GCIS Weekly News 1/29/2016
Weekly Celebrations, Successes, and Up Coming Events!
GCIS Office News
Lost & Found
Our table is looking better but still have multiple items that need to go home with students. Please encourage your student to check out the table for any missing items that might belong to them!
Lunch Money
Please remind your students that if they have lunch money to turn it into us in the office. You may pay online too. Just ask us how!
Notifying the Office
Thanks for your efforts at giving our office a call by 2:30 pm! This allows us time to deliver notes to students to ensure they get delivered in time. 515-738-5721.
Weather
Our students go outside everyday for recess if the temps are at or above zero.
Students need to be dressed appropriately for outdoor play or they will sit inside for recess. If this is an area of concern for you please contact us at the school to see what we can do for you.
Iowa Assessments
We are still taking donations of snacks for Iowa Assessment Week! Please consider to help support our GCIS students in doing their best on the tests! A note was sent home last week. If you missed it, click here!
Upcoming Dates
No School - Friday, February 5, 2016
GCIS Key Players of the Week!
Next PBIS Incentive Day!
- Sledding at 7 Oaks in Boone
- Swimming, Game Room, and Open Gym at Hidden Acres in Dayton Iowa
- Skating in Jefferson
All trips will be paid for by the hard work of our students with our successful fall fundraiser! Snack bar will be available for students at 7 Oaks, and skating rink if students want to bring some additional money for that, or bring their own snack from home. If students are skating and want to have roller blades instead of skates that will be an additional charge too.
If you have any additional questions please don't hesitate to contact their homeroom teachers or the office and we can try and help! I have included the details of the trip below and also information how students earn a change to attend!
How does my student qualify to attend one of these trips?
- Students need to complete a reading challenge in addition to positive behaviors in order to attend one of these trips. (These are coming out soon!)
- Students will be earning key cards in all areas of our day as they demonstrate safe, respectful, and responsible behaviors. Each homeroom sets a goal and works towards earning key cards.
Recess Reminders & Private Dining Tickets
- You will be notified from homeroom teachers if your student has earned one of these.
- These are issued at recess and in the lunchroom.
- Recess: Students are given a verbal warning, then asked to take a 5 min break. If students are still making a choice to not be safe, respectful, or responsible, a recess reminder will be issued.
- Lunchroom: Students will be given a verbal warning reminding students of the desired behavior in the lunchroom. If students are still deciding to make choices that are not safe, respectful, or responsible, the student will be removed and will eat in a different location, along with getting a private dinning ticket.
- Any student receiving more than 3 of the Recess Reminders and/or Private Dinning tickets, will stay back at school during the PBIS incentive trips.
If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to call the office or your students homeroom teacher. All students attending one of these trips will have to return a parent permission slip. These will go out when it gets closer to the trip date.
-Mrs. Van Cleave
GCIS Principal
Reading Incentive Challenge
How can parents support and be involved?
- Encourage your readers to read each night.
- Read with your student!
- Take on the challenge with them!
- Monitor and sign the BINGO card once completed!
- Help remind your student that they need to have the card handed in by Friday February 12th
- Make plans to stop by in the AM on February 25th and join us for a morning of reading from 9:00-10:30. (If you would like to participate please call the office!)
Click HERE for GCIS BINGO card Challenge
Students must be responsible to return these on the due date signed by parents in order to attend the trip! Looking forward to seeing how our students do with RESPONSIBILITY!
BINGO Sheet Details:
- Starting Monday January 25th
- Ending Friday Feb 12th
- BINGO Sheets turned in by Wednesday Feb 17th
- Students must complete 2 Bingos to attend PBIS incentive trip, along with their safe, respectful, responsible behaviors.
- Each additional Bingo earned students name will be submitted for a chance to win a 5lb bag of Gummy Bears
Iowa Assessment Info
We are gearing up for Iowa Assessment testing week. GCIS students will be taking the Iowa Assessments the week of February 8th-12th. We have been working this week to set our schedules for what this will look like for the week. Our goal is to get the testing done in the morning. Please consider this for the week of February 8th-12th when calling and scheduling and pulling students for appointments! February 15th-19th is the week we will be doing any make ups due to illness or absences.
Lastly, we are looking for families to help out with snack donations. Below is the letter that was sent home.
Dear GCIS Parent:
Greene County Schools will be doing the Iowa Assessments the week of
February 8-12, 2016.
As these tests are extremely important, we would like to offer nutritious snacks to
our students each morning before testing begins, and we are asking for donations
of snacks such as granola bars, whole grain fruit bars and other healthy snacks.
Please send your donations with your child to school by Friday, February 5th
so we may organize the snacks for our homeroom groups.
