Gainesville Middle School Newsletter “Home of the High Flying

Volume 8, Issue 4
March/April 2015
Gainesville Middle School Newsletter
“Home of the High Flying Hawks”
School of Excellence
School to Watch
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
March 17 – Concussion Training for spring sports at 6:30 p.m.
March 18 – Orchestra Pyramid Concert at 6:30 p.m.
March 19 – Gr 8 Pre-festival Chorus Concert at 7:00 p.m.
March 20 – Faculty/Student Basketball Game at 6:00 p.m.
March 23-26 – Sports Try-Outs 3:00 to 5:15 p.m. (Girls Soccer & Softball, Boys Track, and
Baseball)
March 24 – Rising 6th Grade Information Night at 6:30 p.m.
March 30-April 3 – Spring Break (School Closed)
April 6 – Teacher Workday (No School for Students)
April 8 – PTO Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
April 10 – Principal’s Pride Awards at 8:00 a.m.
April 13-14 – Picture Day
April 13-17 – Book Fair
April 15 – 5K & Fun Run Registration Packet Pick-Up from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.
April 16 – Gr 6 Chorus Concert at 7:00 p.m.
April 18 – 5K & Fun Run from 8:00 a.m. to Noon
April 23-25 – GVMS presents Annie, Jr. at 7:00 p.m. with a 2:00 Matinee on April 25
April 24 – Honor Roll Assemblies (See website for times and grade levels)
1
GVMS ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM
SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE CELEBRATION
On March 3, Gainesville Middle School for the Arts and Sciences held a ceremony to celebrate
receiving our 5th School of Excellence award since opening in 2007. We had the opportunity to
showcase some of our students from Chamber Orchestra, 7th and 8th grade combined women’s
chorus, the Step Team, GVMS cheerleaders, and As You Like It performers and all of our
participants were phenomenal. As I shared at the ceremony, School of Excellence is not just an
award for Gainesville Middle. Excellence is our expectation as students walk through the doors
every single day. We work hard to provide a safe, caring, and positive learning environment for
our students in order for them to reach their fullest potential and achieve excellence.
As we continue with third quarter, in spite of the snow days, our staff has continued to offer
enriching experiences for your child through engaging and rigorous classroom instruction, extracurricular clubs and activities, athletic events, and field trip experiences. So far this quarter
several of our students have successfully participated in music concerts and assessments, the
Spelling Bee, the History Bee, and the Geography Bee competitions, Robotics championships, art
exhibits and more. Currently our 8th graders are focused on the March Writing SOLs and
additionally our students have been talking to counselors and teachers about their course options
and choices for the 2015-2016 school year. Our 8th graders are especially buzzing with
excitement as they talk about high school and their future aspirations.
We appreciate your continued support as we work together to achieve success this year, as well as
plan for next school year. As always, please continue to reach out to us if you have any questions
or need additional information.
ATHLETIC NEWS
With the last winter season coming to an end here shortly, our next concussion training will take
place on Wednesday, March 17th @ 6:30pm in the gymnasium. If you are interested in boys’
baseball, boys’ track, girls’ softball, or girls’ soccer, student athletes and their parent/guardian
should attend this session.
2
If you have previously tried out for a Gainesville sports team, you may take the concussion
training on-line and print out the certificate of completion. If at all possible, please try to have
your concussion certificate of completion stapled to your PWCS Middle School Athletic Physical
form and turned into Mr. Cadolino prior to the first day of tryouts which will be held on Monday,
March 23rd from 3-5pm after school.
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 to bring your completed PWCS Middle School sports physical with you to the
concussion training!
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 after English. This makes
it a passport to communicate in the global community.
The best part of taking French is: It’s fun!
So are you ready to sign up?
