MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL & MAIN OFFICE NEWS

• 2^nd Trimester Report Cards are available via the Student/Parent Portal starting on Friday, March 18^th Please follow these directions to gain access:

• Go to HPS main page: https://www.haverhill-ps.org/
  • Click on Parent & Student Resources
  • Click on Parent & Student Portal Login
  • Click Log-in
  • Use your student’s username & password to login
  • Click on Student Portal (top of page)
  • Select Report Cards/Progress Reports
  • Click Download

MCAS: MCAS Testing Schedule 2022

March News: This month, the school theme is grit. When you work hard toward a goal, overcome challenges, and stick with it even when it’s hard…that’s grit! Star Poet Society winners for the month of March will be selected based on this theme.

Grade 7 & 8 Attitudes & Behavior Survey: This coming Monday, 3/21 the district will be administering the Attitudes and Behavior Survey to all grade 7 & 8 students throughout the district.

I have included the slide show presentation so that you can better understand the survey and opt out procedures.

Attitudes and Behavior Survey Presentation (English).pdf

Presentación de la Encuesta de Actitudes y Comportamientos.pdf

April Vacation Academy:

April Vaca Academy English

April Vacation Academy 2022 (1) (SPANISH)

Community News/Opportunities: Don’t miss your chance to get involved in planning Haverhill’s next Multicultural Festival. Please click the link for more information!

The Helping Hillies: English_ Helping Hillie

Spanish _ Helping Hillie

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/

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: Please be aware that students are not allowed to wear pajamas or pajama pants to school. 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: Dress Code Policy (HPS)

PTO UPDATES

The PTO meets on the 2^nd Thursday of each month from 6:00pm-7:00pm in the JGW Teacher’s Room. The dates are as follows:

2001-2022 PTO Meeting Dates · April 14th · May 12th · June 9^th

SPORTS:

Volleyball: Boy’s & Girl’s Games: Tuesday, 3/22 @ Nettle (Girls play first) AND Wednesday, 3/23 @ Hunking (Boys play first)

Practice: Boy’s Monday & Friday 3/21 & 3/25  and Girl’s Monday and Thursday 3/21 & 3/24

CLUB NEWS:

DANCE TEAM: Dance team will meet on Monday, 3/21 after school in the cafeteria

NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY: We had a very successful popcorn fundraiser thank you to all that participated.  The orders will be on April 6th.  I will stay after school to pick up that week.  More details to follow as the date gets closer.

JR VIP:  There will be a Jr VIP meeting on Tuesday (3/22) after school in the Art Room.  We will continue working on our Diversity Video Project.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS CLUB: We have started our second campaign!! We are still meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays depending on availability and which groups students have been assigned. All players will need is a pencil, and preferably a notebook. If they have their own dice sets, now would be the time to use them! Although, there are extras that will be made available to those who need, and parents do not need to purchase anything to be in DnD club!

DRAMA CLUB: 4th Annual JGW Talent Show!!

Friday, April 8th @ 3:30pm in the Gym.

For more information, please visit www.jgwdrama.com

Moana Jr. Auditions!!

Monday, April 11th – Thursday April 14th @ 2:45pm in the Cafe

For more information, please visit www.jgwdrama.com

NEWS FROM OUR NURSES OFFICE:

Hello JGW Families!

Due to the pandemic, our office has been behind on immunization review and necessary screenings for our students. We will be reviewing immunization records more intently. If you have any updated immunization records or physical exam paperwork, please send a copy to me or send it to school with your student to the nurse’s office.

We are also looking for any clothing donations to keep in our office in case students are in need of a change of clothes. Any contribution is greatly appreciated! Sizing preference varies: Pants, sweatpants, jeans, leggings, tshirts (long sleeve or short sleeve) and socks are needed. We have students from grades 5 to 8, therefore any sizing that may be appropriate for this age group is welcome! Thank you.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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.

