Greenfield Junior High School
March 2018 Parent Newsletter
Principal's Message
Grizzly Parents,
Welcome to March Grizzlies! With Spring Break the week of March 12th to March 16th we only have three full weeks of school this month.
Please take a moment to look at our upcoming AzMERIT Testing dates in April, please avoid scheduling any medical appointments on those dates to ensure that your child can be on campus to take the state assessments.
Special congratulations to our campus's employee of the year award winners, this year our district is honoring a teacher of the year along with a support staff of the year. Our teacher of the year is Katie Moorhead, our Band Teacher and our support staff of the year is Kay Gift, Administrative Assistant to the principal. Our staff nominated employees and then the finalists were selected by our campus Leadership Team. We are grateful and honored to recognize both Katie and Kay for what they do daily here at GRJHS!
Thank-you for choosing Greenfield Junior, we are grateful for the continued opportunities to educate your children.
Brian Yee
Principal
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AzMERIT Testing Dates
Please calendar these dates now and plan any medical, dental appointments on other dates please:
Wednesday, April 11th - AzMERIT Reading Test Part 1
Thursday, April 12th - AzMERIT Reading Test Part 2
Tuesday, April 17th - AIMS Science Test - 8th graders only
Wednesday, April 18th - AzMERIT Math Test Part 1
Thursday, April 19th - AzMERIT Math Test Part 2
Friday, April 20th - Social Studies Civic Test - 8th graders only
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AzMERIT Ear Buds needed for testing!
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Early Release Days in March
Students are dismissed at 12:10 pm on the following days:
Friday, March 9
Students are dismissed at 2:10 pm on the following days:
Wednesday, March 21
Wednesday, March 28
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No School Days in March
No School Monday, May 12 - Friday 16th
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Spring Break Dates
School resumes on Monday, March 19th.
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Grizzly Athletics
In order to try out for an athletic team, students must have completed an Eligibility Packet. The packet includes a physical examination form to be completed by a doctor. The packets are available on-line @ www.gilbertschools.net under For Parents then Athletics.
Additionally, an athletic fee of $75.00 will be required for most sports.
During the summer months, we encourage students to receive their medical physicals to participate in our interscholastic athletic programs. Please log on to www.registermyathlete.com to register your child. Questions concerning Athletics, please contact Alisha McIntosh, 480-813-1770, extension 406.
The Grizzlies are members of the Superstition Conference. Schools in this conference are Desert Ridge Junior High, Highland Junior High, Mesquite Junior High, South Valley Junior High, and Gilbert Classical Academy.
FALL SPORTS
Boys’ Soccer
Flag Football (Co-ed)
Girls’ Soccer
Girls’ Volleyball
WINTER SPORTS
Boys' Basketball
Winter Cheer
Cross Country (co-ed)
Dance Line
Girls' Softball
Wrestling
SPRING SPORTS
Boys' Baseball
Spring Cheer
Girls' Basketball
Track (co-ed)
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Greenfield Junior High School
Email: kay.gift@gilbertschools.net
Website: www.gilbertschools.net
Location: 101 South Greenfield Road, Gilbert, AZ, United States
Phone: 480-813-1770
Twitter: @grjhsgrizz
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Talent Show
Friday, March 23rd
5:00 p.m.
Tickets $2 students, $3 adults
Activity Cards and Children under 5 are free
Keepsakes and concessions will be sold
Greenfield Junior High, Cafeteria Stage
If any parents are interested in helping out for this event, we are hoping for volunteers and donations to feed the participants before the show. Please click on the link to help out if you can! http://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040b4aaaaa2fa31-talent2/24874908
In addition, we will be selling advertising space in the program that will be printed for the audience (of approximately 200 people). If you want to advertise a business for the community, please use this link to place an order! https://goo.gl/forms/e81GDo8YPMF5lNs73
Thank you for your support! See you at the show!
Mrs. Heermans and Mr. Conway, Drama Club Directors
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Student Council News
We had a successful Make-A-Wish Wish Week at GrJHS in February. It was great seeing the Grizzly spirit at all of the different events! Our community definitely can see that we are #grizzlystrong. We have our final total for our Make-A-Wish Week...Thanks to all of the Grizzlies, we will be donating $2,000 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation!!! Way to go, Grizzlies!!!
Reminder, anyone interested in becoming a representative or an officer for the 2017-2018 GrJHS Student Council, applications are due ASAP! We have great things in store for next year and would love to have you be part of them!
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GREETING FROM GREENFIELD JUNIOR HIGH FACS/LIFE SKILLS
Students have been busy this semester in our Life Skills classes!
We have filled out various job applications, written resumes, gone through the interview process and listened to one of our guest speakers Christie Boutain, Vice President of Gateway Bank on sharing her knowledge and information on money management.
