Principal Mr. Tim Koehler

Assistant Principal Mr. Richie Hutchinson

Dean of Students Ms. Sarah Muller

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/gerogemcgoverneagles/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/gmmseagles/?hl=en

George McGovern Middle School

6221 W. Maple Street

Sioux Falls , SD 57104

P: (605) 367-4440

F: (605) 367-4434

Nov. 11- No School

Nov. 27-29 -Thanksgiving Break

Order your Yearbooks today!

Please report any absence to the office at 605-367-5145 before 8:45 am.

We ask that parents/guardians come to the front office door when picking up a student. If an emergency contact is designated to pick up a student for any reason, the parent/guardian must notify the office of the emergency contact taking their student early from school.

You may also enter a full day absence through the Parent Portal by following this link

Log into Parent Portal: https://siouxfallssd.infinitecampus.org/campus/portal/siouxfalls.jsp

On the Home Page, select “Absence Requests” from the right hand side of the screen.

Select Student(s) you wish to request an absence for

Select Excuse Code

• If all students have the same excuse code, you may submit one request for all students

• If students do not have the same excuse for being absent, please submit individual requests based on each student’s excuse

Select Absence Type

• Full Day Absence (for one day absences, the start and end date should match)

Comments are required and should provide information as to why student(s) are going to be absent.

Submit once all information has been entered

Once Submitted, the screen Current Requests will open

Here you can see each request including student name, start date, end date and status of the request. You may add a New request from here as well if needed.

To Delete a Request

Click on the request you want to delete

This will open Request Details

At the bottom of the page is an option to Delete Request

*Please Note: Only Pending Requests may be deleted. Once a request has been processed by school staff, you must call the school for any changes/updates to the request.

Other Helpful Information:

• Requests can only be made for the current day forward. Requests cannot be made for days that have already passed.

• Once a request has been processed by the school, it can no longer be updated or changed through the Parent Portal.

• Contact the school your child attends with any questions.

Social Studies - Mr. Flock & Mr. Mader

In 7th Grade Geography class with Mr. Flock and Mr. Mader, we have been investigating the differences between developed countries and developing countries and comparing statistics such as life expectancy, literacy rates, Human Development Index (HDI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We will also be looking at a variety of people’s lives in Mexico City and comparing the Haves and Have-Nots.

We have started reading the book Refugee by Alan Gratz. We will use this book as a bellringer at the start of each class and listen to one chapter a day. The book follows the lives of three refugees from three different time periods; 1938 Nazi Germany, 1994 Cuba, 2015 Syria.

Science - Mrs. McComber & Mrs. Kruse

For the month of November, students will be learning about genetics and heredity. They will learn how traits are determined along with understanding dominant and recessive alleles. By the end of November, they should be able to identify genotype versus phenotype and be able to complete Punnett squares. Students will use the information they learned to create monsters with a "Monster Genetics" project.

7th Grade Accelerated Science - Mrs. Kruse

Students will finish their physical science unit within the first two weeks of November. They will have their district assessment over physical science on November 14th. Students will be receiving a study guide around the 11th that they should bring home to study. After the district assessment, we will be switching over to life science (my favorite!)

English/Language Arts - Mrs. Dossett, Mrs. Huwe & Mrs. Vandrovec

We just finished “The Outsiders” and WOW, what a story! We are excited for the movie (book is always better!) and then DRESS-UP DAY! Maybe some of you have read it and can talk about it with your child. Ask them about their favorite character or how they felt when Johnny died. We are now ready to jump into Unit 3, whose guiding question is “What can cause a sudden change in someone’s life?” We will be reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and Thank You, M’am by Langston Hughes. Both are wonderful stories about the change in the human spirit and the benefits of choosing joy and doing the right thing. We will continue to work on the Elements of Plot. Ask your student to tell you the 5 elements and what they mean.

Next, in ELA, we will be digging into narrative writing and learning how to set up an essay with a proper introduction, the details in between and a great conclusion! They will become pros at it by the time we are done and ready to show their great writing skills in 8th grade! Continue to foster a love of reading by sharing a book, asking questions, and modeling good reading habits. The road to becoming a lifelong learner is paved with books!

