1. education
2. school

Volume 8, Issue 5
May/June 2015
Gainesville Middle School Newsletter
“Home of the High Flying Hawks”
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
May 1 – SCA Sponsored School Dance & Festival from 3 to 5 p.m.
May 6 – Gr 7/8 Chorus Concert at 7 p.m. (Patriot High School)
May 6 – PTO Meeting at 9 a.m.
May 7 – Thomas Jefferson High School Information Night at 6:30 p.m.
May 12 – Principal’s Pride Day All Principal’s Pride students for the year should wear their shirts
May 12 – School Advisory Council at 6 p.m.
May 20 – Gr 7/8 Orchestra Concert at 7 p.m. (Patriot High School)
May 21 - INTERIMS
May 25 – Memorial Day (SCHOOL CLOSED)
May 28 – Gr 6, 7, 8 Band Concert at 7 p.m. (Patriot High School)
May 29 – SIGNET Family Picnic from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
June 3 – PTO Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
June 4 – Gr 6 Chorus Concert at 7 p.m.
June 8 – NJHS Inductions at 6:30 p.m.
June 9 – Primary Voting (All Day)
June 12 – Gr 8 Golden Hawk Awards at 6:30 p.m. (Students should arrive by 6 p.m.)
June 18 – Last Day of School (Early release)
*SEE THE SCHOOL FUSION CALENDAR FOR ALL SOL TESTING DATES
.
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
GVMS Community,
It is hard to believe that the end of the school year is quickly approaching. Due to our wonderful
students and staff and our supportive parents and community members, it has been a successful
school year. As we enter our final weeks, Standards of Learning (SOL) testing will begin next
week and run through June 8. Based on the engaging and rigorous instruction that has been
occurring in classrooms throughout the school year, I truly believe our students will be confident
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and prepared as they take these high stakes tests. We have several after school review sessions
offered on Mondays and Thursdays, as well as our teachers are providing in-class opportunities
for review. Please encourage your student to prepare by getting a good night’s rest and eating
breakfast before test day.
As the final newsletter, I wanted to take the time to thank all of the individuals and business who
volunteer countless hours to help make Gainesville an outstanding school. I also want to
publically thank Lisa Gosselin, our executive secretary, for the time she has invested this year in
producing each newsletter.
This has been a fabulous school year and I am so fortunate to work with such amazing students,
teachers, and parents. I wish our 8th grade students the very best as they transition to high school
and I am looking forward to welcoming our new 6th graders to the GVMS family in
August. Again I thank each of you for your support during my first year as the principal of
Gainesville Middle School for the Arts and Sciences!
With gratitude,
Catherine Porter-Lucas
8th GRADE TRIP
The entire 8th grade will be attending a field trip to Constitution Village in Philadelphia, PA on
Monday, June 15th. We can hear the Liberty Bell ringing already! If you have any questions,
please contact Ms. Hess [email protected]
SCIENCE FAIR WINNERS
Greetings from the Science Department! We would like to recognize our students who won
awards at the Regional Science Fair this year. Many thanks to all of the parents who supported us
on these projects.
6th grade: Aneesa Huq won 3rd place and Christina Propheter won 2nd place.
7th grade: Kamryn Jones, Benjamin Kropff, Prithvi Nathan, Aaryan Patel, Elizabeth Burrell, and
Elizabeth Allen won Honorable Mention. Megan Harrigan won two awards on water quality. Our
first place winners were Abigail Downes and Brett Estess.
In addition, several groups of 7th graders were entered into the Micron Challenge SySTEMic
solution’s project on biomes in late April. Our 6th graders attended the watershed field experience
trips in late April as well. We also traded classes during the last week of April in order to review
6th and 7th grade material with the 8th graders as they prepared for the SOL science test. Thank
you to all parents who support us here at GVMS. – Mr. Maneno [email protected]
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MESSAGE FROM THE BOOKKEEPER
As the end of the school year approaches it is necessary to clear your student's account so that
they can participate in end of year activities. Things to remember to locate and return OR if lost,
things to be paid:
 Library books
 Music uniforms
 Gym locks
 Office Lunch accounts
 Text Books
 Novels
-Mrs. Joosten [email protected]
ROBOTICS TECH TEAM
Interested in Robotics, S.T.E.M. education, designing, building, programming, problem solving,
hard work, fun, team work, competition and more? Please send an email to [email protected].
