MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL & MAIN OFFICE NEWS
NO SCHOOL ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11th: HAPPY VETERAN’S DAY!
November News: With Thanksgiving only a few weeks away, JGW is encouraging all students to think about what it means to be generous. For the month of November, the theme will be generosity. Generosity is showing kindness toward others. Generosity is the desire to give what you have to others. Generous people want to help those in need and are always willing to share. Throughout the month (and beyond), we hope to see students be kind, be helpful, and be willing to share and support others.
3rd ANNUAL JGW THANKSGIVING FEAST:
1st ANNUAL PUMPKIN WALK: Mrs. Hamel and the entire JGW staff want to say THANK YOU to all of the staff, students and families of JGW for making our very first “Pumpkin Walk” such a huge success!! We are excited to watch this new tradition grow each year. If you missed it, be sure to join in next fall! We also want to take some time this month to make sure we not only be THANKFUL for all we have, but to show GRATITUDE to those around us. We have all been through so much these last few years and NOVEMBER is a great time to reflect on all we have and all we can give. Mrs. Hamel has expressed how GRATEFUL she is every day to be working here with such amazing people and to be surrounded by the best students ever! THANK YOU JGW!!!
COMMUNITY/HOLIDAY RESOURCES: https://www.haverhill-ps.org/haverhill-community-programs/
PICTURE RETAKE DAY: Picture re-take day will be on Wednesday, November 10th. See attached flyer: https://www.barksdalestorefront.com/shop/login/?ac=1001092AR Students must return the original pictures in order to get retakes.
HAVERHILL PUBLIC SCHOOLS HANDBOOK (K-8): Please click on the link below to be connected to our up to date handbook for grades K-8: https://www.haverhill-ps.org/hps-student-handbook/
MASKS: As we continue to adhere to the Massachusetts’s State Mandate that all people (students, staff, visitors) are required to wear a mask in the school building, we ask that you please send your student’s to school with a spare mask. Many students have been breaking their masks and need new one’s throughout the school day. We would appreciate families sending students with an extra mask each day. Thank you!
Chromebooks: PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR STUDENT IS COMING TO SCHOOL DAILY WITH THEIR CHROMEBOOKS FULLY CHARGED. THANK YOU!!
JGW Chromebook Policy
We understand that “things happen” and from time-to-time students will forget to charge their Chromebook or leave it at home. Unfortunately, this is becoming a habit for some students and is happening far too often overall. Students were made aware at the beginning of the school year that the expectation is for ALL students to bring their fully-charged Chromebook to school each day.
The supply of extra Chromebooks is limited. Because of this, we are implementing a borrowing policy here at JGW for Chromebooks and chargers. Students who forget their Chromebooks, bring them to school uncharged, or do not return a borrowed Chromebook the same day will be given consequences as follows:
First Offense: Student will be issued a warning
Second Offense: Parents/Guardians will be called
Third Offense or More: Student will be given after-school detention
**These consequences will reset for all students each trimester.
If a student loses or damages a Chromebook or charger and the student needs to be issued another device, the family will be charged a fee for the replacement. Typically, the Chromebook replacement fee will be $199.00 and the charger replacement fee will be $39.00.
It is very important for students to come to school with charged and functioning Chromebooks. The devices are used in most, if not all classes; including music and art. We are asking families to be partners with the JGW in this, and remind your children to charge their Chromebooks and bring them to school every day.
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.
Dress Code: We receive many questions about our school’s dress code. 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
The Cookie Fundraiser was a great success this year. Students sold a total of 682 boxes of cookie dough. Those 682 boxes have raised $4,899.50 for the PTO. This money will help support school events, teacher’s request for funds and Teacher Appreciation Week, just to name a few. Prizes and cookie orders should be available for distribution in a few weeks. Stay tuned for more information. As always, the PTO thanks all the JGW students and families for their support.
2001-2022 PTO Meeting Dates · September 8th · October 13th · November 10th · December 8th · January 12th · February 9th · March 9th · April 14th · May 11th · June 8th
SPORTS:
BASKETBALL: Boys Basketball tryouts will take place on Monday 11/8 & Wednesday 11/10 from 3:00-4:00pm. Girls Basketball tryouts will take place on Tuesday 11/9 after school.
