Sept. 4, 2009
Vol. 12
No. 1
NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY, SEPT. 7TH
A note from Mrs. White…
Welcome to a new school year at GCCS! We have been preparing and praying for several weeks for a great beginning and things are finally settling in for us in the middle/high school office.
We are fortunate to have RenWeb as a partnering tool between school and home. Please use it to monitor your child’s assignments and progress. If you have any questions or experience any difficulties accessing it, please contact the high school office.
We are very excited about the great plans God has for our school community this year!
NEW STAFF
We have three new staff members this year! The first is David Morrison, a former GCCS student, who graduated from Lee University last December. He is teaching 9th and 12th grade Bible classes, helping lead chapel and coaching the varsity soccer team. The second is Lisa Applewhite, a graduate of Ohio State. A native of Puerto Rico, she moved to Texas and then Ohio. She is teaching Spanish I through IV and will be the advisor for Spanish Club. The final new member of our staff is Gary Houck who is teaching World History I and II as well as World War II and the Civil War. He is a graduate of Capital University.
NEW STUDENTS
We welcome 40 new students and six returning students to the MS/HS. There are seven new seventh graders, six new eighth graders, ten new freshmen, seven new sophomores, eight new juniors and two new seniors. In addition we also have two foreign exchange students. Our enrollment has grown from 187 to 213 in the high school and 108 to 119 in seventh and eighth grade. We are excited about this growth and the additional opportunities we have to disciple young people.
CHANGES THIS YEAR
Although many things remain the same in our handbook, there are a few changes we want to mention. The first is that hoodies are permitted on non-uniform days. The second change involves a new reward system for students grade seven through twelve. This year instead of Eagle Rewards, students in grades seven through twelve will have the opportunity to skip two semester exams if they have all A's either semester and skip one exam if they have all A's and B's. Students won't be able to avoid the same subject's exam both times in the same year and seniors will still have the chance to skip exams second semester in all subjects that they have an A average for the year.
We will extend the privilege of dressing down the three exam days to any student seventh through twelfth grade who has not earned a detention in the semester. We are hopeful that these changes will motivate your child (ren) to maintain good grades and behavior. Early indications are that the students are excited about these changes. At award chapels in May and in the Eagle’s Nest, we will continue to recognize students earning highest honors, high honors and honor roll.
CALENDAR CHANGE
Due to scheduling challenges, we have changed the date for one of the Christmas concerts and what groups will be involved at each concert. Please note that on Monday, December 7th all middle school students involved with band, strings, choir or handbells will perform beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8th, all high school students in band, choir and handbells will perform beginning at 7:00 p.m. Both concerts will be in the worship center. Please mark your calendars for these special nights.
A NOTE FROM MRS. WHITAKER, THE SCHOOL NURSE
Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful summer. Unfortunately with the beginning of the school year comes the threat of illness. In an effort to protect our students from the spread of infection, I wanted to remind you of our policy regarding illness here at GCCS.
Students displaying any of the following symptoms should not be at school until cleared by a doctor or symptom free for 24 hours.
- A temperature of 100 degrees or more
- Vomiting or diarrhea
- Persistent cough
- Undiagnosed rash with other symptoms(fever, sore throat etc)
- Known communicable disease (strep throat, pink eye, ringworm, scabies, etc.)
Please encourage your child to practice good hand washing at school, especially before lunch. I also want to remind you, if you would like your child to receive medication at school, a medication authorization card will need to be filled out and the medication sent to school in its original container.
Thank you so much for your help as we attempt to keep our students healthy and happy this school year!
GCCS YARD SALE
The 8th graders are having a Yard Sale to raise money for their 2010 Washington, DC Trip. The Yard Sale is on Saturday, September 26, 2009 from 9:00 to 4:00 at 6816 Hoover Road (1 mile south of Hoover Road and 665). We will have crafts, clothes, toys, sports equipment, furniture, jewelry, shoes, and household decor. If you have items you would like to donate to this Yard Sale, please contact Tracy Ashby (614)506-5827 or dashby1@columbus.rr.com. (Rain date is Saturday, October 10, 2009).
GCCS 2nd SCRAPBOOKING CROP
The 8th graders are hosting their 2nd Scrapbooking Crop to raise money for their 2010 Washington DC Trip. We would like the opportunity to serve you with bag carriers and dinner. The Crop will be on Friday, October 23, 2009 at the Red Letter Journals (4086 Broadway, Grove City) from 6 pm - 12 am. The cost is $12.00. There are limited seats so call and purchase your tickets today. Please call Tracy Ashby at (614)506-5827 or (614)305-3256 or dashby1@columbus.rr.com. (Due to limited seating we will not be able to offer refunds).
8th GRADE STUDENTS AVAILABLE
Help the 8th grade Eagles EARN their wings so they can SOAR to Washington DC in 2010. They are eager to help you with small jobs around the house. They can rake leaves, pull weeds, etc. No job is too small. Donations are welcomed. Please contact Tracy Ashby to arrange someone to work for you. You can contact Tracy Ashby at (614)506-5827 or (614)305-3256 or dashby1@columbus.rr.com.
BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION
Welcome all new and returning students to a great year at GCCS! Our school currently participates in the Box Tops for Education, Campbell’s labels, and the Tyson A+ program. Last year the school earned $3155.00 from Box Tops for Education. The school is currently ranked 45 out of 4,377 schools within Ohio and 1,032 out of 100,178 schools within the United States. Our school also collects pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House and has also collected over 313 lbs of pop tabs over the past two years. These programs would not be this successful without your help. Please feel free to contact Patrick Allen at psfallen0210@sbcglobal.net with any questions or comments.
PTO
MARKET DAY
Lots of great new items this month!!!! Deli sliced ham & turkey, Mini chicken cheese & macaroni bites and Uno's pepperoni tastefulls to name a few. Orders due by September 17th at midnight at Marketday.com or just return your order form to school. Order pick up is September 22nd at 6:15 in the main hallway. Have questions, email GCCSPTO@yahoo.com for answers. Winners of the $25 Gift cards for the Market Day drawing during the Ice Cream Social were Sherri Damron and Denise Lillico. Congratulations!
Back To School Skating Party: Mark Your Calendars - September 12th from 4:30pm - 7:00pm at Skate America. This is PTO sponsored event, $2 for skate rental and $3.50 for inline skates. Prizes will be given to the class with the most in attendance. Hope to see you all there!!!
Eagle Spirit 3rd Annual Run/Walk: The Grove City Christian School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is planning its 3nd annual 5 Mile Eagle Spirit Run/Walk on Saturday, October 3, 2009. We are excited to be adding a 1.5 Family Fun Walk so that everyone can participate. Bring your entire family out to this community event that will benefit our school library. Last year we had over 150 participants and raised over $5,000.
Race details can be found here and enter EAGLE as your discount code. The first increase in price will take effect on September 15th and the second increase will take effect on October 3. If you and/or your family would like to volunteer (and you’re not already participating as a runner or walker) please e-mail Monica Paugh at paughmonica@yahoo.com or 614-205-8014.
CLASSROOM RESOURCE & INFORMATION NOW ONLINE!!
From time to time, teachers may post classroom resources and important information on RenWeb. To access these documents, simply log into RenWeb and click on the “Classrooms” link. This will bring up a “Classroom Menu” where you can click on a link to each “Teacher’s Web Page”. Under the “Resources” heading, you’ll find links to the documents your child’s teacher may make available. We trust that you will take advantage of this feature.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Just a reminder that all high school students are required to do community service as part of graduation requirements at GCCS. The required hours are as follows:
- Freshmen - 10 hours
- Sophomores - 15 hours
- Juniors - 20 hours
- Seniors - 25 hours
If you need some suggestions as to where you could serve, please stop in the HS office and we can help you find someplace of interest to you.
DENIM DAY
Denim day will be held on Friday, October 2, 2009. Students will be permitted to have a non-uniform day and may wear a pink shirt and jeans for $1.00. We will also be selling pink bracelets for $2.00 and will be selling a cup of pink lemonade for 25cents. All monies will be going to Breast Cancer Awareness. Mark your calendars and go pink!
SCHOOL PICTURES
School pictures will be taken for middle school students and high school students, who missed during schedule pick up night, on Friday, September 18th. For this day, all middle school students and those high school students who missed the pictures before, will be allowed to dress out of uniform for pictures. Please follow the handbook guidelines if you have any questions.
SENIORS
Seniors and their parents are invited to attend the annual GCCS mini College Fair and Senior Night! We will have several college representatives join us as we go through many of the details about the college process (financial aid, ACT/SAT, admission deadlines, scholarships, etc). You don't want to miss out! Seniors will also be putting their hand prints on the wall!!! Mark your calendar for September 21st from 7-9 p.m. Any questions, please call Nancy Gillespie in the Guidance Office 875-3000, ext.222.
Seniors and parents- ABC 6 On your Side will be hosting an Education Boot Camp on September 16th at Veterans Memorial from 4-8 p.m. The event will include lectures, demonstrations and hands on experience that will include several aspects of the college process including college selection, application processes, financial aid and more! Questions? Please contact Erin Roth at 614-481-6602 or Kellie Hanna at 614-481-6661. Please log onto ABC6onyourside.com for more information.
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Student photos are coming back to the site.
Soon we'll be enabling parents to come to the site, and log in (with your email address and a self-selected password) to gain access to the event photos from the year. We'll be using the email address that you (as a GCCS parent) use to register with RenWeb.
We'll start with 2009-2010 photos, and after the bugs get worked out, we'll make every effort to load in the previous years photos.
Why are we doing this?
We're always cognizant of the safety of our students. When you realize that in a 10 mile radius of the school, we have 90 registered sex offenders (source: www.eSORN.ag.state.oh.us), it becomes important to take every step possible to prevent someone from easily stalking our children. As if that weren't enough reason, there are many cases in which there may be discord in non-custodial parents, and again, our role should be to protect the privacy of our student body.
We do hope that you support our motives, and look forward to rolling out this new functionality to the site. |
