MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL & MAIN OFFICE NEWS

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO ALL OF THE MOMS OUT THERE!!!

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. Please remind your 8^th grade student about our “Good Standing Policy” and expectations. This was shared with all 8^th grade families via email on 4/25/22.

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

May News: For the month of May, our school theme is ‘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, Star Poet Society 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. Teachers will be looking for positive attitudes, improvements, students with school pride, and other ways that catch their attention.

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.

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 Hillie: UPDATED NEWSLETTER…

BCBA_ Spring Newsletter

BCBA Spring Newsletter – Spanish  

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: Thank you to all that applied to be in the National Honor Society.  I had over 40 students apply, so it made choosing extremely difficult.  Please be on the lookout for a letter to be arriving at your house.  The induction ceremony will be Wednesday June 1, at 5:30 pm in the cafeteria.  The NJHS will also be giving out free slush to the school during lunchtime on May 25th.

JR VIP: There will be a Jr Vip Meeting on Wednesday, 5/11 in the Art Room after school for one hour.  See Mrs. Reynolds if you can not make the meeting.

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! Please pay attention to the Google Classroom for updates on meeting times and cancellations.

DRAMA CLUB: The JGW Drama Club is producing the show Moana Jr. and we need your help!! We are looking for builders/contractors/volunteers of the like to help Bring Montunui to Life!! For more info, please visit jgwdrama.com or email Mr. Gariepy at robert.gariepy@haverhill-ps.org

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 past week in math, students classified triangles by sides and angles and began their “Life In A Geometrical Town” project.  They will work on this next week on the days that they do not have MCAS Science.  In science, students worked on writing responses of past MCAS essay items and used student exemplars to compare their responses.  They also made connections to past learning to answer multiple choice questions and are ready to complete their MCAS STE on Tuesday 5/10 and Wednesday 5/11.  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: Students have been doing an amazing job with their research projects! We finally started putting our research information on our tri-fold boards and they look great. We will be having research presentations later in the week (after Science MCAS).

SS: We are continuing Unit 7: A Growing Nation. Last week, we learned about the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis + Clark, and Sacagawea. We also had a short quiz on Lesson One – students will be having a short, 10 question quiz at the end of each lesson in this unit. This week, we will be learning about how advancements in technology and transportation helped shape the nation.

Ms. Hogan: In social studies, we have been learning about the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition. Many students found the Lewis and Clark expedition particularly interesting. It is fun to think about what it must have been like to explore unknown lands! Next week, we will continue to learn about the early years of the United States. We will discuss the War of 1812 and the new technologies that were developed during the 19th century.

Ms. LaCoste: This week in ELA students have immersed themselves into the world of nonfiction.  We began the week with a read aloud called, Titanic: Disaster at Sea.  We analyzed text features and discussed how they help us better understand the story.  For the remainder of the week, students cycled two times through learning stations in our classroom that had different nonfiction support activities.  This week, your student also chose their nonfiction research topic.  Ask them about what they’ll be researching!  As the year winds down, many students seem to be getting ready for summer a bit prematurely.  Please remind students that hard work and kindness are keys to success in school!

Ms. Consolazio: In science, we have MCAS May 10^thand 11^th.  In class we have been reviewing concepts in science that may be on the MCAS test.  Next week we will continue learning about Earth interactions.  Please make sure students bring their Chromebook charged every day for class.

Mr. Kelly: We have finished our first project and we will start our next one next week. 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: Fifth graders will rock taking the Science MCAS on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. ELA groups will take notes for 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: As we inch closer to the end of the school year, students should continue to be vigilant about completing all assignments and keeping up the hard work they have done all year. Next week will conclude MCAS with the science, technology and engineering sessions; so please ensure that your student gets a good night’s rest and has a charged chromebook. I look forward to another great week at JGW!

GRADE 6:

Ms. Hamel: Congratulations to AnnaMarie Gomez for winning Student of the Month in Red Group this month! Way to Go Anna!!

SS: Students are beginning the Culture Unit of South America. This unit introduces students to the beliefs and traditions of South American people. Students will learn about the cultural influences such as music, art, and sports that are important in the life of South America. They are also discovering three important tourist sites as well as South American cuisine and celebrations. Finally, students will study the religions and indigenous cultures of South America.

