The GMA Gazette

I met with the engineers working on our bridge project recently and am happy to share a couple of updates on the progress toward being able to access our field to the north of our building.

First, I was encouraged by the fact that the geotechnical and survey reports indicate that we will not need to proceed with approval from the Department of Natural Resources for construction in a floodway. This knocks about eight months off the timeline of our project and is a huge hurdle that we don't have to jump!

Plans are underway for the actual design specs for our bridge. The engineers will work with the Town of McCordsville to get all of those plans approved.

We are in need of a commercial concrete contractor who would be able to provide the following scope of work for our project:

• Limited clearing including removal of a couple of trees.
• Minor site demolition including curb and sidewalk removal and limited asphalt patching.
• Coordination getting a crane on site to set the bridge.
• Concrete work including – pouring two bridge abutments (to be designed by the bridge fabricator), new sidewalk and curb and ADA tile.

If you have a connection with a commercial concrete contractor that may be interested in working on this project, please reach out to me directly via email at jgosch@gma.k12.in.us.

You may or may not know that our school's funding is based on the number of students we have enrolled each year. Over the last two years we have experienced significant growth in enrollment and have added SIX NEW CLASSROOMS and a FOURTH SPECIAL AREA CLASS to our programming. It is amazing to be able to offer our school community everything that a Montessori public education at GMA has to offer.

That being said, we are not quite at our targeted enrollment number for this school year. We have openings available at each age level from Kindergarten to 6th grade. You can help us meet our enrollment goals by sharing GMA with your friends, neighbors, family members, and social circles. Meeting our enrollment goal each year helps us continue to be able to offer your children the highest quality Montessori public education possible. It's what makes it possible to keep our student to teacher ratio much lower than that of the traditional schools around us. It helps us bring new programs and experiences to your children. It's what keeps things running smoothly!

Here are some easy ways that you can help us reach our goal this year:

1. Be sure to follow our school Facebook page and share our posts on your own page.
2. Like and comment with your positive GMA experiences when you see our posts shared on Facebook.
3. Take a moment to write a positive Google, Yelp, or Niche review.
4. Wear your GMA spiritwear out and about to spark conversations.
5. Talk to other parents in your neighborhood, on sports teams, at swimming lessons, at church, or at playdates. The very best compliment we can receive is the referral of your friends and family to our school!
6. We have signed up for booth space at the remaining dates for the Market in McCordsville, Fortville Farmers Market, and the Fort Ben Farmers Market. You can help us staff these booths and share GMA with our community! Sign up to volunteer here!

We've found that many people in our community don't realize that GMA is a tuition-free, public school. Several new families have shared with us that they always thought Montessori meant private school with an expensive tuition. Sometimes, just letting others know of your own amazing experiences with our school community is all it takes to spark an interest and open the door for a conversation about school choice and the options families have in our area.

Thank you for helping us spread the word that GMA is the best place to be!

I want to personally thank all the families who have already participated in our SchoolStore fundraiser! We are on our way to reaching our goal, but we need everyone's help to make sure our teachers get the essential tools they need to help our students succeed.

If your family has not participated, there's still time! Packets were sent home with students this week, so be sure to look for the large envelope of information so that you can help your child get started with this simple fundraiser to support their teachers!

This safe and easy fundraiser is 100% online so there is no face-to-face selling, collecting money, or delivering products. Your child will receive a prize just for participating, and more prizes will be awarded when goals are reached.

In just the first three days of our SchoolStore Fundraiser, we have 52% of our students participating and our classrooms have benefitted from gift card donations totalling $8140!

Please help now. It really will make a difference.

CLICK HERE to show our valued teachers your support.

Family participation is the key to our success, and we are counting on you!

Ms. Hillary and Ms. Kim invite interested 3rd-8th grade students to sign up for Pickleball Club. Please see the sign-up link for more information and to register your child. Spots are limited to 16 students each week.

Congratulations to the following students for being elected to represent their peers in this year's Student Council!

• Brody R.
• Evelyn P.
• Delaiah L
• Nova C.

• Rory B.

• Molly P.
• Laila V.
• Tripp B.
• Camryn A.
• Jayna M.
• Lulu M.
• Gabby G.

Thank you for making sure that your child is up to date on all of their required and recommended immunizations. You can find the current list of childhood immunizations from

the Indiana Immunization Coalition here. While there are minimum immunization requirements in place for your K-12 student to attend school, the link also provides information regarding recommended immunizations.

As a friendly reminder, all public schools are required by the state to keep updated records of student immunizations on file in each student's permanent record.

The very best way to make sure that your child's immunization information is kept current is to consent to allow those records to be accessed through CHIRP. The Children and Hoosier Immunization Registry Program (CHIRP) is a secure, web-based application that is administered by the Indiana Department of Health. If we experience an outbreak of communicable illness necessitating the exclusion of students from school based on vaccination status, CHIRP is the fastest way for schools to access that information.

Please be sure to complete the CHIRP consent form in PowerSchool for the 2024-2025 school year. The CHIRP consent is listed under the tab for General Forms as Form N. Completion of this form is required for enrollment in the 2024-2025 school year.

