Doherty Family Update 12.1.2024
Donate a Gift Card to other Doherty Families
In partnership with PAC, holiday gift cards (Target, Market Basket, Shaw’s etc.) are being collected to distribute to families needing support this holiday season. If you would like to contribute, gift cards can be brought to the main office. Thank you!
All donations and requests are confidential.
Doherty Student Council Food Drive
The Doherty Student Council is excited to announce a food drive from Monday, December 2nd to Wednesday, December 18th! This is a friendly competition between homerooms to collect the most non-perishable food items.
You can bring cans, pasta, bottled water, protein bars, macaroni and cheese, or any other non-expired items you have. All donations will go to the Bread and Roses food bank in Lawrence to help families in need during the holiday season.
Don’t forget to check the office bulletin board to see how your homeroom is doing in the competition! Let’s work together to make a difference!
Toy Drive- The toys collected from this drive will benefit DCF Wakefield!
Olivia Wright is a 10th grade student at Andover High school and attended Doherty. Olivia is part of a nonprofit organization called Project 351 and represents our town of Andover, along with other middle and high schoolers all around Massachusetts to help make a positive impact within our communities and around the commonwealth as a whole.
Olivia is planning on doing a toy drive just in time for the holiday season! Doherty will be the host site of the toy drive from Monday November 25th to December 9th. Bins are located in the Doherty front foyer and the toys collected from this drive will benefit DCF Wakefield! Olivia sends her gratitude.
For more information on Project 351
You can send in toys and place them in the bins in the front foyer or use this Amazon Wishlist:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/BKGQKV5F5LX8?ref_=wl_share
Throughout November students participated in ITT lessons focusing on different strategies (both direct and indirect) that they can use to be upstanders when they see peers being mistreated. Students participated in discussions and role-play activities. The students did a great job!
7th Graders also enjoyed a great visit from Greater Lawrence Technical School. Ms. Betzy Gomez shared with students the vast amount of programs the school offers and the admissions process. GLTS reviews grades and attendance for both 7th and 8th grade, so it was a helpful reminder for students to keep up the good work in 7th grade.
Upcoming Event! Greater Lawrence Technical School will be hosting a Family Information Session at Memorial Hall Library (32 N Main Street, Andover MA) on December 3rd at 5pm.
Wellness Tip: Research has shown that consciously practicing gratitude can reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. Studies have found that a single act of thoughtful gratitude produces an immediate 10% increase in happiness, and a 35% reduction in depressive symptoms.
(Source: Mental Health First Aid)
Did you know?
· Frequent absences can be a sign that a student is losing interest in school, struggling with schoolwork, dealing with a bully, or facing some other difficulty.
· By 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that a student may drop out of high school.
· By 9th grade, attendance predicts graduation rates better than 8th-grade test scores.
- Source: Attendance Works
What you can do:
· Talk about the importance of showing up to school every day.
· Help your children maintain daily routines, such as finishing homework and getting a good night’s sleep.
· Find out if your children feel safe from bulling behavior and other threats. If any of these are problems, please reach out to the school immediately.
· Monitor your student’s academic progress and seek help from teachers when necessary.
· Stay on top of your child’s social contacts. Peer pressure can lead to skipping school, while students without many friends can feel isolated.
· Encourage your child to join meaningful after-school activities. Doherty has many clubs – see here for a quick reminder.
· Support your students if you notice signs of anxiety, and if needed, seek advice from your school or health provider
· Be sure to remind your student to check in with their teachers upon return to see what work they missed.
Source: Attendance Works
Purpose of Morning Check In:
- Create a unified low-stakes rollout for all three APS Middle Schools
- Begin a student focus on the emotion matters mindset and discussion
- Build student relationships and community
RULER VIDEO and Website
Register by December 1st AMC 8- Mathematics Competition Opportunity!
The AMC 8 is a 25-question, 40-minute competition designed for students in grade 8 and below. The competition focuses on middle school mathematics topics, including counting and probability, estimation, proportional reasoning, elementary geometry (including the Pythagorean Theorem), spatial visualization, and interpreting graphs and tables. Some of the later questions may touch on beginning algebra topics, such as linear or quadratic functions and coordinate geometry. The competition is in January, 2025, please register by December 1st if your student would like to compete.
Empowering the Next Generation of Problem Solvers
The AMC program is more than just a competition; it’s a national effort to strengthen the mathematical capabilities of our next generation of innovators. By challenging students with engaging problems, the AMC sets the stage for lifelong mathematical exploration, discovery, and achievement.
We are excited to announce that the 2024-2025 DMS Yearbook is now available.
Simply scan this QR code and follow the prompts. Yearbooks will be delivered to homerooms the last week of school
You may also call 866-287-3096 or go to www.YearbookOrderCenter.com and use order number 13395
APS has partnered with Idioma Consulting & Education to continue offering FREE English classes for parents/guardians. See this link for details: https://secure.smore.com/n/d0gub-appel
APPELL - https://secure.smore.com/n/d0gub-appel
These are in-person classes held at CO in Conference Room A starting on November 12 from 9:30-11am. No sign up necessary.
ESOL Virtual classes - https://secure.smore.com/n/w52nra-esol
Classes meet virtually on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-7:30pm starting on November 6. Participants need to sign up to receive a Google Meeting link by November 1. Limit 25 participants.
Extracurricular Activity Parent/Guardian Consent Form
To be completed if your student will participate in after school Extracurricular clubs. Click here for the form. The form is also available on our website.
Completed form can be dropped off at the Main Office.
List of Clubs and Activities can be found on our website under INFORMATION and RESOURCES