Here is the latest information to share with you all for this upcoming week!
STUDENT BELONGINGS:
We will be distributing all of your student’s personal belongings from their lockers back to you on Monday and Tuesday (5/18 & 5/19) rain or shine.
The JGW staff worked hard emptying lockers and placing belongings in brown paper bags labeled with your student’s name on them. I must state that there is a possibility because students share lockers, that some belongings may have accidentally been put into your student’s locker partner’s bag. We did take great pride in trying to make sure that this did not happen, however, it is possible. We ask that when you get home with your student’s belongings that if you are missing something or have something extra, that you should first have your student contact their locker partner.
Here is how distribution days will work:
Monday, May 18th from 1pm-5pm any 5th and 6th grade parents may come to the school to pick up their student’s belongings. This will work much like the chromebook distribution. We ask that you loop around the main parking lot and then pull up in front of the main doors as to avoid traffic backing up onto Concord St. Once in front of the school, a staff member will be there to great you and ask which student you are picking up for. We will then retrieve your student’s bag and bring it to your car.
Tuesday, May 19th from 1pm-5pm any 7th and 8th grade parents may come to the school to pick up their student’s belongings. The procedure will be exactly the same as the one listed for Monday.
There is a possibility that your student does not have any belongings here with us at the school, as we did come across several empty lockers. So it will be important for you to communicate with your student to make sure that they have things at the school that need to be picked up.
Finally, we have developed a Lost and Found. Please look at the album created below at our 48 lost and found items. You are able to make a comment right on the photo if you are claiming the item, and we will then make sure to put that belonging with your student’s items.
Please note that we have taken great care to retrieve and carefully place all of your student’s personal belongings safely in a bag for you to pick up. We however are not responsible for any lost or damaged items, and please note that we did have to cut off several combination locks because the combinations were not shared with the student’s homeroom teacher.
PTO News:
The PTO met Wednesday evening and voted unanimously to purchase yearbooks for all 8th graders. They have been ordered! Here are the meeting minutes: (see attachment)
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.
YEARBOOK: Our yearbooks are ready! Please see the link below to view the online order form. As mentioned just above, the 8th graders will all be receiving their yearbooks for free this year! We are excited about that!! We have also extended the time that you can place an order in grades 5-7 for your own yearbook until Monday May 18th. This is the absolute last day you can purchase a yearbook. The price for the yearbook is $15. When yearbook orders are received and the yearbooks are shipped, we will set up a day to distribute the yearbooks to students. Please stay tuned!
As you are all clearly aware, our volleyball season was cut short due to COVID-19. Now that we are all relatively settled, we do have to ask for the return of the uniforms provided to your student. The boys team received shirts and jerseys, while the girls team received only jerseys.
We would kindly ask that you drop the uniforms off on either Monday or Tuesday between 1-5, the same time that Mr. Betty has provided for locker items to be picked up. Hopefully this will take an extra trip off of your plate. It would be extremely helpful if the uniform is placed into a plastic bag with a paper inside with your student’s name on it, as one of the coaches may not be the one to take the uniform from you.
If you cannot make it to drop the uniform off at this time, please reach out to myself or Mr. Taylor (todd.taylor@haverhill-ps.org) so that we can arrange something with you for the uniform to be returned.
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.
Grade Level Remote Learning Schedules: Please see the attached schedules for each grade to utilize as a guide as to when your students should be working on each particular subject. We recognize that each family is different and that your student may not always be able to follow this schedule exactly as it is written, and that is understandable. The important thing is that the school work get completed and turned in when it is most convenient for you and your family, taking into account your individual circumstances and prioritizing safety and well-being first. As always, if you have specific questions about any assignments, or how to access those assignments, please reach out to the specific teachers with your questions. I am also available via email at tbetty@haverhill-ps.org if you or your students have specific questions and would like to set up a phone call or virtual meeting with me.
Here is a reminder of some resources that could be useful to your family or others that you know:
For Technology: Basic login support for students and parents should always start with the classroom teacher. Then if there is something the teacher can not assist with please visit this webpage: https://sites.google.com/haverhill-ps.org/athome/ At the bottom of the webpage there are instructions on how students and parents can submit tickets for support. All you have to do is go to the Student Support Ticket system by visiting the HPS LaunchPad > ClassLink > HPS Tech Support and you can submit a ticket for support.
