PANTHER PROWL

Happy December, Panther Families!

As we enter the final month of the semester, the energy on campus is high and full of excitement. December brings many joyful opportunities to celebrate our students and their hard work. We’re looking forward to recognizing our Panther Pride award recipients and celebrating our Perfect Attendance students for November.

This month will also include our Winter Spirit Days, the Winter Dance, and an early release week as we wrap up the semester and head into a well-deserved Winter Break.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership. I hope this season brings warmth, joy, and time with loved ones.

Go Panthers!
Jessica Fernandez
Principal
Glen Edwards Middle School

Hey Panther Families,

We are asking for your partnership in reinforcing The Panther Way and helping all students contribute to a positive, professional, and productive school environment.

Please take a moment to speak with your student about the importance of:

• Using appropriate language at all times

• Keeping hands to themselves and respecting personal space

• Interacting respectfully with both staff and peers

• Treating guest teachers with the same respect and cooperation shown to their regular teachers

Additionally, please remind your student that cell phones must remain turned off and put away for the entire school day. Any student who receives a referral for having their phone out—whether it is on or off—will be assigned an after-school detention.

Steve Roman

Assistant Principal

Glen Edwards Middle School

During the week of 12/15/25 - 12/19/25, students will be dismissed at the normal Monday ER time of 1:55 PM each day that week (see schedule below).

There is no school 12/22/25-1/2/26 as we observe Winter Break. We return to school Monday 1/5/26 and that will be a regular ER Monday schedule.

It is the end of 1st Semester and Report Cards will be MAILED HOME to the address we have on file. Please take a moment to log into the parent portal to ensure your correct mailing address is in the system. Also if you are a parent of an 8th grade student be sure to review the 8th Grade Promotion Requirements <<LINKED HERE>> for reference.

Thank you for your attention and support! Happy Holidays!!

Our local high schools are getting ready to begin the registration process for the 2026–2027 school year! We are excited to announce our annual Shadow a Zebra Days at LHS, scheduled for Thursday, January 8, 2026, and Friday, January 9, 2026.

During this event, our 8th graders will take a field trip to LHS for a fun and informative kickoff to help them start thinking about their transition to high school. Each student will attend one of the two days based on a predetermined alphabetical or class grouping.

More information—including permission forms and upcoming parent night details—will be shared soon.
Thank you, and we look forward to a great start to the high school planning season!

PS: If you are within the TBHS boundary more information forthcoming regarding those events.

PBIS Update:

In our recent November meeting, Joshua Sexton from PCOE visited to conduct our biannual TFI score. A TFI score for a school refers to its score on the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI), which is a valid, reliable, and efficient measure used to assess the extent to which school members are applying the features of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). We scored well in the 90 percentile, but did have a few categories for growth. We are looking to maintain our current score but also wanting to make improvements before Joshua Sexton returns in the spring for another assessment. Last year we were able to apply for and achieve silver recognition, this year we are going for gold!

Student Store Update:

Students are able to earn 5-Star points from their teachers and spend them at the student store. Encourage your student to reach out to their teachers and other staff members to ask them how they can earn points. Our store is located between the Spirit Center and the Gym. We are open most days before and after school for pickup from 8-8:10 am and 2:55-3:05 pm.

Themes of the week December:

Following our Portrait of a Learner monthly theme of INTEGRITY, here are our themes of the week:

• 12/01 & 12/08: Panthers conduct themselves according to classroom expectations and school rules.
• 12/15: Panthers actively listen to teachers instructions and ask clarifying questions as needed.

Students are encouraged to demonstrate these themes to their teachers so they can earn a panther buck for our weekly raffle.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We’re pleased to share that our Parent Involvement Policy for the 2025–2026 school year has been approved. We invite you to take a moment to review it and learn more about how we’ll continue to partner with families to support student success.

👉 [ENGLISH / SPANISH]

Thank you for your continued involvement and support!

Congratulations to our 127 students who had perfect attendance in October—we hope you enjoyed your Otter Pops! We’re excited to keep growing the number of students with perfect attendance each month. In December, we will celebrate those who earn it for the month of November. Please continue encouraging your students to be on time and here every day!

⛄ December Update 🎁

As we begin a new month, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to our November Canned Food Drive. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to support local families in partnership with the Salt Mine. We truly appreciate your continued support and kindness.

For December, we are excited to launch our Giving Tree in the front office from December 1st–17th. We are collecting gift donations to help make the holidays brighter for families in our community. This year, we are focusing on middle school–aged children and the types of gifts they would enjoy. Please keep an eye out for our flier, or feel free to use the Amazon link below for gift ideas.

We also have several fun events coming up this month:

• December 4: Pink Out Game vs. TBMS — The first 100 students to arrive will receive a pink-out item to show their support.
  

• December 5: Winter Rally (BELL SCHEDULE FOR THE DAY)
  

• December 8–12: Winter Spirit Week, ending with our Winter Dance on December 12
  
  

Thank you for helping us make this season special for our students and community!