We will be holding a spring 2015 interest meeting. Information will be emailed and posted on the
GVMS website. – Mr. Powell
Books for SOLs
Each student is to have a book available to read after completing the SOL test.
English classes will be coming to the Library to check out books during the first 2
weeks of May (depending on when teams have their first SOL). Many of our students
have overdue books, and some should have been returned in September or October!
Please look around your home for any GVMS Library books. If you’d like to know if
your child has any overdue books, please contact librarians Mrs. Blaher ([email protected]) or
Mrs. Ware ([email protected]).
Library Volunteers
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The GVMS Library staff invites you to become part of our volunteer team for
the 2015-2016 school year. Just a few hours each week would be a big help in
keeping our library fully operational. A parent volunteer information form can
be found on the Library web page. For more information, contact Mrs. Blaher
([email protected]) or Mrs. Ware ([email protected]).
Need a Gift for a Graduating 8th Grader?
Buy a GVMS teddy bear for your graduating 8th grade student, and support Book Club while at
the same time! Choose from the Sweatshirt Bear wearing a gray sweatshirt with navy lettering or
the Cheerleader Bear in a light blue outfit with white trim and navy lettering. Only
$23! Contact Mrs. Ware ([email protected]) for details.
ORCHESTRA NOTES
Orchestra “Solo & Ensemble” Festival was a wonderful event for the 83 Strings students who
chose to participate! The enthusiastic performers traveled to Battlefield High School on April 22
to perform solos as well as small group ensembles of their own making! All students earned
either a “Superior” or “Excellent” Rating and will receive medals for their achievement. These
students had a great time and represented the Orchestra department beautifully. BRAVO!
– Mrs. Kline [email protected]
SCIENCE SOL INFORMATION
All 8th grade students will be taking the science SOL this year. This SOL covers 6, 7 and 8th
grade material. In order to maximize your student’s success on this test, we have developed two
review opportunities.
1. JLAB assignment: Students take ten, 20 question quizzes online and send results to their
respective science teachers. These quizzes are a fantastic review of basic 6, 7, and 8th
grade concepts. The assignment is due May 8 and directions can be found on your
child’s science school fusion page. We would appreciate any cooperation you can give
us in encouraging your student to get this assignment done as soon as possible.
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2. Review swap week: Students will spend a week with the 6th and 7th grade teachers
reviewing past material. Students will receive a review package to facilitate this process.
The swap week is April 27-May 1.
Thank you in advance for your support and please feel free to contact us if you have any
questions. -Mrs. Thompson, Mr. Thousand and Mr. McIntyre
Our wonderful students will be completing all of their post-test fitness testing for the school year
during the month of May. These are the equivalent to SOLs for physical education; all scores are
reported to the state of Virginia. We are looking for all of our students to improve from the fall in
all four fitness areas.
For the month of May and June students will be participating in various units in physical
education class. Eighth graders are either in flag football, soccer, ultimate Frisbee, tchoukball
and disc golf. Seventh grade students are either in softball, flag football, disc golf, or volleyball.
Sixth grade students are either in track and field or soccer. We will also be starting our class
competitions. This fun and exciting event has each class competing against the other PE classes
in various events. The top three boys and top three girls of each event will earn points for their
PE class. Scores will be added up throughout the events and posted on the bulletin board in the
gym. Overall winners will be announced at the end of the school year. We will also continue to
work on our fitness every day at the beginning of each class. Students are also encouraged to
continue working on their fitness at home throughout the summer.
