george mcgovern middle school 6221 w. maple st., …...george mcgovern middle school 6221 w. maple...
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George McGovern Middle School
6221 W. Maple St., Sioux Falls, SD 57107
Where attitude is everything, and the attitude is one of respct.
Principal Mr. Tim Koehler Assistant Principal Mr. Richie Hutchinson Intern Asst. Principal Ms. Beckie VanDrongelen
Important Phone Numbers
Main Office 367-4440 Office Hours 7:45-5:00 Attendance 367-4438 and Health 24 hr voicemail Counseling 367-4435 and Registration Kitchen Manager 367-4492 Fax 367-4434 IEP Facilitator 367-4481
Facebook Page: George McGovern Middle
School PTA
Publ ished Monthly
Issue No.0044
Important Dates
April 23: 7:00 pm: GMMS Festival Concert April 29 Spring Band Concerts 6:30: 6th Grade Band 7:30: 7th and 8th Grade Band May 3: Ensembles Night Jazz Band, Gryphon and Expressions GMMS Annuals for Sale $15.00 each Order forms at room H606 Or Pro-time Teacher
Principal Koehler’s News
April 2019
Dear Parent or Guardian:
From April 8 to April 18 students in grades 6-8 will take the Smarter Balanced Assessment in English language
arts and mathematics. The purpose of this letter is to give you an understanding of the test. It will also give you
a few ideas for helping your student do her/his best on the test.
The Smarter Balanced assessments measure student achievement in relation to our state standards in the areas of English language arts and mathematics. In addition to providing overall scores in those two subjects, score reports will provide information on student performance in the following areas:
o English: reading, writing, listening, and research o Math: concepts and procedures; problem solving and modeling/data analysis; and communicating
reasoning The new content standards set higher expectations for students. This means that expectations for student achievement are higher than they used to be. As a result, it is likely that fewer students will score at the higher achievement levels on the assessments, especially the first few years. These results do not mean that schools are performing worse or that students are learning less. The scores represent a new baseline that provides a more accurate indicator for educators, students, and parents. Our school is working to make sure that students can meet the challenge of these new standards and succeed in high school and beyond. Your child will take the tests on a computer. The assessments are unique in the way they adapt to be
appropriate for your child’s level of learning. As a result, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and
maintain a positive attitude towards testing. These tests are not timed, but we estimate that it will take a
similar amount of time as did past assessments. We estimate the English assessment will take 3.5 hours and the
math assessment will take 2.5 hours.
While your child’s grades will not be impacted by their performance on this assessment, this assessment serves as a way for the school to see how well we are helping students meet rigorous learning standards. Shortly after the testing period is complete, you will receive a report showing your child’s scores. There is no need to study in preparation for the assessments. We do, however ask that you encourage your
children to do their best and get plenty of rest the night before the assessment. It is important that you make
sure your child comes to school on days that he/she has tests. Making up a missed test means time out of class
and losing important learning time that cannot be made up.
Information about the assessment and access to the Practice Tests can be found at http://sd.portal.airast.org/.
Click on the Students and Families tab for more details.
This testing is very important for your child, George McGovern Middle School, and the Sioux Falls School District.
Thank you for supporting your child and our school during the test. Please call if you have any questions. We
know that George McGovern’s students will help us show what our students know and can do.
Sincerely,
Tim Koehler
Principal GMMS
Supporting Those Who Support Students
By Dr. Brian Maher, Superintendent
Many of us have heard the phrase “Real heroes don’t wear capes.” If you
consider that phrase while walking through any one of our schools, you know this to be
the absolute truth. Real heroes in the Sioux Falls School District wear custodial
uniforms, aprons in the kitchen, and certainly more than one “hat” if their job title is
education assistant or clerical!
Every school day, it takes more than 3,500 employees to welcome the 24,000
students and their parents who count on us to deliver a high-quality education. While
about 1,900 of those employees are classroom teachers, the other 2,600 fill important support roles.
These are the unsung heroes who make our schools safe, warm, and welcoming learning environments
where our students can do their best. These support people are the quiet do-ers who take on the
necessary tasks without fanfare. They build relationships with students. Offer a smile at just the right
time. Give fist bumps and high-fives.