CLASSROOM NEWS:

GRADE 5:

Ms. Simes: This week in math, students will develop understanding of the measurable attribute of volume and on using numbers and operations to compute the volume of rectangular prisms and composite shapes.  All students should continue to work on their math facts fluency, as this continues to be an important component to our lessons.  In science, students are wondering, “What role does water play on our Earth, and what steps can be taken to conserve it?”   We have begun to understand through our “Daily Science” readings about the distribution of water on Earth and the types of water sources.  This background information will assist the students, as we learn about the continuous movement of water within the Earth and atmosphere.  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 are officially in MCAS REVIEW mode! There are 10.5 days until the 5th graders take the ELA MCAS assessment. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be reviewing all the different genres, as well as parts of speech and writing about reading expectations.

SS: Students had really insightful conversations about the American Revolution over the past several weeks. This week, we will be completing the Spring DBQ (Document Based Question), which asks students to identify the three most important rights/responsibilities of American citizens. Students will be working with secondary and primary sources to answer questions and write an essay. The DBQ will be due on Friday, March 25th. Students will have every Social Studies class period to work on this, but if they are not finished by Friday afternoon, they will be expected to complete it over the weekend. It is a TEST/ESSAY grade that is worth 50% of their grade!

Ms. Hogan: At the beginning of this week, we spent a day talking about the war in Ukraine. We researched the history of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in order to discover why Russia invaded Ukraine. During the rest of the week, we returned to learning about the Revolutionary War. We read about the Battle of Saratoga and thought about what it was like for the colonial army to spend the winter at Valley Forge. Next week, we will begin to wrap up our unit on the Revolutionary War. We will discuss how the war ended and the roles that women, African Americans, and Native Americans played in the war.

Ms. LaCoste: This week students have been exploring nonfiction texts.  They are working to identify text features and how they support their understanding of the text.  We’ve also discussed the central or main idea and how they differ from the main idea or theme of fiction texts.  We’ll continue to review basic parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) and will have a quiz next week.  Please continue to encourage your students to work on their long term biography book reports.

Ms. Consolazio: In science, we started a new scope: The Hydrologic Cycle.   Students are learning about evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and transpiration.  This week students were introduced to the new vocabulary for the scope and began reading about the water cycle.  Please make sure students bring their Chromebook charged every day for class.

Mr. Kelly: We have been working on Multiplying fractions. We will finish that skill this upcoming week. On Thursday, there will be a quiz on the skill. Starting on Friday, we will move onto doing division with fractions. Reminder, there is homework due on Friday every week.

Ms. Lees: Students in Fifth grade Orange and Green Groups will continue their work with fractions. In ELA we will be responding to informational text in writing. Those students with individual goals continue working towards achievement. Students who have LEXIA accounts are encouraged to work at home with their reading online as well as to read everyday out loud with someone at home or to themselves. It will help all students to log into iReady for reading or math to strengthen their skills. Please reach out if after school or before school help will support your student.

Ms. Blanchette: Students are working diligently to learn grade level curriculum. Report cards are available to view on school brains. If you have any questions please reach out. Extra help is offered every Tuesday and Thursday for students from 2:45-3:30. I look forward to a great week!

GRADE 6:

Ms. Hamel: As Report Cards are coming out~ I want to take a moment to say how incredibly humbled I am that so many of our students have brought their grades up since the beginning of the school year. We have had such a roller coaster ride in our academic careers and our students are truly working so hard to become better students each day. I thank you all at home for your support in your child’s learning and growth!

ELA: Our students are beginning to work on MCAS practice exams. This is to help us build stamina, recognize types of readings and questions as well as work on test taking strategies that will help each student as they persevere through our testing days. ELA MCAS dates for grade 6 are April 7th and 8th. I will send out information as that gets closer. Our students continue to work on A Long Walk to Water as well as fiction and non-fiction writings on the topic of School Bullying.

SS: Our students wrapped up our Spring DBQs this week- their topic was the achievements of the Ancient Civilizations and how those achievements continue to affect our world today. My students worked so diligently on these essays and I saw some of the best writing I’ve seen all  year… WAY TO GO!
Students are also finishing up their Africa Technology Projects while also beginning our tour through South America.

