MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL & MAIN OFFICE NEWS

PROGRESS REPORTS: Your student’s progress report will be available to view online through the student/parent portal starting Friday, April 29th at 3pm. 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

Drop Off/Pick Up Procedure: As we close out this school year, I would like to please remind families that during drop off and pick up procedures, please DO NOT use the main driveway in front of the school, as this is permitted for buses only. I appreciate your consideration.

MCAS: Our MCAS Testing Season continues. You can see our schedule for when your student(s) are testing below.

We are asking families to help support your student(s) through MCAS testing by encouraging the following habits:

-A restful night’s sleep

-A healthy breakfast

-Students arriving to school on time on testing days

-Students taking their time on the test

-Students double checking their work

-Students putting in their best effort

 The school and your students appreciate your support. Best of luck to all students on their upcoming MCAS test!

MCAS Testing Schedule 2022

8^th GRADE NEWS: As we approach the end of the school year, there will be some fun activities for the entire 8^th grade to participate in. As more details become available, they will be shared with all families. As a reminder, this week the 8^th grade was reminded of our “Good Standing Policy” and expectations. This was also shared with all 8^th grade families.

8^th grade promotion will be held on Tuesday evening, June 14^th at 6pm.

Climate & Culture Survey: Thank you to all 163 families who filled out the survey. We are currently analyzing the data and I will share the findings with families prior to the end of the school year.

April News: This past month, our school theme has been positivity. People with a positive attitude are optimistic and tend to be confident. People who maintain a positive attitude are more motivated to succeed. JGW encourages all students to stay positive as we finish up the school year! Star Poet Society winners for the month of April will be selected based on this theme.

May News: For the month of May, our new school theme will be ‘unsung hero.’ Someone who is an unsung hero is someone who often does the right thing, but does not always get the recognition they deserve. This month, teachers will select students for JGW’s Star Poet Society based on this theme. This means that teachers will select students they feel do the right thing and have yet to be truly recognized for consistently doing so. This month, winners can be chosen based on a variety of ways! It could be related to academics, behavior, or anything else that aligns to keeping up with expectations at school.

Food & Drink: Please be advised that students will be reminded that food and drink are not allowed to be consumed anywhere other than the cafeteria. The exception to this rule is bottled water. Students should not be eating or drinking in the classrooms, hallways, gym, outside at recess, or any other area in the school other than the cafeteria without prior consent from Administration. Some major reasons for this rule include: Excessive littering, spills, insects, allergies, etc. We appreciate families support and reinforcement in regard to this rule.

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 · May 12th · June 9^th

SPORTS:

Track & Field: Track & Field Practice will continue to meet every Monday & Wednesday morning @ 7:20am. Please make sure to arrive on time so we can end on time!!

CLUB NEWS:

NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY: The year is getting close to winding down. Thank you to all who helped babysit at walnut Square on Tuesday.  Our next day will be Tuesday May 31st.   Our next two meetings are May 18th and May 25th after school till 3:30.  The induction ceremony will be held Wednesday June 1st in the Cafeteria starting at 5:30.  I am hoping that a Canobie Lake field trip is happening and that date will be Friday June 10th.  Please tell all your children that all hours are due on the last meeting May 25th.  Each child is to have 30 hours of community service.

Thank you to all who applied, I will be meeting with your 6th and 7th grade teachers and reading Essays.  Letters will be going home within the next two weeks.  For Planning purposes all applicants that get accepted will be invited  to the induction ceremony on June 1st at 5:30pm. Mrs. MacKinnon

JR VIP: There will be no Jr VIP meeting this week.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS CLUB: 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! There are extras that will be made available to those who need them, and parents do not need to purchase anything for their child to be in DnD club!

DRAMA CLUB: Tech Crew for Drama Club will meet every Wednesday after school. Our next meeting is Wednesday, May 4th from 2:45pm-4:00pm (time could change, please stay tuned on the Google Classroom for updates)

JGW Drama Club meets every Tuesday & Thursday from 2:45pm-5:15pm. Please stay tuned to the Google Classroom and www.jgwdrama.com for updates and information.

