Jaguar News
Friday, April 8, 2022
We have reached that time of the school year where our days seem to be moving along at a much faster clip. Springtime has a way of doing that each year! Please be sure to keep an eye out for the information in each of these Friday newsletters as it will help ensure that you are keeping pace with us and all of the happenings here at Gentry in the coming days. Have a great weekend!
Full School Day on April 13th
Spirit Week- April 11-15th
MAP Testing is coming up and it is time to get excited! Gentry will have a spirit week next week, all in theme with preparing for MAP. We encourage all students to participate!
Habitat for Humanity Fundraiser
Dear Edwina Jr.
Our choir teacher and students have been hard at work practicing for their up coming show: Dear Edwina Jr.. Join Edwina Spoonapple and her friends as they try to win a ticket to the Kalamazoo Advice-A-Palooza Festival with their weekly production of The Dear Edwina Show! Edwina is a middle school student who has a knack for giving advice. Follow her and her friends as they answer letters from the citizens of Paw Paw, Michigan and give advice on such topics as dealing with siblings, picky eaters, and making friends. The show will run on April 21-22 at 7:00 pm and on April 23 at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students. Children 5 and under are free. All shows will be held in our GMS cafetorium. You won’t want to miss this production! Hope to see you there!
6th Grade Intramurals
Our final round of 6th grade intramurals for 2022 will kick off next week on April 14th. Co-ed volleyball will be the game of choice. If your 6th grade student is interested in participating in this final round of intramurals, please complete the below registration form and have them return it to the main office no later than today, April 8th. Hope to see them there!
March Mammal Madness
Mr. Bruns’ students have been competing in the month long March Mammal Madness and victors were crowned today. March Mammal Madness was started 10 years ago by Katie Hinde, a mammologist from Arizona State University, and has grown since then into an international celebration of learning about the organisms we share our planet with. For more information please check out the MMM Website. See our winners below!
Core 1 Winners: Chance, Maddy and J.J.
Core 2 Winners: Abir, Madison and Rhyese
Core 3 Winners: Billy, Andrew and Zak
Core 4 Winners: Ginger, Will and Finn
Overall Champion: Finn
Faculty Winner: Mrs. Froidl
Gentry Kindness Club
Notes From The Nurse
All CPS students in grades K, 1, 3 and 5 and students who are new to the district are scheduled to have their hearing and vision screened in the health office by their school nurse.
Due to the pandemic, most of our current 6th grade students were not screened as 5th graders so we are playing catch up to get them screened. If we have any concerns regarding your child’s screening, our school nurse will contact you. If you have any additional questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact us 573-214-3246.
Also, now that we have returned from Spring Break filled with travel and gatherings, please continue to be diligent and monitor your child for symptoms of COVID-19 which include:
- Fever (100.4 or higher), chills;
- Shortness of breath, cough, sore throat, headache;
- Congestion or runny nose;
- Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea;
- New loss of smell or taste, new muscle aches
Media Center Minute - MAP Prep
- Touch Settings
- Touch General
- Touch Software Update
- Activate the Update unless your iPad says it's up to date
- You may need to plug in to power and you will need to be connected to WiFi.
- If you are on some version of iOS 14, it could take up to an hour to update.
Thank you for taking care of this important task!
MAP Testing
We’re fast approaching MAP and EOC testing!
Dates: April 19-21, April 26-27, and EOC May 3-4.
Testing will begin promptly at 7:30 am and will be completed by 9:30 am during the MAP testing window. Those students who arrive after 7:30 am during the testing window will remain in the cafeteria and then be rescheduled for the following week so that they can make up MAP testing. See our schedule below. For more information on how to help your student get ready for testing, please view our MAP/EOC information page here.
Fall Cheerleading Tryouts
Cheerleading tryouts for the Fall 2022 squad are coming up April 26th-28th from 2:45-4:30 in the Upstairs Commons. 6th and 7th graders are encouraged to tryout! No cheerleading experience necessary! Students are required to have a MSHSAA physical and commitment/insurance form on file to tryout. They can both be found on the Gentry website. Please contact Ms. Maynard (emaynard@cpsk12.org) or Ms. Noltie (bnoltie@cpsk12.org) with any questions.
