TFHS/GFMS Community Newsletter

• Superintendent Search Forums Rescheduled to January 7, 2019
• TFHS Caroling in the Community
• TFHS Alumni Contributions
• Honor Roll T-shirts
• The "High School Doctor for a Day" Program
• TFHS Caroling at Morning Meeting
• GFMS Optional Quiet Lunch
• Upcoming Winter Concert - Save the Date!
• GFMS Art - Free Creation Fridays
• GFMS Art - Winter Landscape Projects
• After School Pick-Up
• Late Bus Route
• Late Bus Sign Up
• TFHS Math Gingerbread Houses
• March 14th SAT Test
• TFHS Ugly Sweater Contest
• Deans' Grade Assignments
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)
• 2019 Rise Up Dodge Ball Tournament
• Dodge Ball Tournament Winners
• Drop-In Times for Parents/Families with Family Engagement Coordinator
• 2019-2020 School Calendar
• Honors Chemistry Blood Splatter Activity
• TFHS Yearbook 2020
• GFMS Yearbook 2020
• 7th & 8th Grade Youth Forum
• Sports - Swimming
• Sports - Girls' Basketball
• Sports - Boys' Basketball
• Sports - Food Donation from Basketball Game
• Sports - Boys' Basketball - The Cage at UMass
• Sports - Joanne Paquette Senior Academic All-Star Award
• Academic Calendar
• TFHS English Class
• Secondary School Improvement Plan (SIP)
• TFHS Rise Up Students Volunteer
• Community Health Care Center of Franklin County Mobile Dental Service
• GFMS Related Arts After School Activity
• FoodSource Hotline
• January No School Days and Half Days
• GFMS Students of the Week
• WIC Offers Families
• 7th Grade Math
• TFHS Bell Schedule
• Light Sculptures
• Gill-Montague Education Fund 2020 Annual Gala
• Update on Student Activity Accounts & Fundraising Protocols
  
• Box Tops for Education
• Upcoming Dates at TFHS/GFMS

Dear GMRSD Community,

The Gill-Montague Regional School Committee has begun the search process for selecting its next superintendent. The committee has hired the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) to provide consultation services for the search process.

As part of this process a representative from MASC, Tracy Novick, will host forums with those interested in providing their point of view as input to the process. The forums will be held at the middle/high school cafeteria on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 at the following times:

1:30 pm – Meet with student representatives

3:30 pm – Meet with interested district faculty and staff

4:30 pm – Meet with district administrators

5:30 pm – Meet with parents and the public

In addition, anyone who is interested is invited to respond to a brief written survey about the superintendent selection process. The results of this survey are being independently received and tabulated by MASC on behalf of the School Committee. The survey may be found through the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GMRSD19

Also, in the days ahead, the school committee will establish dates for a screening committee to review initial applications and recommend candidate finalists. Once, the dates are established, we will publish these and invite people to serve on the screening committee.

We encourage as many voices as possible to participate as we engage in this important process.

Sincerely,

The Gill-Montague Regional School Committee

Some of our TFHS students went out into the community and spread holiday cheer by caroling to seniors right before break. Everyone enjoyed their beautiful voices and enthusiasm! Thanks to Mrs. Fowler for accompanying them.

Our school is very lucky to have such an active Alumni Association. They completed quite a bit of work around our school this fall and we would like to thank them for all their hard work and pride in their school. Below are just a few pictures of the MANY projects they did since the beginning of the school year.

Thanks everyone!!! Your hard work is much appreciated!!!

Students that made the Honor Roll should sign up for a t-shirt in the main office as soon as possible.

The "High School Doctor for a Day" program is scheduled for Wednesday, April 8, 2020. Selected students will have an opportunity to share the expertise of a physician mentor in the daily practice of medicine. This program is open to students in their Junior or Senior year, who have a serious interest in becoming a physician and have a strong background in the sciences. Stop by the Guidance Office for an application.

During our last TFHS Morning Meeting of the year, students treated the whole school to some festive caroling.

A quiet GFMS lunch is available to middle school students on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays in Mrs. Krems office (M211). All a student needs to do is ask Ms. Rebel for a pass in the lunch room that day. Twenty students will be accommodated during each available lunch.

Quiet activities include: board/card games, drawing, reading, working on homework, and socializing with friends. If you think your middle school students could benefit from a quiet lunch, please encourage them to obtain a pass.

Our Winter Concert is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, February 4th beginning at 7 p.m. Please save the date to enjoy this concert that will be under the direction of Mr. Fiorentino. Hope to see you there!

