PANTHER PROWL

Happy March!

Spring is just around the corner, and the month is already in full swing! We continue to focus on learning and celebrating the incredible achievements of our students.

March has been a busy month so far! On March 4th, we held our Site Safety Meeting, reinforcing our commitment to maintaining a safe and positive learning environment for all students. Thank you to those who participated in this important discussion—I look forward to sharing more updates after our next drill.

That same day, we also recognized students with our Panther Pride Awards for February. These students were nominated by staff for exemplifying the 3 P’s: Positive, Productive, and Professional, along with key Portrait of a Learner attributes. We are so proud of their dedication and hard work!

On March 6th, we held our APTS Meeting, where our parent community came together to support our students and school initiatives. Thank you to everyone who joined—your involvement makes a huge impact!

We wrapped up the week with our Shadow a Panther Events on March 6th & 7th, welcoming our incoming 6th-grade students for the 2025-26 school year. It was wonderful to see their excitement as they toured the campus and got a glimpse of middle school life.

Celebrating even more GEMS Student Achievements!

• Last week, we celebrated 16 GEMS Panthers who reclassified at our District Reclassification Ceremony—a huge accomplishment for these students! We are incredibly proud of their hard work and perseverance.

• This week, we had 80 GEMS Musicians represent our school at District Band Day, showcasing their talent and dedication to music.

• Next week, we’ll be cheering on our 7th and 8th grade girls’ basketball teams as they head into the playoffs—go Panthers!

We encourage families to stay connected by joining committees, attending events, and following us on Instagram (@glenedwardsmiddle_wpusd) and Facebook (WPUSD - Glen Edwards Middle School), where we regularly highlight the amazing things happening with our students and staff.

Let’s keep the momentum going this month by staying focused on learning and celebrating student success.

Thank you for your continued support!

Jessica Fernandez
Principal

Emails went out 2/28/25 to notify families of students that are not meeting one or more of the requirements below.

Promotion based on academic achievement for 2024/2025:

The following three requirements will be utilized in determining academic eligibility for promotion and summer school eligibility. Students meeting all three of the following requirements will be academically eligible to participate in the promotion Ceremony.

1. Overall cumulative GPA of “C” or better
2. GPA of 2.0 (“C”) or better in Language Arts
3. GPA of 2.0 (“C”) or better in Mathematics

The academic requirements will only apply to semester 2 grades for the 2024/2025 school year and will be applied at administration discretion.

8th Grade Promotion Activities (2024/2025):

Eighth-grade students must meet the academic and behavioral requirements to participate in promotion activities. Academic requirements are listed above and the behavioral requirements are listed below.

Eighth-grade promotion activities may include a water park trip, promotion dance, and the promotion ceremony. Additionally, students must return all materials, supplies, textbooks, and equipment issued to them and must pay all their debts by the required deadlines.

If during the last seven weeks of school, a student receives the following discipline, it may result in:

• First Administrative Referral – Loss of water park trip
• Third Administrative Referral – Loss of Promotion Dance

If during the last seven weeks of school, a student receives the following discipline, it may result in:

• One day of suspension – Loss of all promotion activities with the exception of the promotion ceremony.
• Multiple days of suspension - Loss of all promotion activities including the promotion ceremony.

The behavioral requirements will only apply to the last 7 weeks of the 2024/2025 school year and will be enforced at the discretion of the administration.

Important Dates:

• Tuesday, April 1st Promotion Activity Permission Forms sent home
• Wednesday, April 9th All monies and permission slips due for promotion activities
• Monday, June 2nd Sunsplash Trip - $45.00 (GEMS students only. Lunch, Admission & Transportation included).
• Leave at approximately 9:45am/return at 5:00pm. There will be no parent pick-ups at Sunsplash. Students must ride the bus back to school. NO summer passes can be used – Per Sunsplash
• Wednesday, June 4th Promotion Dance - $15.00 (students only)
• 6:00-8:00pm @ Glen Edwards Middle School (see below for dress requirements)

• Thursday, June 5th Promotion Ceremony - (for parents)
• 9:00am at Glen Edwards Middle School. Students should arrive to school on time (8:00am) to prepare for ceremony entrance. Guest seating is first come first serve. Please be prepared for any type of weather. No umbrellas or pop ups allowed.

Promotion Certificates:

Names will be printed as they appear on the school computer unless otherwise requested by parents. Please contact our office if you would like your child’s name updated.

Appropriate dress for the Promotion Ceremony is as follows:

● It is recommended that boys wear dress shirts and slacks; ties are optional.

● It is recommended that girls wear a dress or blouse with a skirt or slacks

● Clothing must not expose buttocks, cleavage, midsection or underclothing when standing still, bending over, raising arms, or in motion.

