Superintendent's Blog

We love celebrating all the small and large accomplishments we experience with one another. If you are a staff or community member we would love to share your positive noticings! Click on the "Shout Outs" to be directed to the google form to share your acknowledgments!

• A colleague wants to Shout Out Ted Schruender, MS Social Studies Teacher. "Mr. Schruender is valued by colleagues and students as a veteran teacher and coach. Whether it's the classroom or basketball court, Ted is a respected professional for how he treats others, teaches his craft, and how he conducts himself. Our school is a better place with teachers and coaches like Ted."
• Olivia MacLeod, GHS Spanish Teacher, is very appreciative of Declan Dean, custodian. "Declan does a superb job of keeping the school clean. He is friendly and cheerful while he performs his many thankless tasks, and we are lucky to have him!"
• GHMS Nurse, Heather Shupenko is receiving a Shout Out from a peer. "In the twenty-five years I've been here I've never witnessed a nurse so hands-on and addressing health issues before, during, and after they occur. Some days Nurse Shupenko is managing multiple serious incidents. Students and staff are attended to immediately, given privacy, and aided in the way of a true professional. Great people make this school better, and Nurse Shupenko is one of many."

Ms. Dowler and Ms. McGinnis' 6th-grade classes joined forces to collaborate on an engaging, real-world project to design and construct functional solar ovens. This hands-on project provided a unique opportunity for students to engage deeply with both 6th-grade science and tech-engineering standards through practical application. Throughout the project, students explored solar energy and thermal insulation as they worked collaboratively to create working solar-powered ovens. The classes worked between the classroom and outdoor spaces to develop and test their designs. The final result was testing the functionality of the ovens by toasting marshmallows on a sunny day.

After community feedback we are reworking the format of the school calendar to help make it a bit more clear. The most significant change for next year is the early release professional development schedule. The 1/2 day monthly early release on Tuesdays will continue at Penn Brook. At GMHS, professional development is changing to a 1 hour early release weekly on Tuesdays.

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