Math - Mr. Henry, Mrs. Hieronimus & Mr. Miller

In 7th grade math, we are just staring Unit 4 - Proportional Relationships and Percentages. In this unit, students deepen their understanding of ratios, scale factors, unit rates (also called constants of proportionality), and proportional relationships, using them to solve multi-step problems that are set in a wide variety of contexts that involve fractions and percentages.

Greetings from the Coyotes/Jackrabbits Eighth Grade Teams

We’ve made it through our first quarter of the school year! Our 8th graders continue to be a great group of students. It was also nice to be face-to-face with so many of you at conferences in October - thank you.

Students have all taken district assessments in each of their CORE areas. We will be taking the 2nd round of math and reading MAP tests in December. Although testing seems to be a lot at times, we ask that you encourage your students to try their best. These tests are a way for us to check what they are learning and retaining.

The 8th graders will be going to our JA Inspire event on November 19th. This should be a fun event and it gives students a chance to see different job opportunities as well as network with some schooling options.

Here is the news from the core classes:

English Language Arts— Mr. Carmany and Mrs. Freese — We are entering our unit on Resilience. Students will read historical fiction and nonfiction, a play, and articles centered around resilience. November also sees them writing their first essay. For this narrative essay, students choose an important event from their lives that helped them learn about themselves. Ask them what they are writing about!

Science—Mrs. Bates and Ms. Cota -- This past month we have been looking at the difference between physical and chemical changes. We will wrap up this unit by looking at chemical reactions and balancing chemical equations. We will take our second and final district assessment on our chemistry unit mid December.

Math—Ms. Boer and Ms. Stene -- 8th grade math will be starting Unit 5 Part 1: Functions. In this unit, students will extend their work with proportional relationships from 7th grade. Students will now identify, compare, and analyze functions. Students will also write equations for functions from tables, graphs, and ordered pairs. Acc Algebra is starting Unit 3: Two-Variable Statistics. Students will learn about two-way tables, relative frequency, scatter plots, linear models, and observe associations in categorical data.

Social Studies—Mr. Maier and Ms. Walquist -- We just finished our unit on the American evolution in which students conducted their own research on an important battle. Currently, students are learning about the early presidents in American history. When students return from Thanksgiving, they will learn about the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.

MUSIC STAFF

Band – Jason Rygg - jason.rygg@k12.sd.us

Band – Marian Beck - marian.beck@k12.sd.us

Chorus – Erin McFarland - erin.mcfarland@k12.sd.us

Chorus – Kelsey Burns - kelsey.burns@k12.sd.us

Orchestra – MJ Borchart - michael.borchart@k12.sd.us

Congratulations to the GMMS Musicians of the Quarter! During the first quarter of band, chorus, and orchestra, these Eagles demonstrated the four Core Values of George McGovern Middle School: Courage, Honor, Kindness, and Resilience. Congratulations, and keep up the great work!

6th grade : Rayna Olsen (band), Alondra Melendez (band), Liliana Villalpando (orchestra), Weston Johnson (orchestra), Erik Pineda Giron (orchestra), N Andra Karsky (chorus), Mersadeze Reese (chorus)

7th grade : Cason Vanorny (chorus), Nyah Cano (band), Rylee Tifft (band), Baylee Stone (chorus), Penny Meyer (orchestra), Sadie Rousseau (orchestra)

8th grade: Sara Batres (band), Aubree Elliott (chorus), Ella Hall (chorus), Aiden Ginter (orchestra), Tristan Ideker (orchestra), Lily Lenning (band)

Upcoming Band Concerts:

Tuesday, Nov. 19

7:00 p.m. - 8th Grade Band w/Jefferson Symphonic Band

Saturday, Dec. 14

JHS Jazz, Pans, & Pastries Concert

Jazz Band ONLY

8 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 17

6:30 p.m. - 6th Grade Band & 7th Grade Band

7:30 p.m. - 8th Grade Band & Jazz Band

Choir:

We are looking forward to our choir concerts on December 5th. 6th grade performs at 6:30 pm and 7th and 8th grade performs at 7:30 pm. They are a huge part of your student's grade, so please do everything you can to get them to school on that night.

November Library Info:

Welcome to National Native American Heritage Month! We have many titles celebrating Native Americans! Check them out and many more in the library!

