GVMS Weekly Update

Garnet Valley Middle School Community,

Happy Friday! We are well into the rhythm of the school year, and things are going wonderfully!

This week, we held our Fall Picture Day, and it was a great success. A big thank you to our amazing Social Studies teachers for helping things run smoothly, and to all of our students who came dressed and ready to shine! We hope you're excited to hang your child’s beautiful picture on your family photo wall. Be sure to check this communication for ordering information.

It’s also been a special week for our Social Studies Department. On Tuesday, we celebrated Constitution Day in true Garnet Valley spirit! Our students showed their patriotism by wearing red, white, and blue—some even donned costumes and fun hats. We’re excited to share some photos and a short video from the event so you can see the enthusiasm of our wonderful school community.

We’d also like to thank everyone who contributed non-perishable food donations to support the local “Loaves of Love” food bank. Your generosity is truly appreciated!

As a reminder, if you’ve missed any of our weekly newsletters, you can easily find all past communications on our school’s homepage. Just look for the “Click here for weekly newsletter” link in the middle-right section of the page.

During Thursday morning’s Advisory period, our students focused on an important life skill—organization! They explored practical tips on how to organize their backpacks and materials, helping them stay on top of their schoolwork and feel more prepared for the day.

We’re committed to using our Advisory time to teach a variety of social, emotional, and life skills that will benefit our students both in and out of the classroom. We look forward to continuing these meaningful discussions and helping our students grow in every aspect of their school journey!

We wrapped up the week with an exciting event—the GRAND OPENING of our GVMS Jags School Store! Over the past few weeks, our students have been working hard to earn Jag CASH by demonstrating behaviors that reflect our core values: being safe, respectful, responsible, and compassionate in the classroom, hallways, cafeteria, and even the bathrooms.

If you're interested in learning more about our schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS) System, click HERE for more details. It's an integral part of how we foster a positive and supportive school environment.

A huge shoutout to our amazing Student Council for planning and running the store! Our students were thrilled to spend their hard-earned Jag CASH on fun treats and trinkets. Their excitement and engagement made it a huge success!

Thank you for your continued support as we encourage and celebrate positive behavior at GVMS. Wishing you a restful weekend!

Dr. Lisa Stenz, Principal

Mr. Rick Martin, Assistant Principal

Dr. Gerry Weinhardt, Assistant Principal

• Schools Closed / Offices Open - October 3rd

• Fall Renaissance Fundamentals III (previously PASS Survey ) - October 10th
• Fall Pep Rally - October 11th

• In-Service Day (No School for Students) - October 14th

• Red Ribbon Week - October 21st - October 25th
• GVMS Fall Picture Retake/Make-up Day - November 7th
  

Barksdale School Portraits is encouraging parents to order online through the Barksdale website. If you haven't completed your order, there is still TIME! The order window will close on September 27th.

Click here to access the online order option. The code should auto-populate, but in case it doesn't, our code is 14208IN.

Come join a fun night with the GVHS Marching Band! On Friday, Sep 27, we are having our 7/8th Grade Band NIght, where you have the opportunity to spend an evening with the band at a home football game.

Students will sit with the band, play along on some songs, watch the band show from the sidelines, and even play some easy songs with the band in front of the cheering crowd! Students will be dismissed to parents after halftime.

Fill out the form below to reserve your spot for the event. Email Dr. Selfridge, GVHS Band Director, if you have questions - selfris@garnetvalley.org. REGISTER HERE BY Mon, Sep 23! https://forms.gle/wqsMgVpfojDJxEoQ9

Our Claire's and Joe Corbi's Fundraiser is coming soon This fundraiser is critical in supporting our school-wide Acknowledge System where we “catch” our students demonstrating the expected behaviors and earn Jag Cash for the school store.

The fundraiser begins on September 27th, and all orders and money are due by Tuesday, October 22nd. Items will arrive on Tuesday, November 19th. The images below provide a little more detail regarding what to expect!

Are you interested in being an active member of our school community? We hope you consider joining Student Council this year!

The GVMS After School Activity Program offers a multitude of clubs that meet the varied interests of our students. If you have any questions regarding club details, please contact the sponsor at the email listed in this brochure. Thank you for showing an interest in in our clubs and after school activities!

Click the image above or here to access our online club brochure.

If your child's parent or guardian is an active duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces during the 2024-2025 school year, please fill out this form, even if you’ve done so in previous years. We are required to report this information annually to the Pennsylvania Department of Education to meet federal data reporting requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

Dear Parents and/or Guardians,

The Social and Emotional well-being of our students is at the forefront of our decision making in Garnet Valley School District. In order to inform our decision making related to social and emotional support at school, we plan to administer a brief 10-20 minute universal survey to all of our students on October 10th. The survey, entitled Renaissance Fundamentals (formerly known as PASS: Pupil Attitudes to Self and School), provides schools with reliable and valid data about how students feel about themselves as a learner and how they feel about school. The research- based survey assists schools in detecting possible barriers to student learning, including issues around confidence, resilience, motivation, and concentration so that we can attempt to proactively intervene to provide support for our students and school community. More information about Renaissance Fundamentals can be found by clicking HERE.

