Upcoming Dates
- September 15 – October 15: National Hispanic Heritage Month
- September 25: Yom Kippur Holiday (No School)
- September 26: Fall Growth State Testing-Reading (8th)
- September 28-29: Parent Teacher Conferences (No School)
- October 2, 4: Fall Growth State Testing-Math (6th, 7th)
- October 5: PBIS Store
- October 9: Indigenous People Day (No School)
- October 15: Reflections Entries Due
- October 17: PTA Meeting
- October 20: Spirit Wear Orders Due
- October 20: PBIS Store
- October 27: Harvest Festival
- October 27: Picture Retake Day
Middle School Conferences, September 28-29
The first round of parent-teacher conferences will take place on Thursday, September 28, 2023, and Friday, September 29, 2023. Please read the below information about the upcoming conferences.
Dates and Times
Thursday, September 28 – No school for students. Conferences will take place from 8:30-3:30.
Friday, September 29 – No school for students. Conferences will take place from 8:30 – 11:30.
Conference Details
Each conference will be 10 minutes in length. Staff will be at the school campuses so the conferences are set to be in-person. Parents/Guardians may also request the conference via Zoom or by telephone conference.
Registering for Your Conferences
Individual teachers have posted sign-ups on ParentSquare from Friday, September 22, 2023 to Wednesday, September 27, 2023, for families to schedule conference times with each of your student’s teachers. Parents/Guardians are able to schedule conferences via ParentSquare. Interpretation services are available for conferences in Spanish, Arabic, Amharic, and Dari.
As a reminder, parents can meet with teachers outside of these conference days too. The teachers’ commitment to communicating with families regarding their students’ progress extends throughout the school year. Not every parent will be able have a conference on conference days due to the sheer number of students in middle school. While it’s disappointing not to get a conference on the conference days, you can reach out to schedule a meeting with you child’s teachers at any time.
SPIRIT WEAR!
Spirit Wear is now on sale! Big shout to our amazing Spirit Wear Chair Fran Boller for getting us this great selection of attractive items at great prices!
Pre-order until Friday, Oct. 20. Items available for pick up starting Nov. 7 at our Election Day bake sale!
- Short Sleeve T-shirts $10
- Long Sleeve T-shirts $15
- Sweatshirts $25
- Hoodies $25
Order online with credit card at gwmspta.org/spiritwear
Email [email protected] to arrange to pay by check or cash.
Join the PTA!
Your PTA membership dues are tax-deductible and support our activities throughout the year including grade level student socials, field trips, teacher grants for classroom resources, and so much more!
It’s just $10 per person per year, plus a small amount to cover credit card fees. You can also join by cash or check. Email [email protected] with any questions.
VOLUNTEER!
Thank you to everyone who has contacted the PTA about volunteering! We are still looking for a few more volunteers to chair committees.
Please email us to help fill the following roles:
- 7th Grade Social/Events – Volunteers from each grade plan an end-of-year event for each class. Chair will lead the volunteers in planning!
- Parent Social Coordinator – Organize events to build the GWMS parent community. They could be big events at local businesses or small events at the school like meet and greet coffees with staff or PTA.
- Field Trip Coordinator – The GWMS teachers and staff would love to have help from parents with planning field trips throughout the school year. This is a new committee, so there will be some work to do to set expectations and roles.
- Business Partners / Sponsorships – Do you have great connections with local businesses? Sign up to help us partner with our business partners to help them find ways to make a big impact at GWMS. Great for co-chairs!
- Membership Chair – This is a new position! We want to grow our membership and ensure that we are representative of our whole GWMS community. Membership Chair would represent PTA at school events and develop new ways to reach a wider audience.
- Gym Uniform Swap Coordinator – Collect gym uniforms from older students/alums and wash/sort/set up table at events to give to current students
- PTAC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Representative – Serve as a representative of the GWMS PTA to the Alexandria PTA Council’s DEI Committee and share information with the GW community. The DEI Chair will lead the PTA commitment to foster an inclusive and equitable environment of family engagement in our school community.
- PTAC Special Education Committee– The Alexandria PTA Council (PTAC) formed a Special Education Committee to ensure that the perspective of families and students receiving Special Education and 504 services are addressed within PTAC. The purpose is to continue this robust conversation district-wide by encouraging all PTAs to appoint a parent whose children are receiving special education services to serve as a Special Education Representative. This representative would –
- Help families who have children receiving special education services feel more connected to their school communities;
- Amplify their concerns to your PTA, PTAC and ACPS leadership;
- Educate the Executive Board on how best to support families who have children receiving special education services within your school;
- Meet with special education representatives from other schools to share ideas;
- Host a meet & greet for new parents of students receiving special education services; and,
- Work with the PTA to ensure that students with IEPs and/or 504s are appropriately supported in all PTA-sponsored activities.
- Nominating Committee for 2024-25 – In the spring, the nominating committee will work to secure executive board slots for the coming school year, as well as committee chairs and members.
Los Tios Dine Out Fundraiser
Thank you to all who came out to support the GW PTA this week at Los Tios! We’ll find out soon how much we raised during the 3 grade level nights, but we appreciate all the queso and guacamole you ordered! We were happy to have a chance to see old friends and meet some new friends. We also sold some GW magnets and passed out Membership and Spirit Wear flyers so we think it was a great success.
PTA Reflections Art Competition
Calling all Prexies – PTA Reflections Art Competition 2023-2024 needs you!
It’s that time again, when pre-K through grade 12 students nationwide create theme-based artwork – will you be one of them? The 2023-2024 theme is I am Hopeful Because…share why you are hopeful through dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography, or visual arts.
Contest entries due by Oct 15. Entering takes 5 minutes online here or at the below QR code.
You can also turn your entry into GW Middle School Art Teacher Ms. Janice Rollins, Rm: C205, or into your grade-level office.
Entries are evaluated for interpretation of the theme, creativity, and technique.
Questions? Email [email protected]
October PTA Meeting
Mark your calendars on Tuesday, October 17th for our next PTA Meeting. This time IN PERSON! Spanish Interpretation will be provided.
School Health Advisory Boards
“The purpose of the School Health Advisory Board is to assist with the development of health policies in the school division and the evaluation of the status of school health, health education, the school environment, and health services with the goal of ensuring equitable access and alignment with students’ needs. Our mission is to confirm an environment with accessibility and support for health services, and strive for instructional excellence and educational empowerment for students to maintain healthy behaviors throughout their lives.
The School Health Advisory Board meets monthly at 6:30 pm on the third Tuesday of each month (the next meeting being held on Tuesday October 17) at Alexandria City High School. The most up to date details on meeting dates and times can be found at the ACPS IC Board page. We welcome parents and community members who would like to ask questions or share insights that will help us better support ACPS students’ health needs. We also encourage any parents who are interested in joining the School Health Advisory Board or one of its subcommittees to submit an application via the ACPS website. Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions about our work or would like to learn more about getting involved.”
Advertising helps supplement this free website by DigitalPTO.com | Disable Ads Here
