Stingray Updates

Stingray Families,

Thank you for partnering with us in the morning at student drop off this last week. Thank you for having your students ready to exit the vehicle as soon as the car stops. When we all follow these traditions, we can get all students into the building safely and quickly.

This week, our students have done a great job walking with purpose, getting to class on time, and settling into the academic routines of the school year. Our Stingrays have been busy! They’ve worked in Science, Social Studies, and electives, burned some calories in PE, spoken some Spanish, and supported other students through WEB classes.

As I’ve visited classrooms this week, I’ve seen our students working hard in the classroom! Just some examples include: Greatest Common Factors in Math, the Scientific Method in Science, Branches of Government in Civics, and vocabulary development in English Language Arts. In Digital Discoveries, students have been working with PowerPoint, learning how to maximize the program’s features to create stronger and more effective presentations. The academics are picking up, and our students are showing up in a way that only Stingrays know how to do, the BEST way possible!

Stingray Points Are Here!

We had some exciting PBIS news today! For the first time this year, students were able to cash in their Stingray Points that they have earned by demonstrating Growth, Respect, Mindfulness, and Safety. We celebrated all those great choices with ICE POPS today! And we’re just getting started! Next Friday, we are excited to officially launch the Stingray Cove, our GRMS PBIS Store! Students will be able to use their Stingray Points to purchase a variety of incentives beyond ice pops and ice cream sandwiches.

Schoolwide Fundraiser: Believe Kids

Our Believe Kids Schoolwide Fundraiser is here! Students received their fundraiser packets on Wednesday, August 19th, and the fundraiser officially begins Monday, August 24th.

• Shop: SHOPFUND.COM
• GRMS Group Code: 6WM7B
• See the fundraiser flyer HERE

The best part? Every dollar earned through this fundraiser comes right back to support our PBIS store and student incentives at GRMS!

We also have some BIG incentives for our Stingrays:

• FREE END-OF-YEAR TRIP: The top fundraiser in EACH grade level will earn their end-of-year grade-level trip FOR FREE! That means we will have a winner from 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade.
• SLIME TIME: Every student who sells at least ONE item will be entered into a drawing for the opportunity to SLIME 3 staff members voted on by the students!

The fundraiser ends Tuesday, September 8th, so let's see what our Stingrays can do!

Thank you, families, for your continued partnership and support of GRMS. Two weeks down, and The Gamble Rogers Experience is just getting started!

Attendance is one of the most important factors in student learning and success. When students are frequently absent, it can become difficult to keep up with assignments, classroom instruction, and mastery of grade-level standards. Please take a moment to review the SJCSD Code of Conduct, located at the bottom of this newsletter in the Dean’s Section. We are committed to partnering with our families to support strong attendance and ensure every student has the opportunity to learn at their highest level. Reminder: Our excused absence link can be found on our school website. We understand that sometimes notes get lost, so please use the link on our website. As a reminder, students who appear on the truancy report will not be eligible to participate in PBIS trips, field studies, or special events.

Thank you for your partnership in making every school day count!

It’s a great day to be a Stingray!

Previous Information to share:

1. FAST PM1 Parent Notification

2. Club Fair Coming Soon - August 31st

3. Lunch in the Courtyard Opportunity

4. Single School Culture Presentations

5. School Photo Day - Friday, September 4th

6. Dress Code. We will be following the dress code policy set forth by SJCSD. Please make sure your student understands this policy as it will be strickly enforced consistently on August 10th and each day after. Thank you for your partnership!

7. Cell Phone Tradition. Cell phones are not allowed on campus according to House Bill 1105, all electronic devices (cell phones, tablets, and smart watches) are to be turned off and put away. Students must place them in their book bag until they are in the vehicle that takes them to and from school.

8. PTO Membership Link - Join here!

-Next PTO Meeting: September 3rd

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Thanks to Leonard’s Studio for the awesome upgrade to our building windows near the gymnasium and auditorium! This addition not only proudly displays our Stingray spirit, and also provides an added layer of safety and security for our students and staff.

We appreciate Leonard’s Studio for helping us continue to enhance The Gamble Rogers Experience!

All student pick-up and drop-off times and locations will be provided exclusively through BusPlanner.

Families who have not yet logged in to the BusPlanner website or the Chipmunk app are strongly encouraged to create an account before the end of the school year. This will help ensure that you are able to access your child’s 2026-2027 bus schedule when schedules are released during the last week of July 2026.

Detailed instructions showing how to login to BusPlanner and Chipmunk, and how to access your child’s bus schedule, are now available on the school district website.

If you have any questions or need any assistance with your BusPlanner account, please contact Routing Specialist Tiffany Bravo at tiffany.bravo@stjohns.k12.fl.us or (904) 547-8076.

When a student rides a bus, they must ride the bus the Transportation Department has assigned to them. Bus drivers are authorized to issue referrals for rule infractions which could result in disciplinary action, including a bus suspension. Parent requests or complaints regarding bus service should be directed to Transportation at 904-547-7810.

Lunch traditions have been explained and taught to students the first week of school. We will continue to help our Stingrays show success in the cafeteria.

Did you know that as a Title I school, our students have breakfast and lunch options for free! Other items are optional at a cost.

To deposit money into your student's lunch account, you will use PayPams. Click here to see the information: https://paypams.com/

What do the Dean's do?

• Set and teach GRMS Behavior Traditions
• Enforce positive behaviors.
• Issue consequences for violations against the code of conduct.
• Communicate with parents if concerns arise.
• Collaborate with school counselors, teachers, and other staff members to assist with personal and/or academic concerns.
• Work with our school resource office to ensrue studnet and staff safety.
• Advocate for students.
• Use restorative discipline strategies to encourage reflection on behaviors and learning from mistakes.

GRMS is excited to announce that we will be using the PBIS App to celebrate students who continue to model the traditions of a Gamble Rogers Middle School Student! Students will get a QR code to place on their planner that will be used to earn Stingray Bucks and use them in the PBIS Store.

6th Grade Trip: TBD

7th Grade Trip: TBD

8th Grade Reward: Formal, Gradbash, and Promotion Ceremony

1. Students who earn more than 2 days of ISS in any quarter will not be able to go on the reward trip.
2. Students who receive OSS during 2nd, 3rd, or 4th quarter will not be eligible for the grade-level reward trip.
3. Students with 15 or more unexcused absences will not be able be eligible for the rewards trips.
4. Students must have passed all courses 1st semester and currently passing courses currently up until the last school day.
5. For 8th grade students, these requirements also apply for the 8th grade Formal and 8th grade Promotion ceremony.
6. Once a reward trip has been paid for, we will not be able to give refunds or transfer reservation to another student's name.
7. Students who receive a level 4 infraction during any part of the school year will not be eligible for any PBIS incentives or trips.

NEXT PTO Meeting: September 3, 2026