IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:
Monday, September 4 - No School/Labor Day
Thursday, September 21 - Activities Fair
Tuesday, September 26 - High School Open House 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Saturday, October 15 - PSAT Exam
MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL SIERPINA
Welcome Back!
I want to welcome everyone back to school and, especially welcome our Class of 2027 and our new staff: Ms. Jennifer Dutile, Mrs. Susan Nolan, Mr. Jesse Fusco, Ms. Samantha Emberley, and Ms. Kerri Speck. We had a successful week back and the students and staff did a great job of getting to know each other while also “hitting the ground running”. We are very excited for the 2023-2024 school year and are looking forward to working with all of you. As always, we appreciate all your help and support of GDRHS and our students. If you have any questions, please contact the school. Thank you and have a great holiday weekend.
New Student Orientation took place the day before school started. We had over 50 student staff leading the way and a huge turnout of new students! Good Luck to the Class of 2027 and our new to GD students!!
ATTENTION JUNIOR CLASS PARENTS & FAMILIES!
The junior class will be running concessions at our "home" football games at the Ayer/Shirley football field this season. We are asking families to help us with this fundraiser by making donations for the concession stand.
Please check your email for a message that was sent on Wednesday, August 30th for a list of items we need to run the concession stand. Our first football game is Thursday, September 7th.
Thank you for your support and we hope to see you there.
NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY
The National Honor Society encourages achievement, integrity, leadership, and service among high school students. The NHS chapter at GDRHS will soon conduct our fall membership application process. On September 5, the invitation to apply will be emailed to eligible students. This invitation will go out to Juniors and Seniors with a weighted but unrounded GPA of at least 90%. The deadline for all application materials is Wednesday, September 27 at 2:00 pm. After the membership application process takes place, those students who are to be newly admitted will be notified. Use this link to find information on our Guidance Department page about the expectations for students who are seeking membership in the GDRHS Chapter of the NHS.
NHS Officers: Katelyn Gray (Secretary), Dorthea Gibbons (Communications), Maanya Sharma (Service Coordinator), Elyse Moores (Tutoring Coordinator), Mira Mahmoud (Chapter President), and Cassandra Prechtl. (Vice President)
SCHOOL COUNCIL 2023-2024
GDRHS is looking for a few parents, community members, and staff to be part of the School Council for the 2023-2024 school year. The School Council will work together to thoughtfully plan and engage in enrichment activities that create learning opportunities above and beyond the classroom that align with curriculum frameworks and other educational goals. The first meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 19th, with the time TBD based on the availability of the committee. If you are interested, please email me at ssierpina@gdrsd.org. Thank you.
STEM OPPORTUNITY - BAE SYSTEMS FOCUS PROGRAM
BAE Systems will be offering their FOCUS Program beginning in September 2023. FOCUS is an 11-week in person program which provides hands-on experiences in STEM fields to help grow students' interest in technical education and careers.
The program takes place at BAE Systems Nashua Canal Street facility from September 27 through December 6. Students will participate on Wednesday evenings from 6-8 p.m. You can learn more about FOCUS on our website: www.baesystems.com/focus
Students in grades 9 – 12 from schools within a reasonable driving distance from Southern New Hampshire are welcome to apply for the program through September 18, 2023. Our application is hosted on Tallo: https://app.tallo.com/talent/opportunity/view/45748aef-bd27-4f43-9481-18d72356d0d5 (note: students will need to create a Tallo profile to apply, this is easy and free and compliant with NH student privacy standards).
Questions may be directed to the program team via focus.nashua@baesystems.com or to Laurel Skiff, Pre and Early Career program manager.
SENIOR YEARBOOK PORTRAIT INFORMATION
To the families of the Class of 2024:
Hopefully many seniors have had their senior portraits taken over the summer or have plans to do so soon.
This is a reminder that the deadline for submitting your senior portrait for the yearbook is October 31, 2023.
Please take a look at this senior portrait information sheet, which contains specifications for the portrait you will submit to the yearbook. (We originally gave you this information on April 25 during WIN Block.)
Photographers typically take a variety of photos during a session, and one of them needs to follow the specifications on our yearbook information sheet. That's the one you will submit to the yearbook.
Of course, you are free to choose other prints from your photo session to share with your family and friends.
Because of our page layout, we need to have consistency (vertical orientation and head size) among the 176 portraits seniors submit. This way, your heads will fit in the photo boxes and will be the same relative size as those of your classmates whose photos will be placed next to yours on a page.
Thank you. Any questions, please contact Mr. Adams (jadams@gdrsd.org), who keeps track of the senior portrait submissions.
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