December January 2012 Newsletter
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Transcript of December January 2012 Newsletter
Home of the Bruins! Greenacres Middle School
Central Valley School Dist. 356
December 2011/January 2012
Main Phone Number: 228-4860 Greenacres Middle School 24 Hr Attendance Line: 228-4870 17409 E Sprague Ave.
Fax Number: 228-4869 Spokane Valley, WA 99016
Vern DiGiovanni Laura Hull Principal Vice-Principal
I trust that everyone had a relaxing and happy Thanksgiving Day and break. Please
remind your students to dress appropriately for the weather. I know students want
to believe that the car/bus will never break down or the school will always have
heat. It is smart to have a coat available just in case.
CVSD School Programs and Operational Levy: The Central Valley School District
will be running a three-year Replacement School Programs and Operations Levy on
February 14th. The current levy expires in December 2012. The levy supports
many aspects of a student’s education like technology, special education, curriculum
adoptions, instructional material, instructional equipment, extracurricular activities,
programs for the highly capable students, nutritional services, transportation, utili-
ties and insurance. This is not an all-inclusive list, but it does give an idea of the
vast areas that the levy supports. There is more information about the levy in this
newsletter.
School Improvement Plan: The GMS staff has been focused on improving learning
for all students. We have been working on instruction by incorporating learning tar-
gets into our lessons. A learning target is what the teacher expects the students to
know and be able to do by the end of the lesson. The targets are based on the
learning requirements of the state’s standards. The target is posted in the class-
room and is used to help focus the student’s attention on the learning objective for
the day. In this way, students clearly know what they are expected to learn.
We are also providing meaningful feedback that is constructive, specific and timely.
Constructive and specific feedback provides students with knowledge of gaps they
may have in learning and the opportunity to improve before they are asked to use
the learning again. Timely feedback is when a student uses new knowledge and then
is quickly provided results regarding their efforts. You can see that when construc-
tive and specific feedback is provided in a timely manner, an improvement in learning
will occur.
Fill the Bus: The Central Valley Fill the Bus campaign went extremely well. GMS
thanks our families, students and staff for volunteering their time and donations.
Thank you to Mr. Owens for organizing the event and hanging out all day on Saturday with
the students. Please see Mr. Owens’ article with the amounts and names of volunteers in
this newsletter.
Concerts: This is a great time of year for a little musical entertainment. Our bands,
choirs and orchestras will be performing this month. We welcome everyone, even if you
don’t have a student in one of these talented groups, to come join in the festivities.
Combination Orchestra/Choir: Tuesday, December 6th in the main gym @7:30.
Band: Thursday, December 8th in the main gym @7:30.
First Trimester Final Grades: The trimester ended on December 2nd. GMS is sending
home grades with students on Friday, December 9th. I have joined the other middle
schools in sending report cards home with students instead of mailing them, due to cost.
Progress Reports: The second trimester begins on December 5th. Progress reports will
be sent home with the students on January 19th and February 16th. The second tri-
mester will end March 14th. We ask that progress reports be signed and returned to the
teacher.
Professional Learning Communities (PLC)/Collaboration: Greenacres Middle School has
several ways that “Professional Learning Communities” are able to make a difference in
learning for students.
Grade Level Teams: They meet once or twice a month to discuss team level issues
such as conferences, field trips, collaborative assignments or student learning needs.
Grade level subject teams: They meet weekly to discuss common curriculum, use
of the state Grade Level Expectations and/or standards, individual student concerns, and
sharing teaching strategies as well as common assessment information.
Cross-grade level subject teams: They meet several times throughout the school
year to align our curriculum across all grade levels as well as to share assessment and
teaching strategies.
Staff: We meet to share how teams are addressing common issues, plan events
such as assemblies and conferences, and discuss school improvement plans as well as
share data such as MSP information.
Leadership: The team is made up of teacher leaders who have various roles in the
building as well as around the district. They gather data, research or opinions depending
on the decision that is being made and then meet to share information that will help the
building with planning and decision-making. We have been focused on our School Im-
provement Plan. We will be reviewing a survey that the staff took on collective efficacy
along with reviewing a survey that was taken by the students.
Thank you to businesses and organizations that are supporting GMS:
Our PTA for their ongoing support of our programs here at GMS, particularly in the
area of technology.
