Hello Middle School families. I hope you have a great weekend. If you were wondering, my nephew earned a third place medal last weekend. 🙂
Check out this photo, we had two students here at the MS run a drama club at SU this winter. These students got together and came up with the idea to hold a drama class 2 times per week for grades 2-4 here at Swallow Union. They contacted Meg Mastroianni at Twomey and a teacher at SU to find out how to make their plan a reality. They scheduled a meeting, created a really impressive and detailed slide presentation, and were completely prepared for every question that the adults had for them. Way to go.
Square 1 Art catalogs went home this week. Last day to order is April 11th.
Grade 8 course forms and level change forms are to be turned into Advisory teachers and are due April 7.
Best Buddies, The Best Buddies Central MA Friendship Walk at Polar Park in Worcester, MA on May 14th. As you know, this event is an incredible opportunity to show your support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and we’re so excited that your school has registered to participate.
Get in on the fun and join your school team here!
High School Join Event
Middle School Join Event
Penny Wars has been such a huge success thank you to all of the families for supporting our efforts to raise money for our Middle School PTO while engaging our students in the fun.
We will be hosting our 2nd Annual World Of Difference Culture Fair, May 9, 3:30-5. Come celebrate the beauty of the cultures we have at our Middle School. We are holding the event after school hours and we're looking for parent/community volunteers to help out by providing food samples for the different cultures and/or any other things important to their cultures (clothing for displays, figurines, decorations, etc.) If you would like to volunteer to chaperone please reach out to Mr. Bennett, one of our W.O.D. advisors at Brennan Bennett
Our Project 351 Students are getting ready to start their Cradles to Crayons clothing drive. Please see their video here. Project 35ONE Clothing Drive Slides-2.webm
Reminders
April 4th is the Annual Day of Silence, students may choose to participate. If they choose not to that is ok and if they choose to that is ok. The GLSEN Day of Silence is a national student-led demonstration where LGBTQ students and allies all around the country—and the world—take a vow of silence to protest the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ people in schools. Started in the mid 90’s by two college students, the Day of Silence has expanded to reach hundreds of thousands of students each year. Every April, students go through the school day without speaking. This year this day is April 4th.
2025 Culture and Climate Survey Information: All surveys close on the 4th of April
Student Survey: all students grade 3 and up will receive a link to their survey to complete on March 31, 2025. At the middle school they will take the survey in Social Studies/Civics.
Family/Community Survey: A link will be sent to the email we have on record for the primary parent as listed in Schoolbrains. That parent will receive a link for each student they have enrolled at GDRSD. The Family/Community Survey will accept responses from 3/24/25-4/4/25.
Don’t forget, Google Workspace for Education. There is a new regulation that directly impacts our students’ access to Additional Google Services, including YouTube, Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Translate, and a handful of others. A form from tech was sent out to families “communication will be sent to all parents and guardians” informing families that Groton-Dunstable Regional School District must obtain parental consent for students under 18 to access these services. This will go into effect on March 31st. Please click on the link and sign the permission form. Thank you.
The Real Life Fair!
We are excited to offer this fun and interactive, evening event on April 10. All middle school students and their parents are welcome to register for this hands-on, experiential learning event that will foster financial awareness, real life problem solving, and practical life skills. Parents will be a critical component of the student's success in our game of life, so be ready to have some fun with it! Tickets are available at a discount when you register early, but will also be available at the door.
We are looking for volunteers to help bring this fair to life! No experience necessary!
Find more information on our website.
Counseling Corner:
8th grade information: Please refer to the GDRMS counseling website for updates. The 8th grade students will participate in an assembly with the high school counselors on March 20th to learn about courses and scheduling. Please click here for GDRHS scheduling information. Parents should be on the lookout for information from the high school about the 25/26 Presentation for Incoming Freshman Parents.
If your child has been accepted to another school and is planning on attending that school for 9th grade, please email Brenda Reed at breed@gdrsd.org, Cara Zwicker at czwicker@gdrsd.org or Leah Nessco at lnessco@gdrsd.org. Informing us now will help ensure that your child’s school records are sent to the correct school. If you do not inform us, school records will automatically be sent to GDRHS. Here is the GDRMS release of information that needs to be completed and returned to Mrs. Reed, Ms. Zwicker or Mrs. Nessco so we can send your student’s records elsewhere. Please reach out to us if you have further questions.
Nursing update, You should have received a letter from the nursing department. If you missed it please see it here about physical examinations and immunizations.
Thank you, Nursing, Laura Gray and Nurse, Pam Fleming
School Council
Our next School Council meeting will be May 5 th, 2:45-3:45 in the south conference room. We are currently working on making connections with the Groton Council on aging to bridge the gap between our students and seniors in the area.
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;
Penny Wars March 24-April 1
Middle School Science Fair Saturday March 29th 9-12
March 31st Culture and Climate survey to students in
Q 3 closes April 4th
April 4 ½ day 11:30 dismissal
Grades are due by teachers 4/14 and will be posted to SB 4/15
Chariot of the Sun performance Grade 6
April 21st starts Spring Vacation
MCAS dates;
ELA-April 8 and 9
Math-May 6&7
Science-May 13&14
Civics-May 28&29
End of year
Grade 8 DC June 3-6
8th grade event at the Groton Country Club Thursday 6/12
Moving up ceremony is scheduled for Monday June 16th
Last day of School is June 17th 11:25 dismissal for SUMMER!!!!!
Sincerely your Groton Dunstable Regional Middle School Principal
Wendy Salvatore