The GMA Gazette

Please be sure to complete the Returning Student Verification Process (RSVP) through PowerSchool to complete your child's registration for next school year. The deadline to claim your child's spot for the 2024-2025 school year is Friday, February 16, 2024.

We have many new families who have completed the application to enroll their children in our school lottery for the 2024-2025 school year, which is wonderful! This will be the first year that GMA will run a lottery for admission at every age level for new students seeking to enroll with us for the Fall of 2024. However, we want to make sure that our current GMA families secure their enrollment with us so that we can plan appropriately for staffing and classroom needs.

It is important that current GMA families complete their RSVP by Friday, February 16. If you have any questions or problems while completing that process, please email Mr. Caleb at cday@gma.k12.in.us.

Follow the instructions below to complete this process in PowerSchool:

1. Log in to PowerSchool to complete the Return to School form. If you forgot your username or password, click the button to reset your information.
2. After logging in, click on the button labeled Forms.
3. Click on the Student Intent to Return tile.
4. From there, you can update your student's information, such as Medical Information, Change of Address, etc. These changes are made after clicking on the forms section on the left sidebar menu. Please be sure to update your emergency contacts and medical information.
5. Please Note: Form I and Form N must be completed and re-submitted each year.

Now is a great time to check to make sure your child(ren)'s immunizations are up to date before the next school year begins in August. The most recent list of required and recommended immunizations for school age children can be found here.

Please complete the Returning Student Verification Process by Friday, February 16. Failure to complete this process by the deadline may result in forfeiture of enrollment for the next school year.

Questions? Email Mr. Caleb at cday@gma.k12.in.us.

1/16-3/4 - WIDA Access assessment window for EL students

1/19 - Quarter Two progress reports sent to families electronically

1/22-26 - National School Choice Week

1/31 - GMA Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm in the Birch Room

2/6 - Early Childhood Preview Night, 6:00 pm

2/16 - eLearning Day for all students, Staff PD Day

2/19 - Presidents Day, no school

2/22 - Skating Party at The Roller Cave

2/28 - GMA Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm in the Birch Room

3/4-15 - IREAD-3 assessment window

4/1-8 - Spring Break - no school

4/15-5/10 - ILEARN assessment window for all students grades 3-8

Please note that this is a DRAFT version of the proposed 2024-2025 school calendar. This calendar will be up for Board approval at our January Board meeting on the 31st. It is not considered final until then.

Our Pre-K and Kindergarten staff will host our first ever Early Childhood Preview Night for prospective families of Pre-K and Kindergarten children seeking enrollment at GMA for the Fall of 2024.

Please share this event with your friends and neighbors to invite them to come and learn about the early childhood programs at GMA. Registration is required. Childcare is available for a fee. Details can be found on the registration form here.

Are you familiar with GMA's Inclement Weather Policy? As we enter the most unpredictable weather season in Indiana, it's important to know what to expect in terms of school delays and closings. Our board adopted and approved policy states the following:

GMA will make every attempt to make a decision regarding school closures or delays as early as possible to allow families ample time to make appropriate plans for children. As an independent school not affiliated with any school district and not providing school transportation, the decision to close or delay school is unique.

As a general rule:

If either Mt. Vernon Community Schools or Hamilton Southeastern Schools are delayed or cancelled, GMA will evaluate our local conditions including parking lots and side roads to determine if a delay or cancellation is necessary.

If both Mt. Vernon Community Schools and Hamilton Southeastern Schools are delayed or cancelled, GMA will follow suit.

We reserve the right to either cancel school or issue a delay whenever we feel it is necessary for the safety of all students and staff.

The state of Indiana instituted new legislation this school year, limiting the number of asynchronous e-Learning days schools can utilize. We used one of these days on September 2 as a Professional Development Day for staff. We used a second asynchronous day for inclement weather today, leaving one more asynchronous e-Learning Day available for this year.

Therefore, if there is a school day cancellation between now and the already scheduled e-learning day on Friday, February 16; GMA will be in session on that day. If needed, we will utilize the Presidents Day holiday as a second inclement weather make-up day as well. Families will be notified of these changes immediately should they be necessary due to inclement winter weather.

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.

Thank you to those who submitted information to be included in our first GMA Community Directory! Form responses have been compiled into a Google Sheet for ease of use. You can access the directory here.

Once you have opened the directory, it is searchable using the "Ctrl-F" command. Then, you can search by classroom or teacher name to find your child's classmates. You can also sort the data to filter by classroom.

Thank you for helping us continue to connect members of our school community.

Thank you for continuing to help us keep our students and staff safe during arrival and dismissal each day. Please refer back to this document that was shared in August regarding traffic patterns and safety reminders.

As we work to build partnerships with organizations and businesses in our community, we need your help in being good neighbors. Please remember that Traditions at Brookside is not a turn around point for GMA traffic. Also, we are begging that drivers refrain from U-turns in the middle of 900 N and at the entrances to neighborhoods. The safest route to ultimately head in an eastbound direction is to take 900 N west to Carroll Road and head north or south to an eastbound roadway of your choice.

It has been said that “behavior influences behavior.” Please be mindful of this fact as you model behavior for your children each morning and afternoon in and out of our carline. All GMA Families are expected to heed these instructions and model safe, courteous carline behavior. Thank you for your cooperation in this important matter.

We have asked McCordsville police for their assistance several times throughout the year. As traffic increases in this area with the influx of new housing, I anticipate a stronger police presence to monitor the flow of traffic and assist drivers.

Also, please note that we use the blacktop area on the north and west sides of the building during recess time. It is for this reason that we put up the chain and cones to block off this area for our students immediately after carline ends promptly at 8:35 am. If you arrive in the parking lot at 8:35 or after, you will have to park and walk your child(ren) into the office to sign them in as tardy.

Thank you for helping us keep our community safe on the roads!

Please be sure to notify the school if your child will be absent. Families should call the front office at (317) 813-4626 and select option 1 from the menu to reach the attendance line.

Our office staff makes daily attendance calls to families at 10:00 am after classroom teachers have submitted their attendance for the day. We want to make sure our students are safe and healthy when they are not here at school with us. Thank you for your help in reporting attendance in a timely manner.