GVMS Weekly Update

Garnet Valley Middle School Community,

Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. During this second week of February, we would like to acknowledge Black History Month. This week was chosen because it coincides with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and that of Frederick Douglass on February 14, both of which Black communities had celebrated since the late 19th century. This celebration was created to focus our attention on the contributions of African Americans to the United States, honoring Black people from all time periods.

We are excited to celebrate our winter athletes and academic teams this upcoming Friday at our Winter Pep Rally. All students are welcomed to wear their favorite team attire on February 23rd to celebrate the pep rally. We are also excited for our 8th graders to attend their final Winter Fun Night of middle school.

As a reminder, we do not have school this upcoming Monday in honor of President's Day. We hope you all have a good long weekend.

Sincerely,

Dr. Lisa Stenz, Principal

Mr. Rick Martin, Assistant Principal

Dr. Gerry Weinhardt, Assistant Principal

Click here to register for your last Fun Night of Middle School!!

February 23, 2024

6:30-8:30

At Garnet Valley Middle School

$20 at the door

Enjoy food, an obstacle course, basketball, slides, volleyball, photo ops and lots of good music!

Families: Click here to sign up as a volunteer!

You must be in school the day of the event to attend!

Rock your Socks 2024! World Down Syndrome Day is Thursday, March 21st. It is a global awareness day that has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. The date 3-21 was selected to represent the uniqueness of the triplication (3) of the 21st chromosome which causes Down syndrome. As part of the awareness effort, mismatched socks are used to represent the shape of chromosomes and additionally mismatched socks celebrate the beauty and value of differences.

During the month of March, the Life Skills classes will be promoting Down Syndrome Awareness Day. Mismatched socks will be sold during the month of March in our classroom and through a self serve box in the cafeteria, and also during lunches on March 18 and 19th. The socks are $2 a pair. Since there is no school on Thursday, March 21, due to parent conferences, please encourage your child to wear these (or their own mismatched socks) on Wednesday, March 20th to celebrate ROCK YOUR SOCKS and World Down Syndrome Day, and join us for a musical morning event to show off our socks

GVHS Mini-THON is hosting a Valentine Babysitting Night for parents to enjoy a romantic evening, worry-free! The event runs from 5-8pm with a $20 fee for the first child and $15 for any additional child. All proceeds benefit GVHS Mini-THON to fight childhood cancer. The cost will cover food, games, and crafts. There will be adult supervision, along with the Mini-THON leadership team members, at this event. Please click HERE to register.

If you have any questions, please contact Anh Vu (anhvu@garnetvalley.org) or Ally Hoyt (allisonhoyt@garnetvalley.org).”

Garnet Valley Kindergarten registration for the 2024-2025 school year will open on January 8th. There will be a Kindergarten informational night on April 18th at 6:00 PM. Parents with children attending Bethel Springs Elementary will attend the information night at Bethel. Parents with children attending Concord Elementary will attend the information night at Concord. To attend the informational session, your child must be registered by April 4th, 2024. Thank you and we look forward to meeting our new Kindergarteners!

Please click here to access the GVSD registration page.

If you have general questions regarding scheduling, course selection, conferences, or questions about our counseling department, you can contact Ms. Rosalee Rosado at 610.579.5106 or rosador@garnetvally.org.

Click here to visit our GVMS School Counseling webpage, which has contains a variety of school and community resources.

We are excited to welcome our new students and welcome back our returning students for the 2023-2024 school year!

Mrs. Marisa Mahon: Students with the last names A-Em. mahonm@garnetvalley.org

Ms. Wendy Xanthopoulos: Students with the last names En-Ler. xanthow@garnetvalley.org

Mr. Matt Bradshaw: Students with the last names Les-Rom. bradshm@garnetvalley.org

Mrs. Christy Francart: Students with the last names Ros-Z. francac@garnetvalley.org

This year, the HSA will be offering spirit wear as a fundraiser. You can shop by clicking the image below.

• Membership Drive - Thank you to everyone that contributed to our membership drive! If you are interested in contributing, there’s still time!

• Venmo - @GVMSHSA

• Cash/Check - Drop at the school office, marked “GVMS HSA”

• Mark your Calendar - Mark your calendar for the individual grade-level events for this year!

• Winter

• 6th Grade Winter Fun Night - February 2nd @ 6:30

• 7th Grade Winter Fun Night - February 9th @ 6:30

• 8th Grade Winter Fun Night - February 23rd @ 6:30

• Spring

• 6th grade Spring Fun Night - May 3rd @ 6:30

• 7th grade Spring Dance/Fun Night - May 17th @ 6:30

• 8th grade Spring Semi-Formal Send-off Dance - June 7th @ 6:30

Click here to view the various student clubs we offer throughout the school year.

Click here to access a curated list of social emotional wellness parent resource list. This list includes books, websites, and parent trainings. Please check back throughout the year as we will be continously reviewing and updating the list of resources.

1. Physical Exam - Students entering 6th grade are required to have a Physical Exam completed within the last year according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health and submitted to the school nurse. Please click HERE for a physical form if needed. Your child’s physician may use their own form as well.

1. Dental Exam: Students entering 7th grade in September are also required to have a Dental Examination form submitted to school. Please click HERE for a Dental Examination form if needed.

Click here to access and learn more!

This eBook contains tips and tricks for navigating the transition to middle school as well as how to best support your learner in their quest for agency and growth toward independence. The contents express the ideas of teachers, caregivers, students, and administrators who understand what life is like "in the middle."

Remember to trust in your learner's resilience and embrace the opportunity for growth!

We know that there is so much information shared at the beginning of the school year. Please access Garnet Valley's parent portal, which keeps all of our information in one place. Click here to access the parent portal. To get direct access to some of our services please click the following links.

• Alma - Garnet Valley's Student Information System
• Schoology - Garnet Valley's Learning Management System
• My School Bucks - Register your child for our school lunch program
• Safe Arrival - Report an absence
• GVSD Parent Tech Support - Issues with district technology.
  

Garnet Valley will continue to partner with federal programs to allow Grades K-8 to serve free breakfast options for all of our students.

Lunch will continue to be available for purchase as well. My School Bucks is a secure online platform that allows parents to easily manage and monitor their child's school-related expenses. With My School Bucks, you can make online payments for school meals, view your child's account balance, and set up automatic payments for recurring expenses. Access or setup your MySchoolBucks account.

More information on our Food Services can be found here.

Our Technology Team is asking all end-users to submit any device issue and login question through our new Tech Support ticketing system called One to One Plus. This system allows our Technology Team to better track issues, create reports, and ultimately, better serve our end users.

Click here to access additional information.

Click the link below to access a video that overviews what to do to update your information in Alma.

Video - Alma Navigation for Parents

Click here to find information regarding our morning drop-off and afternoon dismissal procedures. Our dismissal procedures are the same as last year. We will have two bus locations at the end of the day and only one parent pick-up area.

IMPORTANT: Please add notifications@getalma.com to to your email contact list to avoid having future messages blocked by your email provider. Also, be sure to monitor your Spam folder for misrouted messages.

Achieving our best through creativity, compassion, and community.

Email: stenzl@garnetvalley.org
Website: https://www.garnetvalleyschools.com/gvms
Location: 601 Smithbridge Road
Phone: 610-579-5100
Twitter: @GarnetValleyMS