Students in Ms. Spiker's Life Skills class joined in the 5th Annual Special Person's Day at Leroy Fall Festival. A special thanks to INSPIRE Treats and Sweets for inviting our students and putting the whole event together!
All high school students and parents are invited to the Illinois Regional College Fair at Parkland College on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Representatives from colleges all over the midwest will be in attendance. For a list of colleges that will be in attendance and to register for this free event, visit https://explore.parkland.edu/register/?id=b33f369e-391c-40b4-86d3-727f02d0b550 contact carter.josh@gcmsk12.org with any questions.
Middle School picture day is tomorrow morning. Order forms were sent home earlier this week. You can also pay online https://vsi.co/pay/
Did you know that GCMS has thousands of books available for students to check out through the Sora app? Learn more at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nECdv5vZ8qOtxK2VU7_EJYX1EqVxmf1xlpmTxOMe3E4/edit?usp=sharing
Correction to MS Girls Softball practice for today (Tue. 8/22)- PRACTICE WILL NOW BE IN THE AUX GYM, not the MS gym. Pickups should be at the aux gym at 5PM.
HEAT ADVISORY UPDATE:
Families,
It is certainly hot outside and will be all week. GCMS is fortunate to be fully air conditioned allowing us to keep our normal schedule for the school days when excessive heat enters our area. We will be minimizing, or eliminating, outdoor activity during the school day as appropriate (recess / p.e. classes), and we will modify athletic contests in accordance with the IHSA guidelines.
Athletes / Families- Be prepared for cancellations or schedule adjustments to accommodate the conditions.
BUS RIDERS - Please be sure to drink plenty of water and we will encourage kids to fill water bottles at school for the trip home.
This is a full week of school and the heat will add some extra fatigue and stress to a long week of getting back into the swing of the school year, so please do your part by encouraging proper hydration, sleep, and meals to make it a great week for everyone.
Stay cool and safe!
Mr. Darnell
A reminder that we have Parent Orientation for 1st-5th grades on Wednesday (8/23/23). 4th and 5th grades will be from 5:00-5:45 and 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades will be from 6:00-6:45. We hope to see you Wednesday! This event is for parents or guardians only. Thanks!
Due to the heat, the middle school baseball game for today has been cancelled. Today's softball practice has also been cancelled.
The bus for the MS Softball trip to LeRoy on Saturday 8/19 will pick up AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AT 8:30AM. The girls will be sharing the bus with the baseball team which will also be playing at LeRoy.
GCMS Families,
One down and 174 more opportunities to go!
Great first day at all three buildings, but I want to take a moment for a couple of safety reminders.
Elementary School Parents:
Please DO NOT drop your kids off on the north bound side of Lott Blvd. Several kids crossed the street outside of the crosswalk today and this is very dangerous. The drop off lanes on the west side of Lott and at the north end of the building are purposely very wide, please pull close to the sidewalk to have safe exits on both sides of your car. If you need to get out of your car on Lott Blvd please do so in one of the parallel parking spaces on the north or south end. Overall great job today!!
Middle School Parents:
If you are using the south parking lot (front entrance) please keep traffic flowing and don't sit and wait if your child is not present, you can pull into a parking space. If you choose to pick up in the bus parking lot please be mindful of the buses and obey the stop signs when they are out.
High School:
Great job today. Students please remember when you drive off that you are in a school zone and a lot of other younger children are present!
Friday is another 2:20 dismissal!
Thanks for partnering with us to make this year great.
Sincerely,
Mr. Darnell
Middle School Families: You have one final chance to purchase 2022-23 Middle School Yearbooks! Contact Mrs. Ferguson at the Middle School by September 1 or while supplies last.
GCMS Families,
I have truly enjoyed this week with so many family and school systems back to school photos and announcements. Such a high energy and nervous time of year. The full spectrum of emotions are present this week depending on each child, family, and circumstance. I hope that everyone takes a moment and considers the lens they look through and broadens it just a little to realize we are bringing in 1,000 students from age 3-18, with massive diversity, and 185 adults with various roles, but a common cause of teaching and growing.
