The GMA Gazette

9/29 - Dine to Donate at Panera on 96th Street, 4-8 pm

10/4 - Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4-7 pm

10/5 - Early Release Day - All Pre-K and Kdg (without older siblings) dismiss at 11:30 am. Grades 1-8 dismiss at noon

10/5 - Parent/Teacher Conferences, 12:30-5 pm

10/6 - Early Release Day - All Pre-K and Kdg (without older siblings) dismiss at 11:30 am. Grades 1-8 dismiss at noon

10/9-13 - Fall Break - no school

10/17 - Skating Party at The Roller Cave, 6-8 pm

10/20 - End of Quarter One

10/27 - Q1 Progress reports shared electronically with families

10/31 - Idiom Day at GMA - teachers will share more details soon

11/14 - 2nd Annual Community Open House, 5:30-7:30 pm

11/22-24 - Thanksgiving Break, no school

11/30 - Picture Retake Day

9/29 - Dine to Donate at Panera on 96th Street, 4-8 pm

10/20 - Fall Festival, 6-8 pm - More info coming soon! Come to the PTO meeting to learn more!

10/26 - Dine to Donate at Trax BBQ

11/17 - GMA Family Game Night, 6-8 pm

12/16 - Parents Day Out, 1-5 pm

Thank you for continuing to help us keep our students and staff safe during arrival and dismissal each day. Please refer back to this document that was shared in August regarding traffic patterns and safety reminders.

It has come to our attention that some parents are using the Traditions at Brookside property as a turn-around point. This has been addressed multiple times this year - please DO NOT turn around in their lot. The safest way to get back in an eastbound direction is to go to the intersection of 900 N and Carroll Road and head either north or south until you reach an east/west roadway.

Again, for the safety of our neighbors and our community, please do not use Traditions at Brookside as a turnaround point.

Thank you for helping us keep our community safe on the roads!

The Hancock County Promise's first two (2) $250 random drawing scholarships are next week! All you need to do to be eligible is sign up!

The Hancock County Promise is going to give away eight (8) $250 scholarships to eight different Hancock County students. All you have to do for your child to be eligible to win a $250 scholarship (payable to their 529 direct account) is register your child for an Indiana CollegeChoice 529 account through The Hancock County Promise by December 31, 2023. Every child (in grades K-6 at a Hancock County School) registered in The Hancock County Promise is eligible (except previous random drawing scholarship winners). We will draw two random scholarship winners during the months of October, November, December, and January. Increase your chances of winning by registering TODAY!

Go to https://www.hancockcountypromise.com and register! Many of you have already registered and are therefore eligible to win one of the eight (8) $250 scholarships. However, many of you have not registered yet...do not delay...register today!

What is the Promise program you ask? The Hancock County Promise GIVES you FREE MONEY for your Kindergarten child!!! This year is a catch-up opportunity for any child in grades K-6 (class of 2030, 2031, 2032, 2033, 2034, 2035, and 2036). There is NO catch!! If you sign up, you get a FREE CollegeChoice 529 Direct Account for your child and we will deposit a one-time deposit of $25 of community-donated money into the account!!! Do NOT delay, sign-up Today!

1. Please visit https://www.hancockcountypromise.com and click the “how it works” page also found HERE. There are only 8 short steps to sign up!

1. Already have a CollegeChoice 529 Direct Account for your child? Complete The Hancock County Promise form HERE (include your Ugift code) and your child will be part of our program and eligible for all our incentives. Note, you must have a “Direct Account” we cannot link an “Advisor Account”.

1. If you signed up your child previously for the Hancock County Promise you don’t need to do anything as your child is still a part of the program.

If you have questions please email or call HCP chairperson Dr. Scott Shipley at scott.shipley@mvcsc.k12.in.us 317-485-3100.

Sign-up incentives and scholarships are provided by our program sponsors: Greenfield Banking Co., Hancock Health, and NineStar.