We will also be having Academic Team competitions in PE class on April 30th and May 1st. The
event will be capture the equipment. These monthly competitions have really helped build
teamwork throughout the school. The competitions will involve the students working with their
Academic Teams in physical events. The teams will also have trivia SOL bonus questions to help
support the core subjects. The students seem really excited about these events as do our teachers.
The final scores of the year will be posted in the cafeteria and the overall winning teams will be
announced! Stay tuned!
Please continue to check your child’s teacher’s school fusion page for updated information about
Physical Education and Health. – Ms. Schumacher [email protected]
IMPORTANTATHLETICS INFORMATION
Beginning July 1, ALL student athletes will be able to take their annual required concussion
training ON-LINE! We will still hold a face-to-face training session for those without computer
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access, however please be sure to check the Gainesville web page or the PWCS web page over
the summer to complete the training ASAP.
*** DO NOT wait until the week before to attempt the on-line training as an overload of users
can and will cause delays and difficulties in completing the required training.
As always, should you have any questions or concerns regarding athletics, please do not hesitate
to contact Mr. Cadolino, our Athletic Director at 703.753.2997 or [email protected] Thank
you for your continued support of the GVMS athletic program.
***PLEASE be sure your sports physical is completed on a PWCS Middle School SPORTS
PHYSICAL form. Print off your concussion certificate of completion and attach it to the back
page of the physical. All paperwork should be turned into Mr. Cadolino only, beginning August
24th, 2015.
The GVMS Career and Technical Education (CTE) program will be offering a year-long course,
in addition to our currently offered semester long course for the Fall 2015-16 school year. Our
year-long classes will provide the opportunity for students to advance their Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math (S.T.E.M.) studies. Please read the brief course description. If your son or
daughter has an interest in this Engineering focused program, please email your name, your
child’s name and student ID number to Mr. Powell at [email protected].
The GVMS Project Lead the Way - Gateway to Technology (GTT) program addresses the
curiosity and energy of GVMS middle school students while incorporating national standards in
mathematics, science, and technology. This S.T.E.M. activity-oriented, cutting-edge program
shows students how technology is used in engineering to solve everyday problems. During the
GTT experience, students will gain the skills they need to develop, produce, and use products and
services. The Gateway to Technology curriculum provides project-based learning – a hands-on
approach – that is exciting and challenging for the full range of students in Technology Education
classrooms. The curriculum relates technology to students’ daily lives. It promotes
communication and collaboration by emphasizing a teaming approach in the instructional units.
This approach utilizes the strengths of each team member to accomplish the goals of the project
while offering students learning challenges at all ability levels. The knowledge and skills that
students will gain will help them build a strong foundation for further STEM education in high
school and beyond. We will be using Project Lead the Way platform, Vex robotics platform,
RobotC (programming software), RobotC virtual World software, TARC (Rocketry design and
building concepts), Gaming Design and Programming, AutoDesk Inventor and 3D Printing
Design work as a foundation to deliver our instruction content.
Please feel free to contact Mr. Powell via phone at 703.753.2997 or email [email protected].
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WHY LEARN FRENCH?
Did you know?
-Students who learn French perform better on standardized tests. Since at least one out of
three words in English has been borrowed from French, students studying French will improve
their scores on tests such as the SAT, ACT, GRE and LSAT.
-French is the most frequently taught foreign language in the world. This makes it a passport
to communicate in the global community.
-French opens the doors to many domestic and international career opportunities. Frenchspeaking countries are on the cutting edge of medical research and scientific discoveries and
innovations such as: HIV research, genetics and reconstructive surgery, nanotechnology, nuclear
energy and aerospace technology. French speakers are in demand in banking, finance, diplomacy,
international trade and many other fields.
-French is the third most common language on the Internet. Therefore, French-speakers have
the ability to communicate with people from different nations and to conduct personal business
with them. (I’ve been buying on French Canadian E-bay. Great resource for a French teacher!)
