Jaguar News
Friday, January 29, 2021
We had another great week! I want to express how much we enjoy having students back in the building. Walking around and talking to students, I can tell they’re so excited to be here. As we continue to transition into our hybrid model, I want to bring up a couple of issues: Cell Phones - They have been a distraction in the classroom. Due to the pandemic and virtual learning many students have become addicted to their phone. I want to make it very clear that cell phones are not allowed during class time. Cell phones can only be used at lunch. If this problem continues, we will ban cell phones at lunch. Your child is only here two days a week, and every minute is precious to their learning. I will not allow cell phones to disrupt learning at Gentry. The following are the procedures we will follow for cell phone violations: (First Offense) Teacher will give student a warning. (Second Offense) Teacher will contact guardian’s regarding technology issue. (Third Offense) Submit referral – Office will take over. A plan will be made and parents will be asked to be a part of the plan. Please have a conversation with your child on cell phone usage. We can all agree how important it is to be in-seat and I think we can all agree cell phones should not be taking away from your child’s learning. Earbuds - Earbuds should only be used when the teacher gives clear directions that they can be used in class. They are not allowed in the halls because we’ve had issues of students not hearing adults. We will follow the same procedures as we do with cell phones. Students on virtual days - We are noticing many students on virtual days are not showing up for class. Students are expected to Zoom and follow their classes on virtual days. Each day, a new lesson is presented to the students, so when students don’t Zoom in they get behind in the course work. After this week, I have instructed teachers to start contacting guardians of students who have consistently not logged in for virtual class. The following are procedures we will follow when students do not show up for virtual days: Teacher will email guardians and if no response, a phone call will be made. If nothing improves, the administrative team will contact or meet with guardians. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Student Photos and Yearbook Information- Feb. 2 and Feb. 5
Though this school year has been entirely unlike years gone by, Interstate Studios will still be taking individual student photos for this 2020/21 school year so that it can be properly archived. Please be sure to place your online order now (for either individual student photos and/or a yearbook) by using the links and corresponding codes below. This year we will be entirely paperless. ALL orders must be placed online.
Pre-Order Student Photo Link: Enter Code: 49846M
Pre-Order a Yearbook Link: Enter Code: 56311G
It has come to our attention that the above links, though correct, have been down for the past several days due to an outage. Interstate Studios is aware of the issue and is working on a resolution. Hopefully the problem will be resolved soon!
Please keep in mind, even if you do not plan on purchasing individual school photos or a yearbook, we will still be taking your student's photo so that it can be included in our yearbook. Our student photo dates will be as follows:
- Tuesday, February 2 (for students with last names starting with A-K) 7:30-11:15 am
- Friday, February 5 (for students with last names starting with L-Z) 7:30-12:00 pm
Photos will be taken in the gymnasium in order to keep with our social distancing protocol. Students will continue to wear their mask until they are seated. At this point the photographer will ask the student if they would like to remove their mask for their portrait. If they decide to remove it briefly they will simply hold onto it until the photo is taken and then promptly put it back on. Please know that removing their mask is not required. Please talk with your student about this prior to their picture date.
Be sure to mark your calendars and place your online orders today! The final day to order a yearbook is March 24th.
7th/8th Grade Track and Field Team Informational Meeting via Zoom
Our head track and field coach, Anna West, will be hosting a parent/student informational meeting on Monday, February 8 via Zoom from 7:00-7:45 pm. If your 7th/8th grade student is interested in being a part of the GMS track and field team, please plan on attending this Zoom meeting.
Zoom Link:
https://zoom.us/j/99126753037?pwd=dDBNM2ZrK2xkdHI3bnAvaWFPdDhXdz09
Meeting ID: 991 2675 3037
Passcode: track
Our coach will be presenting information on: required MSHSAA paperwork (needed every 2 years), GMS required paperwork (needed annually), student/athlete expectations, practice and meet/invitational schedules, etc.
If your student has previously participated in athletics at Gentry and you would like to verify that their MSHSAA paperwork is still up to date, now is a great time to call the main office (214-3240) to check.