Just like every every parent and child, there are nervous teachers, paras, office staff, custodians, kitchen staffs, and administrators waiting at the doors of your school just hoping to do their best each day knowing their efforts will be filled with imperfections.
I hope that 2023-2024 will be filled with great effort, great expectations, amazing grace, and continuous growth for all.
School starts tomorrow and it will be a great day to be a Falcon!
Sincerely,
Mr. Darnell
IMPORTANT PLEASE READ!!!
GCMS Families,
Final reminder that students return to school on Thursday, August 17th with doors open at 7:45 am and dismissal at 2:20.
If you have a high school or elementary school student please take some time to review the changes in parking and traffic flow around the Elementary Campus. We want everyone to arrive and depart as safely as possible. Please click on the link below.
https://bit.ly/3ODy5UK
Be safe and see you soon!
Sincerely,
Mr. Darnell
High School Parents,
Picture day for the high school will be Thursday, August17, which is the first day of school. We have picture forms available in the office at the high school. You can also access the form at the following link: vsi.co/schools
We look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Thursday, August 17.
Sincerely, Mr. Bielfeldt
Tonight was ESL night at GCMS! Families had a chance to learn more about the school and get ready for the new year. Thank you to Maria Rodriguez for organizing this event!
GOOD MORNING! It is hard to believe that we are only a few days away from the start of school for your kids! I have a few reminders/notes to pass along:
1) We are asking parents to drop kids off at the doors. We will not be allowing families to come into the building in the morning on the first few days. This helps greatly with the amount of tears from our kiddos (and adults :)!
2) If you plan to get out of the car when dropping off, please park to do so. Do not get out when you are in the drop off lane . More info will come about drop off soon.
3) We have school supply drop off tomorrow night (Tuesday) from 4:00-6:00 for 1st-5th grades (some staff will be in attendance, but not all, so don't count on meeting your teacher).
4) The building doors open at 7:45 and that is when breakfast starts.
5) Students are released to their classrooms at 8:00 from the cafeteria.
6)Classes start at 8:15.
7) Please pay your registration fees if you have not already done so.
Mr. Kean
Breakfast and lunch menus for August are now online! You can find daily menus in the Dining section of our website and app and printable versions of the menu are in the Documents section for each building.
High School Parents and Students,
If your student would like to bring in their school supplies prior to the beginning of school, they can do so on Monday. The building will be open from 8-11 AM and 1-4 PM.
Due to back to school meetings and other events, Monday will be the only day this will be available.
Please reach out to the high school office with any questions.
Thank you,
Mr. Bielfeldt
Attention Senior Parents,
Please click the below link with information regarding our district's Accelerated Placement Program.
https://bit.ly/3KyDQ4V
Sincerely,
Mr. Bielfeldt
GCMS Families,
It is August 7th and our facilities are truly coming alive with staff coming in early to get prepared, professional development opportunities, new staff training, student activities ramping up, and the final touches are being done to get our buildings ready for kids. This all must mean the beginning of school is near!
School starts for GCMS students on Thursday, August 17 and we are excited to see everyone. Thursday, August 17th and Friday, August 18th are both 2:20 dismissals so please plan accordingly. The school days begin at 8:15 and we ask that students not arrive prior to 7:45 am to ensure proper supervision is available.
If you have not already completed registration that needs to be done ASAP!!! Completing registration allows us to finalize classes for kids, arrange for all transportation needs, and be ready to hit the ground running.
In the next week there will be many updates and reminders sent to families, please read them! Every day nearly 200 adults and 1,000 kids grace our halls and we want each day to be a great experience and your engagement allows for this to happen.
See you all soon!
- Mr. Darnell
Superintendent
Students will