Gator Bites- 12/1/23
Important Dates:
Tuesday, 12/5-Half Day for students, full day for staff
Wednesday, 12/6-Senior Citizen Brunch at GRHS at 9:30am
Tuesday, 12/12-Middle School Band, Chorus and Jazz Band Concert at 6:30pm
Tuesday, 12/12-Wednesday 12/13-Chester Winter Gift Fair
Wednesday, 12/13-School Committee Meeting at 7pm
Friday, 12/15-Chester Elementary School Council Meeting at 8:45am
Tuesday, 12/19-High School Band, Jazz, and Chorus Concert at 6:30pm
Friday, 12/22-Half Day for all-start of winter break!
Safety Info for Families : Visitors Protocols
This past week, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents sent a message to superintendents across the state warning districts that there has been incidents of unauthorized individuals attempting to get into school buildings. As you know, Gateway has a comprehensive safety plan which includes all doors being locked and closed at all times and a process for screening visitors. We know that it is sometimes inconvenient to wait a few extra moments or needing to provide identifying information upon arrival, but these processes ensure that we can continue to keep our learning community secure.
As a reminder, some components of these protocols include but are not limited to:
- Being asked to identify yourself and the reason for your visit before entering a building;
- Understanding that our campus is equipped with surveillance cameras and a security monitor at all times;
- Requiring additional information for identification if you are not familiar to our staff;
- Only releasing students who are on the pre-approved list of authorized guardians.
Additionally, we want to ensure that all community members do not permit someone to enter a building behind them when they have not been screened. It may feel rude to not hold the door for someone, but this allows us to ensure that our safety protocols are being administered uniformly.
We appreciate your cooperation with this matter!
Barr Foundation Grant Update
We are excited to transition into the "Dream" phase of this grant! The Dream phase includes students, staff, families, and stakeholders imagining all the possibilities that could ensure that every student at Gateway Regional is engaged in learning and able to meet their goals. Part of this process includes visiting other schools to see how they are meeting students needs in new and creative ways. If you are interested in attending a school visit, please reach out to the school principal or Superintendent Smidy.
To close out the "Learn" phase and to celebrate the engagement obtained from our community, the elementary students had a bounce house carnival a few weeks ago. The middle/high school will have a celebratory event in the spring. In the meantime, two computers were given away, paid for by the Barr Foundation, as a random raffle with all middle and high school students as prize for their engagement in this process. Two more computers will be given away before the end of the year. We are thankful for the Barr Foundation's support to make these celebrations happen!
FAFSA Support for Students and Families
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education along with uAspire have partnered to provide FREE FAFSA (or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) support to students and families applying to colleges. uAspire is here to help you and your students navigate the FAFSA changes happening this year. uAspire is a national nonprofit whose singular focus is on college affordability and removing financial barriers so that every student has an equitable opportunity to attain a postsecondary degree.
uAspire will present virtual webinars on the FAFSA process for students and families. FSA has not released the exact date the FAFSA will be available but has confirmed that the FAFSA will come out by December 31st. uAspire will have a FAFSA virtual webinar for students on:
January 3, 2024 at 4:00-5:00 pm -ET
We will also target more dates and topics:
January 30, 2024 at 5:00-6:00 pm -ET
February 27, 2024 at 5:30-6:30pm -ET
April 2, 2024 at 4:00-5:00 pm -ET
April 24, 2024 at 5:00-6:00 pm -ET
May 21, 2024 at 5:00-6:00 pm -ET
A message from the Attorney General about Idling
The Attorney General's Office has asked all districts to send out information to remind families that diesel exhaust, including from cars and school buses, contributes to air pollution that can cause serious respiratory illnesses and other harmful diseases. Vehicle exhaust is especially harmful to children, whose lungs are not yet fully developed. Limiting or — even better — eliminating unnecessary idling time during loading and unloading of children can dramatically reduce these pollutants and improve our children’s health.
More information regarding the Massachusetts Clean Air Act, Anti-Idling Law, and Anti-Idling Regulations, can be found online.
Two videos that explain the importance of this can be found here:
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/lets-talk-about-illegal-idling
GRHS/MS Winter Sports Schedule
Lunch Menu for December
A message from Gateway's Nurse Leader
With Cold and Flu season upon us, it’s important to take good care of ourselves eating good nutritious foods, getting adequate sleep, drinking water and engaging and maintaining positive relationships. When symptoms of illness strike, please continue to follow our Covid-19 and Illness protocols to help us keep germs out of our schools.
Get free at-home COVID-19 tests this fall on COVIDTests.gov
Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order an additional 4 free at-home tests beginning November 20. If you did not order tests this fall, you may place two orders for a total of 8 tests. Your order of COVID tests is completely free – you won’t even pay for shipping.
Why Should I test for Covid-19?
Tips to stay healthy this season:
Wash your hands often
Use a Kleenex tissue to blow your nose then toss each time
Practice cough etiquette covering coughs and sneezes with your inner elbow
Be active, get regular exercise
Eat well, including the dreaded vegetables!