There is also information updated on the HPS website under community resources. https://www.haverhill-ps.org/haverhill-community-programs/. This includes food pantry and other resources as well as weekly updates on available therapeutic resources in the community including wait lists.
GRADE 5:
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. Please remember to attach or share your work with me. 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.! Take a well deserved break next week, you have all been working hard and I am extremely proud of all of you!
Ms. Simes: I want to give a “BIG SHOUT OUT” to the following students who completed all of their Week 4 ELA assignments and are my “ELA Superstars of the Week”: Eve F., Autumn G., Dylan G., Ryan H., Paige K., Saniyah M., Kaelie M., Aiden M., Dale P., Angelina R., Halley S., Sophia B., William C., Dillan D., Kayleigh D., Cameron F., Shannon G., Cash M., Jonah N., Jude O., Mason P., Jayden Q., Jonathan R., Colby S., John B., Lauryn C., Ethan G., Liam G., Adriel H., Brodie M., Baylee P., Yilliannis R., Zenia R., and Enmanuel V. We will continue with our Google Meets on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, the link is located on the front page of your student’s classroom page. Students will be working within their weekly folder of, “Week of 5/18 – 5/22.” They will continue reading within the myON app, “Clear Skies Above?” and complete a writing piece that will focus on “Cause and Effect.” Students will share their “Firework” figurative language analysis during one of our Google Meets and we will complete our reading of “The Great Gilly Hopkins.” Office hours are everyday from 11:00 a.m – 12:00 p.m. for questions or assistance with assignments. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at michele.simes@haverhill-ps.org. Have a great weekend.
Ms. MacDonald:
Math: This week we will be starting a new unit with new material. All students in the purple group are required to join our Google meet at 10 am (Link can be found in Google Classroom) so that I can explain the new format of assignments.
Science: Students in all color groups will continue their understanding of our star, the Sun. All assignments are due Friday, May 22nd. Please make sure students are joining Google meets if they are finding the material to be confusing.
Ms. Sanguedolce: We are continuing to learn new math vocabulary, practice math facts, write word problems, and review important math concepts like multi-digit multiplication and long division. Congratulations to the following students for completing all of their math work last week: Orange Group – Joseph, Jadelyn, Giovanni, Christopher, Kayleigh, and Abigail; Red Group – Mason, Dillan, Jonathan R., and Colby; Yellow Group – Lauryn, Valentina, Ethan, Liam, Adriel, Brodie, Christopher, Baylee, Yilliannis, and Jeremy.
Ms. Lees: Miss Lees and her fifth grade reading groups learn more about Henry’s adventures in “Chocolate Fever.” Students should regularly be logging onto Lexia if it is assigned to them. Orange and Purple small group Google Meets and lessons continue on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for both Math and ELA. Students are encouraged to join all of these as well as to check in regularly with Ms. MacDonald, Mrs. Sanguedolce, and Mrs. Simes during Conference Hours. Additional teacher conference time to support students work completion will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 – 11:00. Parents are encouraged to set up weekly phone appointments for check-ins and appointments already set up will continue. Help is available by email (alees@haverhill-ps.org) and directly in Google Classroom for questions about ELA, Math, and History to support all assignments. See Classwork page in the Google Classrooms to see weekly assignments.
GRADE 6:
Ms. Delong:
Science (Red, Blue, Purple) – Our exploration of cells is complete and I am so proud of how everyone handled the difficult material. I want to give a special shout out to Evey Mansour, Aneida Ortega, Allyssa Rodgers, and Jack Perkins for making some Edible Cells as part of this unit. They came out great! We will be starting the Human Body this week through readings and questions.
Social Studies (Red, Blue, Purple) – We are starting our LAST rotation of Ancient Civilization projects before reviewing all civilizations. Since you are all familiar with the research process, you will have 2 weeks to finish the project. Those projects will be due on Friday, May 29. Everyone will be assigned a new civilization Monday so please check the Google Classroom for your new assignment!
