Jaguar News
Volume 2, Issue 21 - January 11, 2019
The GMS athletic department would like to thank you ALL so much for your support and generosity in making our 5th annual chili supper a huge success! Our appreciation extends from student athletes and coaches selling tickets and team parents donating items for raffle baskets to our Rock Bridge Hy-Vee for catering our event and most importantly to you, our families who purchased tickets, attended and made our event come to life. Thank you! Thank you! Our athletic department would not be near as successful without your unwavering and continual support. Go Jaguars!
Advisory for Jan 14-18
During the week of Jan 14th to Jan 18th are lessons on “Personal Responsibility” This week students will learn the difference between the External and Internal circle of control. Also, students will understand the link between responsibility and personally working towards improving them.
Monday: Silent Sustained Reading
Tuesday: Advisory Lesson (Internal vs external locus of control)
Wednesday: Academic Day!
Thursday: Advisory Lesson (Conflict Resolution)
Friday: Academic Day!
Link on how to Resolve Conflict Between Students:
AVID is recruiting students for 2019-2020!
The AVID Elective is a 6th through 12th grade component of the AVID Secondary System that prepares students in the academic middle for admission to a four-year college or university. Studentstake an AVID Elective course throughout middle school and high school. This elective provides themwith the skills needed to be successful in advancing academically with the goal of attending college. For more than 30 years, AVID has been instrumental in preparing students for success in highereducation.
The core component of the AVID Secondary System is the AVID Elective, which supports students asthey challenge themselves in more rigorous classes. Students are taught study skills, note-taking,time management, writing skills, and research skills, while being immersed in a college-goingculture. The class also includes tutoring sessions that are led by college students and providesupport for success in the academically rigorous curriculum. Additionally, the AVID class provides access to information about colleges and universities through field trips, guest speakers, collegetutors, scholarship opportunities, and college admission requirement information.
NOTE: Current 6th and 7th grade students are hearing about AVID Recruitment both this week and next.
Students may pick up an application from Mrs. Phillips, AVID Coordinator (Room 214) or in the Guidance Office. Applications MUST be returned by Friday, January 25th.
This program is limited in numbers. The AVID Team will use applications and data analysis to decide who will be interviewed & chosen for AVID Elective classes.
Kayla Phillips, Gentry AVID Coordinator
Boone County Mental Health Survey
Mental Health Wellness Month
During the month of January, the Diversity Committee is celebrating Mental Health Wellness. One of the “buzzwords” surrounding mental health is self-care. Self-care is “any activity that we do deliberately in order to take care of our mental, emotional, and physical health.” Self-care activities include getting enough sleep, being active or exercising, eating well and getting enough sleep, engaging in one enjoyable activity every day, and creating a “no” list with things you know you don’t like or you no longer want to do such as not checking emails at night. Self-care isn’t selfish or something you force yourself to do, but something you allow yourself to do in order to take of yourself. “In a few words, self-care is the key to living a balanced life.”
Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences
Spelling Bee
Our 2019 Spelling Bee will take place on Thursday, January 22nd in the media center. Those students who have already pre-qualified as finalists from their classroom spelling bees have been busy studying the national spelling list and will be competing to become the winner of the 2019 GMS Spelling Bee. Parents and students are welcome to come watch the competition.
Current 8th Grade Students: High School (9th Grade) Enrollment Forms Due January 30th!
High school enrollment forms will be given to current 8th grade students on January 23 when they visit RBHS. Completed enrollment forms will then need to be turned in to their 8th grade student's Social Studies teacher no later than Wednesday, January 30th. If you have any questions, please talk with your student and as always, please don't hesitate to contact the GMS Guidance Department with any further questions that you may have.
6th Grade Co-ed Winter Intramural Basketball
Our 6th grade winter intramural basketball program is scheduled to begin in late-January. Registration forms will be sent home with interested 6th grade students next week. Be sure that your student returns their completed registration form to the main office no later than January 25. Please see the attached registration form. As always, if you have any questions, please contact the main office.
RBHS Girls Softball Parent Information Meeting
A RBHS girls softball parent/student information meeting will be held for incoming freshman on January 16th from 6 pm-7:30 pm in the Rock Bridge High School cafeteria. During this meeting, information will be presented on the team's off-season workout schedule and their summer schedule. The coach will also be available to field questions from parents and students regarding RB softball. Go Bruins!
Standardized Testing
- Percentile Rank - Ranges from 1-99 and describes the student’s performance relative to the scores of other students in the same grade. In other words, compares your student to other kids in the same grade.
- Scale Score - Score from 300 to 900 based on difficulty of items and number of correct responses. This score can be used to look at a student’s growth over time.