*Rising seventh graders, who qualify, may register to take French in 8th grade. Hope to see you
then! -Madame Hyde [email protected]
PHYSICAL EDUCATION NEWS
Our students are moving right along this year with their personal fitness goals and improving
their fitness levels. We are incorporating new games and activities that promote fitness and are
fun and engaging for the students. Eighth graders are either in health class or choosing an activity
of their choice in PE class. During the beginning part of March our sixth graders will be
participating in floor hockey, team handball, and health class. Seventh graders are participating
in team dodgeball, basketball, and health class. We will also continue to work on our fitness
every Wednesday to prepare the students for their Virginia Fitnessgram post-tests in April. We
will also be starting outdoor units in April. Eighth graders will get to choose from: soccer,
ultimate Frisbee, disc golf, tennis, and softball. Seventh graders will be in flag football, softball,
3
tennis, and disc golf. Sixth graders will be in track and field or soccer. We are looking forward
to getting back outside and enjoying the weather with the students. 
We have a lot of fun and exciting events coming up in the school that promote fitness. The PTO
is sponsoring the 5th annual Gainesville 5K Race/Fun Run on Saturday April 18th. Registration
information can be found on the school’s website. We will also be having Academic Team
competitions in PE class in March and April. These monthly competitions have really helped
build teamwork throughout the school. The competitions involve the students working with their
Academic Teams in physical events. The students seem really excited about these events as do
our teachers!
Please continue to check your child’s teacher’s school fusion page for updated information about
Physical Education and Health. – Ms. Schumacher [email protected]
“The National History Bee is an exciting new history competition for school children across
America. Participating students progress from the school level, to the regional level, and finally to
the National Championship until one student is crowned the National History Bee Champion!
Unlike other activities, participants in the National History Bee compete head-to-head to be the
first to ‘buzz-in’ with the correct answer. What results is a competition that tests a student’s
knowledge in a fun and exciting way!” (historybee.com)
This is the second year that Gainesville Middle School for the Arts and Sciences has participated
in the National History Bee. Interested participants completed a 30 minute written exam on
December 17 in order to narrow down the contestant field to 10 students. On Wednesday, January
7 the top 10 highest-scoring students competed in the Gainesville Middle School Intramural Oral
History Bee, until a winner and four runner-ups were named. The results are as follows:
Ben Godaire-6th Grade, Team United GVMS 2014-2015 Intramural History Bee Champion
George Kessler-7th Grade, Team Supernova
Prithvi Nathan-7th Grade, Team Supernova
Amith Thomas-8th Grade, Team Galileo
Robert Simmons-8th Grade, Team Einstein
All contestants received a certificate of participation and the top five will receive medals and
lapel pins.
On January 13 the top five students completed the National History Bee’s online qualifying exam
and were notified at the end of January that ALL FIVE students scored high enough to move on
to compete in the regionals to be held in Arlington, Virginia on April 21. Our GVMS students
will go up against the best of the best in our area to try for a spot to move on to nationals!
4
This year the National History Bee will take place in Louisville, Kentucky from May 22-24
where finalists from all over the country will come together to compete for the ultimate title and a
scholarship.
Gainesville Middle School also held a “Hats for History” event on Friday, February 13 to raise
money to support the purchase of an academic buzzer system as well as a large plaque to hang in
the front hallway with the names of the champions each year. The buzzer system will be used to
help prepare our students for the rigors of the next level of competition. This fundraiser also
benefitted the entire student population as any GVMS staff member will be able to use the buzzer
system in their classroom! We enjoyed all the amazing hats students wore.
We want to thank all of the GVMS parents/guardians, students and staff for their support of the
History Bee! - Mrs. Ferreira [email protected] and Mrs. Ware [email protected]
COUNSELING NEWS
Rising 8th Graders
Ms. Kaczkowski provided course request cards to our rising 8th graders. Every 8th grade student
will complete a year of Math, English, Science, Social Studies, and Health & Physical Education.
Students are given an opportunity to select their Arts & Science concentration. Additionally,
students will have the option to enroll in a foreign language course for high school credit or to
enroll in a semester of both Creative Writing & Interdisciplinary Language Arts. Students should
bring home their blue course selection card to share with their parent/guardian.
Rising 7th Graders
6th Grade Counselor, Ms. Marrefi, visited classrooms recently to discuss course options for next
year. Every 7th grade student will complete a year of Math, English, Science, Social Studies,
Physical Education and a Performing Arts course. Additionally, students will complete a
quarterly rotation of Art, Family & Consumer Science II (FACS), and Innovations & Inventions
(Tech Ed.) During 4th quarter, students will receive an enriched curriculum of one of these three
courses. (NOTE: Students who are currently enrolled in the Signet Program will have the option
to take one quarter of Signet).
Students should bring home a blue course selection card to review with parent/guardian.
5
SCIENCE FAIR
Congratulations to the following students who placed first at the GVMS Science Fair:
Ellie Allen
Brian Burnett
Elizabeth Burrell
Abby Downes
Brett Estess
Abtin Ghaffari
Megan Harrigan
Kamryn Jones
Benjamin Kropff
Prithvi Nathan
Aaryan Patel
Hannah Sherin
Caroline Stoaks
The following students competed in the finals for the GVMS National Geographic Society
Geography Bee:
James Barnhart
Rafer Carter
Ben Godaire
Corey Higdon
George Kessler
Prithvi Nathan
Robert Simmons
Kitrick Stokes
All of the students performed quite admirably and we are very proud of their performance. At the
end of the challenging competition, Rafer Carter prevailed as our school champion. Rafer has
qualified to compete in the state level competition of the National Geographic Bee, sponsored by
Plum Creek. The state Bee will be held on Friday, March 27, at Longwood University.
Congratulations, Rafer!!
ART EXHIBIT
Congratulations to Kelli Curington and Jenna Chaney! Their artwork was selected to be included
in the 2015 PWCS Student Art Exhibit at the Buchanan Partners Gallery in the Hylton
Performing Arts Center during the month of February.
6
ROBOTICS
Congratulations to the following students who participated in the Robotics State Championship:
Congratulations to Abram Johan, a 6th grade student at GVMS. Abram is our GVMS Spelling
Bee champion!
7
ORCHESTRA PARTICIPANTS
Congratulations to the following students participated in All-County Orchestra on January 30 and
31:
Ray Bai
Helena Boyd
Ousmane Diane
Hannah Griffith
Hannah Irvine
Madelyn Kline
Emmaline Lowder
Emma Christine Morgan
Ashley Park
Lia Rankin
Gracie Schwab
Dylin Taylor
PRINCIPAL’S PRIDE RECIPIENTS
On February 13, GVMS honored our Principal’s Pride receipients for the second 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 – Matea Pot, Katelyn Nussbaum, Ryan McInerney, and Zachary Salter
Team United – Ryleigh Penree and Timothy (TJ) Schumacher
Team Pride – Jorge Martinez and Elayna Milligan
Team Polaris – Sarah Yowell and Larson Axberg
Team Sirius – Mia Hernandez and Utkarsh Pathak
Team Supernova – Eugene Min and Mary Elizabeth Avera
Team Einstein – Nina Thompson and Andrew Mickus
Team Galileo – Taylor Jarvis and Dan Tran
Team Newton – Chayce Chalmers and Katelyn Williamson
8
The following students attending the All-District Band event on February 6 and 7:
Brian Bo
Jessica Fieffer
Madison Griggs
Shane Huweart
Kasie Jackson Hittle
Kaitlyn Kitchen
Meara Patterson
Jacob Yaeger
It is difficult to earn a spot in the All-District Band. They worked hard and had a successful
audition in order to be chosen.
Also, congratulations to the following students who auditioned and were chosen for the AllCounty Band:
Adeel Aziz
Brian Bo
Madeleine Burneskis
Jessica Fieffer
Maddie Goepfert
Madison Griggs
Kasie Jackson Hittle
Kaitlyn Kitchen
Malorie Laferriere
Hannah McDaniel
Meara Patterson
Elizabeth Waggoner
Joshua Yeich
CHORUS ACCOMPLISHENTS
Congratulations to the following Chorus students:
All-County Chorus
Tyler Birge
Jalen Carroll
Sarah Caufield
Lauren Cravaritis
Ashleigh Dakin
Trinity Erjo
Klayton Ewing
Ivana Kim
Jasmine Meints
Liam Nash
All-District Chorus
Erin Ackerman
Sadie Aram
Jalen Carroll
Lauren Cravaritis
Trinity Erjo
Ivana Kim
Liam Nash
Mason Taylor
Kristin Townshend
All-State Chorus
Lauren Cravaritis
Ivana Kim
Jasmine Meints
Kristin Townshend
9