NEWS FROM OUR NURSES OFFICE:

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 past week, students again worked diligently, as they completed their Math MCAS.  We are very proud of how they are pacing, as they run this marathon of a race.  In math, students will work on classifying triangles and sides and will begin a fun project called “Geometric City.”    In science, students will continue to learn about space and the effects of gravity, rotation, and orbiting. We also will focus on reviewing past scopes, as we prepare for the STE MCAS on 5/10 and 5/11.  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 have started completing our research packets! Students are researching an animal, famous person, or a planet. Everyone is working hard and we should be able to put our tri-fold boards together at the end of the week!

SS: We have started Unit 7: A Growing Nation. In this unit, students will be learning about how early decisions shaped the nation, how advances in technology and transportation helped shape the nation, the people living in the early United States, how westward expansion impacted the people living in the United States, and what conflicts and compromises shaped the north and south. This unit has quite a bit of information, so students will be completing mini-assessments at the end of each of the lessons, culminating with a unit test.

Ms. Hogan: In social studies, we have been learning about the three branches of government and the Bill of Rights. Students created a brochure with information about the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. Additionally, students watched videos and read about The Bill of Rights and how it protects the freedoms of American citizens. Next week, we will finish our chapter on how the United States government works. We will be having a quiz on Tuesday, May 3rd. At the end of next week, we will begin to learn about the early years of the United States of America.

Ms. LaCoste: Your students once again persevered through their MCAS math test and enjoyed a bit of downtime after completing the days’ testing work.  As a result, their ELA instruction days were fewer than typical.  We, however, accomplished a ton.  On Monday, students listened to a narrative nonfiction story titled, Ada’s Violin, about a “recycled orchestra”.  Ask your student to tell you what made her musical group take on the nickname “recycled”.  They analyzed a quote from the story to explain how something beautiful can come from the most unexpected place.  At the end of the week, all four groups participated in our new stations format in class.  Students rotate through 4 learning stations which focus on vocabulary, word work, reading, and writing.  This week’s stations all had focused activities that support our study of informational nonfiction to prepare them for their research reports.  We will continue with the station format for the upcoming weeks.  As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Ms. Consolazio: In science, we started a new scope, Earth’s Rotation.  In class this week, we saw a video and read about Earth’s rotation, orbit, shadows, and why we have a leap year.  On Friday, students will practice science MCAS questions.  Next week I will be assigning MCAS homework.  Science MCAS will be May 10^th and 11^th.  Please make sure students bring their Chromebook charged every day for class.

Mr. Kelly: We have now finished the Math MCAS. For the next couple of weeks, we will be doing project-based learning activities in our classroom. The goal is for the students to be practicing the skills we have been learning all year but in real-life situations. On top of that, we will be practicing math fluency to increase the skills for the students. I will continue to be staying after school on Wednesdays if any students want to stay for extra support.

Ms. Lees: Students did well tackling the Math MCAS. ELA groups will move into exploring informational text and writing a research paper for reading. In Math they will be exploring new concepts and reviewing the year doing individual and group projects. 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. – Happy Spring

Ms. Blanchette: Students have been hard at work taking and preparing for the MCAS math assessment. Progress reports will be available to families on Friday April, 29th on school brains. Please check with your child/children to see if they have any missing assignments. I will be offering extra help after school on Tuesday and Thursday from 2:45-3:30. Have a great week.

GRADE 6:

Ms. Hamel: SS~ Students are working on their South America Landmark project where they choose a Landmark (manmade or natural) and research its importance to South America. Part of this project is that students are required to build a 3D replica of their landmark~ I am excited to see how they turn out! Students are also wrapping up our segment of Natural Resources of South America and will move into South American Culture.