Lastly, in order for us to get an idea on numbers, if your student is interested in joining the GMS Track and Field team, please complete this Interest Form. Everyone is welcome, no prior skill or running experience is required. Hope to see you at our Zoom meeting! Go Jaguars!
PTSA Online Gentry Sportswear Store
Our PTSA re-activated our Gentry online store so that you can purchase Gentry sportswear once again! This store was activated on January 22 and will remain open until 9:00 am on Monday, February 8. All orders can be placed and paid for through this online site. An email will be sent to families once we have further details regarding our order disbursement plan or pick up process (for virtual only students). Be sure to check out our fun designs and get yours before it’s too late. As always, THANK YOU for your continued support of our fundraisers and OUR Gentry School community!
Feel free to reach out to our PTSA if you have any questions:
Eric Gilbert - President, ericgcomo@gmail.com
Mandy Llewellyn - Vice President, llewcrew5@gmail.com
Bree McMurray - Secretary, mobatgirl1@yahoo.com
Haley Schwarz - Treasurer, schwarz.haley@gmail.com
Valentine's Day Gifts/Treats
Though Valentine's Day (February 14th) falls on a Sunday this year, we wanted to remind everyone that we are not able to accept Valentine's Day gifts/deliveries from parents or couriers the days prior to or following Valentine's Day. As always, we ask that families save these special Valentine's Day gifts for home and refrain from sending them to school. Thank you for understanding and helping us with this.
8th Grade Parents: Registration To Begin on High School Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAP)
Our Guidance Counselors have been Zooming into CORE 1 eighth grade classes and presenting information on the Schoology course called: “Class of 2025”. Students have been directed to complete their 4 year plan called the ICAP (Individual Career and Academic Plan). Please take time to review this detailed plan with your student. The ICAP folder, found in the Class of 2025 course material, also includes a Power Point with additional information.
February 1-5, our Guidance Counselors will Zoom into CORE 2 eighth grade classes to review the process on completing the Course Request Form and completing the Home Access Center (HAC) Course Request. This information can be found in the Rock Bridge High School Folder within the Schoology Course Class of 2025. In the yellow folder, titled Registration Materials, please take time to watch the video tutorial on entering the course request form in HAC.
Additional Registration information can be found on the RBHS webpage https://www.cpsk12.org/domain/6259
The Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP), Course Request and Home Access Center (HAC) information must be uploaded by 2-5-2021. Instructions for the verification form will be emailed to parents by March 8th. The last day to make any changes to this course request will be 3/12/21. As always, please reach out to your student’s current guidance counselor if you have any questions.
Mrs. Jeanine Atwell (Last names A-HI) JAtwell@cpsk12.org
Mrs. Abigail (Abi) Elliott (last names HO-R) aelliott@cpsk12.org
Mr. Michael Onwulata (last names S-Z) monwulata@cpsk12.org
Ms. Erin Maynard (Outreach Counselor) emaynard@cpsk12.org
6th/7th Grade Parents: Course Registration to Begin on February 8
Our Guidance Counselors will be presenting course registration material to current 6th grade students during their CORE 1 classes starting on February 8th. Course registration material will be presented during CORE 2 for our rising 7th grade students. Verification Form instructions will be emailed to parents by March 8th. The last day to make any changes to the course request will be 3/12/21.
Symptom Guidelines - Reminder
STUDENTS AND STAFF SHOULD REMAIN AT HOME IF EXHIBITING ONE OR MORE OF THE SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19 BASED ON THE CDC GUIDELINES THAT ARE NOT OTHERWISE EXPLAINED INCLUDING:
· Temperature of 100.4°F or greater (without the use of fever-reducing medication)
· Cough
· Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
· Fatigue
· Muscle or body aches
· Headache
· Sore throat
· New loss of sense of taste or smell
· Diarrhea
· Nausea/vomiting
· A concerning health condition that may require further medical evaluation
February School Lunch Menu
Click here for our secondary school lunch menu. Click here for our Grab and Go lunch menu.