Thank you in advance for your donations!
Greene County Intermediate School Staff
4th Grade Happenings!
Welcome to the world of 4th grade where we are learning about text structures and features as well as vocabulary through our civil rights.
Science is helping us make connections about magnetism with electricity. We have had hair raising experiments (static electricity) as well as well as putting light on the subject (electrical and chemical electricity) this week.
Unit 3 in math has taken us into the world of fractions. We have been learning about equal sharing and equivalent fractions.
Thank you to Mrs. Haley for being the photographer this week!!!
4th Graders Sledding!
Magnet Fun!
5th Grade Happenings!
Math: We are just starting the unit on decimals. We are trying to compare fractions and decimals and learn their value. Here we go!
Lit/SS: In Reading, we have wrapped up our unit on understanding the overall structure of fictional text. We will be moving on to Comparing and Contrasting stories in the same genre. In writing, we have finished our final draft of our research reports. In social studies, we are beginning our studies on explorers.
Science: We took a quiz this week and are now concentrating on soil, water, and air in our ecosystems. Soil conservation is a big part of our discussions this week.
6th Grade Happenings!
Remember that Iowa Assessments are coming up the week of February 8. Sixth graders will be testing Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday that week. Donations of snacks for that week are greatly appreciated!
In science, students are learning about compounds. They are exploring why elements bond with each other. They will also be exploring the different types of bonds.
In reading, we are finishing evaluating an author’s claim and evidence in a text. We have also started writing our informative essay. Students are able to choose their own topic for their essay. Remember to check with your child about their reading bingo sheet!
In math, students are working on writing algebraic expressions as phrases and writing phrases as algebraic expressions.
Music Mania
General Music
We have extended learning times for the next two weeks due to the P.E. Bowling Unit.
4th Grade will be testing for the Recorder Level 4 during this period of time.
5th Grade will be completing and presenting mini presentations about sports within their individual class section.
- 6th Grade has completed the Rhythmic Composition Unit. We will be moving into students researching musical interests i.e. Musicians, Cultural Instruments, Dance etc. while I continue to gather supplies for Bucket Drumming.
Band
The percussion audition for 6th grade band will take place the week of February 15-19th. If your student is interested in auditioning make sure they are working on their audition packet. They are also allowed to use their lesson time to work on the audition if they wish.
Physical Education
Art
In 5th and 6th grade art classes we are still working on their sewing projects from FCS. 6th Graders are finishing up their awesome pencil pouches! I am learning a lot too! Now I want to make one!
The 5th graders are finishing up their owl hand sewing project. They all turned out so cute and what an amazing example of what they learned!
4th graders have started on a beautiful winter painting of a cardinal. They are learning about shades and tints in the background and this week they added the branches and the snow that accumulated on those branches. We talked about where the snow would stick and why. Next week we will be working on the cardinal!
GCIS T.A.G.
4th grade TAG students studied about geodes. They researched and found a bunch of facts about how they form, where they’re found, what they are made of and other facts. They made a poster to tell about what they found and then created a geode of their own.
We would also like to go on a real hunt for geodes and see if we can find some!
We also did some science experiments with a lemon to see how they conduct electricity. The students were able to get a little clock to run!
5th grade TAG students are coming up with some really neat projects, such as making a fondant cake, researching about dragons, and connecting circuits.
6th grade TAG students are busy building the Mega Marble Run. it is about half-way done and looking good! Once they finish it, they are going to present it to their science class and explain all the actions of force that the marble does.
Counselor's Corner
Thank You!!
Thank you to all who have donated healthy snacks for Iowa Assessments in February.
We need many more at this point so we may help support students feel their best and better focus on their testing. Please bring your donations to school by February 4th--again, thank you!!
Word of the Month:
February’s words are HONESTY and TRUSTWORTHINESS.
Honesty means having the quality of truthfulness. Someone who is totally honest will not lie. They will tell the truth all the time.
Trustworthy is similar to honesty, although really implies the quality of being able to be entrusted with something. Someone who is trustworthy is reliable. You can put your trust in them and rely on them.
Nurse News
The recent cold temperatures puts everyone at risk for frostbite. Frostbite can affect any area of the skin and in extreme cold temperatures can develop quickly. To help prevent frostbite know what the temperature is outside, wear layers, keep body parts covered with hats, scarves, warm socks, boots, and mittens. It is also important to keep body parts dry. If clothing becomes wet go inside. Ice packs can also cause frostbite. Cover ice packs with a cloth before applying to skin and check the skin frequently. If you think you or your child has frostbite go indoors immediately, do not rub the area, and warm by placing in warm water. Seek medical attention if the area is turning white and hard. For more information go to http://kidshealth.org.