Welcome to the GMSD Neighborhood

Welcome back to the GMSD neighborhood! It’s been another exciting week as all of our schools prepare to celebrate homecoming like never before. In an unprecedented coordination, elementary and middle school students will be observing dress up days, high school band, football, cheerleaders and pom dancers will be going to feeder schools to pump up the crowd, and everyone will be celebrating why it's great to be in GMSD.

• Thursday, Sept. 15- All feeder schools are observing a Mustang Spirit Day--wear your Houston gear or #reptheH by wearing black, white, and silver.
• Friday, Sept. 16--All schools are observing Decades Day. Join us for the big game next Friday night to see the incredible floats that are students are putting together. (pictured to the left, seniors problem solve to build their own float)

In other celebratory news, we surprised Jessica Woody at Dogwood with a pop-up parade to congratulate her on advancing to the state finalist round of Tennessee’s Principal of the Year. The Tennessee Department of Education announced the nine finalists for the 2022-23 Tennessee Principal of the Year earlier this week. The Tennessee Principal of the Year award is awarded annually to a school leader for outstanding service in education and exceptional leadership that drives overall improvements in his or her school.

Good luck to Ms. Woody!

Jason Manuel,

Superintendent

Germantown Municipal School district is committed to engaging stakeholders in the decision-making process. From school attendance zones to capital improvements, the district routinely uses focus groups, townhall meetings, work groups, and surveys. Transparency and timely information are priorities for administrative teams. Continuing to engage with our stakeholders is coupled with communication programs, such as this newsletter, to ensure that all changes made at the district level are well understood by our community. Training and leadership development for school and district level leaders focus on creation of a shared vision and a clear roadmap for school culture using our Strategic Plan.

We take great pride in the things we've done since the adoption of our Strategic Plan in 2020. (Link, GMSD Annual Strategic Plan Report, June 2022)

Your Voice is Important

Last week, the district shared a survey with all stakeholders regarding the Instructional Calendar Options for the 2023-2024 school year. Those options were derived from meaningful discussion and feedback gathered by the 2022 Calendar Committee. Made up of 32 stakeholders, the calendar committee includes 6 parents, 8 students, 9 teachers, 8 staff members, 2 co-chairs, and 1 board member. From that information, the working committee has created two calendar options. While the two options are provided to help make the survey quick and easy for stakeholders, we value your comments as well.

The Germantown Board of Education will meet to discuss these options and your feedback at their upcoming September 22nd work session.

Be sure to complete the survey before it closes on September 15th.

Are you interested in serving? We'd love to have you. GMSD is always searching for volunteers to serve on its committees and work groups. Submitting an application letting us know about your area of expertise will help put you on our radar when the next group is forming. We use our pool of applicants along with recommendations from school principals.

Farmington Elementary School launched their own news network last week–and they need your follows on Youtube. Following their channel will help them with the ability to access additional features for their news show during morning announcements. Check out their very first newscast and subscribe to their Youtube Channel. Way to go, Falcons!

Did you know that Grandparents Day is an official national holiday, signed by President Carter in 1978 and celebrated on the first Sunday after Labor Day? Our schools are proud to continue traditions that help students bring their grandparents and other family members onto campuses.

At Forest Hill, grandparents joined our foxes for a picnic and a garden tour on September 11th. On September 15th, Farmington Elementary School will host Games with Grandparents at 5:30 pm. On September 23rd, Riverdale has invited the whole family for its annual S'MORE Reading Event & Family Movie Night. On Tuesday, September 27th, the Dogwood Dolphins will host a Games with Grandparents/BINGO evening.

GMSD is gearing up for Houston High School's Homecoming Week. Join us September 12-17th for Dancing Through the Decades.

The entire district will be observing two of the dress-up days.

• Thursday, September 15th- Mustang Spirit Day- Wear your Houston gear or sport the colors: silver, white and black
• Friday, Sept. 16- Decades Day- Dress up from your favorite decade. Students will be wearing their decade outfits at the game too.

Are you a local business that wants to support your local schools?

We would like to highlight the businesses that partner and support Houston High with a social media campaign during Homecoming Week (September 10-16). This is a great opportunity for the community of Germantown to come together and support the Houston Mustangs!

Ways you can #reptheH

If you are a local business owner who supports Houston, we would love your help!

