Thursday, October 3, 2013

Wrapping Up the First Quarter at GCMS

Cougar Staff:
Move 'em out, head 'em up, Head 'em up, move 'em on. Move 'em out, head 'em up: Rawhide.
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in, Ride 'em in, cut 'em out, Cut 'em out, ride 'em in: Rawhide!  Not sure why these lyrics come to mind this week, but on the last week before break and with our annual school walkathon going, these words seemed apropos.   It has been a good first quarter of the school year, and I know that everyone is looking forward to fall break.  I hope that each of you is able to spend some time relaxing and enjoying yourself with family and friends before we return to school on October 14. 

Personnel:
We have several GCMS staff members and family members to keep in our thoughts and prayers. 
Mr. Whitmore is having surgery this morning in Bowling Green.  Karen Van Metre has surgery scheduled for October 7.  Chris Helm is dealing with some blood pressure issues this week.  Also, please continue to remember Ellen Thomas’s family, Rita Mullins’ daughter, and Ginny Paine’s daughter. 

K-PREP Scores:
I want to say once again how pleased that I am with this year’s K-PREP scores.  Making such a strong improvement across the board is a testimony to the great efforts of our students and staff.  We surpassed the goal of moving above the 50th percentile this year ranking at the 62nd percentile out of all Kentucky middle schools.  We had improved scores in all six assessed subject areas and scored above the state in reading, math, science, and social studies.  With all this said, we do have plenty of room for growth and further improvement.  It will not be enough to score at the same levels next spring.  Let’s set a goal of reaching the 70th percentile and the school wide level of “proficient school”.   To view our entire School Report Card and those of other schools in Grayson County or elsewhere in Kentucky, go to the following link:  http://applications.education.ky.gov/SRC/.

Walkathon:
Thank you to everyone for helping to make this year’s walkathon a huge success!  I appreciate our related arts department, headed by Gary Parker, for organizing and supervising this year’s walk.  Also, a big thank you goes to everyone for encouraging the students to work hard and raise money for the school walkathon.  This year’s individual winners were 1st place Kennedy Kendrick-Bostick, 2nd place Haley Burnette, and 3rd place Austin Van Meter.  This highest single team will get a free period of gym time/phone zone/outside time/movie during 6th period on October 31.  The highest team at each grade level gets phone zone during lunch all week during the first week back after fall break.  We will announce those winners as soon as that info is available.
  
Staff Attendance this week:
Thank you for being here this week!  I know that sometimes staff attendance can be an issue right before a break, but our staff attendance at GCMS was very good this week!

Meetings with Ms. Heavrin:
Special Education Director Monica Heavrin will meet with staff on Friday, October 18th.  She will be discussing strategies for success of our identified special education students.  Please follow the schedule: 
Math- 7:50-8:45
Social Studies, Special Education teachers , Brey, Duvall, Parker, Mike Blair-8:49-9:44
Johnson, Watson, Morris, Twyla Blaylock-9:47-10:40
Language- 12:14-1:09
Science- 1:12-2:07 

Pay It Forward:
I want to remind you of the “Pay It Forward” program that we started at GCMS this year.  Over the past few weeks, there have been several cards placed on the bulletin board next to the teacher mailboxes offering certain “prizes” for someone who meets specified (and more or less random) criteria.  The idea is for those who claim a “prize” to then continue the paying it forward by also offering up some sort of a prize on the board.  If you have claimed a prize but not offered a prize to continue the paying forward, please do so!   Also, if you just want to offer up some sort of a prize, feel free to do that as well.  J

Quote of the Day:
“The highest point of achievement yesterday is the starting point of today.”

Coming Attractions:

Oct 4-11               Fall Break
Oct 14-15             Open Enrollment at GCMS (for health insurance)
Oct 18                   Meetings with Monica Heavrin during planning
Oct 23                   Related Arts Showcase Lesson Day
Oct 28-31             Red Ribbon Week
Oct 30                   Picture Retake/Makeup Day

Nov 1                    PLC Day (no students)

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