Friday, August 28, 2015

What a fabulous first week at GMS!  As of today, we are 1,341 students strong.  This is right about where we were at the end of last year.  It has been so much fun watching the students learn where they need to go, especially those 6th graders.  But they weren't the only new ones to the campus.  It has been an adjustment for our new teachers as well.

Ms. Alver, 7th grade math, helping a student with an assignment.
 Mrs. Hernandez, lifeskills, explaining the day to her students.
 Mr. De la Garza, Band, working on maintaining the correct beat.
Mrs. Garnett, 6th/7th ELA, showing students how to use their journals.
 Ms. Ranson, 7th ELA, offering suggestions on how to personalize their journals.
 Mrs. Synder, 7th ELA, monitoring students as they read.
Ms. Christensen, 6th Math, checking on her students at lunch.
Mr. Nyc, 7th Social Studies, listening as students present their 'brown bag' projects.
 Ms. Army, Teacher Assistant, supporting a student on the computer.
 Office Melton, SRO, monitoring students after lunch.


The week was busy with volleyball and football tryouts.  Our first volleyball game is Thursday.  The 8th graders are here on campus starting at 5:30 while the 7th graders go to O'Henry.  Come out and support the team!  Football begins the 15th.  

We have also starting composting on campus.  There are now three bins in the cafeteria:  recycle, composting, landfill.  Students have to determine which bin to place their items.  A huge thank you to Mr. Doggett for getting this started.  

All students should now have planners and locks.  Lockers will be distributed Monday during EXCEL.  Also on Monday, students will select their EXCEL class.  

I also encourage you to join the PTA as well as the three booster clubs on campus.  Each of these organizations support the school financially, as well as helping to build school spirit.  

I have enjoyed meeting your children and look forward to working with you.  Please stop by and introduce yourself.  

Have a great end of August weekend!  

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Welcome Back Gorzycki Families!  I hope that you had a wonderful summer and were able to spend time relaxing.

Things were never quiet here at GMS.  With all the many different camps, students were always on campus.  There was the Steal Guitar Camp, Dance Camp, Strength and Conditioning Camp, Band Camp, Football Camp, Volleyball, Basketball, and Tiger Camp.  I am sure I forgot a few.  But needless to say, there was lots of activity on campus.

There was also lots of interviewing.  Mrs. Garnett - 6th/7th ELA, Ms. Christensen - 6th Math, Mrs. Snyder, Ms. Ranson are both 7th ELA, Ms. Alver - 7th Math, Mr. Nyc - 7th Social Studies, Mrs. Hernandez - Life Skills, Mr. De la Garza - Asst. Band Director, Mrs. Army - Sped. Teacher Assistant, and Officer Melton - SRO.  I think they are all going to be great additions to the GMS family.  The other two positions were for Mr. Ryan - AP and Mrs. Johnson - Counselor.  We quickly found Mr. Ryan's replacement, Mrs. Black who was the interim AP early this spring and a Reading teacher on campus.  Unfortunately we have not been successful in finding a counselor replacement.  Currently we have Ms. May, a GMS retired counselor, helping us out.  Notify me if you know of someone interested in the position.

Everyone has been busy this week as well.  Students have been registering daily.  Counselors have been working every second of the day preparing schedules for students.  Don't forget that students will need to find their name on one of the many posters to determine where they go first period.  During first period, they receive their actual schedules.  This information was sent to families through  School Messenger and our parent google account.  If you didn't receive either, then the school doesn't have your current information.  Most of this can be corrected through the Parent Cloud or on the school website.  Teachers have been busy too.  Time was spent building relationships, learning new instructional stategies, and creating great learning environments.

We are excited to see the students on Monday.  Please be patient with the traffic.  It is always worse the first week.  Have a great last summer weekend.

Go Tigers!