The GMA Gazette

9/15 - First Day of Hispanic Heritage Month

9/27 - GMA Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm in the Birch Room

9/27 - PTO Meeting, 6:30 pm in the Birch Room

9/29 - Dine to Donate at Panera on 96th Street, 4-8 pm

10/4 - Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4-7 pm

10/5 - Early Release Day - All Pre-K and Kdg (without older siblings) dismiss at 11:30 am. Grades 1-8 dismiss at noon

10/5 - Parent/Teacher Conferences, 12:30-5 pm

10/6 - Early Release Day - All Pre-K and Kdg (without older siblings) dismiss at 11:30 am. Grades 1-8 dismiss at noon

10/9-13 - Fall Break - no school

10/20 - End of Quarter One

10/27 - Q1 Progress reports shared electronically with families

9/27 - PTO Meeting, 6:30 pm in the Birch Room

9/29 - Dine to Donate at Panera on 96th Street, 4-8 pm

10/20 - Fall Festival, 6-8 pm - More info coming soon! Come to the PTO meeting to learn more!

11/17 - GMA Family Game Night, 6-8 pm

12/16 - Parents Day Out, 1-5 pm

Upon the approval of the Student-Family Handbook at August's Board Meeting, all students are required to complete and turn in the GMA Consent Form, also known as "pink forms."

Families should be on the lookout for the pink form to come home in student take-home folders today or Monday. Please read through the form, complete the required information, and return it to your child's teacher no later than Friday, September 22.

Classes with 100% return rates on these pink forms will be treated to a popcorn party on Friday afternoon!

Our first round of Clubs and Enrichments is off to a great start!

The 1st/2nd grade Pencil Pack Writer's Club is full and students are excited to publish their own stories.

Ms. Yamilka is excited to share Hispanic heritage and culture with students in grades 3-6 through her new club - Baile Latinx! Students will learn salsa, bachata, rumba, and more in this 3-week club during Hispanic Heritage Month. Email Ms. Yamilka with questions or to sign up - yhernandez@gma.k12.in.us.

Ms. Meg had a great turnout for the choir callout meeting this week. This opportunity was originally open only to grades 5-8, but may possibly be opening to Middle Elementary students soon as well! Contact Ms. Meg at mprice@gma.k12.in.us with questions.

New Clubs Open:

• Ms. Leshia and Ms. Michelle are sponsoring a Writer's Club for students in grades 3 and 4 beginning on Tuesday, October 17. See this flyer for more details.
• Ms. Kim and Ms. Hillary are bringing Pickleball to GMA! Students in grades 3-8 are invited to join in the fun and learn a new game with friends. There are only 16 spots available for Pickleball Club, so sign up soon if you're interested! See this flyer for details on how to sign up.

Be on the lookout for information on more opportunities in the coming weeks as some clubs and enrichments will run for shorter spans of time and some will be offered at various points in the year.

Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Wednesday, October 4, and Thursday, October 5. Teachers will send out information on how families can sign up for a conference time. It is important that all families make it a priority to attend conferences with their child(ren)'s teacher(s) so that a good partnership between school and home can be established early in the school year.

During conferences, teachers will share student progress and updates on academic, social, and behavioral performance at school. K-8th grade teachers will also review NWEA data with families and information on individual student goals for the next NWEA testing opportunity this winter.

We have two scheduled Early Release Days to accommodate conferences. On Thursday, October 5 and Friday, October 6 the dismissal schedule is as follows:

• All Pre-K and Kindergarten students (without older siblings in the building) will be dismissed through car line at Door 5 at 11:30 am.
• All 1st-8th grade students will be dismissed using regular car line procedures at Door 5 at 12:00 pm.
• Families should follow the dismissal schedule for the oldest child in the family enrolled at GMA.

Many families have asked if we have a directory available for our school community. This is something that had been done years ago here at GMA, but has not been created for the last four years. It's time to create a new GMA Community Directory for our school families!

If you would like to participate in our GMA Community Directory, please use the link below to complete the information form. Only information shared in this form will be published in the directory.

Thank you for helping us continue to connect members of our school community.

State legislation adopted by the Indiana General Assembly in 2023 provides funding for “curricular materials” to all Indiana public schools, thus eliminating the traditional materials fees that families have historically paid. Indiana Code 20-18-2.7 defines “curricular materials” as systematically organized materials designed to provide a specific level of instruction in a course. These materials include books, workbooks, hardware, computer software, and digital content.

This law changes the process for curricular materials, but it does not exclude other fees. Parents may expect fees for special programs and extra-curricular clubs and activities.

Based on Indiana Code 20-26-5-4(a)(12)B), Indiana statute permits schools to assess and collect a reasonable fee for lost or significantly damaged curricular materials. GMA will assess fees to parents/guardians for lost or significantly damaged curricular materials, as appropriate.

