The GMA Gazette

Did you know that our school has a goal of 97% student attendance rate by 2027? We know that student success is impacted by school attendance. According to a study conducted by The University of Chicago, Pre-K and Kindergarten children who are chronically absent (defined as missing 10% or more of the school year, which amounts to 18 or more days) are at a significantly higher risk of needing intense intervention as struggling readers in second grade. We also know that the habits that are developed as children, carry through to secondary school and into the post-secondary education and workforce as well. Punctuality and attendance matter a great deal in the professional world, and those habits and routines start early in childhood!

This month, we want to celebrate with our K-8th grade students who have a 90+% on-time attendance rate for the first three weeks of March. We will be tracking student tardiness and attendance extra closely from March 1-22. That means students must be at school on-time for the full day 15 out of 16 days. Then, on Friday, March 22 any K-8th grade student who meets the goal of 90+% on-time attendance during the designated period will receive an invitation to our very special AttenDANCE Party!

Invited students will be able to stay after school (with a signed permission slip) to celebrate their success with friends at GMA's first AttenDANCE Party. We will have music, karaoke, popcorn, prizes, and TONS OF FUN. I can't wait to celebrate with everyone on March 28 from 3:15-4:15 pm!

In honor of Black History Month, students have been learning about some of the amazing individuals who have shaped our country.

Upper elementary students created posters to showcase various famous figures in Black History such as Muhammad Ali, Louis Armstrong, and Katherine Johnson.

Our middle school students had an opportunity to present to our Board of Directors this month and spoke about the Black Americans that they had been learning about.

IREAD-3, Indiana's foundational literacy assessment that all third grade students attending Indiana public schools are required to take, begins on Monday, March 4. This year, GMA has opted-in for early assessment of our second grade students as well.

This means that beginning Monday, all of our second and third grade students will be taking this important reading assessment. We've set a goal that at least 70% of our students will pass this test on the first try. Teachers have been hard at work helping students increase their foundational literacy skills; and our students have been diligently working to improve their reading this year! Families can help set students up for assessment success by making sure that they get a good night's rest the night before testing and eat a healthy breakfast each morning. We want to see every student do their very best on this assessment and we are looking forward to celebrating meeting our goal of at least 70% passing on the first attempt!

If you have questions about this assessment, please reach out to your child's teacher directly.

If you are interested in registering your child(ren) for The Grove's Spring Break Camp, please complete this form. If you have questions about this program, please reach out to Ms. Kayla at kcommons@gma.k12.in.us.

3/4-15 - IREAD-3 assessment window

3/13 - Body Safety Parent Information Night, 5:30-6:30 pm for K-6th grade, 6:30-7:30 pm for 7th/8th

3/26 - International Fair, 6:00 pm

3/27 - GMA Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm

3/28 - AttenDANCE Party, by invitation only, 3:15-4:15 pm

4/1-8 - Spring Break - no school

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

4/24 - GMA Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30pm

5/18 - The Market at Geist Montessori

Our Board of Directors approved the academic calendar for the 2024-2025 school year at the January board meeting. Families can access the new calendar on our website, or download a copy below.

Our new Spirit Wear Store is LIVE and ready for you to place your orders! Don't miss this opportunity to get new GMA gear for your family! All orders must be placed online. The store will close on Friday, March 15. Orders will be delivered to school and distributed to students on March 29.

PLACE YOUR SPIRIT WEAR ORDER HERE!

All students in K, 1st, 4th, 7th grades, students with an IEP, or students who are new to GMA will need to have their hearing screened. Hearing screenings are mandated for these students by the State of Indiana. Hearing screenings will be completed throughout March. Only parents/guardians of children who do not pass their hearing screenings will be notified by email/phone. If your child has a known hearing loss that has not been reported to the school, please let Ms. Taryn - our Speech-Language Pathologist - know via email at: tjohns@gma.k12.in.us

If you or someone you know is interested in being a vendor at our annual Market at Geist Montessori, please contact Ms. Beth at blarock@gma.k12.in.us. The Vendor Application is open and accepting new applications now!

If you would like to order a yearbook for your child, please be sure to place your order before March 29!

To order, visit inter-state.com/order and enter code 83125S.

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.

Thank you to those who submitted information to be included in our first GMA Community Directory! Form responses have been compiled into a Google Sheet for ease of use. You can access the directory here.

Once you have opened the directory, it is searchable using the "Ctrl-F" command. Then, you can search by classroom or teacher name to find your child's classmates. You can also sort the data to filter by classroom.

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.