It's also Knowvember-a chance to learn something new with a nonfiction book! Check out the displays in the library for interesting nonfiction books and an activity sheet to fill out for a chance to win a prize. These sheets are due by December 2nd! Knowvember Sheet

Thank you to all those that decorated their haunted houses for our October McGovern Makes! Our next Siouxland's McGovern Makes will be on Thursday, November 21st! More information will be coming!!

Tiffany Urban RN, BSN, MSP Tiffany.Urban@k12.sd.us

605-367-4440

Keep Your Children Healthy This Winter

Seasonal colds, flu and other respiratory illnesses are unwelcome interruptions to our lives, and on the rise. Encourage your child to practice the following tips to protect their health:

• Avoid close contact with those who are sick. Don’t share food and drinks with others.

• Cover coughs and sneezes. Help keep germs from circulating - cover your nose with a tissue when sneezing and dispose of the tissues properly. When coughing, cover your mouth with your arm, not your hand.

• Wash your hands periodically with soap and water for 20 seconds. Use hand sanitizer when you’re not near a sink.

• Avoid touching your face. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose or mouth.

• Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, drink plenty of fluids, manage stress and eat nutritious foods.

• Get a flu vaccine, it’s not too late!

• 
  

Tiffany Urban RN, BSN, MSP

School nurse

Tiffany.Urban@k12.sd.us

Our winter sports are now underway. Girls basketball started practice on November 4 and Girls and Boys Wrestling practice started November 12. It is exciting to see the wrestling program grow and is already in its 3rd year at the middle school. We have meets planned on 4 Saturdays and 2 Mondays. The final meet of the year will take place in Brandon Valley.

Remember, in order to participate in MS sports, all athletes need to have a completed physical evaluation form on file at school. Ask Mr. Flock if you have questions about anything sports related.

All game, meet, and practice schedules can be found on the athletics website, then click on the Activity Calendar to get to BOUND.

All parents should be registering on the BOUND website and download the app.

Instructions for registering on BOUND - English Version HERE or Spanish version HERE

Let me know if you have any questions.

Athletics Coordinator: https://www.sf.k12.sd.us/o/gmms/page/activities

Joe Flock

Athletic Director

https://www.sf.k12.sd.us/o/gmms/page/activities

Calling all K-6 wrestlers or youth interested in starting wrestling! Registration is open for the 2024-25 Junior Cavalier Youth wrestling season at this link--https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJTW-L5nYOWHhnDrnZWz51ze19MWtE8Cvipb0O5b_xNfriRQ/viewform

Jennifer Atkinson- All Grades A-L

Stephanie Burgeson - All Grades M-Z

Deb Bergland- Success Coordinator/504 Coordinator

Stay In Touch

Click here for the NEW George McGovern Counseling Department site:

https://sites.google.com/k12.sd.us/gmms-counseling-department/home

If your student is struggling and just needs some help through a difficult time reach out to their school counselor.

Hello, George McGovern Middle School families!

The formula for success is 2% talent, 8% luck, and 90% of showing up every day." ~Jeffrey Fry

Attendance at McGovern: Making It Fun & Rewarding!

We’re thrilled with the progress and enthusiasm surrounding attendance at McGovern! Recently, we held our "Rise and Shine" contest, where one lucky class won a delicious Chick-fil-A breakfast, while two others celebrated with donuts. A big thank you to Chick-fil-A and Hy-Vee Bakery for their generous support!

Looking ahead, we’re introducing the Ride into Attendance contest! Multiple students in various categories will have the chance to win a beautiful bike. Stay tuned for more details!

As the weather changes, please remind students to dress accordingly. And if your family is facing barriers to attendance, don’t hesitate to reach out—I’m always here to help find solutions. Feel free to contact me, Kristal Shoffeitt, at 605-906-3555.

Together, let’s keep McGovern moving forward!

Students can be dropped off beginning at 8:00 am and must be off school grounds by 4:15 pm, unless participating in a before-school or after-school activity or program.

Students will not be able to enter the building until 8:30 am (unless there is inclement weather or the temperature with wind chill is below 0 degrees). Breakfast is served beginning at 8:40 am.

School begins at 8:55 am and ends at 3:48 pm.

November PTA meeting will be on Tuesday November 12th from 6-7pm at GMMS. All are welcome to attend, you do not have to be a member.

Also if anyone wants to special order spirit wear, our online link is live until Nov 10th.

https://georgemcgovernapparel2024.itemorder.com/shop/home/