Panther Prowl
April 5, 2024
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE 🤝
Hi Panther Families,
Welcome back from Spring Break! I hope you all found some much deserved time to spend with family and friends! Get ready, the end of the year is near and it comes quickly. We hope you are ready for the exciting events we have planned. Spring is in full swing, and with it comes a renewed sense of energy and enthusiasm among our students and staff.
First and foremost, I want to extend my appreciation to all the students who participated in our tutoring sessions over the past few weeks. I also want to remind our 8th Grade Panthers and Families, tutoring comes to end on May 17th. I encourage our eighth-grade students to ensure that any remaining late work is submitted in accordance with the 8th Grade Teacher Late Work Policy.
8th Grade Panther families be sure to review the Promotion and End Of Year requirements below:
8th Grade Promotion Requirements (English)
8th Grade Promotion Requirements (Spanish)
We have been sending notices via Parent Square monthly to those Panthers who’s participation is in jeopardy. Starting next week, we will be sending these notices out bi-weekly to ensure consistent and transparent communication.
Speaking of commitment, I am thrilled to announce our upcoming "Shadow a Panther" event. This unique opportunity allows rising 6th grades from our feeder elementary schools to experience a day in the life of a Glen Edwards Panther. It's a chance for them to immerse themselves in our vibrant school community and get a glimpse of the incredible educational journey that awaits them.
Mark your calendars, because our annual Open House is just around the corner! Please SAVE THE DATE , May 16th, and join us for an evening filled with student showcases, interactive activities, and time to connect with teachers and staff. It's a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our students' achievements and witness the incredible learning taking place at Glen Edwards Middle School. More information to come in the May newsletter!
But wait, there's more! We have a lineup of other exciting events and initiatives in the works, including: AVID attending the Oakland A's Sports & Career Day, our 6th Grade Cultural Fair, PBIS, Spirit Rewards, SBAC celebration and Campus Beautification Projects. These opportunities and events enrich the Panther experience but also foster a sense of community and pride within our school.
As we continue to navigate the remainder of the school year, I want to express my gratitude to our dedicated students, families, teachers, and staff for your unwavering support and commitment to excellence. GO PANTHERS!
Panther Proud,
Ms. Castillo
🍎 VP CORNER
As we welcome the vibrant colors of spring and the fresh start of April, let's embrace the spirit of growth and renewal in our middle school community. Please see below for some information about behavioral reminders and state testing.
No Perfume/Sprays Indoors- As we step into the blooming season of spring, a friendly reminder to all students: please refrain from spraying perfume or body spray in the classrooms. Let's keep our learning environments comfortable and safe for everyone. Thank you for your cooperation and thank you for reminding your students!
Dress Code- As spring brings about nicer weather, students need to remember to adhere to our school’s dress code guidelines. Your cooperation and support in reminding your students ensures a positive and focused learning environment for all.
Please take the time to review with your student and the dress code can be found in our student handbook page 5- Here is the link for your convenience.
End of Year Behavior Expectations- As we approach the end of the school year, it's crucial to uphold our behavior expectations to finish strong. Let's continue demonstrating how to be a Panther by following our school expectations and being positive, productive, and professional towards one another and our learning environment. Positive behavior contributes to a successful and enjoyable conclusion to the academic year. As a reminder students that have behavioral concerns/consequences, may lose out on the opportunity to participate in some of the end of year activities (6th/7th grade- field trips, campus events/activities- 8th grade- promotion activities/events/trips).
State Testing CAASPP/SBAC- Stay tuned for upcoming information regarding state testing.
Wishing you all a bright start to the month ahead,
Jessica Fernandez
Assistant Principal
🎓 8th GRADE PROMOTION INFORMATION
ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS
The following three requirements will be utilized in determining academic eligibility for promotion and summer school eligibility. Students meeting all three of the following requirements will be academically eligible to participate in the promotion Ceremony.
- Overall cumulative GPA of “C” or better
- GPA of 2.0 (“C”) or better in Language Arts
- GPA of 2.0 (“C”) or better in Mathematics
The academic requirements will only apply to semester 2 grades for the 2023/2024 school year and will be applied at administration discretion.
Summer School:
A student who fails to meet the academic promotion requirements may be recommended to summer school, giving additional academic support for the next grade level. The recommendation to summer school for students who fail to meet the above-stated academic requirements will be at the discretion of the administration.
BEHAVIOR REQUIREMENTS
Eighth-grade students must meet the academic and behavioral requirements to participate in promotion activities. Academic requirements are listed above and the behavioral requirements are listed below.
Eighth-grade promotion activities may include a water park trip, promotion dance, and the promotion ceremony. Additionally, students must return all materials, supplies, textbooks, and equipment issued to them and must pay all their debts by the required deadlines.