● Tuxedos, jeans, shorts, T-shirts and overalls are not appropriate. Dresses or blouses should be in good taste and age-appropriate for the occasion. Spaghetti strap dresses are allowed for the promotion dance.

Please keep this dress code in mind when selecting promotion clothing with your child. School administration has final determination as to what is appropriate for the occasion, and administration will deny entrance should your child choose to dress inappropriately.

The Parent Promotion Dance Committee met last night and are making significant progress in planning the BIG event!! If you have been unable to attend the meetings but would like to lend support, please <<CLICK HERE>> to access their Amazon Wish List. Any contribution you may afford is greatly appreciated.

The next meeting will be March 27th at 5:30 in the GEMS Library and we hope to see you there!!

Take out the guess work and any extra time it would take to get your student a Promotion Gift by visiting our webstore and pre-purchasing any of the simple items available. Pick up will be from their on campus Kiosk the day of the big event!!!

Should you not be able to pre-order now, there will be items in stock the day of the event but only as supplies last.

So don't delay and secure your boquets and leis today!!!

3rd Quarter ends on March 14th and Progress Reports will be sent digitally via ParentSquare the

following week. You must have accepted an invite from the system in order to open and view the document. Be on the lookout for your invite if you have not authenticated to the system yet.

The CTE Wheel Classes will rotate on Tuesday, March 18th. Please review the rotation listing below to ensure your student reports to the correct class.

• Current Harp Group rotates to Ward (room 104)
• Current Ward Group rotates to Noonan (room 105)
• Current Noonan Group rotates to Flamenco (room A4)
• Current Flamenco Group rotates to Harp (Music Room)

We are excited for them to finish their sampling of electives as they start making their elective selections for next year.

February was a busy and exciting month for our students! We kicked things off with the Cupid’s Ball dance, where students had a fantastic time dancing with friends and enjoying fun carnival games.

We also celebrated Random Acts of Kindness Week from February 17th-20th. Students participated in a kindness Bingo game, leadership students created uplifting posters, and positive chalk messages were written throughout the quad. Additionally, all students received motivational pencils and stickers in their PAW classes to spread encouragement.

As we looked ahead to March Leadership students welcomed our incoming 5th graders for Shadow a Panther, by hosting a school rally, and providing campus tours for our future students.

We are in the process of planning for our spring event on April 4th—stay tuned for more details!

Thank you for your support in making these events a success!

Congratulations to our Girls Basketball Teams. They both had GREAT SEASONS!!

Extra huge shout out to the 7th grade girls basketball team!! They won the EAST DIVISION BANNER this week with a 63-38 win over Creekview.

Both teams heading to tournament playoffs next week

• 7th grade March 11th at TBMS
• 8th grade March 12th at GEMS

GO PANTHERS!!

Reminder Quarter 3 grades are coming in March and determine eligibility! You must have at least a 2.0 with no more than 1 F to be eligible to play.

• Track and Field is underway! (see Mr. Ryan Smith or Mrs. Mullen for info)
• Girls Flag Football: starts Tuesday 3/11/25 (see Mr. Agrippino)
• Boys Volleyball: starts Tuesday 3/11/25 (see Mr. Colson or Mr. Luci)

***All updated physicals MUST be uploaded to Final Forms and all forms must be signed online
before tryouts

ENGLISH

Dear Parent or Guardian of a 6th grader student:

Before your student enters the 7th grade in Fall 2025, documentation of Tdap- 1 dose (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis – whooping cough booster usually given at ages 11and up) and Varicella – 2 doses (VZV and/or MMRV -usually given at 12 months and 4-6 years) is required.

In addition, please make sure that your student is current with all other immunizations. If your student is up to date with all the required immunizations, please bring proof to the office for our health records.

We will need updated immunization records for your student to receive their schedule in August and to be allowed on campus the first day of school. Records need to show they have the required immunizations to enter 7th grade, in addition to all required immunizations for school attendance.

If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact our office as soon as possible by calling 916 - 645- 6370.

Thank you!

GEMS Health Services

SPANISH

Estimado padre o tutor de un estudiante de 6to. grado:

Antes de que su estudiante ingrese al 7mo. grado en el otoño de 2025, se requiere que el estudiante cuente con las vacunas de Tdap: 1 dosis (tétanos, difteria, tos ferina: refuerzo contra la tos ferina que generalmente se administra a los 11 años en adelante) y varicela: 2 dosis (VZV y/o MMRV: generalmente se administran a los 12 meses y a los 4-6 años).

Además, asegúrese de que su estudiante esté al día con todas las demás vacunas. Si su estudiante está al día con todas las vacunas requeridas, traiga un comprobante a la oficina para nuestros registros médicos.

Necesitaremos tener los registros de vacunación actualizados para que su estudiante reciba su horario en agosto y se le permita ingresar las instalaciones el primer día de clases. Los registros deben demostrar que el estudiante tiene las vacunas requeridas para ingresar al 7mo grado, además de todas las vacunas requeridas para asistir a la escuela.