Tutoring

• Days: Tuesday – Friday

• Time: 3:05 – 4:35 PM

• Location: Library

We still have several families who have not completed their Annual Registration Update (ARU), formerly known as the Emergency Card Update. An updated ARU is required for every student at the start of each school year. Please log in to PowerSchool to review, update, and submit all required modules for your student(s).
Please Note: Failure to complete the ARU may result in your student being excluded from school events, including dances and field trips, as well as delays or denials in processing any Travel Study requests.

Please take a few moments to confirm, update and submit each module of information . There are new modules that have been added this year: https://powerschool.wpusd.org/public/

FAILURE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION WILL LEAD TO EXCLUSION FROM STUDENT EVENTS SUCH AS DANCES, FIELD TRIPS AND APPROVAL OF ANY TRAVEL STUDY REQUESTS

OUR 24/7 GLEN EDWARDS MIDDLE SCHOOL Sideline Store is up and running. Stop reading and start shopping to score the latest fan wear and accessories.

*PLEASE NOTE: THESE CLOTH ITEMS WILL NOT MEET PE UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS. DO NOT PURCHASE FOR PE CLOTH FROM HERE.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED TOWARDS OUR TURKEY TROT! IT IS BY FAR OUR BIGGEST FUNDRAISER THIS YEAR! WE TRULY APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT!

MEETINGS:

We encourage All Parents, Teachers & Students (APTS) to attend our meetings. This is a great way for everyone to be a part of the GEMS community.

Our next meeting is on Tues, Dec 9th @5pm in the school's library!

UPCOMING:

• The PAW class that raised the most money for the Turkey Trot will indulge in a donut party the first week of December!
• Dec 8th - 16th - we are selling Winter Grams. Flyers will be distributed in students' PAW classes. You can also print extras here!
• Dec 13th (Saturday) Volunteer at the Salt Mine (let's pack the place with PANTHERS!) Sign up here!

For more ways you can help support APTS and our ONGOING FUNDRAISERS check out the GEMS Website for details.

CONNECT:

Any questions, comments or concerns be sure to email us at GemsApts@Gmail.com

Be sure to follow us on Facebook @GemsApts

Visit the APTS website : Click here!

Wrestling begins on December 1st at 3:30pm in the Spirit Center. Please have your updated physical uploaded to Final Forms before the first day. Wrestling schedules will be discussed directly with the coach once practice begins.

Boys Basketball: 1 home game left!! The Pink Out game vs Twelve Bridges will be Thursday, December 4th. Wear Pink and show your support for the Panthers and Fighting Cancer! Our Band will be there to pump up the teams!

• 7th grade begins at 4pm
• 8th grade begins at 5pm

Girls Basketball: Tryouts begin the first day after Winter Break in January. Please have updated physical in Final Forms before the first day of practice. Specific times will be posted at a later date. Schedules will be discussed by the coaches.

Check out the flier below. There are several ways to report absences. We hope you find it useful!

• When you receive a message that your student was absent, you can respond easily by clicking on the link within the message to report your student's absence.
• 7th period is actually the students PAW period and the first class of the day Tuesday - Friday.
• ALSO NOTE: There will be NO TRAVEL STUDIES approved if the Annual Registration Update is not completed.
  

Check out www.pantherpress916.com

NEW ARTICLES HAVE BEEN POSTED TO PANTHER PRESS!

Make sure to check back several times a week as we are constantly posting
new articles and photos!

Recently Added:

• Expanding GEMS a possibility....
• GEMS Broadcasting Field Trip
• Developing Life Skills in Students: Portrait of a Learner
• What is CTE Wheel?
• Harvest Fair
• Gilmore Girls Review
• Opinion: Energy Drinks: Dangerous Boost for Kids' Health
• Opinion: Rise of AI Video Generation
• Opinion: Why Middle School Friendships Matter More than you think
• updates in Paw Prints section
• vote in our Favorite HOLIDAY poll

.....AND MUCH MUCH MORE

Our first podcast of the year is ONLINE NOW....
WeAre105 is available on the GEMS TV YouTube channel, Spotify and Apple.

Our first episode has students discussing Artificial Intelligence and a round table on Holidays.

https://youtu.be/6KM-iwB6mVI?si=w6qlR2zepxxCL3Xr

Web Link:

Click Here

https://youtu.be/6KM-iwB6mVI?si=w6qlR2zepxxCL3Xr

7th Graders: Trip Registration is open now! We have over 45 travelers signed up....We will be visiting Washington DC, New York and Boston in 2027. If interested, please email jnoonan@wpusd.org

8th Graders: Student meetings will begin in January. We have over 85 travelers signed up and have 3-4 open spots if anyone is still interested in joining. We will be traveling to Philadelphia, Washington DC and New York

Any East Coast questions, please email jnoonan@wpusd.org

IF your student wants to participate in any athletic capacity be sure you have an account created in Final Forms and physical clearance by a physician.

• Parent AND Student must create their own account, fill out and submit information via FINAL FORMS
• All students must have a current PHYSICAL on file with the school (current means within the past year).

Learn more about our food service program HERE and visit the food services website HERE for daily menu options.

Don't forget to follow our GEMS Facebook Page to stay on top of all the fun things we are doing around campus! Click this link or the picture below to follow!