If during the last seven weeks of school, a student receives the following discipline, it may result in:
- First Administrative Referral – Loss of water park trip
- Third Administrative Referral – Loss of Promotion Dance
If during the last seven weeks of school, a student receives the following discipline, it may result in:
- One day of suspension – Loss of all promotion activities with the exception of the promotion ceremony.
- Multiple days of suspension - Loss of all promotion activities including the promotion ceremony.
The behavioral requirements will only apply to the last 7 weeks of the 2023/2024 school year and will be enforced at the discretion of the administration.
8th GRADE PROMOTION ACTIVITIES 🌊 🪩
Please note the following times, dates, and deadlines for the 8th Grade Activity Week.
PERMISSION SLIPS were distributed through 6th period classes upon return from Spring Break (4/1/24). ALL COMPLETED FORMS ARE DUE Tuesday, 4/9/24, and should be turned into the front office. If you need a copy, grab one from the front office.
DON'T DELAY TURN YOUR FORMS IN TODAY!!
- Tuesday, April 9th All monies and permission slips due for promotion activities
- Monday, June 3rd Sunsplash Trip - $45.00 (GEMS students only. Lunch, Admission & Transportation included). Leave at approximately 9:45am/return at 5:00pm. There will be no parent pick-ups at Sunsplash. Students must ride the bus back to school. NO summer passes can be used – Per Sunsplash
- Wednesday, June 5th Promotion Dance - $15.00 (students only) 6:30-8:30pm @ Glen Edwards Middle School (see below for dress requirements)
- Thursday, June 6th Promotion Ceremony - (for parents) 9:00am at Glen Edwards Middle School. Students should arrive to school on time (8:00am) to prepare for ceremony entrance. Guest seating is first come first serve. Please be prepared for any type of weather. No umbrellas or pop ups allowed.
Promotion Certificates:
Names will be printed as they appear on the school computer unless otherwise requested by parents. Please contact our office if you would like your child’s name updated.
PARENT PROMOTION DANCE COMMITTEE
A huge thank you to Chelsea Walsh and Amy Ridgway!!! They have graciously taken on the roll of fine tuning some remaining items needed for the Promotion Dance. Please reach out to them if you are able to assist with: decorating, chaperoning, clean up, or donations. The success of the event depends on parental support. We look forward to hearing from you!!
Chelsea Walsh - Chairperson / chelseawalsh88@gmail.com
Amy Ridgway - Co-Chairperson / aaridgway@gmail.com
STUDENT LEADERSHIP 🥫🧀
Leadership took a field trip to The Salt Mines food Closet to see where and how food from our can food drives is distributed to our community. Students were able to learn more about volunteer opportunities with the Salt Mine and how big of an impact that the Food Coset makes for our community.
Mrs. Mullen, Mrs. Freymond and Ms. Castillo went to the annual California Activities Director Association Conference and came back with a lot of fun and exciting new ideas for the leadership class to start implementing in our school. While there, it was exciting to connect with our Twelve Bridges Middle School counterparts.
Students have been hard at work completing our SBAC song and video as well as preparing for our SBAC rally. Keep an eye out for the video release near the end of April, beginning of May.
We will be rescheduling our ASB event from April 19th to a later date in May, stay tuned for details to come.
SPRING BAND COMPETITION 🎺🎶
Just before the Spring Break, 17 students from the GEMS Advanced Band traveled to Anaheim and competed in the Heritage Festival at the Rose Center Theater. The students combined with members from the Twelve Bridges Middle School Band and in the essence of camaraderie were awarded the Heritage Festival Spirit Award which recognized students who can work together to achieve a common positive and professional goal. The students, identified at the Heritage Festival as the Western Placer Unified Combined Middle School Band, earned a Silver award for their performance. Students ended their trip with a two-day adventure in the Disneyland Theme Parks.
INCOMING 7th GRADE - IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENT
Before your student enters the 7th grade in Fall 2024, documentation of Tdap- 1 dose (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis – whooping cough booster usually given at ages 11and up) and Varicella – 2 doses (VZV and/or MMRV -usually given at 12 months and 4-6 years) is required. In addition, please make sure that your student is current with all other immunizations.
If your student is up to date with all the required immunizations, please bring proof to the office for our health records. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact our office as soon as possible by calling 916 - 645- 6370.
Thank you!
GEMS Health Services
ACADEMIC SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES 🙋📚
PLEASE NOTE: TUTORING FOR THE 23-24 SCHOOL YEAR WILL END ON MAY 17TH. THE FOUNDRY AFTER SCHOOL M-W WILL STILL BE AVAILABLE.
PANTHER PRIDE MONTHLY STUDENT RECOGNITION
6th GRADE FIELD TRIP - SAVE THE DATE(S)
We are excited for the upcoming field trip to SeaQuest. To keep it safe for all and to support proper behavior at GEMS and at this event, there are requirements for attending this event. Starting next week all behavior is being recorded in accordance with the outlines given by administrators earlier this semester. We have included that outline with this letter.
