GSD E-Blast
March 2023
Dear GSD Families,
Spring is on its way in GSD! We have had a busy month already with some of our sports teams headed to compete at the State level and Robotics is in full swing competing this weekend in Milford! Our CHS Top Ten students haven also been named for their outstanding achievements in academics. We are so pleased to share with you how their hard work, perseverance and dedication has placed them in the spotlight. Please take a few minutes to check out the below highlights from this past month and I hope you feel as impressed as I do with the continued success of our talented students!
Your partner in education,
Amy Conway
Superintendent
Spark's Corner
Research shows that being happy and positive primes the brain to be more successful and productive. Promoting positivity will enhance our student’s academic ability and develop them into happy and positive thinkers and leaders. Each month we will highlight a building or staff member that is spreading “The Orange” (Happiness) through Gibraltar!
Downriver STEM @ Weiss Elementary Peers make Valentine's Cards
Weiss Elementary has about 100 of our students involved in our Peer-to-Peer program. Earlier this month our peers and links got together to make Valentine's cards that were sent to different children's hospitals and Ronald McDonald houses around the country. We hope that this act will put a smile on the face of a child that is going through a challenge. Our Weiss kids had a great time sharing love and being creative throughout this activity!
Kindergarten Round Up is Coming!
Do you have a child at home who will be five years old on or before September 1, 2023? Do you know someone who does, perhaps a friend or a neighbor? If so, Gibraltar School District has a spot waiting just for them in our kindergarten classrooms next year! Gibraltar School District offers both a traditional Kindergarten program as well as a Young Fives Kindergarten program. Both of these programs have a strong focus on the math and literacy skills needed for a solid foundation through the course of the formative elementary years. Registration opened on February 21. Once you register, please join us for an informational night, for parents and prospective students, on April 11 at 6:00. These will be held in each elementary building. Visit our website for more information!
http://www.gibdist.net/about/register-students/kindergarten-young-5s-registration
Carlson High School
During February our Carlson High School Student Council hosted all of the Downriver League Student Councils for a day of Leadership. This was the first time that Carlson High School has hosted a Downriver Student Council event since before the pandemic. Students were given tours of our building, discussed leadership opportunities, gave presentations on their respective schools, and enjoyed a wonderful catered lunch.
Athletes at States
CHS is also wrapping up another great winter sports season. The boys bowling team is headed to team state finals, and boys and girls bowling are sending 3 bowlers to the individual state finals. The competitive cheer team is once again one of the finest in all of Michigan this winter. They compete for a state title on March 3rd in Mt. Pleasant. On that same day, we will have 6 wrestlers competing for an individual state title at Ford Field in Detroit.
CHS Top Ten
We are excited to announce our members of the Top Ten for the Carlson High School, Class of 2023:
Siya Patel - Valedictorian (1)
Malla-Hayat Bhatti - Salutatorian (2)
John Hojnowski - 3
Kareem Fahs - 4
Matthew Vizachero - 4
Sienna Roll - 6
Emily Petty - 7
Benjamin Witkowski - 8
Andrew Jia - 9
Halle Evans - 10
Chapman Elementary School
Caring for our Community
Over the past month, Chapman Elementary has been focused on service learning and teaching students to care for their community. We have continued on the tradition of the "Puppy Love" donation drive for the seventh year in a row! Families participate by up-cycling belongings to help shelters keep animals well until they find their forever homes. Many items, including treats, collars, food, and blankets, were donated to 2 local animal shelters.
Continuing on with this theme, Chapman students are beginning a new service learning project with compost bins. Charge Up Crew members are educating our students and staff on what composting is, what can go into our compost bins and how this can impact our planet in a positive way! We will then soon begin collecting fruit and veggie scraps at lunch to be added to our compost bins in the school garden. Both of these service learning projects are in conjunction with our Green Schools program!
Hunter Elementary School
HFSA Sponsored Assembly: Science Alive AND MORE
The Hunter Family School Association has sponsored over $5,000.00 worth of engaging, educational, and exciting assemblies this school year. Most recently, the Science Alive presentation came to Hunter to bring live animals at the students finger-tips. Some of the unique animals included an alligator, a chinchilla, a huge toad and a gigantic Burmese python named Freckles.
The HFSA also recently purchased high-quality soccer goals for the students to use at recess. These will be installed as soon as they arrive. These are sure to be a fan favorite!
Downriver STEM @ Weiss
Ford Engineers Come to Weiss
Our 3rd graders got to learn all about Electric Vehicles(EV) from engineers at Ford Motor Company! They learned about problems and solutions to creating this vehicle, how engineers use a process to solving these problems, how these vehicles are created, and more! It was an amazing experience for all! Thanks Ms. Hardy and Ms. Bates for arranging this opportunity!
Parsons Elementary School
Parsons Lighthouse Leaders have continued their collaboration with the Kiwanis Club by supporting Operation Pet Shelter. Parsons students have been donating food, blankets, dog and cat toys, puppy pads, etc to support the local pet shelter. Additionally, Lighthouse Leaders and teachers, Brittany Gurney, Kendra Cook, Laura Cain, and Hollie Bryant, joined Kiwanis after school to make blankets and dog and cat toys. Thank you Kiwanis for supporting our student leaders!
Lakeshore Virtual School
Spreading the Love
Valentine's Day at LVS was a day to send some caring wishes to those who don't always receive them on Valentine's Day. Our Leadership Club organized a social event for staff and students to celebrate Valentine's Day together and to send Valentine's Day wishes to patients at Aberdeen Nursing Home in Trenton. Our school decorated 50 placemats with stickers, creative artwork, and cute sayings for the patients so that they could celebrate Valentine's Day with these thoughtful placemats. We hope it made their Valentine's Day a special one!
Shumate Middle School
Shumate 6th Grade Structural Design
6th grade students at Shumate took part in a hands-on learning activity in which teams built and tested model structures to withstand various simulations of real-life forces that sometimes topple real buildings. Student teams first built models of buildings using only toothpicks and miniature marshmallows, with the goal of supporting a load of weight. The structures of various sizes and shapes held up to 45 pounds of sandbags. The teams then took what they learned from the first activity and built a new structure using the same materials with the goal of withstanding a “hurricane”, which was simulated using a leaf blower. Teamwork, problem solving and engineering, mixed with a bit of fun competition is a great way to build a deeper understanding of science concepts!
Transportation Department
Congratulations to Jill Howard, our new Sub Bus Driver. She has passed her road test and will be taking beginning bus driver training in April. We also are excited to welcome aboard Jonathan Stuart, our Sub Aide. We are hiring bus drivers and bus aides. If you are interested, contact us at (734) 379-6370.
Food Service
NATIONAL BREAKFAST WEEK- MARCH 6-10
Breakfast is served every morning!
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and schools provide millions of breakfast to hungry children. This gives us reason to celebrate. Studies show that breakfast can support a student’s learning throughout the day, leading to increased focus, fewer absences and better grades.
Throughout National School Breakfast Week March 6-10, GSD is celebrating the importance of a nutritious school breakfast in fueling students for success. Have your student check out breakfast at their school and start their day with a smile!
Breakfast Served every morning at each school starting at:
Carlson 7:15, Shumate 7:55, Chapman 8:20, Hunter 8:20, Parsons 8:33, Weiss 8:43