This Week at GCMS

Another Busy Week:

We have had another busy week at GCMS, following the long weekend which featured one snow day, one PLC day, and one holiday.  Our students and staff have been hard at work and doing great things in the classrooms.  I have just a few notes to share as this week winds down.

Dress for Success Day:

Tuesday, January 27 will be “Dress for Success Day” at GCMS.  We are asking our GCMS students to dress professionally that day.  For boys, this could mean dress pants, dress shirts, and even ties would be appropriate.  For girls, appropriate clothing would be dresses, skirts, pant-suits, etc.  If teachers and staff have old ties at home that you would be willing to bring in and donate to a team, that would likely help a lot of our boys be able to participate.  Students should not dress formally (it’s not the prom!) and we are not expecting families to go out and buy something new just for this day.  We will reward students who dress up that day by being allowed free seating and phone zone during lunch that day.

Good Luck!

I want to wish good luck to our GCMS boys basketball teams in the upcoming Green River Valley Conference Tournament.  Our 7^th and 8^th grade teams will play in the first round on Saturday at Ohio County.  The winning teams will continue in the tournament on Monday night, Tuesday night, and the final games on Thursday night.  We will recognize the boys with a brief pep session in the gym tomorrow (Friday) morning at around 7:40.  Good luck Cougars!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the GCMS academic team for winning first place in Future Problem Solving in District Governors Cup!  We also have several students to place in written assessments.  These students will compete at Regional Governors Cup in two weeks.

Congratulations to the GCMS Cougar Band for having 18 students to qualify for this year’s All-District Band.  This is out of 18 schools in the region.  Great job!

KDE Visit:

Our visitors from the Department of Education spoke very positively of their impressions of Grayson County Middle School.  Mrs. Miller and parents, Jenny Cummings and Robin Richardson, spoke with federal programs folks on Tuesday, and I spoke with special education reps yesterday.  Everything seemed to go very well.  I appreciate everyone working so well together as you do every day.  The district should receive a formal report in about a month with recommendations for improvements at each school and in the district.

PLC Spells Success!

I want to thank everyone who helped out with our PLC day on Friday.  I appreciate those who helped lead that day’s work:  Leann Frank, Ashley Johnson, Jonathan Devore, Don Logsdon, and Rita Mullins, along with David Whitmore.  The PLC notebook format provides a great potential tool for keeping our PLC work organized and on track.  Thanks again for a great day of professional learning!

Emergency Drills:

I have been very pleased with our students' response to this month's emergency drills.  It is so important to know what to do in a drill so we are well prepared in the event of an actual emergency.

Quote of the Day:

“A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Everyone you meet is your mirror.” ~Ken Keyes

Coming Attractions:

Jan. 23…pep session to recognize boys basketball, 7:40 am

Jan. 24…GCMS boys basketball  Conference Tourney at Ohio County (continue Jan. 26, 27, 29 if winning)

Jan. 26…Last day to order a GCMS yearbook.  For more info, see Ms. Tucker (206) or Ms. Horn (220)

Jan. 30…Students in grades 3-12 should have tested their IC user IDs and passwords by logging into IC.

Jan. 30…Teachers will review their PGP and record reflections in CIITS.

Jan. 30…Deadline to have all Peer Observations completed

Jan. 30…Deadline to have all 2nd Mini-Observations completed (non-tenured teachers)

Jan. 31…GCMS Archery competes at NASP Pre-Regional Competition in Meade Co.

Feb. 16…PLC Day (no school for students unless changed to a makeup day)