GIPS Monthly Update - February 2025
Updates from Grand Island Public Schools
While we continue to work our way through the current school year, some time and energy has to be shifted to planning for next school year!
One of the key pieces in that planning process for the school district is getting students registered. Registration for the 2025-26 school year at Grand Island Public Schools is officially open.
To help figure out how many teachers will be needed at each grade level and in each school, we want to have an accurate count of the students who will be attending our schools. The online registration process opened on February 5th and runs through March 31st.
New and returning Grand Island Public Schools families may register their students at www.GIPS.org/registration.
When we reach March 31st, we will set the number of sections for each grade level in all of our schools. We will then staff our buildings accordingly. Once the number of sections for each building have been determined — and those sections are filled — we can no longer accept students for those grades in that building.
Here are a few additional reminders as families consider registering at Grand Island Public Schools for the next school year:
We have Preschool classrooms at four of our buildings including at the O’Connor Learning Center which is our large, dedicated early childhood education facility. Children living in Grand Island who are 4 years old on or before July 31, 2025 are eligible to register for Preschool at GIPS. Children who are 3 years old and verified for special education services are also eligible to register.
Kindergarten is available at all 13 of our Elementary schools. We encourage all of our Grand Island families with students who will be 5 five years old by July 31st to register for Kindergarten in their neighborhood school.
Each of our three Middle Schools — Barr, Walnut, & Westridge — have “feeder” Elementary schools. If your student has recently completed 5th Grade, you may find information about your Middle School pairing on our district website.
The Academies of Grand Island Senior High (GISH) continue leading the way in personalized education opportunities. Students joining or returning to high school will have a great landscape waiting for them next school year. More information about the GISH Academies may be found here: www.gips.org/academies.
We will continue to enroll students who live in the district after the March 31st deadline. However, those students will have to be placed where we have open sections for their grade level. So, in some cases a student who is enrolled late may have to attend class in a building that is not as close as their neighborhood school.
#WeAreGIPS
Grand Island Public Schools is pleased to announce that registration for the 20245-2026 school year is now open!
Registration will be open from February 3 - March 31, 2025
All new and returning GIPS students will need to be registered online via the ParentVUE app.
Here are a few resources that may help as you register your student(s):
- Online Registration - HERE
- Frequently Asked Questions - HERE
- ParentVUE "How-To" Video - ENGLISH | SPANISH
- Special Transfer Request information - HERE
Please Note:
- To help ensure a place for your student in your school of choice, we ask all families to register by March 31st.
- No child who lives in the school district boundaries will ever be turned away from GIPS. However, AFTER March 31st we will not be able to guarantee placement in your neighborhood school due to high enrollment numbers and building capacities. Our primary goal is to pair each student with their neighborhood Elementary or Middle School. We will work to make that a reality as much as we can until capacity limits are reached at grade and/or building levels.
If you need assistance with your child's registration, please contact your enrolling school or reach out to GIPS directly.
West Lawn Principal Honored with NSLA Distinguished Administrator Award
One administrator was surprised with a special visit during the staff professional learning day.
Dr. Maggie Mintken, principal of West Lawn Elementary, was honored with the 2024 Distinguished Administrators Award from the Nebraska School Librarians Association (NSLA) during a professional development session on Friday, January 31. Two representatives from the NSLA surprised her with the award, along with fellow district administrators and her family.
The award, which is awarded every other year, recognizes Dr. Mintken's leadership, vision, and support of the school's media center and its newly developed makerspace.
Read the full article HERE.
GIPS Students Shine in Hall County Spelling Bee, Westridge Sweeps Top 3
The 2025 Hall County Spelling Bee brought the county’s best spellers together in a grueling competition of words.
This year saw a clean sweep for Westridge Middle School, with the Cougars placing in the overall top three. MaKenna Ostrander, a Westridge eighth grader, was crowned the Hall County Champion. Her fellow classmates Tatiana Sage and Adeline Haag placed second and third, respectively.
Adding to the excitement, many other Grand Island Public Schools students found success at the competition.
Read the full article HERE.
Third Graders at Shoemaker Elementary Become Published Authors
By third grade, students at Shoemaker Elementary already have “published author” added to their accomplishments.
Katie Rathe, a third grade teacher at Shoemaker, leads her students through a unique classroom project: writing, illustrating and publishing their very own book.
Even though the students are writing, they’re learning so much more than one subject. Rathe connects the book project to the CKLA (core knowledge language arts) curriculum, so students are connecting science, social studies, language arts, and creative arts. Rathe teaches students the entire writing process, following steps of drafting, editing, and revising.
Read the full article HERE.
Classroom & School Expectations Lead to Celebrations
Setting expectations and building relationships are what it’s all about.
For Stolley Park Elementary, the backbone of student success starts by helping students feel excited about coming to school. And for them, consistent expectations are key to building a students’ confidence.
“I love it when students are excited to come to school and when they feel comfortable and happy to be here,” Ms. Keri Gruntorad, Second Grade Teacher at Stolley Park, affirmed. “When they're happy to be here, they lock-in and that's when the magic of learning happens. They're more likely to persevere and problem solve on their own if they're happy and feeling welcome to be here. It all starts there.”
What does setting expectations look like?
Read the full article HERE.
Kelli Wemhoff to Serve as Dodge Elementary Assistant Principal for 2025-26
We are pleased to share that the team at Dodge Elementary will be growing next school year.
Mrs. Kelli Wemhoff will be serving as the Assistant Principal of Dodge Elementary for the 2025-26 school year. We are excited to have her continue making a positive impact in our district by joining the good work taking place at Dodge.
Mrs. Wemhoff is familiar with educational spaces in the Grand Island community. This year she has served as the Principal of Seedling Mile Elementary. Prior to joining GIPS, Wemhoff served as a first grade and second grade teacher at Northwest Public Schools for twelve years in addition to coaching for volleyball and track.
This transition for Mrs. Wemhoff joining Dodge came after the decision was made not to operate Seedling Mile for the next school year.
Read the full article HERE.
Breakfast and lunch meals will be available to all students at no cost at all of our schools for the 2024-25 school year!
Due to current needs and qualifications, GIPS has qualified for Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) across the district. CEP provides an alternative, state-supported funding source in order to provide meals at no cost to every student at Grand Island Public Schools.
Find school meal menus on the Nutrition Services website HERE.
The menus are able to be translated in over 100 languages and may be downloaded or easily captured through a screenshot on your mobile device.
Follow GIPS Eats on Facebook for more info!
Catch the Islanders in action here in Grand Island!
Here are some of the upcoming home varsity events for February:
- Boys Basketball v Lincoln East - Thursday, February 13 at 7:00 p.m. @ GISH West Gym
- District Boys Wrestling - Saturday, February 15 at 9:30 a.m. @ GISH West Gym
- Boys Basketball v Norfolk - Tuesday, February 18, at 7:00 p.m. @ GISH West Gym
- State Cheer & Dance - Friday, February 21 at 8:00 a.m. (all day) @ Heartland Events Center
- State Cheer & Dance - Saturday, February 22 at 8:00 a.m. (all day) @ Heartland Events Center
- Show Choir Invite - Saturday, March 1 (all day) @ GISH Auditorium
- Boys Soccer v Kearney - Thursday, March 20 at 7:00 p.m. @ Memorial Stadium
Full activities calendar and ticket links may be found at the buttons below.
Go Islanders!
