We made it! The first week of remote learning is behind us! We all survived this new way of life. As we move forward, we will all get better at this, and we will learn and adapt together. This has certainly been overwhelming for all people involved, but I just wanted to thank you all for your patience and kind words and positive feedback to our staff as we try to provide equity and the very best learning opportunities available for all of our students.
Please remember as students and families navigate this new type of schooling, do not hesitate to reach out to your teachers with specific questions around assignments and how to access and complete those assignments. This includes specific questions in regard to logging into different programs including google classroom. For those families that have been distributed chromebooks from the school, if you are having issues with that chromebook, you can put in a “ticket” for our technology department to assist you. Please find the link below with a short set of directions from our Technology Director:
https://sites.google.com/haverhill-ps.org/athome/ At the bottom of the webpage is instructions on how students and parents can submit tickets for support. All they have to do is go to the Student Support Ticket system by visiting the HPS LaunchPad > ClassLink > HPS Tech Support and they can submit a ticket for support.
From a safety and resource standpoint, I am including a link to all of our community resources including, but not limited to unemployment benefits, emergency housing, meals and pantry locations, etc.:
As always, you can reach me with any questions/comments/concerns that you may have at tbetty@haverhill-ps.org. Please encourage your students to get involved and engage with their classwork and assignments, as all work at this point is mandatory and will be graded on a credit/no credit basis. As always, we are looking for students to put in their best efforts.
I would also like to report that starting next week, JG Whittier will become a new site for food distribution if you are in need or interested in picking up breakfast/lunch for your student(s). More information to follow.
Finally, as always I am including the latest information from all of your students teachers for the week to come. Please see below to see what your student’s teachers are planning for the week to come.
Grade 5:
Ms. MacDonald:
Math: This week we will be reviewing topics 3 and 4. All assignments are posted on Monday and due Friday. Be sure to watch the weekly introduction video to hear me outline each assignment.
Science: This week we will begin our lessons on Earth’s rotation. All assignments are posted on Monday and due Friday. Be sure to watch the weekly introduction video to hear me outline each assignment.
My Google Meets live office hours are listed on my expectations document which I have emailed out. If you did not receive a copy, please send me an email and I will forward it to you.
Ms. Sanguedolce: We are up and running with google classroom! All math assignments will be posted on Monday, and they will be due on Friday. I tried to keep our classroom routine going, so there is one “Do Now” per day in addition to one assignment on Pearson/Envisions. There are also extra assignments for anyone interested in more of a challenge. Office hours are provided for answering questions and providing help. Please email me at lsanguedolce@haverhill-ps.org with any concerns. For my homeroom students, I posted the PDFs for our read aloud stories. Please take some time to finish The BFG by Roald Dahl. We were almost half-way through the book, and it would be a great if you could finish it on your own.
Ms. Simes:
All students should be working within the “Week of 4/13-17” in Google Classroom.
Reading – This week, students will read and complete work for Ch. 4-6 of their novel study, “The Great Gilly Hopkins.” These assignments and the PDF of the book are in Classroom.
Additionally, beginning this week, students will weekly use myOn NEWS and other short readings. This week, we are going to Patagonia. This assignment is organized within “Classwork” for student access.
Language Arts – This is National Poetry Month, students are continuing their poetry unit and will be reading “I’m the Library Lady” with a paired text. The link to this assignment through CommonLit is in Google Classroom.
For those students that have Ms. Lees, please see her notice below.
Google Hangout Meets will continue to take place and your student will be notified of the links to when these are. Office hours are daily, 11 a.m -12 p.m., the links to access them are automatically sent to your student every day. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at michele.simes@haverhill-ps.org.
Homeroom – Students were listening to the reading of “The BFG” by Roald Dahl, I have placed the PDF on Google Classroom. Students may continue to read and find the humor in how I read to them. Hope you are all “whoppsy whiffling.” (Great in Gooblefunk!)
