The GMA Gazette

I trust that everyone enjoyed the long Winter Break and that you found time to relax, enjoy time with loved ones, and celebrate the holiday season in whatever way brings you joy. While I love a good break from the hustle and bustle of the school year, I am excited to be back with students and staff this week! I missed you! 💛

A New Year is the perfect time to reflect on the year that has passed and celebrate the growth made in that time. Last week, our staff met for two days of Professional Development. During our time together we had the opportunity to look back at 2023 and how far our school community has come. If you've been around GMA for any length of time, you have watched as our little school grew, and grew! I'll recap some highlights for you. In 2023:

• We expanded our tuition-based Pre-K program, doubling the enrollment capacity for this amazing foundation and feeder program for our Montessori public charter school.
• We grew our total enrollment by more than 100 students, adding a section at every elementary level to accomodate the growth in enrollment. We now have four sections of Lower Elementary, three sections of Middle Elementary, and two sections of Upper Elementary.
• We made sure that every classroom has the support of a dedicated Assistant Teacher.
• We invested time and resources into a schoolwide approach to behavior and disipline by bringing Chip DeLorenzo (author of Positive Discipline in the Montessori Classroom) to GMA for two days of PD with our staff and a very well-attended parent workshop.
• We were the recipient of the Charter Schools Facilities Incentive Grant through the Indiana Department of Education. With the $150,000 grant award we were able to add classroom bathrooms into all of the classrooms down the primary hallway so that children do not have to leave the classroom during instructional time.
• We expanded our extended care program - The Grove - and brought on a full-time staff member in the role of Extended Care Coordinator. With this expansion, Ms. Kayla was able to offer GMA families the option of our first ever Winter Camp last week. Be on the lookout for more of these opportunities from The Grove.

Wow! That's a lot of growth for a year! As we launch into 2024, I am excited about a New Year full of potential and possibilities. While 2023 was The Year of Opportunity for our school, 2024 is The Year of Intention. I look forward to moving through this New Year refreshed, with a renewed sense of intention for our school community.

Thank you for sharing your children with us. Thank you for choosing to partner with us in your child's education. Thank you for your continued support, encouragement, and trust as we all work together with intention to continue to build the most amazing school community ever.

Be well,
Ms. Jen

1/8 - All students return to school

1/15 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - no school

1/16-3/4 - WIDA Access assessment window for EL students

1/19 - Quarter Two progress reports sent to families electronically

1/31 - GMA Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm in the Birch Room

2/16 - eLearning Day for all students, Staff PD Day

2/19 - Presidents Day, no school

2/22 - Skating Party at The Roller Cave

2/28 - GMA Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm in the Birch Room

3/4-15 - IREAD-3 assessment window

4/1-8 - Spring Break - no school

4/15-5/10 - ILEARN assessment window for all students grades 3-8

Are you familiar with GMA's Inclement Weather Policy? As we enter the most unpredictable weather season in Indiana, it's important to know what to expect in terms of school delays and closings. Our board adopted and approved policy states the following:

GMA will make every attempt to make a decision regarding school closures or delays as early as possible to allow families ample time to make appropriate plans for children. As an independent school not affiliated with any school district and not providing school transportation, the decision to close or delay school is unique.

As a general rule:

If either Mt. Vernon Community Schools or Hamilton Southeastern Schools are delayed or cancelled, GMA will evaluate our local conditions including parking lots and side roads to determine if a delay or cancellation is necessary.

If both Mt. Vernon Community Schools and Hamilton Southeastern Schools are delayed or cancelled, GMA will follow suit.

We reserve the right to either cancel school or issue a delay whenever we feel it is necessary for the safety of all students and staff.

Due to constraints and requirements that the state has enforced around e-learning days, GMA will not be able to utilize an e-learning day should school be cancelled due to inclement weather. Therefore, if there is a school day cancellation between now and the already scheduled e-learning day on Friday, February 16; GMA will be in session on that day. If needed, we will utilize the Presidents Day holiday as a second inclement weather make-up day as well. Families will be notified of these changes immediately should they be necessary due to inclement winter weather.

We use OneCall Now as our mass communication system to send out alerts, updates, and school-wide communication such as The GMA Gazette. Most communications are sent through email, with a text alert to notify you that something has been sent from GMA.

When school is closed or delayed due to inclement weather, especially in the unpredictable Indiana winters, it is important that families receive the notification quickly and easily. The best way to ensure that you don't miss an announcement from GMA is to sign up for text alerts!

It's simple to sign up. Just text the word alert to 22300. That's it!

Please contact Ms. Beth at blarock@gma.k12.in.us if you have questions or need to add an additional phone number or email address to our OneCall Now system.

Beginning Tuesday, January 16, prospective families are invited to complete the online application for enrollment into our school lottery for admission for Fall 2024. Our Open Enrollment period runs from January 16 through March 1.

Currently enrolled families will be asked to complete the Returning Student Verification Process (RSVP) beginning on Friday, January 19. It is important that families complete the RSVP before the deadline of Friday, February 16 in order to secure their child(ren)'s enrollment spot(s) for the 2024-2025 school year.

We need your help! The absolute highest compliment you can pay is the referral of your friends and neighbors to GMA. As we enter the Open Enrollment period next week, let's flood social media with your personal positive stories about this amazing school community! When you share your personal positive experiences with GMA on your social media pages, please tag our official school Facebook page and use the hashtag #ShareGMA so that we can see and share your stories!

Sharing your story with your friends and neighbors helps us spread the word that we are here and we are offering another educational option for families looking to partner with a school community. Thank you for spreading the word with us with the #ShareGMA campaign on your personal social media!

85 GMA families have submitted their information to be included in a school community directory. The goal is to have this resource ready to share with our school community mid-Janaury.

If you would like to participate in our GMA Community Directory, please use the link below to complete the information form. Only information shared in this form will be published in the directory.

Thank you for helping us continue to connect members of our school community.

Thank you for continuing to help us keep our students and staff safe during arrival and dismissal each day. Please refer back to this document that was shared in August regarding traffic patterns and safety reminders.

As we work to build partnerships with organizations and businesses in our community, we need your help in being good neighbors. Please remember that Traditions at Brookside is not a turn around point for GMA traffic. Also, we are begging that drivers refrain from U-turns in the middle of 900 N and at the entrances to neighborhoods. The safest route to ultimately head in an eastbound direction is to take 900 N west to Carroll Road and head north or south to an eastbound roadway of your choice.

It has been said that “behavior influences behavior.” Please be mindful of this fact as you model behavior for your children each morning and afternoon in and out of our carline. All GMA Families are expected to heed these instructions and model safe, courteous carline behavior. Thank you for your cooperation in this important matter.

We have asked McCordsville police for their assistance several times throughout the year. As traffic increases in this area with the influx of new housing, I anticipate a stronger police presence to monitor the flow of traffic and assist drivers.

Also, please note that we use the blacktop area on the north and west sides of the building during recess time. It is for this reason that we put up the chain and cones to block off this area for our students immediately after carline ends promptly at 8:35 am. If you arrive in the parking lot at 8:35 or after, you will have to park and walk your child(ren) into the office to sign them in as tardy.

Thank you for helping us keep our community safe on the roads!

Please be sure to notify the school if your child will be absent. Families should call the front office at (317) 813-4626 and select option 1 from the menu to reach the attendance line.

Our office staff makes daily attendance calls to families at 10:00 am after classroom teachers have submitted their attendance for the day. We want to make sure our students are safe and healthy when they are not here at school with us. Thank you for your help in reporting attendance in a timely manner.