CROSS COUNTRY: That’s a wrap on the Cross Country team for all grades. JGW had a very successful season–All runners improved, all were supportive teammates, and all gave 100% during the races. Now that the season has ended, there will be no more practices. Any runners that borrowed a shirt to race in, please return it to Mrs. Tarbox or Mr. Desmaris.
SKI CLUB: Ski Club takes place Fridays, starting on January 7th and runs for 6 weeks
-Lift tickets are valid from 3pm-7pm.
-Transportation to and from the mountain must be provided by parents
-Ski club members must be able to ride the ski lift and ski/snowboard independently in order to participate in the program.
-Parent Lodge Monitors will be onsite for the duration of Ski Club to assist the students in the lodge.
-Ski Club enrollment packets and payment will be due Friday, November 12th.
-Please email Ski Club Coordinator Amie Moscaritolo with any questions.
CLUB NEWS:
DANCE TEAM: Dance team will meet on Tuesday, November 9th, Thursday, November 18th and Tuesday, November 23rd. I am extremely proud of how hard these dancers push themselves and how passionate they are about the art of dance. We are learning, growing, having fun and creating memories! Sweatshirt orders are due by the end of November. THANK YOU!
NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY: What an amazing turnout at the bake sale and the corn maze! I am so proud of the hard work you did at the bake sale and it did not go unrecognized. Please click on the link below to watch the special shout out the NJHS received. And a special thank you to the parents and guardians that came to the corn maze!! What an amazing turnout! Hope you all had fun and we have started a new tradition.
JR VIP: There will be an after school meeting on Tuesday, 11/9 in the Art Room. Any new students interested are welcome to come and see what it’s all about!
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS CLUB: The next DnD meeting will be Tuesday, 11/9 after school until 3:45pm.
Willy Wonka Jr.: WE ARE LOOKING FOR ANY AND ALL AVAILABLE HELP FOR THE FALL MUSICAL!
If this is something that might interest you, please follow this link: https://forms.gle/xVKhhAZkoA4Cyvj3A
NEWS FROM OUR NURSES OFFICE:
The nurses will continue working on our annual immunization review! If your student has any updated health forms or immunization records, please send a copy to us. 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.
John Greenleaf Whittier Middle School
256 Concord Street
Haverhill Public Schools Haverhill, MA 01830
978-374-5782
Principal: Tim Betty
Assistant Principal: Cathy Koch
November 3, 2021
Dear JGW Families,
We have seen a recent increase in the number of students with COVID, particularly in grade 6. We appreciate your support in reminding your students of the following COVID safety measures, as we continue to remind them at school:
- Keep your mask on while indoors and make sure that it covers your nose and mouth.
- Use hand sanitizer and hash-washing regularly.
- Do not share food or drinks.
- Keep physical distance, even with your friends.
Additionally, we appreciate families staying mindful of ways to help:
- Please understand that any time there is an out of school play date without physical distancing, or sleepover among students, that all children involved are close contacts.
- Please answer any calls and/or emails from the nurse promptly so that we can address all students’ needs in a timely manner.
- If your student is participating in “Test and Stay,” please remind them to go straight to the nurse’s office in the morning during homeroom.
- Please send your student to school with two well-fitting masks each day.
Thank you for your ongoing support as we navigate the challenges of school this year. If you have any questions please call the office at 978-374-5782.
Thank you,
Tim Betty
Principal
JG Whittier Middle School
CLASSROOM NEWS:
GRADE 5:
Ms. Simes: Grade 5 Math/Science (Blue/Purple Group) In math, all students should continue to work on their math fact fluency, as this is important as we continue to move forward to learning our standards. Students will be showing their understanding of Topic 3 at the end of the week. In science, students are continuing to make connections to prior learning about plants, they are learning that food webs are important tools that show that plants are the foundation of all ecosystems. They are also learning about composting and how this maintains an active ecosystem by helping other organisms grow by using carbon that is in the organic matter. After school help will be Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday this week from 2:45 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at michele.simes@haverhill-ps.org. Have a wonderful weekend!