Safeway of Liberty Lake for the food drive
Kiwanis of Liberty Lake for support of our PTA dances and Spirit Service Club/
Builder Club
Leo’s Studio for all of our photography needs including plaques and Student of the
Month pictures
Albertsons of Liberty Lake for providing dinners to families for Thanksgiving and
Christmas
Emerald City Smoothies for support of the PTA dances
Froyo Earth in the Valley, for their support of our AR Points Reward Program
Honor Society Businesses: Fuzziwigs Candy Factory, Spokane Valley Mall; McDonalds,
Liberty Lake; Build a Bear Workshop, Spokane Valley Mall; Just Chillin, Liberty Lake/
Spokane Valley; Zips, Spokane Valley; Emerald City Smoothies, Spokane Valley and
North YMCA
Kiwanis Donation: Kiwanis of Liberty Lake presented GMS with a check for $1,400 at our annual
student verses staff volleyball match. The money was raised by selling food and drinks at the PTA
dances. The money will go into the GMS PTA budget which will support Math is Cool, Science
Olympiad, student planners, and teacher grants. The Kiwanis has been a consistent supporter of
Greenacres Middle School through financial donations as well as combining their Builders Club
with our Spirit Service Club to create Spirit Service Builders Club. They are currently collecting
donations for our annual Adopt-A-Family fundraiser.
ExxonMobile Grant: Thank you to Manpreet Singh and family for nominating Greenacres Middle
School for an ExxonMobile Grant of $500.00. The money will be used to support our before
school resource room program that helps students in Math, Science, Social Studies and Language
Arts. We have seen improved learning and grades by the students who have accessed the program.
The program is run by Lynn Hicks, instructional assistant. The Singh family owns the Newman Lake
Food Store in Newman Lake and Conoco HiCo Village in Spokane Valley on Barker Road.
Vern DiGiovanni
Principal
“Greenacres—It’s the place to be!!”
Math is Cool The 7th and 8th grade Math Team competed in the Math is Cool tour-nament on November 4th. Kyle Wang came in 10th place in the Indi-vidual Algebra competition and Zach Merritt came in 10th place in the Individual Pre-Algebra competition. The 8th grade team has qualified
to compete at the state level. Great Job “Math is Cool” Team.
Team members representing our school were: Abby Horton Alistar Wise Arin Mitchell Brandon Carlson Elijah Beeman Gavin McCormick Grace Kim Harrison Sherwood Jake Johnson Jonas LaPier Josh Jenkins Kiernan Natarajan Kyle Wang Maddie Sherwood Peyton Cooley Rachael Doty Shelbi Ebert Zach Gallafent Zach Merritt
REFLECTIONS AWARDS RECEPTION
Parents and entrants --Please join us in the GMS Library on Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 8:30 a.m.
Winners moving on to the next level will be announced. Juice and pastries will be served.
FILL THE BUS!!
The students and staff were able to “Fill the Bus” almost halfway with donated food from first period classes. In keeping with their normal tradition and wonderful enthusiasm, the 6th grade was responsible for over half of items donated. We were also able to add some addi-tional food and cash donations from the students who participated in the High 5 Volleyball Tournament. Our efforts for the week included donations from first period classes, the volleyball tourna-ment and Saturday collections brought in a total of over 3000 pounds of food and 33 turkeys. $342.22 was also collected and will be used for food purchases. A special thanks to the following students, staff and adults who volunteered their time on Sat-urday the 19th to help load the bus at Greenacres, collect and sort food on the bus and unload the bus at the food bank. Hannah McCabe, Nicolas Hinman, Arin Mitchell, Peyton Cooley, Mariah Reneau, Mallory Sar-ner, Cory Pedersen, Trevor Burgess, Koryn Baker, Whitney Gulliford, Shelby Frank, Brady Sanders, Ali Balogh, Connor Reding, Hailey McGill, Jocelyn Oliver, Kylie Amini, Amy Ulrich, Ky-ra Harames, Hannah Reiman, Kelsey Hormel, Peighton Quaintance, Jordyn Bridgens, Katie Van Etten, Allison Termath, Kelsey Shaber, Carter Hanson, Jessie Brown, Nancy Fu, Alyssa Leo-ne, Leanne Masingale, Alison LaFrance, Josh Thomas, Daniel Taylor, Erica Casey, Logan Stock-er and the following adult helpers of Mrs. Cooley, Mrs. Casey, Ms. Taylor, Mr. & Mrs. Ha-rames, Mrs. LaFrance as well as the following staff of Mr. DiGiovanni, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Max-well, Mrs. Holm, Mr. Rowell, Mr. Vermaire, Mrs. Dempsey and Mr. & Mrs. Hull. Your help was greatly appreciated! Thank you. Greenacres ASB
STUDENT OF THE MONTH
Our Students of the Month program enable the staff to recognize the stu-
dents that follow certain criteria. Each month we will have a different crite-
ria that needs to be met. The criteria for November was “ Citizenship/
Leadership” .
