Gananda Blue Panther Gazette

December 5, 2018

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Registration Information:

Registration packets are available on the Gananda website, or by visiting the District Office located in the middle school at 1500 Dayspring Ridge, Walworth, NY 14568.

Packets can be returned to the District Office through Friday, December 7. Registration is open to all 3- and 4-year olds* in the Gananda Central School District that will be attending in January 2019. We will offer another registration period in the Spring of 2019 for those 3- and 4-year olds attending in the fall of 2019.

*To qualify for the Pre-K classes in January 2019, students must be 3- or 4-years of age by December 1, 2018.

Please visit the Gananda website for more information

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The Gananda PTO will be meeting the first Wednesday of every month at 7pm. The next meeting is scheduled for December 5. Tonight's meeting will be located at the middle school faculty lounge.

Discussions will include fundraisers and volunteer/committee opportunities.

All interested parents, administrators, faculty, and staff are welcome.

Please note that child care will not be provided at this meeting, as the students who typically provide it will be a part of our meeting this time. Child care will resume for our January meeting.

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Keep your middle school memories forever

and order a yearbook today!

To order your 2018-2019 Gananda Middle School yearbook:

1. Visit https://yearbooks.lifetouch.com/

2. Click the green “Order a Yearbook” button

3. Enter the Yearbook ID code: 12624419

4. Enter your information and select your yearbook package

5. Contact Mrs. Mereness or Mrs. Campbell with questions

Yearbook packages start at $21.60

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We are excited to announce the creation of a Gananda PTO 2019 Calendar. Student artwork was submitted by the art teachers at

each of our three buildings, and one winning piece was voted on to represent each of the different grade levels.

The calendars are $10.00 each and can be ordered by downloading the order form.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the calendars will be donated to the art department in each of our three buildings to help supplement their materials & supplies budget for the 2018-2019 school year.

Another portion will be donated to the GoFundMe account that has been established for our middle school art teacher, Mr. Flansburg, who is currently battling lung cancer.

Please visit the PTO webpage for more information.

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Construction work continues on our Road to 2020 Capital Improvement Project. We are on schedule to transition our 2nd and 3rd grade classes the week of December 17-21. Our 3rd grade students will begin to transition to their temporary location for the remainder of this school year as work begins on their wing, and our 2nd grade students will begin to transition to their newly renovated permanent classrooms. Unfortunately, the pool locker room construction continues to have set backs. At this time, we anticipate a completion date in February 2019. We will provide additional updates as we learn more.

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There is no school on Monday, December 10 at Richard Mann Elementary due to Parent Teacher Conferences. This is only for students in grades K-5. All other students will have a normally scheduled school day.

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Please be advised the color day schedule for Richard Mann Elementary has changed. Starting December 11, the color day schedule has been updated through the remainder of the school year. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. The new schedule can be found online .

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If your child is riding a different bus home, or is getting picked up instead of riding the bus, please remember to notify the main office of your child's school before 12pm on that day. This will ensure that all parties are notified properly and that your child arrives to the correct destination. If your child is at Richard Mann Elementary, please also be sure to notify both the main office and your child's teacher.

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Elementary school attendance is no longer handled by the nurse, Paige Buckner.It is now handled in the main office by Staci Harrison.To report an absence, call her at 315-986-3521, Press 1 for Richard Mann and 2 for the attendance line. The attendance line is available 24 hours. Parents can call and leave a voicemail at any time to let the main office know that their child is going to be absent or late for school for any reason. When leaving a voicemail, leave the child's first and last name, grade/teacher, symptoms of illness or reason for tardy. Obviously, during normal business hours there is a physical person at the attendance line but its nice for parents that work different hours to have a place to call at anytime.

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Flu season is now upon us. Please look over The Flu: A Guide for Parents for information regarding this illness.

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The Annual Gananda K-12 Science Fair is set for Wednesday, January 30, 2019. All students are invited to experiment, and explore! The deadline to enter the 2019 Science Fair is Friday, January 18, 2019; or register by Friday, January 11, 2019 and receive a free commemorative t-shirt. Registration Forms are available online. Questions can be directed to ScienceFair@gananda.org.

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The Macedon Community Christmas Program is getting ready for another year of helping local families during the holiday season. For 35 years, Macedon and Walworth families in need have received assistance through this program. Gananda Central School District is teaming up with local organizations to help support this program and our local Gananda families in need this holiday season. Here are a list of ways you can join us in support of this program and give back to our local families in need:

• Our 4th Graders are collecting hats and mittens. Donations can be brought into Richard Mann Elementary.
• Our 5th Graders are collecting boxes of cake mixes, cookie mixes, and frosting. Donations can be brought into Richard Mann Elementary.

