Good Bye October!

This Week at GCMS:

Halloween week, Red Ribbon Week, and a full moon…if that is not the perfect storm, I don’t know what is!  I appreciate everyone working hard and taking care of these 1,010 wiggly kids this week.  I hope that everyone enjoys the well-deserved long weekend.

A Bright Future:

Thinking about the makeup of our faculty at GCMS, we have a great mix of veteran and newer teachers.  Our core of veterans is very strong and provides great teacher leadership.  Mr. Whitmore, Mrs. Miller, and I have recently completed the first round of mini-observations for all of our non-tenured teachers, and I would just like to say that the future is very bright at GCMS!  Our newest teachers are doing a fantastic job with GCMS students!  It is so renewing and inspiring to see the enthusiasm and energy in these classrooms.  Keep up the great work!

Tuesday PLC Day:

We have a special guest speaker here for our PLC Day on Tuesday.  The sessions will be on relational aggression, conflict, and bullying.  We all know that middle school is the peak age group for bullying behaviors.  It is also the peak age group for many other inappropriate behaviors.  I believe this will be a very beneficial day for our staff.  We will meet in the library at 8:00 on Tuesday morning.

Boys Basketball:

Our GCMS boys basketball teams began the season this week with victories at Whitesville.  Our first boys home game will be this coming Thursday night, November 5 at 5:30.  Come out and support the Cougars!

Congratulations Band!

Our GCHS marching band finished in the top 4 at regionals and will be competing at state semi-finals in Bowling Green on Saturday.  There are many middle school band students who also participate in high school band, and we are very proud of them.  Good luck band!

Second Quarter Parent/Teacher Conferences:

Our parent involvement committee has recommended that GCMS have parent/teacher conferences during the 2^nd 9 weeks.  Rather than having an additional evening conference, we will offer conferences on three consecutive days during planning and/or right after school.  These conferences will be by appointment and may be whole team if desired.  Please mark this on your calendar for November 17, 18, 19.  That’s the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the week before Thanksgiving week.  I will announce it to parents a week or so in advance so that they can contact teachers if they would like a conference.

Quote of the Day:

“Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.” ~Henry Ford

Coming Attractions:

Nov. 2…No School

Nov. 3…PLC Day (election day)

Nov. 5…GCMS Boys Basketball hosts Owensboro, 5:30

Nov. 11…Veterans Day program, 7:45 am

Nov. 12…GC BOE meeting at GCMS, 6:00

Nov . 13…”Juggling Up the Ladder” assembly 1^st period

Nov. 16…Faculty Meeting, 3:00

Nov. 18…SBDMC Meeting, 3:15

Changing Seasons

This Week at GCMS:

It has been another busy week at GCMS, and I have just a few notes to share this afternoon.  The school year is moving right along.  We started the second quarter of the school year this week!  As the weather turns colder and the leaves change colors, it is important that we are firmly settled in to our learning systems and routines.  Thanks for all that you are doing to help our students succeed.

Red Ribbon Week:

This year’s Red Ribbon Week is scheduled for next week, Oct. 26-30 with themed days each day of the week.  Monday will be Wear Red Day for “respect yourself and be drug free.”  Tuesday will be Mustache Day and Mix It Up Day (everyone should wear mix matched clothing/I mustache you not to do drugs).  Wednesday will be Super Hero Day (be someone’s hero).  Thursday will be Favorite Team Day (be a drug free team).  Friday will be Costume Day (wear a scary, funny, original, or group costume and “say boo to drugs”).  We will have a costume contest in the gym on Friday morning with the categories of scariest, most original, and best group.  Please remind students not to wear masks. 

Lady Cougar Basketball is Here:

Our GCMS lady cougar basketball teams have gotten off to a great start to the new season and had our first home games of the season this week.  Please try to get out and support these young ladies as they compete and represent our school.

Second Quarter Parent/Teacher Conferences:

Our parent involvement committee has recommended that GCMS have parent/teacher conferences during the 2^nd 9 weeks.  Rather than having an additional evening conference, we will offer conferences on three consecutive days during planning and/or right after school.  These conferences will be by appointment and may be whole team if desired.  Please mark this on your calendar for November 17, 18, 19.  That’s the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the week before Thanksgiving week.  I will announce it to parents a week or so in advance so that they can contact teachers if they would like a conference.

Thank You Team 1:

I enjoyed observing the Team 1 Showcase Lessons this week.  The students and teachers were highly engaged in each classroom.  I appreciate you opening up your classrooms to share with your colleagues in this way.  Please remember, all teachers except those doing peer observation (6^th grade and peer observers) should participate in the showcase lesson days by observing in the designated team.  This is a great way to share effective teaching strategies.

Dress for Success was a Success:

We had a good level of participation in our second Dress for Success Day of the school year.  Please encourage your students to participate.  This will be held on the third Wednesday of each month during this school year.

