MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL & MAIN OFFICE NEWS

NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY MAY 31^st: HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

MCAS: We will be continuing with our MCAS testing this Wednesday with grade 7.  On MCAS test days, please make sure your student has a good breakfast, brings a water bottle, and arrives at school on time (by 8:30 AM) with a FULLY CHARGED Chromebook.  Please note that all cell phones will be collected prior to testing and returned at the end of the school day.  If you do not want us to collect your student’s phone, please do not have them bring it to school on testing days.  There will be no exceptions to this policy.

A few special notes for RLA students:

1. You and your student(s) will receive an email the day before they are scheduled to take a test that includes their username and password for accessing the MCAS testing site. 
2. Students must not open any browser windows or tabs on their devices. They should only have Pearson Testnav and their Google meet open on their Chromebook. In some cases they may be instructed to have their email open as well.
3. Students will be expected to show their workspace before testing. Students cannot have anything in their workspace besides their Chromebook, scratch paper, and a pencil or pen.
4. NO CELL PHONES are permitted. 
5. Students must keep their camera on during testing. 
6. Students should not leave their testing area while they are testing, unless approved by their teacher. 
7. Students will not be able to use the chat feature in Google meet during testing, except to communicate with their teacher privately.
8. Please provide a quiet, distraction free space for your child to test.  At no time should students receive assistance of any kind from someone at home, this is considered cheating.  If your child has a technical issue that you cannot resolve, please contact the school.

School Start Time: Please be aware that the school day begins at 8:30am sharp. If you drop your students off to school please make sure that they are arriving by 8:25am to avoid being late. Feel free to begin dropping students off at any time after 8:05am. We appreciate your attention to this matter.

Attendance: A reminder to all families that if your student will be absent for the day, please make sure to call the main office (978-374-5782) to notify the school. Thank you.

MEDICATIONS/INHALERS: A reminder to all parents that students cannot self carry medication of any kind without physician orders and an active administration plan in place developed with the school nurse. Please reach out to our nurse’s office with any questions.

Chromebooks: PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR STUDENT IS CHARGING THEIR CHROMEBOOKS EACH NIGHT. THANK YOU!!

Dress Code: As the weather is getting warmer, we would ask that all families please review the Haverhill Public Schools Dress Code Policy with their students in order to ensure that it is properly being followed. Thank you for your attention to this. Please find a copy of the HPS Dress Code Policy below:

PTO UPDATES

Our final PTO meeting of the year is scheduled for Wednesday, 6/9 from 6:00-7:30pm via Zoom. We are always looking to welcome new members!

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.

AmazonSmile customers can now support John Greenleaf Whittier Middle School PTO in the Amazon shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones! Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations.

1. Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device
2. Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into ‘Settings’
3. Tap ‘AmazonSmile’ and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process

If you do not have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app, update your app. Click here for instructions.

To see the impact of your marketing, visit the AmazonSmile Metrics Dashboard for John Greenleaf Whittier Middle School PTO. Simply log in at org.amazon.com and click the “View metrics” button.

CLUB NEWS:

NJHS: thank you all for coming out or watching our first livestream ceremony. I know there were some kinks but overall, it was successful. Congratulations to our newest members Isabella Aloisi, Eve Barton, Avery Borden, Lauryn Calkins, Elena Fairbrother, Eve Farrell, Shannon Gallagher, Giovanni Giarrusso, Katreina Green, Carson Johnston, Sophia LaFontaine, Taylor Laroche, Sienna MacKinnon, Aubrey Maglio, Kaelie McCracken, Cameron Morse, Ava Moscaritolo, Aneida Ortega, Mariana Sadek, and Colby Smith. I can’t wait for next year!!
Our last NJHS meeting will be Wednesday June 2nd this will be all the current members. No new members need to join.

JR VIP: Fundraiser on Friday, June 4th with proceeds benefitting NO KID HUNGRY charity

Slush will be sold during lunches for $2/each for small and $4/each for large

Waters and Flavored water for $1/each

COMMUNITY RESOURCES

HYBRID MODEL

GRADE 5:

Ms. Sanguedolce: In math, we will move onto Topic 14: Graph Points on the Coordinate Plane. In social studies, we will continue to learn about Wagon Trains and the Oregon Trail through a virtual fieldtrip.