All of the students that are selected are treated to a pizza/sundae party at
lunch time. There will also be a Student of the Month breakfast for stu-
dents, parents and staff in December.
These students were selected for the month of November are:
Hailey Christopher Brynn Albright Zach Gallafent
Blair Gasaway Natalie Cabiad Joshua Jenkins
Sean Hagerty Ryan Hagmann Savannah Folsom
Amanda Hanson Connor Olson Angela Hoene
Jordan Schneidmiller Alina Lavrova Krysta Staples
Dalton Liesse Natalie McGee Brian Munro
Mason Rawley Sydni Schaefer Melissa Sweeney
Alissa Williams Noah Youseph
Sue Gairson,
Student of the Month Coordinator
COUNSELOR’S CORNER
As we get to the end of the first Trimester, I have noticed that one of the most common barriers to aca-
demic success is lack of organization. More teachers, more classes and more homework can lead to feel-
ings of frustration and being overwhelmed. When students are organized they get better grades and par-
ents can be a great source of support in this area. I have listed some tips from the Middle School Parent
Guidebook, by Woodburn Press, 2010 Edition.
Make sure your child has a binder, folder or notebook for each class that is CLEARLY labled. Set up a file at home
for tests, returned papers, etc. Email teachers re: the best way to organize for their particular class.
Encourage your student to USE his/her planner. Writing assignments down helps students remember what needs to
be done and when. It is also a good habit for high school!
Have your student put all loose papers in folder or binder. There should be NO loose papers in lockers, backpacks or
binders.
Help your child prioritize homework based on due dates (appropriate use of planner makes this easier!)
Facilitate backpack and locker clean out, weekly.
Large assignments can seem overwhelming, and sometimes students need help figuring out where to begin. Help
your child break a large assignments into smaller segments that are more manageable.
Have your child get everything ready for the next day, before going to bed each night.
Parents often feel that as kids move through middle school they become more independent; to some extent that is
true. However, kids who are disorganized and struggle with academic success need parent support that continues
throughout their school career. Kids need to know that parents value education and support teachers and admin-
istrators at school.
Lisa Marsh – 228-4878
Jesse Dhillon – 228-4867
LOST & FOUND!!
Our lost and found is over-
flowing! We will be bagging
up our lost and found after
Christmas and donating items
to charity.
Feel free to come in and
search if you are missing
items.
Please consider putting your child’s
name on clothing and lunch boxes so
we can return items to them.
Media Corner December/January 2011-12
It has been a busy month in our library. Last Wednesday, to end our book club, students met and
watched the movie HUGO. Congratulations to Angela Hoene, Alex Burke and Kyla Stayton; they won
in our prize drawing. Also, students learned how the author/ illustrator, Brian Selznick, illustrated his
pictures and drew an image from the book. Students and teachers voted on their favorites. The winners
were Clara Poshusta and Cody Abel. Congratulations. The next books students are choosing to read:
6th grade: House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
7th grade: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
8th grade: Stuck in Neutral by Terry Truman (local Spokane author)
Our Top 10 AR readers at this time are: Tyler Zarecor, Maegan Gunderson, Mark Ford, Alison
LaFrance, Joshua Jenkins, Elise Brockbank, Jacob Lewis, Sam Collins, Angela Hoene and Clara
Poshusta
Eighth grade students toured EWU and the Maurice Sendak Exhibit. Students will begin reading Anne
Frank in LA and learning about background of Holocaust after winter break.
Seventh grade continues to learn about Native American treaty making and conflicts between early set-
tlers and government. The presenter, Lily Gladstone from Living Voices was amazing. Students learned
about boarding schools and the Navajo Code Talkers from WWII through this interactive performance.
Students will also have the opportunity to listen to Raymond Brinkman, an anthropologist on contract
with the CDA Tribe. His job includes restoring their language --among other tasks. He is on Board of
Directors for the new museum at Cataldo Mission. His presentation will focus on cultural con-
flicts...losing the language and its implications.
