Roadrunner Nation News
September 12th, 2019
From the Principal
Dear Goodman Middle School Community,
I want to extend to you and your family a very warm welcome to Goodman Middle School. A colleague once wrote that the "middle years are an exciting time when children embark upon new adventures in the world of learning. Each year will provide important transitions and the acquisition of new skills that will enhance each student’s ability to apply learning in many ways." I believe this to be true and Goodman is committed to supporting each child on their personal journey.
My name is Ty Robuck and I have the privilege of being your child's principal. While I am new to the role of principal at Goodman, I am not new to the community. I was in the first graduating class from Goodman when it first opened its doors in 1991. I have since taught for 10 years and am starting my 10th year as an administrator. My wife, our three children and I live in Gig Harbor and love living and serving in our community.
I am so proud of the work being done around the building. I am so excited to see our students every day. This past week was our first full week of the school year and both the staff and students handled it beautifully. Please take time to review the newsletter and call at any time with questions. I hope you will take a moment to stop by and say hello, and introduce yourself to me.
Respectfully,
Ty Robuck-Principal
GO ROADRUNNERS!
From the Assistant Principal
Just a quick message saying how excited I am to beginning my seventh year here as the Assistant Principal here at GMS. Throughout the years, I have had the privilege of meeting, working, and building relationships with many GMS families. I am looking forward to another year of meeting families and working together to do what is best for students.
It is with new eyes that I am now seeing the importance of family in the education of our students. My husband and I now have two granddaughters, Harper, 2 years old, and Maisie, at 7 months, which often leads me to wondering what school will be like for them. I do believe that GMS with our intentional and continuous focus on the importance of serving and preparing the whole child is a place where I would be happy to send my granddaughters.
Middle Years Newsletter
Goodman Families,
Often times we wonder what is going on with our child during these school years. Our staff has decided to add a monthly newsletter for families as part of our communication. This is filled with practical ideas that promote academic success, tips for communication with middle schoolers, healthy habits and positive character traits. If you have any question please call the school or email me directly and let me know what you think.
Parking Lot Safety
The green arrow shows the pick up line. The red arrows we ask you try and avoid for student safety. It also helps if our front car in the pick up line pulls up towards the flag pole. This will allow for more cars to be ready for students when picking up.
Picture Make-Up Day
Pictures from 9-9 Picture Day can be ordered online at mylifetouch.com for 48 hours after picture day with the code: LS219002Q1. Families can also order once the proofs have been delivered later this month.
Another Picture Retake Day is scheduled for October 4th
Open House
Please call the school with any questions (253) 530-1600
PARENT PORTAL
Stay Connected – Be Informed
Dear Families, The Peninsula School District (PSD) uses PowerSchool, a secure web-based system for our Parent Portal and student information system. We recently upgraded the way we store contact information in PowerSchool in order to provide more accurate information and faster communication in case of an emergency. As we complete the upgrade process, we need all parents and legal guardians to update their contact information for each student. What does this mean for me? It is essential that you log in to the PowerSchool account you have for each student in your family. If you do not update each student’s contact information you run the risk of missing important information from your student’s school and PSD including emergency and weather-related information. What should I do? Then, simply click the Year Round Update from the left-hand menu to review and update each student account in your portal. Please do this as soon as possible. If you don’t know how to log into your PowerSchool Parent Portal, please watch this short video. What’s next? Once you update each student’s account with correct contact information, you are done. We recommend you check each of your student’s information on an annual basis. Any time there is a change at home, please update your contact information as it can be updated year-round. PSD will send reminders to all families at the beginning of each school year. What if I don’t have a PowerSchool account? Getting an account is easy! Contact your student’s school to get a Parent Portal account letter that will give you instructions on how to create an account. Questions about your Parent Portal? Please email PowerSchool.
Please log in to your PowerSchool Parent Portal by navigating to the PSD website, then select the Portals dropdown (from the top navigation bar) and select Parent Portal. Please note: You will not be able to update your information via the PowerSchool mobile app.
Attendance Matters
September is Attendance Awareness Month.
Attendance matters and we need your help. What is considered good attendance? Data shows students should not miss more than 9 days in a school year to stay engaged, successful and on track for graduation. This breaks down to no more than 1 absence per month.
Every minute of our school day provides opportunities for learning-including the days leading up to, and after a scheduled school break. Please help us support your student by minimizing absences.
The Attendance Window is the place for your student to take care of bus notes and early dismissals. It is open daily from 8:00am-8:15am.
Early Dismissals: Please send your student with a note to bring to the attendance window first thing in the morning for an early dismissal pass. They will be able to meet you in the front of the building at the designated time. For an unplanned early release, please call the main office at 253.530.1600 and we can have your student waiting in the office for you.
Late Arrivals: If your student has a morning appointment, please call the attendance line at 253.530.1607 with an estimated arrival time.
Bus Notes: If your student needs to take a different bus or go to a different stop they will need a bus pass. Send your student with a note or call the main office at 253.530.1600. Transportation change requests are available until 1:45 pm.
Occasionally there will be times that your student will not be able to attend school. In those instances please call the attendance line-anytime at 253.530.1607. It is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. All absences must be excused within 48 hours.
IREADY Testing
Parents:
We are excited to share that our building will continue to use the math and reading program called i-Ready. Below, you will find information on the program and how we will be using it.
