Please Take Advantage of PowerSchool!

I don't like to beg, but I am going to. Please take advantage of PowerSchool. It is such an awesome tool for parents. The website is gkschools.powerschool.com. Each parent has an ID and password. If you need this information, please contact our office at 815-784-5222. Below you will see a screenshot of what the page will look like when a parent is logged in. Please take advantage of this awesome communication tool! (If you click on the image below, it should enlarge for a better view.)

GKMS in October

As the leaves change and we are fortunate to have such nice weather these past few weeks, GKMS is gearing up for a busy month. In addition to the academic work being done in classrooms, October is a big month for community service projects. Below is a brief list of all the GKMS happenings this month:

• Boys Basketball Tryouts for 7th and 8th Grade: Oct. 13, 14, & 17. Tryouts are from 3-5 at GKMS. The parent meeting for boys basketball will be Wednesday, Oct. 12, 7pm at GKMS.
• The canned food drive, sponsored by Student Council and the Community Impact Club, is all month long. Students can bring cans to watch the Student-Faculty Basketball Game, which will take place Oct. 28th.
• The canned food drive Halloween Dance will take place on Oct. 31, from 3-5 at GKMS. Students may wear costumes to the dance, but not to school. Price is $5 or 5 canned items.
• 1st quarter ends Oct. 14th. Look for report cards sent home the following week.
• One Dramatic Evening will take place Oct. 13 at 6:30.

GKMS takes pride in these community service opportunities. We hope our kids become involved in these valuable learning experiences!

News and Notes From GKMS

GKMS is currently a thriving learning institution. Some things going on in our school and classrooms:

• Open House was September 20th. If you attended, please take our survey.

• The canned food drive begins for the month of October. Our two biggest community projects for the canned food drive are our Faculty-Student Basketball Game (Oct. 28th, 2pm) and our Halloween Dance (October 31, 3-5pm).

• All GKMS students completed MAP testing in early September. This test gives our teachers an opportunity to plan student-specific learning goals for the school year. The results of the test will be in with the first quarter report card.

• Across the district, students are actively participating in 6+ Traits of Writing initiatives. Students at GKMS are deeply involved in 6+ Traits in their Language Arts classes. For a brief description, visit this website.

Please continue to check our blog for current updates. For even more updates, follow us on Twitter, @gkmscogs.