Blue Jay News
December 1st, 2023
A Message from the Administrative Team
Greenwood Students and Families:
The first semester is winding down; please make sure your student is staying up to date on their academics. The first semester grade is used to determine Honor Roll status.
Congratulations to Dr. Slater, Mr. Gowers, and our Greenwood music students on an outstanding performance at the Winter Concert. Greenwood is blessed to have outstanding instructors along with a tremendous amount of talented students. Well done!
The annual COOKIE EXCHANGE is next Thursday, December 7 in the afternoon. This is one of our favorite traditions at Greenwood! We appreciate all of the wonderful “goodies” provided to our faculty/staff on this day. Parents are reminded they can simply drop off their treats during car line in the morning of December 7, or the evening prior if attending the elementary music performance.
We would like to thank SGT Jeff Burnett (GLS Class of 1994) with the Springfield Police Department and FBI Cybercrimes task force for presenting to middle school parents on cyber awareness, the potential dangers, and strategies and resources to manage students with online activity. Very informative!
Greenwood will once again be the host of 48 hours of high school basketball in partnership with the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. It has been renamed the Bill Rowe Queen City Showcase and will be held in the Betty and Bobby Allison Event Center December 15-17. The event will be live streamed on CityLink and a link to view will be sent out soon. We wish our boys and girls teams the best of luck as they play in this event!
Yesterday it was released that Greenwood will be joining the newly formed Greater Ozarks Conference (GOC). This is very exciting news! This innovative conference will include competitions for sports, activities, and academics. For the full press release, please visit our “Athletics” page on our website. Thank you to Coach Taylor for being on the formation committee. Thank you to Sadie Chisum, our graduate assistant who designed the new conference logo!
We want to thank Mike Blake and Love Phillips, along with all the parents that volunteered and transformed our school with holiday decorations. Thank you all, it is wonderful!
Professional development for staff this month focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education. AI, along with other information generating technologies, are becoming more and more a part of our world. At Greenwood, we align with the university’s philosophy on AI, and also want to encourage communication with your students on our expectations. As they form their scholarly foundation, critical thinking, high-level analysis, and written expression skills have always set our students apart from others. The temptation of using AI/ChatGPT formats hinder those skills from being developed. There are advantages and situations that AI generated material may be used but encourage students to allow the teacher to drive what and when it can be used. We want to educate our students on both the technology and appropriate uses of the technology. When teachers encourage students to submit original work using their voice, that is the expectation. Continue to discuss the importance of appropriate use for AI with your students as we continue to gather information and navigate the positive, along with the concerning uses in education.
Greenwood is hosting a cotillion for 7th and 8th graders this year – last day to sign up is TODAY. Email jaimeeseagrave@missouristate.edu to sign up.
For the holiday season, our staff members were given the book The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath as a gift. We want to thank our entire staff for creating extraordinary impact moments doing what they do every day.
Go Blue Jays!
Ron & Jeni
New Absence Reporting Email Reminder
When reporting absences, please send those to GWDattendance@gmail.com.
Athletic Leadership Club
Greenwood will have a new athletic leadership club starting next week!
Mission: To enhance the leadership skills in sports and activities.
First meeting: Thursday, December 7th 12:37pm
Competitive Fitness Classroom
For more information: contact JeniHopkins@MissouriState.edu, Eva Heidemann, Katy Daughtery, Collin Clark, Chance Rose
Members must be a junior or senior and a member of a sport or activity at Greenwood.
Watch Greenwood Events via our Live Stream
GLS families can stream Greenwood events. These can be found by visiting this link: Live Streaming Channel for Events
Greenwood's Grand European Trip Update
Greenwood's Grand European Trip 2024 is 185 days away! Deadline to sign up is the end of this semester so don't be left behind 😊
Contact nbareford@missouristate.edu or kristygilmore@missouristate.edu
Science Olympiad T-Shirts are on Sale Now
Dear GLS Families,
Science Olympians have been working hard all semester. T-shirt designs have been finalized and we have everyone's sizes. If you haven't, please go to the storefront and pay the dues so we can place our order! Thank you so much for all your assistance!
