PANTHER PROWL

February 7, 2025

🤝 PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

Happy February!

We are already moving quickly through the school year, and this month brings many opportunities for students and families to get involved. Students can join a club (see clubs below), cheer on our teams at home games, and take advantage of tutoring and intervention programs (see tutoring below) to stay on track with their learning. Remember, following school expectations and classroom agreements is key to success for all!

Semester 1 report cards have gone out, and we have something BIG to celebrate—479 students earned a 3.0 GPA or higher! That’s almost 60% of our student body achieving academic success. We are so proud of their hard work and commitment to learning. To recognize their efforts, we are working with APTS to plan something special—stay tuned for more details!

This week, we also had a great time celebrating our monthly Panther Pride students—those who were nominated by teachers and staff for demonstrating the 3 P’s: Positive, Productive, and Professional, along with key Portrait of a Learner attributes for January. We are so proud of them!

Next week, we are excited to celebrate students who showed growth in their iReady ELA diagnostics—way to go!

Parents, we value your partnership and invite you to get involved through APTS, the 8th Grade Promotion Dance Parent Committee, the School Safety Committee, ELAC, the PBIS Committee, and more. Your support makes a huge impact on our school community!

We also want to recognize Take Your Family to School Week and National PTA Founders’ Day so on February 21 we invite all parents to Hot Chocolate with the Principal from 8:30–9:00 AM. Come enjoy a warm cup of hot chocolate and check in with Mrs. Fernandez—we’d love to see you here! More details will come closer to the date.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram (@glenedwardsmiddle_wpusd) and Facebook (WPUSD - Glen Edwards Middle School) where we regularly showcase the amazing things happening with our students and staff!

Let’s make February a great month! Thank you for your continued support!

Jessica Fernandez- Principal

CLUB OPPORTUNITIES

After-School Clubs:

Tuesdays(except the first of the month):
- 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: ALAS Club with Ms. White and Mrs. Casillas
Wednesdays:
- 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM:
  - Crochet/Knitting Club with Ms. Ward
  - Dungeons & Dragons Club with Mrs. Sunding
  - Anime Club with Mrs. Buchan
  - Guitar Club with Ms. Harp
Thursdays:
- 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Chess Club with Mr. Santos

If you have any questions about tutoring or clubs, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d love to see our students get involved!

TUTORING - HOMEWORK HELP

8TH GRADE PROMOTION REQUIREMENTS 24-25 🎓

Emails went out at 4 pm 2/7/25 to notify families of students that as of 2/4/25 were not meeting one or more of the requirements below.

Promotion based on academic achievement for 2024/2025:

The following three requirements will be utilized in determining academic eligibility for promotion and summer school eligibility. Students meeting all three of the following requirements will be academically eligible to participate in the promotion Ceremony.

Overall cumulative GPA of “C” or better
GPA of 2.0 (“C”) or better in Language Arts
GPA of 2.0 (“C”) or better in Mathematics

The academic requirements will only apply to semester 2 grades for the 2024/2025 school year and will be applied at administration discretion.

8th Grade Promotion Activities (2024/2025):

Eighth-grade students must meet the academic and behavioral requirements to participate in promotion activities. Academic requirements are listed above and the behavioral requirements are listed below.

Eighth-grade promotion activities may include a water park trip, promotion dance, and the promotion ceremony. Additionally, students must return all materials, supplies, textbooks, and equipment issued to them and must pay all their debts by the required deadlines.

If during the last seven weeks of school, a student receives the following discipline, it may result in:

First Administrative Referral – Loss of water park trip
Third Administrative Referral – Loss of Promotion Dance

If during the last seven weeks of school, a student receives the following discipline, it may result in:

One day of suspension – Loss of all promotion activities with the exception of the promotion ceremony.
Multiple days of suspension - Loss of all promotion activities including the promotion ceremony.

The behavioral requirements will only apply to the last 7 weeks of the 2024/2025 school year and will be enforced at the discretion of the administration.

8th grade families be on the lookout for more detailed information after the first of the new year!!

🐾 PAW UPDATE

We wanted to keep our families informed about what’s happening in PAW!

Every Tuesday, all PAW classes engage in the same Morning Classroom Conversation lesson. During the first four weeks of this semester, students have been focused on setting academic goals and creating concrete plans to achieve them. Up next, we will explore how effort, persistence, and personal responsibility contribute to academic success. Be sure to ask your Panthers about these important Tuesday lessons!

Throughout the rest of the week, PAW sessions target specific academic areas:
📖 Wednesdays: ELA interventions tailored to students' diagnostic levels
➗ Thursdays: Math interventions designed to build on individual progress
🌟 Fridays: YDI activities or additional intervention time

Thank you for your continued support in helping our Panthers succeed! If you have any questions, reach out to your student’s PAW teacher or Mrs. Fernandez.

