8th Grade Promotion

We are aware that many families have already made plans and invited relatives for the previously released 8th grade promotion date.  Therefore, the date will remain Thursday, May 22nd despite recent emergency weather days.

Snowmageddon or The Locker Room

Last weekend, my son's hockey team that I coach was in St. Louis.  And a storm was coming.  Sunday morning was a mess.  The whole city under snow.  Blizzard conditions.  Talk of I55 already being closed in parts.  Of course, we couldn't leave until after our 10AM game against a team we have never beaten in 5 years.  Just take it.  So, we went to the game and played it with the kids calling out Snowmageddon! in the locker room.

Of course, I55 was closed by the time we got to Litchfield.  I received the call that school would be closed, secured a hotel room and finally had a chance to relax - and enjoy.  Once I stopped fighting the weather, I was able to appreciate the beauty and reflect on the morning.

For the first time in 5 years of playing this team, our 14 year olds beat the top team from St Louis.  3-2.  Certainly not a blow out, but a real win where we all played well.  We used to get blown out by this team.  Last year, actually gave them a decent run once.  Saturday, lost 2-5, but you could see the gap was closing.  Here we were in Litchfield with an extra day of the trip with my son, pizza and soda in the hotel, decent movie on tv, and fond thoughts of the morning.  What a great day.

We measure growth by comparison.  The gap had been closing and finally overcome.  This week and next our students are taking MAP assessments.  Perhaps some would rather skip over it, just get on the highway and move on, but like the boys' challenge Sunday morning being worth the effort, so is MAP assessment.  We measure student growth, meeting their goals, and a measure with national performance.  The data is used by teachers to specifically target instruction and help each student succeed.  Setting aside time to help each student be successful is always worth the effort.    

Toys for Tots

Another great example of GKMS kids contributing to their community is the Toys for Tots collection.  Scores of gifts in the $5 - $10 price range have been donated.  Other students have donated $5 to the cause.

Community members are welcome to drop off any contributions through the remainder of the week. 

Thank you Community Impact Club for coordination our efforts.  As always, all donations stay in DeKalb county to help local families. 

GKMS Food Drive - now through November 12th

GKMS will be collecting canned and packaged foods until November 12th.  While geared towards working with our students and community service, all members of our community are also welcome to donate items to our front office.

All items will be donated to the Genoa Food Pantry.  This is just one of the ways our students excel and contribute to their community.

Special thanks go out to student council for coordinating our efforts.

I want you to SAY it if you SEE it!

Many times, people misinterpret actions for bullying when they absolutely are not.  Unfortunately, sometimes actual bullying does occur - even in a great school like GKMS.  Our PBIS team, PTO and Community Impact Club are teaming up to help further establish GKMS as a place where bullying is simply not accepted.

PBIS and PTO are sponsoring a See it, Say it Halloween Dance to kick off a two month campaign including our anti-bullying message through the use of weekly "cool tool" activities.  The dance will take place during the school day - study hall times.

Community Impact Club has used student artwork to design a shirt we will be giving students across the district an opportunity to purchase,  "I want you to say it if you see it" along with artwork across the front of the shirt with "Only you can make a difference against bullying" on the back.

We thank all students for their ideas and submissions.  We look forward to everyone working together to make GKMS an even better place.

Leadership and Community Service - Special Guest

As part of Mrs. Hencken's Leadership and Community Service class (LCS), members of our community that serve and lead regularly come speak to our students.  Today, we were fortunate to have State Representative Bob Pritchard come speak to 7th and 8th grade students.  He also fielded questions ranging from $600,000 doors, the gold standard, "stand your ground" laws, what it takes to pass a bill, and more.  We greatly appreciate his time. 

ISAT and MAP results coming home

Families, in your students' Progress Report envelope, you will find MAP and ISAT reports.

ISAT testing was done last Spring.  This is a snapshot view of your student's performance at that time based on State Standards and the new Common Core standards.  All cut scores were changed this year for all students.  As a result, a direct comparison to previous years achievement is no longer valid.  Students will likely see a lower score than previous years.  This decision was made by the State of Illinois.

MAP testing has been in place in our district since 2008.  You will see a graph of your student's performance in an "apples to apples" comparison from year to year.  My opinion is that reading this graph is best done viewing general growth as a whole rather than focusing on one specific data point (test day).

Feel free to contact me with any questions.