A Message from Rick Riley-Benoit

GNGMS Families!

State testing: NWEAs for grades 5-8, will be on Tuesday, April 30 and Thursday, May 2.

Transportation Message:

Our district is starting registration for next year very soon.  Our hope is that we can get transportation settled much earlier this year.  It is very important for all families to complete the enrollment forms when they come out in the beginning of May.

As a secondary note on this: If you do not complete the transportation forms or need changes close to or after the school year begins, there will likely be a delay of up to two weeks before we can honor those changes, so PLEASE make sure you get those done!

Reminder of Cell Phone Policy:

GNGMS recognizes that many students possess cellular telephones and other electronic devices.  These devices may not be used during the school day and, if brought to school, must be off and in their backpack and/or locker (Per School Board Policy JICJ). Electronic devices not allowed to be used during school are:

  • Cell phones
  • Personal tablets/laptops
  • Smart watches
  • Wireless earbuds (wired headphones only allowed)

We appreciate parents reinforcing this with their students. 

Career Exploration Day

On April 11, 2024, GNGMS hosted a Career Day as the culmination of a month-long advisory exploration of career options. Over 40 professionals shared their experiences in a wide variety of fields and students selected the sessions they were most interested in attending.

We are so grateful for the volunteers who shared their time and experiences with our students.

Health Office

In recognition of Medication Safety week earlier this month I am sending out a reminder that it is not permissible for students to carry medication in their backpacks unless it is a life saving medication such as an asthma medication or epi-pen that a doctor has determined is medically necessary to be carried by the student and the health office staff is aware.

For safety reasons it is a policy that if a student needs medication while at school it is to be administered in the health office. If your student needs administration of a medication during school hours please drop it off in the original container and sign an authorization form for our files.

Some over the counter medications are available in the health office and can be given with parental/ guardians permission.

Thank you for helping to keep our students safe. ~Tracey Ross, RN tross@sad15.org  

Wellness Day

Wellness Day (Field Day) will be held at GNGMS on Monday June 17, with a rain date of June 18. We are looking for parent volunteers to help run activities, lead groups and help with the overall facilitation of Wellness Day.

Please reach out to Mr. Welch at dwelch@sad15.org if you are interested in helping.  All volunteers must complete a  Volunteer Application form. Thanks for your interest.

STEM Classes

Below is a description of projects by grade level that our students have been working on:

5th grade: Bridges: Scores are a ratio of weight held compared to the weight of the bridge that held it. So a score of 120 means that the bridge held 120 times its own weight.

6th grade: Paper rockets are the warm up project and scores are distance in feet. Water and Fire Rockets are the seasonally dependent main project. Scores are altitude in feet and calculated by using a small digital altimeter attached to or mounted inside the rockets. There are only a few fire rocket scores because students needed to work ahead of pace to be able to build a chamber to safely mount the altimeter. To build such a rocket at all was impressive given their time and material constraints.

7th grade: Egg drop: Scores are the weight of the device in ounces without the egg. The lower the device weight the better. All devices on the board survived at least a 200 foot drop from a drone onto pavement.

Robot maze: Scores are the fastest time in seconds that any opponent’s robot was able to navigate the students maze. Longer is better. Students had to write block code that would get the robot through their classmates’ mazes.

8th grade: Hydraulic arms:  By far the most impressive and complex project, scores are based on a 3 round point system. In round 1 (speed) students get 2 minutes to move as many empty soda cans from one fenced off area to another. For each can they move, they get 2 points if it’s standing after and 1 point if it falls over. In round 2 (dexterity) they get another 2 minutes to move cans. This time they must pick up knocked over cans. Each can they pick up is work 2 points, or 4 points if they also move it to the second fenced off area. In the final round (strength) they simply get 1 point for every ounce that the claw of their arm is able to hold up with a max score of 30.

Longest Day 5K

Runners and Walkers! Online registration is open for the annual first day of summer Longest Day 5K on June 20th, which supports our beautiful trails at Libby Hill Forest.

GNG students can register for free and there will be a Kids Fun Run before the 5K.

Register: here. Please see the flyer attached for details.

Updated  April 26, 2024