We are just two weeks away from the start of what will be an amazing school year for our GMA community! The building has been under renovation all summer as crews worked to repair the construction flaw in the plumbing system and add classroom restrooms into all of the classrooms down our primary hallway. Things are coming together nicely, and the building is looking really good! Teachers have been hard at work creating welcoming learning environments to welcome your children back to school on August 10, and we cannot wait to see their smiles fill the hallways with joy and laughter again soon!

We have over 100 new students joining us this Fall. That's a lot of new families that we are excited to welcome to the GMA community! This short newsletter is intended to answer a couple of questions that have been recurring this week. If you still have questions after reading this communication, please call the office during our summer office hours - Monday-Thursday, 8-11am.

Thank you for choosing to partner with us in your child(ren)'s education. It's going to be a great year at GMA!

Be well,

Ms. Jen

Great question!

This year, we are releasing this information through PowerSchool only. A message will be sent via OneCall on the afternoon of Friday, August 4 notifying families that this information is live in PowerSchool. Then, families will need to login to PowerSchool to view their child(ren)'s classroom placement and teacher for this year.

Please remember that our teachers and school leaders spend hours upon hours creating class lists that are balanced and best suited to meet the needs of each child. We do not accept requests for students to be placed together in a class, nor do we accept requests for specific teachers. We reserve the right to make adjustments to student placements as needed in order to balance class sizes and meet student needs after the start of the school year.

This year at GMA, the school will provide most of the supplies that children use in the classroom. For this reason, the student supply lists are quite minimal compared to traditional schools. Teachers may ask families to donate items specifically needed for the classroom on a class-by-class basis.

The supply lists for each grade band are as follows:

Pre-K

• A backpack that will hold a folder labeled with their name. No wheeled backpacks.

• Lunch box and refillable water bottle labeled with their first name

• A pair of indoor shoes that they can slide on and off but need to have a non-marking rubber sole - Velcro or slip-on tennis shoes are best so that they can be worn in PE class - No slippers

• One complete change of clothes in a Ziploc bag. Please write your child's name on the outside of the bag and their initials on the tags of their clothes.

• 1 box of Kleenex

• 2 packages of disinfectant wipes

• 1 roll of paper towels

• 1 bottle of hand sanitizer

• A small blanket (for full-day students only)

Kindergarten

• A backpack that will hold a folder labeled with their name. No wheeled backpacks.

• Lunch box and refillable water bottle labeled with their first name

• A pair of indoor shoes that they can slide on and off but need to have a non-marking rubber sole - Velcro or slip-on tennis shoes are best so that they can be worn in PE class - No slippers

• One complete change of clothes in a Ziploc bag. Please write your child's name on the outside of the bag and their initials on the tags of their clothes.

• 1 box of Kleenex

• 2 packages of disinfectant wipes

• 1 roll of paper towels

• 1 bottle of hand sanitizer

Lower Elementary (grades 1 & 2)

• A backpack that will hold a folder labeled with their name - No wheeled backpacks

• Lunch box and refillable water bottle labeled with their first name

• A pair of indoor shoes that they can slide on and off but need to have a non-marking rubber sole - Velcro or slip-on tennis shoes are best so that they can be worn in PE class - No slippers

• One complete change of clothes in a Ziploc bag. Please write your child's name on the outside of the bag and their initials on the tags of their clothes.

• 1 box of Kleenex

• 2 packages of disinfectant wipes

• 1 roll of paper towels

• 1 bottle of hand sanitizer

Middle Elementary (grades 3 & 4)

• A backpack that will hold a folder labeled with their name - No wheeled backpacks

• Lunch box and refillable water bottle labeled with their first name

• A pair of tennis shoes that they can leave in the locker for PE class

• 2 boxes of Kleenex

• 2 packages of disinfectant wipes

• 2 rolls of paper towels

• 1 bottle of hand sanitizer

• Last name A-M bring a package of disposable forks, last name N-Z bring a package of disposable spoons

Upper Elementary (grades 5 & 6)

• Backpack labeled with name - No wheeled backpacks

• Lunch box and refillable water bottle labeled with name

• A pair of tennis shoes for PE (no boots, slippers, etc. are allowed on the gym floor)

• Hygiene supplies (deodorant, feminine products, etc.)

