Haverhill Discovery Club and Access 21

Read below to hear about what has been going on in our programs!

HHS Program Receives Mini-Grant

Haverhill High School teacher Lori Porazinski recently applied for and was awarded a $300 mini-grant from the Haverhill Education Foundation.

This grant will be used to purchase two more robots for our Robotics Club at the High School.

Robotics Club meets every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. Students build, design, and program various types of robots to solve complex practical problems with their teammates.

Congratulations to Lori and the Robotics Club!

Consentino Students Complete a 5k

On Saturday, November 16, twelve Consentino students completed the Girls on the Run Fall 5K at Suffolk Downs in East Boston. Students were joined by their families and Consentino Coaches Kerrianne Christmas, Nicole Duquette, and Nisrine Rahhal-Safi,.

We have a chapter of Girls on the Run, a national organization, at Consentino Middle School. In this program, our teachers facilitate lessons that blend physical activity with life skill development, including managing emotions, fostering friendships, and expressing empathy.

Each season comes to end with a celebratory 5K, which gives participants a sense of accomplishment.

Congratulations to everyone who participated!

Fall Arts and Crafts at Pentucket Lake

Second grade students at Pentucket Lake were busy completing fall nature crafts this week with teacher Alysha Bartlett. Students collected their own leaves and designed their own pictures with them!

Upcoming Youth Focus Groups

The Discovery Club/Access 21 is striving to include more youth voice and choice in our programming. As part of these efforts, we will be hosting “focus groups” in each of our schools throughout the year.

These groups will involve Krista, our program director, and/or Meghan, our assistant director, doing a craft with students while also talking about their opinions and ideas for the program. We are really excited to begin these conversations in the upcoming weeks!

November Updates

Discovery Club/Access 21 is not open during school vacations, on holidays, election days, or snow days. Delayed openings and early releases also impact when programs meet.

Here are special dates to be aware of for the month of November:

November 27 – Day Before Thanksgiving (EARLY RELEASE)

• Morning programs will meet
• No afternoon programs will meet

November 28-29 – Thanksgiving Recess (NO SCHOOL)

• No programs will meet

Please watch for emails or information that is sent home with your child about these days from the Discovery Club/Access 21 office.

We want to make sure that our program is meeting the needs of your family. Feel free to leave us feedback, positive or otherwise, using this form below. All feedback here will remain anonymous.

Feedback Form

Here are a couple of reminders about transportation for our programs:

Information for everyone:

• Transportation is ONLY offered Mondays – Thursdays in the afternoon.
• If you need to make a change in your student’s transportation…
  • You must notify Discovery Club/Access 21 staff ahead of time — NOT at dismissal time. HPS Transportation needs several days to make a transportation change.
  • We will not change transportation arrangements at your child’s request. We must receive the communication from a parent or guardian.

If your student is riding the bus:

• Bus routes are created specifically for Discovery Club/Access 21, so bus stops may be different from the school day.
• Buses will depart the schools at the following times:
  • Elementary Schools: 5:15 pm
  • Middle Schools: 4:45 pm
  • Haverhill High School: 5:00 pm
• ***If your student is in elementary school — PLEASE get out of your vehicle and walk to the bus to meet your child. If no such visual contact is made, the bus will continue on the route and then return to the missed stop.

If your student is being picked up:

• Plan to be at the school at least five minutes before the end of the program.
• Please wait until the program ends to pick up your student so they don’t miss any activities.
• Those who arrive late three times during a year may choose to transport their child by bus, or remove their child from the program.