GCIS Weekly News 9/9/2016
Weekly Celebrations, Successes, and Up Coming Events!
We're not here to be average; We're here to be AWESOME!
GCIS AWESOME STUDENTS OF THE WEEK!
GCIS Office News
October 4th - School Picture Day
Students are outside everyday for recess, as the weather changes, please make sure your child has appropriate attire for the weather.
If there are changes in your student’s routine or if your student will be out of our building, please notify the office prior to 2:30pm to allow time to get messages out for students. 515-738-5721.
If there are changes in your contact information, please let us know.
Homecoming Dress Up Days 2016
Homecoming is the week of September 19th-23rd
Tuesday September 20th: Neon Day (Wear your Brightest Threads!)
Wednesday September 21st: Pajama Day
Thursday September 22nd: Color Wars
- Staff: Green
- 6th: Purple
- 5th: Yellow
- 4th: Orange
Friday September 23rd: Show Your School Spirit! Wear Black and Red!
Parade Information:
- GCIS students will be walking/riding in the parade again this year!
- Parade starts at 2pm
- After parade students will be dismissed from the middle school.
- Any students riding to Grand Junction and Scranton will load buses at Web House.
Principal Shoutout!
On Monday September 19th (week of Homecoming) We are celebrating Mustache Monday! Students will be able to purchase a mustache for $1
This is your chance to rock a mustache for the day at GCIS! All funds raised will go to our Collabratory supplies! What a great way to support our school and learning all while sharing a few giggles!
Students can bring their money starting next week! Students need to bring money to the office and they will get their mustache on Monday September 19th! If you have any additional questions please call the office!
Email: vancleavem@greenecountycsd.net
Website: www.edline.net/pages/GCIS
Location: 405 12th Street South, Grand Junction, IA, United States
Phone: 515-738-5721
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Greene-County-Intermediate/
Add it to the Calendar!
GCIS Picture Day: October 4th
Heathliest State Walk: October 5th
GCIS Fundraiser Kick Off: October 18th
Parent Advisory
Fire Drill & National Fire Safety Week
Fire fighters will be coming to the building practicing their response times and also practicing a building check.
During this drill we will actually go to our evacuation locations and safety zones.
If you have any additional questions about this great learning and collaboration with our fire fighters, please contact the office.
4th Grade Happenings!
This week was full of firsts. We started Genius Hour, SUCCESS groups and clubs.
In Literacy, we are digging into Roanoke, The Lost Colony as well as character traits, setting and plot.
In Science, we are learning about Matter and its properties.
In Math, we are practicing writing numbers in the millions, working on our rounding, and using our reference book to read graphs and charts. Comparing length, speed, and heights of roller coasters was a fun project we researched during the week.
Our students are earning key cards for key behaviors. “Be the Key to Our Success!”
5th Grade Happenings!
“Learning is discovering that something is possible.” ~ Fritz Perls
This week was the start of our Genius Hour and SUCCESS groups. We are proud of the fifth graders’ hard work on their projects and their interventions. WE love seeing them grow in their learning!
Math: We continue to work with area and volume. We are working with the different formulas on finding each.
Science: We continue to learn the parts of a plant from roots, stems, and leaves and the job each part does for the plant. We are also learning which foods we eat are which part of the plant. Example carrots-roots.
Lit./SS: We are learning about the different types of figurative language authors use to make their writing more interesting and descriptive. In social studies, we are going to be exploring the hemispheres of our world.
6th Grade Happenings!
Genius Hour is off to a great start! Students are buzzing about their projects. Be sure to ask your child about theirs.
In literacy/social studies, we are continuing to write personal narratives. Students have been finding powerful current events to write about. Keep reading 20 minutes every night!
In science, we finished exploring the phases of the moon. Next week, we will start to explore comets, meteors, and asteroids. Don’t forget to look for the lunar eclipse Sunday night!
In math, students are working with fractions. They will be adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. Keep practicing multiplication facts!
Amazing Piece of History in 6th grade Math!
Band
5th & 6th Grade Band
The 5th and 6th grade bands are progressing nicely. The more you practice the better you will do. Keep up the great work!
Feel free to join us at: www.facebook.com/groups/455113234509528 for live updates for GCIS bands!
Music Mania
Greetings from Brenda Roberts!
