Hello Middle School families. I hope you had a great weekend.
New Information:
On Tuesday we had Chris Poulos Youth Motivational Speaker and world champion athlete. Chris specializes in core values, anti-bullying, and character education all the while riding his BMX bike and doing stunts. His message was around; saying thank you, respect, practice, trying, being nice and kind and treating others the way you want to be treated. His assembly was made possible by the Town of Groton’s Trust Funds’ Lecture Series
Upcoming assemblies also made possible by the Town of Groton’s Trust Funds’ Lecture Series
January 9 – Dorothy Minear, Spinning as a Revolutionary Act (Grade 5)
January 19 – Jason Purdy, Illusionist
January 30 – Jarrett Korsoczka, NY Times best-selling author/illustrator
Squishmallows for a Cause!
Thank you to all that donated money and Squishmallows!! Today we packed up the Squishmallows and headed to Worcester! It took four SUVS to carry all 355+ Squishmallows. We more than met our goal of 60! The hospital will use the winter/holiday ones in an event on De. 15th! I could not have imagined that this project would have been this popular! I can't thank you all enough for taking part!
Best Buddies,
The link to sign up is bestbuddies.org/join. I don't think the list has changed since the beginning of the year (although Kim was kind enough to catch an error about January when we sent it out earlier), but just in case, we'll be meeting:
January 10, February 14, March 27, April 10, and May 22.
Grade 8 families,
If you have not registered for the DC trip there is still time. Ms. Lapierre will be sending home by break with your student. So ask them for it… this is a test. Chaperone form, behavior contract and a medical form.
Cheer Clinic, There is a cheer clinic on Wednesday ⅓ 4:40-6:30. It is open to 8th grade students. The flyer will be on our Middle School website as of Monday 1/18.
School Council meeting, we had our 2nd school council meeting on Monday 12/4. Our next meeting will be Monday January 8th in the South Library. All are welcome to attend.
Health Office Reminders:
Positive Covid test - Students need to stay home and isolate for 5 days. They may return to school on day 6 as long as symptoms are resolved or improved and they must be fever free for greater than 24 hours without the help of medications. Students must wear a mask until day 10 unless they test negative for covid on day 5 or later.
Fever of 100 Degrees F or higher - Students need to be fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication such as Tylenol or Motrin) before returning to school.
Vomiting or Diarrhea - Students may return to school 24 hours after the last episode.
Contagious Bacterial Infection (such as strep throat, conjunctivitis, impetigo, etc.) – Students need to be fever free and on antibiotics for a minimum of 24 hours before returning to school.
To order Free Covid tests:
https://www.covid.gov/tools-and-resources/resources/tests
Covid Guidelines for School:
Project Mitten, Project Mitten is an annual fund-raising campaign by the students of the GDRMS. All proceeds benefit the Children’s Community Fund and other local charities. Each grade is participating in various fundraising activities. You should be receiving emails from your grade level teachers. Donations are completely voluntary and no student will be excluded for participation in any activity. Some families like to make a flat donation, while others like to “pay as you participate.” All donations are gratefully accepted. If you are writing a check all checks should be made out to, “Town of Groton”. Thank you for everything you do to support our Project Mitten campaign.
Middle School Concerts, Our Chorus and Band students are working hard to prepare for their consents coming up next week. We look forward to seeing you there.
Our Chorus Concert is Tuesday 12/19 7pm and our Band Concert is Thursday 12/21 7pm
Reminders:
Winter Assistance, if you or your family need any assistance going into the winter months here is an Assistance Request Form that you can fill out for support.
School Council, We held our first school council meeting on Monday 10/23. All members were present. Our next meeting will be 12/4/23 at 2:45 in the South Library. These meetings will also be posted on our Middle School website. On the website you will find our meetings on the calendar and in the Menu-> Documents -> School Council you will find our minutes.
GDRMS Handbook:
Please spend some time with your students getting familiar with our handbook.
Middle School Core Values. Please talk with your students about these words. Use them at home.
Ownership, Own your space, Own your learning, Own your behavior.
Awareness, Be aware of yourself and others, Be aware of your surroundings, and Be aware of your impact.
Kindness, Be kind to yourself, Be kind to others, and Be kind to your surroundings.
Dates to remember:
Teachers update SchoolBrains, 11/17, 12/1, 12/15 and ⅕
Winter Vacation Monday 12/25 - Tuesday 1/2
Sincerely your Groton Dunstable Regional Middle School Principal
Wendy Salvatore