House Enrolled Act 1001-2023 only applies to K-12 and does not apply to Pre-Kindergarten curricular costs.

The materials fee for Pre-Kindergarten will remain the same as past years at $110 per student. This fee is due at the beginning of each school year, no later than October 1st. Fees that are not paid by the designated final due date will be sent to collections. Material fees are non-refundable. If you need to set up payment arrangements, please contact our Operations Manager at (317) 813-4626 ext. 102.

All K-8 students will be assessed a communication fee of $30. This fee includes PowerSchool, OneCall, and Securly, as well as systems used to create and send schoolwide communications. Payment of this fee is due by November 1. Payment can be made in the school office during regular office hours by cash or check. If you prefer to pay online, you may do so here. There is a processing fee assessed for online payments.

In the month of September, GMA is focusing on Conflict Resolution. Students listened to the book The Otter in Charge by Jessica Montalvo Jackson. An important message from The Otter in Charge is that conflict happens when you and a friend may disagree about something. Having a conflict doesn't mean you aren't friends. It just means you have to work to resolve your problem and share your feelings!

Here are some tips for resolving conflicts:

• Listen to the other person's feelings

• Share your feelings

• Talk about ways to solve your problem

• Choose a solution

• Be kind no matter what

Students discussed the importance of sharing their feelings with one another using “I-statements”. Students recognized that sharing their feelings with others is important to solve the problem they may be facing. Everyone wants to be heard and listened to.

Classrooms were provided a tool for their peace table to help them form their “I-statements”(pictured above) in times of conflict. Younger readers were given their own “I-statement” tool to take home for practice, and our older students paired up to create posters to promote positive conflict resolution.

I encourage you to have conversations about conflict resolution and the importance of expressing our feelings to one another through words.

Dear Parents!

The Hancock County Promise committee has a special announcement!!

The Hancock County Promise is going to give away eight (8) $250 scholarships to eight different Hancock County students. All you have to do for your child to be eligible to win a $250 scholarship (payable to their 529 direct account) is register your child for an Indiana CollegeChoice 529 account through The Hancock County Promise by December 31, 2023. Every child (in grades K-6 at a Hancock County School) registered in The Hancock County Promise is eligible (except previous random drawing scholarship winners). We will draw two random scholarship winners during the months of October, November, December, and January. Increase your chances of winning by registering TODAY!

Go to https://www.hancockcountypromise.com and register! Many of you have already registered and are therefore eligible to win one of the eight (8) $250 scholarships. However, many of you have not registered yet...do not delay...register today!

What is the Promise program you ask? The Hancock County Promise GIVES you FREE MONEY for your Kindergarten child!!! This year is a catch-up opportunity for any child in grades K-6 (class of 2030, 2031, 2032, 2033, 2034, 2035, and 2036). There is NO catch!! If you sign up, you get a FREE CollegeChoice 529 Direct Account for your child and we will deposit a one-time deposit of $25 of community-donated money into the account!!! Do NOT delay, sign-up Today!

1. Please visit https://www.hancockcountypromise.com and click the “how it works” page also found HERE. There are only 8 short steps to sign up!

1. Already have a CollegeChoice 529 Direct Account for your child? Complete The Hancock County Promise form HERE (include your Ugift code) and your child will be part of our program and eligible for all our incentives. Note, you must have a “Direct Account” we cannot link an “Advisor Account”.

1. If you signed up your child previously for the Hancock County Promise you don’t need to do anything as your child is still a part of the program.

If you have questions please email or call HCP chairperson Dr. Scott Shipley at scott.shipley@mvcsc.k12.in.us 317-485-3100.

Sign-up incentives and scholarships are provided by our program sponsors: Greenfield Banking Co., Hancock Health, and NineStar.

Please be sure to notify the school if your child will be absent. Families should call the front office at (317) 813-4626 and select option 1 from the menu to reach the attendance line.

Our office staff makes daily attendance calls to families at 10:00 am after classroom teachers have submitted their attendance for the day. We want to make sure our students are safe and healthy when they are not here at school with us. Thank you for your help in reporting attendance in a timely manner.

We use OneCall Now as our mass communication system to send out alerts, updates, and school-wide communication such as The GMA Gazette. Most communications are sent through email, with a text alert to notify you that something has been sent from GMA.

When school is closed or delayed due to inclement weather, especially in the unpredictable Indiana winters, it is important that families receive the notification quickly and easily. The best way to ensure that you don't miss an announcement from GMA is to sign up for text alerts!

It's simple to sign up. Just text the word alert to 22300. That's it!

Please contact Ms. Beth at blarock@gma.k12.in.us if you have questions or need to add an additional phone number or email address to our OneCall Now system.