Jaguar Sound
“It’s audition time for Gentry Middle School’s Competitive Show Choir “Jaguar Sound”! If your student will be a 7th or 8th grade student next year and they like to sing, dance, and win trophies, then Jaguar Sound is the group for them! Check out the QR code below for audition information and have them come join Mr. Hudnut and the rest of the choir in their first year of show choir competitions! Additional questions? Contact Levi Hudnut at lhudnut@cpsk12.org
GMS Summer Sports Camps
Gentry Middle School will be hosting various summer sports programs and camps throughout the summer months (June-August) for all incoming 7th and 8th grade students. The developmentally appropriate activities that will be offered are designed and selected by qualified professionals with years of coaching experience to ensure your child's enjoyment. Activities will take place in the school gymnasium and playing fields. Please click on the links below for camp and open gym workouts and for our camp registration form. Please return registration forms to the main GMS office.
From Nutrition Services- Starts Today!
Columbia Public Schools Nutrition Services will be replacing the current school meal software starting April 8. The online payment system will now be https://family.schoolcafe.com/. All account balances will automatically transfer to the new system. Families do not need to take any action to transfer balances.
MySchoolBucks has discontinued services. Please remember to turn off any automatic deposits that have been set on a schedule and to sign up for the new online payment app system. School Cafe will go live April 8. During this transition, payments may be made by credit card in the Nutrition Services office in person or by calling 573-214-3480 and by cash or check in your school's cafeteria upon return from spring break.
CPS’s current online free and reduced-price application will continue as is until June 30, and then will convert to the new software application under School Cafe.
Additionally, the new app will allow all the same features such as:
- Online payment to student meal accounts
- Payment scheduling
- View student balances
- Review student purchases
- Balance transfers
- Registration is required to use the above features
- Registration does not require use.
- A convenience fee will continue to be assessed per transaction
Previous transaction history will not transfer to the new system, but account balances will transfer. To see transaction history, for your child(ren) prior to April 8, please contact the Nutrition Services Office and we will be happy to assist. For more information visit www.cpsk12.org/nutritionservices.
Best Regards,
Nutrition Services, lunch@cpsk12.org
Proactive Message for CPS Families
Every Spring we notice an increase of CPS scholars bringing inappropriate objects into various schools. Kids spend more time outdoors when the weather is nice and have a tendency to forget they’ve put items in their backpacks that are not school-appropriate. Many secondary schools have found items in backpacks that do not belong in our school buildings. Please help us make sure that inappropriate objects – items that do not belong in a school – stay at home. Check your students’ backpacks, have a conversation with your scholar about what they should and should not bring to school; please remind your student that if they see something that concerns them they should tell someone (parent, teacher, counselor, another trusted adult).
Schools will be giving consequences for inappropriate objects brought to school, based on the severity of the infraction. Here is the link to the CPS handbook: https://www.cpsk12.org/cms/lib/MO01909752/Centricity/Domain/47/StudHandSEC.pdf
Our goal is to make sure all CPS schools are safe, that our scholars are able to learn and thrive in a secure environment, and that teachers and staff can focus on learning and helping our scholars. Please join us in this effort – we appreciate the support and partnership we receive from our families!
April Secondary School Lunch Menu
Future Dates to Remember
4/8- Jazz Band Performance at RBHS/Sweet Night of Music
4/13- 6th Grade Band Concert/Gym
4/15- All School Assembly/Gym
4/19-4/21- MAP Testing
4/20- PTSA Meeting/Media Center @ 6:00 pm
4/21- 4/22- 6th-8th Grade Spring Musical, Dear Edwina Jr. @ 7:00 pm in the GMS Cafe'/Stage
4/23- 6th-8th Grade Spring Musical, Dear Edwina Jr. @ 2:00 pm in the GMS Cafe'/Stage
4/26-4/27- MAP Testing
4/27-7th Grade Band Concert @ 7:00 pm
4/28- Interim Progress Reports Available on Home Access
5/2- 6th Grade Welcome Night
5/3-5/4- Algebra 1 and EOC Testing Window
Josh Johnson, Principal
Email: Josjohnson@cpsk12.org
Website: https://www.cpsk12.org/Domain/17
Location: 4200 Bethel Street, Columbia, MO, USA
Phone: (573) 214-3240