East Weekly -- Summer Edition

Good Morning,

I hope your summer is off to a wonderful start! As we wrap up the final pieces of the school year, I’m already beginning to plan and prepare for an exciting year ahead. I want to thank you again for your support throughout the year and say WELCOME to our incoming 6th grade families!

Be sure to check out the information below about our upcoming PTA dine-out fundraiser, school supply lists, and an important Save the Date for schedule pick-up. Many outgoing 8th grade families have asked about Washington, D.C. trip photos—those are included in this newsletter for you to enjoy!

Wishing you a restful and sunny summer—stay connected, and we’ll see you soon!

Take Care,
Megan Kirsten

Gahanna Middle School East

Aug. 7: Schedule Pickup - More information coming at a later date. See flyer below.

Aug. 14: First Day of School

Join us for the upcoming Gahanna Lincoln High School alumni musical, 42nd Street! Coming July 25th through July 27th, and with the generous support of the Gahanna Jefferson Education Foundation, 42nd Street offers one last opportunity for GLHS alumni to perform on the stage prior to the transition to the new high school.

On behalf of the alumni musical production team, we'd appreciate anything you can do to spread the word to your schools. For more information, please see the attached flyer.

On behalf of the GMSE PTA, the Hospitality Team thanks the amazing families and donors who helped us provide support and show appreciation for teachers, staff and bus drivers throughout this year. From donations to Fitness Fundraiser to contributions for teacher conference meals and your generosity during the School Supply Refresh, we were able to host events almost monthly (often while supporting local businesses!):

• October: We started the school year off by organizing three meals to support teachers who put in some long days on conference nights.
• November: To show our gratitude, we served Donna’s Delicious Dozen donuts and cider for a morning pick-me-up.
• December: We hosted a cookie and cocoa snack break and gifted a holiday-, and Gahanna-themed decoration to everyone.
• February: You loaded up teachers, staff and bus drivers with much-needed cleaning and classroom supplies during the School Supply Refresh. This helped get them through the rest of the tough Winter months. We also organized the final two teacher conference meals (Lori and Bob Pernotto catered, and it was delicious!).
• March: Teachers and staff enjoyed flavored seltzers in fun cups for an afternoon treat on Fizzy Friday!
• April: Broke Johnny Foodtruck provided breakfast to all teachers, staff and bus drivers, and we also acknowledged East’s seven paraprofessionals with a small giftcard to Upper Cup in Gahanna.
• May: We celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week a week early at the request of Mrs. Kirsten (since many teachers were on the 8th grade trip to DC during the usual celebration week). Teachers and staff played a fun, but competitive, game of Rock, Paper, Scissors throughout the week to earn prizes at the end of the week. They also enjoyed bubble tea from Bubbles Tea & Juice Company in Creekside and had healthy(ish) snacks available in the teachers’ lounge to power them through to Fitness Fundraiser at the end of that week.
• We finished out the year with a Summer-inspired gift from The Bibliophile Candle company in Gahanna. If you haven’t visited the storefront yet, it’s at 5454 N Hamilton Road (Suite B) just past Meijer and Home Depot.

Again, thanks so much for your support throughout the year. It has been a joy to share our collective appreciation for those who support our students in endless ways everyday. Shameless plug…If you’d like to help with these types of activities next year, please email gahannamsepto@gmail.com! It’s fun (and easy!) and can be done around your schedule.

Consider attending to learn about open positions to support for next school year!

Families, we encourage you to create an account in Final Forms and select ALL sports that your student may be interested in throughout the school year. Doing this early helps avoid the need to re-sign forms later and ensures they receive important updates from coaches and the athletic Department regarding conditioning, tryouts, and other key information.

Below is the link to Final Forms as well as an instruction page.

Thank you for your help in preparation for the upcoming season year!

Final Forms

Final Forms - Parent Instructions

Please see file below.

No updates today.

To report an absence, please call the front office at (614)478-5550 or email fischerj@gjps.org by 9:10am if possible.You also have the ability to login into Infinite Campus and mark your child's absence there. Please ONLY do this if your child will be absent for the entire day.

The Heart and Pride Award recognizes two outstanding staff members each month who make a profound impact on our students and Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools.

The Heart & Pride Nomination Form will remain available year-round and is open to any member of our staff, regardless of position.

PTA meetings take place on the 2nd Monday of each month in the GMSE library at 7:00pm. All are welcome!

Meeting dates:

• Dates coming soon!

Help support and fund numerous initiatives for students and staff throughout the year. Stay tuned to our Facebook page, “GMSE Parents” (new members be sure to answer the questions to be admitted), and upcoming newsletters for more information about what we do and how you can help.

Please consider joining the Middle School East PTA.