While most of us notice freshly waxed hallways, emptied garbage cans, and neatly stacked
chairs in the cafeteria, the job of a custodian is so much more. They must be handy men/women,
knowing how to fix a jammed towel dispenser in the bathroom one minute, sharpening a blade on a
mower the next, just before trouble-shooting the cause of short in a microphone cord.
Child nutrition staff members aren’t your basic kitchen help. Last month, they gathered to do
some taste-testing in search of new foods their young customers might enjoy. Strict federal guidelines
on protein, whole grains, and sugar levels need to be “weighed” when designing the breakfast and lunch
menus. These staff are meticulous and take their role in fueling students with healthy, yet good-tasting
foods, very seriously.
Education assistants support students and teachers both in and out of the classroom. In some
cases, EAs are personal assistants for students who have physical needs. In some cases, they are an
extra set of hands in a large classroom. They re-shelve books in the library. They keep the lines flowing,
the talking at a “dull roar,” and the tables clean between shifts in the lunchroom.
And, if you need the answer to almost any question, everyone knows you go to the office for
help! In addition to answering phones, taking lunch count, depositing money from book orders, creating
a newsletter, ordering supplies, checking-in visitors, fetching ice packs for recess mishaps, our clerical
are also trained to check blood sugar levels and administer medication to students with those needs.
If you’re not already exhausted by just reading about why these support people are so critical to
our mission “to educate and prepare each student to succeed in a changing world,” spend a little time
taking note of their work the next time you are at school. We think you will agree that “real heroes
don’t wear capes!”
We are working on Unit 4 (Imagination).
We will be reading stories, poems,
and essays based on
Students are currently working through our unit called "Variables and Patterns."
This unit focuses on algebraic concepts by using
tables and graphs to find patterns and write equations. We will also spend some time learning
basic statistics concepts and then our next area of focus will be geometry.
During the month of April… we will learning about the
history and culture of Rome.
We will have started our unit on weather. We will focus on storms and reading weather maps. It is also the last section before we take
our district post test. Our next area of study is Astronomy and Space Science. Students will begin this unit discussing what causes day & night and seasons and the
effects of gravity and inertia.
LANGUAGE ARTS/
READING: [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
MATH:
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] [email protected]
SCIENCE:
[email protected] [email protected]
SOCIAL STUDIES:
[email protected] [email protected]
It’s that time of year again…students will be taking the state assessment soon on their chromebooks called the Smarter Balanced Test.
Please help your child be ready for the test by making sure that they get plenty of sleep, eat a good breakfast, and are on time to school each day!!
C O U G A R S
V I K I N G
Science Terry Helget, Tim Josephson and Ms. Moeller During the month of March the students explored the Diversity of Life. They began by studying invertebrates and made a cool inver-tebrate menu along with the dissection of an earthworm. The month of April will place an emphasis on vertebrates where they will have the opportunity to create a reptile presen-tation and dissect a frog. We will then engage in activities that cover Growth and Development. During this time, the students
Math Ms. Hieronimus, Ms. Wenzel and Mrs. Hancock Students have finished their algebra unit called, Moving Straight Ahead (with lots of equation work). We are currently testing over the unit. Next, we will practice work with inequalities.
We will write inequalities, solve them if there is a variable, and graph them. This practice will take about a week. After that we’ll start our next unit, Shapes and Designs, this unit focuses on geometry. This unit will focus on various polygons (triangles and quadrilaterals) and their interior and exterior angles. The
Shapes and Designs unit will take us to the end of April.
Geography (Social Studies) Mr. Flock and Mr. Moulton
Students in geography with Mr. Flock and Mr. Moulton will be moving into our 4th Quarter topic for learning: “Globalization and Economy.” This topic and the vocabulary that goes with it with
help students connect to the World economy and trade. We have a number of simulations (games) to help
students understand this difficult topic.
Language Arts (ELA) Mrs. Dossett, Mrs. Huwe, Ms. DeRoos and Ms. Merritt WOW, 3rd quarter has come and gone! It has been fun reading science fiction
stories with the students! We began 3rd quarter with reading short stories from our Turning Points Unit. The students really enjoyed reading “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes. Throughout quarter 3 we have read a number of short, science fiction stories
including “The Last Dog”, “Monsters are due on Maple Street”, and “Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed”.