Quote of the Day:

“Failure is success if we learn from it.” ~Malcolm Forbes

Coming Attractions:

Oct. 22…GCMS Girls Basketball hosts Hancock Co., 5:30

Oct. 23…Walkthon Rewards, 6th/7th periods

Oct. 26-30…Red Ribbon Week

Nov. 2…No School

Nov. 3…PLC Day (election day)

Welcome Back!

This Week at GCMS:

Welcome back after the well-deserved week off for Fall Break!  I hope that everyone enjoyed the week and hopefully got to relax and enjoy some time with family and friends.  I have just a few notes to share today as the week winds to a close.

Congratulations!

I would like to congratulate Tori Banks Dangerfield on her recent marriage!  I am working on calling her by her new name when I dismiss her lunch group each day, and I can tell the students are trying to get used to the name change as well.  They give me a puzzled look for a couple of seconds and then proceed on their way.  Anyway, we are very happy for you, Tori!

Test Scores:

KPREP test scores for GCMS were something of a mixed bag this year.  Our overall score dropped by 7 tenths of a point this year leaving us at the 64^th percentile among Kentucky middle schools.  While most middle schools did drop this year, we are never content with any sort of a drop.  Our work this year will target our need areas, and I am confident that GCMS scores will increase as they have continuously done over the years.  I don’t want anyone to be discouraged, and I encourage you to continue your diligent work to help GCMS students learn and achieve at the highest levels possible.

Faculty Meeting on Monday:

I know that everyone has had a little time to digest the latest KPREP test scores, and we will continue to look at our scores after school on Monday.  I also understand that there is a contest going on that will culminate at Monday afternoon’s meeting.  We might even have some free cheese at the meeting. 

Quote of the Day:

“When you have a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.” ~William James

Coming Attractions:

Oct. 16…end of 1^st nine weeks

Oct. 16…GCHS Band to perform at GCMS, 1:45

Oct. 19…faculty meeting, 3:00

Oct. 20…Team 1 Showcase

Oct. 20…GCMS Girls Basketball hosts Butler Co., 5:30

Oct. 21…Dress for Success Day

Oct. 21…GCMS SBDMC Meeting, 3:15

Oct. 22…GCMS Girls Basketball hosts Hancock Co., 5:30

Oct. 23…Walkthon Rewards, 6^th/7^th periods

Oct. 26-30…Red Ribbon Week

Welcome to October!

Fall Break Already?

The scriptures say “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.”  (James 4:14)  I think that this passage certainly applies to the first eight weeks of the school year!  It seems like we just started school, but here we are about to start fall break.  Everyone has worked really hard to get off to a great start, and I appreciate your efforts.  Please enjoy your break, spend some time with family and friends, and get some well-deserved rest.  Thanks for all that you do!

Walkathon:

Thank you to everyone who helped out with this year’s GCMS Walkathon!  As of Cougar Note press time, we are very close to breaking the school record for walkathon fundraising at close to $21,000.  I appreciate all of the work of our Related Arts teachers and Title teachers in organizing and supervising the walkathon, and all of our students and staff for such enthusiastic support of our annual school-wide fundraiser. 

School Report Card:

The annual school report cards are now available to the public.  I know that I shared some basic information about our GCMS results already, but if you would like to check out our school report card in more detail, you may go to the KDE website and view our school report card as well as those of other schools in Kentucky.  Go to http://applications.education.ky.gov/SRC/ to see school report cards.  Some areas showed improvement for GCMS students, while a couple of areas were down.  I think that it is important to look at the 4 years of data that I shared with team leaders yesterday.  Every assessed area has shown growth over the past four years, and every assessed area has seen steady novice reduction.  This is due to the hard work of the students and teachers at GCMS!  Keep up the great work!

Manufacturing Week:

Thank you to everyone who helped out with the 2^nd annual Grayson County Manufacturing Week.  We had guest speakers from local industries here to speak to 8^th graders for three consecutive mornings, and our 8^th graders got to tour a local manufacturing plant yesterday.  One team visited MTD, one toured Plastikon, and one team went to Kelley Beehive Company.  It is very important for our students to start thinking about what type of jobs are available right here in our community.  Thanks to everyone who helped out.

Quote of the Day:

“Dig the well before you are thirsty.” ~Chinese Proverb

Coming Attractions:

Oct. 1…..GCMS Walkathon

Oct. 2-11…Fall Break

Oct. 16…end of 1^st nine weeks

Oct. 16…GCHS Band to perform at GCMS, 1:45

Oct. 19…faculty meeting, 3:00

Oct. 20…Team 1 Showcase

Oct. 21…Dress for Success Day

Oct. 22…GCMS SBDMC Meeting, 3:15

Oct. 23…Walkthon Rewards, 6^th/7^th periods

Oct. 26-30…Red Ribbon Week