GVMS Weekly Update
October 29th, 2019
Garnet Valley Middle School
Email: stenzl@garnetvalley.org
Website: https://gvms.garnetvalleyschools.com/
Location: 601 Smithbridge Road
Phone: 610-579-5100
Twitter: @GarnetValleyMS
GVMS School Community
Our 7th and 8th graders ended the week with a fantastic Halloween event! We would like to thank all of the HSA members and parent volunteers who assisted in making this event such a success. Have a great week and don't forget that we have an upcoming In-service day on November 5th.
Links to Important Information
New Technology and Instructional Accommodations
We wanted to make you all aware of an exciting new technology we will be employing in our school this year. As some of you may know, Garnet Valley Middle School, like all schools have students that are unable to attend school for an anticipated and prolonged period of time due to medical reasons. In these instances, the school provides homebound instruction. The purpose of homebound instruction is to keep the student on track academically while they are temporarily out of school. Historically, homebound instruction has been provided in the home with one-to-one tutoring.
Recent advancements in technology have allowed for new, more engaging options for students in these situations. Through the use of a Double Robot or Kubi Robot, students can virtually participate in all aspects of educational programming during their absence. This includes complete access to daily classroom academic instruction and both structured and unstructured social interactions with their peers.
From time to time to accommodate the needs of students with medical needs, with the support of the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU), we will be using the Double Robot while they are out on medical leave. Using the web URL below, you have the ability to view a video that shares an example of how the robot has been used in a school setting.
https://www.cciu.org/perfectattendant
The robot provides a secure live feed of the instructional day to the student. The video captured is not recorded or stored in any way.
We are excited about this technology and how it will support the individual needs of our learners at Garnet Valley Middle School. We welcome any questions or concerns you may have about the use of this device during the school day.
GVMS Student Item Drop-off
We have a few considerations to think about as we continue to maximize our expanded 57-minute classes. We are hearing from our teachers that the 57-minutes has improved engagement, opening, and closing of lessons, time to process, and expanded opportunities for student collaboration. In our discussions, we have learned that the number of school-wide announcements and interruptions to the classroom have disrupted the learning environment. In researching the concern, we have approximately 80-100 drop-offs in one day (i.e. gym bags, lunches, homework, instruments, etc.). We will always find a way to feed a student that forgot their lunch. Our teachers will work with you to improve your students' organizational planning for homework and projects.
We kindly and respectfully request that drop-offs are limited to critical needs. We are not calling into rooms or making school-wide announcements that interrupt the flow of instruction. We post all office pick up alerts for students on our TV screens in the cafeteria and hallways as a form of communication. Please note that the TV screens will be updated once a day before all the lunches. Any items dropped off after 10:00 will not show up on the TV announcements. Additionally, limiting the number of drop-offs will better prepare us for our own future front entrance renovation, similar to the high school's front entrance renovation. Thank you so much for your consideration.
Early Dismissal Notes
GVMS HSA Information
GVMS Box Tops for Education
GVMS is finally registered with Box Tops for Education!! It’s a super simple way to raise money for our school! And we no longer have to cut out the Box Tops & bring them into school! The new system makes everything so easy!!
Here is a link to the website!
https://www.boxtops4education.com/en/How%20To%20Earn
Find Garnet Valley Middle School as one of the listed schools. Register online to raise money for GVMS. Download the app. Then start scanning the box tops! It’s that simple!!
HSA Updates and Announcements
7th & 8th Grade Halloween Dance
Thank you to all of the administrators, teachers, staff, Interact students, & parents who volunteered their time to help with this year’s Halloween Dance! It was a fabulous & fun event for almost 500 students and we could never do it on our own! It takes a village!!
Our next upcoming events for which we’ll need lots of volunteers are the HSA Craft Fair on 12/7/19 & the 7th & 8th Grade Snowflake Dance on 1/10/20. We can’t have these events without the help of volunteers so please sign up to help so we can continue to have these special activities for our kids!
GVMS Pure Vida Bracelets
HSA Meeting
Join us at our next GVMS HSA meeting on Monday, November 4th at 7:00 in the library. We'd love for you to join us as we help to plan & organize the upcoming events for our students and school community! Meetings usually last one hour. This is the perfect venue to find out how HSA helps support GVMS!
2019 Craft Fair
Save the Date - Saturday, December 7th is the 2019 GVMS Holiday Craft Fair! Pencil this fabulous HSA fundraiser into your calendar! we hope that you can come check out the fabulous vendors, shop for yourself and your loved ones, have lunch, hang out with friends, and have a wonderful Saturday raising money for our GVMS HSA! More details to come soon!!
AMAZON SMILE
GVMS HSA is registered as a nonprofit educational charity with Amazon Smile. Raising money for our school has never been easier. The next time you are shopping on Amazon, please considering registering to participate in Amazon Smile. When you select Garnet Valley Middle School HSA as your charity of choice, Amazon will make a donation to our school whenever you shop through Amazon Smile. Here is a link to the GVMS HSA Amazon Smile page for more information & to register: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/23-3075301
Box Tops for Education
GVMS is finally registered with Box Tops for Education!! It’s a super simple way to raise money for our school! And we no longer have to cut out the Box Tops & bring them into school! The new system makes everything so easy!!
Here is a link to the website!
https://www.boxtops4education.com/en/How%20To%20Earn
Find Garnet Valley Middle School as one of the listed schools. Register online to raise money for GVMS. Download the app. Then start scanning the box tops! It’s that simple!!
Interested In Volunteering?
If anyone is interested in volunteering for any of our upcoming HSA events, there are endless ways to get involved! Please contact Missy Rosenthal at mmrosenthal@comcast.net or Andrea Romaniello at andrear.ed@hotmail.com for more information on volunteering this year at GVMS with our HSA! Or check out our HSA website at https://sites.google.com/garnetvalley.org/gvmshsa/home for more details! We love our volunteers!!
Garnet Valley Communities That Care
Garnet Valley CTC Quick Tip #8 - Red Ribbon
The results are back from the 2017 Pennsylvania Youth Survey for Garnet Valley’s 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th graders. We also have results from 2013 and 2015.
The results of this anonymous survey are self-reported and represent 83.9% of our students.
Did you know? Your student has been observing Red Ribbon Week this past week. While it can be a challenge for parents and students to remember what to wear each day and to make sure they have their Red Ribbon, we also remember the focus of Red Ribbon Week is making healthy choices and setting personal goals. Students learn that drugs and alcohol get in the way of their dreams. DEA agent Camarena famously said, “I am only one person but I want to make a difference.” Your child’s hopes for the future are at the center of what helps students to steer clear of drugs, vapes, and alcohol.
Call to action… Please click on the link below which guides parent/care givers in their conversation on drugs and alcohol. The focus on healthy choices this week provides an opportunity for families to reinforce the messages students have learned during Red Ribbon Week.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/teens-and-drugs-5-tips-for-talking-with-your-kids-2018081614565
Garnet Valley Middle School
Email: stenzl@garnetvalley.org
Website: gvms.garnetvalleyschools.com
Location: 601 Smithbridge Road
Phone: 610-579-5100
Twitter: @GarnetValleyMS