We introduced a Book Review to the students, and it has been fun to see what projects they have brought to show their classmates! As we enter 4th quarter, we
encourage our students to continue have a choice reading book at home, and a choice book at school. Keep reading!
Greetings from the Coyote/Jackrabbit Eighth Grade Teams
Ahh! Spring is finally here. It is an exciting and fast paced season at GMMS. With April comes
the Smarter Balanced standardized tests. These challenging and important tests will be held on
April 9-10 for ELA, April 16-17 for Math and April 23-24 for Science. Please help support your
child by making sure he/she is well rested and present for those weeks of school. These tests
are given on-line and part of them have a listening component. The auditory portion of the test
requires ear buds so that the students can hear the test and take it at their own pace. If your
student does not have ear buds, would you secure a pair for them before the beginning of the
tests?
Here is the news from the core courses:
Social Studies—Mrs. Case & Mr. McIntyre-- We will finish the our unit in Westward Expansion
during the first weeks of April. Students will rotate through a series of stations where they will
learn about the Gold Rush, Texas Revolution, Mexican War, Trails West, and The
Abolitionists/Women's Suffrage Movement, After that we will begin our Civil War Unit. The unit
on the Civil War and Reconstruction will run through the end of the year. We will start with a
study of the causes of disunion. The students will learn how the cultural and economic
differences between the North and the South led to war.
Math—Mrs. Schrier & Mr. Knapp -- We will finish our Say it With Symbols unit which covered
volume and solving equations in the first couple of weeks of April and start our transformation
unit. In this unit, students will explore rotations, translations, reflections, and dilations of shapes
on a coordinate grid. This unit is full of a review of skills that students have learned throughout
the year. In Algebra, students will be finishing up their unit on Polynomials in early April and
move into the final unit of the year on quadratics. Please make sure your Algebra student is at
school on May 21st- 23rd as we will be taking our semester final.
Science—Mrs. Schroeder & Mrs. Kruger -- We will start April off by learning about Simple
Machines. We will use that knowledge to create Rube Goldberg machines in class! Students
will pick their groups and use materials either from home or from school to create a 5-step
machine incorporating the simple machines we learned before. After that we will start our last
book on Sound and Light.
English Language Arts—Mrs. Freese & Ms. Van Maanen -- We are just finishing The Boy in the
Striped Pajamas. Ask your students about Bruno and Shmuel’s relationship. We will soon be
starting our poetry unit. Each student will be writing at least one poem that they will share with
their class. They don’t have to have them memorized, but it is encouraged that they know it
well. The classes will choose 2 representatives to give their poems to the GMMS 8th grade.
From that group, we will have 4 winners who will present on May 14th to the entire district’s 8th
grade. It’s a fun unit, and we look forward to hearing all your creativity!
Jump Start 2019 Jump Start is a program for incoming 2019-2020 6th Graders
Get a Jump Start on 6th grade!
Get to know your new school and get answers about: Classrooms, lockers, the lunchroom, classes and teachers, your team,
computer labs, music programs, after school programs, our fantastic library, clubs, the teaching garden, and much more!!!
Cost: $25.00 (Cash or checks payable to George McGovern Middle School)
Location: 6221 West Maple Street, (605) 367-4440
August 5, 6, 7, 8 or August 5, 6, 7, 8 8:30 am-11:30 am 12:30 pm-3:30 pm (Please return the bottom portion of this form to George McGovern Middle School,
6221 W. Maple St., Sioux Falls, SD 57107) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
George McGovern Middle School Jump Start Registration
(Only incoming 2019-2020 6th grade students who will attend George McGovern qualify for Jumpstart.)
Student name_________________________________________
Elementary school _____________________________________
Your telephone number _________________________________
Parent signature _______________________________________ Morning or Afternoon Session (sign up for only one):
___________ Morning Session 8:30-11:30 – August 5, 6, 7, 8
___________ Afternoon Session 12:30-3:30 – August 5, 6, 7, 8 ___________Cash or Check enclosed (please make checks payable to George McGovern Middle School)
Attention All Parents Please, mark your calendars for
Friday, May 3 from 9:15 am to 9:45 am 6th, 7th and 8th Grade
CODE to the Future Showcase at George McGovern Middle School In your students’ PRO time room.
