We hope this message finds you well! As we approach the Thanksgiving Break, we have been thinking about and are so thankful for the opportunities we have to work with your children. Additionally, we are so proud of the growth and successes of all of our students during this school year. They are fun, focused, dedicated, and persevere during their learning!

In this season of reflection and gratitude, we also wanted to take a moment to simply and sincerely say “Thank You!” for everything you have done, are doing, and will continue to do to help and support our students, our staff, and our wonderful school community.

We hope that you and your family have a safe, fun, fulfilling, and restful break.

Sincerely,

All of us at GMS!

If you'd like, use the Google Form below to cast your vote for Favorite Thanksgiving Food. We will publish the results of the poll for everyone to see in our next

11.25 - Combo B Team, 7A & 8A Girls play @Riverton - 7120 SE 70th St, Riverton, KS 66770 - Game time @5:30 - Bus leaves @4:45

Meet your Bulldog Brag Students of The Week for November 22! Chloe was nominated by Mrs. Niles and Kai was nominated by Ms. Matthews. Great job, Bulldogs! Both students selected a pop and candy bar as their prize.

Each student who receives a brag during the week gets a small piece of candy. Then on Fridays, 2 recipients are drawn for a larger prize they can pick from! At the end of each quarter, 5 students who received brags during that time frame are drawn for a larger prize. We have received generous donations from Galena Bookkeeping & Tax Service, Community Bank & Trust, the Tash family, and an anonymous donor. If you would like to donate to our Bulldog Brag incentive, please reach out to Mrs. Botkin at lisa.botkin@galena499.org. Thank you!!

The Senior Class sponsored a dance for GMS students on, Friday, Nov. 22nd. A big thank you to Senior class sponsors, Ms. Groves and Mrs. Harmon and everyone who helped!

*Game schedules are subject to change. Changes will be announced

6th Grade - Remington Smith

She is a great kid, living her days, quiet and kind, in every way. Respectful too, she always tries, working so hard, reaching for the sky. Remington, always does right, with a smile so bright, shining day and night. Remi, shows that she cares, kind to all her peers, she’s a breath of fresh air. She takes her time, with a conscientious heart, helping her friends, playing her part. In every task, she gives her best, with kindness and grace, she’ll rise above the rest.

7th Grade - Carter Tucker

Carter is very outgoing! He is a well mannered student and that is a positive influence among his peers! Carter is diligent with his school work and does a great job working together in small group! He is a very good problem solver as well! Carter is a GREAT example of an A+ student in GMS! Keep up the AWESOME work, Carter!

8th Grade - Daryan Forsythe

Daryan is a dedicated student and friend to everyone. Daryna is willing to ask questions and always wants to know more. He is always up for a challenge and makes the classroom enjoyable and interesting!!

Fine Arts - Samantha Bryan

Samantha is a fantastic band student! She has been working very diligently this year to learn the trumpet, and her positive attitude, patient spirit, and consistent work ethic are paying off. She can perform any song we’ve learned so far with ease and is a great help to her classmates. Keep up the great work, and thank you for being an awesome teammate, Samantha!

7th Grade G Basketball - Karli New

Karli is a leader on and off the court. She works hard and pushes others to be better. She has done a great job of filling multiple roles this season.

8th Grade G Basketball - Arianna Thompson

Arianna has really grown this season. She has become more aggressive and confident in herself with each game.

Thank you to everyone who brought donations! Because of your generosity 60 families will be blessed with Thanksgiving baskets this year! Below is a picture of just part of the media center. Winners of the food drive competition will be announced soon!

If you have not yet sent baby pictures of your 8th grade student to Mr. Bailey for the 8th grade video please do so as soon as you can. You can send actual pictures to school with your student or email pictures directly to Mr. Bailey at rbailey@usd499.org Pictures that are sent to school will be scanned and returned. Thank you!

We use messaging system, SchoolMessenger. The contact information for SchoolMessenger is populated from PowerSchool and updated each night. If a contact name, phone number or email address is not listed in PowerSchool, or is not accurate the person will not be able to receive messages that are sent from the school. In addition, we are required to have all end users consent to receiving text messages because some carriers have additional charges for this service. The voice calls do not require consent, but these can be opted out of. Many of our families are still showing "pending" for consent for SMS messaging and will not receive text messages until they provide consent to receive the messages. The attached flyer provides information on how to allow or deny consent. Please note the attached form only enables users who have valid and current information in PowerSchool to consent to District messaging. This code is not a "sign up" code.

Please note: The district uses SchoolMessenger for all of our text and automated communication/announcements from the buildings and the district. This includes general announcements for activities schedules/changes, as well as, school closures, food and nutrition, etc. If you have ever replied "stop" to these messages it will stop them all and you will need to resubscribe to this service. Please give us a call for help.