Mr. Marinella: Hello everyone, please continue to check Google and your emails for updates. History is working on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule, and English is Monday/Wednesday/Friday. I am encouraging all students to be reading everyday and Orange English will be posting their notes on those days. Assignments are generally due on the Friday of that week, but if any more times is needed or any questions arise please just ask via email or comments.
Ms. Lees: Miss Lees in fifth grade will be with Mr. Marinella and Mrs. Simes for ELA and with Mrs. Sanguedolce and Ms. MacDonald for Math – Orange and Purple groups for whole class Google Meets and consults as well as Small Group Google Meets for lesson support and skills practice. Parents are encouraged to set up weekly phone appointments to check in. She is available by email and directly in Google Classroom for questions about ELA, Math, and Social Studies to support all assignments. Just email your questions through Google. Students will have a weekly outline of work to be completed on Google Classroom as well as specific assignments.
Grade 6:
Ms. Delong:
Ms. DeLong’s Social Studies Classes (6-Red, Purple, Blue): We are halfway through our Ancient Civilizations project. I have seen some great work out of my students! Next week we will complete the rest of the slides. Feel free to leave a comment on Google classroom or email me if you need help anytime. My office hours will be from 12-1pm everyday and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I will host Google Meets.
Ms. DeLong’s Science Classes (6-Red, Purple, Blue): We have completed our introduction to cells and will be deepening our understanding next week as we look at vocabulary and readings about cells. I will upload the readings as well as a copy of my annotated notes. Students should be highlighting and annotating their work as well just as we would in class. Feel free to leave a comment on Google classroom or email me if you need help anytime. My office hours will be from 12-1pm everyday and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I will host Google Meets.
Ms. Aylward:
This week the students got back into the swing of things by returning to the novel studies we were doing when we left school 4 weeks ago. The students are either reading Percy Jackson or Holes and focusing on finding details from the text. For Writing, in honor of April being National Poetry Month (https://poets.org/national-poetry-month) the students will be writing various types of poems to express some of the feelings they have about the current situation. We’ve been having class meetings from 10-11 and office hours open to any student 12-1. I’m so happy to see so many more of your faces this week and hope to see the rest of you next week.
Mr. Taylor:
ELA classes will continue to work on vocabulary and comprehension using “The Giver” text posted in Google Classroom.
SS classes will continue their research into their assigned ancient civilization and expected slides per day. This assignment is due Friday April 17
Ms. Sargent: This week was a learning experience for all of us. It was nice to see so many faces that I have missed seeing the last few weeks. I have assigned math work that needs to be completed by April 17. I will be updating SchoolBrains as I receive the assignments. As of right now, we are looking at grading this term as credit/no credit. In SchoolBrains you will see the assignments with grades listed as 0 (assignment was not completed) or 100% (assignment was completed for the most part). I will be having Google Meets a couple times a week. I would ask that during this time students log on so I can take attendance and say hello. After that students may log off and use that time to complete math assignments. I will be available online during that hour so if there are any questions students may rejoin the meet and I will answer questions. I would ask that we don’t use these meeting times to socialize with friends. I know many of you haven’t seen your friends and miss them, but this time needs to be used to answer math questions that need to be explained. You may also set up a separate time to ask questions by emailing me at jsargent@haverhill-ps.org.
Ms. Rubera: Congratulations on completing Week 1 of Remote Learning! Thank you all for your flexibility and patience as we navigated and worked to develop and implement this model of teaching and learning. All assignments with feedback have been posted on Schoolbrains. Please check the portal to see your child’s work completion and progress.
To communicate with families, I will continue to send out a weekly e-mail on Sunday night with an overview for the week. The information in that e-mail is also included on my website/blog, jrubera.wordpress.com. You can subscribe to my website/blog to receive a notification every time I post, or you can e-mail me at jrubera@haverhill-ps.org so I can add you to the family contact list if you are not receiving weekly e-mails from me. Parents/Guardians can also be invited to their children’s Google classrooms; if you would like to be added, please e-mail me and I will set that up. For fun ways to stay connected, follow me on instagram: @jrubera10, Twitter: @jrubera, or TikTok: @j.rubera.