• 2 boxes of Kleenex

• 2 packages of disinfectant wipes

• 2 rolls of paper towels

• 1 bottle of hand sanitizer

• Pencil pouch/box with pencil sharpener

Middle School (grades 7 & 8)

• Backpack to hold supplies - No wheeled backpacks

• Lunch box and refillable water bottle

• A pair of tennis shoes for PE (no boots, slippers, etc. are allowed on the gym floor)

• Hygiene supplies (deodorant, feminine products, etc.)

• 2 boxes of Kleenex

• 2 packs of disinfectant wipes

• 1 roll of paper towels

• 1 bottle of hand sanitizer

You may have heard that the Indiana Legislature passed a new state law (IC 20-33-7.5) that requires schools to notify parents of requests made by students to change the student's name or pronouns. For example, it is fairly common for a student named Madelyn to go by the name Maddie at school.

To ensure compliance with the new law, we are asking that parents/guardians please update their student's preferred name in PowerSchool prior to the first day of school. Parents/guardians should login to PowerSchool and navigate to the "Forms" page. From there, please select "Form A" and be sure to complete the fields labeled "Legal First Name," "Legal Last Name," and "Preferred First Name."

Making sure that these forms are up to date in your child's PowerSchool profile will help us as we work to make the first day of school fantastic for everyone.

Thank you for taking care of this important update.

We love to see the excitement of families and students on the first day of school! It's a big day for everyone, for sure! And, photos on your front porch or in the backyard are a great way to commemorate this special day for years to come. We will not be able to allow photos at school on the first day, and parents are not allowed to walk children to class.

If you want to get a great photo of your child at their school, our Meet the Teachers event is a great time to do that!

We'd love to see your first day of school pics, too! If you post them to Facebook for your friends and family to see, please use the hashtag "#ThisIsGMA" and tag our school's Facebook page so that we can all see those excited smiles!

As a reminder, carline is not the time for photos or videos either. We have hundreds of children trying to enter the building safely while families are driving in carline. Please be sure to give the safety of your child and others your undivided attention at all times during arrival and dismissal. Parents and families of children in Kindergarten-8th grade are required to remain inside their vehicles at all times during carline. Pre-K parents are asked to assist children in getting out of the car at the 8am carline. And, Pre-K/Kindergarten parents picking up at the 3pm carline are asked to assist children into their vehicles. All other children should be able to get into vehicles independently or with minimal assistance from staff members on carline duty.

Thank you for helping us keep everyone safe!

A few changes have come about with our before and after care program, The Grove. We have a brand new system to help create a more organized flow to our process. If you are interested in before and/or after school care please fill out the registration form linked here.

This year, we will offer a weekly payment as well as a biannual payment. If you choose the weekly payment option and do not need care right away please state that in the section labeled “ANY OTHER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION YOU WOULD LIKE US TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR STUDENT”.

Once you have filled out the registration form, please be on the lookout for an email about payments and the Procare App. This is a free app that you will need to download in order to utilize the services in The Grove. The new app is the one-stop system for payments and communication with staff at The Grove. It also provides you access to your child’s pick-up number. This number is a specialized number required at pick up.

More information about The Grove can be found on our website under the "Parents" tab.

If you have any questions about the registration form or the program in general, please contact Jessica Scholl the director at jscholl@gma.k12.in.us.

Click here!

Payments can be made electronically using our online payment system. There is a small transaction fee charged for each online payment. If you would prefer to pay by check to avoid this fee, please make checks payable to Geist Montessori Academy, and bring your payment to the front office by the first of each month. Tuition payments may not be sent to school with your child. An adult is required to bring payments to the office in person or payment must be made through our online payment system. Credit/debit cards cannot be processed in the office.

The first tuition payment is due by the first day of school, 8/10. All other payments must be received by the first of each month, September-May.