Sixth grade is still learning about Egypt as well as how to properly cite sources using Easy Bib, an
online bibliography helper.
Read the book before you see the movie… WAR HORSE opens Christmas day War Horse by Michael Morpurgo is set in 1914. It is told from the Horse’s POV. Joey, the horse, is sold
to the army during WWI and misses his master, Albert. One of his jobs in the war is to carry wounded
soldiers off the battlefields, not much older than his master. It is a heartfelt book, that inspires peace and
you might learn something of the time period, too.
Keep reading!
Cherie Holm,
Teacher Librarian
One room schoolhouseOne room schoolhouseOne room schoolhouse
On the EWU campusOn the EWU campusOn the EWU campus
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 Student of
the Month Breakfast End of 1st Tri
3 MATH IS
COOL STATE
TOURNA-MENT
4 5
2nd Trimester
Begins
6
Choir/Orch Concert 7:30
7 8 Band Concert 7:30 PM Reflections Awards Recep-tion 8:30 AM
9 GRADES
GO HOME WITH
STUDENTS
10
11 12 13
All-League Wrestling at Evergreen M S
14
PTA Staff Luncheon
15 16
MUFFINS FOR MOMS 7:30 AM
17
18 19 20 21 22
2 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
December
H O L I D A Y
B R E A K
No School!
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2
No
School
3School
Begins Girls
Basketball
Begins
4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 Martin
Luther
King Day
No School
17 18 19
Progress
Report
20
Donuts
for
Dads
7:30 AM
21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31
January 2012
Central Valley Levy Funds Essential Educational Programs and
Activities
Central Valley voters will be asked to consider approval of a three-year School
Programs and Operations Replacement Levy on the February 14, 2012 ballot.
The levy renews and replaces the district’s current educational operations levy
which expires in December 2012. The School Programs and Operations Levy:
Maintains quality educational programs – good public schools are essential
to maintain a vibrant community. High levels of student achievement
across the district are directly tied to levy-funded school programs which
impact every child.
Provides basic funding – represents more than 22% of the district’s annual
operating budget
Not a new tax – replaces the expiring $27.3 million levy with a $27.1 million
levy
Essential educational programs and activities not funded by state and federal dol-
lars are maintained through the local levy including textbooks and teaching mate-
rials, technology for classroom instruction, maintaining class sizes, programs for
struggling and advanced students, special education programs, transportation,
utilities and insurance. The levy also pays for extra- and co-curricular activities
including athletics, music, drama, debate and after-school programs.
The levy amount has been set at $27.1 million for 2013, 2014 and 2015. This
amount protects against the anticipated loss of state matching funds for
school levies known as “levy equalization”. The impact to taxpayers is an
estimated annual levy tax rate of $4.19 per $1,000 of assessed property
valuation, an increase of 65¢ per $1,000 above the estimated 2012 levy tax
rate. If levy equalization is funded, the estimated tax rate in 2013 will re-
main unchanged at $3.54 per $1,000. For more information, visit
www.cvsd.org or call 228-5405.
CENTRAL VALLEY SCHOOLS PREPARE FOR WINTER WEATHER REPORTING
As we brace for winter weather, Central Valley School Dis-trict is prepared to report school closure and delay infor-mation. The District will continue to report using an automat-ed system which streamlines reporting to the local media. This same system is shared by dozens of school districts in the area. In addition to automatically alerting the local media about delays and school closures, the “Media Notification” system will instantly post the school closure or delay infor-mation online (www.cvsd.org click on “School Delays and Closures”). The district will also post any ur-gent information directly on our website’s home page. Any decision to close or delay school due to winter weather will be made prior to 6 a.m. Parents should listen closely for information about Central Valley School District schools which will be broadcast on local television and radio stations. Even when school is running on time, buses may be running late as they slow down to safely travel on winter roads. Some buses may follow “snow routes” in the higher elevations of our district. Information about changes in bus routes due to winter weather will be available by calling the Central Valley Snow Hotline at 228-5572. In the event of district closure due to snow, the 2011/12 calendar includes one snow make-up day (May 25). We appreciate your patience and assistance in the event of adverse weather conditions. Your child’s safety is a top priority for our schools and transportation de-partment. Thank you!!
CENTRAL VALLEY
SNOW HOTLINE
228-5572
High 5 news!
