Jaguar News
Friday, September 25, 2020
Dear Gentry Families,
Last week, I heard a comment from someone saying “Oh no, the commercials have started,” in reference to political ads appearing on TV. For the next month, we’ll be bombarded with ads and messages, driven by fear, telling you if you don’t vote for a certain candidate or issue, then your life will be altered in a negative way. Unlike most people, I love the chaos that we call American politics. As a Government teacher for 15 years, presidential election years were the best time to educate my students about American Democracy. One thing I taught my students was that Democracy is complex. It is so complex that the Framers of the Constitution felt one reason why we needed public education was to teach the masses about Democracy and Civic Virtue. One is not born knowing how to be a part of a democratic society. I also taught my students that Democracy is a slow process, filled with conflicts, which naturally occur when multiple viewpoints are heard.
As a parent, you have the opportunity to discuss the upcoming election with your child. No matter how you see politics, we can all agree that our kids should be educated about how our democracy works. For the next month, I invite you to take the time to talk to your child about candidates and issues for the upcoming election.
If you have any questions or concerns please let me know.
Interested in Participating on PTSA?
Parent Tech Support
CPS Spirit Week
Student Influenza Vaccination Day
GMS will be hosting a free Influenza Vaccination morning on Friday, October 23 from 9:00 am-11:00 am in the GMS cafetorium. This will be available for all CPS students whether they were classified as a "virtual" learner early on or if they became an "on-line" learner when CPS transitioned to this overall model. As always, the Influenza Consent Form was included in our Back to School series of acknowledgement forms that parents had the option to submit virtually prior to the start of school. If you did not already complete this form during this back to school process and would now like to take advantage of this service for your student, please complete the form below and email it to our Gentry school nurse, Jennifer Ferguson at jferguson@cpsk12.org no later than October 22. She also can be reached at 214-3240 to answer any questions that you may have. Don't hesitate to contact the main office if you have forgotten whether or not you actually completed this form for your student. Our nurse would be happy to look this up for you. More information regarding traffic flow and COVID safety rules will follow as we get closer to this date.
- Option 1 - Curbside Pickup - Monday - Thursday from 7:30am - 3:30 pm, Friday from 7:30am - 12:00 noon.
- Option 2 - Curbside Dropoff - Monday - Thursday from 7:30 am - 3:30 pm, Friday 7:30 - 3:00pm. Search your entire house for those books you've been keeping safe since March and return them at our curbside dropoff. We accept books from any CPS school.
- Option 3 - CPS Delivery - Deliveries of library books and other materials can be made on an as-needed basis. If you can't get by to get your books, we will bring them to you. This might take a little longer than curbside pickup.
Students should check in Schoology next week for a video tutorial on how to use Destiny Discover to search and put books on hold if they do not know how.
MEDIA CENTER MINUTE
Technology issues seem to be fewer this week, but there are a few things that we want to point out.
- Notability - issues with documents losing text boxes and work appearing to be blank. Apparently the work is there, but the text box is just so small you can't see it. Click in the area where you think the text box is and press space or return to make it appear.
The work around is to tap on the 'T', but not insert a text box. Just type on the spot where you want the text. Notabiity is working to resolve this issue. - Zoom - here are some tips if you are having issues getting into Zoom
- Make sure you are clicking on the correct link at the correct time. Double check your class in Schoology to be sure you are in the correct place.
- Don't use an alias. Teachers will not let students in with fake names like Fortnite King, Dancing Princess or Rainbow Unicorn. Be sure your name is correct in the settings on your iPad. Settings > General >About. It should also be correct on your Google Drive and Active Directory account.
- Read the information for the day in your class. Maybe your teacher is having a work day and that is why you can't get into Zoom.
- Email your teacher and let them know that you are trying to get in. Maybe they did not see you enter the waiting room.
- Call Gentry Middle School at 573-214-3240 and ask for the media center and we will try to help you.
- iPad Issues - please feel free to call the Gentry Media Center at 573-214-3240 if you are having issues with your iPad. You can also email Mrs. Spurling at cspurling@cpsk12.org if you have a question. We are here to help you during all school days.
Math Counts!
If your 6th through 8th grade student is interested in joining the Gentry Math Counts team, please have them email their name and current grade to Frank Barhorst at fbarhorst@cpsk12.org by October 21. All meetings will be held via Zoom. The Zoom link for each meeting will be provided to students after they email Mr. Barhorst. Our first meeting will be October 21 from 2:45-3:45. Hope to see them there!
Boone County Schools Mental Health Coalition Survey
Our students and teachers will be completing the first round of the Boone County Schools Mental Health Coalition survey beginning October 5th . If you have questions, please check the Frequently Asked Questions document or contact Outreach Counselor Erin Maynard at emaynard@cpsk12.org
National Voter Registration Day
Gentry's Geography Club
8th Grade Announcements
Please head to this link: 8th Grade Weekly Homework Document each week to review the homework that has been assigned by your student's teachers. Teachers will email both parents and students once a week as well to elaborate and communicate any additional necessary information. Please reach out to your student's teachers if you have any questions or concerns. Go Jaguars!
Don't Hesitate to Ask
Notes from the Nurse
If you are currently dealing with a suicidal child or adolescent, consider contacting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK or the Crisis Text Line, which can be reached by texting “HOME” to 741741. If you think a youth is at immediate risk of suicide, call 911 immediately for help.
Counseling Corner
We would love to talk with you and get to know you! To get to know the counseling team at Gentry, please visit our website. Also, follow us on Twitter @gmscounselors and on Instagram @gmscounselingteam 🙂
Science Olympiad- It's Not Too Late To Join
Is your student someone who is interested in science and engineering? Are they self-motivated, self-directed and like a little competition? Then Science Olympiad could be for them and it’s NOT too late to join! All interested 6th, 7th and 8th grade students are invited to find out more about Sci Oly by following this link: https://tinyurl.com/GentrySciOly. Make sure they fill out the Google Form linked in the presentation to let Mr. Bruns know of their interest. Our next meeting will be Monday, September 28th from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. Please email rbruns@cpsk12.org with any questions you may have.
Attendance
If your child is simply not participating or engaged, our teachers will reach out to you. If teachers are unable to contact you, then a member of our administration may also reach out to you so that we can better determine how we can help support you and your student.
Future Dates to Remember
October 8- IPR Grades Available on Schoology
October 16- Conclusion of Fall Sports
October 23- Student Influenza "Flu" Vaccination Day from 9:00 am-11:00 am @ Gentry
November 3-4- School Not in Session Due to Teacher Collaboration Days
November 6- Live "Virtual" Fall Play @ 7:00 pm
November 7- Live "Virtual" Fall Play Matinee @ 3:00 pm
November 13- School Not in Session Due to Teacher Collaboration Day
November 25-27- School Not in Session Due to Thanksgiving Break
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