Friday, April 18, 2014

Whoop, There It Is

Cougar Staff:
Interesting week around the hallowed grounds of GCMS with TV crews trying to get a glimpse of someone in a SARS mask, seemingly everybody trying to give the dieting principal a donut from the new donut store, and the red lights and sirens signifying that testing materials have arrived at GCMS!  Quite a week…and yes, the donut offers were the most stressful part.  The good news is that I still have not tried the new donuts.  I hope that everyone has a peaceful weekend and enjoys time with your family and friends.

Personnel:
Mrs. Stacy Pierce went for her last chemo treatment yesterday!  We all wish Stacy a full and complete recovery and she continues to battle this disease.  She has been a real trooper throughout.
We wish all those dealing with pertussis and other illness a speedy recovery.  I will be glad when we have whooped the whooping cough once and for all.

School Culture Assessment:
I was extremely pleased with the results of our school culture assessment presented by the team from Allen County on Monday afternoon.  It is a testament to your collaborative efforts at GCMS that we have been able to build such a positive school culture.  Of the 13 indicators in the survey, none had a discrepancy indicating a problem area.  That’s not to say that school culture is perfect at GCMS; like in any school, we all know that we have plenty to work on with our school culture.  We will take the recommendations from the team and work to make things even better!

8th Grade Career Camp at GCMS:
Staff from the Grayson County Tech Center will be at GCMS on Friday, April 25 to present a “career camp” for GCMS 8th grade students.  We will use the regular Monday through Thursday schedule that day so we do not have any grade level mixed classes.  I have sent a tentative schedule to 8th grade teachers and related arts teachers and will send an updated schedule next week.  This should be a great opportunity for our 8th graders to get a good look at several career fields as well as a preview of actual learning activities that they could experience in the various GC Tech programs.

7th Grade Trip to ECTC:
I am looking forward to going with 7th graders, their parents, and our 7th grade teachers on Monday evening to visit Elizabethtown Community and Technical College in E-town.  We took a group of about 70 last spring and hope to have a good turnout again this year.  It is a great opportunity for our 7th graders to get to visit a college campus and see a wide variety of career opportunities up close and personal.  All 7th grade teachers are expected to attend.

Calendar Dates for May/June: (Repeat from last week)
Mr. Anderson met with the six principals this morning, and we worked out the dates for the end of the school year.  As you know, we had two PLC days changed to student days and four student days eliminated from the calendar, plus we have our end of year closing day making a total of 7 staff days to work in order to fulfill staff contract days.  With this in mind, here are some dates to keep in mind:

May 20 will be a staff day (no students)
May 26 Memorial Day, there will be no school for students and no school for staff.
May 30 will be our students’ last day of school (8th grade commencement during the day)
High School Graduation will be Saturday, May 31 at 10:00 am
June 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 will be staff days.

We will be working hard to learn more about the new PGES system that we will be implementing next year during these staff days on May 20 and June 2-6.  I will send a detailed agenda soon.

June 7 (Saturday) will be Closing Day.  Most GCMS staff only have to work a half day on closing day because of working back to school night at the beginning of the year.  We do plan to have a catered breakfast for our staff that morning.

Quote of the Day:
“Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.” ~Benjamin Franklin

Coming Attractions:
Apr. 18…Deadline for SBDMC nominations
Apr. 21…Testing Accommodations Training for those testing special education, 2:50
Apr. 21…7th grade student/parent trip to ECTC, leave GCMS at 5:00 pm
Apr 22…EARTH DAY        
Apr. 22-25…Boys’ Basketball Tryouts
Apr. 23…SBDMC elections
May 9…Jean Day for $5 donation to Relay for Life
May 15-22…KPREP Testing
May 23…KPREP Make-up Day
May 20…No school for students – Staff training day
May 26…Memorial Day – No school for students or staff


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