A Note from Dr. Whipple

Another week in the books. Many classes are beginning to wrap up their final units of study and begin review for finals and Regents exams coming up in June. Many teachers will be hosting after school review sessions over these last few weeks of classes. Please encourage your student to attend these. Putting in the extra time and effort to study and prepare now sure beats having to retake an exam in August at summer school!

We also have lots of end of year awards nights and activities coming up these next few weeks, including the Girls Flag Football team making the Sectional Championship on Tuesday at 7pm at MCC! See below for the calendar of events.

Make sure to also check out info regarding the following:

• Blood Drive on 5/21
  
• Special Olympics Send Off on 5/22
  
• Screen Smart Parenting Webinar on 5/22
• Bald for Bucks Pep Rally on 5/24 (1/2 day of school)

• Macedon Public Library Chat & Win Contest on 5/28
• Final Exam Schedule
• Senior Events

Some of our Elementary School students will be competing in the Special Olympics towards the end of the month. We will be going down to the track on 5/22 at 1:45pm to celebrate these student athletes and give them a big send off for their competition the following day. There is a large banner in the cafeteria. Please sign it or write a positive message for our kids that are competing! We have created a modified schedule to follow so that each block has about the same amount of time shaved off. After the send off, students will board busses and dismiss from the ES.

Parents/Guardians, please see the link below for a May 22 webinar with Dr. Adam Pletter, who will discuss ways in which parents can effectively manage screen time for children in the home to foster a healthy relationship and balance with technology.

If you're not able to attend this virtual session on May 22, you are encouraged to register anyway. All registrants will receive a recording of the webinar so if you can't join the session live, you can watch at your convenience.

The link to the webinar registration is here.

May is National Cancer Research Month and Student Congress is putting together a Bald for Bucks Pep Rally for the half-day on 5/24 to fundraise for cancer research. We will be following a 1 hr event 1/2 day bell schedule for that day. The pep rally in the gym will include some staff vs students competitions, including Jelly Bean in the Pie, Basketball Shooting Contest and Tug of War to help fundraise for the day!

We look forward to having a lot of fun for everyone, and raise money for a very worthwhile cause at the same time. If you would like to donate to Student Congress, please click on the directions link. If we raise $500 as a school, two teachers have vowed to shave their heads!! Thank you to Mrs. Farquhar-Nelson and Ms. Meuwissen for organizing this with Student Congress!

We have lots of fun activities coming up to celebrate our seniors! See below for an outline of the dates and times for them.

Please also be advised that students that participate in "Senior skip days" or Senior pranks that are destructive or disruptive may result in not being able to attend these events. We want to keep the focus on having fun as a class and being safe!

Seniors! As we progress into the academic year, don't forget to please complete a Panther Paw Submission Form when you have been accepted into a college/trade school/military branch/apprenticeship program. We will hang a Panther Paw on the #GanandaGoals wall as you enter the building to celebrate your accomplishment! PANTHER PAW Submission Form

Once you've made your decision, then fill out this new little form on the Counseling website so we know about what you've committed to. We want to celebrate you!!!

Here is a link to our prom photos for 2024: Prom Photos 2024

May is dedicated to celebrating Asian American & Pacific Islander and Jewish American Heritage Months. Check out the Library of Congress's links below to learn about these groups' experiences and their contributions to America.

• AAPI Heritage
• Jewish American Heritage

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Seniors will send their official FLCC transcripts to the institution they attend in the Fall. Please wait until after July 4th to order transcripts. This ensures spring grades are verified. Official transcript requests are placed online. There is a $5 per address fee that is payable online via credit or debit card. This system will send a notification when the transcript is processed and received, and includes online tracking. Refer students to this link for instructions.

Most Gemini students will not know their MyFLCC login or password, so they can select Option 2 and set up an account directly through the Parchment Exchange website. Students should check the box “Send when grades are posted” to ensure all spring grades are reflected on the transcript.

Students will also need to send a transcrupt from College Board for AP courses. Please visit https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/sending-scores to request an official transcript be sent to the college you are attending prior to Freshman Orientation.

Check out this list for more upcoming scholarships due from now through May!

Gananda Rotary is interested in continuing to participate in our student of the month program by honoring a student who has demonstrated service in school or the community. If you would like to nominate a student, you may do so by completing this form.

National Honor Society students are now offering tutoring help for any high school students looking for help in science and/or writing. We will be offering tutoring both during advisement and after school on certain days.

All tutoring will be held in room 131. Students can use this Google form to sign up. It is not necessary to sign up, but it will help to ensure we have the right students and enough students available to help.

Absences need to be reported to the school health office by the parent/guardian of the student. This may be done so online by completing this form.

If your student will miss an extended period of time during the school year, please make sure they complete this Extended Student Absences Work Request form. This form should be completed a minimum of 2 weeks in advance if it is a planned absence. Students who have an excused absence will have one day for each day absent to make up work. Students who have an unexcused absence will have no additional time to complete work. Please note that family vacations are considered unexcused absences.

We have several positions open for this summer in the facilities department.

1 Summer Cleaner - $16.00 per hour
1 Summer Groundskeeper - $16.50 per hour
2 Summer Cleaner - $16.00 per hour

All positions are 7:30 - 4 pm, Monday - Friday

If you are interested, please email Lori Brow at lbrown@gananda.org and fill out an application which is located on the District website here.

Substitute Teachers - We are always looking for people to help cover teachers when they are out. This can be a great opportunity for someone trying to break into the field of education. If you or someone you know might be interested please apply here.

Dollars for Scholars is looking for volunteers to help support this great scholarship program available to our students. If you are interested in helping them out, please contact them at gdfscholars@gananda.org.

5/20

• 5, Boys Varsity Lacrosse Sectionals @ Penn Yan
• 6:30, Girls Varsity Lacrosse Sectionals @ Waterloo

5/21

• Budget Vote!
• 7:30-1:30, Blood Drive
• 7, Girls Varsity Flag Football Sectional Championship Game vs Bishop Kearney @ MCC
  

5/22

• 2, Special Olympics Send Off
• HS & MS will walk over to track and then dismiss home from ES
• Alternate Schedule
• 6:30, PLTW Celebration - HS Auditorium

5/23

• 5:30, Varsity Track Sectionals @ Sodus HS

5/24

• Half Day- Professional Development Day
• Student Congress Sponsored Event Day - Bald for Bucks
• Alternate Schedule
• Interim Reports Published

5/27

• Memorial Day - Offices Closed

5/30

• Seniors Red Wings Day
• 7, Academic Awards Night

6/4

• 8, Algebra Regents

6/6

• 7, Athletic Awards Ceremony

6/13

• Moving Up Day

6/18

• Senior Sunset

6/14-6/25

• Finals and Regents

6/26

• Graduation Rehearsal

• Darien Lake Trip for Seniors

6/29

• 10, Graduation

Respectfully,

Dr. Christopher J. Whipple

Principal

(315) 986-3521 ext. 3154

cwhipple@gananda.org

Ms. Mairi Greibus

Assistant Principal

(315) 986-3521 ext. 3154

mgreibus@gananda.org