In addition, if you, your family, or organization is interested in donating time or items to this year’s program, there are various ways to help:

• Donate canned and other non-perishable foods to the Macedon Food Pantry, or ask for a family assignment and fill-up a food box with a nice holiday meal.
  
• Buy gift certificates to local grocery stores for the purchase of perishable items like milk, eggs and meat.
  
• Buy gifts for children or senior citizens (we can provide ideas).
  
• Donate gift cards from area stores for items like clothes, gas and toiletries.
  
• Tuesday December 11th, volunteers will meet downstairs at St. Patrick’s Church at 7:00 PM to organize all of the donations, and help is always welcome. There will be food to sort, gifts to wrap, and many hands make light work.
  

The Macedon Community Christmas Program has been successful every year, thanks to the united efforts of the Macedon Food Pantry at St. Patrick’s Church, of St. Katharine Drexel Parish; and other area churches, schools, civic organizations, businesses, scouting groups, and individuals. In 2017, 146 families totaling almost 450 individuals (including about 190 children and over 50 seniors) received holiday support.

If you would like to be a part of the Macedon Community Christmas Program, or are a family that resides in the Macedon or Walworth area and is in need of assistance this holiday season, you can send an e-mail to: macedoncommunitychristmas@yahoo.com.

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Do you have ideas for community discussions? Are their issues that you feel need to be addressed by the district? Send your ideas to GanandaPR@gananda.org. Gananda Central School District is planning upcoming open forums and we want to cover topics important to you. The next Open Forum will be scheduled in February. More information to come.

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We are keeping Mr. Flansburg and his family in our thoughts as he begins his courageous battle with lung cancer. A gofundme page has been set up to help with his medical costs if anyone is interested in offering support.

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Please consider joining the Gananda Education Foundation in their upcoming meetings. Meetings are held at 6:30pm in the Middle School Library. The dates for upcoming meetings are as follows:

December 18, 2018

January 29, 2019

February 12, 2019

March 12, 2019

April 9, 2019

May 14, 2019

June 18, 2019

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It's a new shopping season! Did you know that you can help GDFS by shopping online? If you use Amazon, you can help raise money for scholarships! Simply start off by going to AmazonSmile, and select Scholarship America, Gananda Dollars for Scholars as the organization you want to support. From then on, you just go to AmazonSmile to shop and you have access to the same site as Amazon or Amazon Prime. That's it! About 0.5% of your purchase before tax will be donated to GDFS.

High School Student Volunteer Opportunities-Get your Gananda Dollars for Scholars volunteer hours by helping out with the following event:

Caroling for Dollars: Meet in the High School Atrium at 6:00 on Wednesday December 5th. It will wind down between 8:30 and 9:00.

Gananda Dollars for Scholars, Rewarding Achievement, Supporting Potential

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We love four legged friends but have rules in place to keep everyone safe. As a reminder, dogs are not allowed on school grounds during school events. We will allow dogs to be walked on school grounds during non-school and non-event hours, but they must be on a physical leash and you must clean up after your dog. Our goal is to keep both human and four legged friends safe!

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Gananda Cheerleading

Holiday Camp

Join the Varsity & JV Cheerleaders for our 4th annual Mini Cheer Camp!

At camp, you will learn a cheer and short dance that will be performed with the high school cheerleaders during halftime of the Basketball game on Thursday, 12/20. You will also get a t-shirt, make a craft and have a snack!

Who: School age children (grades K-6)

Price: $20

Date: Saturday, December 15

Time: 12:00-3:00

Place: Gananda High School (Gym entrance)

RSVP: by December 1 to ensure t-shirt size. Registrations will be accepted up to the camp date

Questions: Jenn Pero at ghscheer5678@gmail.com; Jacki Mader at jmader@gananda.org or MJ Eckman at mjeckman@gananda.org

Please complete this form and send it along with a check (payable to Gananda Sports Boosters) to: The elementary school (with your child) ~ ATTN: Jacki Mader -OR-

Mail to: Richard Mann Elementary

ATTN: Jacki Mader

1366 Waterford Rd

Walworth, NY 14568

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Email: ganandapr@gananda.org
Website: www.gananda.org
Location: 1500 Dayspring Ridge, Walworth, NY, USA
Phone: (315)986-3521
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GanandaSchools/
Twitter: @WeAreGananda