September 25, 2022
Dear Intermediate School Families,
We've really settled into a routine at the intermediate school. The students are doing very well meeting expectations for behavior and effort, overall. You have every reason to be proud of them.
We thank all the caring adults at home for helping things run smoothly so early in the year by having children to school on time, calling the absent line (508.923.3506 and press #6) when children will be absent, sending in notes when there are changes to dismissal arrangements, adhering to all driving and parking rules on the campus, completing all necessary paperwork, and supporting our work with your children.
Safety Assembly and Drills:
We have completed our first of four scheduled fire drills of the year. Deputy Chief Garant and I were very pleased with the response of the students and staff as they exited the building, waited for the “all clear”, and returned to the building on September 9th. All of our expectations were met, but as other drills occur during the school year, we will all strive to surpass them!
As part of the beginning-of-the-year work done by the staff in the days prior to the students returning to school each year, we review the training we’ve all had on the federally endorsed safety protocol, A.L.I.C.E. (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate). On September 16th (fifth grade) and September 19th (fourth grade) we had a safety assembly with our school resource officer, Valerie Bartholomew from the Lakeville Police Department. All students were attentive and focused on the protocols to follow during an emergency.
We conducted a shelter in place drill on September 20th, and the students showed just how well they paid attention during the assemblies by LISTENING and following directions. We have a lockdown drill booked in the upcoming weeks, as well.
PTO News:
Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the first PTO meeting on Tuesday. We had a successful in-person/ virtual meeting. We’re looking forward to another great school year here at GRAIS! In case you missed the meeting, please see the following announcements.
Fall Fundraiser
Students will be receiving information on the first fundraiser. Midland Catalogs are back and will be going home with students soon. You may start collecting and submitting orders online as soon as possible. Orders will be shipped directly to your home. Nothing is shipped to the school. Orders will close out on October 21st. Shipping is free and will take 3-4 weeks, directly after your order is placed online. If you have any questions please contact Katie Elderkin at 508-863-5889.
Scholastic Book Fair
The first book fair of the year is being held in the GRAIS library during school hours from October 3rd through the 7th. A flyer will be going home regarding the book fair the week before, so be on the lookout! E-Wallet, cash, and checks will be accepted forms of payments. Checks are made payable to GRAIS PTO. Sales tax will be applied to all orders. Announcements will also be on the GRAIS PTO Facebook page.
Halloween Social
The PTO is having an evening social event at the school, which will be a Halloween Costume Party on October 21st from 6-8 p.m. This is a DROP OFF event. A permission slip will be sent home during the first week of October. Lots of volunteers are going to be needed to make this a successful event! A sign-up list will be sent out for this, and information will be on the GRAIS PTO Facebook page. As a reminder, you need BOTH fingerprints and a current CORI (dated within three years) on file with the school district to volunteer at any event.
Amazon SMILE
Our school has signed up for Amazon SMILE. When sending in donations to the school, this is great! The school address is 112 Howland Road, Lakeville, MA 02347.
Future PTO Meetings
The dates of the rest of our meeting this year are: October 18th, November 15th, December 20th, January 17th, March 21st, April 25th, May 16th, and June 20th. We hope you will consider getting involved.
Future Dates to Remember:
Chorus Forms Due - September 30th
Scholastic Book Fair - October 3rd - 7th
Individual Picture Day - October 5th
Early Release at 11:30 a.m. - October 7th
Columbus Day/No School - October 10th
PTO Meeting at 6:30 p.m. - October 18th
Fall Fundraiser Ends - October 21st
PTO’s Halloween Social - October 21st
Inservice Day/No School for Students - November 1st
Veterans Day/No School - November 11th
PTO Meeting at 6:30 p.m. - November 15th
Picture Retakes - November 16th
Thanksgiving Recess - November 23rd at 11:30 a.m - November 25th
First Trimester Grades Close - November 29th
Respectfully,
Dr. Sullivan
508.923.3506 x 3150/esullivan@freelake.org
***The information from the GRAIS weekly message can be found in the Sunday Message from the superintendents’ office as well. Mr. Strauss requests that you follow the district on Twitter @FLRSDsuper and on Instagram @FLRSDsuper, if you wish.***