GIS Family Newsletter!

At GIS, we firmly believe having a set of core beliefs shared among students and staff leads to increased levels of social, emotional, and academic achievement. At GIS, we believe . . .

• Positive Relationships are FIRST!
• Treat EVERYONE with respect and dignity.
• Push for success: Expect great things from ALL.
• Continually learn and grow personally and professionally.
• Show up and Do the WORK!

• WELCOME BACK GIS FAMILIES!
• It is difficult to believe it is a new year! We are thrilled to welcome our students back to GIS! We missed them! January will be a month of re-focusing and reacquainting them with the rules, expectations, and the rhythm of school. This month, grades will be available in Skyward on the 8th. If you would like a "printed" report card, please contact the front office at 903-841-7800 to receive one. We will also have Academic Celebrations this month. We are ready to celebrate the hard work students did before the break!
• Our Science fair, Model UN, Innovative Inventors, and UIL teams are gearing up to compete this month, so be on the lookout for Parent Square info from those coaches, teachers, and sponsors!
• We are here to provide a quality education for ALL students. If you should ever need us, we are here to help!
• This year our motto is "LEVEL UP" and that is exactly what we plan to do. It takes all of us working together! Let's continue the journey together!
• Mrs. McDowell 🙂

We are excited to announce that our district is adopting the Raptor Safe mobile app as part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing school safety and streamlining visitor management in our schools. This app builds on our existing visitor procedures, offering a more convenient and secure check-in process for everyone.

What is the Raptor Safe App?

The Raptor Safe app offers a convenient and secure way for visitors to manage and verify their identity before arriving at a school. With the Raptor Passport feature, visitors can pre-verify their identity, allowing for a seamless sign-in process when they arrive on campus.

How Does It Work?

When visiting a school, visitors can use their secure QR code generated by the app to expedite the check-in process. QR codes automatically regenerate every 5 minutes to ensure security and prevent misuse.

Getting Started

The Raptor Safe app is available to all visitors across the district. To download the app, please visit RaptorSafe App

For questions or assistance, please contact your school office. Thank you for helping us keep our schools safe.

We will celebrate our students on Tuesday, January 13th! 5th grade will begin at 10:00am and 6th grade will begin at 2:00pm. We kindly ask that 5th graders stay at school to complete the school day! This celebration honors our students for their hard work and academic growth for the 2nd 9 weeks of school!

6th grade Accelerated Science students will participate in the GIS Science Fair. Students will have an opportunity to present their research to a panel of judges for a chance to advance to the next round.

Parents will have an opportunity to preview the projects from 7:30-7:55am.

At 7:55am, we will close the parent preview session and invite the judges in to the Science Fair rooms. Good Luck to all participants!

GIS would like to thank our Board for the AMAZING support that they provide our staff and students. They are the most encouraging and supportive group that truly cares about kids. THANK YOU Mr. Skinner (Board President), Mr. Murry, Mr. Dean, Mrs. King, Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Southwell, and Mr. Montgomery for always setting GIS up for SUCCESS!

SCHOOL STARTS AT 7:55am😀

Morning Drop-Off

7:20-7:55am

(Students with Elem siblings dropped at front entrance; All others dropped at The Loop).

Instructional Day

7:40-3:25

Tardy Bell

7:55am (Students in class prepared for instruction)

Breakfast

Served 7:20am-7:55am

Lunch Schedule

5th Grade 12:40-1:10

6th Grade 11:40-12:10

Afternoon Dismissal

3:25pm

(Students with Elem siblings picked up at front entrance; All others picked up at The Loop).

Transportation Changes

Transportation changes for dismissal need to be made in writing and include the date and a parent/guardian signature. If an emergency should arise, parents may call the front office at (903) 841-7800 before 2:00pm to request a change with principal approval. Please do not email or text your child’s classroom teacher with a transportation change.

Students will need to know their route number. We will need a new note from a parent/guardian each time your child’s transportation changes. This is the only way for us to know exactly which mode of transportation your child will have each day.

It is an expectation that all students are picked up from school no later than 4:00pm. We know that emergencies happen and would love to help in the event that one does. We are asking that you communicate with the school to let us know if you need help. If you are habitually late, unfortunately, your student may incur consequences/detentions. This is not a practice we like to enforce, however, we must adhere to these protocols to respect our employees time.

Cafeteria

Breakfast and lunch are served daily free of charge to all Intermediate students.

Deliveries

Gilmer Intermediate School will accept gift deliveries such as candy baskets, flowers, balloons, etcetera, between 2:00 PM and 2:30 PM.

Lunch and/or food deliveries may be dropped off at the front office for student pick-up prior to the student’s lunch time between 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM. Parents may only deliver food items for their child. Group lunches will not be allowed. (This means no BIRTHDAY GROUP LUNCHES.)

We do not accept door dash for students.

January 8th- Report Cards Available

January 13th- Academic Celebrations- 5th grade- 10:00-11:00 6th grade 2:00-3:00

January 15th- Science Fair for Accelerated Science students

January 16th- Innovative Inventions at Mineola (GT students)

January 19th- NO School MARTIN L. KING Holiday

January 28th-29th Model UN Competition for GT students

January 31st- 6th grade UIL Competition at Pine Tree High School- Participating students must return their parent permission slip in order to travel/participate.