As with any survey, participation is voluntary, parents have the right to preview the questions prior to participation, and can opt their children out of the survey. If you would like to preview the survey or to opt your children out, please contact: Kim Doyle, Supervisor of Social and Emotional Wellness at: doylek@garnetvalley.org or 610-579-7381.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of Renaissance Fundamentals.

We strongly believe that punctual arrival to school each morning is critical to our student’s success.

• Five parent notes denoting illness or emergency will be accepted throughout the semester, and the lates will be marked as excused. After 5 excused lates, additional lates will be regarded as unexcused unless a legal doctor's excuse is provided. Oversleeping, car trouble, and missing the bus are not excused reasons for lateness (even if accompanied by a parent note).

• Students who accumulate more than four unexcused latenesses per semester will be called to the office and school actions will be taken, which may include detentions and a home and school team meeting to establish an action plan for improvement.

If your student is coming in late or leaving early due to a doctor/ortho visit, please ask the office for a return to school note and send it in with your student to the main office when they return, so their attendance file can be updated.

As a reminder, our counselors are now grade-based. Below, you will find the counselor assigned to each class cohort:

• 6th Grade: Mr. Matt Bradshaw

• 7th Grade: Mrs. Marisa Mahon

• 8th Grade: Ms. Wendy Xanthopoulos

• School Counselor: Mrs. Christy Francart

Although Mrs. Francart isn't assigned a specific grade, she will focus on delivering targeted, short-term, small-group interventions throughout the school year. This will allow us to expand and improve upon the various MTSS supports we offer our students.

We sincerely appreciate your trust and support as we implement these positive changes. Our commitment to your child’s well-being remains our top priority. We are confident that this reconfiguration will lead to stronger relationships and better support for all.

• Doors will open at 7:40am.

• You will have TWO options for carline drop-off only in the morning. You may utilize the Poolside entrance drop-off location or the GVES parking lot drop-off location.

• Please do not let students out of the car until you’ve reached the GREEN drop-off area.

• School buses will drop off in front of GVMS.

• Carline students are not permitted to use the main entrance of the building.

Students should be seated in 1st period by 8:00am. Late students must be checked-in at the main office.

• We will begin dismissal at 2:54pm.

• Students will be dismissed into two bus locations.

• There will be one parent pick-up area and is located in the GVES parking lot. Please enter off of Station Road.

• Parents needing to also pick up a student from GVES should exit and join the GVES pick-up line.

• The GVES pick-up line forms off of Temple Road entrance at the star on the map.

• Students may not cut across the parking lot.

Health Information

Please update your child's SNAP Health Portal. This needs to be completed each year for your child's medical history as well as OTC medication administration permission.

SNAP Directions

6th Grade Requirements

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. Your child’s physician may use their own form or you can provide the form below for your physician to complete

PhysicalExam.pdf

7th Grade Requirements

Dental Exam: Students entering 7th grade are required to have a Dental Examination form submitted to school.

2024 dental form.pdf

For more health related information, please visit our website.

Breakfast will continue to be free for the the 24-25 school year. Students are able to pick up a breakfast prior to 8:00am. A paid lunch program also remains available.

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

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

Video - Alma Navigation for Parents

We look forward to welcoming caregivers into our building throughout the school year. In order to volunteer, community members must obtain clearances. If you have previously submitted clearances to our Human resources Department they are good for five years.

In order to obtain or re-obtain clearances, check out the info provided by the district: Volunteer Clearances document. If you have any questions please contact our office at 610.579.5102 or our district HR office at 610.579.7387.

IMPORTANT: Please add notifications@getalma.com 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.

Below are a few suggestions for helping your family navigate the ever-increasing presence of technology:

PA Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force - Safety Tips & Resources

https://onlinesafety.com/#

American Academy of Pediatrics Family Media Plan

https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/media-and-children/family-media-plan-promotional-materials/

Common Sense Media - age recommendations for games, apps, movies, books and more

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

Shape the Sky Parent App guide

https://shapethesky.org/app-guide/

Cannabis Resources:

• Cannabis 101 Series for Parents and Caregivers – This video series offers tips and strategies for parents to have open and honest conversations with their child related to substance use, specifically marijuana.
  
• Cannabis Fact Sheet - This fact sheet provides research-based information to help lessen some confusion and help children make educated decisions about what they put into their bodies.
  
• Conversations that Matter Podcast– Cannabis – How it Affects the Behavioral Health of Our Youth Learn why our children and teens are more at risk and how cannabis impacts the developing brains and bodies of our youth.

Stay tuned for an update next week!

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