GSD E-Blast March 2026

Dear Parents and Guardians,

With longer days and signs of spring beginning to appear, it has been an exciting and productive month throughout GSD. Our students continue to excel, whether competing at the state level, innovating through robotics and STEM programs, or earning academic honors such as Carlson High School’s Top Ten recognition. Their hard work and commitment reflect the strong culture of excellence we value across our district. I encourage you to review the highlights below and join me in celebrating the accomplishments of our students and staff.

Your partner in education,

Amy Conway

Superintendent

Research shows that being happy and positive primes the brain to be more successful and productive. Promoting positivity will enhance our student’s academic ability and develop them into happy and positive thinkers and leaders. Each month we will highlight a building or staff member that is spreading “The Orange” (Happiness) through Gibraltar!

In celebration of Random Acts of Kindness Day, students and staff at LVS came together to spread positivity beyond our campus walls by painting “kindness rocks” to share throughout our community. Each rock was thoughtfully decorated with uplifting messages, colorful designs, and words of encouragement intended to brighten someone’s day. After completing their creations, students will place the rocks in local parks, neighborhoods, and community spaces as small reminders that kindness matters and that even the simplest gestures can make a meaningful difference. We are proud of our students for embracing this opportunity to lead with compassion and for helping to strengthen the sense of connection that makes our school and district such a special place.

Do you have a child at home who will be five years old on or before September 1, 2026? Do you know someone who does, perhaps a friend or a neighbor? If so, Gibraltar School District has a spot waiting just for them in our kindergarten classrooms next year! Gibraltar School District offers both a traditional Kindergarten program as well as a Young Fives Kindergarten program. Both of these programs have a strong focus on the math and literacy skills needed for a solid foundation through the course of the formative elementary years. Registration opened on February 17. Once you register, please join us for an informational night, for parents and prospective students, on April 29 at 6:00. These will be held in each elementary building. Visit our website for more information!

https://www.gibdist.net/page/kindergarten-and-young-fives-information

The Carlson Introduction to Aviation class recently visited Grosse Ile Airport for an exciting field trip with local flight instructors. Students toured the hangar, where they were guided through the pre-flight inspection process of a Cessna 172. They also had the opportunity to climb into the cockpit and experience the view from the pilot’s seat firsthand.

Instructors went a step further by placing students behind the yoke in the Redbird flight simulator, giving them the chance to take the controls and experience what it feels like to fly a Cessna.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the day, and Hall’s Flying Service was incredibly generous with their time, even providing each student with a flight school sweatshirt.

At the end of February, Chapman third graders celebrated all of the new knowledge they gained about Ancient Rome through their Amplify CKLA unit. Throughout the study, students engaged in close reading of complex informational texts, built academic vocabulary, and strengthened their ability to cite evidence, summarize key ideas, and participate in thoughtful discussions. Under the leadership of Ms. Tockstein, Ms. Masland, and Mrs. Putek, students marked the end of the unit with interactive Ancient Rome stations, including engineering challenges and “Circus Maximus” chariot races. Mrs. Soranno also shared real-life photos from her trips to Rome, helping students connect their classroom learning to authentic landmarks like the Colosseum and Pantheon. This celebration highlighted how knowledge-building and strong reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills come together to deepen student understanding-while making learning engaging and fun!

If you walked into the Hunter gym on February 18th, you were instantly swept up in the energy of Hunter’s Outstanding STEM Day, led by Mrs. Brown for the third year in a row. Each station spotlighted science from this year’s NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book list and highlighted real STEM careers in our school and community. After the books are released, Mrs. Brown recruits volunteers and designs hands-on activities that connect rich literature to real-world science—books that soon land in the hands of our Hunter Hornets.

Students explored flower structures by creating wax windows, planted seed bombs with Huron Metroparks to support native plants, and examined real X-rays with technicians while making cyanotype prints inspired by Inside In. NALCO and Ford demonstrated how sludge becomes clean water, showing how industry protects the environment.