What is i-Ready?
i-Ready is an online program that will help us determine your child’s needs, personalize his or her learning, and monitor progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows us to meet your child exactly where he or she is, and provides data for us to increase your child’s learning gains.
The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions to suit your child’s needs. Each item a student sees is individualized based on his or her answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier questions. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade, but instead to determine how best to support your child’s learning. Your student will take the math and reading diagnostics in Fall, Winter, and Spring so we can measure growth and adjust our instruction accordingly.
Our building i-Ready Instruction provides students with lessons based on their individual skill level and needs, so your child can learn at a pace that is just right for him or her. Lessons may be assigned on occasion in your student’s math or language arts classes.
When is the first i-Ready Diagnostic?
The Fall i-Ready Diagnostic is just wrapping up. We will do our second assessment in January.
What can Parents/Guardians do to help?
To help prepare your child for the i-Ready Diagnostic, encourage them to:
· Get a good night’s sleep and eat a full breakfast the day(s) of the assessment.
· Try their best on each question and try not to rush.
· Try not to worry about questions they do not know—remind them that it is expected they will get about half of the questions correct.
As always, thank you for your continued support and for being a partner in your child’s learning! We look forward to sharing i-Ready reports with you throughout the year and to providing a learning experience that will attract and hold your child’s interest while teaching important skills and concepts.
If you have any questions about i-Ready, please do not hesitate to contact your student’s language arts and math teachers. You can also learn more about i-Ready by visiting i-ReadyCentral.com/FamilyCenter.
Goodman Volunteer Parent Organization (VPO)
April Reich – Co-President
Jessica Carey - Co-President
Jenny Schaefer – Co-Vice President
Cherylyn Nelson – Co-Vice President
Elizabeth Park – Secretary
Kim Rohr – Co-Treasurer
Amy Tingley – Co-Treasurer
Nicole Riensche - Parent Council Representative
Shannon Fouts – Volunteer Coordinator
Kristine Scaduto – Co-Student Store Coordinator
Heather Anderson – Co-Student Store Coordinator
We will be sending out our monthly meetings shortly. Please join us as we team together to support our students.
From our VPO!
Goodman Road Runner Families!
Join us Wednesday, Oct 9th from 5-9 pm at the Gig Harbor Moctezuma's for our first ever takeover! 20% of all sales will be donated and Goodman VPO will reinvest that back into our student body. Grab a table, enjoy dinner with your family, and mingle for a great cause! Thank you in advance for supporting our school!
ENABLE TEXT MESSAGES FROM SCHOOL:
If you are interested in receiving text messages from school, you can sign up by texting “Y” or “Yes” to our school code number 67587, or download the SchoolMessenger app.
Cell Phone Policy At Goodman
This year the staff at Goodman have begun working on a few new policies to ensure consistency across the building. One of these is the use of cell phones. We changed our cell phone policy. We hope you will agree with our decision and support this policy by not texting or calling students during class time. We appreciate your support.
Appropriate Use / Locations
Students can use their cell phones prior to the 8:15 bell, during passing periods, and their entire lunch time.
Inappropriate Use
During class time all electronic devices other than the Chromebook will be put away.
If the cell phone or personal electronic device is found to be in use during the class period without permission, it may be confiscated. On the first offense, the student may pick up the device from the teacher. The second offense the student can pick it up from the office at the end of the day. On the third or subsequent violations, parents will be responsible to pick up the device from the office.
From our Bookkeeper
We have an online store and it is found on the GMS Website! The online store takes debit/credit cards (there is a pass-through on the transaction fee). If you prefer to pay with cash or check, you can do so in person with Ms. Malone.
With our online “store’ you can also see if your student has fees and/or fines, if you’ve already purchased something (in case you forgot!), and it can be found at the $ Bookkeeper link from psd401.net/gms (not from the Parent Portal). Please bookmark us “noreply@intouchreceipting.com” as that is a transaction from our register program.
If your student is taking Beginning or Advanced Art, there is a $25 class fee that will be attached to your account this week.
If your child is playing a fall sport, now is the time to make sure they have paid for their ASB Card ($20) and Pay-to-Play sport fee ($40). Unpaid fees will be attached to your account.
Please call Ms. Malone at (253) 520-1612 if you have any questions.
SPORTS
Parents, you can now register on line through the parent portal. Complete sport schedules are also available on our website. The pay-to-play fee of $40 may be paid in person as noted above for class fees, or will be posted to student accounts for online payment, and payment must be received prior to the first competition. Students participating are also required to have an ASB Card. Go Roadrunners!
Mark Your Calendars
Upcoming Dates:
September 18th (Wednesday) Girls Volleyball Jamboree 6:00
September 19th (Thursday) Open House 6:00-7:30
September 19th (Thursday) X-Country Meet @ Sehmel
September 24th (Tuesday) Home Meet vs. HRMS (Soccer, Volleyball) 3:30 Start
September 26th (Thursday) X-Country @ 3:00, Home vs. KPMS (Soccer, Volleybal) 3:30 Start
October 14th (Monday) No School
Things to remember
- Our students were given paperwork for parents to review. The papers came home in manilla folders. Please make sure those are signed and returned to the office.
- Please charge chromebooks at night prior to coming to school.
Contact Information
Email: robuckt@psd401.net
Website: https://psd401.net/gms/
Location: 3701 38th Ave NW, Gig Harbor, WA, USA
Phone: (253) 530-1600