ELA: Students have begun working on their second narrative of the year and their only criteria is that it cannot be the same style/genre of their first. They have been working hard and I am excited to see how much stronger their writing skills have gotten. We are also continuing our fourth novel study of the year: Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. Students are enjoying this award winning story and my heart is overwhelmed when I watch them reading aloud in small groups and having strong conversations about the book! Way to Go!!!

Ms. Silveira: I am very proud of everyone and can finally say we are DONE MCAS!! Students took their time and used the resources they were given. You should be proud of them as well!

We have wrapped up our chapter in math and our scope in science. So we will be taking next week to review and then we will take a science and math test.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me.

Ashley.Silveira@haverhill-ps.org

Mr. Taylor: ELA – Continuing on in Unit 4  in Study sync answering the question; Which character traits matter most and continuing to read our whole class book, Ghost.

SS- Learning about South America and its landmarks and geography.  Putting some Google slides together for a research project.

Mr. LeGrand: Mathematics:  Previously in this topic, students found the areas of trapezoids by decomposing them into rectangles and triangles and applying area formulas.  In this lesson, students will compose and decompose polygons, including polygons on the coordinate plane, into known shapes to find their areas.

Social Studies:  Students will be introduced to the location of South America in the world.  They will learn the difference between relative and absolute location, as well as the hemispheres in which South America lies.

Ms. Lane: Science: There are several things happening right now from the ELA MCAS to the Math MCAS the 28th and 29th. Recently, the students did a project that they worked hard on and it got overlooked in our weekly update.  They researched and performed on a debate in Science! It was AWESOME and I am SO PROUD OF THEM!

The Driving Question (motion) for their debate was: Should Energy Drinks be banned for children?

The students dressed properly for a debate, they were respectful and made statements, and rebuttals. They learned how to build on the discussion, and everyone contributed in their own way to the discussion. Mr. Betty and Mrs. Koch came in to observe the students and their hard work. The students were so excited that their principals came!

Some of the statements made were:

From the No Team (No do not ban energy drinks). *You should not ban energy drinks because you should educate the public, the parents and let them make their own decisions.

From the Yes Team (Yes ban energy drinks). The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against the use of Energy Drinks because it is not healthy for a child’s diet because it causes high blood pressure and sugar highs.

Some students also shared personal information with regards to how Energy Drinks affect people with depression and anxiety. To see and experience this as a teacher was fulfilling, inspiring, powerful and promising to listen and watch these students grow and learn.

Social Studies: The students just finished the Political Divisions of South America and that it is the fourth largest continent in size and the fifth largest in population in the world. They have started a new packet called the Physical Features of South America and they are learning about landforms and bodies of water of South America. This year’s goal is to teach them how to understand and evolve their mapping abilities and when we got back from vacation they did in great detail a map of South America.

After School Help: I stay after school everyday until 3:45pm. I invite the students to stay with me for extra help. Please reach out to me if you would like to confirm having your student stay after school for extra help. stacy.lane@haverhill-ps.org

Ms. Tarbox: In ELA, both Yellow and Orange groups will be continuing their FOURTH novel study of the year! We have been reading “Esperanza Rising.” Also, students with reading goals will begin their final round of Fountas & Pinnell testing soon to see just how much growth has been made this year! In Math, both Yellow and Orange groups are finishing up volume. As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns, mtarbox@haverhill-ps.org.

GRADE 7:

Mrs. Berthiaume: In ELA next week, we will begin our class novel, Hidden Figures.  I am really looking forward to reading this with the students!  We have the young readers’ edition and I know everyone will find this story to be inspirational!  In Social Studies, we just started our study of ancient Rome.

Mrs. Trombly: Seventh grade math class is getting ready to take their MCAS Tuesday and Wednesday. Please make sure you get a good nights sleep and we will provide everything your child needs. Social studies class started ancient Rome and I still finishing up our ancient Greece interactive notebooks.

