GIS March Family Newsletter

GIS will not only believe in students, but empower them emotionally, socially, and academically by providing a positive environment and bridging the gap between students, families, and our community.

Vision:

S.T.A.R- Strategic Thinkers Achieving Results

WE over ME!

Better TOGETHER!

We are a staff that will ensure student success!

Hello GIS Families!

March is here!

We are headed into the final months of this school year!

With that being said, we will be implementing instructional, behavioral, and attendance incentives to help motivate and reward our students for doing great things in March, April, and May.

Attendance is greatly important to your child's success and learning. As much as possible, please have your student at school so they get to maximize their learning opportunities. We are beginning to move into our Spring Staar Review, and attending everyday is critical to your student's success.

Please read this newsletter as it contains lots of essential information of what's to come at GIS this month! As I always say, the students and staff at GIS are a very special group and they make me proud to be the campus principal EVERY SINGLE DAY!

If I could ever be a help to you or your student, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Cunninghamj@gilmerisd.org or 903-841-7800!

Many blessings to you all!

J. McDowell

GIS Principal

💬Here at GIS, we offer many ways for you to reach out and communicate with us!

📩You may reach us at www.gilmerisd.org, Campus- Intermediate- Staff Directory- Send us an EMAIL.

👪You may reach us via Parent Square! Here you will see messages from me to the entire GIS Family. You may also have communication with your child's teachers directly. You can download this app in your app store on your phone.

💻You may visit our campus Facebook page to see what we are learning or who has won an award!

🤳You may reach us by telephone, 903-841-7800.

Attention cheer and mascot try-out candidates!

If your student is attending the cheer and mascot clinic March 3-6th, they WILL need a transportation note. You may send a note on Monday. That will take care of your student riding the bus to the high school for the clinic. (March 3-5th) On March 6th, your student will need a new note stating that you give permission for them to ride to BJH for the last day of the cheer clinic. If you have any questions, you may contact the BJH office or the GIS office. The reason for requesting two different notes for the week is because there are two different buses that will take the students to the high school and BJH.

Cheer try-outs will be at BJH on Friday, March 7th. Students must be at BJH gym no later than 4:15 p.m. The doors will lock at 4:20 p.m. Students will be able to ride the school bus to BJH to attend try-outs. ( A note will be required to ride.)

NO parents will be allowed to be in the gym before or during try-outs. If you would like to wait on campus, you are asked to stay in the front parking lot of the school until results are posted.

Changes

All transportation changes need to be made by 2:30pm. Students with a transportation change will receive a transportation card that will serve as a reminder of what to do at the end of the day. If we are having an early release day, we will adjust the transportation change time accordingly.

Every student has an opportunity to eat breakfast every morning. Breakfast is served every morning from 7:20-8:00a.m. If a school bus is late, students who ride the late bus(es) will have an opportunity to eat breakfast.

Students cannot use their cell phones, or other electronic devices brought from home, at school during instructional time. If a student does bring their cell phone to school, it should be powered off, not just on silent. This includes, but is not limited to cell phones, smart watches, gaming systems, tablets, headphones/earbuds, etc.

If a student is found in violation of the cell phone/electronic device policy, they may receive the following consequences:

1st Offense— Warning and the device will be returned back to the student's parent or guardian.

2nd Offense—$15 fee and returned to parent only

3rd Offense—$15 fee and returned to parent only

4th Offense—$15 fee and returned to parent only

5th Offense—Student will not be allowed to have electronic devices on campus for remainder of the year.

Please help us encourage your student to follow the rules and this should not be an issue. If for any reason, if you need to reach your student, please contact the GIS front office at 903.841.7800.

March 3rd-6th- BJH Cheer Clinic- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (High School) Thursday (BJH)

March 5th- Life Skills Zoo Trip

March 7th- Cheer Try-outs at BJH

March 7th- End of the 9 weeks

March 10th-14th- SPRING BREAK!

March 20th- Report Cards available in SKYWARD

March 25th- Academic Celebration 6th Grade- 8:30-9:30 5th Grade - 2:15-3:15

March 27th- Texas Citizen's Bee

March 28th- Spring Pictures

March 31st-April 4th Spring BOGO Book Fair

Be sure to bring your ID to the school office prior to any event to have it scanned into our system. Visitors must be approved before they are allowed on campus. For some events, we must print visitor passes, and pre-scanning your ID will save you time in the process!

Lunch Visitors

Parents are allowed to come eat lunch with their student(s) at their designated lunch time. You may bring food from McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, etc. However, you may not have food delivered to your student through a delivery service such as Door Dash. When you visit the campus for lunch, we have designated the middle tables as our "family" tables. You are allowed to eat with your child and one of their friends. Food can not be shared with any student that is not your child.

This year, the Campus Information Guide was sent to you through Parent Square. This is a helpful tool to have. It provides information regarding lunch times, attendance info, academic celebrations, etc. We have more guides available in the office, or you may use the link above to view the information guide.