Ms. Marciano: ELA: We will be reading a historical fiction story called “Shooting for the Stars”. Students will have a short writing assignment where they will think about situations that call for a truce.
SS: We will be completing the DBQ and then moving into Unit 3, which is called “A Changing Continent”. This unit deals with the impact of people settling in a new place.
Ms. Hogan: This week, we finished our DBQ essay! We spent time finishing our graphic organizers and typing our essays. At the end of the week, we started to think about what life was like in an English colony in the 1600s. Next week, we will begin to learn about the Jamestown settlement. We will discuss the challenges that these settlers faced as they tried to establish a colony.
Ms. LaCoste: This week students were introduced to word study activities. In the activities students create words, observe and understand word patterns and relationships. Eventually students will strengthen vocabulary and deepen their knowledge of word parts, including root words, prefixes, and suffixes.
We also completed our third interactive read aloud, My Man Blue. Students learned the difference between prose (typical written and conversational language) and poetry as well as how to mark places in their reading that spark thinking. These “think marks” remind them of important parts of a story that can be used for discussion and analysis.
Next week, we hope to create and meet with small guided reading groups.
Ms. Consolazio: In science, we continue to learn about producers, consumers, and decomposers. We will be doing our third experiment learning about decomposers and composting. At the end of next week we will have another science quiz. Please make sure students bring their Chromebooks charged every day.
Mr. Kelly: We are nearing the end of Multiplying with Whole Numbers. We will be taking a quiz next week to finish up the topic. Afterwards we will move into Multiplying with Decimals. If your student needs extra help, I am available in my room on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8 to 8:30. Reminder: There is homework every Monday through Thursday.
Ms. Lees: In Fifth grade Orange and Green Groups we will share in small groups Reading is Thinking strategies – Summarizing, Connecting, Visualizing, Inferring, Predicting, and Questioning as well as exploring different ways of how to talk and write about their reading. In Math students will use their new skill with the standard algorithm to multiply multi-digit numbers with decimals and strengthen math fact skills. Those students with individual goals will continue towards achievement. Please reach out if after school or before school help will support your student.
Ms. Blanchette: 5th graders will be exploring the historical genre in ELA and will be reading a short historical fiction story. In math students continue to work on multiplying double digit numbers by a multi digit number. Please reach out with any questions. Have a great week.
GRADE 6:
Ms. Hamel: ELA: Our students continue the journey of “How do relationships impact our lives?” through excerpts, poems and short stories. Students have generated great discussions and short writes on this essential question. Our homework packet for this week is Spelling and Vocabulary using the Latin Prefixes “pre” and “post.” Packets are due on Fridays and the test is also on Friday. I ask that someone from home give their student a practice test to support their studying- this is located inside their homework packet. We also continue to work in IReady as well as reading from Percy Jackson! It’s a quick month with lots to do!
Social Studies: As students wrapped up their research of one of Asia’s beautiful countries, we are now moving into the Ancient Civilizations of the Asian people. Starting in Mesopotamia and learning about why the Fertile Crescent was such an important area for early people to begin to create such modern civilizations for their time. We are learning why a person’s geographical location can affect daily life and connecting this topic to our own lives.
Ms. Silveira: Math: Last week, students learned to identify opposites of integers, how to compare and order integers and how to use integers to represent real-world quantities. We will build on these skills this week. Students will learn to plot rational numbers on a number line, compare and order rational numbers and use rational numbers to represent real-world quantities.
In Science the students begin Mixtures and Density on Monday. They are about to begin a new journey studying how mixtures are made of separate substances and density is a property of all matter.
Mr. Taylor: Continuing on in unit 2 of Study Sync, “You and Me” and focusing on how relationships shape us. Working on Vocabulary skills, generating questions during reading, and finding text evidence.
Mr. LeGrand: Mathematics: Last week, students learned to identify opposites of integers, how to compare and order integers and how to use integers to represent real-world quantities. We will build on these skills this week. Students will learn to plot rational numbers on a number line, compare and order rational numbers and use rational numbers to represent real-world quantities.