-French is an official language of the United Nations, International Red Cross, UNESCO,
NATO and many other international organizations. (Great opportunity to work toward global
peace and participate in humanitarian efforts.)
-The best part of taking French is: It’s fun!
So are you ready to sign up? (Rising seventh graders who qualify and have a teacher
recommendation may register to take French next year. Hope to see you then!) Contact the
Counseling Department or Madame Hyde [email protected] with questions.
MEET GAINESVILLE’S NEW SCHOOL NURSE
At the beginning of December our school nurse, Mrs. Kristy Diffley, took a medical
leave of absence in which Mrs. Jillyian Hebert has served as an interim nurse. Mrs.
Diffley has since decided not to return to her current position at Gainesville Middle
School for the Arts and Sciences. We are pleased to announce that Mrs. Hebert has
accepted the full-time position and will stay on as the school nurse. Mrs. Hebert has been
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a medical/surgical nurse in Hawaii and most recently worked as a pediatric resource
nurse with Youth for Tomorrow.
We are fortunate and excited to officially welcome Mrs. Hebert to our staff. She has
already formed strong relationships with our students and staff during her time with us.
Should you need any additional information, please contact Mrs. Porter-Lucas at
[email protected] or you may call 703.753.2997.
FROM THE NURSE
It is hard to believe that another school year will be coming to a close in just a matter of weeks!
Here are a few things to keep in mind as this school year comes to an end.
MEDICATIONS:
I ask that you make plans to pick up all of your children’s medications from the clinic no later
than by dismissal time on June 18th. Medication that has not been picked up will be disposed of.
A new medication form is required each year as well as a new bottle of over the counter
medication. I am glad to use one bottle of over the counter medication per family.
As your children grow and mature, it is important that they begin to take responsibility for their
inhalers and epi pens If you feel that your child is ready to assume this task, please provide me
with a completed asthma action plan or allergy action plan (downloadable from clinic web site)
completed and signed by both yourself and your doctor at the start of the school year. It is
necessary that the sections of the form that state the student can self-carry are completely filled
out and signed by the doctor. There are several advantages of having the self-carry portion of the
forms signed by the doctor even if your child is going to leave them in the clinic,
TDAP:
All sixth grade students are required to have a Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap) booster shot
within the past five years in order to enroll in school this coming fall. Without proof of the
immunizations, your child will not be able to enroll in school for the 2015-2016 school year.
Please review your child’s immunization record. If the last immunization was administered more
than five years from the beginning of the upcoming school year, please have this immunization
done over the summer. Call your doctor or local health department if you have any questions.
Completed immunization records may be dropped off at the school during the summer. If your
child is not scheduled to get their TDAP immunization after school starts due to age, I will need a
note from the doctor stating that the student has an appointment scheduled and will receive the
Tdap on their 11th birthday.
Prince William County Health Department
9301 Lee Ave
13792 Smoketown Rd
Manassas, VA 20110 Woodbridge, VA 22191
703 792-6307
703 792-6300
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If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Hebert at [email protected]
Gainesville Middle School PTO
Calling all parents. The Golden Hawk Awards Ceremony and Dance is approaching fast.
This is THE biggest event of your student’s middle school years. The PTO transforms the school
into a Hollywood atmosphere with music, food, “Paparazzi”, and prizes, prizes, prizes. Every 8th
grade student is invited at no cost to them. 8th grade parents will be receiving a letter requesting
donations. Please be generous, the entire event is funded from these donations. Remember, the
PTO is classified as a public charity under IRS 501(c)(3) and donations are tax deductible.
Volunteers will be needed to help with the transformation. A SignUpGenius link will be coming
out through Blackboard. Please give of your time as you are able. All parents are welcome to
assist with set up and clean up. However 8th grade parents are ask not to volunteer during the
event. This is where we need 6th and 7th grade parents to “pay it forward” through their time.
This is the event your student will still be talking about when they are graduating from high
school!