During this event, your child will showcase
G Y M
C L A S S E S
The students are currently participating in our SuperStars unit. As a team, the students compete
in a variety of relay events, team 21 basketball, volleyball, scooter races, and tug of war.
In April, we will be completing our second semester FitnessGram fitness testing.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact your child’s teacher: Mr. Nugteren—[email protected] Mr. Sannes—[email protected] Mrs. Smith—[email protected]
Parents/Guardians
If you know that your child will be absent from school on April 9, 10, 16 or 17, please call
Steve Fisher in the counseling office at 367-4400. We will be having
Smarter Balanced testing on these dates If we know in advance that your child will be absent, we will be able to have
them complete the testing early.
Parents. The SFSD sent an email to you with information that you can see below - Please find four (4) IMPORTANT attachments in
this email regarding participation in Middle School Activities for the 2019-2020 school year.
In Summary... New for the 2019-2020 school year is the requirement for middle school students to have a physical. This is a one time physical that will be good for BOTH 7th and 8th grade participation. The clinics in Sioux Falls are aware of this physical and have assured that they would keep the cost down. A cash price of $35 maximum at the clinics. Talk to your insurance provider about cost. We also have a partnership with Falls Community Health. Please contact them for Free or Reduced rates. If none of these options is possible for you please contact Mr. Flock at GMMS. Attachments:
SFSD_Forms_Needed_for_Participation_in_Middle_School_Athletics_2019-2020.pdf (152.0 KB)
Clinics_that_offer_Preparticiaption_Evaluation_2019_(3.27.19).pdf (162.3 KB)
SFSD_Preparticipation_Physical_Evaluation_2019-20.pdf (190.1 KB)
SFSD_Activity_Participation_Packet_Instructions_2019-2020_(002).pdf (166.3 KB)
HOW TO PREPARE YOUR CHILD TO TAKE A TEST Here are some things your child can do:
EAT: Eat a good breakfast.
REST: Get a good night of sleep before the test.
RELAX: Students who are calm and sure of themselves do better on tests.
TRY: Do your best and do not give up. Here are some things you can do:
DISCUSS: Help your child understand that the Smarter Balance tests gives him or her the chance to show what he or she knows about a subject.
SUPPORT: Ask your child to maintain regular study habits. Do not ask your child to give extra study time for the Smarter Balance tests. The test covers more schoolwork than your child can learn in a few extra hours.
LISTEN: Listen carefully to the directions given for the test and follow them exactly. If the directions are not clear, ask the teacher to repeat them or to
explain them.
Preparing for High School – 8th graders
High School Visits for 8th Graders: On Friday, March 22nd all 8th grade students had the opportunity to visit their designated high school. Students were bussed to Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt or New Tech High the morning of the 22nd. This was a great opportunity for students to see their new high school and visit with high school counselors, administration and students! CONNECTIONS Class is designed to assist students in making a smooth transition to high school by providing connections with math, reading, and writing skills. The class incorporates a variety of activities which provide students with an opportunity to improve their academic skills, as well as to familiarize them with their new high school (does not take place at the CTE Academy), expectations, procedures, opportunities available, and organizations/clubs/activities. Students who successfully complete the class will earn a .50 elective credit toward their total high school credits. This is an excellent opportunity for students to get a head start as they enter high school. Students should meet with their counselors as soon as possible to help get registered. Fees are listed below. Scholarships are now depleted for Connections Class. Please see Mrs. Hawkins for details. Connections is taught at each high school and may have a slightly different schedule from each other. High School Summer School for all other classes Registration is now open for Summer School. The Sioux Falls School District, through the office of Community Education, will be offering high school summer
Dear Parent or Guardian:
From April 23 to April 25 2018, students in grade 8 will take the South Dakota Science Assessment. The purpose
of this letter is to give you an understanding of the test. It will also give you a few ideas for helping your student
do her/his best on the test.