I will have Google Meets Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 12-1pm. Thank you to all my students for their continuous hard work during remote learning!
Ms. Aylward: This week students continued their mythological journey with Percy Jackson. They met both Ares and Medusa, as long as they’re keeping up with their reading that is. Students are also working on Argument Writing, so they can back up their claims with evidence and reasoning, so I apologize if they start to sound like lawyers. I ask that families please check to make sure their student’s work is complete before it is submitted. Thank you for your help, and stay safe!
Ms. Rubera: Mrs. Rubera: I am so proud of all grade 6 families! You are all working so hard to learn and grow. We have settled nicely into our routine for learning. Students, I appreciate your effort, respectful behavior, and cooperation during our Google Meets as we solve problems and learn about cell organelles. Families, I am so grateful for your support and frequent communication during this time. Thank you!
Mr. Taylor:
Social Studies – We are starting our LAST rotation of Ancient Civilization projects before reviewing all civilizations. Since you are all familiar with the research process, you will have 2 weeks to finish the project. Those projects will be due on Friday, May 29. If you have completed projects you may choose between Greece, Rome, or Egypt. If not, you will have to do the previous civilization you have not completed.
ELA- We continue Learning what Jonas’s new role in the community will be in chapters 11 and 12 of The Giver. Vocabulary and comprehension questions to go with this new information.
Ms. Sargent: Hi Grade 6, Keep up the great work. I know it is getting harder and harder as the weather is getting nicer and nicer!!! I want to remind you that as soon as you finish a paper you can send it in so I can give you immediate credit/feedback. If you need any help please attend the google meets where I am conducting lessons that will help you. Also, if you could please make sure your name and lesson # are placed on the work that you are doing that would help me tremendously. Again, I miss seeing you all!!!
Ms. Guisti: Great job grade six in continuing with your online assignments! Mrs. Guisti has been holding small group google meets during math and ELA in order to meet student needs and break down tasks. In ELA Mrs. Guisti’s small group continues to read and discuss Holes and work on online reading programs. Ms. Blanchette and Mrs. Cronin continue to support students in google meets as well. Ms. Blanchette has been holding small group google meet for both math and ELA. Mrs. Guisti, Ms. Blanchette and Mrs. Cronin have all been supporting students during one to one google meets and phone calls. Please let us know if you would like one to one support and we can schedule that. Please email me at nancy.guisti@haverhill-ps.org
GRADE 7:
Ms. DiGloria: In Week 5 of Remote Learning, students looked at our civilizations at WAR – the Persian War and the Punic Wars. There were two assignments this week (Monday and Wednesday), and an enrichment activity for FUN Friday. For Week 6 next week, students will have assignments on Tuesday and Thursday. I will continue to accept late assignments – please go back and check to see if your child turned in all their assignments. You can check SchoolBrains (M is missing), or look on Google Classroom; if the assignments are gray, they are done, but if they are colored (purple for Purple group, etc), then they are not done. Be aware that I return work to students if they submit blank assignments – there is no credit if they don’t do any part of the assignment. Feel free to email me with questions!
Ms. Marciano: During Week 6, students will complete a Flipgrid Check In video, read Chapters 11-15 of “Freak the Mighty” and complete ten comprehension questions. Students will also work on identifying the sequence of events within Chapters 11-15.
Ms. Berthiaume: We got right into the Oral Tradition unit last week with some myth writing. I loved reading your original stories! I can tell that many of you enjoy this section of grade 7 literature from the positive feedback I got. Thanks! We will continue our unit this week. Please be sure to turn in your assignments. Do not hesitate to contact me if you need assistance with anything. One more thing: I will hang onto your writing folders and give them to you when you are in grade 8, so don’t worry. It will be fun to look back a year later to see how much you have grown as a writer!
Ms. MacKinnon: This week we will be finishing up kinetic energy. It will be a B week, which means the kids will have science Monday, Wednesday and Friday. For Monday they will have a reading with questions on stemscopes. Wednesday, we will do an online review of kinetic energy and Friday they will have their quiz. To log onto stemscopes, please go to the Haverhill Launchpad and click on the stemscopes icon. All work will be listed there. I also plan to have a google meet on Monday at 10 am to go over the week with the kids. Please make sure your child logs onto the meeting as it shows their participation for science and helps with any questions. Thank you for all your help in getting through these uncharted times. Your children have been doing a great job!!