Mr. LeGrand: Mathematics: Last week, students were introduced to the customary units of measure to learn two approaches to converting measurement units.  This week, students are learning to use unit rates to convert metric measurements.

Social Studies:  We are currently studying South America.  Students will learn how the regions differ in size and population and study data about the largest countries and cities within each region.  Students will also learn about the capital cities of South America.

Ms. Lane: Science: The students did a google slide presentation in Science this week called “Systems Inc.” They needed to pretend that they worked for a company that fired one of the systems of the human body. They needed to research their system and needed to convince their department heads that their system is the absolute most important system and without it the rest of the systems will fail.

Social Studies:The students are finishing their spring Document Based Question (DBQ) and turning it into a 5 paragraph essay about the Achievements of Ancient Civilizations and how those have helped humankind in our modern world. They will also have a test about Africa.

If you have any questions or concerns, always communicate with me. I stay after school everyday until 3:45pm and welcome my students to stay with me for extra help and also a quiet place to get work done. This way if they do have a question they may ask me directly. My email address is stacy.lane@haverhill-ps.org

Ms. Tarbox: In ELA, both Yellow and Orange groups will continue with the novel study, “A Long Walk to Water.” During small group pull out sessions, students will dive into MCAS test taking strategies while continuing to support progress toward individual goals. We will work closely to identify unknown words when reading sample MCAS passages in order to practice strategies such as “reading around the word” to help build meaning.  In math, both groups recently completed a mid year benchmark assessment. We will continue working with ratios as we work through Topic 5. Students are beginning to look at units of measurement. As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns, mtarbox@haverhill-ps.org.

GRADE 7:

Mrs. Berthiaume: In ELA, we have begun Unit 4 in StudySync.  All DBQ essays in Social Studies should have been turned in by now.  Thank you to all who are coming to school with fully charged Chromebooks.  Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Trombly: Math classes have finished up their district benchmarks. We are finishing up work on direct variation, and will be going into percents. Students will be allowed to use calculators during part of this unit I will let them know when. Social studies class Is finishing up their DBQ this week

Mrs. MacKinnon: We have begun our unit on magnetism.  Students are  analyzing data to describe the effect of distance and magnitude of electric charge on the strength of electric forces.  They will also use scientific evidence to argue that fields exist between objects with mass, between magnetic objects, and between electrically charged objects that exert force on each other even though the objects are not in contact.

Ms. DiGloria: Next week in Grade 7 Green and Blue English, students will be working with a text called Tequila Worm and continuing to improve their reading skills with a practice MCAS on Thursday and Friday. A reminder that our MCAS for ELA will be April 11th and 12th. In Social Studies, we will be wrapping up our second DBQ benchmark assessment and then jumping back into Greek history by looking at the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns about your student’s most recent Report Card grades.

Mr. Auger: Hello everyone! This week in my 7th grade science class, students began our next unit, electric and magnetic forces.  Students completed a hands-on lab activity using magnets and iron filings to help visualize and understand the concept of a magnetic field.  Next week we will work to understand how we can increase the strength of both electric and magnetic fields.  In my 7th grade social studies class, students worked hard to complete their DBQ writing assignments this week.  Next week, we will continue to expand our knowledge of Greece and will discuss Greek mythology.  Have a great weekend!

Mr. Harris: students finished this past week working with percent markup and markdown, as well as learning about simple interest.  This brings us to the end of our unit on percentages, which we will have our test on this Tuesday March 22nd.  We will then begin our unit on solving equations and inequalities.

Ms. Bilmazes & Ms. Holmes: Trimester 3 has gotten off to a great start as we begin MCAS preparations.   In ELA , students are continuing with the Moment of Truth unit, working on narrative writing  in preparation for MCAS. In Math, students are continuing to work on the constant of proportionality, using cross multiplication. 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.  As always, feel free to reach out with any questions.

GRADE 8:

Mr. Lewis: We are beginning to read The Diary of Anne Frank. This week we had two brief lessons on World War II and The Holocaust to give students historical context for Anne’s struggle. From there, students will be focusing on conflict and how it progresses throughout the narrative.