New Clubs Opening After Fall Break:

• Ms. Leshia and Ms. Michelle are sponsoring a Writer's Club for students in grades 3 and 4 beginning on Tuesday, October 17. See this flyer for more details.
• Ms. Kim and Ms. Hillary are bringing Pickleball to GMA beginning October 18! Students in grades 3-8 are invited to join in the fun and learn a new game with friends. There are only 16 spots available for Pickleball Club, so sign up soon if you're interested! See this flyer for details on how to sign up.

Be on the lookout for information on more opportunities in the coming weeks as some clubs and enrichments will run for shorter spans of time and some will be offered at various points in the year. We will have a special opportunity just for PK and Kdg students to join Gaming (NOT Video Games!) Club in January!

Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, October 4, and Thursday, October 5. Families should have already received information on how to sign up for a conference time from their child(ren)'s teacher(s). It is important that all families make it a priority to attend conferences with their child(ren)'s teacher(s) so that a good partnership between school and home can be established early in the school year.

During conferences, teachers will share student progress and updates on academic, social, and behavioral performance at school. K-8th grade teachers will also review NWEA data with families and information on individual student goals for the next NWEA testing opportunity this winter.

You MUST schedule an appointment for Parent Teacher Conferences. Walk-ins will not be permitted during conference days.

We have two scheduled Early Release Days to accommodate conferences. On Thursday, October 5 and Friday, October 6 the dismissal schedule is as follows:

• All Pre-K and Kindergarten students (without older siblings in the building) will be dismissed through car line at Door 5 at 11:30 am.
• All 1st-8th grade students will be dismissed using regular car line procedures at Door 5 at 12:00 pm.
• Families should follow the dismissal schedule for the oldest child in the family enrolled at GMA.

Many families have asked if we have a directory available for our school community. This is something that had been done years ago here at GMA, but has not been created for the last four years. It's time to create a new GMA Community Directory for our school families! As of today, there are less than 35 families who have filled out the form to be included in the directory.

If you would like to participate in our GMA Community Directory, please use the link below to complete the information form. Only information shared in this form will be published in the directory.

Thank you for helping us continue to connect members of our school community.

State legislation adopted by the Indiana General Assembly in 2023 provides funding for “curricular materials” to all Indiana public schools, thus eliminating the traditional materials fees that families have historically paid. Indiana Code 20-18-2.7 defines “curricular materials” as systematically organized materials designed to provide a specific level of instruction in a course. These materials include books, workbooks, hardware, computer software, and digital content.

This law changes the process for curricular materials, but it does not exclude other fees. Parents may expect fees for special programs and extra-curricular clubs and activities.

Based on Indiana Code 20-26-5-4(a)(12)B), Indiana statute permits schools to assess and collect a reasonable fee for lost or significantly damaged curricular materials. GMA will assess fees to parents/guardians for lost or significantly damaged curricular materials, as appropriate.

House Enrolled Act 1001-2023 only applies to K-12 and does not apply to Pre-Kindergarten curricular costs.

The materials fee for Pre-Kindergarten will remain the same as past years at $110 per student. This fee is due at the beginning of each school year, no later than October 1st. Fees that are not paid by the designated final due date will be sent to collections. Material fees are non-refundable. If you need to set up payment arrangements, please contact our Operations Manager at (317) 813-4626 ext. 102.

All K-8 students will be assessed a communication fee of $30. This fee includes PowerSchool, OneCall, and Securly, as well as systems used to create and send schoolwide communications. Payment of this fee is due by November 1. Payment can be made in the school office during regular office hours by cash or check made payable to Geist Montessori Academy. If you prefer to pay online, you may do so here. There is a processing fee assessed for online payments.

Please be sure to notify the school if your child will be absent. Families should call the front office at (317) 813-4626 and select option 1 from the menu to reach the attendance line.

Our office staff makes daily attendance calls to families at 10:00 am after classroom teachers have submitted their attendance for the day. We want to make sure our students are safe and healthy when they are not here at school with us. Thank you for your help in reporting attendance in a timely manner.

We use OneCall Now as our mass communication system to send out alerts, updates, and school-wide communication such as The GMA Gazette. Most communications are sent through email, with a text alert to notify you that something has been sent from GMA.

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.