The GMA Gazette

WOW! What a year we have had at GMA!

As we wrap up the 2023-2024 school year with this final issue of The GMA Gazette, I want to thank each and every member of our school community for partnering with us to provide the very best Montessori public education possible for our children. We are honored every day to be a part of your village as you raise kind, compassionate problem-solvers and world-changers. Thank you for choosing to partner with us! I hope you continue to choose to partner with GMA, and that you share your positive experiences with your friends, neighbors, family members, and social circles. The very best compliment you can give is the referral of your friends and family. If you would like to share your positive experiences through a Google, Yelp, or Niche review we would appreciate that as well!

Here are some highlights from progress made and goals met this year:

• We expanded our Pre-K program and opened a second classroom for our youngest learners.
• We opened up a new classroom at every elementary level - expanding to four Lower Elementary, three Middle Elementary, and two Upper Elementary classrooms.
• We received grant funding to (finally!) begin the process of constructing and installing a pedestrian bridge across the creek to the four acres of land to the north of our campus.
• We increased our Fall enrollment from 233 in Fall of 2022 to 308 in Fall of 2023.
• We increased our IREAD-3 pass rate from 60% passing in 2023 to 82.9% passing in 2024!
• We provided our second graders with an opportunity to take IREAD-3 early, and more than half of these students demonstrated reading proficiency by passing this third grade level test.
• We offered multiple extracurricular activities for students of all ages ranging from crochet club to Latin dance club to Pokemon club to chess club.
• Seven of our Lead Teachers started coursework for their MACTE Montessori credential. Once completed, that will bring our school's percentage of Montessori certified Lead Teachers to 80%.
• We added a full time School Counselor to our staff.
• Our parent group officially organized as a chapter of the national and state PTA.

Our school continues to grow and achieve new heights each year. If you've been around for any amount of time, I hope you've seen growth and progress for yourself. The future is so very bright at GMA! Thank you for being a part of it and for supporting the work we do every day.

I hope everyone enjoys a safe and fun summer break. I'll see you back next week for the last three days of school, and then it's off for an adventurous summer!😎

Be well,
Ms. Jen

If your student has medication of any kind in the School Clinic, please be sure to have a parent pick it up during regular office hours (8am-4pm) Tuesday-Thursday this week. Medications will not be sent home with students and no medication can be stored at school over the summer. Any medication remaining in the Clinic after 4pm on Thursday will have to be disposed of. This includes all prescription medication, inhalers, Epi Pens, over-the counter medication, cough drops, etc. All questions about medication should be directed to Ms. Beth at blarock@gma.k12.in.us.

If you would like your child to wear sunscreen during Field Day on Wednesday, please be sure to apply that before dropping your child off at school. Teachers will not be responsible for making sure that students apply sunscreen before heading outside to enjoy Field Day.

With the addition of Ms. Cindy to our staff as our School Counselor, we recently completed an anonymous student survey to determine the effectiveness of some of the strategies and programs that we've been employing with students this semester. I am extremely proud of the work that our teachers and staff (and students!) have done to help create a safe and supportive learning environment at GMA. 286 Kindergarten through 8th grade students were surveyed using Google Forms.

Here are some of the results of this survey:

• 96.9% of students surveyed said they feel safe at school.
• 98.3% of students surveyed said they know the adults at school are willing to help them with a problem when needed.
• 89.9% of students surveyed indicated that they are able to speak up for themselves to resolve conflict with peers.
• 89.5% of students surveyed said they feel confident and safe using their voice to solve problems with peers.
  
• 96.2% of students surveyed said that they have at least one trusted adult at school that they can go to for help when they need it.
• 94.8% of students surveyed said they feel safe telling an adult at school when they have a problem that they need help with.

🚗🚗IMPORTANT CHANGES FOR CARLINE THIS FALL🚗🚗

Beginning this Fall, the following changes will take place for arrival and dismissal on campus:

• Families will be assigned a specific color for their car line tag. We will use one color for our Early Childhood line and another color for our 1st-8th grade line.
• All Pre-K and Kindergarten students must be dropped off in the Early Childhood car line which will run from 8:00-8:15 am. Older siblings of these students may also be dropped off in this car line. Pre-K and Kindergarten students will be marked tardy if they arrive after 8:15 am.
• All students in grades 1-8 without younger siblings in Pre-K or Kindergarten must be dropped off in the second car line which will run from 8:20-8:35 am. These students will be marked tardy if they arrive after 8:35 am.
• All Pre-K and Kindergarten students without older siblings in the building must be picked up in the first afternoon car line between 3:00-3:15 pm. Pre-K/Kindergarten students with older siblings in the building should be picked up in the second car line, which opens at 3:20 pm.
• All students in grades 1-8, and those Pre-K/Kindergarten students with siblings in these grade levels must be picked up in the second afternoon car line between 3:20-3:35 pm.
• Families picking children up in the first line may not line up until 2:50 pm at the earliest. 1st-8th grade car line families may not line up before 3:15 pm.
• All students must be picked up no later than 3:35 pm unless they are registered for The Grove.

