Galesburg-Augusta Middle School

DELAYED START TODAY 10/20! Just a friendly reminder that TODAY, 10/20 is a delayed start day. Delayed starts are scheduled every Wednesday, except for the 1st Wednesday of each month. School will start 90 minutes later on delayed start days. School will dismiss at the normal time. Delayed Start Times: Primary School 9:20 AM Middle School 9:44 AM High School 9:00 AM * Bus riders will be picked up 90 minutes later than their scheduled pick up time.

Please visit our bond information page for more details. https://www.g-aschools.org/page/2021-bond-proposal

REMINDER: DELAYED START 10/20! Just a friendly reminder that THIS Wednesday, 10/20 is a delayed start day. Delayed starts are scheduled every Wednesday, except for the 1st Wednesday of each month. School will start 90 minutes later on delayed start days. School will dismiss at the normal time. Delayed Start Times: Primary School 9:20 AM Middle School 9:44 AM High School 9:00 AM * Bus riders will be picked up 90 minutes later than their scheduled pick up time.

It's that time of year...Middle School Parent-Teacher conferences are coming up: Thursday, October 28 from 1:00 -4:00 p.m. =walk-ins for grades 5,6,7 and appointments only for grade 4. Thursday, October 28 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. = appointments only for grades 4,5,6,7. Friday, October 29 from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.= appointments only for grades 4,5,6,7 PLEASE NOTE THAT APPOINTMENTS CAN BE SCHEDULE FOR IN-PERSON OR ZOOM. Here are the links to schedule your date and times: 4th Grade: Dooley: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040848a8af2ba0f58-miss2 Knop: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040848a8af2ba0f58-mrs Pfeiffer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050D4BAEA92FABF85-mrs2 Webb: https://www.signupgenius.com/.../10C0D49A9A62BA0FEC16... 5th Grade Teaching Team: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805044CA9A723AAF58-5thgrade1 6th Grade Teaching Team: https://www.signupgenius.com/.../10C0C49ADAA2EABFECF8... 7th Grade Teaching Team: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0545aeaf2ea1f49-7thgrade2

We may be a small district, but our high school students still need experiential learning opportunities that increase their preparedness for life after graduation. Having the flexible space of a multi-purpose facility will allow our high school staff to add such things as: large group presentations related to health and safety, career and technical education options throughout the county, job fairs, college application/FAFSA nights, fine arts celebrations, large group projects, robotic competitions, music, speech, theatre, debate, and additional P.E. classes. We need space for indoor marching band practice, flag corp practice, sideline cheer and to start a competitive cheer program. It will also be available for after-school programming including various sports team practices. https://youtu.be/MovmSpt-Aok

Middle School boys basketball starts on Monday, October 25 at the Middle School. All students must have a MHSAA physical on file dated after April 15, 2021. Practices are mandatory.

Monday, October 18th is our annual Pink out game. Game is at the HIGH SCHOOL starting at 5:00. All G-A Middle School students get in free. Donations will be accepted at the door.

Visit our website for more bond information. https://www.g-aschools.org/page/2021-bond-proposal

Congratulations to Alexis Wilkes-Millard, Claire Callender, Ellsa Callender for top 3 finishes at today’s Bloomingdale Invitational .

Why does Galesburg-Augusta need additional classroom space? Additional classroom space at the Primary School means returning 4th grades to the PS and 8th grades to the MS. It will open space back up at the High School for needed programs! https://youtu.be/nLdbAfdhpfI

WHY NOW? The district needs additional space at the Primary School and High School. To reduce class sizes, add programs and reduce overcrowding at the Primary School, the district temporarily moved fourth-grade classrooms into the Middle School and eighth-grade classrooms to the High School. Consequently, these grade shifts created a strain on classroom space at the High School. By creating increased student opportunities, such as our STEAM joint venture with Eaton-Cummins, coding and robotics programs, G-A students will graduate with the skills needed to be successful adults in their careers and communities. The current low-interest rates allow the district to reduce borrowing costs, reducing the millage rate for taxpayers. Visit www.ga-bond.com for details!

