Welcome back to the GMSD neighborhood and to the holiday season. Our students and staff are ready to head into the final two weeks of school before the winter break. Many schools are hosting special events and dress up days. Be sure you are subscribed to your schools' newsletters. Our GMSD staff works hard each and every day to serve our students and make GMSD what it is. This season, we are like thankful for their generosity, flexibility, and willingness to go above and beyond. We were proud to honor our staff with a holiday bonus this morning.

I hope you'll join us on Saturday, December 10th for the annual Germantown Holiday Parade. Our team is hard at work to build this year’s GMSD float and is looking forward to the big day.

HOUSTON MIDDLE SCHOOL ADDITION RIBBON CUTTING AND OPEN HOUSE

Lastly, because I don't want it to get lost over the break, please mark your calendars for January 2nd from 1pm-4pm. We are inviting the entire neighborhood to join us for the ribbon cutting and open house of the Houston Middle School Addition. We’ll have basketball competitions, student performances, tours, community art and stem activities, and a special time for future HMS Mustangs to visit.

Jason Manuel,

Superintendent

Dogwood Elementary School - 12:15 pm

Farmington Elementary School - 12:00 pm

Forest Hill Elementary School - 12:15 pm

Riverdale K-8 School - 12:00 pm

Houston Middle School - 11:30 am

Houston High School - 11:15 am

Last week, our Houston Middle School Band and Riverdale Middle School presented their winter concerts at GPAC. And, through a new partnership between GPAC and GMTV, you are able to watch all holiday concerts LIVE on our GMSD YouTube Channel.

This week:

Tuesday, December 6th @ Germantown Performing Arts Center at 7:00 PM - The Houston Band Concert

Wednesday, December 7th @ Germantown Performing Arts Center at 7:00 PM - Houston High Choirs Concert

Attention all LOVERS OF ART, MYTHOLOGY, & LEGENDARY LORE! Gift yourself and/or others some amazing, original artwork and support HHS’ Visual Art Department.

You can bid on original works by student-artists, Sunday, December 4th - Friday, December 9th as Houston's visual art department presents its annual mini-canvas silent auction. They will also be host a public viewing event for the canvases on Thursday, 12/8 from 5:30–7pm in the HHS lobby.

This year's theme is "Myths and Legends" and canvases start at $5, $10, $15, and $20. You can view the actual canvases in person this week in the HHS lobby area or visit our auction site here to get in on the action:

The son of a pastor and a middle school PE teacher, Dr. Chatham grew up in Dyersburg and attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He moved to Memphis to study medicine, then completed his pediatrics residency at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital. He’s been a pediatrician at Pediatrics East for the last 8 years.

Dr. Chatham and his wife, Allie, settled in Germantown in 2015 and stay busy raising three boys and a golden retriever named Jedi. Welcome to the Germantown Board of Education, Dr. Chatham.

Our board enjoyed celebrating the elementary and middle school state championship winners and their coaches.

After nearly a decade of service to GMSD, Betsy Landers is retiring from the school board. She has advocated for children for many years prior. Landers came to our district equipped with a very impressive resume. Her tenure as the President of the National PTA was preceded by several years of service to children in Germantown, Shelby County, the State of Tennessee –and the entire nation.

From the moment she joined her first PTA in 1989, Landers’ dedication to education has been unwavering. When she encountered challenges with her first PTA experience, she stayed with the group to ensure future volunteers had a better experience. Twice she helped form a parent organization at schools her children attended when there was an absence of an organization. She took on increasing responsibilities for Shelby County Council PTA, and the Tennessee PTA. Her goal was to help foster a widespread culture of excellence throughout the county and the state.

As Tennessee PTA State President, Landers led the organization in collaborating with the State Board of Education and several legislators to write what would become the Parent Involvement Act, a Tennessee law that mandates all school districts to have a written parent involvement policy. In 2002, was named one of the "50 Women Who Make a Difference" by Memphis Women’s Magazine, and in 2004, she was honored with the Shelby County Schools Board of Education Community Service Award.

She and her husband Ben G. Landers have three children—Benton (Courtney), Nicholas, and Mary Frances (Martin), and one grandson, Tripp. They live in Germantown, Tennessee.

Matthew Monistere and Andrew Macy received a phone call prior to Thanksgiving from Congressman Kustoff's office. He is offering both of them Academy nominations!

Andrew Macy received a Naval Academy nomination and an Air Force Academy nomination.

Matthew Monistere received a Merchant Marines Academy nomination. Congratulations!

Members of the Houston High School Chapter Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) volunteered recently at the St. Jude Marathon supporting runners and athletes as they completed their physical milestone. We also had several GMSD staffers running in this weekend's race. Congratulations to those who ran in the 10K and half marathons!

HOSA’s mission is to empower HOSA-Future Health Professionals to become leaders in the global health community, through education, collaboration, and experience. HOSA actively promotes career opportunities in the health industry and to enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people.

This month’s Employee Who Empowers is Latoya Cohen, Germantown Municipal School District’s Finance Supervisor.

With a decade of school finance experience prior to her time in our district, Latoya Cohen joined our GMSD family in 2018 as a senior accountant. During her tenure, she assumed additional responsibilities and was promoted to controller and then to finance supervisor.

Latoya has a strong working knowledge of accounting policies and procedures and of systems

development. She is a tremendous support to the CFO and other district staff in day-to-day operations as well as special projects. Her work is accurate and focused. Latoya shared with us that her mother was an accountant and that her college-aged son is currently studying at the University of Alabama to become an accountant. When asked what most excites her about her job, she said, “I enjoy using analytical skills to work with the numbers”.

In addition to completing great work in her regularly assigned duties, Latoya often takes the initiative to streamline procedures and provide clarity to fellow staff members. This year, she created new standard forms used by employees in receiving stipends and seeking travel reimbursements to bolster the district’s efficiency during financial audits and redesigned the Finance Department’s website.

Last year, Latoya also became a Certified Municipal Finance Officer (CMFO) through an accreditation process.

Some other fun facts about Latoya include her love of bowling, riding four wheelers, and hunting. She is also the proud owner of 13 beagles!

Questions? Please email houstonhonorsacademy@gmsdk12.org

It's time for the GMS PTO Art and Writing Contest! The subject of this year's contest is "Germantown is..." Please let your child know about this contest. For more details, follow this link https://gmcptowritingartcontest.my.canva.site/ All entries must be submitted by January 19, 2023. See website for submission guidelines and drop off locations. All submissions must have a completed Contest Entry Form attached to it. Please email Valerie Shimko if you have any further questions: vfshimko@gmail.com

Due to unsafe conditions and increased public safety concerns, new signage has been installed along Dogwood Grove Cove.

The City recently installed additional “No Parking or Standing” signs that coincide with Houston Middle School (HMS) arrival and dismissal hours. The need for additional signage comes after school children have frequently been seen walking in the roadway or between vehicles along Dogwood Grove Cove creating extremely dangerous conditions for motorists. Cars parked along the cove also prevent appropriate access for fire truck and ambulance response capabilities, which creates a significant concern for neighbors along Dogwood Grove Cove. In addition, school traffic often prevents residents in the area from traveling to and from their homes.

In order to maintain public safety for all involved, parking or standing for school drop off and pick up has been restricted. The Germantown Police Department is enforcing the new parking restrictions and will continue to closely monitor the area over the course of the next few weeks. We hope that HMS parents will be respectful of the neighbors along Dogwood Grove Cove and implement alternative pick-up and drop-off routines for their children.