Ms. Deblasis: We will begin Topic 6: Congruence & Similarity.  This topic will focus on the following concepts: analyze translations, reflections, & rotations; understand congruent & similar figures; angles, lines, & transversals; and interior & exterior angles of triangles.

Mr. Marinella: ELA– Blue and Purple are moving into a new unit! Instead of analyzing a whole novel, we will be looking at short stories and essays. The focus is trying to find the correct words to make arguments in order to effectively prove a point to readers. This week we have been focusing on how writers create strong arguments using evidence. Students seem to have a good grasp on arguing, in room 15 were are trying to focus that energy toward strong academic argumentative writing!

Civics– Civics is moving into our last DBQ of the year! This is a writing assignment that will span a few weeks. We will be reading and dissecting primary sources from or about the Constitution in order to understand how that Founding Document ensures that no one person or group becomes too powerful or tyrannical. After all sources are read and analyzed, we will be writing a 5 paragraph essay to show what we have learned and answer the essential question. We have started the writing process by beginning with a graphic organizer to focus our thoughts, and will begin writing our essays shortly. Check in with your student to see their progress on this tough assignment!

Ms. Sullivan: This week we will continue working on Newton’s Laws.  We will be looking to provide evidence that the change in an object’s speed depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object. Our focus will be on balanced and unbalanced forces in a system, qualitative comparisons of forces, mass, and changes in speed in one dimension.

Mr. Blaustein: We spent the beginning of this week working on our Civics projects for which we have 8 more sessions to complete over the next four weeks. This week we are tackling Ch 5 Lesson 4 How A Bill becomes A Law. I expect the quiz will be about the middle of next week. This lesson will complete the chapter and we will begin to focus on the chapter test.

Mr. Harris: students are mostly through our data unit, and finished the week looking at frequency tables.  This will lead into our work with relative frequency tables (these use percentages instead of the raw data).  After this, we will be moving into our unit on systems of linear equations.

Ms. MacKinnon: We are continuing to work on Newton’s three Laws.  We will continue to  provide evidence that the change in an object’s speed depends on the sum of the forces on the object (the net force) and the mass of the object.  We will also  develop a model that demonstrates Newton’s third law involving the motion of two colliding objects and  present information that illustrates how a product can be created using basic processes in manufacturing systems, including forming, separating, conditioning, assembling, finishing, quality control, and safety. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of human vs. computer control of these processes.

Ms. Senior: Eighth graders are “vocabulary detectives” in ELA, and in Mathematics they’re juggling multiple equations simultaneously.

Ms. Blanchette: Students are working diligently to learn grade level curriculum. Report cards are available to view on school brains. If you have any questions please reach out. Extra help is offered every Tuesday and Thursday for students from 2:45-3:30. I look forward to a great week!

SPECIALISTS:

Physical Education: (Mr. Demarais): Our classes are working on net games in PE.  Badminton, volleyball, and nitroball.  We will also be walking at the beginning of each class weather permitting.  Dress appropriately and bring a water with you to class.

Art (Ms. Boulger): The students in the purple and yellow groups are finishing up their art folder that they designed and fully colored to store their art assignments in. They are also in the process of completing pre assessments to determine art preferences. They will be starting a variety of art projects in the upcoming week.

The art department is looking for donations of the following:

new/used sports equipment (specifically footballs, and basketballs)

new/used frames

new/used/ unused plastic or glass jars of any size to store mixed paint and glazes.

new/used T-shirts to use as smocks.

Artwork by Reese

Health (Ms. Reynolds):

grade 5 – Finishing the Self Esteem Unit and beginning the Safety Unit with Fire Safety

grade 6 – We will be continuing on with discussing Healthy Habits and the Health Triangle

grade 7 – Students will have set their goal for the rest of the year and we will begin the Alcohol and Vape Unit

grade 8 – We will finish classes on Decision Making and begin the Substance Abuse Unit

Music (Mr. Gariepy): Hello JGW Friends and Families!!

In class this week, we started off trimester 3 with some music review games and fun activities in class. We will be starting piano lessons by the end of next week.

