Panther Press
a weekly publication of the Georgia Academy for the Blind
March 16, 2018
Dr. Cindy Gibson, Superintendent
Email: smilam@doe.k12.ga.us
Website: www.gabmacon.org
Location: 2895 Vineville Avenue, Macon, GA, United States
Phone: (478) 751-6083
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Georgia.Academy.for.the.Blind/
Twitter: @gab_library
Mission Statement
The Georgia Academy for the Blind provides quality education services to Georgia’s students with visual impairments and/or visual impairments in conjunction with other disabilities to prepare them to achieve their highest level of independence in transition to college and career readiness.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Mark your Calendars! *just added
*March 19: Special Olympics medical forms are due!
March 19: Monday Media Mania and Coffee Club
*March 21: GABwill sale! All clothes and shoes are just .50 cents! Send your money in!
March 23: Spring Program, 10 am, Vineville Baptist Church, 2951 Vineville Avenue (.5 miles east of GAB)
March 26-30: Spring Break
April 2: Easter Holiday
April 5: Prom (*details page 2)
April 10: Special Olympics
April 12 (NEW DATE): Spring Festival 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
April 9-20 Elementary and Middle Milestones
April 19-22 SCASB, *Thompson Stadium, 1210 Shurling Dr, Macon, GA
April 26-29: Senior Trip
April 30-May 11 High school End of Course Milestones
May 1: Help a Child Smile Mobile Dental Clinic
May 14-18: Milestones’ Retests for grades 3, 5 and 8
May 17: Community Partners Recognition Day 1:00-2:00 pm, Media Center
May 24: Project Search Graduation, 4 pm at Navicent Health*details page 3)
May 25: Graduation, *Wesleyan College’s Porter Auditorium, 4760 Forsyth Road, (3.2 miles west of GAB)
March Birthdays
~4th Zy
~9th Kameron
~23rd Harry
~27th Angelica L
~28th BJ
~29th Sammy
Character Education
PERSEVERANCE Part 3b! We’re watching a video series about how students can develop a growth mindset! Watch The Big Show at: https://ideas.classdojo.com/i/perseverance-the-dip-3 and ask your child these questions this weekend: 1. Often we use the word "best" as our goal. How else can we phrase our goal to allow for a growth mindset? 2. How can you "learn new ways to improve?" Give an example from your week. 3. What kind of attitude should we have when we see others who are rockstars and we aren't rockstars yet?
Learn more about our Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program by visiting the link below.
A Note From Mrs. Holloway
THIRD NOTICE! Greetings from the GAB music department!
We will be having our Spring Program on Friday, March 23 at 10:00 a.m. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the location of the Spring Program will be at Vineville Baptist Church, a half mile east of GAB at 2591 Vineville Avenue Macon, GA 31204. Students will be transported to and from the church by bus.
Parents are to check their child out at the school and not take them from the church. We want to make sure all students are safely and securely transported back to the school after the program. Per Dr. Gibson, if you are signing your child out before the 1:00 p.m. end of the day, sign out in the Hendricks office. See Shirley Bronner and Brittany Jackson.
This is a mandatory performance, and all students will receive credit for the performance. The students are very excited about this performance opportunity. I hope you will be able to join us to support GAB and our music department! Thank you for your patience and your ongoing support to help the students be successful!
From Mrs. Milam: Before and after the performance, at GAB you can browse the Art Show, see 3-D printer exhibition, learn about reading resources for your home and get a snack from GAB Café.
There will be a very important parent meeting afterwards at the school “Discover Summer Camp Opportunities”. All activities will conclude at 1:00.
2018 High School Prom: “A Night in the Land of the Rising Sun”
Second Notice
Editor’s note: below is the letter accompanied a packet that went home today! For your convenience this letter and its attached packet can also be found below.
Dear High School Students and Families,
As spring draws near, the High School Prom quickly approaches. In an effort to help your family plan for one of the most memorable high school events that we offer, we wanted to provide you with as much detail as possible about the event. We are excited to announce that our Prom will be held on Thursday, April 5th. GAB’s prom will be held on campus in the cafeteria this year, which will be decorated to match this year’s theme, “A Night in the Land of the Rising Sun.” If your student is in grades 9 through 12 at GAB and would like to attend prom, please complete and return the enclosed forms. Please contact Ms. Lauren Eckman (leckman@doe.k12.ga.us or 478-751-6083) if you have questions.
Thank you for partnering with GAB to make this prom a special event for our students!
Sincerely,
The GAB Prom Committee
Media Center News
SECOND NOTICE! Check out this video below about Bookshare which provides students with print disabilities a vast online library of accessible reading material. Bookshare's library consists of popular books, newspapers, magazines, and textbooks. This video will take you through the steps to get an account.v=ExqTYgbwS7E&list=PLXmZW3Adenz_lSN4I5WFdWhtdrx3iUHVL If you need any assistance with this, contact our Media Specialist, Mrs. Kim Smith, kismith@doe.k12.ga.us, 478-751-6083, ext 1280
Lunch in the Library! Starting this week, students will be able to eat Lunch in the Library as a reward for good behavior. Teachers will turn in or email the names of students who have exhibited good behavior throughout the week each Wednesday and Mrs. Smith will draw the names of 3 elementary, 3 middle, and 3 high school students and announce them on Thursday's news. Mrs. Smith will then meet the students in the lunchroom,where they will go to the front of the line and then bring their lunch to the library. During Lunch in the Library, students may use technology as they do during morning time in the media center- with headphones. They will also get a special drink and dessert. The first Lunch in the Library was Thursday! This week's winners are pictured below: : Elementary- Trinity, Majestic, and James. Middle- Leah, Mary Beth, and Ashlyn. High- Caden, Adria, Noah. New names will be drawn next week! Great job to everyone who was nominated!
We can’t make any promises but wanted to share these tips from a parent who got her insurance to help with costs of an IPad. Check these tips out below:
SAVE THE DATE!
The inaugural graduation for the first class of GAB Project SEARCH at Navicent Health will be held
THURSDAY, May 24
4:00-5:00
at Navicent Health, Macon, GA
All are invited and encouraged to be part of this wonderful celebration! Details will be announced in the near future!
This week in pictures!
(Below) Monday, Ms. Layson’s 5th grade class observed a demonstration from Mr. Bennett’s high school physical science class. The younger GAB students learned from the high school students about some of the lab equipment, lab safety and witnessed the imploding can experiment.
(Below) Also, the fifth grade Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science has our class studying the parts of a plant cell. What better way to learn the parts of a plant cell than to make the parts edible? Students designed the plant cell and can name all the 5 parts. They enjoyed eating some of their plant cell parts at the end of the lesson.