February 2023 Newsletter
Greenbriar Middle School
Principal's Letter
Greeting Greenbriar Families,
As we head into the middle of February, I want to acknowledge our celebration of Black History
Month. At Greenbriar we continue to be an inclusive and embracing family of over 850 diverse
students. We are proud of this and will continue our journey of inclusivity.
Student Council yet again has some awesome activities this month. They have developed
“Galentine’s Day” where a student can bring a “gal pal” to our event on February 14th from 7:15
to 8am. We also have the Heart-to-Heart spirit week going on the 13th through the 17th . Please
rely on our social media posts to stay involved.
Some important dates to be mindful as we head into second semester:
Spring Break- April 3rd-10th
Ohio State Testing- ELA April 17th-18th , Math April 24th -25th , 5th grade Science May 3rd and 4th .
Have a great February Greenbriar!
Jill Schissler
Greenbriar Principal
Cant wait to start.....
Read-a-thons actually get your reader excited about reading and it gives friends and family the opportunity to encourage your child to read even more.
Our Read-a-thon starts Monday February 27, 2023.
About one week before our Read-a-thon starts we will send home instructions on how to activate your reader's personal page. This is where you will be able to view and record their progress.
We encourage you to activate your reader’s account today by clicking on https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/hChLbF/1 and following the simple instructions.
We've chosen a Read-a-thon because it will not take much of your time, gives your child a reason to read and helps in the development of stronger reading skills.
We hope EVERYONE participates.
Thanks so much,
FREE ICE CREAM
- The first 100 Students will receive free ice cream when signing up with their parent/guardian.
SNACK TIME
- Students will receive a snack for sending out 10 emails to family members and/or for posting on Social Media.
DUNK TANK
When we hit our goal of $5,500:
- Every $25 a student raises they will get the opportunity to try and dunk Mr. Cook or Mr. Greene
2023-2024 Registration Information
We are in the process of registering our students for the 2023-2024 school year. There will be several changes to the middle school schedule next year. One major change is that the performance music classes (choir, band and orchestra) will be offered daily for the entire school year. This is a huge increase in instructional time and will allow for our middle school students to vastly improve their musical skills. The music teachers will be speaking with all the students at Greenbriar regarding the music options available to them. Those students that choose to take a yearlong performance course will bring home a separate form given to them by their music teacher to be signed by a parent and returned to school. Please discuss with your child their music choice. Students not choosing a performance music course will no longer be enrolled in music appreciation. That course will be replaced by a different STEM related encore class in each grade. Please refer to the link below for all the changes to next year’s middle school schedule.
Middle School Registration Guide 23-24
Honors Courses
Students who have demonstrated high performance in mathematics and language arts will be recommended to take honors math and/or language arts next year. It is beneficial for a child to choose a path that is rewarding and sufficiently challenging. Students that have met the criteria for the honors courses will be bringing home a letter from their content area teachers letting them know they have qualified for the course. Sixth and seventh grade students that are currently in an honors class will be enrolled in honors classes again next year unless the parents and teachers have already discussed exiting the class. Descriptions of all the honors courses can be found in the middle school registration guide using the link above.
If your child is not recommended for the course but you feel he/she would be a good candidate, please contact your child’s teacher. All students that meet the qualifications will be automatically enrolled in the course. If your child is recommended but you do not wish them to be in the honors class, please notify their teacher as well.
Next year eighth grade only
Students that have met the criteria for language arts honors will have the opportunity to take an additional honors course. These eighth-grade students will have the option to take an honors social studies. Also, the same eighth graders will have the option to take a foreign language course, either French I or Spanish I. The foreign language courses will be high school credited classes. Descriptions of all the eighth-grade honors courses can be found in the middle school registration guide using the link above.
Our counselors will be meeting with all the students over the next few weeks to explain the changes to next year’s schedule and to answer any questions students may have. Included below are the forms the counselors and music teachers will be using when discussing course options for next year. Also included is the criteria for the honors courses. If you have any questions, please contact one of the counselors at clarkt@parmacityschools.org or sengers@parmacityschools.org.
Listed below are samples of the forms that will be sent home with the students. Click on each image to view the form.
Greenbriar Performance Music
6th Gr Registration Information
7th Gr Registration Information
8th Gr Registration Information
Honors Math Requirements
Honors English Requirements
Mr. Sean Brennan, Ohio State Representative
Art Class News
Click on each image to learn more about the student's artwork.
