East Weekly

Happy Friday!

There is no school for students on Monday, September 23 due to teacher professional development.

I want to inform you that we have addressed the "Nike tag" TikTok challenge with all grade levels. The TikTok trend of stealing Nike zippers involves students taking the small zipper pulls (often with the Nike logo) from jackets or backpacks. However, this trend encourages theft and damages personal property, which disrupts the school environment. It is also extremely unsafe for students to be grabbing backpacks in the hallways! It’s important for students to understand that this behavior is unacceptable, as it violates school rules and disrespects others’ belongings. Please note, this behavior will not be tolerated at school moving forward. Thank you for your continued support!

Have a great weekend!

Take care,

Megan Kirsten

Principal

Gahanna Middle School East

All 6th grade students brought home a paper sharing details about conferences. ALL 6th grade conferences are scheduled directly with the 6th grade teachers. If you requested a conference, your child's House teacher will email you the details by the end of the day today, 9/20, if your conference is scheduled for Tuesday, 9/24. If your conference was scheduled on 10/1 or 10/10, your child's House teacher will email you no later than 9/27.

7th and 8th grade conferences are scheduled by calling the main office at (614) 478-5550. Families of students whose teachers have requested a conference will be notified via email and can call the main office to schedule.

September

September 23: -- No School -- Staff Professional Development

September 23: PTA Rusty Bucket Dine Around Fundraiser & 8th grade D.C. Meeting!

September 24: Parent/Teacher Conferences (6th grade only!)

October

October 1: Parent/Teacher Conferences @ 4:00-8:00

October 1: Gahanna Lincoln Instrumental Music Boosters (GLIMB) Meeting, 7:00pm @ GLHS

October 2: Picture Day/Retakes

October 10: Parent/Teacher Conferences @ 4:00-8:00

October 13: Dash & Stash - GJEF Fundraiser

November

November 11: Veterans Day Program (morning time TBD)

Your 6th grader should have brought home a hand-out with information on how to create an account for our House points system. Once you follow the directions (and use your specific code), you will be able to see the reason your child is earning points. They brought this home the same day they brought home the Smartpass hand-out. We hope you find this information valuable!

Be on the look-out for an email from your child’s house teacher for confirmation details for your child’s upcoming conference. Please do your best to be on time as we have A LOT of conference schedules. We look forward to meeting you!

Grades are starting to go into Infinite Campus. We realize grades are new to 6th graders (and their parents), so we have spent time in gold period going over how to check their grades and the comments that teachers make. Checking the launchpad is more proactive, but checking Infinite Campus can also give students good feedback. Assignments can often be turned in late for partial credit if you see a “missing flag.” This is the Infinite Campus slideshow we shared with students.

Please make sure all zoo fees ($6) have been paid on IC. We still have some unpaid students. If you have a zoo membership and a fee is still showing please email Mr. Merrick merrickd@gjps.org

Hello 8th Graders and Families!

My name is Michael Hunt and I am the K-12 Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator for Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools. One of my duties is to oversee the 8th-grade Washington D.C. experience. For those of you who are new to the district, or have not heard about this trip, our 8th-grade students are given the opportunity to participate in a four-day, three-night trip to Washington D.C. in May of 2025. This past school year, there were 371 students and 39 staff chaperones who participated in this trip. In those four days, we packed as many of the memorials, monuments, museums, and other historical sites of our nation's capitol as we possibly could! Some of these included the Holocaust Museum, the Smithsonian Museums, the National Archives, the Lincoln Memorial, Gettysburg, and the Jefferson Monument. The students came home with memories that they will never forget and a deeper understanding of our nation's past. This trip is sponsored by the Board of Education and is led by Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools staff. It is important to note that this trip is not mandatory. We would love to see as many of our students participate in the experience as possible but understand that families may decide not to participate. The purpose of this email is to give you updated information about the trip and how/when you can register your child(ren).

Here are the basics of the trip:

• The trip will be May 6-9, 2025
• The cost will be $880 per student. This includes bus transportation, all meals, hotel accommodations (4 students to a room), and any required ticket prices to enter historic locations. For those of you familiar with the trip, or maybe had a child participate in the trip last year, you may notice that this is an increase from last year. While working with Prodigy Student Travel for this year's trip, we received notification that due to economic shifts, our Washington D.C. trip was slated to increase per student. This increase was for a replica trip as last year and would have caused a significant increase to families, roughly a 31% increase. While $880 is still an increase in the overall cost, we were able to rework our packaging to reduce the initial increase while also creating a robust trip that now includes each middle school being at a different hotel, attending a baseball game, and going through Old Alexandria, Virginia on a Ghost Tour.
  
• We will be working with Prodigy Student Travel, a tour company out of Worthington, Ohio.
• Registration for the trip will open on September 23rd, immediately after the virtual information meeting for families of students interested in participating in the trip. This meeting will begin at 7 p.m. (The link to this meeting will be sent at a later date). If you cannot make it to this meeting, it will be recorded so that you can watch it at a later time.
• Upon confirmation of registration (after the parent meeting), you will receive access to the "Behavior Contract" and the "Medication Form" through Infinite Campus. These must be completed in order for your child(ren) to participate in the trip.