LEADERSHIP NEWS 🎫

February Events
Our leadership students were hard at work planning exciting activities for February including:

Valentine's Day Dance: Happening tonight, keep your eye on our Facebook and Instagram to see what fun was had
Random Acts of Kindness Week: In February, students will organize activities to spread kindness throughout our school community. Details forthcoming

Stay tuned for more updates as these events draw closer. Thank you for your continued support!

Sandie Mullen

Glen Edwards Leadership Teacher/Activities Director

Glen Edwards Physical Education

PBIS NEWS 📰

What is PBIS?

PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support. Our PBIS team at Glen Edwards is dedicated to fostering a positive and safe environment for students in which they can be recognized for positive behavior and relationships, and that those can continue to be fostered in our community. The PBIS team is not just school staff, though! Students and families are a vital part of the PBIS team! If you or your student is interested in joining our PBIS committee please contact us to be invited to our next meeting.

Positive Teacher Postcards

As part of our PBIS initiative at GEMS we have implemented a positive acknowledgement system for students to use with staff. In the library, we have BEAUTIFUL postcards that were created by Mrs. Ward's advanced art class. Please encourage your students to swing into the library before school, during lunch or after school to fill one out with a positive message for a staff member who has made a positive impact on their time at GEMS. These are delivered to teachers every Friday and really brighten up their day! Thank you for your support in helping to recognize our hard working staff at GEMS.

Clean Up Challenge

A lunchtime clean up challenge between the three grade levels is starting next Monday, February 10th! Students are challenged to keep the school's lunchtime areas clean and tidy by helping clean and pick up after themselves. The grade level whose lunch ends the tidiest with students helping to keep it clean will win the challenge! Encourage your students to keep picking up after themselves, keep our campus tidy, and participate in the challenge!

5 Star - Hall Passes and More

5 Star is an online system that students can use to earn points for positive behavior. Students can earn points for demonstrating a wide variety of positive, productive, and professional behavior (The 3 P's). Students can use their 5 Star points on prizes at the student store, open right before and right after school.

5 Star is not only a system to help us recognize students' positive, productive, and professional behavior, but is also used to assign hall passes. Students' teachers can assign hall passes to students, though students can also assign themselves (with teacher direction/approval) a hall pass to where they need to go, including the bathroom and library, on their Chromebooks after getting permission.

LOST AND FOUND

Our lost and found/forgotten items fills up fast with daily drop offs.

Please note the lost and found and/or items dropped off that are not picked up are donated/dicarded every other Friday (no school 2/14 so it will be Thursday 2/13). If your student has lost an item, please make sure they are checking the lost and found in the front office in a timely manner.

If you are dropping off items for your student, please be aware we can NOT call students out of class for forgotten items as it disrupts the learning environment affecting every student. Students will need to check with the front office during their free time (before school/lunchtime/afterschool)to pick up forgotten items. Any items not picked up in a timely manner will be cleaned out with the lost and found.

Please remind your student to pop in and check if we found their lost belongings!

APTS 🤝

MEETINGS

If you missed the meeting last night mark your calendar now for the next APTS meeting. It will be on March 6th @5pm in the GEMS Library. We hope to see you there!! Everyone is welcome to attend and we appreciate any support you can provide.

ONGOING FUNDRAISERS

Check out and support our APTS STORE!! Updated items are:

Stickers have been discounted to only $1 now!!
Bling Hoodie Strings are still available for $5ea.

IMPORTANT : E-SCOOTER INFORMATION 🛵

Hello WPUSD Students, Staff and Families,

We are seeing an increase in the use of e-scooters as a mode of transportation to and from school. E-scooters, while convenient, must be operated within the law to ensure the safety of both riders and others. We are partnering with the Lincoln Police Department to help educate our students and families about the laws surrounding e-scooter use. Through this collaboration, we aim to raise awareness, promote safe practices, and ensure everyone understands their role in keeping our community safe.

Under California Vehicle Code 407.5(a), an e-scooter is defined as:

A “motorized scooter” is any two-wheeled device that has handlebars, has either a floorboard that is designed to be stood upon when riding or a seat and footrests in place of the floorboard, and is powered by an electric motor.

The law also places clear restrictions on e-scooter operation under Vehicle Code 21235, including:

Riders are REQUIRED to have a valid driver’s license or learner’s permit.
E-scooters cannot be operated on sidewalks, except as may be necessary to enter or leave adjacent property.
No passengers are permitted on an e-scooter.
Riders under 18 must wear a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet.