Social Studies: We are currently exploring Asia in Social Studies. Students will identify how physical geography affected the locations of settlements in Asia, discuss the value of the natural resources in various regions in Asia and explain how powerful kingdoms and empires developed in Asia.
Ms. Lane: In Science the students begin Mixtures and Density on Monday. They are about to begin a new journey studying how mixtures are made of separate substances and density is a property of all matter.
In Social Studies they are learning about Southwest Asia. The students are learning about how geography influences the way people live? They are also asking themselves, why do civilizations rise and fall and how does religion shape society?
Ms. Tarbox: In ELA, the Yellow and Orange groups have been reviewing poetic devices using StudySync. Students have also been working with adjectives. During small group pull-out, students have selected items of their choice and come up with as many adjectives to describe these items, as well as learned how to identify adjectives within sentences. Fountas & Pinnell Assessments will continue to be completed throughout the week next week and results will be sent home to parents of students with Reading goals. In Math, students in the Yellow and Orange groups have begun Topic 2, working with positive and negative integers. This will continue into next week. Also, homework reminders have been sent home daily for all of Mrs. Tarbox’s students for all classes. Both students and parents should be receiving these reminders. Services have continued to be delivered consistently. As always. please reach out to Mrs. Tarbox with any questions or concerns.
GRADE 7:
Mrs. Berthiaume: In ELA, we have started Unit 2 in StudySync. Students should have completed the end-of-unit assessment for Unit 1. In Social Studies, everyone should have finished the DBQ essay on ancient Chinese inventions.
Mrs. Trombly: In math classes we are finishing up our review and testing of Topic 1. Which we will also be revisiting throughout the year. We will be starting topic 2 early next week. We will only be covinger 2-1 and 2-2 before jumping into topic 4 expressions and equations. In Social Studies class we are working on our DBQ’s and finishing them up later this week.
Mrs. MacKinnon: We have begun energy flow in ecosystems. The kids have done a couple activities on the subject and seem to be understanding the big picture. This week we will finish up this unit and have a test on Friday.
Ms. DiGloria: This week in Grade 7 Blue and Green groups, students in ELA will be diving into our new unit on Love and Loss. Students will work with a poem, My Mother Pieced Quilts, and a short memoir text, Museum Indians. In Social Studies, we have wrapped up our DBQs and will be focusing our attention back on the history of China. Students will be discussing dynasties of ancient China, as well as the meaning of “power,” before diving into the Silk Road. Please reach out with any questions or concerns about your student and their progress. Grades close the last week of November, so it is important to be aware of your student’s progress.
Mr. Auger: Hello everyone! This week in my 7th grade science class, students have been learning about the flow of energy and matter in various ecosystems. Students have been learning about different food webs and how energy is always preserved in ecosystems. Next week we will further our knowledge of this topic. In my 7th grade social studies class, students have been working hard on their document based questions (DBQs). This requires students to read several documents and use this evidence to write a formal essay. Next week we will begin our next unit, early China.
Mr. Harris: Green – students will be finishing up their mini unit on ratios, rates, and unit rates. They will be taking a quiz either Wednesday or Friday. After that, we will start our unit on writing and solving equations
Blue – students are starting to work on our mini unit on ratios, rates, and unit rates. During this mini unit students will review what ratios, rates, and unit rates are, as well as solve problems involving them. They will then deepen their understanding of these concepts as we connect them to complex fractions.
Ms. Bilmazes & Ms. Holmes: Mrs. Holmes and I have been meeting, during the success block, with those students who have pull-out support in Math and ELA. This time is spent working on a variety of interventions, such as iReady, additional practice, help with homework and classwork support. In addition, students are receiving support in the classroom from myself, Mrs. Holmes, and/or Ms. Credit. In ELA, students are beginning the Highs and Lows unit in StudySync which includes several thought provoking stories. In Math, students are working on Unit 1-6 Multiplying Integers. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions.
GRADE 8:
Mr. Lewis: English class is beginning Unit 2 of StudySync this week which focuses on identity, the past, and future. Students will be reading poetry and fiction, including Emily Dickinson, The Outsiders, and The House On Mango Street.