On Fridays, if students are all caught up with their work in Ms. Hicks class, it is Free Creation Friday in Art! During this time, students can use any materials available to create almost anything they wish. A prompt is given each week, but it is a suggested “idea-starter”… many students choose to do long term projects and continue to work on them over the course of many Fridays. This encourages creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, and fosters student choice and voice in the classroom.

Below are some examples of student creations:

In Ms. Hicks' MS Art Classes:

Students expanded on the basic concept of perspective from a previous project to create cards and gifts with a winter theme.

6th grade created snow-covered trees which look huge in the foreground of the picture.

7th grade took time perfecting the technique of painting a galaxy sky using watercolor and acrylic paint. Then we added a mountain landscape and used mark-making techniques for shading.

8th grade sketched landscapes of their choice, showing perspective in buildings, shadows, trees, or characters in their scene. These sketches then became prints to be re-created over and over again.

This message is to remind parents: please do not pick up your student(s) after school on the west or east sides of the building. Pick-up should only be out front. There are special arrangement pick-ups that happen on each side and it is making it difficult for those students. Thanks for your help in this matter.

The protocol to sign up for the late bus for the day is for a student to sign a form in the cafeteria. Students should be asking a teacher for a pass as well.

Please note that the late bus runs Monday-Thursdays, but not on any half days.

In Mrs. Fowler's math classes, students worked on scaled models and drawing blue prints as they were creating their gingerbread houses.

Any Junior/Senior interested in taking the March 14th SAT, please sign up online by February 14th at collegeboard.org

During the last TFHS Morning Meeting of the year, the Student Council ran a Ugly Sweater Contest. Each contestant explained the origin and meaning behind their sweater and then the whole school "voted" with their applause. Our winner is shown and he has bragging rights until next year! Congratulations! Loved the creativity!

With the new administrative team, we have redefined roles for this year.

Dean Rebel McKinley (rebel.mckinley@gmrsd.org) is working with all grade 7, 9, and 11 students and families.

Dean Mike Duprey (mike.duprey@gmrsd.org) is working with all grade 6, 8, 10, and 12 students and families.

Please reach out to them with any attendance or disciplinary concerns.

Gill-Montague Regional School District has worked closely with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's West/Central Statewide System of Support (SSoS) team in making improvements to our school this past summer and earlier this fall. This process of collaborative self-study, planning, and execution of plans processes we engage in with this guidance and support are close to the work under NEASC, so the district has decided to no longer continue the NEASC work. Please note that our current School Improvement Plan does include components that both the NEASC and SSoS processes stressed and we will continue this practice when we develop next year's School Improvement Plan.

All GFMS students were invited to create a poster showing their school's social contract components. We received many wonderful creations from students and they all were viewed by our two art teachers - Ms. Hicks (middle school) and Ms. Schmidt (high school). Our skilled art teachers determined the winner and they are pictured below. Their poster will be enlarged and hung around the school for all to enjoy. Congrats!

The 2019 Rise Up Dodge Ball Tournament surpassed it's fundraising record. This year we raised $836 when a total of 21 teams competed in two double elimination brackets. A TFHS's team (pictured below) took home the $100 prize! Our concession stand made just over $100 which will help pay to not only replace dodge balls, but also take us on team building field trips. We appreciate teams from the Montague Safety Department, surrounding schools and folks from the community that heard about the tournament on social media, for coming out and making an awesome night. Thanks also goes to AD Graves, the night time custodial crew and the office managers at TFHS & GFMS who made everything run smoothly. Proceeds from admissions will go to create Toiletry Totes, a hygienic variation on last year's Munch Boxes. Folks will be surveyed for their preferences for products and will receive a gift bag of some useful favorites. Below are some pictures of some Rise Up students, along with some tournament pictures.

Congrats to the winners of the Dodge Ball Tournament pictured below!

Parents and caregivers of middle and high school students are invited to come to a weekly drop-in time with the district's Family Engagement Coordinator - Stacey Langknecht. She will be in the high school conference room Monday mornings 9:00-9:45 a.m.

In Ms. Vachula-Curtis’ English class, students are reading highly engaging novels about teenagers dealing with very real, relatable issues: identity and self-perception, racism, immigration status, conflicts with parents, and first loves. After reading each chapter, students are able to choose their own comprehension activity to demonstrate their understanding. Whether they are writing a character journal - which encourages students to delve deeper into a character’s mind- or creating visual representations of the novel, Ms. V’s students are producing thoughtful and unique work!

Honors Chemistry finished the year with a forensic unit to apply the theories we’ve learned. They recreated blood splatters and did blood typing using a simulated serum. The students successfully determined a killer based on blood type, blood splatter patterns, and motive!