Galena Middle School is implementing a new reward program called GMS Bulldog Bonus. All Bulldogs are eligible to earn rewards at the end of each quarter and semester. These rewards will be given at a reward party in seminar. We will also continue to have the end of the year field trip as we have had in previous years, (8th grade to Silver Dollar City, 6th & 7th typically goes bowling and has a pizza party) based on cumulative yearly criteria. We have also added on going incentives in the form of Bulldog Brags and Bulldog Pride T-Shirt Days. The criteria for all is below.

*a ZAP is only counted if the student did not get their work completed and they have to stay the next day.

This program is designed to provide motivation and support for students to complete assignments on time and meet their academic responsibilities. The ZAP program is designed to provide additional time as well as a homework recovery place to complete assignments left undone.

Parental involvement is vital to student success and the success of this program. It is recommended that parents discuss school work with their child and monitor student grades regularly through the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Login information may be obtained from the middle school secretary.

1. When a student’s assignment is incomplete for a class, the student will receive a ZAP notice from their teacher. The student will be required to turn in the completed assignment to the ZAP box located in the middle school office by 8:00 a.m. the following day. The student will receive no less than 75% credit earned. (most if not all teachers give students full credit because learning is the goal!)

1. The teacher who assigned the student’s ZAP notice will notify the parents through written notice (this form) that the student received a ZAP notice, and that the work must be turned in by 8:00 am the following day or the student will move to the second ZAP step.

2. Teachers will report all students who are ZAP’d on the ZAP Google doc to ensure the teacher supervising ZAP the following day has the information.

2. If the assignment is not turned in by 8:00 a.m. the next morning, the student will be assigned a mandatory ZAP session after school that day (3:10-4:10, Monday-Thursday).

1. The student will report to ZAP every day until the work is completed.

2. When the assignment is completed, it will be accepted for no less than 50% credit earned.

3. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange transportation for that day.

3. If a student fails to report to a ZAP session, the student will be assigned Saturday detention.

4. Schoolwork will take precedence over extracurricular attendance. Students who participate in extracurricular activities and have been ZAP’d be required to go to ZAP to complete their work before they attend practice or contests.

The purpose of ZAP is many:

1. ZAP is not a disciplinary measure. Students will not receive discipline points for being assigned to ZAP unless they fail to report, refuse to attend, and/or earn a Saturday detention.

2. ZAP gives students a second chance to learn and practice the curricular standards being taught to them in class.

3. To earn credit on assignments they may have lost, forgotten to turn in, or failed to do.

4. To increase responsibility with students while building pride in their school performance.

A pattern of failing to turn in assignments may be a sign of a more serious concern. Students may need to attend after-school tutoring and learn good study habits or organizational skills. Or, there may be an indication that a student needs even more structured support which may warrant a meeting with your child’s teachers, or the student improvement team to determine appropriate interventions. We at Galena Middle School believe that every student can be successful and when we partner with parents and students to communicate that failure is not an option, we believe that the student will meet the expectations and develop good habits resulting in self-responsibility and pride in a job well done. Our shared commitment to student expectations and good work habits will serve them well in their future school career as well as in life.

Zap rules and procedures may be modified to benefit student success at any time during the school year.

Students will only be required to stay after school if they do not complete their work and hand it in the next day. Students are given this ZAP form (above) to take home and inform parents they are required to stay after school the next day and which assignments they have been given a zero on. Students are communicated with to take any assignment they have been ZAPPED for home to complete as homework then they will not have to stay for ZAP the next day. Only if they do not turn it in, after the warning are they required to stay the next day.

*If the student does not turn their work in by 8:00 a.m. we've added another component of grace to our policy for our students. If time allows during their school day and they are able to complete the assignment, student(s) only need to report to ZAP to turn in the completed assignment. They will not be required to stay for any length of time.

Access the Galena Middle School Student Handbook using the button below

More detailed monthly breakfast and lunch menus can be found on the district website under the quicklinks tab or you can access them directly with the link below.

November 25th - GMS Girls BB @ Riverton 5:30

November 25th - November 29th - No School - Thanksgiving Break

November 26th - GMS Girls BB Home 5:30

December 3rd - Band Concert 6:30

December 5th - GMS Girls BB @ St. Marys/Colgan 5:30

December 9th - GMS Girls BB @ St Peters 5:30

December 12th - GMS Girls BB @ Liberal 5:30

December 16th - GMS Girls BB Tournament @ Frontenac 4:00

December 19th - GMS Girls BB Tournament @ Frontenac TBA

December 20th - End of Quarter 2/Semester 1 - 1/2 Day of School Students Dismissed at 11:00 am No Lunch Will Be Served

December 23rd - January 6th - No School - Christmas Break

January 7th - School Reconvenes

January 20th - No School for Students - Teacher Inservice

February 17th - No School for Students - Teacher Inservice

March 7th - End of 3rd Quarter

March 11th & 13th - Parent-Teacher Conferences

March 14th - No School

March 17th - 21st - No School - Spring Break

April 18th - No School

May 18th - Commencement

May 22nd - Last Day of School - 1/2 Day of School Students Dismissed at 11:00 am No Lunch Will Be Served - 1/2 Day Teacher Inservice