Update: September 20, 2021
School Year Off to a Good Start
The 21-22 school year is off to a great start so far. So many of the wonderful offerings, activities, and daily learning components of a student's school day have largely returned after a hiatus of 18 months. Here are some recent examples:
Students in class at GHS
Movie Night Out
Students meeting with Counselor Johnna Mulligan & Social Worker Tiffany McPhetres to talk about "Sources of Strength"
Rangers field hockey team celebrates a win
X-Country Meet at Twin Brook
Pooled Testing Begins
Students and staff in grades 2-8 who are enrolled in pooled testing began their brief weekly test on Monday, September 20. Enrolled students in grades K-1 and 9-12 will begin testing on September 27. Pooled testing is part of the Greely Goes GREEN Plan to keep all students in school full-time, in-person, this year. It is one of several layered mitigation strategies the district is using to reduce quarantines and proactively respond in the event of a positive COVID case.
I visited a couple of 2nd grade classrooms at MIW on the first day of testing to see how it was going and found the students to be quick to grasp the routines involved. Many thanks to school nurses Nicole Anderson and Lora Rolfe for coordinating pooled testing for the district.
MIW Nurse Nicole Anderson trains students in a 2nd grade class on pool testing (above). She then logs the class's tube that contains test swabs and will send them to the test company for results.
Communication Boards & an Inclusive School Community
Communication boards are now up at MIW & GMS to help all students access communication while on school playgrounds. Thanks to MSAD #51 speech/language clinician Jen McCullum for initiating this project, shown here with staff members Siobhan Bogle & Alicia Dostilio. Unfortunately, one of the boards was vandalized and hate speech was written on the board with spray paint. Please join me in condemning this action as intolerable and unacceptable in a school community that seeks to include all students as part of its unwavering mission to help each student achieve their personal best. The middle school held "advisory circles" to bring awareness to students and provide a safe place to express feelings about the use of the "r" word written on the communication board. You can read a statement about this incident here: http://www.msad51.org/home/ghs_announcements/msad51districtnewsletter.
Staff members Jen McCullum, Siobhan Bogle, and Alicia Distilio pose with the GMS communication board that was later vandalized
Vandalism at GHS
Unfortunately, other incidents of vandalism have occurred at the high school over the last two weeks in addition to GMS. Likely a spin-off of a TikTok challenge that has since been removed from the site, students nationally have been encouraged to vandalize their own schools and post it online. At GHS, these incidents have involved disabled paper towel dispensers, stolen soap dispensers, door plates ripped off of doors, ventilation vents damaged, and stolen fire extinguishers. In a year where the pandemic is still a concern, lack of access to soap and paper towels is even more of a problem right now. Thankfully, students came forward and helped to identify at least one person responsible for this vandalism, who is now being held accountable by both the school and police. Many thanks to the GHS administration and our SRO for their work on solving this.
Damaged air exchange vent and disabled paper towel dispenser
National Merit Scholars
MSAD #51 is once again honored to report that we have two GHS students who are semifinalists for the National Merit Scholarship recognition:
Lev Giffune
Matthew Gilbert
They are two of about 16,000 high school students to receive this honor in the US annually out of 1.5 million who enter the program. Recognition is based on academic performance. Congratulations to both Lev and Matthew!
Lev Giffune
Matthew Gilbert
They are two of about 16,000 high school students to receive this honor in the US annually out of 1.5 million who enter the program. Recognition is based on academic performance. Congratulations to both Lev and Matthew!
Traffic Snarls
If you've been on campus at the end of the school day, you have probably encountered some traffic jams on certain days. It is especially challenging during the elementary dismissal time between 3:00-3:30pm or so, when 200 cars can be picking up students between MIW and GMS 4-5. As we continue to experience a growing campus with enrollment surges at the elementary grades, it will be imperative that everyone helps out in making our busy campus a place that is accessible and safe for all students, staff, and visitors.
A new crosswalk was painted to assist with safety for students, staff, and parents when leaving MIW's playground