Sleep well, get plenty of sleep each night
Reschedule visits with sick friends and family members
Fundraisers and Events
Gateway Hats on Sale!
Looking for a practical gift idea? Look no farther--The Pease Store in Chester is selling Gateway Hats!
The cost for the hats pictured below are 20 dollars and are currently available!The store is open on Saturday between 9am-2pm and it is located on Main Street in Chester.
Support the class of 2025 at Applebees!
Join the class of 2025 for a fundraiser at Applebees! The fundraiser will run from 4-9pm on December 7. Present the flyer below at time of payment and 15% of your bill will go to the Class of 2025.
GEF Trivia Night--Save the Date!
Get your thinking caps on--March 23rd at Stanton Hall for Trivia Night 2024!
Senior Citizens from our Towns: Next week!
From our Community Partners
It Takes a Village Toy Drive with Chester/Blandford Police and Huntington Fire
It Takes a Village is busy preparing for our annual holiday toy distribution, and this year we are primarily serving Hilltown Families! We are grateful to have so many community partners collecting toys on behalf of Gateway families.
Jen Dubiel, Chester-Blandford Police Chief, and the entire Police Department, will host 2 “stuff a cruiser” events. This Saturday, December 2nd from 9 am-12 pm, they will be at Blandford Town Hall, filling the squad car with new, unwrapped toys. They will also be accepting donations to use to buy toys for kids. On Saturday, December 9th, they will do it all again, from 9 am-12 pm at Chester Town Hall. Toys for kids of any age (especially toys for older kids) are welcome.
Josh Ellinger and the Huntington Fire Department will be hosting a Fire Station open house and toy collection on December 16th from 8am-1pm. Come check out what it’s like to be a Huntington firefighter and drop off a new, unwrapped toy for Hilltown families.
Later that same day, the Parade of Lights will kick off at 4pm. Santa will travel around the town of Huntington on a fire truck, giving out candy to all the kids who come out to greet him! Santa himself will be collecting new and unwrapped toy donations throughout the parade to benefit Hilltown families. Please consider donating a toy through Santa and teach your kids the true meaning of generosity to others.
Last year, 284 children received toys from It Takes a Village. This year, 384 children have been signed up. We are honored to be able to help families make their holidays special, and we rely on the support of our community members like you to make that happen!
This year your donations keep the magic alive for the local children. Visit www.hilltownvillage.org/donate to contribute today!
Visit www.hilltownvillage.org for Village Closet hours and important news & events.
Upcoming Events at Porter Memorial Library!
Here’s a list of some incredible upcoming events at the Porter Memorial Library in Blandford!
Gingerbread Cookies and Crafts: Saturday 12/2
Bring your elementary age kiddos to our gingerbread event on Saturday 12/2.
From 10:30-11:00am we will decorate cookies and make a craft. Come listen to a story and socialize!
Tweens & Teens Gingerbread Decorating: Saturday 12/2
Join us at the library from 11am to noon for an event geared for tweens and teens. We will decorate gingerbread houses. It's a fun time for crafting and chatting!
Book Squirms: Every Wednesday 10:30am
Storytime for littles under 5 and their caregivers! We read stories, sing songs and play with sensory bins and toys. Join us with your little ones to borrow books and meet other families!
Book Squirms: Every Tuesday at 4pm
Our preschool program is so popular, we decided to add another time slot! Pre-K kids and their families can join us at 4pm on Tuesdays starting 9/5. We will read books, sing songs, play in sensory bins and make simple crafts. If you can't make it Tuesday, join our Wednesday morning group at 10:30am.
Breakfast with Santa in Blandford!
The Blandford Firemen’s Association is sponsoring their annual Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, December 2 from 8:30AM-11:30AM. Santa will arrive at about 9:30 or 10AM with gift bags for youngsters. The breakfast menu will be pancakes, bacon, sausage, coffee, tea, orange juice and cider. Tickets are $5 each for kids ages 5 to 11 and all others (12 and over) cost is $10 per person.
DONATIONS NEEDED FOR THE RAFFLE!
The annual raffle is a favorite with everyone. Donation dates have been extended for drop-off at the Training Center next to the Post Office on Main Street on Monday, Nov. 29 from 6-7:30PM and on Friday, December 1 donations can be dropped off at the gym at Town Hall during the setup from 5:30–7PM.
Contact Information:
Chester Elementary School:
Principal Vanna Maffuccio vmaffuccio@grsd.org
Littleville Elementary School:
Principal Melissa McCaul mmccaul@grsd.org
Principal Jason Finnie jfinnie@grsd.org
Assistant Principal Will Sullivan wsullivan@grsd.org
Athletic Director Matt Bonenfant mbonenfant@grsd.org
Superintendent Kristen Smidy, ksmidy@grsd.org
Gateway Regional School District
Website: grsd.org
Location: 12 Littleville Road, Huntington, MA, USA
Phone: 413-685-1100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GatewayRegionalMA?mibextid=LQQJ4d