As a parent, is almost more important that you focus on the Scale Score (SS) than on the Percentile Rank (PR), because the PR does not tell you if your student is improving from test to test (the percentile depends on the performance of other students). However, the SS depends on their own performance, and even if the PR decreases, if the SS goes up it means the student has improved their skills. For your reference, an improvement of 100 points is considered a year growth.
Students took their reading STAR test before the break, so you should be able to see updated scores in Home Acces. Students are beginning to retest for Math next week, so the scores should be updated soon in that area.
It is important that you are familiar with your student's performance in STAR and MAP testing, as we use those scores, in addition to teacher input and classroom performance, to make decisions about RtI.
National Geography Bee
The Gentry social studies classes spent the first two days of the semester holding the opening rounds of the National Geographic Bee. Each classroom declared a winner and then these winners took a written test in order to qualify for Gentry’s final round. The top ten finalists were announced this morning. They are: Aidan Matteson, Chase Hoffman, Ella Wampler, Keither Gabrielson, Matthew Qian, Philip Nelson, Robell Tewolde, Yoell Tewolde, Saloni Chaurasia, and Shubha Gautam.
The finals will be held on Thursday, January 24th. The winner qualifies for the chance to compete in the State Geography Bee. It’s winner will travel to Washington DC in May for the chance to win a $50,000 Scholarship, $500 cash, and an all-expense paid trip. We wish all the finalists the best of luck!
Looking Ahead (January 14-20)
Please see listed below the clubs and/or activities along with their locations that are occurring at GMS for the upcoming week. Please know that activities are subject to occasional last minute changes.
Monday, January 14: (B Day)
2:35-5:00 pm- 8th Boys Basketball Practice/Gym
2:35-5:00 pm- Cheer Squad Practice/Up Commons
2:35-4:00 pm- Mary Poppins Rehearsal/Stage
TBA- 8th Girls Basketball Game (OLLIS Tournament) @ OLLIS
6:00 pm- Parent/Teacher/Student Book Club/Rm. 207
Tuesday, January 15: (A Day)
7:00-7:20 pm- Glee Choir Rehearsal/Annex N
8:45-10:45 am- 8th Grade AVID Classes to visit RBHS/RBHS
2:35-5:00 pm- 8th Boys Basketball Practice/Split Gym
2:35-4:00 pm- After School Tutoring/Media Center
2:35-4:00 pm- PAWS (LGBTQ Comm. and Allies)/Rm. 216
2:35-4:00 pm- Mary Poppins Rehearsal/Stage
2:35-4:00 pm- Gentry Kiwanis Builders Club/Rm. 205
TBA- 8th Girls Basketball Game (OLLIS Tournament)/OLLIS
6:30-10:00 pm- Band Enrollment Night (Incoming 6th Grade Students)/Building Wide
Wednesday, January 16: (B Day)
TBA- 8th Girls Basketball Game (OLLIS Tournament)/OLLIS
5:15 pm- Cheer Squad Cheering for home Basketball Game/Gym
6:00 pm- 8th Boys Basketball Game vs. Lewis and Clark @ GMS
Thursday, January 17: (A Day)
7:00-7:20 am- Glee Choir Rehearsal/Annex N
2:35-5:00 pm- 8th Boys Basketball Practice/Gym
2:35-4:00 pm- After School Tutoring/Media Center
2:35-4:00 pm- Mary Poppins Rehearsal/Stage
2:35-4:00 pm- Tennis Club/Locker Rooms
2:35-4:00 pm- French Study Hall/Annex K
2:35-4:00 pm- 6th Grade Book and Art Club/Rm. 207
2:35-4:00 pm- Science Olympiad/Rm. 116
TBA- 8th Girls Basketball Game (OLLIS Tournament)/OLLIS
6:00-8:00 pm- Archery Club/Up Commons
Friday, January 18: (B Day)
2:35-5:00 pm- 8th Boys Basketball Practice/Gym
TBA- 8th Girls Basketball Game (OLLIS Tournament)/OLLIS
Saturday, January 19:
There are no activities scheduled for today.
Sunday, January 20:
6:00-7:30 pm- 8th Boys Basketball Practice/Gym
Dates to Remember
1/15- 8th Grade AVID Classes field trip to RBHS
1/15- Band Enrollment Night for Incoming 6th Grade Students @ 6:30 pm
1/21- Martin Luther King's Birthday/School Not in Session
1/22- Spelling Bee in the Media Center
1/23- RBHS Course Fair from 6:00-7:30 pm @ RBHS
1/24- Geography Bee in the Media Center
1/29- Winter Athletic Team and Individual Recognition Night @ 6:30 pm in the cafe
1/30- 9th Grade High School Enrollment Forms Due
1/31- 6th Grade Intramural Basketball Begins
Jaguar News
Dr. Fairouz Bishara
Email: fbishara@cpsk12.org
Website: https://www.cpsk12.org/Domain/17
Phone: (573) 214-3240
Twitter: @FairouzBishara