the bridge sept. 2010

THe Bridge

Linking School & Community

Grosse Ile Township Schools

September 2010

Hello Community Members,

Here we are ready to embark on a new school year! One of the great things about our grade system is this once-a-year “new beginning” for students. All the faux pas from last year are forgotten and everyone gets a fresh start. On the other hand, any new level of excellence gained last year will not carry over into this year – the challenge for the students is to see if they can have a repeat, or to reach an even higher level of excellence. It was certainly a summer of transition for me at school. I have had many meetings and discussions with parents, school board members, community members, G.I. foundation members and fellow administrators. One com-mon theme emerged quickly during these conversations: the deep passion held by all to build a school district of excellence on a “national scale”. In spite of the many ex-cellent features of the district currently, there really is an-other level above us to pursue. This passion and support for the district was dem-onstrated during the August 3rd election. The overwhelm-ingly positive results during these days of economic uncer-tainty personified the belief that we WILL continue to build the district. We sincerely appreciate all the good work done by community members to ensure this essential funding continues. The restructuring of some positions and practices will allow us to funnel dollars into where they belong; the classroom. Some of these changes include sharing our operations oversight with a neighboring dis-trict, restructuring our technology department, and distrib-uting curriculum and school improvement work among the principals and the superintendent. Looking for increased efficiencies is now an on-going process which we will re-port out on during the year. You can look for more changes as we attempt to live within our means. Some of the most exciting work for me lies in the area of future development of our curriculum, ensuring quality instruction, meeting the needs of every student, de-signing assessments which measure our progress, holding ourselves accountable, and reporting out on our progress

regularly. We are committed to the attainment of excel-lence on a “national scale”. The warm welcome I have experienced from the community has made me feel at home in a short time. I look forward to being active in after school activities and in Island events. I encourage community members to come and introduce yourselves to me during school events, when at school or even at Kroger (I just got my new card). This is a new beginning for me and, I hope, a great new beginning for the school district.

With Grosse Ile Pride,

William Eis Superintendent

OPEN HOUSE / PARENTS NIGHT SCHEDULES

Each year Grosse Ile Township Schools has an Open House for Parents /Guardians. The dates are as follows:

SUPERINTENDENT’S COFFEE HOUR

Meet the new Superintendent Wednesday, September 15, 2010

10:00 a.m. Meeting will be held at the Admin. Building

in the Robert B. Smith Board Room

High School Open House - September 16th

Middle School Open House - September 9th

Meridian Parents’ Night- September 8th

Parke Lane Parents’ Night- September 15th

The BRIDGE



September 2010

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

The Grosse Ile Township Schools will continue to be an A+ school district that offers the very best educational opportunities to the children of this community. The physical environment must support learning in facilities that are safe, developmentally appropriate and techno-logically able to prepare students for their future. The Grosse Ile Township Schools will continue to be a com-munity focal point of pride.

GROSSE ILE TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS FOOD SERVICE DEBIT CARD SYSTEM

The debit card system is an advance payment system set up for the purchase of school lunch. It is available in all Grosse Ile Township Schools. Here is how it works: Deposits in the form of cash or checks (made out to Grosse Ile School Cafeteria) are sent to school. At the elementary schools, deposits should be placed in an en-velope labeled with the student’s name and homeroom teacher. These deposits are given to the teacher at the beginning of the day. At the High School and Middle School, deposits came be given to the lunchroom cashier at the time of purchase. As students purchase their lunch, the cost of the lunch is deducted from their account. Parents should determine the amount of the deposit by multiplying the cost of lunch times the number of days they would like to pay in advance. A la carte purchases should also be figured into the deposit. Monitoring lunch account ac-tivity through Parent Connect is essential to keep ac-counts in good standing. Please see below for Parent Connect information. The process is simple and eliminates the need to find lunch money everyday. If your student is a frequent cus-tomer of the school foodservice, it is truly the way to go. Any questions regarding the debit system or any other foodservice related issue can be directed to Marty Herringshaw, Food Service Director at 362-2409. Lunch account activity can be viewed at Parent Con-nect and clicking on cafeteria.

