August was a great start to our 23-24 school year! It is amazing to see the various positive relationships being built on campus between students and their peers as well as between students and staff. As I look around campus, I can't help but feel honored to be apart of such an amazing community. I am so proud of our Panthers, staff and students alike for the community they are working hard to rebuild. I am hopeful our Panthers sense of pride and positivity will remain a constant throughout the school year. Thank you, parents, for continuing to support your Panther to stay true to The Panther Way. We would not be where we are today without your support and partnership.

We have exciting things happening during the month of September! Our Girls Volleyball team is off and running and are a force to be reckoned with. Our Boys Flag Football team is gaining momentum and leaving it all out on the field! If you have the opportunity, please come out to support our athletes! It means a lot to our Panthers to have their community in the stands cheering them on. Our first dance and spirit week of the school year is quickly approaching! Our leadership students have been working hard and are excited to launch these upcoming events for their fellow Panthers! Please encourage your Panther to participate in all these exciting upcoming activities!

Ms. Castillo

Happy September!

It has been a great start to the new school year. Last week during PE classes, I went over the Panther Way and the school behavior expectations. Overall GEMS students have done an amazing job exhibiting how to be a Panther! Some reminders that would be helpful for you to support and review at home are:

• No phones at school- they need to be off and in backpacks from first bell until last bell

• No gum on campus or at any district location

• Using kind language with staff and students

• Keeping hands and feet to yourself- horseplay can turn into someone getting hurt

We are excited to see our students involved in sports, clubs, and extracurricular activities. We are looking forward to our first school dance next week.

The dance will be taking place Friday, September 8th. There will be a 6th grade dance that goes from 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm. The 7th/8th grade dance will be from 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm.

For 6th grade the gates will open at 3:30pm and will close with no entrances after 4:00pm.

Prompt pick up at 5:00pm.

For 7th/8th grade the gates will open at 5:30pm and will close with no entrances after 6:00pm. Prompt pick up at 7:00pm. Students need to be picked up no later than 5:15pm for 6th grade and 7:15pm for 7/8th grade to ensure they can attend our next event.

All School rules apply.

As a reminder, attendance at dances and after-school activities is a privilege and not a right.

An important message from LHS & TBHS:

• Students waiting for siblings that attend Lincoln High School are not permitted to freely roam the high school campus. This is considered trespassing. Remember to be respectful when visiting other schools.

• All middle school and elementary school-aged students may only attend the high school (TBHS and LHS ) football games with their guardians. Students who are not with their guardians when they enter will not be admitted. We love having our future students at our games, but we need you to be supervised by a guardian the entire time you are at the game. Go Zebras and Rhinos!

Hello GEMS Families,

Our first dance of the year will be beach themed!

When: Friday, September 8th

Where: Spirit Center

Time:

• 6th grade dance is from 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm.
• 7th/8th grade dance is from 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm.

Dance tickets will be on sale this week. Students should bring $5 cash to purchase a ticket from the student store during their lunch time. We will be selling dance tickets until Thursday, September 7th. Students will need to get their dance ticket signed by a parent or guardian in order to attend the dance. Students will need to bring their signed ticket with them to the dance.

We can't wait to see you there!

* We are looking for more beach theme decorations, if you would be interested in donating please send me an email and I will let you know if it is an item we would be able to use. Thank you so much in advance.

- Mrs. Mullen (smullen@wpusd.org)

• Tuesday will be Sports Day

• Wednesday will be Group Matching Day

• Thursday will be PJ Day

• Friday will be Hawaiian/Tropical Day

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!

This year we are excited to adopt and implement Morning Classroom Conversations. If you are an incoming 6th grade parent your student already knows these as "Morning Meetings"! We heard positive feedback from your students and teachers regarding this program and its contribution to building positive relationships with each other as well as teachers.

MCCs are structured gatherings during PAW designed to strengthen classroom community and climate, promote respect and empathy among students and teachers, Enhance student-teacher relationships, develop positive behavior skills, and facilitate conflict resolution. All which contribute and set the tone for a productive learning environment. MCCs last between 15-20 minutes but can be as short as 10 minutes or last longer. With the remaining class time, Panthers are watching GEMS TV and checking Shoology for missed assignments that they can be working on.

The Science Behind MCCs:

Building community: Cultivating a sense of belonging and community in classrooms has been linked to better academic engagement, motivation, and feelings of safety.

• Osterman, K. F. (2000). Students' need for belonging in the school community. Review of Educational Research, 70(3), 323-367.

Relationship Building: Strong student-teacher relationships have been shown to influence a range of positive student outcomes, from academic achievement to well-being. 99 studies analyzed with a sample of over 100K students.

• Roorda, D. L., Koomen, H. M., Spilt, J. L., & Oort, F. J. (2011). The influence of affective teacher-student relationships on students’ school engagement and achievement: A meta-analytic approach. Review of Educational Research, 81(4), 493-529.

We are using 5-Star Students to help track and incentivize student involvement. Students can earn points for participating in activities, showing up to events, exhibiting positive behavior, and attending various interventions.

In addition to the school provided rewards, we are asking our amazing community to donate any items or prizes to our Student Store. Students will be able to redeem these rewards with their participation points.

If you are interested in donating or supporting this cause please complete a donation form by clicking HERE.

Our Tax ID provided upon receipt of donation. Thank you in advance for any support you may afford.

Hello GEMS community!

