Goodrich Middle School

All students are invited to the SPRING PARTY on Thursday, March 30th after school until 4:00pm. There will be bounce houses, music, dancing, concessions and Kona Ice for sale!

Tickets will be on sale during lunch this Wednesday and Thursday for $4.00 or can be purchased at the door for $5.00. Please pay with exact change if at all possible.

After the dance, please pick up your child at the following locations:

· Last names A-K - drive straight ahead to the gym entrance to meet your child.

· Last name L-Z - turn right by the middle school office and use the circle drive, snaking around to the north/teacher lot to meet your child.

Three students from Goodrich Middle School have been named local winners in the 48th annual America & Me Essay Contest, sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance.

The three students, who earned the first, second, and third place awards for GMS, are Ella Locey (1st), Miaya Tait (2nd) and Taylor Thomas (3rd). All three received award certificates for their achievement. As the school's first place winner, Ella's name will also be engraved on a plaque for permanent display in the school.

Ella's first place essay now advances to the state level competition, from which the top ten essays in Michigan will be selected. The top ten statewide winners, who will be announced in April, will each receive a plaque, a medallion and a cash award of $1,000. In addition, the top ten essayists will be honored at a banquet in Lansing, meet with Michigan's top governmental leaders, and be the featured guests at a Lansing Lugnuts minor league baseball game dedicated in their honor.

Several thousand eighth grade students from nearly 400 Michigan schools participated in the 2016-2017 America & Me Essay Contest. The topic of the contest was "my Personal Michigan Hero."

The English Department at GMS celebrated “March Is Reading Month!” by doing various classroom and school-wide activities. The theme for this year’s activities was “Good Books Are Good Friends!”

To promote reading:

• Discussions took place about the importance of reading in our lives.
  
• Students shared books that they were reading.
  
• Students went on a “Book Walk and Talk.”
  
• Students were encouraged to take “selfies” with something they enjoyed reading, which were displayed in the school’s main hallway. See below!
  

• Various quotes were discussed, such as:

- “There is no friend as loyal as a book.” --Ernest Hemingway

- “My best friend is a person who will give me a book to read.” --Abraham Lincoln

- “A Book is like a garden carried in the pocket.” --Chinese Proverb

- “You know you’ve read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little like you have lost a friend.” --Paul Sweeney

- “You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child.” -- Dr. Seuss

If you drop off your child(ren) in the morning, please note:

• AT LEAST SIX VEHICLES SHOULD BE DROPPING OFF AT A TIME! When dropping off your child(ren), please pull up as far as you can along the sidewalk by the entrance. As long as your car is next to the sidewalk, please have your child exit the car.
• Students may only be dropped off at the east entrance driveway "loop" by the flagpole.
• The parking area by the flagpole, Oaktree's parking lot, the parking lots on the north and south ends of the building and the bus dropping area by the gym are NOT to be used for morning drop off.
• Before pulling away from the curb, please check in all directions to ensure that no pedestrians are near your vehicle.

Beginning in mid-April, Goodrich Middle School will administer, for the third year, the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP). This test is developed by the Michigan Department of Education’s Office of Standards and Assessment. M-STEP will include online summative assessments designed to measure current student knowledge. English Language Arts and mathematics will be assessed in grades 6–8, science in grade 7, and social studies in grade 8. Testing windows during April and May are established by the Michigan Department of Education. All testing, including make-up tests, must be completed during the four-week testing window established for each grade level.

Please note the testing dates below for your child:

Grade 8: Math, ELA, and Social Studies

April 18, 20, 25, 27, & 28

Grade 7: Math, ELA, and Science

May 2, 4, 11, & 12

Grade 6: Math and ELA

May 16, 18, & 23

It is important that students be in school on their testing dates. Missing any day will require a make-up session. Please refrain from making dentist and doctor appointments on testing days.