Ms. Delong: Science (All)- Our engineers have been hard at work planning, designing, and creating water filters to clean contaminated water. This engineering design unit wraps up next week. Talk to your student about the engineering design process, constraints, trade-offs, and how well their design worked. Students will be making improvements before the final testing.

Social Studies (Yellow) – Students are working in groups to create Google Slides Presentations on the Louisiana Purchase and Westward Expansion, the War of 1812, Tensions with Native Americans, the Civil War, and the Emancipation Proclamation/13th, 14th, and 15th amendments/Abraham Lincoln/Life After Slavery. Groups will present their material to their classmates, who will take notes on the 10–15-minute presentation. It has been a great way to get these students to work together and investigate a historical topic of interest while also learning to cite their research. Talk to your student about their assigned topic and what they have been learning through investigation and inquiry!

Ms. LaCoste: In grade 5 ELA students have been working hard to analyze traditional literature.  We’ve read and discussed folktales and fables to determine theme (the lesson or message the author wants us to learn). Students have also compared and contrasted the themes, characters, and sequences of these stories.  

In Orange Social Studies we completed reading about the impact of the Industrial Revolution in the United States.  We identified some important inventions and how they, and the development of factories, changed the country with both positive and negative impacts.  We’re now beginning to examine the experiences of different groups of people in the United States in the 1800s including the Native Americans, African Americans, Pioneers, and European Immigrants.  

Ms. Lees: I hope the long weekend for Memorial Day was wonderful for all students and families. We have great things to accomplish in every class before the end of school which is coming fast. Those students who have been given a LexiaCore5 log-in should be working at least 45 minutes a week in the program. Parents- iReady Math and Reading are terrific programs to use in free time to build skills. Remember that Ms. Lees is available before and after school for help – remember to ask! Let’s make these last three weeks super in every way!

GRADE 6:

Mrs. Hamel: As we wrap our lessons on The Tropical North, we move deeper into South America into what is known as The Midaltitude Countries (Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay). We will travel throughout the Andes Mountains and even take some time to learn about Alpacas vs. Llamas!!! As we move through this somewhat rugged terrain, we will take moments to soak in the beauty that South America has to offer while also opening our eyes to the very diverse cultures of the area.

Ms. Sargent: For the next few weeks our weekly math packets will be given daily instead of weekly.  Each day your child will be responsible for a page of the packet.  Please make sure they bring the packet to school each day as we will be correcting them together.  What they are unable to finish in class will be homework.  Please note that these daily sheets should not take very long at all.  15 minutes tops. 

Mr. Taylor: Hopefully finishing Percy Jackson this week with some creative fun afterwards and comparing the details and setup of the book to the movie. 

Ms. Consolazio: In science, we are continuing our scope on evolutionary history and relationships.   Students are learning about classifications of animals and how they are given scientific names.  There will be a science assessment this week.  I will do a review before the assessment.  Please make sure Chromebooks are charged at night.   Chromebooks are utilized in class daily. 

Mrs. Guisti: Mrs. Guisti’s and Mrs. Cronin’s small groups continue discussing characters, plot events, and vocabulary related to the novel Percy Jackson.  We continue to practice computation skills while working on weekly math packets.  This week is the math fact of division by 5 which is the inverse of multiplying by 5.  Percentages are the content topic that we are also working on in math and students are enjoying discussing real life scenarios related to percentages.  Have a wonderful long weekend everyone and please remember why we celebrate Memorial Day.

GRADE 7:

Mrs. Berthiaume: In ELA, we are heading into the third chapter of The Red Pony.  We’re having some great discussions about the characters and the symbolism we’ve encountered!  In Social Studies, students worked on their countries of Oceania posters.  Many (including their teacher!) would love to visit these island nations!  REMINDER:  ELA MCAS is on Wednesday, June 2.  Thank you in advance for making sure your child has a good night’s rest, breakfast (which can be eaten before homeroom here at school), and your words of encouragement.  