Ms. Deblasis: We are currently studying Topic 2: Analyze and Solve Linear Equations. We are working on combining like terms to solve equations, solving equations with variables on both sides, and solving multi-step equations.
Mr. Marinella: ELA- In English we are starting a new story, “The Outsiders”! This is a favorite of past 8th grade classes and a story that many can identify with. This book is part of a unit centered on understanding who you are and learning deep truths about yourself.
Civics– Civics is still trying to understand how the US government was created. The Founding Fathers didn’t just make it up as they went, they researched different governments throughout history in order to find the right pieces for the American people. Our class is currently doing the same. We are looking at the different roots the Founding Fathers explored, and researching what they researched. The culminating project for this unit is a DBQ. This is basically an essay that pulls from different historical documents to answer a question. This DBQ is a long assignment and an important one, be sure to ask your student questions about their progress so they don’t miss vital parts and due dates! This is last week for DBQs, if your student is not done with any part, it will become homework!
Ms. Sullivan: This week we will be questioning how the ocean influences weather and climate. This week we will be reading, learning vocabulary and doing hands-on activities to help us answer this question. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns csullivan@haverhill-ps.org.
Mr. Harris: Purple & Blue – we are working on how to solve equations as we work our way up toward finding linear equations and slope. Students will continue to work on simplifying and solving complex equations that have variables on both sides.
Ms. MacKinnon: We are working on ocean currents and will be finishing the unit up this week. Students have learned that colder water is more dense and sinks along with salt levels. They will be having a test on these ocean currents on Thursday this week.
Ms. Senior: Mathematics students are ready to move beyond two-step and combining like terms to something more algebraic and challenging. Many are receiving math intervention, which augments their skills. ELA students are the inaugural group to try HPS’ newest curriculum addition: StudySync. It gives students more autonomy for annotating excerpts, thus improving their reading comprehension.
Ms. Blanchette: 8th graders are jumping into “The Outsiders” by SE Hinton. In math students continue to work on solving for a variable in multistep equations. Please reach out if you have any questions. Have a great week.
SPECIALISTS:
Physical Education: (Mr. Demarais): We are continuing with our net games unit. We have worked on skills for badminton and volleyball so far. I will be introducing a game called nitroball in the coming weeks.
Any students interested in trying out for the boys and girls basketball teams should pay attention to the announcements for the tryouts. They will be starting as early as next week.
Art (Ms. Boulger): The students in 5,6,7,8 red and green groups have been working on a variety of assignments such as paintings, flip book drawings and murals.
The art department is looking for donations of the following:
new/ used sports equipment (specifically footballs, and basketballs)
new/used frames
new/used/ unused jars to store mixed paint.
new/used T-shirts to use as smocks
artwork by Mason
Health (Ms. Reynolds): All students will be beginning the Puberty/Reproductive System units beginning this week. Letters explaining the units for all grades were distributed on Wednesday to homerooms. These Passive Permission slips are also found in each student’s Google classroom as well as on my website jgwhealth.weebly.com . Please also feel free to email me with any questions you may have, at nicole.reynolds@haverhill-ps.org.
Music (Mr. Gariepy): Hello JGW Friends and Families!! Music class has been going great at JGW! We have been finishing up learning the guitar with notes C D E F and G, and the chords e-minor, G-Major, d-minor, and a-minor. 7th and 8th grade has been learning Mary Had a Little Lamb and 5th and 6th grade has been learning Hot Crossed Buns. Next week, we will start a unit on musicals. 8th grade will be starting Hamilton in class for their musical.
Library (Ms. Michitson): Our Reading contest is finally over and winners will be announced on Tuesday Nov 9th. It’s a beautiful thing see students read, ask questions and learn.
