The GMA Gazette

11/14 - 2nd Annual Community Open House, 5:30-7:30 pm

11/17 - GMA Family Game Night, 6-8 pm

11/22-24 - Thanksgiving Break, no school

11/30 - Picture Retake Day

12/4-8 - Winter NWEA Assessment Window, grades K-8

12/16 - Parents Day Out, 1-5 pm

12/21-1/7 - Winter Break - no school

1/2-1/5 First ever Winter Camp at The Grove, 8 am-4 pm (Kindergarten-8th grade only, registration required, fees apply)

1/8 - All students return to school

1/15 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - no school

1/31 - GMA Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm in the Birch Room

1/31 - PTO Meeting, 6:30 pm in the Birch Room

2/16 - eLearning Day for all students, Staff Professional Development

2/19 - Presidents Day, no school

2/22 - Skating Party at The Roller Cave

2/28 - GMA Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm in the Birch Room

2/28 - PTO Meeting, 6:30 pm in the Birch Room

In honor of our veterans, our Student Council organized GMA's first Field of Flags fundraiser to support Disabled American Veterans. Our school community raised over $555! Well done, GMA! Happy Veterans Day to all who have served!

Our second annual Community Open House is just around the corner! This is the perfect opportunity to share GMA with your friends and family who may be looking at school options for their children.

This year, the open house will feature one classroom per age level that will be open for guests to visit. Our staff will be available to answer questions and talk with families about our school philosophy and approach to education. Info sessions on topics such as Montessori 101, Montessori at Home, and Positive Discipline will be offered to help families learn more about our Montessori public school.

You can share this event with your friends and neighbors by sharing posts on social media - simply share straight from the official GMA Facebook page, and you're all set!

Ms. Sydney is sponsoring GMA's first Italian Culture and Heritage Club beginning Monday, December 4. This club is open to students in grades 5-8 only. More information on this club can be found here.

The last day to participate in the Art Room fundraiser Art to Remember is Monday, November 17th. All items ordered will arrive before winter break. Please reach out to our Art Teacher, Ms. Jamie D., with questions at jduncan@gma.k12.in.us.

Thank you for continuing to help us keep our students and staff safe during arrival and dismissal each day. Please refer back to this document that was shared in August regarding traffic patterns and safety reminders.

Last Friday afternoon during carline, Ms. Jamie and I stood at the entrance to Traditions at Brookside. I was surprised at the number of families that continue to disregard my messages regarding safe, courteous traffic behavior. Multiple cars attempted to turn into Traditions and use their private property as a turn-around point. Several other cars made unsafe u-turns on 900 N in front of Deer Crossing.

I cannot stress this enough - it is imperative that you follow the guidelines that have been shared over and over again. This is for the safety of all drivers. If it causes too much frustration or delays you too much to simply use Carroll Road or another legal roadway as a thoroughfare to an eastbound roadway, GMA may not be the best school choice for your family.

As we work to build partnerships with organizations and businesses in our community, we need your help in being good neighbors.

It has been said that “behavior influences behavior.” Please be mindful of this fact as you model behavior for your children each morning and afternoon in and out of our carline.

If you need to speak with me regarding these expectations, please email me to set up a time for a meeting as soon as possible. All GMA Families are expected to heed these instructions and model safe, courteous carline behavior.

Thank you for your cooperation in this important matter.

We have asked McCordsville police for their assistance several times throughout the year. As traffic increases in this area with the influx of new housing, I anticipate a stronger police presence to monitor the flow of traffic and assist drivers.

Also, please note that we use the blacktop area on the north and west sides of the building during recess time. It is for this reason that we put up the chain and cones to block off this area for our students immediately after carline ends promptly at 8:35 am. If you arrive in the parking lot at 8:35 or after, you will have to park and walk your child(ren) into the office to sign them in as tardy.

Thank you for helping us keep our community safe on the roads!

Tickets for Family Game Night are available here. Additional information is available at the link provided.

We are now up to 66 GMA families that have submitted their information to be included in a school community directory. The goal is to have this resource ready to share with our school community in January.

If you would like to participate in our GMA Community Directory, please use the link below to complete the information form. Only information shared in this form will be published in the directory.

Thank you for helping us continue to connect members of our school community.

The Grove will be offering winter camp this winter break! We will be playing games, doing crafts, and having fun. Students will need to bring their own lunch, snacks, and water bottles. This camp will be available for students in kindergarten through 8th grade. Spots will be limited, and filled in the order that sign-ups are received. More information and sign-up forms will be coming soon! Reach out to Miss Kayla at kcommons@gma.k12.in.us with any questions.

Days: Tuesday, January 2nd - Friday, January 5th

Hours: 8 am-4 pm

Price: $200

GREENFIELD — Forget Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy and Sneezy; meet Howdy, Rowdy, Creepy, Weepy, Nerdy, Wordy and Bob. And they’re here to set the record straight in KidsPlay’s “The Snow White Variety Show.”

Enter Heidi Perbole (played by Ellie Stearns), host of “Real Talk With Fairy Tale Legends.” It’s her task to get to the bottom of the truth of the Snow White story – and each of the seven dwarves seems to have their own version of how things really went down. For example, did you know that the Evil Queen (Chloe Elkins) hosted a cooking show? And that the Huntsman (Jack Joyner) taught Snow White (Reese Weitekamp) how to throw a punch? Or that Weepy (Aria Studabaker) simply cannot stop crying over the emotional story she’s telling?

“Each show has its own challenges,” says director Christine Schaefer. “The challenge for this show has been in building the individual characters of the dwarves. For example, Rowdy (Reid Connors) plays a tough-guy dwarf. Wordy (Nora Smith) plays a dwarf who quotes Shakespeare all the time.”

The talk show format of the show provides some challenges, too. The dwarves are introduced and enter one at a time, and then they spend a lot of time sitting on stage while other characters enter and act out the anecdotes being told. This requires creating what is called stage business.

“Stage business is a really difficult concept for the kids,” Schaefer says. “They need to stay engaged in what is going on rather than just sit and watch.”

“You can tell when that happens,” Schaefer adds, “and I call them on it.”

“The Snow White Variety Show” is full of hilarious side stories and cameos from characters from both fairy tales and popular culture. It’s appropriate for families and kids of all ages.

“The Snow White Variety Show” plays November 10 and 11 at 7 p.m. and November 12 at 2 p.m. at the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts, 122 W. Main St. in Greenfield. Tickets are available for $5 at Hometown Comics, 1040 N. State St. or at the door an hour before showtime. For more information, visit KidsPlay, Inc. on Facebook.

Please be sure to notify the school if your child will be absent. Families should call the front office at (317) 813-4626 and select option 1 from the menu to reach the attendance line.

Our office staff makes daily attendance calls to families at 10:00 am after classroom teachers have submitted their attendance for the day. We want to make sure our students are safe and healthy when they are not here at school with us. Thank you for your help in reporting attendance in a timely manner.

We use OneCall Now as our mass communication system to send out alerts, updates, and school-wide communication such as The GMA Gazette. Most communications are sent through email, with a text alert to notify you that something has been sent from GMA.

When school is closed or delayed due to inclement weather, especially in the unpredictable Indiana winters, it is important that families receive the notification quickly and easily. The best way to ensure that you don't miss an announcement from GMA is to sign up for text alerts!

It's simple to sign up. Just text the word alert to 22300. That's it!

Please contact Ms. Beth at blarock@gma.k12.in.us if you have questions or need to add an additional phone number or email address to our OneCall Now system.