The GMA Gazette

10/16 - Students return to school

10/17 - Skating Party at The Roller Cave, 6-8 pm

10/20 - End of Quarter One

10/20 - PTO Fall Festival, 6-8 pm

10/25 - Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm in the Birch Room

10/25 - PTO Meeting, 6:30 pm in the Birch Room

10/26 - Dine to Donate at Trax BBQ

10/27 - Q1 Progress reports shared electronically with families

10/31 - Idiom Day at GMA

11/14 - 2nd Annual Community Open House, 5:30-7:30 pm

11/17 - GMA Family Game Night, 6-8 pm

11/22-24 - Thanksgiving Break, no school

11/30 - Picture Retake Day

12/4-8 - Winter NWEA Assessment Window, grades K-8

12/16 - Parents Day Out, 1-5 pm

12/21-1/7 - Winter Break - no school

Hello everyone! I'm Kayla Commons, the new Extended Care Coordinator at GMA! I'm so excited to be a part of this school, and I'm full of new ideas to implement in The Grove.

Some things about me:

• I love to travel! This photo is from my trip to Fairbanks, Alaska at the beginning of this year.
• I love reading and crocheting.
• My family and I love discovering new parks to hike in.

I'm looking forward to getting to know all of the students, families, and staff at GMA. Thank you for being so welcoming!

Hello, my name is Rielyn McCloud! I am a Sophomore at Ball State University. I’m currently a general studies major, but taking classes to explore more about child psychology and early elementary education. I have a 4-year-old sister named Skye and four other amazing siblings! I have recently found an interest in reading which is what I spend a lot of my time doing. I am so excited to be starting at GMA!

My name is Chinglin Chan-McDaniel, but I often go by Lin nowadays. I come from a computer engineering background with interests in Internet of Things and software development. I also teach beginner piano lessons on the side. I have a passion for sharing knowledge, especially in math and music. I’ll be working with Ms. Amy in the Maple Classroom. I look forward to getting to know everyone. Thank you for welcoming me to GMA!

Your student(s) may have already shared their excitement with you for our upcoming celebration of Idiom Day at GMA. On October 31, all students and staff are invited and encouraged to dress in a costume that illustrates an idiom. We will have fun learning more about this type of figurative language as we try to guess the idiom that others are dressed as!

Hopefully, your students can explain what an idiom is to you and you can have fun together as you put together a fun idiom costume for Idiom Day on October 31!

If you need a little inspiration to "get your wheels turning", check out this video!

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.

It has come to our attention that some parents are using the Traditions at Brookside property as a turn-around point. This has been addressed multiple times this year - please DO NOT turn around in their lot. The safest way to get back in an eastbound direction is to go to the intersection of 900 N and Carroll Road and head either north or south until you reach an east/west roadway.

Again, for the safety of our neighbors and our community, please do not use Traditions at Brookside as a turnaround point.

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

New Clubs Opening After Fall Break:

• Ms. Leshia and Ms. Michelle are sponsoring a Writer's Club for students in grades 3 and 4 beginning on Tuesday, October 17. See this flyer for more details.
• Ms. Kim and Ms. Hillary are bringing Pickleball to GMA beginning October 18! Students in grades 3-8 are invited to join in the fun and learn a new game with friends. There are only 16 spots available for Pickleball Club, so sign up soon if you're interested! See this flyer for details on how to sign up.

Be on the lookout for information on more opportunities in the coming weeks as some clubs and enrichments will run for shorter spans of time and some will be offered at various points in the year. We will have a special opportunity just for PK and Kdg students to join Gaming (NOT Video Games!) Club in January!

Many families have asked if we have a directory available for our school community. This is something that had been done years ago here at GMA, but has not been created for the last four years. It's time to create a new GMA Community Directory for our school families! As of today, there are less than 35 families who have filled out the form to be included in the directory.

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.

State legislation adopted by the Indiana General Assembly in 2023 provides funding for “curricular materials” to all Indiana public schools, thus eliminating the traditional materials fees that families have historically paid. Indiana Code 20-18-2.7 defines “curricular materials” as systematically organized materials designed to provide a specific level of instruction in a course. These materials include books, workbooks, hardware, computer software, and digital content.

This law changes the process for curricular materials, but it does not exclude other fees. Parents may expect fees for special programs and extra-curricular clubs and activities.

Based on Indiana Code 20-26-5-4(a)(12)B), Indiana statute permits schools to assess and collect a reasonable fee for lost or significantly damaged curricular materials. GMA will assess fees to parents/guardians for lost or significantly damaged curricular materials, as appropriate.

House Enrolled Act 1001-2023 only applies to K-12 and does not apply to Pre-Kindergarten curricular costs.

The materials fee for Pre-Kindergarten will remain the same as past years at $110 per student. This fee is due at the beginning of each school year, no later than October 1st. Fees that are not paid by the designated final due date will be sent to collections. Material fees are non-refundable. If you need to set up payment arrangements, please contact our Operations Manager at (317) 813-4626 ext. 102.

All K-8 students will be assessed a communication fee of $30. This fee includes PowerSchool, OneCall, and Securly, as well as systems used to create and send schoolwide communications. Payment of this fee is due by November 1. Payment can be made in the school office during regular office hours by cash or check made payable to Geist Montessori Academy. If you prefer to pay online, you may do so here. There is a processing fee assessed for online payments.

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.

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.