Information below was reviewed with students in January:
The last 7 weeks - Any behavior events that require an Admin. Referral may result in the loss of an End of the Year Celebration/Trip. Any student that receives a Friday school or a Suspension will lose EOY event/trip.
End of the year celebrations/activities:
SeaQuest field trip
End of the year BBQ
If during the last seven weeks of school, a student receives the following discipline, it may result in:
First Administrative Referral / Friday school– Loss of SeaQuest field trip
Second Administrative Referral/ Friday school – Loss of EOY BBQ
SeaQuest field trip-
Half the students will be attending the field trip on Wednesday May 22 and the other half will be on Thursday May 23. Students will be divided by last name as to which day they will attend. Please stay tuned for a direct ParentSquare post that will be sent on 4/15/24 that will include the day your student will attend along with an electronic permission form. We are also asking for a $20 donation for the cost of the facility and bussing.
Thank you for your support,
6th grade team
APTS 🤝
Association of Parents, Teachers & Students
HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who participated in our Dine out event at Siinos. We raised $250 that night! Woo hoo!
WHO IS APTS?
We are a parent group. APTS stands for All Parents Teachers and Students. For those of you who don't know us, check out our flyer here! Be sure to follow us on Facebook @GemsApts
MEETINGS
Our APTS meetings are now IN PERSON in the Library. Parents AND students are welcome! Your participation is vital in shaping a vibrant school community. Our next meeting is on Monday, April 15th @4pm. We hope you can join us!
SUPPORT APTS
An easy way to support GEMS APTS with very little effort is to assign Glen Edwards Middle School to your Box Tops account.
ONGOING FUNDRAISERS
We still have Water Bottle stickers and bling hoodie strings for sale. Order anytime from our website
TEACHER WISH LISTS
Reminder teachers will add/edit their lists throughout the year. Please be sure to support!
Agrippino Alonso Banderas Butler Casillas Colson Davena Flamenco Gonzalez Hargis Harp Harrigan Hunt Kent Koerner Law Lukas Luci Mahan Martin McAdam Mullen Noonan Otte Ransford Rayos Ressa Rodriguez Santos Saul Smith, Richard Smith, Ryan Stolesen Ward White
Any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email at GemsAPTS@Gmail.com
WELLNESS CENTER
THE FOUNDRY
Items of Interest for PANTHERS 🐾
TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR SPORTS:
IF your student wants to participate in any athletic capacity be sure you have an account created and physical clearance by a physician.
- Parent AND Student must create their own account, fill out and submit information via FINAL FORMS
- All students must have a current PHYSICAL on file with the school (current means within the past year).
NO CHILD WILL BE ALLOWED TO PRACTICE OR PARTICIPATE WITHOUT THE PROPER FORMS. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE GRANTED.
🏀 Ending Of The Girls Basketball Season 🏀
🤩
All the most talented kiddos were put into squads- East Vs West. The girls worked well together and it was a fun game to watch!!!
YEARBOOK
Yearbooks are selling quick! If you have not pre-ordered your yearbook, you can do so one of two ways:
1) Stop by the main office with exact cash $60
2) visit jostensyearbooks.com to reserve online
We are going to sell out this year so DO NOT wait! We have less than 100 books left.
Prices will go up to $65 in mid May.
Also...We need Spring Break photos for the yearbook!! Please email gemsyearbook@wpusd.org and include SPRING BREAK in the subject line. Include date of the photo in the message.
ATTENDANCE REPORTING
Check out the flier below. There are several ways to report absences. We hope you find it useful!
ALSO NOTE: There will be NO TRAVEL STUDIES allowed to last two weeks of school. Anyone on Travel Study status must be done and returned to school no later than May 24th.
DID YOU KNOW..??..
- When you receive a message that your student was absent, you can respond easily by clicking on the link within the message to report your student's absence.
- 7th period is actually the students PAW period and the first class of the day Tuesday - Friday.
Head's up! OUR NEW 24/7 GLEN EDWARDS MIDDLE SCHOOL Sideline Store is officially up and running. Stop reading and start shopping to score the latest fan wear and accessories.
*PLEASE NOTE: THESE CLOTH ITEMS WILL NOT MEET PE UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS. DO NOT PURCHASE FOR PE CLOTH FROM HERE.
Follow Us On Facebook! 👍
Don't forget to follow our GEMS Facebook Page to stay on top of all the fun things we are doing around campus! Click this link or the picture below to follow!
We Are 105 Podcast
We Are 105 is a podcast produced by GEMS Advanced Broadcasting class. Find it on our YouTube channel, Spotify, and Apple.
GEMS TV
GEMS TV is a morning news show produced by the students of the GEMS Advanced Broadcasting class.