If you have a GMA yard sign from earlier this Fall, please go ahead and take it down. Our Fall enrollment date has passed and we are not accepting new students again until second semester.
If you would like to return your sign to school for future use, please feel free to drop it off in the office. Or, keep it safe to post again in December!
GMA will have a trunk again this year at the Trunk or Treat event with the Town of McCordsville. We need your help to make sure that we have plenty of treats to pass out to all of the attendees!
When we return from Fall Break, each classroom will be collecting bags of individually wrapped candies for this event. The class with the most bags collected by the end of the day on Friday, October 25 will win a popcorn party the next week!
All are invited to attend the Town of McCordsville's Trunk or Treat event at Outlook Church on October 27 from 4-7 pm.
Ms. Yamilka, our EL Teacher, would like to invite our school community to participate in remembering loved ones who have passed with the ofrenda at GMA. Dia de los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead, is a traditional Mexican holiday celebrated on November 2. This holiday is a happy holiday when people come together to celebrate family and friends who have passed away. The ofrenda is set up as a memorial to celebrate the lives of departed loved ones.
Our GMA is coming together nicely with photos of the loved ones of our staff, and students/families are invited to bring in a photo to place on the ofrenda if you would like. Copies of photographs are recommended. The display will be up until the end of the first full week of November since the Day of the Dead is traditionally celebrated November 2nd.
The GMA Student Council is happy to support the Disabled American Veterans' Field of Flags for a second year in a row.
DAV’s Field of Flags empowers our community to set up fields of American flags, all to honor local veterans and raise critical funds to support our ill and injured heroes. Each flag represents one veteran – and our unwavering commitment to serving all veterans after they’ve sacrificed so much for our country. All donations raise critical funds to support DAV’s life-changing services for veterans in need and their families.
If you would like to donate to this cause, you may do so through this link. We will be accepting donations from now until October 29th. Flags will be mailed to the school the first week of November. GMA will put our Field of Flags out on County Road 900 N. the week of November 11th in honor of Veteran's Day.
If you would also like to send a picture of the Veteran in your family and a brief description of who they are and which branch of service they were in, we would like to create a display to recognize service members and their students/families.
Please have students bring these pictures to Ms. Jennie in the Sassafras Classroom or you can email them to jblackburn@gma.k12.in.us with the subject line "Veteran photo." Please note that photos will not be returned, so please be sure to send in a copy that the school can keep, not one that is a prized family heirloom.
All students in grades K-8 are assessed a $30 Communications Fee annually. This fee should be paid by November 1. The Communications Fee is included in the Materials Fee amount of $110 for our Pre-K families. Pre-K families do not need to pay the Communications Fee separately.
You can choose to pay this fee by cash or check (made payable to Geist Montessori Academy) in the office. Or, you can make the payment online (with a convenience fee) here.
FALL FESTIVAL: October 25, 2024
Mark your calendars for the PTA Fall Festival! Volunteers are needed to make the night a success. Volunteer slots are only 90 minutes! Please sign up to volunteer at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084AAFA629A1F49-52228655-gmafall.
National PTA Updates:
Our PTA is a member of the National PTA where we receive tons of resources, information, and guidance to help create stronger communities for our students. The National PTA offers training, education, information, and more to PTA organizations, families, and decision-makers. The organization is non-partisan and lobbies at the national level to support students and families. Our PTA has applied for a grant from the National PTA organization to help us provide digital safety training for students and parents this winter. Learn more about the National PTA at https://www.pta.org.
Wishlists:
Teacher wishlists have been coming in from teachers and staff and are loaded on the PTA Website! These are a great way to support your child’s teacher or any of the staff members who are working so hard to make GMA the best place for children to learn in the state! Check them out at https://www.gmapta.org/teacher-and-school-needs/!
Care Closet:
The PTA is starting a Care Closet in the school! This is a cabinet located at the East end of the upper grade hallway, and we are planning to stock it with items that students may find themselves needing throughout the day. This will include deodorants, dental care, hair ties, combs, lotion, chapstick, feminine hygiene, snacks and food. This will be a place where students can get something they need no questions asked. We know that students cannot learn if their most basic needs are not met, and sometimes they forget things, sometimes things happen, and sometimes finances are tight and families cannot afford everything their student needs, and so the PTA wants to make sure that those needs are met. If your family would like to donate to the Care Closet, you can send items into the school or access our Amazon wishlist at https://www.gmapta.org/teacher-and-school-needs/.
JOIN THE PTA:
It is not too late to sign up to be a PTA member for this school year! Maybe you forgot earlier this year, perhaps you are new to GMA (If so, Welcome to the family!), or maybe you did not sign up because you thought it meant a bunch of time and meeting commitments (It does not, actually there are no time or meeting requirements!). Either way, we want to be an inclusive, diverse, and open community, and to do so, we need our families, students, and community members to join us and support the work we do as an organization to build a better community for our school. Visit our website at https://www.gmapta.org to sign up!
KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS
PLEASE NOTE: If you had already had the previous PTO as your community rewards organization, you MUST change to the new organization; we had to get a new Tax ID and 501c3 and the old account is lost to us. Log in to your Kroger Account. Then Search for Geist Montessori Academy PTA or RW689 and make the PTA your charity of choice! Then all you have to do is shop at Kroger and the PTA will get some donations! https://www.kroger.com/account/communityrewards/
PTA Website
Click here to check out the website and learn more about our PTA.
It is important that everyone in our school community remains committed to keeping our car line running safely and effectively all year long. After a month of school, it seems some have gotten very comfortable and are not following all of the car line expectations.
Please be mindful of these reminders:
- Your car line tag must be displayed before you pull into our driveway. This helps staff make sure you get in the right line.
- A YELLOW car line tag is required to be in line between 8:00-8:15 am. If you do not have a YELLOW car line tag, please do not arrive on campus before 8:15 am. The GREEN tag car line opens at 8:15 am.
- Families who have children in PK/K and also grades 1-8 will have both a YELLOW and a GREEN tag for car line. Please clip these tags together and write "AM" on the YELLOW tag and "PM" on the GREEN one. Then, flip to the YELLOW side for drop-off in the morning and then to the GREEN side for pick-up in the afternoon. This helps our car line staff tremendously! Remember, if you have both color tags, you drop off with the youngest car line and pick up with the oldest car line.
- Families with a YELLOW car line tag must park in the front parking spaces and walk their child into the office to sign in as tardy if they arrive on campus after 8:15 am. Families with a GREEN car line tag are tardy if they arrive on campus after 8:35 am.
- Families with GREEN car line tags arriving on campus after 3:35 pm must park and come to the office to sign their child out. Car line ends promptly at 3:35 pm as staff have other duties to end the day. Vehicles will not be permitted through car line if they arrive on campus after 3:35 pm.
- DO NOT cut through the parking lot aisles during car line. YOU MUST follow the arrows painted on the blacktop to serpentine through the lot and enter the line at the northeast corner of the property.
- Please slow down when driving through car line. There is no need to speed!
- DO NOT change lanes during car line.
- Please be sure to form three lanes when you exit the serpentine pattern through the aisles. This helps us get as many vehicles into the line as possible to avoid backing traffic out onto the roadways.
- DO NOT use your cell phone during car line. Staff will ask you to put it away and remind you to help us keep everyone safe. Indiana is a hands-free state and cell phone use is not permitted while driving.
- No one will be permitted to line up early for any car line. Due to the volume of traffic and the need to run two separate car lines through the serpentine pattern, we will require all families to abide by the updated expectations. Please plan accordingly and do not arrive on campus before your scheduled drop off or pick up time because you will be asked to leave in order to keep traffic flowing for everyone.
- DO NOT use Traditions at Brookside as a turn-around point. You must go through a neighborhood to safely turn around or use the safest route by heading north or south on Carroll Road to an eastbound roadway of your choice.
- DO NOT use resident driveways as a turn-around point.
- DO NOT make a u-turn on 900N.
- ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT PEDESTRIANS HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY. We have a handful of families who walk their student to school. Please make sure that you are allowing them to cross the street safely by stopping completely at the crosswalks.
- If you have concerns about traffic safety around our campus, please call the non-emergency number for the McCordsville Police Department at 317.335.2812.
10/14-18 - Fall Break, no school
10/23 - School Skating Party, 6:00 pm at The Roller Cave
10/25 - PTA Fall Festival
10/27 - Town of McCordsville Trunk or Treat, 4-6 pm at Outlook Church
10/31 - Idiom Day at GMA
11/11 - Veterans Day
11/14 - Community Open House for prospective families, 5:30-7:30 pm, see flyer below
11/20 - Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm
11/21 - Dine to Donate at Qdoba in McCordsville, 4-8 pm, see flyer below
11/27-29 - Thanksgiving Break, no school
12/2-6 - Winter NWEA Testing, K-8th grade
12/23-1/7 - Winter Break for students
1/8 - School reconvenes for second semester
When school is closed or delayed due to inclement weather, especially in the unpredictable Indiana winters, it is important that families receive the notification quickly and easily. The best way to ensure that you don't miss an announcement from GMA is to sign up for text alerts!
It's simple to sign up. Just text the word alert to 22300. That's it!
Please contact Ms. Beth at blarock@gma.k12.in.us if you have questions or need to add an additional phone number or email address to our OneCall Now system.