Ms. Guisti: Mrs. Guisti, Mrs. Cronin and Ms. Blanchette are supporting students by co-teaching during google meets for math and ELA. Assignments have been modified on google classrooms. Mrs. Guisti’s ELA small group met to work on the novel Holes. Next week we will also return to working in Read Live. Mr. Taylor’s ELA groups also are working with an online reading program called Lexia. In math, Mrs. Guisti, Mrs. Cronin, and Ms. Blanchette have worked with small groups to go over percentages and basic skills. Small groups and co-taught classes will continue next week. Please remember that office hours are 12-1 everyday but I can call, email or google meet with you at other flexible times if you need support. Please email me at nancy.guisti@haverhill-ps.org
Grade 7:
Ms. MacKinnon: Hello 7th grade parents!! Just wanted to give you all a shout out for the great job you all are doing, managing your kids online schedules and getting them onto the google meets. I had a chance to do an online meet up with every class and it was great to see their smiling faces.
Science work for the upcoming week (April 13-17) will be on Natural Hazards. There will be 7 assignments on stemscopes along with a powerpoint, and two videos. Please have your students submit all the natural hazards work through stemscopes. the only exception to this is the vocabulary. they need to take a picture of the vocab they wrote down and email me, or send through google docs. Please have all Natural Hazards completed by Friday April 17th. I will archive them after the 17th.
Again, thank you for all your help and stay healthy and safe.
Ms. DiGloria: Students in grade 7 Social Studies should have completed two assignments this week through Google Classroom. Students can continue to work on these assignments if they are not done, and if they have any questions, they can comment on Google Classroom posts or can email Ms. DiGloria directly. Next week, students will have assignments on Tuesday and Thursday. All class announcements are communicated through Google Classroom for students, and through email for parents. If you are not receiving update emails from Ms. DiGloria, please email her immediately: krista.digloria@haverhill-ps.org.
Mr. LeGrand: I’m using Google Classroom and Google Meet for all my classes. Students are expected to continue working on iReady and complete other assignments from my Google Classroom. All announcements, assignments and assessments will be found in my Google Classroom. I will share with my students different ways of getting in contact with me if they have any questions or need help completing their assignments. Please have your child check their Google Classroom daily. You can email me if you have any questions.
Ms. Berthiaume: Hello students and families! We got through our first week and I’m really pleased! If you have a challenge with submitting your work through Google Classroom, remember that you can also share through Google Drive (just like you submitted your essays this year). You may also email me your work directly. As long as it is sent, you are okay!
I truly appreciate the help students are giving each other on the Google Classroom stream. Many of you have addressed an issue for a classmate before I have– you are so quick! Thank you, everyone! We will be working on some more myOn news articles. After April Vacation, we will shift gears a bit. Stay tuned and stay well!
Ms. Marciano: All weekly assignments will be posted every Monday on Google Classroom.
On the “A” Weeks, students can work on ELA assignments on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On the “B” Weeks, students can work on ELA assignments on Tuesday and Thursday. Students can also choose to complete their assignments, in order, all in the same day.
Students will also receive a task list for the week, which should be completed in that order. The task list contains the assignments, due dates, and how to turn the assignment in. Each assignment on Google Classroom this week will have a video that goes along with it, explaining the directions to students.
Ms. Senior: For students on IEPs, the Special Education department will be rolling out a form which is a snapshot of your student’s services and accommodations. Much communication is happening among students during our lessons as students navigate the Remote Learning model for the first time this past week. I have worked with a number of students and parents on Mathematics questions, ELA requests and other friendly messages wishing safety and health to all. During Office Hours (12:00 to 1:00pm) I answer queries relating to all areas of learning, modifications, accommodations, specific instruction and more.
Ms. Bilmazes: I will be continuing to join Mrs. Trombly for Math google meets. They are Tuesdays 12:00-1:00 for Yellow group and Wednesdays 12:00-1:00 for Orange group. Please feel free to email me with any questions, concerns, etc. as you have been doing at cbilmazes@haverhill-ps.org
Please follow the assignments for Math and ELA and I will be contacting individual students on my caseload for further modifications.