Mr. LeGrand: This week we started working on rational numbers: terminating decimals, repeating decimals and ordering rational numbers. We will continue working on adding and subtracting rational numbers. Please encourage your student to log on to my Google Classroom for assignments and updates. As always, do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions. My email: wlegrand@haverhill-ps.org.
Ms. Senior: Clearing out the lockers was bittersweet; it showed how much we miss the students being in the building. ELA and Math Google Meets were held and there were some new faces to cyber-greet. Lots of emails to students and parents so I could touch base with support and well wishes. Half-way through May!
Ms. Bilmazes: It’s been great seeing and talking to many of you in the google meets. Those of you who wrote myths this past week, great job! Keep up with your studies and it’s not too late to pass in missing work. Reach out if you need help.
GRADE 8:
Mr. Harris:
Please make sure your student is going into google classroom to find their assignments and that they are clicking “turn in” when finished. Many students are missing that button and it is not getting back to Mr. Harris.
Please try to stay up to date on your workload. Math will be assigned on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Civics will be assigned on Monday for the week.
Ms. Deblasis: Ms. Deblasis Grade 8 Math Classes: Lesson 13 Assessment- solving linear equations with rational coefficients is due today, Friday 5/15. Next weeks Lesson 14 is solutions of linear equations. Google Meet/Office Hours are: Monday 12-1, Wednesday 12-2, and Friday 12-1. All assignments are posted on Google Classroom.
Mr. Blaustein:
8th Grade Civics- Red & Purple
Google Meets are Thursdays from 1-2. Look for the invitation in your Google classroom. I post them on Sunday nights.
I will be opening up assignments for Chapter 6 The Executive Branch this week 5/18-5/22 as well as including an article from NewsELA.
If there are any questions please email me at jblaustein@haverhill-ps,org
8th Grade ELA- Blue and Yellow
Google Meets are Wednesdays from 1-2. Look for the invitation in your Google classroom. I post them on Sunday nights.
I will be opening up new assignments for Chapter 6 The Outsiders this week 5/18-5/22 as well as a discussion question for our Google meet.
In English, students should have read through chapter 4 of The Outsiders. We have getting into a rhythm of reading a chapter and answering questions on Monday, a writing activity on Wednesday that reinforces skills learned in class, and a more creative assignment on Fridays to try and keep things fresh and interesting during quarantine. I would also like to repeat to both families and students that if you are behind in the work, I do not want you to panic about getting everything done. All of the assignments are on my Google Classroom, and students can turn in any missing work at any time. My email is mlewis@haverhill-ps.org if you have any further questions. As always, be safe!
Ms. Sullivan: All 8th grade science assignments will be posted on google classroom. I have google meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11-12 and office hours Tuesday from 1-2. I hold them to either answer questions or to do the assignment together. Students should be checking their google classrooms for daily updates.
For the blue group the civics assignments will be posted on google classroom. I have google meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12-1 and office hours Tuesday from 1-2. I hold them to either answer questions or to do the assignment together. Students should be checking their google classrooms for daily updates.
Ms. Brown: Dear grade 8, first, please continue try to attend your teacher’s Google Meets, on Google Classroom. Second, it was great to speak directly to some of you this week, and to see you. It felt wonderful and thank you to some of you for sharing your cell phone numbers with me! My Google Voice is: (978) 361-3024 and my email: kbrown1@haverhill-ps.org. Office hours are Wednesday: 1:00-2:00. I hope you are able to get outside and enjoy the great weather this weekend. I was at J.G. Whittier on Thursday, and I was able to get some beautiful picture of the fields, and of the blooming cherry trees. Spring has sprung! I look forward to seeing you on Monday!