ELA: Students have delved deeply into the life and the struggles of the main character, Esperanza, in their novel study. They are making strong connections to their own lives. We continue our classroom discussions on wealth and privilege/ grief and loss/ hope and rebirth/ activism and solidarity. As always, I am thoroughly impressed with the thoughts and conversations of our students.

Students also continue to work on their second narratives of the year. The rubric for these narratives can be found in their google classroom.

Ms. Silveira: We have begun to discuss cells and their anatomy. Next week, we’re going to start our first project and become architects by designing a house with the functions of organelles.

For math, we are discussing what a statistical question is, what it means, and how to create one. We are then going to be looking at the data of statistical questions and figuring out what they show.

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

Ashley.Silveira@haverhill-ps.org

Mr. Taylor: ELA – Continuing to explore character development through our class novel, Ghost, and answering the question; Which character traits matter most.

SS- Learning about South America and its political, cultural, and geographical features while working on putting some Google slides together for a research project.

Mr. LeGrand: Mathematics:  In this week’s lesson, students will learn to compose and decompose polygons, including polygons on the coordinate plane, into known shapes to find their areas.

Social Studies:  This week, students will have the opportunity to choose a country from South America and conduct research on that particular country.  For this project, they will create a poster containing information about the country’s geography, government, economy, history, culture, and attractions.

Ms. Lane: Science: The students are studying Anatomy of a Cell.  They are learning, what’s on the inside? Within cells, special structures are responsible for particular functions. They are learning the primary organelles, for example, Nucleus, Chloroplasts, Mitochondria, Cell Membrane, and a Cell Wall. They made a 3D model to learn and describe how parts of cells contribute to the cellular functions of obtaining food, water, and other nutrients from its environment, disposing wastes, and providing energy for cellular processes.

Social Studies: The students just finished the Physical Features 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 Valuable Resources of South America. In this section, students learn about the various natural resources of South America. They discover that hydropower, oil and mining are all important industries in South America. They also learn about regional crops and cattle production. In addition, students learn about resources of the rainforest and some of the interesting animals of South America.

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 have started their final round of Fountas & Pinnell testing to see just how much growth has been made this year! Emails with updates are being sent home to families as students are tested. In Math, both Yellow and Orange groups are working on Topic 7, solving area and volume problems. As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns, mtarbox@haverhill-ps.org.

GRADE 7:

Mrs. Berthiaume: In ELA, we started our class novel, Hidden Figures.  In Social Studies, students enjoyed our virtual field trip to ancient Rome.  Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Trombly: Next week we will be continuing with geometry and starting surface area and Volume of 3d shapes.  Students in Social Studies are working on their interactive Greek gods notebooks and also learning Ancient Rome.  Have a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend.

Mrs. MacKinnon: We will be finishing up our unit on kinetic and potential energy.  The students will be having their test on Tuesday  May 10th, We will then be going into thermal energy.

Ms. DiGloria: In Green and Blue Social Studies this week, students will be learning about the beginnings of the Roman Republic’s government. They will start a project on this topic that will lead into next week. In ELA, we will be continuing to work with The Giver.

Mr. Auger: Hello Everyone! This week in my 7th grade science class students continued learning about potential energy.  We discussed the various types of potential energy and looked at some everyday examples of potential energy.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, students completed their math MCAS exams, the last MCAS exam of the year for 7th graders.  Next week, we will wrap up our unit on potential energy and have an exam on both the kinetic and potential energy units.  In my 7th grade social studies class, students began learning about the early history of ancient Rome.  Next week, we will learn about the early civilizations and leaders of Ancient Rome.  Have a great weekend!

Mr. Harris: Students worked hard on their Math MCAS.  We will circle back to Population and Sampling, something we briefly did before MCAS started.

Ms. Bilmazes: Students wrapped up Math MCAS on Tuesday and Wednesday. Great job by all!

In ELA, students  are ready to begin their novel study. The blue group will be reading  The Giver and have begun preparing by exploring some background information. The yellow and orange groups are preparing to begin reading Hidden Figures.  In Math, students will be working on a unit on probability.  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:

Ms. Deblasis: This week we will begin Topic 7: Understand and Apply the Pythagorean Theorem.

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 in 8th grade science we will start our review for science MCAS. The science MCAS will be Thursday and Friday next week.

