GCMS Volleyball KIDS DAY is tomorrow 9/14! Fans are encouraged to wear Gold to show your support #gogoldforchildhoodcancer
GCMS Volleyball will be hosting KIDS DAY for the 9/14 home game vs EPG to promote & support childhood cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to wear Gold to show your support #gogoldforchildhoodcancer
High School picture retakes are tomorrow. If a student wants to have their picture retaken, they have to bring in their pictures they received yesterday or today. Please reach out to the high school office for with any questions.
State Farm is hosting an event called Tech Astra on 11/11 in Bloomington IL. The Summit is an immersive experience for any 5th – 12th grade female students interested in science, technology, engineering, math, or all of the above. This opportunity offers a fun and challenging way for students to explore their interests alongside peers, gain practical experience and get inspired for the future. It is not a school function and would be the responsibility of the parents to register and transport the students.
Interested families can learn more at the following link. https://www.techastra.statefarm/summit/
5th Grade Parents: Reminder that Band Registration is tonight! 4:00-7:30 in the Elem Music Room. If your student wants to join Band, please plan to attend. Music Shoppe Representatives will be present to answer questions & assist w/ instrument rentals. Looking forward to it! -Mr. Renchen
GCMS Families: Middle School Cheer tryouts begin after school tomorrow 9/12. There will be a parent meeting at 5:00pm in the old Elementary School gym. All athletic paperwork must be turned in before athletes can try out.
High School Picture Retakes on on Wednesday. If a student wants to have their pictures retaken, they need to bring their photos that were handed out today back on Wednesday.
Please reach out to the high school office with any questions.
The middle school celebrated our Fantastic Falcons today! These students have gone above and beyond in displaying our school-wide expectations of Being on Time, Being Prepared, Being Respectful, and Being Safe. We are Falcon Proud!
Good afternoon high school parents,
Jostens will be at the high school next Thursday Sept 14th during lunch time to collect class ring orders (packets being sent home with Freshman today) and letterman jacket orders (forms available in the office).
If you have any questions please call the high school office.
Thank you,
Mr. Bielfeldt
Last reminder that tomorrow (Sept. 7th) is picture day at the elementary school. Thanks!
Mr. Kean
5th Grade Parents: Band Registration Night is coming up soon. Tue Sep 12 from 4:00pm-7:30pm in the Elem Music Room. This is the night your student officially signs up for Band. I've met with each class to talk about instruments & answer students' questions. It's been going well! There are several benefits to studying music, the primary one being your student will enjoy all aspects of music (and life) to a higher degree. I hope your student considers joining! Full details are in the intro letter https://bit.ly/45Dexaz Email is the best way to reach me (Renchen.Kyle@gcmsk12.org). I'm happy to answer questions & I look forward to meeting you!
Todays JV football game at Dee-Mack will start at 6 PM.
Tonight's JV football game vs Dee Mack has been moved from 5:30 to 6:00 pm.
REMINDER!!!!
Today is an 11:30 dismissal and Monday there is no school due to the holiday.
All GCMS offices will be closed this afternoon for offsite activities.
Enjoy the holiday weekend.
-Mr. Darnell
A reminder that tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 1st) is a 11:30 dismissal. Thank you for having plans for picking up your kids/being home for when they arrive by bus arranged ahead of time!!!
Mr. Kean
High School Parents,
You can click the links below for information on College Recruitment and the NCAA Eligibility requirements for student-athletes. If you think your student will be playing college athletics, now is the time to start becoming educated on the process and requirements.
Recruitment - https://bit.ly/47Utzdo
NCAA Eligibility - https://adobe.ly/45uOXUZ
Elementary School pictures will be on next Thursday, Sept. 7th. Picture forms are coming home today. You can prepay online at www.vsi.co/schools, or you pay using the picture envelope/form that is coming home. If you prepay, please include your confirmation code on the envelope that you send back with your kiddo. Thanks!
Mr. Kean
GCMS Families and Tax Payers,
I wanted to take a moment and share some information on your real estate tax bill and the GCMS impact on that bill. GCMS has a long history of working hard to ask the local tax payers to pay what is "necessary" to offer great educational opportunities and facilities for our children. Local school systems are the largest portion of your real estate tax bill and we know the impact that has on property owners.
This year GCMS was able to reduce our tax rate from 5.65 to 5.29. This equates to a 6.42% decrease this year which is approximately $120 for a $100,000 home. Since 2017 the tax rate has been reduced by 17.7%. Fortunately, and unfortunately, this reduction does not always translate to saving because of the rapidly increasing values of homes. Many properties in GCMS School District have been seeing increasing assessment values on their property (this is the "Fair Cash Value" on your tax bill) offsetting the rate reductions.
Those who have been in the area have seen the improvements / additions we have made to our facilities all while reducing the tax rate. This past summer we had $2,000,000 worth of HVAC work done to upgrade aged equipment and we reaped the benefit last week when our system withstood the extreme heat. We added our our new gym, weight room, upgraded our performance stage, tennis courts, flooring across the district, fence painting, a greenhouse, parking lots, maintenance shed, and many more projects equaling nearly $14,000,000 worth of work.
What GCMS is today is a reflection of decades of effort, management, and pride from board members, leadership, staff, students, and community. I am extremely proud of GCMS.
A school system is filled with human engagement that will never be perfect, but it is always a great day to be a Falcon!
Sincerely,
Jeremy Darnell
Superintendent
GCMS Elementary will host Vision and Hearing screenings September 11th-15th. More information is available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/19GTalLi9jgvEcnj6gVPvAzrMO8Iut69Q/view?usp=sharing
GCMS FAMILIES,
Please take a moment and read a few announcements / informational items.
Great first week of school, despite the heat. Thanks for adjusting to our new traffic patterns at pick up and drop off. Your attention and cooperation keeps kids safe!
Extra curricular activities are up and running and we are excited to see our students compete and perform. Tonight is the first home football game and we want to remind families that children under 6th grade should be accompanied by an adult. We also want to remind our fans to be a positive part of the events experience by cheering for our teams and representing yourself, your children, and our district with class and character. Our facilities look absolutely amazing and it takes everyone's effort to keep them that way!
Friday, September 1st is an 11:30 dismissal followed by no school on Monday, September 4th for the Labor Day holiday.
Reminder that we want healthy kids in attendance and sick kids should stay home. All children should be fever free for 24 hours to be in attendance!
The staff at GCMS are very thankful for our supportive families and community.
Have a great weekend and it is a great day to be a Falcon!
Sincerely,
Mr. Darnell