Ms. Kaiser: To JGW students and families, Creativity shines through again this week in the work submitted by JGW students! Grade 8 students, I was very impressed by all your different solutions to the Animal Adaptations assignment. Your drawings were terrific! And even though some of you found yourselves at home without your usual array of colored pencils for science, or graph paper on hand for math, you managed to make it work. You, too, are “adapting”! Remember, first and foremost, your teachers are looking for your ideas and your effort; they understand your classroom environment has changed. So keep the ideas flowing, and see where remote learning can take you! Be sure to attend your Google Meets so that you can continue to collaborate with your teachers as well as each other. See you there next week!
SPECIALISTS:
Physical Education (Mr. Demarais): We will continue with our workouts and challenges. Stay tuned for a student created workout challenge. I realize that everyone is busy, but I really want to hear from more students in regards to what you are doing to maintain a healthy lifestyle! Please take a moment to post to me what you are doing to keep your body moving!
There will be a Coffeehouse musical performance night this Monday night at 5pm! You can view the coffeehouse performance live on Monday night at 5pm on my website, whittiermiddlemusic.webs.com, or on my facebook page at facebook.com/whittiermiddlemusic.
The talent show is coming up!!! This year’s talent show will be held on Monday, June 1st at 5pm and consists of a variety of fun, interesting, and entertaining acts of talent!! If you are still interested in participating, it’s not too late!! Email me or send me a message on Google Classroom. There are prizes available for certain participants. The talent show will air on Monday, June 1st @ 5pm on my website, whittiermiddlemusic.webs.com
Art (Ms. Boulger): All assignments for grades 5-8 art classes are posted in Google Classroom. There is no need to buy any art supplies, all art assignments will focus around only using recycled materials that can be found at home.
Health (Ms. Reynolds): In Health we will be exploring the 5 Senses starting with Seeing and the eyes. The video on Candy Blood went out on Friday and students can still do that lesson as well.
SUPPORT STAFF:
Guidance (Ms. Vlahos): I continue to be available to connect with and support all students and families throughout the week by email (jvlahos@haverhill-ps.org), please do not hesitate to reach out. Aside from email, I facilitate check ins through Google Meet or by phone. If desired, please email me to request a check in and I will coordinate with you. My office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 930-11am.
Student Support Center (Ms. Greenwood): It was great to see those of you who joined in on our Tuesday Google Meet! Emails were sent out to all of the SSC students as a reminder to log in every Tuesday at 1:00. Ms. Greenwood and Ms. Christine will be sending out a special prize to those in attendance! Keep up all of your good work. We MISS you all.
Student Adjustment Counselor (Ms. Midolo):
Please continue to encourage your child to attend our weekly social groups. The link and times to “google meets” can be found on my google classrooms page.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me @ tmidolo@haverhill-ps.org.
Stay safe and be well!
Speech (Ms. O): This week in Speech, we worked on finishing our last two week’s worth of assignments. We are reading about wacky animals, practicing making sentences with conjunctions, making inferences about what people are thinking and feeling, and practicing our vocabulary skills! Don’t forget that directions for accessing and completing all assignments are posted in the classroom. Some of these have been updated – check these if you’re having trouble!
HUGE PLUG FOR OUR GOOGLE MEETS! While I was very happy to see the friends who came this week, very few 6th or 8th grade students are attending. I miss you guys, and strongly encourage you to join in for even a few minutes! This is a great opportunity to say hi to your friends and your Speech teacher, as well as to ask any questions on the homework and get help! Times are posted in your Google Classrooms (Mon or Wed 3:30-4:30, depending on which classroom you’re in) and sent out in our weekly emails. Come say hi!!
I hope to see many of you next week. Don’t hesitate to email me with any questions!
Have a great weekend and keep up the good work!
MSSP (Mr. Diffin): We are looking for some good numbers for our “Social Group” challenge. This challenge will continue till the end of the school year. The MSSP students have been working hard on their assignments.So a little break from work to spend time with their peers should uplift the moods.
Student Support Coordinator (Mr. Newell): I am available Monday through Friday by email. Please contact me with questions, concerns or just to say hello.
Reading Coach/Interventionist (Ms. Forrest): Hello students and families. Please check out First Paragraph/Page Fridays, where I will share the beginnings of some really great books for you to read!
