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Here is the 23rd edition of the Gill Listserv News for the 2009-2010 school year. We hope you find this communication helpful each week. Kindness efforts continue at Gill! Click here for a blank Kindness Link for you to encourage your child to fill out, decorate, cut out and turn into the kindness link box outside the office! There is no limit to the number of kind acts we can do!
March is Reading Month
Theme: We’re Going Bananas over Books
Time Frame: March 1st to 25th (Letter and record sheet to go home with students on February 26th)
Goal: For students to team together to turn in a total of 800 reading record sheets as a school by March 25th which includes a short written response to a book that student has read during that week. Borders Gift Certificates will be given each week. These winners will be randomly selected from the sheets turned in.
Facilities Study Information
At the School Board meeting on Wednesday the Board took action and voted in support of the following option for school closings and reconfiguration for the coming 2010-11 school year:
Option D from the Facilities Study Team’s Addendum
· Middle schools are reconfigured into two 5-6 and two 7-8 schools. Elementary buildings are reconfigured as K-4 schools. (The decision on whether Highmeadow remains a K-5, or changes to a K-4 or K-6 school, still needs to be determined.)
· Alameda, Farmington Community School (FCS), Visions, Cloverdale programming and locations remain as is.
· Wooddale, William Grace, Flanders and Eagle Elementary Schools are closed.
· The Maxfield Training Center would close. Staff would be absorbed by the Ten Mile building and other District education buildings. District science center moves to the warehouse at central office.
· The District could expect to save about $2.3 million a year. The total capital expenditures (estimated by TMP) related to the closed buildings for the five-year window that could be avoided amount to approximately $2.1 million. The one-time costs required to implement this option may approach $3.6 million.
As this decision will affect students, families, and staff in our district we wanted to share the information with you about how you can talk to your 4th and 5th grade children about the stress they may feel and how to handle any feeling of stress in a healthy way. To that end, we sent this sheet home with the 4th and 5th graders yesterday (Thursday). With the Board’s decision made, we look forward to supporting our 4th and 5th graders in their transition to their 5th/6th school and celebrating with them their years at Gill.
Volunteers Needed for the Gill Talent Show:
Registration for Math Pentathletes will be completed online this year:
****DIV I TOURNAMENT DATE & LOCATION HAS CHANGED****
New Date: 5/15
New Location: Rochester Community High School
IF YOU HAVE REGISTERED FOR DIV I, PLEASE REVIEW YOUR CONFIRMATION EMAIL FROM MP. IF YOU HAVE NOT YET REGISTERED, FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW TO REGISTER FOR THE NEW DATE & TIME
Tournaments Dates are:
- DIV I (kdg/1st grade), 5/15/10 at Rochester Community High School-Rochester
- DIV II (2nd/3rd grades), 4/17/10 at Farmington High School-Farmington
- DIV III (4th/5th grades), 5/8/10 Royal Oak Middle School-Royal Oak.
ALL DIV I, DIV II & III Gill MP Teams must complete registration byMonday, March 1 to receive a discount. Parents/Guardians must follow the links below to the Math Pentathlon Registration information to register and pay for their own child(en) to participate in a Tournament this year. Each Student/Sibling must be registered for participation in their Tournament. The fee for each participant is $35 if registration is completed by our Gill Deadlines stated above. Online Registration link:http://www.mathpentath.org/mpt/MPTRedirectToSecureSite.htm. No “Administrating Code” is needed to Register -- select “I am registering one Pentathlete” OR “I am registering MORE than one Pentathlete” when prompted.
Homes for Haiti
Dear Family – As you know, a devastating earthquake has left many families in Haiti without many basic needs such as shelters. The student council is facilitating a fundraiser to assist in building homes for these families. Please consider making a cash donation, or a check made out to Habitat for Humanity. When you hang this house in your home, you will be reminded of how your family helped to build a home for a family in need. The collection site for donations will be in each classroom for the entire month of February. Any amount you would be able to contribute would be greatly appreciated.
THANK YOU!
The Gill Student Council
District Budget Information
Below is the most up-to-date budget information which include potential budget reduction information for the 2010-2011 school year.
Helpful Information Links:
Important Dates in the next few weeks:
Friday, February 26th:
- Gill School Dance – Pajama Jam – 6:00-8:00 p.m. in the gym and cafeteria. Admission will be $2 per person presold and $3 at the door. Tickets will be on sale during student lunches February 23rd-25th.
