January 28, 2022
GMS Parents, Guardians & Students:
Today marks the end of Quarter 2. On Monday, students will be starting in new rotations of Unified Arts classes. Over the course of the next two weeks we may be moving some student schedules to better meet their needs. More specific information regarding these schedule changes will be shared with those students and parents involved in the changes.
As a reminder, students should come to school with a refillable water bottle, an extra mask or two, a fully charged Chromebook and their charging cords. With the return from break we are seeing an increase in the number of students needing to be out sick from school. If your student has to be out of school, and is feeling well enough to do so, he or she should access the daily assignments listed in Google Classroom for each of their core classes. This will allow the student to keep up with the work and not be overwhelmed with the number of assignments that need to be made up.
Dates to be aware of:
January 28th- Q2 Ends, Grades close
January 31st-Q3 Begins, New UA classes
Free Weekly At-Home COVID Tests for Families
Earlier this week Dr. Pellegrino sent out communication regarding the availability of free COVID tests for GPS families. Please read the letter linked below and sign up if you are interested in receiving these tests.
Free Weekly At-Home COVID Tests for Families
GMS Band and Chorus Concerts
After two years, the Band and Chorus program is back to having concerts! These will be held over four evenings, all beginning at 6:30PM, in the GMS Gymnasium. All students in the ensembles are expected to be in attendance to perform, barring emergencies. Currently, only two family members per student will be allowed to attend. Please continue to check your emails for updates from Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Zuaro!
March 8 (Tues) - 5th Grade Band
March 9 (Wed) - 6th and 7th Grade Bands
March 15 (Tues) - 5th Grade Chorus
March 16 (Wed) - 6th and 7th Grade Choruses
Attendance
All public schools in Massachusetts are required to track and monitor student attendance. As part of the monitoring process, we make OneCalls to notify parents/guardians of an absence, send attendance letters and meet with students to discuss the issues causing the absences and to help remove any barriers preventing them from attending school. If a student is absent from school, this absence is categorized as “excused” or “unexcused.” In order for an absence to be coded as “excused”, the student should return to school with a note from a doctor. During the pandemic, students may have to stay home due to testing positive for the virus or being identified as a close contact. If your student has been advised to stay home by a doctor because of either of the situations mentioned previously, please make sure that this information is also communicated to the GMS School nurse, Haley Mullen. The nurse will then inform the Attendance secretary of the days for which the absences should be excused. If you receive an Attendance letter and feel as though an error has been made, please contact the Main Office so this can be rectified.
Spectators at School Sporting Events
Please be aware that the Midland Wachusett League, of which Gardner is a member, has voted to limit the number of spectators at sporting events. This change was implemented due to the rise in COVID cases and will be re-evaluated in 2 weeks. Please read the letter linked below for further information regarding these restrictions.
Spectator Letter (January 2022)
Girls on the Run
Girls on the Run is a physical activity based positive youth development program that runs for 8 weeks. This is open to students in grades 3-5. If interested, please see the flier linked below.
Girls on the Run
Gardner Public School’s Dinner Program
The Gardner Public School’s Dinner program is available Monday thru Friday in the cafeteria at Gardner High School from 2-4 pm. This is a free program for any Gardner Public School student. Please see the flier linked below for further information.
GPS Dinner Program flyer
Art Club
Art Club is held on Mondays from 2:45-3:45pm. The next meeting will be on January 31st. If you are interested in Art, please consider joining the group. Students must make arrangements for rides home if they plan to stay.