Grade 8:
Mr. Blaustein: Reading and ELA- Blue + Yellow-We are now reading “The Outsiders”. Assignments are posted in Google Classroom and a link to the novel is there as well. There are currently three assignments in Google classroom on the first three Chapters. Look for all communications through Google classroom.
Civics-Red + Purple- Assignments are available for Chapters 4 and 5 in the McGraw-Hill cue. You access them the same way you do in school. Begin at the HPS Launchpad, then click on class link and then the McGraw-Hill link. We can communicate either through Google classroom or emails.
My Office Hours are : Reading & ELA Monday,Wednesday,Friday: 11:00-12:00 Civics: Tuesday, Thursday: 12:00-1:00
You may ask me questions during this time period that you have about the material.
I will be scheduling time in Google Hangouts to answer questions and respond to student needs. I would like to get feedback from students as what type of academic support I can best provide. Look for an invitation to these Hangouts in your e mail or Google classroom.
Ms. Deblasis:
Complete Lessons 26 & 27 Assessments posted on Google Classroom due Monday 4/13.
Lessons 9 & 10 Assessments will be posted on Google Classroom on Monday. They will be due on Friday 4/17.
Office Hours for the week of 4/13 to 4/17 are:
Monday 12:00 – 1:00
Wednesday 12:00 – 2:00
Friday 12:00 – 1:00
Mr. Harris:
Math (Blue and Purple) – starting next week we will be moving to a menu of options. I will go over what this means LIVE on google hangout from 12-1 on Monday (and will post a recorded video explaining if you cannot be there live). A brief explanation: You will have your choice of assignments worth different points, with the goal of earning 25 points each week. Many assignments will be posted daily, while others will be week long efforts. Please check google classroom for assignments.
Civics (Yellow and Orange) – we will wrap up our look at the Civil Rights movement by writing a brief essay (2-3 paragraphs) on an amendment of the students choice. Choices on amendments and directions for the essay will be posted to google classroom.
I am available on google hangouts daily, with links posted in google classroom. I am happy to assist in any way I can. Times you can find me online are below.
Math – Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12-1
Civics – Tuesday and Thursday 12-1
All subjects – Monday 1-2
Ms. Sullivan: All 8th grade science assignments will be posted on google classroom. I will have a google meet set up on Tuesday and Thursday for any questions. Please email me with any questions csullivan@haverhill-ps.org.
For civics (blue group) the assignments will be posted on google classroom. I will have a google meet set up on Tuesday and Thursday. Please email with any questions at csullivan@haverhill-ps.org.
Ms. Kaiser: Hello JGW Grade 8! It was wonderful to see so many of you utilizing Google Classroom this week. You are displaying “Poet’s Pride” in your education as you embrace the technology to access your assignments and correspond with your teachers. And, your commitment to “remote learning” is undoubtedly contributing to the worldwide effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. As you do your part, scientists and medical researchers all over the globe are doing their “homework” too; they are working diligently to develop treatments, and discover vaccines for COVID-19. It is a worldwide effort that highlights the power of collaboration. Your elected representatives in Congress are also working together to draft legislation aimed at aiding families whose lives have been adversely effected by the virus; they are busy writing a number of bills to be signed into law by President Trump.
SPECIALISTS:
Mr. Gariepy (Music): Mr. G has a treasure trove of material on his website, whittiermiddlemusic.webs.com! There are daily yoga exercises, weekly news reports, and links to school appropriate games and resources.
I also have all of my class work available through Google Classroom. I provide a weekly lesson that comes with a weekly assignment. I will also be providing fun activities every other day to keep your kiddos busy. If you need access to the Google Class, please email robert.gariepy@haverhill-ps.org
Ms. Boulger (Art): Assignments are being posted regularly on Google Classroom for Art. All the students have been added to their classrooms by homeroom and have access to them already. Ms Boulger is aware that students do not have or have limited access to art supplies and materials at home, therefore all assignments only require paper and a writing utensil to complete.