Chris, Christian, Cory, Abby, Dave, and Kristy
Don't Miss the Elementary Winter Music Program
Congratulations to Honor Band Members!
Elif Benzer, clarinet, and Egan Asay, alto saxophone each ranked in the district at the South Central Missouri All-District Band auditions on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Egan earned first alternate in the saxophone section of the Concert Band as the 11th out of 36 saxophones. Elif scored 23rd chair clarinet in the Honor Band out of 60 clarinets. Elif qualifies to audition for All-State Band at Hickman High School in Columbia in December. The All-District Band concert will be held in January.
Greenwood was well represented at the 7/8 Grade Honor Band on Saturday, November 11 at Lebanon High School. Upon arrival at the rehearsal, students auditioned for chairs and Greenwood had 5 students earn first or second chair in their sections! Members included seventh graders Amelie Altrup, percussion; Ruby Brothers, 2nd chair trumpet; Catie Johnson, 1st chair clarinet and Eighth graders Ada Montgomery, 8th chair flute; Dylan Lee, 2nd chair French horn; Olyvia Beach, 1st chair clarinet; Ellie Goodman, 6th chair clarinet; and Ilyaan Khan, 1st chair Bari Saxophone.
First Graders Learn About Careers
Jack’s dad, Alex Wilson, came in to visit for Jacks student of the week personation. Mr. Wilson read Dr. Seuss book Maybe You Should Fly a Jet, Maybe You Should Be a Vet and discussed career options with the students.
He discussed his choice to be a stay at home dad while Jack and his sister are young. Students loved exploring careers they might consider in the future.
Yunay's mom D. Ichha Sethi a family practice physician talked to the class today for Yunay's student of the week presentation. Many students discussed wanting to be a physician when they grow up.
Yunay treated the class to doughnuts!
Second Graders Have Fun Making Gingerbread Houses
Second graders continued the 18 year tradition of making Gingerbread houses. They also compared the similarities and differences in stories based on the original gingerbread tale.
Sign-Up for Winter Break French Camp
Pre-Order Your 2023 Greenwood Blue and Gold T-Shirt
Pre-order your 2023 Greenwood Blue and Gold t-shirt! Order by December 1st and pay only $15.
Shirts will be delivered to school on Wednesday December 13th to be picked up at office.
If you miss out, Greenwood Booster Club will be selling t-shirts the first two days of the tournament at the Great Southern Arena entrance for $20 each.
https://greenwood-booster.square.site/
If you have any questions feel free to contact Abbi Rose at abbi@pinegarchevrolet.com or 417-830-3838.
Concession Stand Volunteers Needed for Basketball Games
BOYS! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D4EAEA62DA0F94-45564938-high
GIRLS! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D4EAEA62DA0F94-45675904-high
K-5 Elementary Service Project: Bear Pantry
Donations will be collected through December 14, 2023. Items needed: Nonperishable Food Items- canned meat, fruit, vegetables, soup, macaroni and cheese, noodles, spaghetti, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, spice mixes, salt, pepper, condiments, etc. School Supplies and Hygiene products are also appreciated-soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, laundry and cleaning supplies. Cash is also an option- Make checks payable to the Bear Pantry MSU.
GPA Cookbook Fundraiser
Greenwood Parent Association is bringing back a classic!
For years, Greenwood put together a cookbook of favorite recipes and now it's your turn to add to the tradition. Please submit your favorite family recipes here. We will compile them into a cookbook that will be available for sale this school year. We look forward to starting up a much-loved tradition again. You are more than welcome to submit a recipe from a previous cookbook, if you have one!
Cookbooks will be spiral bound, with a color cover and black and white interior with student art. Cost will be between $25-35, depending on how many pages it has and how many are ordered.
Updates from Archery
Eleven of our archers will compete in the 1st Annual Shoot for the Moon Invitational at Willard Intermediate School North, today and tomorrow, December 1 and 2!