As a reminder, ALL of our schools qualify (this year only) for free student breakfasts and student lunches until June 30, 2021. This means that you do not need to add money to your student’s lunch account for meals. However, you may wish to keep some money in your student’s My School Bucks account for a la carte items such as juice, ice cream, etc. which are not included with the free meals. If you have auto pay set on your student’s My School Bucks account, you may want to log in and turn it off. Unused amounts will roll over to the next year at the end of the school year.
Media Center Minute
Keep on searching for those library books from last March! We are getting a few back each day and that is great!
Thanks to our great Gentry Parents for all you do to help our students!
GMS Columbia Area Career Center (CACC) Showcase Prize Winners
Basketball Team Uniform Return
If your son or daughter competed on one of our 7th or 8th grade basketball teams and has not yet had the chance to return their uniform, now is the time to do so. We are asking that the entire uniform (jersey top, shorts, warm-up jersey and pants) be washed and placed in a plastic bag with your student's name on the bag. Uniforms may either be turned into the main office or to your child's coach. Thanks for your help with this!
Student Absences
If you need to check your child out of school during their "in-seat" school hours for an occasional appointment, please simply ring the doorbell located at our main entrance and tell us that you are here to pick your child up for an appointment. We will locate them and walk them out to you so that you can sign our attendance log.
As always, please be sure to call the school if your child will be absent from in-seat school for any reason. If the absence is due to a medical appointment, please also provide the office with a medical excuse from your child's physician. Your child can submit this excuse to the main office when they return.
If your child will be absent from one of their virtual Zoom classes, please simply email the classroom teachers for those periods when they will be absent. There is no need to contact the school if your student will be absent from virtual Zoom classes.
Let Them Be Responsible
Middle School is the perfect time for students to start taking on more responsibilities, such as being accountable for all their school materials. We understand that as parents you want to make your student's life easier, however, by not bringing their forgotten items, we allow them to grow and to be more proactive in the future. This will also help us as a school, since it is extremely difficult for us to distribute forgotten items to such a large student population.
With this in mind, we are asking that if you absolutely need to drop something off for your student, you do so before 9:00 am. Items will be distributed to students during 3rd period. If you drop something off for your student after 9:00 am, it will be given to them the next day. Please, keep in mind that this practice includes lunch. If you need to bring lunch for your student, please do it before 9:00 am. Thank you for partnering with us while we help our students grow.
Litter Art and/or Build a "Litter Catcher" Contest
After School Student Pick Up
- Busses will pick-up along the red fire curb around 2:30 pm. Do not pass the handicapped spots until an administrator has signaled traffic to move forward.
- Pull forward to keep traffic moving. Do not stop to pick up your child until you have reached the car in front of you and traffic has stopped.
- Students may not cross traffic to enter a vehicle. Please pick up along the curb.
- Students may not walk into the lot, across traffic, to enter a parked car without a parent/guardian.
- Once you have picked up your child, you may pull into the left lane to leave the lot.
- Please note that we have Left and Right exit lanes near the crosswalk.
- Link to a visual: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJicsAhHL_c&t=5s
Future Dates to Remember
2/2- Student/Staff Picture Day/Gym (7:00 am - 11:15 am) Last names A-K
2/5- Student/Staff Picture Day/Gym (7:30 am - 12:00 pm) Last names L-Z
2/8- Parent Track and Field Information Meeting/Virtual Zoom Meeting @ 7:00-7:45 pm
2/10- School Not in Session Due to a Teacher Work Day
2/15- School Not in Session Due to President's Day
2/17- PTSA Zoom Meeting @ 6:00 pm
2/25- Student Grades Posted onto Home Access
2/26- School Not in Session Due a Teacher Work Day
Josh Johnson, Principal
Email: Josjohnson@cpsk12.org
Website: https://www.cpsk12.org/Domain/17
Location: 4200 Bethel Street, Columbia, MO, USA
Phone: (573) 214-3240