Do you have questions about our current athletic facilities and why our students deserve a new multi-purpose athletic field? Learn more here: https://youtu.be/8cUZ88WK2fQ

Q: Are there still buses in the bond project? A: Yes. Our bus fleet is an aging fleet that requires increasing and costly repairs to keep them safely on the road. ● School buses are expensive, approximately $100,000 per bus. The district has purchased one new bus annually for the past few years. However, the fleet still has an average age over 11 years with high mileage rates--an average of over 121,000 miles. From an operations standpoint, it costs significantly more to maintain older, high-mileage vehicles. Utilizing bond funds to purchase three buses eliminates a significant impact (approximately $300,000), thereby leaving those funds for instruction and the operations of the district. It is important to point out that state statute requires us to pay back enough principal on the bonds to more than cover the cost of buses within a standard useful-life period.

Boys and Girls youth basketball information is coming home this week. This is a free after school basketball program. If you are interested in volunteering to help with practice please contact me. Please return sign up form by October 29

On Nov. 2, 2021, Galesburg-Augusta residents will be asked to consider a bond proposal to support Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools. ​The district held stakeholder meetings and conducted surveys to establish a three- to five-year facilities improvement plan focused on supporting student education programing. Please watch the video below for more details. https://youtu.be/gSwsUe5xrtE

DELAYED START TODAY 10/13! Just a friendly reminder that TODAY, 10/13 is a delayed start day. Delayed starts are scheduled every Wednesday, except for the 1st Wednesday of each month. School will start 90 minutes later on delayed start days. School will dismiss at the normal time. Delayed Start Times: Primary School 9:20 AM Middle School 9:44 AM High School 9:00 AM * Bus riders will be picked up 90 minutes later than their scheduled pick up time.

Middle School Boys Basketball(7th-8th grade) starts Monday, October 26. Practices are 3:30-5:30 most nights. 8th grade boys will be bused to the Middle School for practices. Students MUST have a newly completed Michigan Athletic Physical on file at the school to practice. No Physical-No practice. Tony Smith will be coaching 8th grade boys, Jake Wortinger will be our new 7th grade coach. Middle School Boys Basketball(7th-8th grade) starts Monday, October 26. Practices are 3:30-5:30 most nights. 8th grade boys will be bused to the Middle School for practices. Students MUST have a newly completed Michigan Athletic Physical on file at the school to practice. No Physical-No practice. Tony Smith will be coaching 8th grade boys, Jake Wortinger will be our new 7th grade coach. https://www.mhsaa.com/portals/0/Documents/health%20safety/physical2page.pdf https://www.mhsaa.com/portals/0/Documents/health%20safety/physical2page.pdf

Visit www.ga-bond.com for more information. Our softball teams pay to to use an off-site academy for spring training. A multi-purpose instructional facility would reduce travel and cost for our district.

REMINDER: DELAYED START 10/13! Just a friendly reminder that THIS Wednesday, 10/13 is a delayed start day. Delayed starts are scheduled every Wednesday, except for the 1st Wednesday of each month. School will start 90 minutes later on delayed start days. School will dismiss at the normal time. Delayed Start Times: Primary School 9:20 AM Middle School 9:44 AM High School 9:00 AM * Bus riders will be picked up 90 minutes later than their scheduled pick up time.

Q: How will this bond help academic achievement at G-A? A: Expanding and repurposing facilities, increasing the number of academic/athletic opportunities, offering increasing STEM/STEAM curriculum, flexible spacing for after-school student groups, has been shown to positively impact students' interest in learning, encouraging them to stay in school and graduate! ● By upgrading and improving the learning environment, our students will be better able to learn the skills needed to be successful adults in our communities. Researchers have followed adults who participated in high school after-school programming such as athletics. They found that those adults exhibit goal setting, perseverance, communication skills and far greater confidence in themselves and their futures. All G-A students deserve the opportunities to learn and master these life skills for their future success as community members and contributors to the world around them.