Library (Ms. Michitson): Hello JG Whittier Friends.  This week started off  the new trimester with new students in the library.  Some items we go over are, Book contests, current events, newspapers from all over the country, homework, class assignments and chess & dominos, if there’s time.

Please reach out to me if you have questions or concerns.

Technology (Mr. Gordon): All grades are going over class expectations for the new term and starting their digital citizenship curriculum.

SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF

Guidance (Ms. Vlahos): Over the next few weeks, the 8th grade course registration process will begin for Haverhill High School. Eighth grade teachers will be inputting course level recommendations and 8th grade students and students and families will be receiving information on course options and electives available at Haverhill High.  Stay tuned for more information on high school course registration as it will be forthcoming!

Haverhill High School CTE interviews are scheduled for Wednesday,  March 23 and Thursday, March 24.  All applicants scheduled to interview have been given their interview appointment times.  If you have a question about your interview, please see Mrs. Vlahos in the Guidance office.

Important notice for middle school Loop students: Haverhill High School has decided to have a delayed start to school for MCAS testing days.  This means that there will be NO Loop program on the following dates: March 22,  March 23, May 16,  May 17, June 7 and June 8.

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): Loyalty, Compassion and Self-Sacrifice: SEL Lesson on the four dragons: This origin story folktale of the four major rivers in China teaches empathy and accountability. Four Dragons take pity on a village that has not had rain and suffers destruction due to drought.  The Dragons contradict the authority of the Jade Emperor and pay the ultimate price for their empathy.  It introduces 4 Awesome Questions** to initiate an open ethical discussion that fosters critical thinking and social emotional learning objectives.

*Like many old tales, the four Dragons teaches a social emotional lesson as well as reinforcing geography. Use this lesson in conjunction with world studies, diversity, and social justice curriculum.

**Four Awesome Questions: Before you speak or act, first ask . . . Is it True? Is it Fair? Will it Build Community and Better Friendship? Will it be Helpful to those Involved?

Student Adjustment Counselor (Ms. White): Students continue to build upon their self-esteem and accessing their coping strategies during this busy time of the school year!  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 shelby.white@haverhill-ps.org.  I look forward to our continued work in support of a healthy, safe, and successful school year!  We continue to work on developing coping strategies and how we can utilize them across our day!

Middle School Support Program (Mrs. Leydon & Mr. Diffin): We hope everyone is happy with their report cards! Reminder that homework help is offered mornings in the art room for students who need the extra time to complete work. Proud of all the students who have worked really hard this past trimester! Reach out with any questions or concerns.

Parent Liaison (Ms. Arias-Reyes): Estaré fuera este viernes 18 de marzo, no tendré acceso a mi teléfono o correo electrónico. Si necesitan ayuda no duden en contactar la escuela o contactar a mi compañera Maria Gomez. Pueden comunicarse con Maria al (978) 384- 6225, por favor de informarle el nombre de su estudiante y el nombre de la escuela. Muchas gracias y que tengan un buen fin de semana.

ELL (Ms. Khakali & Corporan): Our Level 3-5 English learners have finished reading and analyzing “Can Video Games Take Your Brain to the Next Level?” Next week our students will prepare to debate this hot topic. Our newcomers will be finishing Unit 4: Numbers Count and will demonstrate mastery of cardinal/ordinal numbers, negative statements with the verb do/does and the reading “The Mighty Maya.”

Student Support Center (Mrs. Greenwood): We are halfway through the month of March already!.  Please reach out to Mrs. Greenwood or Ms. House in SSC if you have any questions and or concerns. WE are here to help and support all students. Have a great weekend everyone.

Reading Intervention Team (Ms. Guthrie, Ms. Carney, Ms. Trovato): 5th grade ELA classes are working on nonfiction in F and P. Students are learning how to distinguish nonfiction text features.

Grades 6-8 are beginning Unit 4 in Studysync. Students will be reading various genres and focusing on particular writing prompts to evaluate their understanding.

Math Coach (Mr. Stelzer): Math teachers have met with the math coach to review data from the benchmark results in order to plan interventions, re-teaching and/or enrichment.