I hope this correspondence finds you enjoying the summer. Hard to believe school has been out for more than a month, and I am sorry to inform the readers of this blog, but the remainder of the summer will pass more quickly than the start. I am writing to highlight a few GD students who made the news of late, and to clear up some confusion surrounding freshmen orientation.
Freshmen Orientation
I would like to begin by saying we fully intend to offer a freshmen orientation program. It will look different this year for reasons I will provide, but we see tremendous value in freshmen orientation as it eases the transition from middle school to high school. It is a microcosm of all that is great about GDRHS. A day of events planned by upperclassmen with the sole desire to make freshmen feel comfortable and welcome.
Due to contractual negotiations between the School Committee and the teacher's union all students will start on Wednesday, September 2nd. In short, the new contract changes the amount of school days this coming year from 181 to 180 days. By law public schools are required to participate in 180 days and 990 hours of learning. The 181 days afforded us the opportunity to have freshman start a day before all other students. The 180 days would not allow for this, so freshmen orientation will be held on the first day of school.
We intend to run a program that will be shorter, but still fulfill the objective of providing freshmen with a positive experience on their first day of school. At the end of the school year we solicited upperclassmen to participate in the event. Those that responded will be contacted in early August to start planning for freshmen orientation.
GD Students In The News
TJ Fetterolf
http://www.nashobapublishing.com/community_news/ci_28498495/kids-kountry-playground-gets-needed-facelift
Ian Peterson
http://www.lowellsun.com/news/ci_28463670/grotons-ian-peterson
Bird's Eye View of GD
Hi -- how do we get the kids' schedules? Thank you.
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