We hope your family had a fantastic weekend to recharge after such a fun and spirited week at school! We loved seeing the participation during Spirit Week, the energy at the Popcorn Pick Up, and the creativity and excitement during Friday’s Halloween/Game Day. Thank you for helping us make these events successful and memorable for our students.

As November officially kicks off Parent Engagement Month, we want to encourage your direct involvement this week.

Please join us this Wednesday evening for an important opportunity to connect and contribute:

Parent voices are vital to our success, and these meetings are the best way to stay informed and influence our school community!

We need your help with an urgent request regarding the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) Parent Survey.

This data is absolutely crucial—it directly guides our school goals and informs our planning for student achievement. Unfortunately, we have only heard back from about 100 families so far. To ensure we have an accurate picture of our school environment, we have extended the deadline!

Please take a few minutes this week to complete the short, confidential survey. Your voice truly matters in this process.

Thank you for your continued partnership and commitment to our school. We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday and reading your valuable survey responses!

Warmly,

Mrs. Antuna, Principal

Ms. Coronel, Assistant Principal

We want to inform you of a recent, concerning trend we have observed on campus: a rise in students modifying paper airplanes with sharp, hidden objects before throwing them.

Students are reinforcing paper planes with items like broken paper clips or sewing needles so the planes will stick into ceiling panels.

This is dangerous and unacceptable behavior that could cause injury to students and staff.

Please speak with your child tonight about the seriousness of this issue. Reinforce that:

We appreciate your partnership in emphasizing the importance of school safety and respect for our learning environment.

In an effort to receive more submissions, WE'VE EXTENDED THE DEADLINE ONE MORE WEEK!

We value the input and opinion of our parents/guardians. If you could take a few moments to fill out our parent survey, it would be great appreciated. This data directly impacts decisions that we make on our campus.

Thank you for helping to make GVMS great!

This Wednesday, November 5th, our students and staff will participate in a scheduled Shelter in Place drill.

This is a safety practice designed to prepare students for situations where it is safer to remain securely inside the building than to evacuate.

What is a Shelter in Place?

Schools use a Shelter in Place protocol when there is an environmental hazard outside the building. This might include:

This Friday we have a parent walking group and you are all invited.

Join us on November 7th from 2:30pm to 3:00pm.

Bring the whole family! All are welcome to come and walk.

Hope to see you Friday.

If your child is struggling in a class and has a D or F, they were assigned a Homework Contract.

They have a bright green paper that should have their signature, your signature, and a teacher signature. This paper gets signed every time they go to Homework Center.  There is also a grade check on the back, where they write in their grades every Friday, have teachers sign, and then have you sign over the weekend. Students turn in the Contracts on Mondays at Lunch in Rm 12 to be checked.

Please remind your student that they are expected to be going to Homework Center at least 1 hour each week.  Homework Center is offered Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday at lunch in Room 12, and on Wednesday from 1:15-3:15pm in Room 1.

This week we start the Basketball season and tryouts are this week.

See the "Hawks Athletics" page of our website for dates and times.

A signed permission slip must be on file for any student interested in trying out. Students will not be allowed to participate in tryouts without this slip.

Students can pick up a permission slip from:

Please encourage your student to grab their slip this week and return it completed before tryouts begin!

TOPIC: ACADEMIC STANDING

Families of 8th grade students with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or below were invited to learn about the Promotion Ceremony expectations and discuss an improvement plan.

A huge thank you to all the students and staff who showed their school spirit during Spirit Week!

The competition was tough, but we have our winners for the grade level spirit week dress-up challenge. The first period classes with the highest percentage of students who participated are:

These winning classes will receive their well-deserved reward this week. Congratulations to all the winners for showing outstanding school spirit!

It was so much fun seeing the students dress up and enjoy themselves on Friday.

The winners of our costume contest are:

Their costumes were very creative and elaborate. Congratulations on winning this year's competition!

We have our final session of the Saturday Academy this Saturday, November 8th from 8:30am to 1:00pm.

The next Saturday Academy will begin in January. We'll notify you when the registration opens.

The Right At School after school program is still accepting registrations.

The Right At School program is offered every day after school until 6:00pm. Students do not have to stay until 6:00pm but there is a minimum of a half hour every day

This month, we shine a special light on Family Engagement Month, celebrating the essential partnership between our school and you, our middle school families.

As your students navigate the middle school years, your support remains one of the most powerful predictors of their success! Research shows that active family engagement leads to:

While your student is growing more independent, the way you engage with their education simply shifts, it doesn't stop!

🚀 Ways to Get Involved at the Middle School Level:

We know your time is valuable, so here are a few ways to partner with us this month and beyond:

This month, let's recommit to working together. Your involvement truly makes a difference in our vibrant middle school community!

This month, we join the nation in celebrating National Native American Heritage Month. This is a vital opportunity for all families to honor the rich cultures, deep histories, and ongoing contributions of Native American and Indigenous Peoples.

The most important takeaway for our children is this: Native Americans are not a relic of the past; they are diverse, contemporary peoples who continue to enrich our world today.

Simple Ways to Promote Diversity at Home:

Let's make this November a time for deep, respectful family learning about the diverse and resilient Indigenous cultures that shape our world.