A Trip Down Goshen Lane

4th Grade Teachers dressed up as figurative and literal great hearts! Mrs. Thomas was dressed as the figurative heart to represent love, Ms. Troy dressed as the literal heart and Mrs. Aldrich dressed in her exercise gear with a strong great heart! This came a fun time as their Wit& Wisdom "Great Heart" unit focuses on the essential question, "What does it mean to have a great heart, literally and figuratively?"

Third grade teachers and Mrs. Nie 💕

Mrs. Harper and Mrs. McFadden, the office dynamic duo!

There were so many great moments this week and even more as we look forward to exciting events ahead. Thank you for taking the time to read through this jam-packed weekly update! Way to go, students and staff!

"Inclusive" in November - With the start of a new month means a new PRIDE trait focus. In November, we will be focusing on I - Inclusive, "I will INCLUDE others." Classrooms will be talking about what it means to include others such as helping others, inviting others to play, taking turns, etc. This Monday, we will have our monthly Town Hall to recognize students from October who showed R-Respect, "I will RESPECT myself and my classroom community."

Clock Time Change - Fall is here, and it’s time to "fall back" our clocks! While it feels Sunday like we get an extra hour, that early sunset can also throw off our internal rhythms and routines. Please plan ahead for Monday and adjust evening routines as needed.

Lost and Found - Is your student missing any jackets, hats, etc.? Classes will be visiting the Lost and Found next week so students can claim any items they might have misplaced. Families attending Nov. 5th and 6th PTA Donut Days are encouraged to take a peek as well. Items will be located near the drinking fountain in the gym. All remaining items will be donated after Friday, Nov. 6th.

PTA Donut Days - See the flyer below for details of next week's fun family event! Please follow all street signs guidelines, and park in our back parking lot. See you then!

With PRIDE!

Mrs. Suriano

Bring the farm to us!! Goshen Lane and Jefferson Elementary kindergarten students enjoyed their farm experience at Jefferson this week to support their Wit & Wisdom "Once Upon a Farm" unit. This time in class explores life on the farm, story elements, and how farm animals help people through a mix of informational and literary texts.

Mrs. Hallen's students each wrote a sentence about their Farm experience and turned it into this podcast! View in "Present" mode, click on the speaker, and listen!

A few weeks ago, a Goshen Lane neighbor discovered a red Tailed Hawk injured in a Goshen Lane field. It was rehabilitated by the Ohio Wildlife Center and released back from Goshen Lane this week. Our 5th graders loved watching and this was a perfect tie-in to 5th graders' recent science class work with ecosystems and living things. Our own Mrs. McFadden is a real animal lover and had the honors of opening the cage!

Thank you to the team at Ohio Wildlife Center for rehabilitating the hawk and coordinating its release back into its natural environment!

Each year, around this time, students in our district are administered a cognitive ability test in accordance with Ohio Administrative Code 3301-51-15.

Students in grades 2 and 5 will take the Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test (NNAT) assessment during the month of November, and results are expected to be shared with families in December. Our grade 2 students will take this assessment on November 4 and our grade 5 students will take this assessment on November 10.

This is a standardized test given to many students across the country that measures reasoning abilities. The results of this test give an opportunity for families and teachers to learn even more about our students.

Paper letters are coming home with 2nd and 5th students today. For digital versions of all letters, see below.

Hello from the Goshen Lane Art room! We have been hard at work on fall projects, featuring leaves, pumpkins, and warm fall colors.

5th graders are currently working on pumpkin drawings. These drawings are inspired by the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and her famous pumpkin paintings and sculptures. Students are working hard to create their pumpkins using organic shapes and repetitive dots. The pumpkins are turning out great and really show how hard 5th graders can concentrate on small details!

4th graders are just wrapped up working on realistic pumpkin drawings. Students learned how to use oil pastels to create value in their drawings. These drawings turned out wonderfully and students were really excited to create something that looked so real!

