A Trip Down Goshen Lane

Hello, Families,

This week wrapped up Read-A-Thon minutes and an extra shout out was given to the grade level classes that read the most: Mrs. Hielkema, Miss Odom, Mrs. Buchert, Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Thomas, and Mrs. Brown. Thank you to Xtreme Limousine for the donated day. The last day to collect donations from family and friends is April 6th. We look forward to our April Town Hall when raffle prizes will be drawn!

Spring break is March 30 - April 3. We hope this time provides our students, families, and staff with an opportunity to rest, recharge, and enjoy meaningful time together. Whether you are traveling, spending time outdoors, or simply relaxing at home, we encourage everyone to take a well-deserved break from the busy school routine. We look forward to welcoming our students back refreshed and ready for a strong finish to the school year!

I hope you have a week that includes the things you love the most.

Sharon Suriano

Principal

At Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools, we have traditionally used an August 1 cutoff for kindergarten eligibility.

Beginning with the 2026–2027 school year, new state legislation creates a single, statewide standard. Children must be five years old on or before the first day of instruction in the enrolling district to be eligible for kindergarten. For GJPS, this means children must be five years old on or before August 20, 2026 to be eligible for kindergarten registration.

Registration for new GJPS kindergarten students for the 2026-27 school year is open.

If you have an incoming Goshen Lane kindergartner in 2026-27, SAVE THE DATE for our Kindergarten Kickoff May 12, 6:00-7:00. We can't wait to welcome our newest Little Lions!

Click Here for GJPS Kindergarten Enrollment Information

Students recently wrapped up Module 3 in Wit & Wisdom with an exciting and memorable celebration! Throughout the module, they explored the power and movement of wind—learning how it shapes weather, influences our environment, and can even be harnessed for fun. To bring their learning to life, students took their understanding outdoors and celebrated by flying kites. I am so proud of their curiosity, teamwork, and enthusiasm during this hands-on experience!

This week, juniors and seniors from our own Gahanna Lincoln High School's Performance Studio course performed a play written as a class. The message elaborated on the importance of kindness, anti-bullying, and showcased characters common in Shrek. Two of the actors were former Goshen Lane students!

As we head into the warmer spring months, we often see an increase in students wanting to bring items from home to enjoy during recess or share with friends. While we appreciate their excitement, we ask for your partnership in reminding students to make appropriate choices about what they bring to school. Items such as toys, gadgets, and especially any objects that resemble weapons, even if they are toys, are not permitted at school. These items can create concern and disrupt our learning environment and could result disciplinary action. Thank you for your support in helping us maintain a safe and positive school community for all students.

As we approach our upcoming Ohio State Tests, we want to thank our students and families for the continued support in helping our learners do their best each day. These assessments provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate their growth and the skills they have been building throughout the year. We encourage families to help students come to school well-rested, on time, and ready to show what they know. Please schedule appointments on days your student is not testing. We are proud of the hard work our students and teachers have put in, and we look forward to celebrating their efforts and accomplishments!

Please see the Grade 3-5 testing details below.

In March, students have been exploring a wide assortment of media topics. All classes looked at code programming and how coding both on the computer and through the use of robots is one media career that they can look into pursuing when they are older. Then we looked at theater and the performing arts and talked about how staging a theater production has similarities to coding a computer program. We dived in and talked about how theater makes a story come to life and can present the stories we know and love in new and creative ways. Students also discussed how both theater and coding can have similarities if we look closely. The students enjoyed finding out all the aspects of coding and theater and seeing how those are different career paths they can go into when they are older.

At the start of the month, 5th grade looked into copyright protection and fair use. Students learned that copyright is the protection given to creative works such as books, paintings, music and so forth. Students then looked into how copyright might be impacted by Generative AI. Students have talked about Generative AI and how it is given new information in order to know how to create things in the future. In order to understand both sides of how AI can be helpful and harmful, students participated in a discussion about how they felt when their hard work from their Olympics slides was given to the Goshen AI Simulator. Students got a feel for how other creative outlets we have talked about such as authors, illustrators, film makers, researchers, and so forth might feel when they find out AI has used their work without permission. We then looked into some more pros and cons of AI in order to see the whole picture in a tech area that is rapidly changing.

3-4th graders also were looking at theater and understanding how staging a show is similar to coding a program or a robot. We looked at how its important to program actors and robots to know what to do and where to go. We’ve also been looking at some digital citizenship skills to keep growing in that as well. We’ve talked about being safe online and not oversharing information with people that you don’t know.

K-2 students started talking about how books can come to life through stage performances. We looked at how stage directions can be confusing at first but help to make a character come to life and move on stage. After understanding the elements of stage directions, students then had the chance to work on how they would program a Beebot as if it were an actor. In order to understand what it is like to be an actor, students learned a vocal warm up saying “red leather yellow leather” and walked as a warm up, and learned a wiggle stretch. We also talked about improv and how it helps spark imagination. After understanding about theatre, students could program the beebot robot either Stage Up, Stage Left, Stage Right, or Down Stage in order to put on a performance. Students then got to talk more about media careers through understanding how theater is a media based world and has different parts and pieces that people can do and comparing that to how computer coding is also a job people can do and the pieces and parts that go into that job field.

It was such a fun month to combine my love of theater and the performing arts with my second love of computer coding and technology. It was fun to link together both areas and we can’t wait to welcome GLHS Theater students to our school to see a real life performance and understand all the work that went into it behind the scenes.

Questions to ask your student:

What do they want to be when they grow up? Is it in the media and communications field?
What level are they on in edutyping? How has their typing skills grown?
What was something you learned this month that was interesting?

Ongoing Fundraisers:

Goshen Lane Spirit Wear

Kroger Community Rewards-- Use code: GA915 for Goshen Lane

Box Tops for Education--Download the app today!

Thank You,

Goshen Lane PTA

Click This Box for All Live Links to PTA Information

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.

Lions Locker is an anonymous pantry located at Gahanna Lincoln High School. They provide food, toiletries, school supplies and other basic necessities to PreK-12 students of Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools.

If your family is in need of these basic items please reach out to Mrs. Cellar, School Counselor (cellarl@gjps.org) and she will work with Lions Locker as well as other local organizations to support your family through these need based programs.

If your student is in need of after school care, the YWCA Columbus offers services right here at Goshen Lane. There is an option to receive publicly funded childcare for those who apply and qualify. If you are interested or have any questions, please contact them directly.