Additionally, California Education Code requires schools to take responsibility for student safety during their travel to and from campus. Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in incidents involving e-scooters, some resulting in serious injuries. To address these safety concerns and ensure compliance with the law, e-scooters will no longer be permitted on elementary and middle school campuses starting in January. All high school students riding an e-scooter to or from school must have a valid driver’s license or learner’s permit.

We know that e-scooters are a popular gift item and mode of transportation for students. While they can be a fun and practical choice, we ask families to consider these laws and safety guidelines before allowing their use.

Thank you for partnering with us to keep safety at the forefront as we head into the new year.

Sincerely,

Kerry Callahan
WPUSD Superintendent

FOUNDRY

🏈 HS FOOTBALL / FEED THE BEAST (FTB)

2025-26

AAU Strength and Conditioning & 7v7

Football Preparation

This program is designed for incoming freshmen. The main purpose is to expose these young athletes to the rigors of high school sports. Learn proper strength and conditioning techniques as well as other factors that influence performance such as hydration, diet and sleep for recovery. We will also schedule some 7v7’s possibly in May. All participants must be signed up for AAU.

What separates Feed The Beast from other AAU programs:

We do not charge athletes to pay for coaches. The program does not make a profit off of the players. All coaches are volunteering their time.
Athletes will be better prepared for high school athletics, not just football.
Athletes will learn proper strength and conditioning techniques to be better prepared for all sports.
Athletes will have a chance to become familiar with the coaching staff and expectations.
Athletes will learn offensive and defensive schemes for the high school
Coaches meeting face to face to check on academic progress

All participants must sign up through AAU. Below is how to sign up. Cost is $20.

1. Go to AAUsports.org

2. Select “Join AAU” at the top right

3. Select “Youth Athlete Membership”

4. Complete the application

a. Sport Flag Football 7v7
b. Coverage extended (AB)
c. Team Current Membership Year
d. Club Name: Feed The Beast
e. Club Code: W3D4F3

5. Enter athlete information

6. Select terms and conditions box

7. Enter Parent information

8. Select “Continue and proceed to checkout

First training sessions start on Tuesday February 11th. We will continue every Tue/Thu 3:40-5:30 & Sun 10:00am-12:00pm. Meet in the Lincoln High School weight room off of 6th street.

Any questions feel free to contact Head Freshman Coach Phil Pomales 510-688-3435

Items of Interest for PANTHERS 🐾

OFFICE NEWS AND INFORMATION

As we enhance safety measures, please note IDs will be checked every time you come to pick up your student during school hours. Please have your ID ready for the office staff. This includes anyone listed as an emergency contact. Be sure you have logged into the PowerSchool Parent Portal and submitted the ARU modules for accuracy.

Unfortunately our office staff can not interrupt class time to call students to pick up items in the office. Parents can drop off items for their student but we will not be able to call the student to pick the item up. The student can check in during the passing period or at lunch.

REMINDER: We can not allow food delivery services (Doordash, Postmates, UberEats, etc.) to GEMS. Breakfast and Lunch are available to all students without charge.

TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR SPORTS:

IF your student wants to participate in any athletic capacity be sure you have an account created in Final Forms and physical clearance by a physician.

Parent AND Student must create their own account, fill out and submit information via FINAL FORMS
All students must have a current PHYSICAL on file with the school (current means within the past year).

NO CHILD WILL BE ALLOWED TO PRACTICE OR PARTICIPATE WITHOUT THE PROPER FORMS. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE GRANTED.

YEARBOOK

Pre-order your yearbook now for $60.

Visit jostensyearbooks.com to place your order.

MEDIA

Advanced Broadcasting produces GEMS TV every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/gemstv916

WeAre105 podcast has started! Subscribe to our channel on Spotify or Apple Podcast

Panther Press is live NOW! Visit pantherpress916.com to see the latest articles written by the Journalism students at GEMS. The views on this site do not reflect the views of WPUSD or the admin at GEMS. Our goal is to promote student expression and provide a platform for diverse voices and viewpoints within our campus community.

FOOD SERVICES

Learn more about our food service program HERE and visit the food services website HERE for daily menu options.

ATTENDANCE REPORTING

Check out the flier below. There are several ways to report absences. We hope you find it useful!

DID YOU KNOW..??..

When you receive a message that your student was absent, you can respond easily by clicking on the link within the message to report your student's absence.
7th period is actually the students PAW period and the first class of the day Tuesday - Friday.
ALSO NOTE: There will be NO TRAVEL STUDIES allowed to last two weeks of school.

Follow Us On Facebook! 👍

Don't forget to follow our GEMS Facebook Page to stay on top of all the fun things we are doing around campus! Click this link or the picture below to follow!