Congratulations to all band members who auditioned for the All-District Band.  GMS had 39 students make the All-District band and 21 advancing to Region Auditions.  Special congratulations to Tate, Hope, and Jacob on making first chair.  Also to the Wind Ensemble Trombones and the Euphonious 100% of them made All-District Band.

Auditions for The Little Mermaid school wide musical in almost here.  An information session will be November 17th at 6:00 pm.  All your questions about participating and auditioning will be answered then.

The GT Committee has announced a new competition for students.  All students are invited to participated in this school-wide event - 2015 Lego Design Challenge!  There are several design categories of Robotics, Art, Holiday Theme, Wonders of the World,  Architecture and Landscaping. For more information contact Mrs. Butler.  

The library hosted author Joelle Charbonneau today.  She was amazing and had the students spelled-bound.  (I'll try to tweet pictures this weekend.)

There is only one month left to meet the Lone Star Challenge.  You only need to read 15 books on the list!  Ask Mrs. Johnson for more details.

The GMS Lost-and-Found is overflowing.  You have until November 19th to retrieve you lost items or they will be donated to Goodwill.

If you haven't donated to the PTA Love Your School Fundraiser please do.  It is almost over.

For the next two weeks, the SEL lessons will be related to our No Place for Hate Campaign.  Lessons are available on the website.

Hopefully you were able to attend our Diane Gorzycki Tribute Concert.  All the of our bands performed, and they sounded amazing.

The GMS NJHS participated in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund Walk.  The group collected over $1200 to donate to the cause.  

Some of our Theater Arts students attended the Renaissance Festival.

Did you know that our awesome PTA has begun their annual Love Your School Fundraiser?  Not only does Gorzycki love your volunteer support, but we totally appreciate your financial support as well.  Please go to http://www.tigerpta.org/ if you are interested in donating. 

Gnasher News is back in swing!  Check out Gnasher News Episode 1 at digit.press  This comes out each Thursday.  Stay current each week and check it out.

The 7th and 8th grade football team finished their season.  Our 7th grade team finished as Runner Up in the City Championship.  Way to go Tigers!

The girl's basketball teams have already begun their seasons and had incredible wins over Murchison this week.  Boy basketball tryouts are today. 

I appreciate all the parents that came to my Principal's Coffee.  It is always an open and lively conversation.  My Principal's Coffees are the first Friday of each Monday.  December 4th at 8:30 is my next one.  Hope to see you there.

Next week begins MOYs (Middle of Year Benchmarks).  These tests are designed to assess the curriculum taught this far.  It allows us to put interventions in place for the students that aren't mastering concepts that have been taught. 

Did you know that November 9th is Diane Gorzycki's birthday?  Let's all show our appreciation of this outstanding educator by wearing a Gorzycki shirt. 

Have a great weekend!

What a great Red Ribbon Week we had here at GMS. The door decorations will be judged today and prizes awarded next week.  Here is one of my favorites.

There were also some great costumes today.  Here are some of the teachers during our PTA catered luncheon!  

 A huge thank you to our PTA and school supporter, Santa Rita.  Lunch was awesome and what a perfect day for it....Halloween and crazy weather.

If you haven't had the chance to see one of the orchestra concerts, I encourage you to attend one.  Last night was the first one of the year and the students were amazing.  There was even an appearance from the Theater Arts class.  It was a great performance. 

I need your help.  

• I am horrible at remember to take pictures at all the school events.  If you have great ones, please email them to me.  Once I check to make sure all students can have their pictures taken, I can add them to my blog and tweets.  
• Second, we are so close to our Chicken Coop goal.  If you haven't donated and would like to, can you do so by going to www.gofundme.com/gorzyckichickens   
• Third, the Gorzycki flower beds could use some significant help.  If you are interested in "adopting" one of our flower beds, please let me know.  

We are already at the end of the six weeks.  Please take the time over the weekend to review your child's grades. If there is a concern, contact the teacher immediately.  

Please have a safe and dry weekend.  

GMS has new student council representatives.  6th grade representatives are:  Reese A., Abigail B., Maya C., Emma D., Emma D., Ella G., Reese G., Adelynn L., Trei L., Kelly M., Keira R., Page V., and Kaitlin Z. 7th grade reps are:  Barsotti, Mariah B., Ella F., Drew G., Addison L., Abbey S., Brook S., Sydney S., and Elizabeth T. GMS 8th grade reps are:  Hope A., Katie C., Anna E., Jade F., Plato F., Nabeeha G., Talia H., Sarah I., Rachel K., Aspen K.,Rishi K., Stephanie M., Samantha P.,  Marissa S., Brianna S., Aurora T., Hanna W.,  Faith W., and  Kaitlyn Z.

The GMS Choir had their first concert this week.  It was an amazing event.  