Mrs. Trombly: Mrs Trombly’s classes will be focusing on MCAS prep over the next week.  Science classes will also review for MCAS and then be starting Thermal Energy.  

Mr. Yanoff: ​MCAS is next week! Red and Yellow groups make sure get some rest and try your hardest. Don’t forget water bottles! Go over the formula sheets and think about what happens to sign when you multiply or divide by a negative number. 

We will continue working on area real soon. Good luck!

Mrs. MacKinnon/Mrs. Lane: Math: The students took a test on Topic 4 sections, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4 and 4-5 this week. Over the course of this week we reviewed these topics to help teach the students how to study for a test.  We also did some MCAS practice sheets next week to prepare for the MCAS.    Science:  The students have moved onto Kinetic Energy and they need to memorize the formula for Kinetic energy (KE) KE = ½ mass times the velocity squared. They all took a quiz on Brain Pop about Kinetic Energy.  Please make sure they are completing their assignments.

Ms. DiGloria: Next week in Green and Blue Groups, students will be taking both their ELA and Math MCAS on Wednesday and Thursday. On Tuesday and Friday, we will be reading the Hobbit in both classes to ensure we can finish the book on time! Students are enjoying the book and participating in a variety of reading-based activities daily centering around the characters and plot. In addition, please keep up with your students’ grades on the Parent Student portal and contact me with any concerns or questions. 

Ms. Bilmazes: MCAS testing  is almost here. All groups are continuing to work on MCAS practice, consisting of multiple choice and essays for ELA, and practice problems for math, in preparation for upcoming testing on June 2nd and 3rd. Keep working productively to finish the year with success. Keep up with assignments, work diligently and ask for help. Enjoy the long weekend!

GRADE 8:

8^TH GRADE PROMOTION AND ACTIVITIES:

Mr. Lewis: Students are taking MCAS for most of this week. When free of testing, we will continue reading and discussing The Outsiders.

Ms. Deblasis: In math, we will be continuing our unit on Analyzing and Solving Systems of Equations.  Specifically, we will be learning the substitution and elimination methods to solve these problems.

In science, we will be continuing our unit on Natural Selection. 

Mr. Blaustein: ELA: We are enjoying reading and discussing The Outsiders while exploring relevant t cultural achievements of the 1960’s.

Civics: We are winding up our study of The Bill of Rights in Ch 4 by studying the Civil Rights Movement. We held off a quiz from Lesson 3 due to MCAS so we will have that quiz as well as a Lesson 4 quiz. We will also begin to study vocabulary for the city wide Civics vocabulary assessment.

Ms. Sullivan: In math, we will be continuing our unit on Analyzing and Solving Systems of Equations.  Specifically, we will be learning the substitution and elimination methods to solve these problems.

In science, we will be continuing our unit on Natural Selection. 

Mr. Harris: Students did well handling the MCAS!  Very proud of how hard they worked, along with their focus and cooperation – especially given the warmer weather!

Math – we will be continuing to learn about Systems of Equations and the different methods of solving them, including graphing, the substitution method, and elimination method.

Science – we will begin to look at forces and motion, specifically kinetic versus potential energy.  That will lead into looking at Newton’s Laws of motion, with an emphasis on his third law.

Mr. Marinella: ELA– This week all of the RLA kids had MCAS! They worked extremely hard and I could not be more proud!! With the little time we have remaining in the year, we will finish reading our latest novel, The Outsiders!! The class will then end the year looking at different symbols and meanings in literature! 

Civics– Civics is getting back to business as usual after the last week of MCAS! We will keep exploring the different branches of American government. We left off with the Executive branch, and we will continue by looking back at some of the men who led our country. 

Ms. Senior: On Monday, students in Mathematics took a test on y = mx + b, along with slope, parallel, and linear equations.  In ELA, students are reading The Outsiders and learning about the socio-economic situations of the novel’s characters.  For the better part of the week, Grade 8 is taking the 2021 administration of the MCAS.

SPECIALISTS:

Physical Education: (Mr. Demarais): As the weather heats up please remember to bring plenty of water and to dress for the heat.  We will continue to walk first and play outdoor team sports.