This Fall, no one will be permitted to line up early for any car line. Due to the volume of traffic and the need to run two seperate car lines through the serpentine pattern, we will require all families to abide by the updated expectations. Please plan accordingly and do not arrive on campus before your scheduled drop off or pick up time because you will be asked to leave in order to keep traffic flowing for everyone.

Thank you for understanding and cooperating with our staff during car line times!

If you are interested in a summer tutor, please see this list of GMA teachers and staff that are willing to offer their services this summer!

Can you believe that we only have 3 school days left this year? Those days will fly by in a flash as we wrap up another great school year together at GMA.

Did you know that this year is the first school year in which GMA conducted a lottery for admission of new students at every grade level? Based on responses from the Returning Student Verification Process, which concluded in February, over 93% of our currently enrolled students are returning to GMA for the 2024-2025 school year. This leaves a very limited number of openings for new students to join us next year.

If you know that your plans for next school year have changed, and your child(ren) will not be attending GMA in the Fall, please let our front office know as soon as possible. We have over 165 new students seeking enrollment at our school with very limited spots open for new students. There is currently a waitlist for admission at every age level except Kindergarten and first grade for the Fall.

It is an honor and a privilege to partner with families in their child(ren)'s education. If your plans are taking you away from GMA for the upcoming year, we want to wish you all the best for an easy transition into a new school environment. Thank you for sharing your child(ren) with us and for allowing us to be a part of your village as you raise kind, respectful, responsible world-changers and problem-solvers. 💚

5/27 - Memorial Day, No School

5/28 - 8th Grade Celebration, 6:00 pm

5/29 - Field Day at GMA

5/29 - GMA Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm

5/30 - Last Day of School

5/30 - Kindergarten Picnic at Brooks School Park

7/16 - Chipotle Dine to Donate Event @ the 116th St. store, 4-8 pm

8/5 - Meet the Teachers, 5:00-6:30 pm

8/5 - Parenting a Montessori Student, 6:30-7:00 pm (RSVP here!)

8/8 - First Day of School

8/12-16 - Fall NWEA Testing, K-8th grade

9/2 - Labor Day, no school

10/9-10 - Parent Teacher Conferences

10/10-11 - Early Release Days

10/14-18 - Fall Break, no school

Congratulations to these students for being selected as winners from our Mystery Attendance Days:
Week 1 - Harlem C., Sthavvya S., and Myra B.

Week 2 - Aiden B., Finn F., Beatrice H., and Kaydence P.

Week 3 - Charlee B., Porter C., Aiden L., and Ayden W.

Week 4 - Betty A., Oliver A., Jana C., Keagan C., Hannah D., Ben T., Edward L., Katherine G., Ellis B., Muhammed T.

Week 5 - Lily R., Lauren R., Yashi P., Teddy S., Vedika S., Beau M., Kyla L., Alec K., Alanna J., Luis G.

Week 6 - Lelia Mae H., Lily G., James E., Isaac M., Mitchell P., Lloziel R., Nora W.

Week 7 - Frank A., Maya A., Alexa A., Cailin C., Dean C., Eli C., Veda C., Lydia C., Makson D., Asher F., Amaya H., Ethan L., Lainey M., Nate S., Crew W.

We continue to work on improving our school attendance rate. You can help us reach our goal of 97% attendance rate by 2027 by working with your child(ren) to make sure that they are on time and present at school every possible day they can be. We want to encourage all students to be on time and present for the full school day as much as possible, which is why we are working on fun ways to celebrate high student attendance rates.

This Spring, GMA presents Mystery Attendance Days! Each week, we will randomly select one day to be the Mystery Attendance Day for the week. All students (PK-8th grade) who are on time and present for the full school day on Mystery Attendance Day will be entered into a drawing for fun prizes! Winners will be announced before car line starts. Then, on Tuesday, May 28, all of the names that were entered into the weekly drawings will be entered into the grand prize drawing. Fifteen students will be selected from the grand prize drawing and will win a chance to dunk Ms. Jen in the dunk tank on Field Day on May 29! Students could have multiple chances to win if they are on time and present for the full school day each Mystery Attendance Day!

Everyone has a chance to win. Good luck! 🍀

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.

Mark your calendars for these fun weeks at The Grove's Summer Camp at GMA. Please reach out to Ms. Kayla directly with any questions. Her email address is kcommons@gma.k12.in.us.

Sign up here!

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 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.