3rd graders are currently working on warm and cool watercolor paintings. Students first traced leaves and outlined them with black oil pastels. The next class students carefully used watercolors to paint the background of their paper blue. The final step in this project will have students use warm colored water colors (yellow, orange, and red) to paint their leaves. These are turning out so beautifully I can’t wait for families to see them!

2nd graders just finished their spiderweb color wheel. Students first drew a spider web in pencil using straight and curved lines. Once they finished drawing their spider web in pencil students traced those lines in white oil pastels. The next class students learned about the color wheel and where specific colors go on it. Students then used watercolors to paint in each color. This project is a great way for students to learn about color theory in a fun way!

1st graders just finished their Starry Night inspired pumpkin patches. Students first cut, tore, and glued paper to create a pumpkin patch. Using construction paper students created grass, stars and a moon, and pumpkins. The next class students used Kwik Stix to add details to their pumpkin patch and dashed lines to the background sky.

Kindergarteners are currently working on painted pumpkin collages. Students used orange, yellow, and white tempera paint to paint a large sheet of paper. The next class students cut out a circle from the painted paper for their pumpkin, added eyes, mouth, and a stem! Finally students will add fun decorative stickers to their background paper. Students have really enjoyed working on these and I have been very impressed with their ability to follow complex multi-step instructions!

Questions to ask your student:

• What are some warm colors? What are some cool colors?

• What colors go together to create orange?

Each year school districts in Ohio are required to offer an opportunity for students in grades K-12 to be identified as gifted in the area of Visual and Performing Arts. The identified areas of giftedness for Visual and Performing Arts include Visual Arts, Vocal Music, Instrumental Music, Drama/Theater, and Dance. If you know of a student that may be gifted in an area of the Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) and would like for them to be screened for possible gifted identification in that particular area, please complete the Visual and Performing Arts Nomination Form found through this link.

Click here to learn more about the two-phase VPA gifted identification process. Please keep in mind that this evaluation is for identification purposes only. There are no specialized classes offered to students identified as gifted in VPA; however, teachers can use this information to differentiate their lessons.

Please note: Once a student is identified as gifted in one of the Visual and Performing Arts categories (instrumental music, vocal music, dance, visual art, theater/drama), the student is not eligible to go through the nomination process again for the same category.

Nominations will be accepted until Sunday, November 15, 2026, and will only be accepted using the Google link above.

If you have any questions, please contact Colleen Boyle at gjpsgifted@gjps.org.

We are committed to making sure families are aware of the opportunities for connecting with and receiving support from school. Click here to read the 26-27 Goshen Lane Parent Involvement Policy/Plan.

To report an absence, please call the front office at 614-478-5580 or email mcfaddene@gjps.org by 8:30am if possible. Please also let your child's teacher know.

If you have a planned absence, please fill out this form and send it in to the office. For more information or questions, please visit the GJPS website.

Did you know your child can access their online educational apps at home like they do in school? These resources include Lexia and DreamBox, educational accounts to build reading and math skills. Click here to read how.

Visit the 2026-27 GJPS Calendar for several important dates in the year ahead.

2026-27 Ohio State Tests Dates

Nov. 9: Staff Professional Development Day - No School

Nov. 10, 7:00 - 8:00p: PTA Meeting in Library
Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving Break - No School

Dec. 8, 6:00 PTA Decorating Night
Dec. 23 - Jan. 4: Winter Break - No School (Jan. 4: Teacher Work Day)

January 18, 2027: Martin Luther King Day - No School

February 11: Parent-Teacher Conferences

February 15: 2027: Presidents Day - No School

February 18: Parent-Teacher Conferences

March 8, 2027: Staff Work Day - No School

March 9, 2027: PD Day - No School

March 26, 2027: Conference Comp Day - No School

March 29-April 2, 2027: Spring Break- No School

April 30, 2027: PD Day - No School

May 27, 2027: Last Day of School for Students

FIND GJPS NEWS AND UPDATES

Yearlong Color-Coded Lunch Menu , and with Pictures

2026-2027 District Calendar

Student Handbook

Bus Schedule and Routes

GJPS Forms