Hello Middle School families. I hope you are enjoying these last few days of summer. The cooler days make me feel like school is approaching. This time of year is so exciting. We can’t wait until our halls are buzzing with student energy.
This memo will be loaded with some important information for you to know going into the first week of school and the 23-24 school year.
Lunch will be free again this year. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has decided to extend free school meals for all students through the 2023-2024 school year! This means that lunch will continue to be served at no cost to all students. However, if your child wishes to have a second lunch, a snack or a bottled water there will be a charge.
Middle School Play:
This coming Fall, the Drama Club, in conjunction with Groton-Dunstable Community Education, will be holding auditions for Nemo. Auditions will be held on September 11 (Last name A-L ) and 12 (Last name M-Z). 2:30-4. Rehearsals will be held Monday through Friday after school in the PAC, starting on September 14th. Please contact Lorien Corbelletti with any questions at lcorbelletti@gdrsd.org.
Advisory: The GDRMS will be going into our second year of our Advisory program. If you are not sure what an Advisory program is, it is our TIER 1 system and structure for Social/Emotional learning.
Core Values: We are our new Core Values for the Middle School. Teachers and staff worked on these together last year. We will have students help us design posters over the course of the school year.
Ownership, Own your space, Own your learning, Own your behavior.
Awareness, Be aware of yourself and others, Be aware of your surroundings, and Be aware of your impact.
Kindness, Be kind to yourself, Be kind to others, and Be kind to your surroundings.
Ice Cream Social: We are having our 3rd annual Ice Cream Social for our incoming 5th grade and any new students who wish to attend. This event will take place this coming Wednesday at 2:30 in the South Cafe.
5th grade:
All 5th grade students will meet in the PAC upon arrival on day one. Their teachers will call them by roster and bring them to their Advisory class. The 5th grade students will start the first 6 weeks of school in an Advisory class with a team teacher with the IA teachers supporting the teams. After the first 6 weeks students will separate out into smaller groups
6th grade :
All 6th grade students will meet in the South Gym upon arrival. Their teachers will call them by roster and bring them to their Advisory class.
7th and 8th grade:
Students will come into the North Building. 7th grade into the side door and 8th grade in through the front doors. All students will report to their Advisory classes.
Morning Drop Off:
When dropping off your child(ren) in the morning, please come in the main driveway, turn to the left and follow the tree line all the way around the Twomey center. Follow the line of travel to the right around the parking lot behind the North building, letting your child(ren) out between the two cones only. Then proceed around that parking lot and back around the Twomey Center to the rear of the North building. Students are allowed to depart cars starting at 7:58 a.m. Please pull up to the cone if you are the first car. I know you may really want to drop your child(ren) at the sidewalk but please don’t. This really holds up our line. This is so important so that all students can get into the building on time. Also, as soon as we start to unload cars, let your child(ren) out of the car.
Tardy= any student who arrives at school past 8:08n is tardy and will need to report to their building's main office.
Your Administrative team:
Assistant Principal grades 5 & 6 Mr. Michael Day mday@gdrsd.org
Grade 5 School Counselor Ms. Cara Zwicker czwicker@gdrsd.org
Grade 6 School Counselor Ms. Patty Ascione pascione@gdrsd.org
Assistant Principal grades 7 & 8 Mr. Chris Fleming cfleming@gdrsd.org
Grade 7 School Counselor Ms. Leah Nesco lbowness@gdrsd.org. Ms. Nessco will be going out on maternity leave mid September. We have hired a part time grade 7 counselor Ms. Caitlin Chiang cchiang@gdrsd.org. Ms. Chiang will be on campus Tuesdays and Thursdays. While we know this is not an ideal situation we will do our very best to make sure that all student needs are met and that families continue to receive the communication and support they need.
Grade 8 School Counselor Ms. Amanda Muise amuise@gdrsd.org
Dates to remember:
First day at school for teachers August 28
First day of school for students August 30th.
September 1st is a ½ day 11:30 dismissal.
No school September 4th.
Open house 9/21 6-7:30pm
Parent Conferences 11/15 ½ day afternoon conferences, 11/16 ½ day evening conferences March 22.
Sincerely your Groton Dunstable Regional Middle School Principal
Wendy Salvatore