GFMS Yearbooks will be on sale during lunch on Mondays and Wednesdays. Order your yearbook now if you want one when they arrive in June. $10 to reserve your copy; $25 to pay for your yearbook in full.

Any 7th and 8th graders interested in attending the youth forum with local legislators on January 10th should pick up a flyer and permission form located outside the door of Ms. Krem's office. Permission forms need to be signed by a parent or guardian and returned to Ms. Krems ASAP.

During the boys' basketball game on Friday, December 13th, all proceeds from the game went to purchasing hams/turkeys to feed fifteen needy TFHS/GFMS families. Leftover money went to re-stocking of the food closets that we have at school to help feed students throughout the year. In lieu of admission t a girls' basketball game in December, attendees had the option of bringing three non-perishable food items for the resource closets. These food donation drives were run by our Athletic Leadership Council, which is a group of eight students who are leaders in athletics, academics, and in the school/community.

Huge win for the boys' hoops 69-66 at The Cage at UMass. Our very own Senior was named MVP!!! Way to go!!!

I am pleased to announce our very own TFHS Senior was awarded by the Massachusetts State Field Hockey Coaches Association with the Joanne Paquette Senior Academic All-Star Award recently. Athletic Director Adam Graves nominated her to receive this honor and she is the only one in our area to receive this award. In order to qualify, she had to meet the following requirements: on Honor Roll first quarter of senior year; and have a cumulative, unweighted GPA of 3.5 out of 4.0 through the first quarter of senior year. TFHS is proud of you!!!

We have been hard at work on our Secondary School Improvement Plan (SIP) at the administrative level. After it was presented, feedback was given by our Curriculum Coordinators and staff and then appropriate adjustments were made to the plan. I then presented it to the School Committee.

Here is the link to the PowerPoint presentation I made to the School Committee.

In December, the Rise Up class volunteered at the Franklin County Sheriff's Office Regional Dog Shelter. We walked and socialized Kit Kat and Bandit whom are ready for adoption. We also sorted and inventoried donated food, treats, collars and leashes.

Pictures from the activity the GFMS Related Arts team ran in December. Everyone had a ball!

Wednesday, January 8th: Half Day due to Professional Development

Monday, January 20th: NO SCHOOL - MLK DAY OBSERVED

Friday, January 24th: NO SCHOOL - TURN AROUND DAY (DAY IN BETWEEN SEMESTER 1 AND SEMESTER 2 ) - PLEASE NOTE THAT GRADES CLOSE ON JANUARY 23RD

Congratulations everyone!

In 7th grade Math we worked at improving our skills in plotting rational numbers on a number line through an interactive number clothesline. The directions were as follows:

Number Clothes Line Challenge

1. Teams compete to earn the most points.

a. You can earn 1 point by correctly plotting your rational number on the number/clothes line.

b. You can steal 1 point by showing/explaining why another team placed their rational number in the wrong spot. Then you must put it in the correct location.

2. Each person on a team must go at least once before anyone can go twice.

a. If you can show/explain why you know it is in the correct place, then nobody can steal your point.

1. If someone can find a reason that your explanation is incomplete, then they can attempt to move your number to the correct place (and steal your point).

TFHS students created these beautiful and unique light sculptures within Mrs. Schmidt's art classes.

With the new TFHS/GFMS administration, all student activity leaders were required to attend a training with both Joanne Blier (Director of Business & Operations) and Cynthia Caporaso (Treasurer) to ensure common understanding of both district and state requirements around student activity accounts.

Another step that we took is that our fundraising request form was reviewed with all TFHS Student Council officers. We went through the steps of creating a fundraiser: student group must first propose their idea to their advisor and get their approval, next the Student Council will either approve or deny their request, and then finally if the Student Council approves the fundraiser then the form goes to Principal Menard for the final approval. Each of these steps must be followed for all GFMS/TFHS fundraisers prior to any fundraising takes place.

Monday, January 6th:

7:45 a.m. - GFMS Morning Meeting

Tuesday, January 7th:

9:10 a.m. - TFHS Morning Meeting

Wednesday, January 8th:

HALF DAY DUE TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Friday, January 10th:

7:45 a.m. - GFMS Morning Meeting

Monday, January 13th:

7:45 a.m. - GFMS Morning Meeting

Tuesday, January 14th:

9:10 a.m. - TFHS Morning Meeting

4:00 p.m. - PTO Meeting

Friday, January 17th:

Community and Staff Newsletters Published

7:45 a.m. - GFMS Morning Meeting

Monday, January 20th:

NO SCHOOL - MLK DAY OBSERVED

Turners Falls High School

Great Falls Middle School

222 Turnpike Road

Montague, Massachusetts 01351

413-863-7200