Indiana Code (IC 20-34-4-5) states that a child is not permitted to attend school beyond the first day without furnishing a written immunization record, unless:

• The school gives a waiver (for a period not to exceed 20 days); or
• The local health department or a physician determines that the child’s immunizations have been delayed due to extreme circumstances and that the required immunizations will not be completed by the first day of school. The parent must furnish a written statement and a time schedule approved by a physician or health department; or
• A medical exemption (linked below) or religious objection is on file.

GMA will abide by IC 20-34-4-5 with an exclusion date of Friday, September 6. Any K-8th grade student who does not have proper documentation of immunization status on file with the school by Thursday, September 5 will not be permitted to attend school beyond that date unless and until proper documentation of immunization status is submitted.

According to the Indiana State Department of Health, a medical exemption is a physician’s certification that a particular immunization may be detrimental to the child’s health. It must state in writing that the child has a medical contraindication to receiving a vaccine. The Indiana Department of Health has a medical exemption form that providers should use to document medical exemptions. As true medical contraindications to immunization are vaccine-specific, medical exemptions must be written for each vaccine that is contraindicated. When a valid medical exemption form is received by the school, the school must document this exemption in CHIRP. Please note: A physician’s note stating an invalid dose of vaccine is acceptable does not constitute a medical exemption and does not meet Indiana School Immunization Requirements. Only a licensed physician (M.D. or D.O.) or advanced practice provider (nurse practitioner or physician assistant under a physician’s supervision) can provide a medical exemption.

Regarding religious exemptions for immunizations, the Indiana State Department of Health states, a religious objection must state that the objection to immunization is based on religious grounds. The objection must be in writing, signed by the child’s parent, and delivered to the school. There is no requirement of proof. To ensure the continued religious objection status for a student, schools must require written documentation of the religious objection each school year. When a valid religious exemption is received by the school, the school must document this exemption in CHIRP.

If you have any questions regarding immunization status, please reach out to our Family Resource Navigator, Ms. Susan, at szachary@gma.k12.in.us.

Indiana Code (IC 20-34-4) requires schools to provide parents of 6th grade students with information prescribed by the Indiana State Department of Health.

6th grade Education Letter (English) (Spanish)

The Hancock County Health Department is hosting a vaccination clinic for families on Saturday, September 7. Information can be found in the attached flyer.

Foodie Friday

September 20 from 5- 7:30 pm

Join us for an evening of Food, Fun, and Friends at GMA. We will have food trucks and some outdoor games. Bring your favorite lawn chairs, yard games, and people and come spend an evening eating, playing, and socializing at the school. Food trucks and parking will be in the front lot and we will close off the car line for people to hang out and play games. More information coming soon!

Family Directory

Make sure to submit your information for inclusion in the family directory by September 16. Click HERE to fill it out!

Kindergarten Moms Meet-Up

One of the Kindergarten parents has created a Mom’s Night event for Kindergarten moms on September 27 from 7pm to 9pm. The event will be at Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in Fishers! Participants will receive free Blowouts, snacks, and drinks!!! Kindergarten moms should RSVP to Rebecca Miller at Beccabeeler@gmail.com by September 13!

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.
• 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!

JOIN THE PTA

Our PTA is working hard to build a strong foundation to support our students and teachers and to create an even better GMA for our kids! We want to be an inclusive, diverse, and open community and to do so, we need our families to JOIN US!!!

The Indiana Fierce 16U, a softball team of talented young ladies aged 16 and under from across Indiana, many of whom are local, will be holding a fundraising rummage sale in the parking lot at GMA from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday, September 28. The team is based in Pendleton, Indiana. All proceeds will go towards covering tournament fees, allowing these athletes to compete in softball tournaments throughout the state. Stop by and support this community group on the 28th!

Thank you for your cooperation with the changes we have made to our arrival and dismissal procedures this year. Car line has been running fairly smoothly so far!

Please be mindful of these reminders:

• Please display your car line tag 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.
• 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!
• 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 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• This Fall, 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.

9/2 - Labor Day, no school

9/5 - Fort Ben Farmers Market, 4-7 pm

9/12 - Fort Ben Farmers Market, 4-7 pm

9/19 - Fort Ben Farmers Market, 4-7 pm

9/20 - Foodie Friday Food Truck Night with PTA, TBA

9/25 - Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm in the Maple Room

9/26 - Fort Ben Farmers Market, 4-7 pm

9/28 - Indiana Fierce 16U Softball team fundraising rummage sale, 9 am-4 pm

10/3 - Fort Ben Farmers Market, 4-7 pm

10/9-10 - Parent Teacher Conferences

10/10-11 - Early Release Days (All PK/Kdg dismiss at 11:30 am, everyone else dismisses at noon)

10/14-18 - Fall Break, no school

10/23 - Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm in the Maple Room

10/23 - School Skating Party, 6:00 pm at The Roller Cave

10/25 - PTA Fall Festival

10/31 - Idiom Day at GMA

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.