Goodrich Middle School

Congratulations to the following students who were nominated by their teachers to be our GMS Students of the Month for March! Students are nominated based on many factors, including but not limited to: work ethic, grades, positive attitude, helpfulness and other PRIDE qualities. Congratulations to: Cole Winter- 6th (left), Greenlie McBurney- 7th (center), and Owen Deciechi- 8th (right).

It’s almost time for Spring Testing, arranged through the State of Michigan. Please carefully read over the information below, as there is an adjustment to student start times for Tuesday, April 9, 2019.

Protocols for the PSAT are very strict so ONLY 8th graders will be attending school on the morning of April 9th with 6th and 7th grade students reporting to school at 10:30a.m. For 6th or 7th grade students who ride the bus, their bus will pick them up three hours later than their normal pick-up time.

The busses will pick 8th grade students up at the regularly scheduled time. If your child does not ride the bus, s/he MUST arrive at school no later than 7:30 am. Please note that any 8th grade student who arrives to school after the 7:30am start time will not be admitted into the testing session and will be required to complete the PSAT on a make-up day.

Please note that lunch will be served to all students at their regularly scheduled lunch time.

Beginning in mid-April, Goodrich Middle School will administer, for the fifth year, the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP). This test is developed by the Michigan Department of Education’s Office of Standards and Assessment. M-STEP will include online summative assessments designed to measure current student knowledge. Testing windows during April and May are established by the Michigan Department of Education. All testing, including make-up tests, must be completed during the four-week testing window established for each grade level.

Please note that this year, all 8th graders in the state of Michigan will be taking the PSAT in lieu of M-STEP for Math and English. They will still complete the science and social studies portions of the M-STEP.

Please note the testing dates below for your child:

Grade 8:

April 9 - PSAT - Math and English

April 16, 18 - M-STEP - Social Studies and Science

Grade 7:

May 7, 9 - Math and ELA

Grade 6:

May 14, 16 - Math and ELA

It is important that students be in school on their testing dates. Missing any day will require a make-up session. Please refrain from making dentist and doctor appointments on testing days.

The M-Step tests are important to parents, teachers, students, and the school district. The results of these tests are analyzed to see if adjustments need to be made with curriculum objectives and alignment to the state standards. The results are used for the Michigan School Accountability ratings. Most importantly, individual student achievement is examined. The staff will be working with students to familiarize them with online tools that will be available during the tests, in addition to working through sample test items.

Please encourage your child to:

• Get plenty of sleep for the tests.
• Eat a good, nutritious breakfast on the mornings of the tests.
• Be at school on testing days, and be prompt.
• Bring a pencil and fiction pleasure book to the testing.
• Wear glasses, if needed.
• Ask the test administrator if the testing directions are not clear.
• Focus on one question at a time.
• Put forth his/her best effort on the tests.

If you have any questions regarding M-Step, feel free to contact the Robyn Batter, school counselor, at 810-591-4210.

The annual Farm Bureau America & Me Essay Contest encourages Michigan eighth grade students to write about their Michigan heroes, someone who has made a difference in the students’ lives. What a tribute this is to the person who has inspired and guided them!

Our 8th grade school winners are: Abby Schell, Sophia Bowers, and Sydney Stonerock (pictured from left to right) .

Abby’s essay will now move on to the state competition. Good Luck Abby!

Student Council is excited to be sponsoring therapy dog visits through Mid-Michigan Therapy Dogs. This is a great opportunity for students to participate in a program that can help increase their social and emotional growth. Therapy Dogs will be visiting GMS starting April 5th. Trainers will go from classroom to classroom providing a brief explanation, including what being a therapy dog entails, positive and appropriate ways to interact with the dogs, and then let the dogs interact with the kids. Hypoallergenic dogs are also available.

For more information, visit their website at www.midmichigantherapydogs.com.

At the March 28th Board Meeting, the Middle School’s Student Council members gave a presentation to the Board of Education highlighting the activities and charities the student council gets involved in. Members present at the meeting included: Lainey Madill, Abby Schell, Nick Ebbs and Brayden Schaller.

Our next GMS Credit Union deposit day will be on April 11. Representatives from ELGA Credit Union will be here to assist our student leaders in taking student deposits. All students that opened an ELGA Credit Union savings account should plan on bringing their money to school if they plan to make a deposit. The grade level with the greatest combined number of deposits will earn a pizza party!

Ashley Herriman, ELGA Credit Union Branch Manager, is available at 810-600-2518 for any student account related questions.

Goodrich Families & Staff:

As previously explained, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) requires all public school districts to provide a minimum of 180 days of pupil instruction. A minimum of 1,098 hours of pupil instruction must be scheduled and provided within the day requirement. A district failing to comply with the minimum required days of pupil instruction AND/OR the minimum required hours of pupil instruction, will forfeit from its total state aid allocation.

Due to weather conditions, and for the safety of our students, Goodrich Area Schools closed 12 days this school year. Taking into account the 6 forgiven days and the 3 additional days of forgiven time that we have applied for, and been granted, we will be required to reschedule 3 days of instruction. These days cannot be made up by adding minutes or hours.

In order to meet both the day and hour requirements, the district will make June 12, 13, and 14 FULL DAYS of instruction at all buildings and will add 3 half days to the calendar; Monday, June 17 through Wednesday, June 19, will now be half days of instruction. This will push the high school exam schedule forward. Final exams will be administered on the 17th, 18th, and 19th. If you already have travel plans that cannot be changed, please contact our high school office to schedule exams for your student, upon your return. Should we have any additional inclement weather days or if the MDE grants additional forgiven days, which would alter this schedule, we will inform you.