The South Dakota Science Assessment measures student achievement in relation to our new state standards that were adopted in May 2015. The new content standards set higher expectations for students. This means that expectations for student achievement are higher than they used to be. As a result, it is likely that fewer students will score at the higher achievement levels on the assessments, especially the first few years. These results do not mean that schools are performing worse or that students are learning less. The scores represent a new baseline that provides a more accurate indicator for educators, students, and parents. Our school is working to make sure that students can meet the challenge of these new standards and succeed in high school and beyond. Your student will take the tests on a computer. These tests are not timed, but we estimate that it will take a
similar amount of time as did past assessments. We estimate the assessment will take 1.5 - 2 hours.
While your student’s grades will not be impacted by their performance on this assessment, this assessment serves as a way for the school to see how well we are helping students meet rigorous learning standards. There is no need to study in preparation for the assessments. We do, however ask that you encourage your
students to do their best and get plenty of rest the night before the assessment. It is important that you make
sure your student comes to school on days that he/she has tests. Making up a missed test means time out of
class and losing important learning time that cannot be made up.
Information about the assessment can be found at http://doe.sd.gov/Assessment/Science.aspx .
This testing is very important for your student, George McGovern Middle School and the Sioux Falls School
District. Thank you for supporting your student and our school during the test. Please call if you have any
questions. We know that George McGovern’s students will help us show what our students know and can do.
Sincerely,
Tim Koehler
Principal GMMS
We take clothing orders at all times by emailing
order to: [email protected]
PTA MEETING WILL BE April 9, 2019, 6:30 pm
HyVee at 10th St. and Kiwanis Ave.
HyVee Market Grill 10th St. and Kiwanis Ave.
Join us at HyVee Market Grille
JOIN GEORGE MCGOVERN FACEBOOK PAGE:
George McGovern Middle School PTA
PTA Board 2018-19
President: Randi Baker
Vice President: tbd
Secretary: Lisa Teas
Treasurer: Nichole Schlueter
Items to be purchased for Christmas Gifts are:
Sweatshirts
Sweatpants
T Shirts (long and short sleeved)
Lanyards
Shorts
ROOSEVELT ROUGH RIDER BASKETBALL CAMP JUNE 3RD- 6TH Summer Basketball Camp
When: June 3rd-6th (Monday-Thursday)
Where: Roosevelt High School
Time: High School Camp: 7:00am-9:00am
3rd-8th Grade Camp: 9:00am-11:00am
Registration: http://www.ridercamps.com/boys-basketball.cfm
HAVE FUN!
____
GET BETTER!
____
POSITIVITY!
____
DEVELOP
RELATIONSHIPS!
____
#ALL IN
Sign your children up for 2 free games of bowling all summer long!
Over 21 million kids have participated
Sign your children up for 2 free games of bowling all summer long!
Over 21 million kids have participated
Sign your children up for 2 free games of bowling all summer long!
Bowling Alleys involved are: Sioux Falls
-Eastway Bowl -Empire Bowl
-Sport Bowl
2018-2019 IEP INFORMATION SESSIONS
Session 1
Transition Between Levels
When your child is ready to transition to another level, you may
feel like you need more information. Come to this session to ask
questions and get some reassurance to ease your mind.
Early Childhood to Kindergarten
5th grade to 6th grade
8th grade to 9th grade
Session 2
Guardianship for Youth Preparing to turn 18 years old
You’ve heard about it at IEP meetings and just when you thought
you had it all figured out, you start to try to make sense of what
guardianship really means as your child moves forward.
Session 3
Determining Eligibility for Special Education
It can be difficult to understand all the evaluation documents and
the “jargon” that goes with them. This session will answer your
questions and will help define what happens when there is a
dismissal or a change in related services your child receives.
────
Session 1
October 16, 2018
6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
At the Instructional
Planning Center
────
Session 2
January 15, 2019
6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
At the Instructional
Planning Center
────
Session 3
April 16, 2019
6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
At the Instructional
Planning Center
────
INSTRUCTIONAL
PLANNING CENTER
201 East 38th Street
Sioux Falls, SD 57105
605.367.7689
Basketball
Volleyball
Golf
Tennis
Dance
SUMMER CAMPSGymnastics
Football
Wrestling
Soccer
SIGN UP TODAY AT:WWW.RIDERCAMPS.COM