Health (Mrs. Reynolds):

grade 5 – Beginning Nutrition Unit with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables

grade 6 – Finishing Tobacco and Vape Unit – discussing similarities and differences with a compare and contrast exercise

grade 7 – Cybersafety and Cyberbullying Unit  – ways to block negativity and stay safe online

grade 8 – Finishing the Mental Health Unit with a Teen Suicide Fact sheet created by each student with info to help teens who are depressed

Music (Mr. Gariepy): Hello JGW Friends & Families!! The 3rd Annual JGW Talent Show was Thursday, May 27th @ 6pm!! It was a lot of fun. To watch the show, visit this link: https://youtu.be/OCPhRwVCE0w

All students have been finishing their movie-musical projects, and over the next few classes we will be talking about music history and music across the world!

REMOTE LEARNING ACADEMY

GRADE 5:

Ms. MacDonald: Students will be taking their Earth Science Unit Test this week. We have learned all about water on Earth, from the hydrologic cycle to learning about how much freshwater is available to us. The kids will have the opportunity to see how much their learning has developed over this unit! 

We will be moving on to chapter 7 “A Growing Nation”, where we will explore how our country developed after establishing the Constitution. 

Ms. Duquette: Students will continue to work on the project-based study surrounding the nonfiction text of The Case of the Disappearing Honeybees.  We will also continue our work on the spiraling curriculum of daily grammar review and edits.  Students should be making sure that they are caught up on any missing work.  I know this time of year can be difficult, but we must keep putting in effort!

Ms. Spadaro: This week, students analyzed and interpreted data. Next week, students will classify 2 dimensional shapes. 

GRADE 6:

Mrs. Simes: In math this week, students were introduced to “Zombie Outbreak.”  All students will be working in groups as epidemiologists to apply their statistical skills of creating dot plots and bar graphs, describe the distribution of data, determine the mean and mode, and evaluate the usefulness of the measure of central tendency to the outbreak.  The needed information is in their Google Classroom folder, and this is also a nice way to incorporate cross-curriculum learning for students to enhance their critical thinking, interaction, and reflection skills.  Students will continue to work on their i-Ready math pathways on Monday and Wednesday during Success Block.  In science, students will complete their CER on how modern whales differ from their ancestors and should use knowledge they have acquired from this past week.  We will then move on to our last scope of “The Geologic History of Earth.”  As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at michele.simes@haverhill-ps.org.  Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

Ms. Riley: Happy Memorial Day and beginning of June! Enjoy your long weekend! We are down to the wire now. I felt like the year was very long but at the same time it flew by. (Crazy!) The students did a great job adapting to this difficult situation. At this time, MCAS is over for grade 6. The last assessment will be the final (Spring) i-Ready reading diagnostic test. This will be assigned in the next two weeks or so. It is very important that the students finish this last assessment. Class time will be allotted to complete it.  

In ELA, we will continue with our novel, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. ​It is a work of historical fiction and is about the escape of a Jewish family, the Rosens, from Copenhagen, Denmark, during World War II. The story centers on 10-year-old Annemarie Johansen, who lives with her mother, father, and sister Kirsti in Copenhagen in 1943.

In Social Studies, we will start a chapter on North Africa. Topics covered will be the history, life and geography of this area. 

GRADE 7:

Ms. Marciano: Reminder – NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY! Happy Memorial Day!

The 7th graders will be taking ELA MCAS on Wednesday, June 2nd and Math MCAS on Thursday, June 3rd. On those two days, please make sure your child has a quiet place to work, scrap paper and writing utensils, and please make sure they eat breakfast! 

Mr. LeGrand: Math:  We will continue reviewing for our upcoming MCAS test.  Seventh grade students will take their math test on Thursday, June 3. Please encourage your student to have a restful night before the test and to try their best.   

Social Studies:  We spent the past couple of weeks learning about Western Europe.  This week we will turn our focus to Northern and Southern Europe.  Students will learn about the similarities and differences between the landforms and climates of Northern and Southern Europe 

GRADE 8:

Mr. Harris: Students did well handling the MCAS!  Very proud of how hard they worked, along with their focus and cooperation – especially given the warmer weather!