Mrs. MacKinnon: We have finished up our unit on kinetic energy and are now working on potential.  Students will be doing lots of hands on activities focusing on Potential energy.  Some examples will be a simulation in a skate park, and throwing and bouncing tennis balls.  Good luck on MCAS this week!!  Mrs. MacKinnon

Ms. DiGloria: Students in Green and Blue English will be beginning to read The Giver by Lois Lowry this week. This is a popular novel that follows Jonas, a young boy given a very important job in a utopian community. This novel study will continue for the next few weeks. In Social Studies, students will be working with a map and timeline that focuses on the expansion of Ancient Rome. Please review your student’s progress report (posted on Friday, April 29th) and reach out with questions or concerns.

Mr. Auger: Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great April vacation! This week in my 7th grade science class, students completed our unit on kinetic energy and we began learning about potential energy.  Students completed two lab activities which allowed them to explore which factors can change the amount of potential energy in an object.  Next week, we will continue to expand our knowledge of potential energy.  In my 7th grade social studies class, students completed their Greek Mythology projects and we had some excellent presentations in class! Next week, we will begin our next unit, Ancient Rome. Have a great weekend!

Mr. Harris: Students have been working on Population & Sampling, as well as a little Probability as a last push before MCAS.  Students will be taking their math MCAS on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Ms. Bilmazes: Math MCAS takes place next week on Tuesday and Wednesday.  In ELA, students have been wrapping up Unit 4 and are preparing to begin their novel study after MCAS.  In Math, students are preparing for MCAS next week by learning about area and circumference.  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, Ms. Credit and I are supporting students within the classroom.  As always, feel free to reach out with any questions.

GRADE 8:

Mr. Lewis: English finished the Diary of Anne Frank. Our discussions focused mostly on the development of conflict over the course of a narrative, and how we potentially resolve them. In addition, students are completing a writing assignment on whether they agree or disagree with Anne when she says “people are generally good”. Students have had two classes to work on this, and it is due this coming Monday, 5/2.

Ms. Deblasis: 8th grade Math MCAS is Thursday, May 5th and Friday, May 6th.  We are reviewing this year’s curriculum in preparation for next weeks tests.

Please be sure your child has a goodnight sleep, a hearty breakfast, and arrives to school on time for MCAS next week.

Mr. Marinella: ELA– Blue and Purple ELA have moved on to our next novel study. This unit we are reading “Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl”. This is an extremely emotionally charged text, written with first hand accounts of a young child living through one of the darkest moments in world history. We are going to be examining the emotion of the story, as well as making connections to our own lives and challenges.

Civics– We have also moved in our final article of the Constitution we are examining: Article III the Supreme Court. We will be analyzing the history, creation, and structure of the court, as well as its members and qualifications. We will also be spending a lot of time studying the most important cases they have heard and how this third branch has helped shape the nation!

Ms. Sullivan: This week we will be working on inheritance.  We will be looking into genotypes and phenotypes and will be looking at the probabilities of traits being passed down from parent to offspring. We will be using punnett squares, creating monsters, and learning the vocabulary for the lesson.

Mr. Blaustein: We began our Spring DBQ this week. We will work on reading, analyzing and completing the packet of assignments. I expect to complete the packet by Monday.[May 2] We will spend the remainder of the week writing the 5 paragraph essay.

Mr. Harris: Students have been working on the Pythagorean Theorem as a last push before MCAS.  Students will start the week reviewing some older material that they have not seen in a bit before working on their math MCAS testing Thursday and Friday.

Ms. MacKinnon: We are working on traits and inheritance.  How they are passed onto one another.  Students have learned what  genotypes and phenotypes are.  How to draw Punnett Squares, and what the differences are between asexual and sexual reproduction.  Good luck on your math MCAS this week.  Mrs MacKinnon

Ms. Senior: Eighth graders are digging deeper into character analysis, motivation, cohesiveness and divisional changes as they extend their study of The Diary of Anne Frank. In mathematics, students are utilizing new vocabulary terms to better understand the nuances of geometric angles and how they work together, plus angle measurement comparisons are part of the study in this area.

