance Office. (may change TBA)
April 7, 2020: End Quarter 3 (May change TBA)
April 18 - 26, 2020: April Vacation (May change TBA)
May 15, 2020: Junior Senior Prom (early release day)
May 27, 2020: Senior Class Dinner at Gibbet Hill
May 29, 2020: Graduation (6pm)
June 19, 2020: Scheduled last day of school (even with the shutdown)
What does the School Shutdown Mean to Our Students?
What we can share with you is that we will be meeting as a staff on Monday to identify ways in which we can continue to deliver aspects of education to students while we are at home. There are upcoming events such as SATs, MCAS testing, AP Testing, and other things that could become a focal point during this time. We are looking forward to meeting with our amazing teachers and hearing what some of their ideas are on this.
Students should expect that classroom teachers will reach out to them in some way over the course of the next week through email, google classroom, or some other learning platforms.
Legendary basketball coach John Wooden once said, "Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out." We think this is great advice for such an unknown situation. We must simply try to make the best of it.
We will be in touch next week with updates. Until that time, enjoy extra time with family and be well.
Sincerely,
GDRHS Admin Team
Program of Studies Information Night is Cancelled
We are working with the Groton Channel to put a video presentation together for all parties. We will shae it next week if we are able to complete it by then.
Program of Studies Link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_jg4U16-oj7XiQ97O-QtKubzpm9HsJ_FHxXio5mtkBM/edit
Senior Spotlight
Molly Blast has recently been accepted into the Bridgewater State University Aviation School.
Here is what Molly had to say about her unique interest in aviation.
"I first got into flying when I was 13 years old when I was given the opportunity to take a ride in a Cessna 172. Before that, I had never even thought about pursuing a career in aviation. Needless to say, I instantly fell in love with it. Years later, I was able to begin my training to become a private pilot. The long process began during the summer before my junior year of high school. Now, as a senior, I am very close to receiving my private pilot certificate. Next year, I will be continuing my training in the aviation program at Bridgewater State University to eventually make my way to my commercial pilot rating."
Music States Competition
This past Saturday four students participated in the Massachusetts Music Educators Association All States festival at Boston’s Symphony Hall, all four are representatives from our Groton Dunstable Regional High School Chamber Choir. Chelsea Callahan, a sophomore soprano, Josh Booth, a senior bass and Neil Prestia, a junior bass sang beautifully in the choir. Their songs ranged from gospel, to contemporary to classical including songs by famous composers such as Mozart. Emily Rimkus, an alto and sophomore in our Chamber Choir played viola in the highly competitive classical orchestra. She loved her experience with her conductor and would love to do it again saying “though it was tiring, it was so enjoyable to hear all the parts come together.” Their acceptance into All States is a huge honor and a very difficult task showing their diligence and hard work in music. The Music Honors Society is proud of the successes of these students. Thursday and Friday the four students practiced for hours upon hours perfecting the intricate pieces they were given. About the experience Chelsea Callahan said “it was a lot of hard work but in the end it was fun and rewarding.” Neil Prestia said it “felt very long but he greatly appreciated the opportunity” and Josh Booth said ”it was a lot of hard work but I’m so happy I did it.” With their acceptance into the All-States Choir the three non-senior participants can audition for the extremely competitive National Choir. Music Honors Society wishes them luck in their coming auditions.
Scholarships for Seniors
Local scholarships are now available in Naviance Student and by clicking here.
If you need a copy of your transcript for a scholarship it is now available in your SchoolBrains Portal under reports.
Click here to see other scholarships that are sent to guidance and available to our students.
College Information Night
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1hGi0rvu47Oh1Chf5RmWId0tsLVq7juibZAw8zeOKnhg/edit#slide=id.p4
Senior Internships
Nicole Tammaro is interning in Ms. Wynn’s Fourth grade classroom at Swallow Union Elementary School in Dunstable, MA. Nicole spends most of her day working with the students to keep them on track and help Mrs. Wynn get ahead on grading and lesson preparation. Having another set of eyes in the room is very beneficial to the students in what they specifically need help with. Nicole can be found grading papers, taking attendance, teaching small groups, and supporting the students individually. She takes part in two decent sized classes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Many students require one-on-one attention, which is something Nicole loves because it helps her get to know the students more and gaining relationships with the kids is something that is important to her. The past few weeks, Nicole has been doing a lot of work grading quizzes, homeworks and classworks rapidly in preparation for the kids upcoming MCAS. Nicole is at Swallow Union for a busy part of the year, and feels very lucky about that. She is enjoying every minute of it. Nicole is gaining so much knowledge and experience in this department and is so thankful for this opportunity. Sue Wynn is very inspiring to Nicole and she can’t wait to see what the rest of the year will bring. She is interested in a career in early childhood education, and plans to study that in her next four years at college.