PRACTICE TIMES FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS:
December 4-8, 7:20-8:00 AM: We will have an extra practice Friday morning for those entering our tournament in Conway. Anyone else can come for an extra practice as well. Flight time for our 7 archers entered Saturday, December 9, will be at 11:00 AM. Grayson is also entered in the 3D tournament to try that out for us. His flight time for the 3D is at 9:30 AM.
December 11-14, 7:20-8:00 AM: All archers can come any morning this week. We will do something fun for the holidays each morning!!
MON-WED group: Addy Cimino, Ella Englert, Sawyer Evans, Gianni Gititu, Arjun Jayarao, Lilly Johnson, Bennett Kester, Kara Reynolds, Dax Ringer, Alton, Trombold, Jack Wyas, and Sam Schneider
TUE-THU group: Olyvia Beach, Ruby Brothers, Cullen Burch, Turner Crockett, Lillian Frederick, Halston Hicks, Jack Lindsey, Katelyn Matz, Katie Palmer, Grayson Steiro, William Wyas, Grace Yen
Contact Coach Jon Ewing if you have any questions: j.e.ewing@att.net or 417-569-8698
From the Counselors
Semester 2 Schedules – Mrs. Ewing will be contacting those students who have incomplete schedules for Semester 2. The expectation is to have all spring schedules set before leaving for Winter Break, December 14.
Upcoming CollegeRep Visits to Greenwood: Representatives from colleges/universities (and other programs or businesses) will be available in the Science Wing during lunch (12:37-1:27). They will be happy to provide information about their school and answer any questions you may have.
□ Dec 7 – Drury University
Seniors: Finish STRONG!! Commit and follow through to a strong completion of your “last first semester” of high school!
PSAT: Remember to pay the testing fee of $18 on Storefront. Scores have been released to students.
ACT and SAT Reminders:
Register for the ACT at ACT | College and Career Readiness Solutions.
Register for the SAT at The SAT – SAT Suite | College Board.
Be sure to enter our School Code (CEEB) to identify with Greenwood: 263285. See the Greenwood Counseling Website for ACT/SAT tips Greenwood Laboratory School Counseling Department (greenwoodlabcounseling.com)
Many colleges/universities are test optional for admissions; even some scholarship programs are test optional. Check with the institutions you are interested in pursuing for their specific requirements.
CLASS 101 Program Opportunities:
1. Super Junior Program - 7 Goals in 3 Months Register for your free individual Super Junior session to proactively prepare to tackle your college application goals by Super Bowl Sunday.
2. ACT Practice Test - Saturday, Dec 2, 9:00 – 12:30 PM Register Here
This practice test is open to any high school student who has not taken a practice test with CLASS 101 in the past 12 months or to all students registered in our full college planning program. This is a great way to get a baseline score and a strengths and weaknesses report before going into an official test.
Spring 24 PRE-COLLEGE REGISTRATION: Registration for MSU’s spring semester opens for Pre-college students on November 17. Students wishing to concurrently enroll in Pre-college courses at MSU must first make an appointment with Teresa Cunningham (Zoom or in person). Following that appointment, she will lift the hold on student accounts allowing students to then register. Follow one of the links to schedule your appointment with Teresa: To book an in person appointment; To book a Zoom appointment.
Teresa is our Pre-College Academic Advisor. You will love working with her! You will find her very responsive, positive, and sincere in her approach to assisting you in successfully navigating college classes.
Open the spring catelog on your MyMissouriState account by finding the Registration card and clicking on "Add, Drop, or Search for Classes," or use this link: Class Schedule - Missouri State.
Scholarships:
Bold.org is the largest independent scholarship provider in the US. Visit the links below to learn more about many scholarship opportunities:
- https://bold.org/scholarships/
- https://bold.org/scholarships/by-year/high-school/seniors/
- Exclusive Mental Health Scholarships in 2023 were recently updated.
Also check out www.scholarships.com and www.fastweb.com.
LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITY - TEEN ADVISORY BOARD for the Midtown Carnegie Branch Library. See Mrs. Ewing to pick up an application if you are interested in applying to serve on the Midtown Library’s NEW Teen Advisory Board. Students (grades 6-12) can create a positive impact for teens in our community by creating a welcoming teen area with displays and interactive activities; plan and lead library events for teens and kids; attend a monthly advisory board meeting to collaborate and choose upcoming projects. You can also complete service-learning hours during the school day or on the weekends. Deadline for applications is December 22, 2023. Contact sadief@thelibrary.org or 417-616-0470 for more information.
MAKER SPACE: You can make it, fix it, preserve it at The Maker Space located in the Midtown Carnegie Branch Library. Visit thelibrary.org/makerspace for a video tour. Registration is required for individual maker sessions and programs. Upcoming special programs:
- ·Cricut Gift Bags (for adults) Dec 4-9, 10am – 5pm. Materials provided. Registration starts Nov 15.
- Dungeons & Dragons DIY (gr 6 – adults) Jan 8-13, 10am – 5pm. Supplies provided. Registration begins Dec 26.
- ·Vacuum Formed Soaps (for adults) Feb 5-10, 10am – 5pm. Materials provided. Registration begins Jan 23.
For more information or to register, call 417-837-5011 to make an appointment.
Jay Pic of the Week
Reminders from the Nurses
If your child will have any medication kept at school such as inhalers or Epi-Pens - please sign the medication authorization form (link below) and bring the medication to school with the prescription label attached.
Our goal is to keep all students safe and healthy at school to foster the best learning environment possible. Please review our Greenwood Illness Policy below.
Students should be kept home with the following:
Fever 100.4 or greater
Cough
Rash
Sore throat/swollen glands
Shortness of breath
Runny nose or congestion
Diarrhea
Nausea or vomiting
Fatigue
Headache
Muscle pain
Lack of appetite
Red, itchy, or watery eyes
Persistent earache
Our illness policy is as follows:
Students who have had any of the above symptoms in the past 24 hours should stay home from school until symptoms resolve without the use of medication to relieve symptoms. Students must be fever free and/or symptom-free (including vomiting/diarrhea) without the use of fever-reducing medication (or medication to control symptoms) for 24 hours before returning to school.
Students will be sent home with the following:
Temperature of 100.4 or greater
Nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea
Symptoms related to possible communicable disease (skin rashes, redness of eyes, swollen glands, etc.)
Excessive drainage from eyes, ears, persistent earache, constant cough; or painful sore throat accompanied by enlarged lymph nodes.
Head lice or nits.
Return to school following injury:
Please provide a doctor's note with a written request for any necessary modifications or accommodations.
If your student tests positive for COVID-19:
They should isolate at home for at least 5 days after symptom onset or after testing positive.
Isolation can end after symptom resolution, which may take longer than the 5-day minimum.
Once isolation has ended, it is recommended that a mask be worn around others for at least 5 days.
If a student is sent home with COVID-19 like symptoms:
Negative COVID test or doctor's note is required for return to school.
Must have resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications for at least 24 hours AND
Improvement of symptoms without the use of medication to control symptoms.
Students who feel healthy but have recently had close contact with a person with COVID-19 should monitor their health until 10 days after exposure.
Please let me know if you have any questions, or if we can support your student in any way.
We are looking forward to a great year,
Nurse Heather & Nurse Alexa
Office Phone: 417-836-4911
Nurse Heather: heatherseal@missouristate.edu
Nurse Alexa: ars52093@missouristate.edu
Greenwood Laboratory School
Email: Greenwood@Missouristate.edu
Website: https://education.missouristate.edu/greenwood/
Location: 1024 East Harrison Street, Springfield, MO, USA
Phone: (417) 836-5124
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenwoodlab
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greenwoodlabschool/
Counseling Website: https://www.greenwood.missouristate.edu/page/counseling-department
Greenwood Blue Jays YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@greenwoodbluejays4814/featured