REQUIRED LEGAL NOTICES

all legally required notifications are posted on a special section of our website. By going to the Home Page and selecting the “OUR DISTRICT” tab, you will find the Required Legal Notices listed on the left-hand side. Items currently listed are: Alcohol, Drugs, Tobacco, Weapons Free School Zone; American with Disabilities Act, Civil Rights, Directory Information, Discrimination Act, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Student and Family Rights Concerning School Records, Pesticide Applications, and Storm Wa-ter Permit.

* THE SCHOOL CALENDAR* Important Update

The Grosse Ile Board of Education recognizes the im-portance of providing information to our community regarding our schools. After much review of the cost of publishing, postage and the constant changes and up-dates made to the calendar, the District has decided to follow a more cost effective method of providing the calendar to you. You will be able to access the calendar ON-LINE by going to our website: www.gischools.org

Hard copies will be available at all district buildings.

2010-2011Transportation

Visit the District Website for moreTransportation information

“www.gischools.org”Click on “Our District” then

“Transportation”

SAVE THE DATE!!!!!

Tickets: $40 per personAvailable at schools

$50 after 10/15 and at the door

Silent Auction featuring Student ArtAnd Classroom Creations

Saturday, October 23, 2010Centennial Farm

6:00 Pig Roast, BBQ, Live Band & Bonfire

The Best Outdoor Party on the IslandGrosse Ile Educational Foundation’s

7th Annual PIG ROAST

Must be 21 to attend

WOULD YOU LIKE TO VOLUNTEER IN

GROSSE ILE SCHOOLS OR GO ON A

CLASS FIELD TRIP?

All school district volunteers are to submit an annual GIVE (Grosse Ile Volunteer Effort) Background Screening Form to the Administration Building or to your school secretary as soon as possible. Forms are available online at www.gischools.org, click on “Getting Involved” – Volunteers (GIVE).

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PICTURE DATES

Parke Lane - Sept. 15th Meridian - Sept. 17th

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

The Mission of the Grosse Ile Township Schools, in cooperation with students, parents, and community, is to teach the knowledge, skills, and behaviors necessary for every student to lead a successful life.

The BRIDGE



September 2010

2010-2011 SCHOOL CALENDAR

September 7 First Day of School

October 1 Homecoming October 12 – 28 Elementary & Middle School MEAP Testing October 20 9th Grade Social Studies MEAP / 10th Grade ACT Plan Test

November 2 Prof Dev (Staff Only / Election Day November 5 End of Secondary First Marking Period November 10 MS Parent/Teacher Conferences November 11 HS Parent/Teacher Conferences November 15 Elementary 1st Marking Period / Records Day (Elementary Staff Only) November 17, 18 ½ Day Elementary Parent/Teacher Conferences November 24 ½ Day K-12 (AM Only) November 25, 26 Thanksgiving Break

December 20 – 31 Winter Break

2010-2011 SCHOOL CALENDAR CONT’D.

January 3 School Resumes January 26, 27, 28 ½ Day High School – Exams (Jan 28 - End of Secondary First Semester) January 31 Secondary Records Day/Elementary Prof Dev (Staff Only) February 21 Presidents’ Day (No School) February 25 End of Elementary 2nd Marking Period

March 1 11th Grade ACT (No school 9th, 10th

and 12th Grades) March 2, 3 11th Grade MME Testing (PM Only 9th, 10th and 12th Grades) March 4 Elementary Records / Secondary P.D. (Staff Only) March 16, 17 ½ Day Elementary Parent/Teacher Conferences April 1 End of the Secondary 3rd Marking Period April 15 ½ Day K-12 (AM Only) April 18-25 Spring Break April 26 School Resumes April 27 Middle School Parent/Teacher Conferences

May 23, 24, 25 High School Senior Exams May 30 Memorial Day

June 2 Graduation June 14, 15, 16 ½ Day High School Exams (June 16 High School Last Day) June 15, 16 ½ Day Elementary & Middle Schools (June 16 Last Day) June 17 Records Day – Staff Only

the bridge sept. 2010

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