Welcome back to wellness! We are excited to see new and familiar faces this year. As we welcome the new school year we wanted to go over what the Wellness Center offers! The Wellness Center provides a safe, supportive environment on campus where students can take a break from school stress, discuss a variety of social, emotional, mental health, substance use, and other life issues.

Services Offered:

• Individual Counseling

• Group Counseling

• Substance Use Prevention

• Education and Awareness Presentations

• Referrals to Community Resources

• Crisis Intervention

• Parent Education

• Wellness Breaks

What's Happening at The Well?

Last month students participated in welcome back trivia during lunches. This month we look forward to fostering positive relationships on campus with Chess and Cornhole tournaments. We will also be starting our first group of the year where we will focus on managing worry.

How to help!

Snacks help fuel our panthers so they can be ready to learn! If you would like to donate any snacks please do not hesitate to contact us!

Questions? Contact the team! Located in D4

Adri Ramos: aramos@wpusd.org

Rigo Hernandez: rhernandez@wpusd.org

Our Fall Sports are off to a good start!! We look forward to a competitive and rewarding season. IF your student wants to participate in any athletic capacity be sure you have an account created and physical clearance by a physician.

TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR SPORTS:

• 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.

The School Site Council meets five times a year (in person) on designated Thursday's from 5:00-6:00pm. If you are a parent who is interested in serving on GEMS School Site Council, please fill out the google form above.

Hi there Panther families!

WHO IS APTS?

For our new 6th-grade families, APTS is the middle school version of PTC. For those of you who don't know us check out our flyer here! This will tell you what we are all about and what we were able to accomplish last year.

MEETINGS

Our FIRST APTS meeting will be IN PERSON in the Spirit Center on Thurs, Sept 14th @6:30pm. Parents AND students are welcomed! We hope you can join us!

SUPPORT APTS
One way to support APTS is to participate in our Dine-Out events. We strive to hold them the first week of every month but be sure to read Panther Prowl and/or visit our Facebook page for more info every month for location and date information.

Another easy way to support GEMS APTS with very little effort is to assign Glen Edwards Middle School to your Box Tops account.

TEACHER WISH LISTS
We have created wish lists for all teachers to hopefully help get them needed classroom supplies. Teachers will add/edit it throughout the year. Please be sure to support!
Agrippino Alonso Banderas Baracosa Butler Davena Gonzalez Hargis Harp Harrigan Law Luci Mahan McAdam Mullen Noonan Ransford Rayos Santos Saul Smith, Richard Smith, Ryan Stolesen Ward White

Be sure to follow us on Facebook @GEMSAPTS.

Any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email at GemsAPTS@Gmail.com

From the City of Lincoln:

We’re working with the City of Lincoln on the Joiner Parkway pavement rehabilitation project between Moore Road and 3rd Street. The City and its contractor, Western Engineering Contractors, are very aware of school schedules and understand that this construction will be impactful to your families. The contractor will begin its work on August 21 and plans to be complete this November. Work hours are generally 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. although some nights/weekends could be added. For the first week, or so, the contractor will modify its work day. Hopefully, this will ease the start of school stressors. The attached postcard will be landing in 3,000 mailboxes near the project alignment in the next few days.

At the end of last school year, your child's school sent out notifications to update/verify your emergency contact information using your PowerSchool Parent Portal. As a reminder, this needs to be completed by every family to begin the school year. If it is not completed before the start of the 2023-2024 school year, it may impact your students' ability to find our who their teacher is, receive their schedule, or participate in extracurricular activities.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Families who recently registered their child for school (new to WPUSD) do NOT need to complete this process.

For instructions on how to access your PowerSchool Parent Portal account click HERE.

Families: Please Complete a 2023-24 Household Income Form to Help Your School Maximize Its Funding!

DID YOU KNOW?

A portion of every school's funding is determined by the needs of its students. Extra funding is usually distributed to schools based on submitted free/reduced meal applications but this year the state is providing schools with the option of using the Household Income Form. This form can easily be completed online and will provide your school with extra funding. Please note that for the 2023-2024 school year all students are eligible for FREE meals, so extra funding will be distributed differently and the Household Income Form is the best source to increase your school’s funding.

WHY FILL OUT THE FORM?

- additional support staff for schools, like Instructional Aides, Intervention Support Providers, and after school tutors
- more resources for classrooms and teachers
- additional health and wellness services
- fee waivers for college applications
- fee waivers for college admissions exams (i.e. SAT/ACT/AP)

It’s a quick process and only needs to be completed once for each household. By taking the time to fill out this form, you are taking part in a process that might provide thousands of dollars in funds to the school your student attends. You can access this Form when you are updating your Emergency Contact Information and Waiver Forms in your Parent Portal account.

You can also request a paper copy of the form from your school office or the District Office, 600 Sixth Street, Suite 400, Lincoln, CA 95648

If you need assistance in completing this form please contact your child's school office or the District Office (916) 645-6350 and we can help!

Thank you so much for your time and support!

Western Placer Unified School District

Links are now Live!

Click on the form below to complete:

WPUSD 2023-24 Household Income Form (English)

WPUSD 2023-24 Household Income Form (Spanish)

We are proud to announce our online Spirit Store! GEMS receives a 10% kickback for all spirit wear purchases, and you can purchase direct. LOTS of cool GEMS Wear for sale.

*PLEASE NOTE: THESE CLOTH ITEMS WILL NOT MEET PE UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS. DO NOT PURCHASE FOR PE CLOTH FROM HERE.

Take a moment to check it out!

Learn more about our food services program HERE and visit the food service website HERE to fill out a meal application to receive breakfast and/or lunches.