What an amazing season for our volleyball players.  The 7th grade team ended in 2nd place for the southwest and 8th grade came out on top - first place.  Congratulations to the players and coaches. 

Also this week during  Mrs. Synder's Texas Wildlife Appreciation EXCEL class, Retired Texas A&M entomologist, Dr. Dress teaches about insects.

Gorzcyki students are getting ready for Red Ribbon Week 2015-this year's theme is:  Respect Yourself.  Be Drug Free.  At school, students will engage in activities which have been designed by the Student Leadership Group that promote a drug free and healthy lifestyle such as signing a drug free compact and decorating their classroom doors.  In recognition of this event, Tuesday is Gorzycki Spirit Day so wear a GMS t-shirt.  Wednesday is wear red. Thursday is crazy sock day and Friday is costume day.  (Please make sure the dress code is followed.)

Did you know that children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those who don't.  Please partner with us and discuss this message at home, at the dinner table or at family outings.  Ask your student to show you the flyer he/she received at school about Red Ribbon Week or visit www.redribbon.org to learn more about Red Ribbon Week and get tips for talking to your children about drugs. 

Stay dry this weekend! 

What an exciting homecoming week we have had here at Gorzycki!  The pep rally was awesome.  The band, cheerleaders, and dance team all performed.  Gnasher was even part of the fun!

There was a great turnout at the 7A and 8A football teams that night.  I grabbed a hamburger from Burgerfi and headed to the stadium.  Burgerfi is definitely my new favorite burger joint.  The onion rings were amazing!

The 7A and 8A volleyball teams have all made it to the next round of tournaments.  The girls play here Monday night.  Come out and support them!

8th graders heard from LASA this week.  If you are interested in applying for this high school, their application and timeline is one their website.

Today, students who were nominated for GT began the assessment process.  Once all information is entered, Mrs. McEuen will send out results.  This will take several weeks.

Several big things happening next week.

It's Transportation Appreciation Week.  Please make sure you say thank-you to our wonderful bus drivers.

GMS is hosting a Duke TIP parent presentation in the cafeteria at 6:00 pm on Monday.

GMS has our first Choir Concert of the year.  Tuesday, 7:00 pm in commons area.  The Bowie Jazz Choir will also be performing with us.

GMS is also in the process of building a chicken coop for the campus.  Mrs. Young is sponsoring this club.  I heard there might be some feathery "guest" in the commons area next week.  If you are interested in making a donation to help build homes for future GMS chickens, we will send out the link through the google group.

GMS began the week with a visit from Author Kenneth Oppel.  The students enjoyed listening to him share his stories.

Did you know that we have a few English Language Learners using Rosetta Stone?  On Monday, I was able to present an award to one of the students in Mrs. Law's reading class who had completed the most hours this past six weeks.

As I walked classes this week, I saw some great interactive learning from our 8th grade Social Studies classes with Mr. Martin and Mr. Branham.  I think there classes are in for some interesting learning next week.

Because it was the end of the six weeks, there was some celebrations happening.  Here are some of the outstanding students on team 6-3.

As I mentioned last week, our PALS students attended a Ropes Course this week.

Next week we are celebrating Homecoming.  To support our football and volleyball teams, we are going to wear school shirts all week.  There is a pep rally, sorry it's just for students, on Tuesday.  That night there is a football game at Burger Stadium.  Stop by Burgerfi first for our Spirit Night and then head over to the stadium.  The cheerleaders and football parents will be having their own tailgating there.  The volleyball teams are in the playoffs.  Wednesday the 7th graders will play at O'Henry and the 8th graders play here on Thursday.  We wish you the best of luck athletes!

With all the excitement next week, I am glad Monday is a student holiday.  We will see you back here on Tuesday.  

Have a great long weekend!

The EXCEL Leadership class did an excellent job presenting our wonderful custodians with their gift for Custodian Appreciation Week.

The football and volleyball teams came off with wins again.  Homecoming is just around the corner.  Get ready to come celebrate at the games that week.

Hard to believe that the first 6 weeks is over.  You should receive Report Cards next week.  Be on the lookout for them.

I am so excited to finally announce that we have hired our 6th grade counselor.  She has worked with AISD for several years and had actually been hired by the Middle Schools Office to work with 4 middle schools.  We were one of those schools and immediately like what we saw.  Please welcome Rachel Fierro to the team!

Author Kenneth Oppel will be on campus Monday visiting with different classes of students.  We are excited to have him here.

Tuesday is the Marching Band Jamboree at Burger Stadium.  I've heard this is an awesome event.

Thursday is vision and hearing screening for all 7th graders.  Please make sure your child is present that day.

Also on Thursday, the Leadership Students participate in their Rope Course.  Having done something similar myself, I know they will enjoy this opportunity.  Then on Friday, the PALS has their team building fieldtrip.

Have a great weekend.