We must have at least 60% of our students in attendance on these rescheduled days, to avoid a state aid deduction. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and we thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding.

We recognize that many of you are waiting for the 2019-2020 district calendar, in order to facilitate your family holiday planning and vacations. The calendar is negotiated between the teacher's union and the Board of Education and can only be shared once both parties agree upon and vote on it. As with all Genesee County school districts, we support a common calendar to minimize interruptions of instruction in student programs and to benefit students enrolled in shared programs between districts. The common calendar sets the first day of instruction, winter break, mid-winter break, and spring break. Teacher Professional Development days, half days of instruction, and the last day of instruction are determined by the local school districts. Therefore, our 2019-2020 school calendar will include the following:

• First Day of School: Monday, August 26, 2019 (pending approval of a waiver from the MDE)
• Winter Break: Monday, December 23 - Monday, January 6, 2020
• Mid-Winter Break: Friday, February 14 - Monday, February 17, 2020
• Spring Break: Monday, March 30 - Friday, April 3, 2020 (Good Friday April 10, 2020)

We will share the district calendar as soon as it is ready. We appreciate your patience with this process.

The Martian PTO is always looking for people that would like to get involved and volunteer their time. The next meeting is Wednesday, April 10th at 9:00am in the middle school Media Center.

Spirit wear can be purchased at any time through the K & C’s Special T’s website - https://kcspecialts.com/

Please email the Martian PTO at Martianptoinc@gmail.com or visit the Martian PTO Facebook page for more information.

GMS Students took to the Penny Challenge, sponsored by our PTO, and raised $513.78! 8th graders came in first place, followed by 7th grade and then 6th grade.

The money raised will go towards improving the student lunchroom courtyard. The 8th graders will enjoy a popsicle party in the courtyard once the weather breaks and the new equipment is in. Thank you all for your participation!

To follow up from our mental health/suicide student assembly and parent meeting, we wanted to share the following resources with our families. As a reminder, during a crisis, the first-line of suicide prevention is the National Suicide Hotline. Below are some additional Genesee county-based initiatives.

1. Genesee Health System (GHS) Emergency Hotline

The Genesee Health System Hotline is in place to help with any mental health emergency. Whether a situation is an emergency or not is up to the person making the call, and GHS encourages anyone who feels that they are having an mental health emergency to call.

http://www.genhs.org/Services/Crisis-and-Access-Services

(810) 257-3740. Toll free: (877) 346-3648

2. Genesee Health Text Line:

Create a new text message to: 741741

Body of the text message: FLINT

Immediately following, the texter will receive an automated response that says “What’s on your mind?”

The texter responds with current crisis, and within minutes is connected to a live, trained Crisis Counselor

The Crisis Counselor will talk with the texter until the situation has calmed

3. Hurley Mental Health Associates: Online Screening for Depression

http://screening.mentalhealthscreening.org/HURLEY

Dates and times are subject to change.

Please check our school calendar at http://www.goodrichschools.org/GMS/Events/

for the most up-to-date information!

April:

4/2: 8th grade Holocaust Group B Field Trip

4/9: PSAT 8 -- 10:30am Start for 6th and 7th Graders

4/10: PTO Meeting - 9:00am - Middle School Media Center

4/11: ELGA Credit Union Deposit Day

4/12: End of 3rd Marking Period/PRIDE Party

4/19: NO SCHOOL

4/22: NO SCHOOL

4/25: ELGA Credit Union Deposit Day

4/30: 8th Grade DC Chaperone Meeting - 6:30pm - Room 103

May:

5/8: PTO Meeting - 9:00am - Middle School Media Center

5/9: ELGA Credit Union Deposit Day

5/18-5/22: 8th Grade DC Trip

5/23: ELGA Credit Union Deposit Day

5/27: NO SCHOOL

5:30: GMS Band Concert - 6:30pm - HS Auditorium

5:31: 8th Grade Farewell Celebration - 5-7pm - GMS Cafeteria

5/31: 6th Grade field trip to Groveland Oaks (rain date of 6/4)

June:

6/5: 7th Grade Field Trip to CJ Barrymore's

6/7: 8th grade Cedar Point Trip

6/12: 7th Grade Awards - 8:00am - GMS Cafe

6/12: 6th Grade Awards - 9:15am - GMS Cafe

6/13: 8th Grade Awards - 9:30am - GMS Cafe

6/17: *MAKE UP DAY - 1/2 Day - Records Day

6/18: *MAKE UP DAY - 1/2 Day - Records Day

6/19: *MAKE UP DAY - 1/2 Day - Records Day

*Please see below for information below regarding changes to the end-of-year calendar to accommodate school closures

For DAILY updates on GMS events and announcements, please be sure to check www.goodrichschools.org/GMS/! Just click on "News and Announcements" on the left side of the page. You can also check the online calendar to see upcoming events and activities!

Every Student, Every Time – We Are Goodrich!

The vision of Goodrich Area Schools is:

“Preparing People for Life”

Email: mdurant@goodrichschools.org
Website: http://www.goodrichschools.org/GMS/
Location: 7480 Gale Road, Goodrich, MI 48438, United States
Phone: 810-591-4210
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Goodrich-Area-Schools-750600228283708/?fref=ts