Volleyball - volleyball - volleyball
Wow! What a great time those high 5 volleyball players had on Friday! There was a great turn out with over 45 teams, lots of kids, and a lot of positive attitudes! We were able to donate 3 large box-es of food and $132.00 to the food bank! Thanks for all the participation! Congratulation to our grade level championships. 6th grade – Izms
Madison Papich, Jack Wampler, Hannah Wampler, Brayden Hamilton, Billy Ames, Kelsey Gumm, Kennedy Vincent, Bekk Martin, Brian Munro, and Mitchell Axtell.
7th grade – Pink Assassins Sammie Culton, Duke Golder, Jory Wakefield, Nate Bannon, Chase Gilbert, Lizzie Dudla
8th grade – Zamboomafu Zoe Chambers, Tanner Gummersall, Abe Jensen, Ben Craig, Ian Fullmer, Brooke Hagerty, Whitney Gulliford, and Brielle Crump.
Nice job, teams! We’re proud of you! Tara Downie, Advisor
December 2011 Greenacres MS
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
1 French Toast Sticks / Syrup
Hash Brown
Sausage Patty
Cheeseburger / Fries
Chicken Burger / Fries Chicken Club Sand / Fries
Pizza Pipeline / Fries
Chef Salad / Roll
Sub Sandwich / Chips
2 Meatball Sub
Tots
Tossed Salad / Ranch
Cheeseburger / Tots
Chicken Burger / Tots Pizza Pocket/ Tots
Pizza / Tots
Chef / Crispy Chicken Salad
Sub Sandwich / Chips
Dessert
5 Chicken Parmesan Sand
JoJo’s
Tossed Salad w/Ranch
Cheeseburger / Fries
Chicken Burger / Fries Chicken Nuggets / Fries
Pizza / Fries
Chef Salad / Roll
Sub Sandwich / Chips
Dessert
6 Tomato Soup
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Tossed Salad w/ Ranch
Cheeseburger / Chips
Chicken Burger / Chips Pizza Sticks w/ Marinara
Pizza Pipeline / Chips
Chef Salad / Roll
Sub Sandwich / Chips
7 Nachos w/Meat & Cheese
Refried Beans
Sour Cream / Salsa
Cheeseburger / Wedge
Chicken Burger / Wedge Popcorn Chicken / Wedge
Pizza / Wedge
Taco Salad
Sub Sandwich / Chips
Dessert
8 Teriyaki Dippers
Egg Roll
White Rice
Bacon Burger / Fries
Chicken Burger / Fries Burrito / Fries
Pizza Pipeline / Fries
Chef Salad / Roll
Sub Sandwich / Chips
9 Fish w/ Tartar Sauce
Tots
Tossed Salad / Ranch
Cheeseburger / Tots
Chicken Burger / Tots Hamburger Sliders / Tots
Pizza / Tots
Chef / Crispy Chicken Salad
Sub Sandwich / Chips Dessert
12 Mini Corn Dogs
Mac & Cheese
Carrot Sticks
Cheeseburger / Fries
Chicken Burger / Fries Chicken Nuggets / Fries
Pizza / Fries
Chef Salad / Roll
Sub Sandwich / Chips
Dessert
13 Chicken Fried Steak
Mashed Potatoes/ Gravy
Corn Roll & Butter
Cheeseburger / Chips Chicken Burger / Chips
Corn Dog / Chili Corn Dog
Pizza Pipeline / Chips
Chef Salad / Roll Sub Sandwich / Chips
14 Soft Taco w/ Meat
Mexican Rice
Sour Cream & Salsa
Cheeseburger / Wedge
Chicken Burger / Wedge Pizza Bites / Wedge
Pizza / Wedge
Taco Salad
Sub Sandwich / Chips
Dessert
15 French Toast Sticks
Hash Brown
Sausage Patty
Cheeseburger / Fries
Chicken Burger / Fries Chicken Club Sand. / Fries
Pizza Pipeline / Fries
Chef Salad / Roll
Sub Sandwich / Chips
16 French Dip Sandwich
JoJo’s
Tossed Salad / Ranch
Cheeseburger / Tots
Chicken Burger / Tots Pizza Pocket / Tots
Pizza / Tots
Chef / Crispy Chicken Salad
Sub Sandwich / Chips
Dessert
19
Christmas Break
No school
20
21
22
Christmas Break
23
26
Christmas Break
No school
27
28
29 30