Ms. Blanchette: Students have been hard at work taking and preparing for the MCAS math assessment. Progress reports will be available to families on Friday April, 29th on school brains. Please check with your child/children to see if they have any missing assignments. I will be offering extra help after school on Tuesday and Thursday from 2:45-3:30. Have a great week.

SPECIALISTS:

Physical Education: (Mr. Demarais): Next week my classes will be starting our floor hockey unit.  We will be working on stick handling and shooting skills followed by games.

Art (Ms. Boulger): The students in the purple and yellow groups are working on a variety of art projects in the upcoming week such as drawings, sculptures, earthenware 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 plastic or glass jars of any size to store mixed paint and glazes.

new/used T-shirts to use as smocks.

Artwork by Rex

Health (Ms. Reynolds):

Grade 5 – We are in our Drug Unit and will be learning about drugs that are both legal and illegal and the dangers they pose.

Grade 6 – We are now ending our First Aid Unit and are beginning our unit on Tobacco and Vape Dangers.

Grade 7 – We are finishing our unit on Values and Empathy and will be beginning Cyber Safety and Cyber Awareness.

Grade 8 – Our Mental Health Unit continues with a focus on Anxiety and Depression.

Music (Mr. Gariepy): With MCAS testing continuing onward, we’ve had our music options limited. We’ve been spending the past few weeks watching a movie-musical in class and answering questions, and when we can, we play piano with headphones!! We’ll be moving on to guitars next week.

Library (Ms. Michitson): Hello Families;  We are continuing with the book contest, keeping up with world news,French elections, and Russia Oil sanctions in Poland, etc.

We will also continue current events of local communities, state, and world.  Continue with our reading, homework, and projects students have.

Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Technology (Mr. Gordon): All grades are moving in to projects based on the use of Google Apps (docs, slides, sheets).

SCHOOL SUPPORT STAFF

Guidance (Ms. Vlahos): 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): This week in both group and individual counseling, students focused on identifying what triggers their emotions, analyze the beliefs they have about those situations, explore their reactions and look for ways to change their thought patterns.  Some of the emotions we focused on were anger, sadness, worry, fear and jealousy.

Student Adjustment Counselor (Ms. White): MCAS continues and we are in the home stretch 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 end of the 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): Congratulations to our 5th and 6th grade students on finishing the math MCAS this week! Next week will be our 7th and 8th grade students. Please make sure to charge your chromebooks and eat breakfast! Mrs. Leydon will be starting her maternity leave next week. I will miss you all! Please reach out to Mr. Diffin with any concerns or questions.

Parent Liaison (Ms. Arias-Reyes): Recordatorio: 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. 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. ¡Que tengan un buen fin de semana!

ELL (Ms. Khakali & Corporan): Our newcomers (level 1 & 2), will begin Unit 6: Welcome Home. This unit is focused on vocabulary we use to describe our families and people. In addition, students will continue to master present and past tense verbs and work on switching between past and present tense.

Our Level 3-5 English Learners will begin Unit 3: Disasters Happen. In this unit students will study how humans and nature cause disasters. In addition to learning about this topic, we are practicing how we work with language. Next week we will use high-level academic language to describe events scientifically, to describe experiences, and to write a letter to someone who will be going to a geographic location where they might expect a specific disaster.

Student Support Center (Mrs. Greenwood): We are back in the swing of things since returning from April vacation. Looking forward to all the fun events that will be coming up for the kids in the last few weeks of school. If you have any questions and or concerns please reach out to Mrs. Greenwood or Ms. House. We hope that you all have a great weekend.

Reading Intervention Team (Ms. Guthrie, Ms. Carney, Ms. Trovato): Congratulations to all grade levels for working so hard on the ELA MCAS! Math MCAS is underway! Keep up the great work! Students are still being serviced during the testing period in small group pull out as well as in the classroom during ELA. Have a great weekend!

Math Coach (Mr. Stelzer): Math MCAS is now underway. Grade 5 and 6 take their test this week, grade 7 and 8 next week.