Athletics News
Student Council News
House 5X News
House 5X Teachers
Mrs. Baczkowski
Mr. Pihlblad
Mrs. Porco
Keslhen pictured with his proud parents!
House 5Z STEM News
STEM Fifth Grader Charlie Granda One-of-a-KIND!
Okay, let's solve a riddle. We'll give you clues in this paragraph about the one word that best describes our one-of-a-kind Charlie Granda, our STEM 5 January Student of the Month. This word suggests the good feeling people get when they are in his presence. This word may not have to do with Charlie's excellent HW habits and work ethic, but a teacher might think he is this word because she worries so little about his learning. If you looked up this word in the dictionary, you'd find a definition that includes gentle, generous and friendly. Need a final clue? The word is already typed in this paragraph...and it has exactly four letters. Can you guess the word?
Charlie pictured with his proud family!
Charlie with his teachers, Coach Kucera (far left), Coach Good (2nd left), Coach Wagner (middle), Coach Blue (2nd right) and Coach Hoysak
Astronaut Good Mesmerizes STEM 5 Learners by the Possibilities of Space
On Friday, January 27, Michael T. Good, retired NASA astronaut, engineer, and colonel in the Air Force spoke to Greenbriar's STEM 5 learners about what it is like to explore space. Good repaired the Hubble telescope in 2009 and added to the International Space Station in 2010 aboard the space shuttle Atlantis.
The fifth-grade STEM engineers came ready with questions for him, from becoming an astronaut and preparing for space flight to navigating challenging spacewalk missions. He inspired the students with pictures from space and the science behind space travel. He encouraged them to pursue their dreams, even mentioning that NASA needs more than just engineers to make their programs a success.
STEM 5 will use their new knowledge to design immersive spacewalks for the community and Greenbriar students as part of their capstone project.
How are patterns used to make discoveries about the universe and us?
Design Challenge: Pressure suits and space suits provide many layers of protection against the harsh environments of the upper atmosphere and space. All materials used to construct space suits must be tested in a vacuum to make sure they work in low- pressure environments. Students collaborated to design and build a pressure suit.
Criteria for their build: The suit must be constructed of materials that are not affected by the vacuum environment. The suit must completely surround the pilot or astronaut (represented by a marshmallow) providing protection in a vacuum or near-vacuum environment. The pilot or astronaut wearing the suit must fit completely within the vacuum chamber. The prototype design materials must cost less than $10.00. Many groups' astronauts survived the vacuum chamber!l
House 6W Jaguars News
The House 6W Teachers would like to congratulate our January Student of the Month, Amber Kimbro! Since the beginning of the year, Amber has been a Role Model for her peers in terms of her behavior and her work ethic. She is so responsible and diligent! Amber always does her work on time and to the best of her personal ability. We are so proud of Amber for being such a kind individual! Way to go, Amber!
--Amber pictured with her proud Mom!
Congratulations to 6W Student of the Month Amber Kimbro. Passing the sign are our past Students of the Month, Amaya, Bentley, Sabrina and Lilly.
House 6X Cheetahs News
Justin pictured with his proud Mom!
Justin with his teachers, Mrs. Konecsni (far left), Mrs. Bohuslawsky (2nd left), Ms. Steimle (2nd right) and Mrs. Keister
House 6Z News
Congratulations to Brycen Stapleton!
Brycen has been chosen as the January Student of the Month for House 6Z. On a daily basis, Brycen models what it means to be an excellent student. He is highly motivated to do the best he can in all academic areas and is very conscientious about getting all assignments completed on time. This positive work ethic not only benefits himself, but his peers as well since Brycen is willing to help them with work they do not understand. He actively participates in discussions and group work and is well-liked by his peers. His respect for adults and students alike is applaudable, and Brycen is always ready to help when asked. There is no doubt that Brycen will become a strong leader in both school and society in the future.
Congratulations also go to 3 other 6Z students. These students were chosen for their excellent work and effort in an academic area. Keep up the great work!
Language Arts – Sofia Horacek
Math – Brendan Olsen
Social Studies/Science – Kyle Werner
Brycen with a big smile! Pictured with his parents and teachers, Mrs. Matelski (far left), Mrs. McAreavey (2nd left), Mrs. Gibson (2nd right) and Mr. Seballos.
Brycen with his proud parents!
Maggie pictured here with her Math teacher, Mr. Blaha.
House 7X Bulls News
Mollie with two of her teachers, Mr. Tinline and Mrs. Klimek
House 7Y News
January:
Math - Lauren Yates
L/A - Camille Barroga
Science - Danny Russo
Overall - Yessie Casillas