4th Grade General Music
This week we played a game of Name That Note! Students took turns tossing 3 bean bags on a staff. Wherever the bean bag landed on the staff, the student was to identify the note name. We used several avenues of approach to figure out the names. Line names are E,G,B,D,F and space names are F,A,C,E. Knowing the musical alphabet (ABCDEFG) forward and backward is definitely an advantage! A Chromebook app was used to assist students with the skill of note naming.
5th Grade General Music
Students brainstormed ideas for the Winter Concert. It will be here before we know it! (Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, 7:00 p.m. @ GCMS)
They are also beginning to read and write rhythmic notation!
6th Grade General Music
Ask the students what they know about the 1950’s and you immediately get the answer: Elvis Presley! I worked on broadening their music spectrum to include the growing influence of Rhythm and Blues and Country music. Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis definitely took musical entertainment to a new height. The 1960’s brought in the British invasion to music scene as well as the revival of Folk music. Technology brought in the color television and life will never be the same.
Action in PE!
This week we started our Frisbee unit. We started off by sharing with them the history of the Frisbee. Believe it or not, Mr. Frisbee was a pie maker in the 1950’s and his students at college started throwing pie tins around. Mr. Frisbee took this idea to the Wamo company and sold the rights to this invention and they began marketing the Frisbee. We started off working on the backhand toss and the three different ways to catch.
FCS
5th grade:
The 5th graders are opening their minds to what is determined by their heredity and their environment and this week are exploring family relationships and roles they play in their family, school, and community. Part of the discussion is also who are their role models.
6th Grade:
The 6th graders are building marshmallow towers and learning how goals can be written to help us by being more SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ATTAINABLE, REALISTIC and TIME-BOUND.
GCIS Art
Mindcraft in Art!
Looking Good!
Proportion in 4th!
T.A.G. Update
In TAG we are still working on our Genius Hour projects! In the 5th and 6th grades, we have sent out the Battle of the Books book list!!! So students- get reading!! Parents, make sure they are working on reading the books on the list. Remember, readers are leaders!
Tech Lit & Media
The 6th graders continued to work on their Everfi program for Digital Literacy. The module they completed this week discussed the mechanics and services of wireless communication. It also describes strategies for using mobile devices safely and responsibly.
The 5th graders used the Moby Max application to test their computation skills, using the Fact Master link. They had to answer as many addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts that they could within the given time limit. The goal was for the students to increase their accuracy and speed.
The 4th graders continued working on their Everfi program for Financial Literacy. The module they completed this week discussed income and careers. They learned about how people get an income, build a career, and responsibly pay their taxes and bills. Students were asked to find the differences between a want and a need.
In the library, we will be learning about some wonderful online resources available to everyone in our district from the AEA. These tools will be a great asset to students as they do research for their genius projects.
--Mrs. Fester
Special Education Updates from Mrs. Thede, Mrs. Meier, and Mrs. Coil!
Be Positive
As much as we can, it is good to be positive in our daily lives. Look on the bright side, be optimistic, think the best of people, try to be upbeat, BE PROUD of yourself and let the sun shine in!
This message supports all of our hopes and aspirations this year and beyond.
(taken from Teaching & Learning)Counselors Corner!
We are approaching the end of our discussions regarding our word of the month, ASPIRE.
Maya Angelou once said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, DO better!’
We believe the word ASPIRE not only applies to our academic goals, but also to our behavior. We encourage the students to ASPIRE to always demonstrate safe, respectful, and responsible behavior.
As counselors, we have the opportunity to work with students on behavioral change. Just as Ms. Angelou alluded to, the first step is AWARENESS. Teachers and counselors can help students become aware of behaviors that might not be aligned with our building goal behaviors. We can then educate the students on alternative responses and support them in behavioral change.
We must be patient as behavioral change doesn’t happen overnight, but we can aspire to DO a little better everyday!
GCIS Clubs!
Clubs
Students at GCIS will have the opportunity to be part of clubs beginning Sept. 23rd. Club time will happen every Wednesday during the school day.
Club voting is underway! We will be gathering all the student feedback and plugging into our organizer for the year! Students are very excited to get the ball rolling!
Nurse News!
Hi! I am Jill Wanninger and I will be the school nurse at GCIS. I am excited to be here! Please keep me informed of any health issues your children may be having.