Technology (Mr. Gordon): In Technology this week…
- Grade 8 continued with spreadsheets and Google Apps
- Grade 7 was introduced to a Google App based project
- Grades 6 and 5 continued to work with CodeSpark to gain more understanding of coding
SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF
Guidance (Ms. Vlahos): Important 8th Grade Dates:
November 7, 2021 – Whittier Tech Open House 1-4pm (The postcard mailed to 8th grade students and families from Whittier Tech is your “admission ticket” for their open house)
November 18, 2021 – HHS Classical Academy Virtual Information Session
Whittier CA info night
Thursday, November 18 · 7:00 – 8:00pm
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/tsq-osxm-ngk
November 20, 2021 – Essex Tech Open House – pre-registration required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-house-essex-north-shore-agricultural-technical-school-tickets-185704807077
November 23, 2021 – Gr. 8 Whittier Tech Tour (8th grade students must return signed permission slip to their homeroom teacher to attend – Permission slips have been distributed to 8th grade homerooms)
December 7, 2021 – Gr. 8 HHS Tour (8th grade students must return signed permission slip to their homeroom teacher to attend – Permission slips have been distributed to 8th grade homerooms)
I continue to be available to connect with and support all students and families throughout the school week. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me at jvlahos@haverhill-ps.org. I look forward to our continued work in support of a healthy, safe, and successful school year!
Student Support Coordinator (Mr. Newell): I am available to help support students and their families in any way possible. Please email me with any questions, thank you.
Student Adjustment Counselor (Ms. Midolo): Next week we will focus on “Setting Boundaries”.
To most students, boundaries are the lines drawn between states or nations. Your child will also learn that boundaries also pertain to relationships—rules that tell us what we can and can’t do. We will discuss how boundaries apply in families, school, and society.
We will also talk about the types of rules pertaining to boundaries, for example—rigid (hard-and-fast), clear (firm but appropriate), and fuzzy (inconsistent or nonexistent).
As always, if you have any questions/concerns, please feel free to reach out @ tmidolo@haverhill-ps.org
Student Adjustment Counselor (Ms. White): It has been so wonderful seeing everyone work together to make this such a strong and united school community. We continue to discuss the importance of healthy relationships and friendships. We are also working on creating a safe space for everyone to feel welcome and supported!
Middle School Support Program (Mrs. Leydon & Mr. Diffin): We had our first binder checks of the year this past week. We sorted through our folders and bags and made sure everything was in the right folders, or got new folders if we didn’t have enough. We will continue this at least once a month during our group times. Please reach out to us with any questions or concerns!
Parent Liaison (Ms. Arias-Reyes): Si tienen una pregunta o preocupación y necesitan un intérprete no duden en contactarme. Estaré más que feliz de poder ayudarlos a comunicarse con los maestros de sus hijos y el personal de la escuela. Mi horario es de 8:30am a 3:30 pm y mi número es 781-666-4085 y mi correo electrónico es maria.ariasreyes@haverhill-ps.org, me pueden llamar, mandar un mensaje de texto o enviarme un correo electrónico. También tienen la opción de llamar a la escuela directamente para contactarme o usar la aplicación Remind, esta aplicación manda los mensajes directamente a mi computadora. RECORDATORIO: NO HAY ESCUELA el 11 de noviembre de 2021 ya que es un día feriado. Que tengan un lindo fin de semana!
ELL (Ms. Khakali & Corporan): Newcomer ELs are starting Unit 2: Set the Table. They will be building on their vocabulary of food, colors, shapes, and sizes. They will also be learning how to conjugate action verbs in the present tense and express their likes and dislikes. Level 3,4, & 5 ELs have read about schools around the world and are writing compare and contrast paragraphs using learned academic vocabulary.
Student Support Center (Mrs. Greenwood): The kids are doing well in SSC. They are adjusting to being in school and following the rules. We are here to support the students in any way we can. We hope everyone has a great weekend.
Reading Intervention Team (Ms. Guthrie, Ms. Carney, Ms. Trovato): Interventions in each grade are in full swing. Students are learning about various skills and strategies to make their reading easier.
Unit 2 for Study synch (grades 6-8) began on Wednesday. Teachers are experts using this online teaching platform, and are putting their own spin on these lessons! It is amazing to watch. If you have questions, have your child show you some of the materials.
Grade 5 is using Fountas and Pinnell read alouds to teach students about the fiction and nonfiction. Students really love this program!
Have a great weekend! Happy November!!