2015-16 Executive Board Elections are scheduled to be held during our next PTO General
Membership Meeting on Wednesday, May 5 at 9 a.m. If you have the time and interest, we need
you! Many of our current Officers work full time, attend school, and have many outside
activities. Being an officer is not a huge time drain. It can be done in just a few hours a month.
Please email us at [email protected] for more information or to submit your name for one
of the positions. The executive board consists of a President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary, and
Member at Large.
Meeting Dates - The next PTO meeting dates are May 6 at 9 a.m. in the lecture hall and June 3 at
6:30 p.m. in the library.
BoxTops for Education – You’re familiar with this from elementary school. Yes, keep sending
them in! Each BoxTop is worth 10 cents. It really adds up quickly!! So far this school year we
have raised over $1,700 from BoxTops!
Spirit Nights – You must bring the flyers, available on Fusion, Facebook, and outside the school
office
May 15-19 – Five Below – 10% of all Sales will be donated back to GVMS PTO – Don’t forget
to give the cashier the flyer. NOTE: You must use the NEW flyer provided from Five Below.
They will no longer accept the mini-flyers.
May 28 – Orange Leaf in Bristow. Stop by after the Spring Band Concert at Patriot. Orange
Leaf will donate 20% of proceeds to the GVMS PTO.
Like Us on Facebook
www.facebook.com/GainesvilleMiddleSchoolPTO
Stay up to date by getting PTO information in your News Feed.
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HISTORY BEE
Congratulations to George Kessler, Prithvi Nathan, and Robert Simmons who qualified for the
Nationals for the Regional History Bee!
April 20-24 was Parent Volunteer Week. Our wonderful parent volunteers at GVMS volunteer in
the library, front office, music and drama events, the PTO, School Advisory Council, and more.
We appreciate and love our parent volunteers. Thank you!
Special thanks to the following:
PTO Board & Parent Volunteers – For assisting us throughout the year with school dances,
Positive Referral Day, Picture Day, office support, security desk support, Golden Hawk Awards,
Book Fair and much more.
School Advisory Council – For the time, support and guidance that you give to the school
administration.
Nancy Siler & Stacey Pannebecker – These ladies no longer have students at GVMS, yet they
still assist us in so many ways and continuously volunteer all throughout the year. Thank you
ladies!!
Local Community Businesses – Thank you to Chick-fil-A, Potbelly, Jersey Mikes, Sweet Frog,
Mama Mia’s, Utz, and Panera Bread for donating coupons and food to us throughout the year in
support of our Positive Referrals, Honor Roll Assemblies, and staff appreciation programs. We
couldn’t do it without their generous donations.
On April 10, GVMS honored our Principal’s Pride recipients for the third quarter. Principal’s
Pride honors students who show respect and courtesy towards their peers and teachers. These
students are recognized for going above and beyond to help others and be model GVMS students.
Congratulations to all of the students who received this distinguished award!
Team Spirit – Vivian Peregrino, Chad Watson, Shana Khan, and Brandon Forst
Team United – Nolika Che and Joshua Vasquez
Team Pride – Cy Hwang and Mary Ulery
Team Polaris – Ellie Schiff and Dylan Blanco
Team Sirius – Jacob Hamacher and Alexis Passa
Team Supernova – Drew VanDenberg and Elia Martinez-Diaz
Team Einstein – Hayden Bissell and Noorulain Tariq
Team Galileo – Helena Boyd and Peyton Puhlick
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Team Newton – Aidan Anderson and Ashley Curtice
On Thursday April 9th Gainesville Middle School hosted the 3rd Annual Positive Referral Day.
Over 400 students received positive referrals for excellent behavior, respectfulness, and good
citizenship both in and outside of the classroom. Congratulations to all students who received a
positive referral, we are very proud of you all!
Each student that received a Positive Referral walked into the lecture hall with a smile on their
face that made the day very rewarding for all GVMS staff members. Thank you to our PTO for
sponsoring the event by supplying our students with treats for their positive behaviors. Thank
you staff for helping decorate the lecture hall and making the environment warm and relaxing for
our students. It was a great day to be a High Flying Hawk!