Math – we will be continuing to learn about Systems of Equations and the different methods of solving them, including graphing, the substitution method, and elimination method.

Science – we will begin to look at forces and motion, specifically kinetic versus potential energy.  That will lead into looking at Newton’s Laws of motion, with an emphasis on his third law.

Mr. Marinella: ELA– This week all of the RLA kids had MCAS! They worked extremely hard and I could not be more proud!! With the little time we have remaining in the year, we will finish reading our latest novel, The Outsiders!! The class will then end the year looking at different symbols and meanings in literature! 

Civics– Civics is getting back to business as usual after the last week of MCAS! We will keep exploring the different branches of American government. We left off with the Executive branch, and we will continue by looking back at some of the men who led our country. 

Ms. Blanchette: Our last MCAS tests will be taken by 7th grade next week. Please make sure your child is on time for their google meets. The students are at the end of the grade level curriculum and standards as there is only three weeks left in school. If you have any questions, please reach out. Have a great week!

SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF

Guidance (Mrs. Vlahos):  I continue to be available to connect with and support all students and families throughout the school week via Google Meet, email and by phone.  If desired, please email me to connect and request a check in and I will coordinate a meeting with you.  I commend everyone for all the hard work you have put in thus far.  We are in the homestretch and will finish strong together!  I look forward to continued work with you in support of a healthy, safe, and successful rest of the school year.

Student Support Coordinator (Mr. Newell): I am available for help with chrome books, attendance concerns and everything in general. Please contact me at jonathan.newell@haverhill-ps.org

Student Adjustment Counselor (Mrs. Midolo): Next week’s lesson will focus on “Identifying External and Internal Motivation” and understanding the different types of motivation and how they apply to being successful in life. This lesson will focus on identifying whether a real-life scenario represents internal or external motivation. Students will also be able to describe whether the behavior in the scenario is likely to continue or fade based on the type of motivation being represented.

Also,  I would like to give a huge SHOUT OUT to our grade 8 students for doing an amazing job on MCAS this week!

Have a great weekend!

Middle School Support Program (Mrs. Leydon & Mr. Diffin): Great job to all our 8th graders for completing the MCAS! Next week will be our 7th graders turn. Due to this, some of our social groups have changed time or location but students will be told ahead of time. Reach out with any questions, and enjoy the long weekend! 

Parent Liaison (Ms. Arias-Reyes): Quiero dejarles saber que continúo estando disponible para ayudar a las familias de JGW. Si tienen alguna pregunta o preocupación no duden en contactarme.  Mi número de teléfono es (781) 666-4085 y la dirección de correo electrónico es maria.ariasreyes@haverhill-ps.org.  Si me llaman y no respondo y la llamada va al buzón de voz, por favor llamen a la oficina principal al (978) 374- 5782. Pidan hablar con alguien que hable español o pueden decir que quieren hablar con María. Una de las secretarias me hará saber que están en la línea y será más efectivo, para que no pierda su llamada. ¡Gracias, que tengan un lindo fin de semana!

Student Support Center (Mrs. Greenwood): As we near the end of the school year, we remain optimistic and hopeful for good times ahead over the next few weeks. SSC Students have been doing awesome and we are super proud of them. 

Reading Coach/Interventionist (Mrs. Guthrie): For the rest of the year, I will be working in the 5th grade classrooms. My focus will be comprehension skills and strategies in all subject areas. I am looking forward to spending time with this grade. Happy Memorial Day. 

NEWS FROM OUR NURSES OFFICE:

Summer is quickly approaching! Please send your student in with a water bottle for the school day as the drinking fountains remain closed due to COVID restrictions. We do have a water bottle fill station where students can refill their water bottle during the school day. While we start to think about the end of the year, I have a few reminders. If your child has an inhaler or epi-pen in the health office, please contact the nurse to make arrangements for pick up. Inhalers/Medications/Epi-pens not picked up by the last day of school will be discarded. If you have any questions, as always please contact Nurse Jolene.