Hello Middle School families. I hope you are having a great weekend.
This week is a Spirit week culminating in a Kids night out. In both buildings we will have an activity on Friday night from 6-8. In the North we will have a dance and games and in the Stoddart building we will have an open gym and games in the cafe. Each event is 5.00 and we will be selling concessions.
Grade 8 families, we are having an information night regarding the Washington DC trip on Tuesday 10/29 at 6pm in the PAC. If you are considering sending your 8th grader with us you are encouraged to attend. Hope to see you there.
Cell Phones: Parents, could you please have a conversation with your child about using their phones to record other students. We have had a few instances either downtown or on the bus of students recording others without their permission. We are hoping that we can partner with you on this topic.
And.. Speaking of cell phones we had a really good turnout for our family viewing of SCREENAGERS on Tuesday night. Thank you to all who came out. It is such an important topic. As a building we have talked about showing the film to our students. I have reached out to SCREENAGERS to get a different license and with the help that the Groton Trust originally gave us we still have the funds to pay for the upgraded license. We will be able to show the film to all of our students and they will give us some curriculum also.
Here are some links that our PTO put together to assist families with conversations aroudn technolgy.
American Academy of Pediatrics: Conversation Starters about Media
American Academy of Pediatrics: Questions about Parental Controls on Digital Devices
Technology damages, we are trending up in our technology breakage. As a reminder we are now charging families for chromebook breakage. Students are dropping them, not carrying them safely, not plugging them in correctly. I appreciate any help with this that you can provide. Maybe a reminding conversation with your child about being careful with their device.
We had Dunstable students visit Lowell Tech this week and that tour went very well. This coming Friday our Groton students will visit Nashoba tech.
School Council met on Monday 10/21 we discussed doing a Student of the Month, but rather of the month of the quarter. Seeing as quarter 1 ends next week we will take some time to present the idea to our teachers and start this 2nd quarter.
Our next School Council meeting will be December 9, 2:45-3:45 in the south conference room.xcxc
A message from our counselors:
If your student is applying to another school for next year, please read this information about our process for requesting teacher recommendations and school transcripts. Recommendations from teachers and counselors will start to go out after the first term grades have been published to families. Please allow at least 3 weeks for staff to complete the forms.
For more information about 8th grade transitions, please refer to the GDRMS counseling department website. This page will continuously be updated.
Lowell Tech visit for Dunstable only students: October 24
Nashoba Tech visit for Groton students: November 1
Nashoba Tech Open House: November 3 from 12:00-3:00
PTO Reminders;
PTO Logo Design ContestGDMS PTO is looking for a new logo design to represent our mission in a creative way! All GDRMS students (grades 5-8) are invited to enter with winners selected in December. Full contest rules and submission criteria can be found at www.gdmspto.com/events!
GD FUNd
Our annual fundraising event has a new name! The GD FUNd serves to support our mission and many of our initiatives/activities. Our goals for this year include funding grade level activities, parent information workshops, and school wide events. Your support allows us to achieve these goals and continue to support our middle school community. Please consider making a donation today! Click here to donate, or visit our Events page.
Email List & Social Media
Subscribe to our email list on www.gdmspto.com to stay up to date on upcoming events!
Connect with us on social media for current events and helpful reminders.
Facebook @Groton Dunstable Middle School PTO or click here
Instagram @GDMSPTO or click here
Reminders:
The Middle School handbook can be found on our Middle School website. Link to Website
Our Core Values:
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.
Important dates.
Quarter closes November 1st
DC information night 10/29 PAC 6-7
Picture Retake 11/4
Tuesday November 5th no school, Voting at the Middle School
Sincerely your Groton Dunstable Regional Middle School Principal
Wendy Salvatore