Mr. Blaustein: We are finishing up our DBQ’s this week. The focus question is How does the Constitution prevent any one person, or group, in the federal government from becoming too powerful? The paper is due Friday, May 13th. Our next unit of study will be the executive branch.

Mr. Harris: Students ended the week working on their Math MCAS.  We will head into this week by working on Congruence and Similarity.  Specifically, what those words mean, and how it applies to shapes.  We will also take a deep dive into transformations (translations, rotations, and reflections).

Ms. MacKinnon: We will be reviewing for STE MCAS that the 8th grade will be doing on Thursday and Friday.  Good luck to all on their MCAS next week.

Ms. Senior: Triangles, angles, parallel lines, degrees and more are what the Grade 8 mathematicians are studying. ELA students are busy writing essays loaded with transitional phrases, evidence and wrap-up conclusions.

Ms. Blanchette: As we inch closer to the end of the school year, students should continue to be vigilant about completing all assignments and keeping up the hard work they have done all year. Next week will conclude MCAS with the science, technology and engineering sessions; so please ensure that your student gets a good night’s rest and has a charged chromebook. I look forward to another great week at JGW!

SPECIALISTS:

Physical Education: (Mr. Demarais): My classes or beginning our floor hockey unit.  We will be working on stick handling, shooting and passing.

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.

Health (Ms. Reynolds):

grade 5 – Drug Awareness Unit continues with Refusal Skills lessons

grade 6 – Tobacco, Nicotine and Vape Unit continues with the Tobacco Wheel Activity and the Respiratory System

grade 7 – Cyber-safety Unit with info on Digital Footprints and Scams/Phishing attempts

grade 8 – Violence Prevention begins with Dating Violence and Healthy Relationships

Music (Mr. Gariepy): Hello JGW Friends & Families!! All classes have finished their movie-musicals and questions at this point, and we are wrapping up piano today before moving onto guitar for the rest of the year!! For the first half of each class, all students have been learning about music history, like Medieval (800 A.D. – 1400 A.D.) & Renaissance Music (1400 A.D. – 1600 A.D.), as well as Opera/Baroque/Period of Invention (1600 A.D. – 1750 A.D.) For the second half of class, they have been learning how to produce and compose their own music using Soundation.com and headphones, along with their desktop pianos in class. I’ll start to create a playlist of student creations to post here for you next week.

Library (Ms. Michitson): MCAS has kept the students very busy the last two weeks. We have been touching base regarding the Ukraine war, reading and catching up on homework.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.  Thank you

Technology (Mr. Gordon): All grades are continuing with their coding and Google Docs assignments.

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): Next week topic will be on “Conflict Resolution”.

Student Adjustment Counselor (Ms. White): 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 school year!

Middle School Support Program (Mrs. Leydon & Mr. Diffin): First week without our rock Mrs. Leydon! We all wish her, and the family good luck next week with the addition to the Leydon clan. Our 7th and 8th grades had their Math MCAS testing this week. Next week our 5th and 8th graders will take MCAS for STEM (Science).  Ms. Credit is filling in covering our social groups…and has done a tremendous job as usual. We look forward to the weather getting better…and hopefully some classwork being done outside???? This is a great group of kids, and we all love being a part of their day.

Mom’s…Have a great Mothers Day!

Parent Liaison (Ms. Arias-Reyes): Las solicitudes para el programa de verano están abiertas. En los próximos días la Sra. Khakali enviará a través de la aplicacion Remind la carta con información sobre el programa y un enlace que los llevará a una encuesta que deben de llenar, lo más pronto posible. Es un excelente programa que ayuda a sus hijos en su progreso con el aprendizaje de inglés y es completamente gratuito, recomendamos que inscriban a sus hijos. Si necesitan ayuda llenando el formulario, no duden en contactarme. ¡Que tengan un excelente 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): Shout out for Teacher Appreciation Week! WE thank you for all that you do and continue to do for our students. Have a great week.

Reading Intervention Team (Ms. Guthrie, Ms. Carney, Ms. Trovato): Congratulations to all grade levels for working so hard on the Math MCAS! Next week Grades 5 and 8 will complete the Science MCAS. Continue to do your best!  Students are still being serviced during the testing period in small group pull out as well as in the classroom during ELA. Thank you to the administration and PTO for recognizing us for teacher appreciation week! Have a great weekend!