Monday, March 1st – Friday March 5th:
- Kindergarten registration for the 2010-2011 school year. Come into the school office sometime this week to register your kindergartner for next school year.
Tuesday, March 2nd:
· Board of Education meeting, 7:30 p.m. at North Farmington High School Auditorium. Authorization to implement 2010-2011 Budget Reduction Plan as presented on 2/24/10. The Board meeting is open to the public and will be cablecast LIVE on TV-10.
Wednesday, March 3rd:
· PTA meeting, 7:00-8:30 p.m. in the media center
Friday, March 5th:
· Brainstormers Skywriter Show sponsored by the Gill PTA and the Michigan Humanities Council (in the gym)
o Kdg-2nd grade, 1:05-1:50 p.m.
o 3rd-5th grade, 2:05-2:50 p.m.
Wednesday, March 10th:
· Had Enough of the School aid Fund Cuts? The Call for Change to pressure our legislators to make funding education a priority. Join other Michigan citizens at 1:30 p.m. at the State Capitol in Lansing. The Farmington PTA Council will sponsor buses for group transportation. Buses will leave at 11:45 a.m. (location TBD). Contact
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to reserve your spot! Together we can make a difference!
Friday, March 12th:
· Early Release Day for students, 12:48 p.m. dismissal. Lunch and Recess times will be adjusted as follows to accommodate the early dismissal:
o Kdg/3rd grade lunch and recess: 10:35-11:35 a.m.
o 1st/2nd grade lunch and recess: 11:05 a.m.-12:05 p.m.
o 4th/5th grade lunch and recess: 11:35 a.m.-12:35 p.m.
· Gill Skate Night at Bonaventure, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 17th:
· Parent/Student/Teacher conferences, 5:00-8:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 18th:
· Parent/Student/Teacher conferences, 5:00-8:00 p.m.
Friday, March 19th:
· Half Day for student – Dismissal at 11:16 a.m.
· The is the end of the 2nd trimester and teacher will begin working on report cards which will be sent home on Monday, March 29th.
· Safety Drill practice – This morning we will be practicing our 3 levels of lock down safety drills (building lock down, classroom lock down, and lock down/take cover) for the second and last time of the year. We like to let you know about our safety drills in case the students come home and mention them to you. We still have two more evacuation drills and two more tornado drills to practice this year.
Thursday, March 25th:
· Family Literacy Night, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Read Alouds by Gill staff (Kdg/1st: 6:30 – 2nd/3rd: 6:50 – 4th/5th: 7:10)
All other sessions are repeated 3 times, 6:30/6:50/7:10. Sessions include:
· Reader's Theater
· Mad Libs
· Poetry (Reading and Writing)
· Crafts (make a bookmark, design a new cover to your favorite book)
· The night ends with a session at 7:40 p.m. Milk and Cookies in the cafeteria/read aloud by Mr. Morawski
Friday, March 26th:
- 1st grade “Sharing their Learning” assembly, 2:15-3:00 p.m. in the gym
Monday, March 29th:
- Kdg-5th grade report cards for the 2nd trimester are sent home with students
Friday, April 2nd – Sunday, April 11th:
- Spring Vacation – School is not in session
Monday, April 12th:
ATTENTION 5th GRADE PARENTS!
As part of our end of year graduation celebration, we are in need of pictures from all of you. We need a 1-year old picture of your 5th grader as soon as you can send it in. Also, anyone who has any pictures from any or all six years at Gill, please gather them and send them in as soon as possible. These pictures should be of any/all 5th graders at any grade at Gill. Please make sure you are able to see the child’s face in the photos. We will be putting together a slide show and booklet for them to have as a keepsake. Please send any 1-year old pictures as an email in .jpg format to Kim Couture at
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or an actual photo to Meghan Couture in Mrs. Gumas’s class. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU PUT YOUR CHILD’S NAME ON THE EMAIL OR PICTURE. Also send any other pictures of all students as an email in .jpg format to Anna Firestone at
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or to Hunter Firestone (Mrs. Gumas’s class) or Dakota Firestone (Mrs. Moyers's class). AGAIN, PLEASE INCLUDE NAMES OF STUDENTS TO HELP WITH MAKING SURE WE HAVE AT LEAST ONE PICTURE OF EVERY STUDENT. Thank you very much for your help in making our 5th graders remember their awesome years at Gill Elementary. |