The annual Prince William County Community Expo will be
on May 9 at Pfitzner Stadium Complex from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. The event will include activities for
all ages, such as a petting zoo, mascot dance off, BMX demonstrations, on-stage performances,
prizes, food vendors, nature walks, rock climbing wall, reptile and raptor shows, nutrition
education, and physical education activities.
The Expo could be cancelled for severe weather or lightning. Check pwcs.edu or any Prince
William County Public School Web Site for event status.
The Prince William County Community Expo is coordinated by Prince William County Public
Schools (PWCS), SPARK, the Education Foundation for PWCS, ED OUT, Prince William
County Healthy Communities • Healthy Youth, PWCS Health and Physical Education, Prince
William County Parks and Recreation, Hylton Foundation, and World Class Support- Linking
Military-Connected Students with Schools.
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Please contact Debbie Bishop in the Office of Student Services at [email protected] for further
information.
The following is the SOL testing schedule
MAY 2015
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
1
4
5
6
11
No Testing
12
No Testing
13
AM 8th Civics Einstein
18
AM 6th Reading
Spirit
25
MEMORIAL DAY
SCHOOL CLOSED
19
AM 7th Reading
Supernova
PM
26 8th Science
Galileo
AM
8th Reading
Galileo
20
AM 7th Reading Sirius
PM 8th Science Einstein
27
AM 6th Math United
7
AM Algebra I
Newton & Einstein
14
AM 6th Reading United
PM 8th Civics Galileo
21
AM 7th Reading Polaris
PM 8th Science Newton
28
AM 6th Math Spirit
8
AM Algebra I
Galileo
15
AM 6th Reading
Pride
PM 8th Civics
Newton
22
AM 8th Reading
Einstein
29
AM 8th Reading
Newton
JUNE 2015
Monday
1
AM 6th Math Pride
PM Make Up
Tuesday
2
AM 8th Math
Newton
PM Make Up
Wednesday
3
AM 8th Math
Einstein & Galileo
PM Make Up
Thursday
4
AM 7th Math
Polaris & Kent
PM Make Up
Friday
5
AM 7th Math
Supernova
8
AM 7th Math Sirius
9
No Testing
10
No Testing
11
No Testing
12
Expedited Retakes
15
Expedited Retakes
16
Expedited Retakes
17
Expedited Retakes
18
Last Day of School
19
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SOL EXPEDITED RETAKE INFORMATION
The Virginia Board of Education recently passed a resolution that will allow eligible students the
opportunity to retake a grade 3-8 Standards of Learning (SOL) test. Students are permitted what
is called an “expedited retake” of a SOL test if they are passing the course associated with the test
and:
- Scored between 375 and 399 on their first attempt; or,
- Did not pass their first attempt and have extenuating circumstances that warrant retesting;
or,
- Did not sit for the regularly scheduled test for legitimate reasons.
Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) does not endorse excessive or unnecessary
testing of students. However, we believe this resolution may allow specific students to benefit
from retesting, especially in cases where targeted subject-matter assistance can be provided.
PWCS will administer expedited retakes of grade 3-8 SOL tests June 12-17. In the event your
student does not pass a grade 3-8 SOL test this spring and you would like to have your student
retested, PWCS asks that you read and complete Parts I and II of this form to indicate your
consent. Have your student return the signed form to their school. PWCS cannot administer an
expedited retake unless you have given prior consent. Please note that your consent can be
withdrawn at any time and any decision to omit your student from participation in an expedited
retake will not impact their grade or academic record.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Part I: Student Information
Student’s Full Name
Student’s School
Grade Level
Part II. Affirmative Parental/Guardian Consent
By signing below, I consent to have my student participate in an expedited retake of their Spring
2015 Grade 3-8 Standards of Learning (SOL) test(s).
Parent or Guardian Printed Name
Parent or Guardian Signature
Date
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