• We ask that you post a #reptheH sign at their business for the week

• Be willing to run a promotion for Houston High customers during Homecoming week September 10-16) for customers who check in and tag the business and Houston High social media

• We will advertise partnering businesses on our social media (@houstonhighgmsd) during Homecoming week
  

• Show your GMSD-spirit by participating in a FREE contest. Observe one of our two dress-up days, take a picture, and tag us @gmsdk12 or use the hashtag #reptheH

  All business participants will receive a small prize!

*To clarify, HHS will be observing dress up days throughout the week. Visit https://www.instagram.com/houstonhighsga to see more information specific to high school plans.

• Suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death for ages 10-24.
• Suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death for college-age youth and ages 12-18.
• More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, COMBINED.
• Each day in our nation, there are an average of over 3,703 attempts by young people grades 9-12. If these percentages are additionally applied to grades 7 & 8, the numbers would be higher. Four out of five individuals considering suicide give some sign of their intentions, either verbally or behaviorally.

As we enter suicide awareness month, it’s important for school districts to remind families about all of the resources that are available to them.

• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
• This resource is available 24/7 and is free and confidential.
• The TN Statewide Crisis Line: 855-274-7471

Additionally, GMSD continues to provide wrap-around supports to our families in need. Please visit our newly revamped Student Readiness/Whole Child Hub to access resources, view curriculums, and get in touch with our school counselors, school social workers, or school psychologists.

Other Resources

Website: https://jasonfoundation.com/
Youth Suicide: https://jasonfoundation.com/youth-suicide/
Warning Signs: https://jasonfoundation.com/youth-suicide/warning-signs/
Get Help: https://jasonfoundation.com/youth-suicide/get-help/
Resources: https://jasonfoundation.com/youth-suicide/resources/

Article by Student Reporter Faith Degawa

By special request of the Houston High School administration, this week’s Student Spotlight is Samantha Coblenz for “her exceptional school spirit”. Samantha is a member of the Mustang Mob and shows her school pride by attending many of Houston's athletic events and volunteering all around the school. As a Mustang Mob member she enjoys managing the group’s Instagram profile, assisting in the planning of class events, and making digital graphics.

Samanatha believes in the value of having school spirit because, “through school spirit activities, I’ve made special friendships and built a sense of community”. This nomination and highlight meant a lot to her. “Being involved with school just brings me joy,” Samantha shared. She is considering attending Mississippi State and hopes to be an elementary school teacher with a minor in special education. Her words of wisdom and hope? “If we can do anything this year, I hope the Mustang Mob can bring students in each grade together, make sure voices are heard, and encourage friendships and connections– especially in these post covid years.”

Article by Student Reporter Zora Cunningham

At Houston High School, students are preparing for an exciting Homecoming week. Each grade created a class float according to their assigned decade: 1970s for the seniors, 1980s for the juniors, 1990s for the sophomores, and early 2000s for freshmen.

Their respective debuts will feature at the homecoming pep rally to garner points in hopes of winning their school’s class wars. Each grade has corresponding representatives leading the charge; however, the class of 2023 also assembled a senior float committee to get more students involved.

Every grade formed a class page on Instagram to spread the word to the student body and the community. Since we are in an age of social media, this step was crucial to the float’s success. The student representatives run the pages, and somehow, they have transcended their original purpose.

The accounts discuss not only the Homecoming floats but also daily reminders for school events, campaigns, and community service. Now the classes are more connected than ever; as Houston High Senior Kiyana Fayne put it, “I’m volunteering for the senior float to bond with my class.”

There were several ways students could participate in building their class float. The first opportunity was to volunteer their time and effort. Students worked on the float right after school for about two hours daily. When asked why they were helping out, they answered honestly.

Some seniors claimed they just wanted to beat the underclassman or to win class wars. But, others like Houston High Senior Dylan Segars “wanted to make the most of their post-COVID senior year.” Not everyone had time to construct the float physically, but they supported their class through donations. Whether the student donated or volunteered, their support was greatly appreciated.

While the students played a significant role in these creations, parents also stepped up for the cause. Several parents volunteered their time, skills, and money for this big project. And other parents contributed by posting the float’s needs on their social media.

These class floats genuinely became a community effort, and the students at Houston High School are ecstatic for what’s to come as the school year progresses.