Si tiene alguna pregunta sobre este tema, comuníquese con nuestra oficina lo antes posible llamando al 916-645-6370.

¡Gracias!

Servicios de Salud GEMS

Elective selections for current GEMS students is open and will close next week on 3/12.

Academic & Honors Course Requests will be completed next week during class time. This will also be an online form available to students.

PLEASE NOTE: ONLY WPUSD emails can access the online form and make selections. Students must sign in with their WPUSD account. Parents, please work with your student to review their selections as outside email addresses will not be able to access the system.

MEETINGS

If you missed the meeting last night mark your calendar now for the next APTS meeting. It will be on April 3rd @5pm in the GEMS Library. We hope to see you there!! Everyone is welcome to attend and we appreciate any support you can provide.

ONGOING FUNDRAISERS

• Check out and support our APTS STORE!! Updated items are:
• Stickers have been discounted to only $1 now!!
• Bling Hoodie Strings are still available for $5ea.

Celebrate Pi Day with a Sweet Treat!
Join us on March 14th as we celebrate Pi Day! Anyone who grabs lunch that day will get a free cookie—don’t miss out on the fun!

New Menu Cycle is Here!
We’ve updated our menu with exciting new items! For lunch, enjoy Ramen, Lasagna, and Chicken & Waffles. At breakfast, we’re adding Egg Bites, French Toast Sticks, and Donuts. Check out the full menu online or stop by the cafeteria to see what’s new. We can’t wait to serve you!

The Placer County Youth Commission is hosting their 5th Annual Free Your Mind, Free The Air Awareness 5K. The mission of our run is to promote a healthy body and a healthy mind. Nicotine addiction traps the brain and increases mental health issues, and tobacco companies disproportionally target certain minority groups, creating a disparity in those who are affected by tobacco ailments. Running and walking are great coping skills to help reduce stress and combat nicotine cravings. Plus, it frees the air of secondhand vape and smoke. As a bonus we also offer community service hours for participating in this event.

Join us on March 29, 2025, at 9AM (check-in at 8:30AM) at Maidu Regional Park (1550 Maidu Dr, Roseville, CA 95661) as we run towards the finish line with the goal of decreasing the influence of Big Tobacco in our community!

Visit placeryouth.com to register.

Contact placercoyouthcommission@gmail.com with any questions.

As we enhance safety measures, please note IDs will be checked every time you come to pick up your student during school hours. Please have your ID ready for the office staff. This includes anyone listed as an emergency contact. Be sure you have logged into the PowerSchool Parent Portal and submitted the ARU modules for accuracy.

Unfortunately our office staff can not interrupt class time to call students to pick up items in the office. Parents can drop off items for their student but we will not be able to call the student to pick the item up. The student can check in during the passing period or at lunch.

REMINDER: We can not allow food delivery services (Doordash, Postmates, UberEats, etc.) to GEMS. Breakfast and Lunch are available to all students without charge.

IF your student wants to participate in any athletic capacity be sure you have an account created in Final Forms and physical clearance by a physician.

• Parent AND Student must create their own account, fill out and submit information via FINAL FORMS
• All students must have a current PHYSICAL on file with the school (current means within the past year).

NO CHILD WILL BE ALLOWED TO PRACTICE OR PARTICIPATE WITHOUT THE PROPER FORMS. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE GRANTED.

Pre-order your yearbook now for $60.

Visit jostensyearbooks.com to place your order.

Advanced Broadcasting produces GEMS TV every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/gemstv916

New WeAre105 podcast is up now!

For this episode we have a conversation with 8th graders about the pressures of fitting in
and a round table GEMS trivia contest. You can find our podcast on YouTube & Spotify

New Panther Press Articles Up Now

Poll: Who was the best spiderman? (vote on our site)

• Personal Devices banned to use wifi

• New PAW changes

• Elective and Promo options

• East Ave Cafe Review

• Stupid Trends

• Update to Best Friends in PAW PRINTS

• Daniel Caesar & Rex Orange Review

• Also, check out the latest in all sports scores at GEMS!

REMEMBER TO VISIT: www. pantherpress916.com

Learn more about our food service program HERE and visit the food services website HERE for daily menu options.

Check out the flier below. There are several ways to report absences. We hope you find it useful!

• When you receive a message that your student was absent, you can respond easily by clicking on the link within the message to report your student's absence.
• 7th period is actually the students PAW period and the first class of the day Tuesday - Friday.
• ALSO NOTE: There will be NO TRAVEL STUDIES allowed to last two weeks of school.
  

Don't forget to follow our GEMS Facebook Page to stay on top of all the fun things we are doing around campus! Click this link or the picture below to follow!