As I write this column, it appears as if spring has finally arrived in terms of the weather as, despite what the calendar indicated, winter weather certainly persisted well beyond the ‘official’ start of spring. I hope that we are able to avoid having any additional weather related school cancellations as we’re already ending school well into the month of June. Thankfully, despite having many snow days, we will not be shortening the April vacation this year. We’re currently in the process of developing next year’s calendar and we’ll again build in a significant number of days before we have to impact the April break.
For those of you planning for what appears to be the largest single day event in the district, Graduation for the Class of 2015 is set for Friday evening, June 5th. Hopefully the weather will be cooperative and we’ll all get to enjoy commencement ceremonies on a nice June evening on Booster Field.
Despite all of the unknowns facing the district and our towns this spring, it’s good to know that the educational process continues moving forward. Our students continue to succeed in all aspects of their educational preparation with Advanced Placement Exams coming up shortly, with the PARCC and MCAS assessments in progress, with our performing arts groups doing so well and our spring sports teams in action despite the playing conditions on our fields. It’s also great to talk with some of our seniors and their families regarding their college, career, or military plans upon graduation. I’m pleased to see that Gateway continues to graduate young adults with the needed skills and knowledge to be successful in their post high school plans and gracefully concede that this is due to a strong staff throughout the district that is supported by our families and communities. From preschool to post graduation assistance, our staff does a wonderful job of connecting with students to help ensure that they have whatever is needed to succeed in graduating from high school.
I’d also like to point to a series of recent events demonstrating that Gateway continues to support the education of the whole child in many different ways. The high school did a wonderful job putting on Agatha Christie’s play, “And Then There Were None”; members of the Show Choir performed before the recent PARCC meeting; and the musical department had another wonderful ‘Cabaret’. In addition, Gateway has a number of great field trips either coming up or just completed including a Band/Choir trip to NYC, the 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C., and a high school Spanish/Biology trip to Costa Rica over April break. Put this together with the success of our Model United Nations Club, As Schools Match Wits team, our Show Choir at the New England Show Choir Showdown, our band at the MICCA festival, and the upcoming National Honor Society Induction, one can see the range of activities undertaken by students and supported by our staff. When you combine this with the reasoned concerns shared by our staff and community members at the PARCC meeting this past Saturday at Gateway, you can see how dedicated and professional our staff members are, and how concerned our communities are, about providing a well-rounded set of experiences for the children of the Gateway towns. These activities lend a whole new meaning to the phrase “No Child Left Behind” that has very little to do with standardized testing and the idea that all children can be forced into a mold, which has seemed to be the prevailing thinking at the national level over the past several years.
