August 2010
Dear Students and Parents:
I am extremely excited about the opportunity to work with all of you during this upcoming 2010-11 school year. The hot summer months have been refreshing and energizing for our staff. We are looking forward to providing you memorable and enriching educational opportunities this year.
Due to outstanding efforts of Mr. Curtin and his staff there are only a few finishing touches needed in our building. I hope that you will find our building very welcoming and comforting as you walk through the doors on the first day school.
Here are a few reminders and new plans for the upcoming school year. We will continue our initiative to use our website as a valuable resource for communication with students and families. During the school year you will find our website extremely useful when visiting teachers’ web pages. In addition, the GCS website is a valuable resource for finding details about important dates and events taking place at our school. This year will focus on having one point of entry and exit in and out of our building. All parents and students are required to enter and exit the building through the main entrance of the MS/HS. Please remember that all visitors entering our building must sign in at the front desk and receive a name tag. By following these protocols we will be able to increase the safety and security of our building. In addition, due to some severe allergic conditions of students in our MS/HS, all students will be required to eat lunch in the cafeteria and/or specifically designated areas. Seniors who earn senior privileges will be allowed to leave campus during lunch. We also ask that all parents avoid bringing in snacks to the classroom to share with other students. Our parking lot has been resurfaced and all parking guidelines will be strictly enforced. Students must park in their assigned areas or they will lose their parking privileges. We will also closely monitor the fire lanes and bus loop this year. It is important that all parents visiting our building park in the designated parking areas. The cafeteria department has imbedded a new system for adding money to your child’s lunch account. You should receive details of the system in the mail. As a reminder, our building is open to students starting at 7:00 am. Doors to the hallways will remain locked until 7:25 am. Students arriving from 7:00 am to 7:25 am will be allowed to wait in the front foyer or go to the cafeteria for breakfast. Breakfast will only be served until 7:35 am.
Enclosed you will find a copy of your course schedule and locker information. Please review your schedule. If you have any questions, please contact the School Counseling Office at 243-3450, extension 1019. In addition, I have included a few reminders of important dates and events coming up in September and October. Also included is some additional information pertaining to staff and school procedures.
New to GCS: The following is a list of new staff members who will join GCS for the 2010-11 school year. You will have the opportunity to meet with the new and current staff members during our MS/HS Open House on the date listed below.
Danielle Latona (7th Grade Social Studies) Jessica Derwin (HS Social Studies)
Tara DeVay (HS Social Studies) James Clark (Student Support Ctr.)
Important Dates
6th Grade Orientation August 25, 2010 9:00 am
Start of School September 8, 2010 7:35 am (homeroom starts)
Senior Parent Meeting September 13, 2010 7:00 pm
MS/HS Open House September 30, 2010 6:30-8:00 pm
MS/HS Picture Day September 23, 2010
Homecoming Week September 20-24, 2010,
MS/HS Homecoming Dance September 24, 2010 MS 6:00-8:00 pm HS 9:30-11:30 pm
Picture Re-takes November 1, 2010
Additional Information
Student Parking – Students wishing to drive to school must see Mrs. VanSickle to receive a parking permit.
Cell Phones – Usage of cell phones during the school day is prohibited. Students are allowed to bring their cell phones to school but must turn them off from 7:35 am to
2:30 pm. All cell phones displayed or used by students during the school day will be turned in to the main office. Students will be allowed to pick up their cell phones after school for the first offense. After the second offense, a parent or guardian must pick up the phone from the office.
After-School Procedures – All students must be in a supervised area after school. The following options are available: assigned teacher classroom, Media Center, Sports Study Hall, or Intramurals (Grades 6th-8th). Students who are found in unsupervised areas will not be eligible for extra-curricular activities that day.
Student Bags – Students may carry their book bags to classes. However, for safety and security purposes, students who do not carry their book bags to classes must keep them in their lockers during the school day. No student bags may be left in the hallways.
Special Note: Student bus numbers, times, and pick-up information will be provided by our transportation department. You should receive the information within the next few days. Please contact the transportation office at 243-3050 if you have any questions.
I would like to especially thank Suzanne Perry, Teresa Holt, Craig Veley, John Holt, Alan Larson, Kathy Mackey, Paula Wall, Laurie VanSickle, and Joan Henchen for all their work in preparation for the start of school.
Please feel free to contact the main office (243-3450) if you have any questions prior to the start of school.
Sincerely,
Mike Salatel
MS/HS Principal