I have attached the following documents:

• Pictures from Previous trips
• The information page from Prodigy Student Travel about the trip.
• Please note that although the web address for Prodigy Student Travel is linked to the information page, the registration code used for each building is not listed. The codes will be released after the parent meeting next Monday, September 23rd.

One other additional note for those families who received the Ohio ACE grant:

• Although the program was suspended and has not accepted any new applications after September 5th, 2023, any remaining funds can still be used through September of 2025. If you were approved for this grant before September 5th, 2023, and still have funds available, then they can be used toward the D.C. trip.

Thank you and please reach out if you have any questions,

Michael Hunt

email: huntm@gjps.org

Office: 614-269-4867

SmartPass is a digital hall pass system that helps schools track and manage student movement throughout the day. By using SmartPass, we can ensure students are where they need to be, improving safety and accountability within the school.

Parents, please be on the lookout for access to the platform, which will allow you to monitor your student's pass usage and stay informed. Please reach out to your child's teacher with further questions about SmartPass.

At Gahanna-Jefferson schools, our band and orchestra directors provide a level of music education and a continuity of relationship with their students from 6th-12th grades that is unmatched in most school districts. Students are not only offered top-notch instruction that leads to great performances, but they are also encouraged to develop a love of playing music, and to see how that skill can improve their lives and their communities.

Gahanna Lincoln Instrumental Music Boosters (GLIMB) exists to support those goals. You might hear “music boosters” and think of raising funds for uniforms, instrument repair, accessing music, helping students take amazing trips, or reducing/ funding the fees for unique clinics that inspire them. And you would be right.

However, GLIMB members understand that our school’s instrumental music program has a significant positive impact on student’s lives and futures, and we want every single student to fully benefit from it.

Playing in an ensemble has been shown to benefit students in all areas of their wellness…things like better listening skills and memory, greater social connection, improved self-confidence, and development of gross and fine motor skills, just to name a few.

Because of the excellence of GJPS programs, the benefits are enhanced. Some of the life skills that students learn from participating in our district ensembles include:

• Leading others effectively

• Receiving constructive feedback in a healthy way

• Developing self-discipline and time management skills

• Cooperating with a group to achieve a larger goal

• Serving their community

• Face-to-face, in-person social engagement skills

• Taking responsibility for and pride in their work

• Handling stress in a healthy way

• Awareness of responsibility towards others

• Confidence in their ability to express themselves creatively

• Staying motivated when life gets challenging

• Developing flexibility and resilience in changing circumstances

When more families from 6th-12th grades actively participate in GLIMB, more students can fully experience all of the benefits and opportunities that our band and orchestra programs provide.

Participating in GLIMB is an investment in your student’s future as well as that of hundreds of other students, the entire Gahanna community, and the communities your students end up in eventually.

I hope that you’ll join GLIMB, and make an investment in our students and our community. Please come to our meetings on the first Tuesday of each month, sign up to volunteer at our fundraising events, and follow us for more information and to view our calendars at these websites and social media pages:

glimb.weebly.com

gahannabands.org

gahannaorchestras.org

GLIMB Facebook page

Gahanna Bands and Gahanna Orchestras Facebook pages

As a district, we use the Talking Points platform to communicate via text. You can download the app on your phone to receive quick messages as needed.

To report an absence, please call the front office at (614)478-5550 or email fischerj@gjps.org by 9:10am if possible.You also have the ability to login into Infinite Campus and mark your child's absence there. Please ONLY do this if your child will be absent for the entire day.

The Heart and Pride Award recognizes two outstanding staff members each month who make a profound impact on our students and Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools.

The Heart & Pride Nomination Form will remain available year-round and is open to any member of our staff, regardless of position.

PTA meetings take place on the 2nd Monday of each month in the GMSE library at 7:00pm. All are welcome!

Meeting dates:

• October 14

• November 11

• December 9

• January 13

• February 10

• March 10

• April 14

• May 12

Help support and fund numerous initiatives for students and staff throughout the year. Stay tuned to our Facebook page, “GMSE Parents” (new members be sure to answer the questions to be admitted), and upcoming newsletters for more information about what we do and how you can help.

Please consider joining the Middle School East PTA.

Sept. 23, 2024: PD Day - No School
Oct. 21, 2024: Comp Day - No School
Oct. 22, 2024: Staff Work Day - No School
Nov. 8, 2024: PD Day - No School
Nov. 27-29, 2024: Thanksgiving Break - No School
Dec. 23, 2024-Jan. 2, 2025: Winter Break - No School
Jan. 3, 2025: Staff Work Day - No School
Jan. 20, 2025: Martin Luther King Day - No School
Feb. 14, 2025: PD Day - No School
Feb. 17, 2025: Presidents Day - No School
Mar. 10, 2025: Staff Work Day - No School
Mar. 31-April 4, 2025: Spring Break- No School
April 18, 2025: Comp Day - No School
May 2, 2025: PD Day - No School
May 23, 2025: Last Day of School for Students
May 24, 2025: Class of 2025 Commencement