Ms. Reynolds (Health): In Health we will continue to post info about Corona Virus safety as well as other Health topics from the curriculum. There will be no sexuality unit information presented during remote learning time.
Mr. Demarais (Physical Education): I will to continue to be using google classroom to post fitness workouts. I will be sending out some fitness challenges as well. The best thing students can do is to set up a daily workout schedule that suits their individual needs.
SUPPORT STAFF:
Ms. Midolo (Adjustment Counselor): Please encourage your child to access my google classroom on a daily basis, as I post helpful tips and information consistently. Google classroom is where your child will also find the link and times to “google meets” where weekly social groups are being held. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me.
My office hours are M-F, 2:00-3:00 pm.
Stay safe and be well!
Ms. Vlahos (Guidance Counselor):
Students & families Grades 5-8: As we continue to navigate through these difficult times together please know that the I am available to connect with students and families. I continue to be available by email (jvlahos@haverhill-ps.org), please do not hesitate to reach out. My office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 930-11am.
8th Grade Specific Information:
I am currently working with 8th grade students on solidifying high school plans and course selections. All 8th grade students and families are to complete the Google form (in the links below – English and Spanish available) regarding high school plans & course selections by this Friday,April 17th.
I encourage all 8th grade students to join my Google Classroom to keep current on important updates and information, much of which will pertain to high school transition as we move forward into the Spring. The class code is: bmsppfo.
Missing you all – stay well
Ms. Greenwood (Student Support Center): The SSC will be sending out brief assignments, fun videos, and positive vibes each week to earn points. You may email Ms. Greenwood or Ms. Christine at any time for any reason, we are here to support you!
The Ok project is still waiting for some of you to join in, those of you that have been recording your acts of kindness and right behaviors are earning tons of points already. The rest of you JUMP IN and Don’t miss out on all the good stuff. And most of importantly, Keep Smiling!
Mr. Newell (Student Support Coordinator): Hello JGW community, As we all know that for many families, this is a challenging time. I am available by email if you have any questions or concerns.
Ms. O (Speech): All of my speech friends have been added to a specific Google classroom. Please make sure that you know your classroom code and have signed in. If you have any trouble accessing your classroom, please be sure to let me know right away!
Work has been posted in each classroom. Please do not get overwhelmed – no work will be graded! I just want to see that you give it a try!!
I will be scheduling a Google meet early next week when you can ask any questions you may have – – stay tuned! In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out for help.
Thanks, friends, and I’ll talk to you soon!
OTHER NEWS:
PTO News: JG Whittier PTO is now listed as a charity on AmazonSmile. What does this mean? You shop. Amazon gives. Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. Support your charitable organization by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com.Please support JG Whittier PTO by using the following link when you shop, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/90-0135139 or by selecting John Greenleaf Whittier PTO as your charity of choice.
TITLE 1 NEWS: John G Whittier is a Title 1 school. This means that we are a school that uses Title 1 funds to provide a range of services to support improving achievement for all students in academic and social/emotional learning. We encourage all families to work in partnership with their child’s teachers to ensure student success. The Title 1 Parent Facilitators at JGW are Jean Sargent and Jen Rubera. Please contact them with any questions (jsargent@haverhill-ps.org and jrubera@haverhill-ps.org).
During this unprecedented time, we would like to provide families with some resources to help students with academics and social/emotional learning.
TRACK: The track season is unfortunately still on hold. Coaches have been posting workouts on the Track Instagram page (@jgwtrackxc) on Tuesdays and Thursdays with other check-ins during the week and weekends. If school resumes in person, track practices will also resume on Wednesday and Thursday mornings. The last update from the MIAA was that high school spring sports would happen if we return on May 4th, so we are hopeful that would mean middle school sports would happen as well. There has not been an update since then. Track shirt orders are currently on hold at this time. If the season is held, we will order the shirts once school resumes. If not, we will work with families to refund orders. If you have any other questions, please email Coach DeLong (mdelong@haverhill-ps.org) or Coach Marinella (michael.marinella@haverhill-ps.org).