Class of 2023 Instagram: hhs_classof2023

Class of 2024 Instagram: hhs_classof24

Class of 2025 Instagram: houstonhigh_classof2025

Class of 2026 Instagram: hhs_classof26

The arts are an essential part of a complete education and students of all ages—from kindergarten to senior year—benefit from artistic learning, innovative thinking, and creativity. Celebrating National Arts in Education Week is a way to recognize this impact and share the message with friends, family, and communities.

National Arts in Education Week takes place September 11 – 17, 2022. In GMSD, we will be recognizing this special week by highlighting one of our outstanding art programs each day.

Be looking for fun facts about the arts at Farmington Elementary School, a steel drum band at Dogwood, ever-growing choir programs and an exciting new partnership with Germantown Community Theater this holiday season, what's coming to our theatrical stages this year, behind the scenes of the HHS marching band, and the a look inside the new Jazz Improvisation class being offered at Houston Middle School. Also look for fun profiles of our art teachers, many of whom are active artists in the community. Want to add something to our celebration? Post to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter using the hashtag #FineArtsGMSD.

We are kicking off our highlights with this staff profile on Houston High School Art Teacher Bobby Spillman in the video below.

For the third consecutive year, Germantown Municipal School District has been named one of the Best Communities for Music Education by the NAMM Foundation. "One key factor that helps us obtain the national recognition is the incredible support of our community members," said Superintendent Jason Manuel.

We cordially invite the community to come watch our concerts, see our plays, and cheer on our young artists as they take the stage or enter the audition room!

September

16th @ Houston High Varsity Football Game Halftime Show - The Houston Band

24th @ Arlington High School Open Invitational Marching Band Competition - The Houston Band

October

1st @ Pickler Auditorium - HHS - Houston Mustang Theatre Student Directed One Acts - 2:30 PM & 7:00 PM

1st @ Collierville High School Tournament of Champions - The Houston Band

1st @ Cordova High School - WTVMEA High School Choir Auditions

5th @ Houston High School Auditorium at 7:00 PM - The Houston Jazz Ensemble Concert

6th @ Houston High Varsity Football Game Halftime Show - The Houston Band

22nd @ Marching Band Contest - The Houston Band

22nd @ Riverdale K-8 School - TBA - Monster Mash with The Riverdale Band

28th @ Houston High Varsity Football Game Halftime Show - The Houston Band

29th @ Marching Band Contest - The Houston Band

November

11th - I Love America Day - TBA - Riverdale K-8 - Choir, Band, and Strings performances

11th-14th - Much Ado About Nothing - Houston Mustang Theatre- 7:00PM -Pickler Auditorium

December

1st @ Germantown Performing Arts Center at 7:00 PM - Houston Middle School Band

2nd @ Germantown Performing Arts Center at 5:00 PM - Riverdale Band and Strings Concert

6th @ Germantown Performing Arts Center at 7:00 PM - The Houston Band Concert

7th @ Germantown Performing Arts Center at 7:00 PM - Houston High Choirs

19th-23 @ Germantown Community Theater- Houston High Mens Ensemble to perform in All Is Calm

February - 2023

9-11th - WTSBOA All West Clinic

18th - Honor Choir Coffeehouse - TBA - Riverdale Choir

23rd-26th- Beauty and the Beast- 7:00 PM - Falcon Footlights Production- Farmington Elementary School

March - 2023

1st-3rd - Save the Date for Raider Theater Spring Production- Riverdale School

9-10th WTSBOA State Concert Assessment - High School Band

April - 2023

13th @ Farmington Elementary School - TBA - Farmington Fine Arts Night

19th-22nd - TN - MEA All State Honors Band, Choir, Orchestra, Treble Choir

May - 2023

1st @ Germantown Performing Arts Center - TBA - The Houston Middle School Band

9th @ Germantown Performing Arts Center - TBA - The Houston High Band

10th @ Germantown Performing Arts Center - TBA - Houston High, Middle, and Elementary String Orchestras

11th @ TBA - TBA - The Riverdale Choir Concert

15th @ Germantown Performing Arts Center - TBA - Elementary Music Concert

16th @ Germantown Performing Arts Center - TBA - Forest Hill Elementary Concert

*Is your event missing? Please email Ted.Fuller@gmsdk12.org.

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