We covered basic information on Economics 101 and headed into planning for Market Day!!!
Students working in teams of four to five were actively engaged in developing ideas for a small business, participated in teacher market research, decided on their capital or start up costs, created a name for their business, displays on their Market Trucks to promote their business as well as advertisements of their merchandise. Students were able to see how well their businesses did when the doors opened for Market Day on February 14th to teachers and staff! It was a hit!!! All businesses did well! Students had a terrific time selling their merchandise and teachers and staff were pleased with this shopping experience!!!! Ms. D. is already planning for next year to make it bigger and better for all!!!
Needless to say these students are learning lots and having fun while doing so! The rest of the semester will be busy in the area of Clothing and Design with more hands-on activities/projects and more fun for all!
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Orchestra News
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Spanish 1A & 1B News:
Here is a great article from the Washington Post about Google and what they look for in new hires. Would you be surprised to read that learning another language made the list for a tech company?
1A: These kids are doing amazing things! We have had a couple of experiential learning opportunities where they could showcase their speaking abilities. Many were nervous about speaking, but all did a fantastic job and hopefully learned that while speaking another language can be stressful, it can also be a ton of fun!
1B: We are headed into the home stretch and last quarter of our time together. I wish my 1A students could sit in with 1B students so they could see how their hard work will pay off. 1B students speak Spanish daily now in class (some requesting Spanish ONLY!). That is music to my ears! We are going to keep on with our speaking opportunities and I encourage everyone to look for ways to use their Spanish outside of class.
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News From the Health Office
Hearing loss in teens has gone up according to a recent study. “Huh?” “Whaddya say?” Do you ever hear that from your child? You probably think they have “tuned” you out, which very well may be the case. But it also could be a sign of hearing loss.
Hearing loss is normal as we age but among teens ages 12-19 the trend has increased. According to a recent study 1 in 5 teens has hearing loss. Researchers aren’t sure of the cause for this but one theory is the use of “personal listening devices”…also known as iPods, bluetooth headsets, computer and video games.
What can you do as a parent to help preserve your child’s hearing?
Remind them to turn their music down, especially if using earbuds or headphones
Encourage them to wear earplugs if going to a loud concert or event (they can still hear the music)
Wear protective ear muffs if using lawn mowers, electric workshop tools, firing a gun at a gun range, etc.
Use volume limiting headphones
Take a 15 minute break for each hour of listening to personal listening devices. Symptoms such as ringing in the ears or feeling of fullness are signs that the noise exposure has been too loud.
Consult your child’s doctor if you have concerns about their hearing
Anya Shoemaker RN BSN
School Nurse
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Gifted Education Corner
My name is Megan Clarkson, and I am the Gifted Education Parent Council representative for our school. You can reach me at mbclarkson@aol.com. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about gifted education at our campus and in the district.
Here is some information about upcoming events and programs:
Upcoming Parent University Classes on Gifted Education … Navigation link: www.gilbertschools.net → Parent Zone → Parent University → Gifted Educatio
From the AAGT monthly newsletter sent to AAGT affiliates and AAGT members:
AAGT Conference: February 1 & 2 at the Black Canyon Conference Center in Phoenix. … Early bird registration ends December 1st. Registration link: http://arizonagifted.org/conferences/#AnnualConference
More information on the Gifted Education Parent Council (GEPC) can be found on the district website: http://gilbert.ss11.sharpschool.com/cms/One.aspx?portalId=63564&pageId=229184
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GrizzlyS.T.R.O.N.G.
Supportive
Trust
Respect
Organized
Never Give Up
Genuine
We ask our staff and students to be GrizzlyS.T.R.O.N.G.as we enter the new school year. Grizzlies Support each other through challenges. Grizzlies create Trust amongst each other. Grizzlies Respect others they come in contact with. Grizzlies are Organized. Grizzlies Never Give Up when the tough times cross our path. Grizzlies are Genuine with each other.
WE are, are YOU?
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Birthday Messages on our Electronic Marquee
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GPS Student Handbook - District and School Rules
http://gilbertschools.net/parent_zone/district_policies___handbooks
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2017-2018 Calendar
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Digital Citizenship Resources
http://gilbertschools.net/departments/technology___communications/digital_citizenship_curriculum/
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GPS Special Education Department
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GPS Parent University
Dear Parents,
Welcome to the 2017-2018 school year! Along with new beginnings for our children, Parent University is gearing up for the new opportunities as well! We are pleased to offer classes under nine main topics this year. We encourage you to sign up for as many classes/workshops as you'd like. There is no charge for the classes, except where noted.
Please feel free to contact
Wendi Howe
via phone and/or email if you have any questions. Have an awesome year!