Alexandra Smith is a senior at Groton-Dunstable Regional High School. Alex is spending her last semester completing an internship, working at a business called Citron Hygiene in Billerica MA. Her employer sponsor, Tracy Williams, is the Human Resource Coordinator, and creates calendars for Alex each week which involves participating in meetings, projects, and more. Alex’s daily routine revolves around checking emails, and learning about each department in the business. She has taken over a project on behalf of the service coordinator, and this involves completing sales leads which get emailed to her every day. From these, Alex creates lead reports every other Friday, and then she emails these to the managers. Recently, Alex had had the opportunity to meet with the people from the finance department, the customer service team, information technology, as well as marketing in order to learn what each of the departments’ specific tasks and responsibilities are. Alex has been introduced and has been taught how to use software programs such as Salesforce, DocStar, and Microsoft Dynamics GP. She has also improved her skills with Excel by creating and editing spreadsheets for her projects. Also, she was recently involved in weekly Skype calls undertaken by the marketing team. These help the sales coordinators create sales aid materials and spreadsheets. Recently, Alex went to Boston MA with a service Technician to learn about what they do, how a technician interacts with Citron’s customers, and see Citron’s products and service live from the operational perspective. Alex’s next few months of internship will involve riding along with sales, being introduced to the human resource areas, and learning more about her favorite departments at Citron. She continues to learn more each day, and is very excited to find out what will come next!
Travel News
Update on Travel Vouchers
There were other agenda items to be discussed regarding travel vouchers and other questions associated with this. We do not have any updates on this at this time. After our President's broadcast this week, EF Tours employees devoted all resources to bringing travel groups home from Europe prior to this weekend. I hope to have further conversations with them next week.
Faculty Spotlight
Mr. Johnson
Mr. Johnson is in his first year of teaching at G-D although he is in his second year of coaching boys basketball at G-D. Mr. Johnson has taught Geometry, Intro to Statistics and Advanced Algebra; Trigonometry this year. Mr. Johnson has already become known for making great connections with students and for working long hours. His new colleagues love working with him and many students have expressed how much they enjoy his classes. Mr. Jonson is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts - Lowell and is currently pursuing his Master's Degree in Mathematics at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Community Outreach
Thanks to Gabbi Lewis for this submission...
From now until March 25th bring your old prom dresses to Jeanie Erickson’s room 124 at GDRHS! Thanks to everyone who has already donated a dress.
The GD Peer leaders are hosting the first-ever prom dress drive. If you have any gently used prom/homecoming/formal dresses laying around in your house bring it to the high school. Drop-offs can happen Monday-Friday until March 25th. They will be donated to the Belle of the Ball hosted by Jordan’s Furniture and Anton's Cleaners and given to teens in America that can’t afford dresses. It’d be amazing to help teens have an amazing prom experience.
If you’d like more information click the link below:
or contact Gabbi Lewis by email at gabbi.lewis@icloud.com
Mind Matters
G-D Students attend Summit at Anna Maria College
Simon Chandler
Katie Eberhardt
Abby Eisenklam
Audrey Gold
Lauren Hill
Max Jarboe
Tim Stark
Charlie Willis
These students joined our Mind Matters club to bring to light the importance for all teens on focusing on their mental well-being and taking away the historic negative viewpoint and secrecy associated with proper care of illnesses and conditions associated with mental health.
Yoga can help keep you Balanced!
Practicing yoga helps one to move from the fight/flight; sympathetic nervous system to rest/digest; para-sympathetic nervous system state. More simply stated, yoga helps build a sense of self while increasing body awareness, relieving stress, reducing muscle tension, strain and inflammation. Yoga also helps to sharpen ones attention and concentration along with a multitude of other positive benefits that help promote good mental health.
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