The M-Step tests are important to parents, teachers, students, and the school district. The results of these tests are analyzed to see if adjustments need to be made with curriculum objectives and alignment to the state standards. The results are used for the Michigan School Accountability ratings. Most importantly, individual student achievement is examined. The staff will be working with students to familiarize them with online tools that will be available during the tests, in addition to working through sample test items.

If you have any questions regarding M-Step, feel free to contact the school counselor at 810-591-4210.

Please encourage your child to:

• Get plenty of sleep for the tests.
• Eat a good, nutritious breakfast on the mornings of the tests.
• Be at school on testing days, and be prompt.
• Bring a pencil and fiction pleasure book to the testing.
• Wear glasses, if needed.
• Ask the test administrator if the testing directions are not clear.
• Focus on one question at a time.
• Put forth his/her best effort on the tests.

We appreciate all of the time and effort our GMS Press Club puts into our monthly student newspaper!

Front row: Mason Maxwell-Cook, Connor McGuffin, Jadon Urogdy, Luca Folden, Aiden Samko, Nayeli Serratos

Middle row: Tanner Caderette, Jacob Ghoneim, Ashton Dawson, Logan Smith, Layne Bohnam, Thomas Cartier, Abi Thomas, Elyse Bescoe

Standing: Lucy Krause, Ashley Madill, Jake Millerschin, Lilly Konkle, Olivia Scott, Cecilia Sobocinski, McKenzie Melosh, Renee LeBlanc, Natalie Eashoo, Sophia Bowers

Not pictured: Connor Kendrick

In Mrs. LaRowe's Computers class (below), 6th grade students learned all about internet safety through an interactive game called "Missing," which is based on the story of a boy who gets conned by an Internet predator and runs away from home. Through this lesson, students learned about how to keep their personal information safe, as well as the impact of social media posts on life situations. They also learned about how to identify the dangers of technology.

• Open to this year’s 8th grade students or older

• Dates: June 19-June 28, 2018

• Requirement of at least one High School level French or Spanish class accomplished before summer 2018.

This will be an opportunity of a lifetime for students to travel and see all that Spain & France have to offer. Don’t miss out! Email kmaunder@goodrichschools.org for more information!

Dates and times are subject to change.

Please check our school calendar at http://www.goodrichschools.org/GMS/Events/

for the most up-to-date information!

MARCH

3/30: GMS Spring Dance - 2:32-4:00pm

3/31: 3rd Marking Period Ends - PRIDE Party

APRIL

4/3 - 4/7: SPRING BREAK

4/11: PTO MEETING - 9:15am - Oaktree Elementary

4/14: NO SCHOOL

4/19: 8th Grade DC Chaperone Meeting - Room 103 - 6:30pm

MAY

5/3: LATE START - Building opens at 9:00am, classes begin at 9:30am

5/5 - 5/9: 8th Grade Trip to Washington DC

5/29: NO SCHOOL

Goodrich Middle School's complete Attendance & Tardy policies can be found in our handbook on the GMS website at www.goodrichschools.org/GMS under "Student Handbook and Policies.

Rachel’s Closet, located in the office at GMS, is a closet full of clothes, supplies and personal care items that middle school age students may need, but maybe cannot afford. Students are able to visit the closet for items they need confidentially. Please talk to your child about Rachel's Closet and encourage them to see Mrs. Durant, Mrs. Lauinger, Ms. von Keltz or Mrs. Batterbee if they need anything.

For daily updates on GMS events and announcements, please be sure to check www.goodrichschools.org/GMS/! Just click on "News and Announcements" on the left side of the page. You can also check the online calendar to see upcoming events and activities!

For Parent Teacher Organization news, updates and important information, please visit the PTO website here!

Exceptional Education, Extraordinary People – We Are Goodrich!

Proud to be a Systems Accredited District.

The mission of Goodrich Area Schools is:

“Achievement for Every Learner”

Email: mdurant@goodrichschools.org
Website: http://www.goodrichschools.org/GMS/
Location: 7480 Gale Road, Goodrich, MI 48438, United States
Phone: 810-591-4210
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Goodrich-Area-Schools-750600228283708/?fref=ts