Carlson Robotics inspired future engineers with live building and programming. The University of Michigan Natural History Museum brought dinosaur bones, the DNR shared Earth’s rocks, and Consumers and AT&T explained underground gas and internet systems. Nurses and doctors taught about insulin, a Fisheries and Wildlife Ranger led pollination activities, and we learned how engineers help salamanders safely cross roads.

With support from the HFSA, students will read these featured books and connect their STEM Day experiences to classroom learning. For Hunter students, STEM day is the best day of the year… but now for volunteers in the community, it’s becoming their favorite too! They’re already asking… “When is STEM Day next year?”

Eighth grade Shumate students recently took part in a hands-on frog dissection experience. This engaging lab activity is a key component of the 8th Grade Body Systems unit and provides students with a meaningful, real-world application of their learning.Through the dissection, students explored major organ systems, including the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, and muscular systems. The lab allowed students to observe firsthand how these systems are structured and how they function together. The experience reinforces classroom instruction by allowing students to physically identify organs and trace their connections, deepening their understanding beyond diagrams and textbooks.

In addition to strengthening content knowledge, the dissection serves as an important comparative study. By examining the similarities and differences between frog and human anatomy, students gain a clearer perspective on how human body systems operate. This comparative approach helps solidify their understanding of structure and function while fostering critical thinking and scientific inquiry skills. The lab not only enhances comprehension of essential life science standards but also encourages curiosity, collaboration, and respect for the scientific processes.

Our Grandparents Breakfast was truly an amazing event! This celebration is always one of our most popular, and once again it sold out in just one day. We had a packed house as we welcomed and served our wonderful grandparents and our Parsons pirates for a special cross-generational breakfast.

It was heartwarming to see so many smiles, hugs, stories, and shared moments around the tables. Events like this remind us how special our school community truly is and how important it is to create opportunities that bring generations together.

After breakfast, many of our guests shopped until they dropped at the Book Fair, which made the morning even more festive. It was the perfect way to showcase our school and kick off Reading Month with excitement and energy!

Two weeks ago, Weiss Elementary students and teachers had the incredible opportunity to present in the Grand Ballroom at the The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation as part of the fifth annual Wayne RESA Maker STEM Summit.

This opportunity began last school year through a student led Project Based Learning experience. At that time, our 2nd and 4th grade students were challenged to design and help create a Makerspace for Weiss Elementary. They researched what tools and materials would best support creativity and innovation, developed a vision for the space, and played an active role in bringing it to life. These students did not simply use the Makerspace. They helped build it from the ground up.

After Wayne RESA representatives visited Weiss and saw this authentic student driven work in action, they invited our teachers and ten of our students to present at the regional Maker STEM Summit so other educators and districts could learn from their process. Now in 3rd and 5th grade, these students reflected on their journey and confidently shared their story in front of educators from across southeast Michigan in the Grand Ballroom.

The presentation was a powerful example of student voice, leadership, and real world learning. Since the event, Wayne RESA has already connected with our team about additional future opportunities for our students and teachers to present and continue sharing their work.

Wayne RESA also recognized Weiss publicly, sharing on their Facebook page:

“The fifth annual Wayne RESA Maker STEM Summit was a successful day of hands-on thinking and learning for educators from across the region. We were especially excited to welcome students from Weiss Elementary in Gibraltar School District, who gave a presentation on how they created a makerspace at their school.”

Because of this student driven project, our Weiss Makerspace now includes multiple Cricut machines, 3D printers, sublimation tools, robots, sewing machines, sensory tools, building equipment, and more. Most importantly, it represents what is possible when students are empowered to lead their own learning.

Congratulations to Michael Jackson, our new Sub Driver. Michael has all his credentials and is learning the routes.

As part of the Gibraltar School District Stormwater Management Program (SWMP), the district is required to post a Public Notice notifying the public that the SWMP is available on the district website for public review and comment. You can find the public notice and other important stormwater management information at this link: