Comments from Mr. Boyd, Principal,

Greetings, November, a time of seasonal changes and fun filled family gatherings. A time for setting aside differences and giving thanks to all the wonderful aspects that life and family have to offer us. Thank you to all who attended the Student-Led Conferences. Your presence manifests your interest in your students’ educational success. Your support is critical to your child’s continued suc-cess. Another huge thank you is in order for those who assisted with the Book Fair, and those that helped PTO provide din-

ner for staff members on both nights.

Our school continues to press forward and work with the state’s Career and College Readiness standards. We continue to focus our instruction on raising the rigor and helping children prepare for a life filled with success. Parents can also pitch in by helping our children develop a “love to read” mentality. Read with your child, have them read to you, have family reading time, just have them read. The more reading and dialogue that you can have with your children about what they have read, the more proficient they will be in terms of literacy.

In addition, please consider following Grissom on Twitter (@1GoodBetterBest) and downloading our school app! For those that have not heard, Grissom is one of the few middle schools in Indiana that has this smart device product. Download one of

two ways:

1. Scan the QR code below to download the Virgil I. Grissom Middle School app by SchoolInfoApp on your iPhone, iPad, An-droid, Blackberry or Windows device. Or

2. Go to your app store and type in schoolinfoapp Download then select the country and state. You will look for Virgil I. Grissom Middle School With our new app, you can:

Keep up with all of our latest news, School Calendar, pertinent information ,and announcements

Find out about events and activities

Contact teachers, staff and administration

Access school menus, our online gradebook system and more

Get important documents, picture galleries & other media

GRISSOM MIDDLE SCHOOL

NEWS & VIEWS November 2016

STUDENT MEDICATION All medication (except for inhalers) must be kept in the nurse’s office. State law requires that prescription medication must be accom-panied by written permission from both the parent/guardian AND a doctor. Please call Teresa Verslype, school nurse, if you have any questions at 968-9628.

Parent abilities to track buses: Parents not already users can start tracking now. Just register for the service by cre-ating an account at: http://parent.silverlining.synovia.com At that website, you will be prompted to enter the following information: * PHM's account number, which is 76205 * Child's last name * Child's Student ID#

Academic competitions are underway beginning with Spell Bowl coached by Mrs. Emeigh. Spell Bowl Students will compete in a regional spelling competition held at Kesling Middle School in LaPorte, IN on November 1, 2016. We are excited to have the first Lego League coached by Mrs. Hackett beginning this month. Academic super Bowl will begin in January with teams in the areas of math-Coach Akers, Social Studies-Coach Biek, and Language Arts-Coach Emeigh. The theme this year is “The French Revolution.” We encourage everyone to get involved. All students involved in any form of academic competition will earn the title of ”Grissom Scholar” and will be invited to special events throughout the year! Our 8th grade students will be honoring area veterans at an upcoming Veteran’s Day program on November 11. Choir, band, and orchestra students will be performing along with students reading, ”Thank You Essays” and a special guest speaker-Former Indiana Governor Joe Kernan. We deeply appreciate the service of our brave man and women in the military who protect our freedom in our great country!

A word from the Assistant to the Principal

8th Grade Parents, put the following dates on your calendar.

November 30th from 9:45 to 12:00 pm

8th Graders visit Penn for Talk and Tour December 1st from 6:00 to 7:00 pm

Parent information night at the Middle School Please ATTEND ONE EVENING: Penn Showcase

December 12th or December 13th

Yearbooks on Sale Order Your 2016-2017 yearbook today! It’s the limited edition of our school’s stories for this year. Don’t let your student miss out on sharing and reliving these amazing memories. The cost of the yearbook is now 25.00 dollars and order forms can be picked up in the main office. Also. Mrs. Reynolds is looking for creative, fun club members who are interest-ed in photography, journalism, or digital design to help with the yearbook this year! If that’s your child, encourage them to stop in the main office and pick up a yearbook club application!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM OUR SCHOOL COUNSELORS

Parents of 6th grade students:

Counselors are presenting Sportsmanship lessons in 6th grade

Physical Education classes emphasizing displaying good Sports-manship behavior and making positive contribution to the team.

Students will be reminded there are many different types of teams, including families,

school groups, and community activities.

21st Century Scholars Information- Prepare -Plan –Pay for College

Parents of 7th and 8th graders are encouraged to visit the website of Indiana’s 21st Century Schol-ars Program at Scholars.IN.gov for information ,eligibility requirements, and instructions and in-structions to complete the online application for the program..

For income-eligible Hoosier students, the 21st Century Scholars Program offers tuition assistance. College and career readiness through the Scholars Success Program, and other support services. Application deadline is June 30th of the student’s 8th grade year.

Congratulations!! Katie Selis is the artist of the Month for Feb-ruary. Here is a great picture of her little puppy..

Grissom Food Pantry

The Grissom Food and Clothing Pantry is open the first and third Thursday of each month during the school year from the hours of 4 to 5.

Art with Mrs Roeda The Grissom artist of the month is Emma Casteel for her wonderful figure sculpture. 8th grade students who participate in Art for the en-tire year, travelled to the annual Art Prize Art show. Thousands of contemporary works of art were dis-played throughout Grand Rapids. This opportunity provided our students with inspiration for rich discus-sion, reflection, and inspiration for artwork.

Art Club has started and will take place in room 202 from 4:00 to 5:30 on Nov. 3, 17, and December 1st. Please arrive promptly at 5:30 at the front entrance.

Athletics All athletes must have a Physical, Code of Conduct and Drug form on file in the Main Office in order to participate in sports. Boy’s Basketball season is quickly approaching, and Grissom’s first Home game will be against Elkhart Christian Academy on October 25th.. Ticket prices for home games are $3 for adults and $2 for students and grandparents.

Grissom Middle School would like to thank the following business-

es for dona�ng to our Pride Store for the month of October and

November.

Quality Dining-A booklet of free food cer�ficates

Bring Your A Game ND Tickets– 10 free ND Volleyball �ckets

Strikes and Spares-30 Family Passes for 2 hours of free bowling

City of Mishawaka-8 Wilson Park Tubing Passes and 4 Merrifield

Park Swim Passes

Feed the Hungry-A car load filled with food and toiletries.

Meiger on Bremen Highway– $100.00 gi5 cer�ficate

Pu6 Pu6 on N. Main St.-10 �ckets for 1 round of Pu6 Pu6 golf

St. Joe County Parks-5 tubing passes and 5 disc golf passes

Swiss Valley, Jones Michigan-4 Ski Li5 �ckets

Martin’s Advantage Points The Grissom Middle School Media Center (library) is participating in the Martin’s advantages for Education Program. Martin’s provides the op-portunity for schools to get FREE educational –related equipment ineto our classrooms. Register at www.martins supermarkets.com or at any Martin’s location. Provide our school ID: #4734. Then stop with a Martin’s Advantage Card. Each scan of a Martin’s Advantage Card will help with Grissom’s Library earn FREE educational supplies!

Mrs. Field’s All School Fundraiser 2016-2017 Our all School fundraiser product distribution will take place on Tues-day, November 1st from 4:05 PM until 5:15 PM. Students will pick up their product in our large LGI Conference Room located across from our school library. Please Note: Due to size and weight those students who have sold 5 or more items, parents will need to make arrangements to pick up their stu-dent and their products sold after school on November 1, 2016.

Box Tops for Education Thank you for continuing to send your Box Tops for Education coupons to Grissom’s Media Center. Our goal this year is to purchase 4 more café tables for student use. Please ask your friends, family, and neighbors to collect for us. Then, simply bring the box tops to the Media Center.

Internet Safety Presentation On Friday

Internet Safety Presentation On Friday, November 4, Officer Eric Tamashasky, head of the St. Joseph County Police Cybercrimes against Children Unit, will speak on important topics regard-ing Internet Safety with our 7th and 8th grade students. Officer Tamashasky will also be speaking with Grissom parents about Internet Safety on Tuesday, November 1, from 7:00-8:00 pm in the Grissom Cafeteria. All parents or guardians are welcome to attend.

News From The PTO The PTO would like to say thank you to those parents who have been helping so far this fall. Here are a few projects, they have been helping with: The inside and outside concession stands which are the main source of in-come for the PTO The Hacienda Give Back Night was a great success and the next one will be November 8th from 5-7 pm at Chick-Fil-A on Main St. This is an easy way for PTO to make money. The snacks for the 6th Grade Social were amazing. Thank you to those who generously gave. Also, to those parents who provide food for two meals for teachers during student led-conferences. The PTO couldn not have done this for them if it had not been for you! Spirit wear also went home last week. Please consider ordering some-thing . A percentage of sales is given back to the PTO. Finally the next PTO meeting is November 28th at 4 pm in the IMC. Please Join Us! Beth Pogue

6th and 7th grade Science with Mrs. Gouker and Mr. Heckaman As the new quarter begins, so does our new units. In seventh grade, we just started the unit titled Rocks and Minerals. The students are usual-ly pretty excited to share their own personal rock collections with us. We will be learning what makes rocks and minerals valuable. We will also perform tests on our rock and mineral samples in order to identify specif-ic minerals in rocks. Later we will move into the unit called Plate Tecton-ics. In sixth grade we are working on applying our knowledge of the sci-entific method to the unit called Studying People Scientifically. Please remember that your sixth grade child should be receiving a homework packet on Mondays which are then due on Fridays. Working Lunches: Please remind your child to make up science activities when they are absent. Sometimes, your child will need to attend a work-ing lunch with a friend that has already completed the lad activity. I offer working lunches on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is a great opportunity for your child to get caught up when they have been absent. Sometimes your child can get caught up on a lab activity by checking out what I have posted on Canvas-Science-Announcements. The daily announcement in-cludes the daily agenda and links to pictures, videos, power point slides, worksheets, vocabulary notes etc.

November and December Intramurals Art Club Breakfast and a Book Dates: 11/3,11/17, 12/1, 12/15 Dates: 11/15, 12/6 Times: 4:00 to 5:30 PM Times: 8:00 to 9:00 AM Place: Art Room Place: Library Sponsor: Mrs. Roeda Sponsor: Mrs. Mayer

Ping Pong Girl’s Basketball Dates: 11/8, 11/15, 11/22, 11/29, Dates: 11/29, 12/6 12/6, 12/13, 12/20 Times: 4:00 to 5:30 Times: 4:00 to 5:00 PM Place: GMS Gym Place: LGI Sponsor: Mr. Kresca Sponsor: Mr. Rosselit

Washington, D. C. and Gettysburg Update The first fundraiser, Butter Braids is due November 3rd. Make sure the order and the money are turned into the main office on or before November 3rd. The white form attached to the brochure needs to be turned into the office as well. Pick up for the Butter Braids is November 18th. If you have sold more than 6 braids you will need someone to come to Grissom between 4pm –6pm to get your order. These frozen pastries need to be kept frozen so either delivery asap or plan on providing some freezer space until you get it to your customer. 8th grades will also have the opportunity to sell poinsettia in November. You will need to take orders and collect the money. The poinsettia are from Varner’s and are beautiful holiday plants. These plants will be delivered in early December. Pay attention to the announcements and flyers for more information regarding the fundraiser. • If you have not turned in the orange security form, it is past due. The form

needs to be turned in asap to Mrs. Rice or Mrs. Kummeth. • The second payment for the trip is January 26, 2016. Remember all pay-

ments need to be sent to Hemisphere Educational Travel. • Questions regarding the trip can be directed tp Mrs. Rice

(jrice@phm.k12.in.us) or Mrs. Kummeth (bkummeth@phm.k12.in.us) Happy Thanksgiving, Mrs. Rice and Mrs. Kummeth

Important Dates to Remember November 3rd- Butter Braids fundraiser is due in the main office. November 8th- Chick-Fil-A Give Back Night. Grape Rd. Location. (5:00 to 7:00 pm) November 11th- Veteran’s Day Program (9:00 to 10:30 am) November 15th- 4.0 Honors Breakfast (8:00 to 9:00 am) GMS Cafeteria November 24th/25th- Recess Days

Parents/Guardians, Penn-Harris-Madison utilizes the School Messenger® alert notification service to distribute emergency messages, such as school closings, delays and student attendance (for unexcused absences). School Messenger’s InfoCenter (infocenter.schoolmessenger.com) is the new parent/guardian portal which will allow you to set the preferences of how you want to receive these important notifications. Families with students in different schools will have all matching records linked to their accounts. You must have an email address on file with the school in order to utilize SchoolMessenger InfoCenter. If you do not, please contact the school to provide one. You will utilize this email address to create an account and login into InfoCenter. If you are providing a new email address or updating your email address with the school (Monday-Friday), please wait until the following day to logon on to infocenter.schoolmessenger.com to create your account. If you have any problems after providing your email address, please contact the school office. InfoCenter accounts are set up with the corresponding parent/guardian email addresses on file. If the school has only one email address on file, parents/guardians will share one account. If individual parents/guardians wish to have accounts set up sepa-

rately, they must provide separate email addresses. This will allow each parent/guardian to have their own InfoCenter ac-

count and set up their own preferences for their contact information. There can only be one email address per parent/

guardian.

If you wish to change your contact phone numbers listed in InfoCenter, you must contact the school. You will not see the reflective change until the following business day. At that point you can update your preferences. The preference configurations within SchoolMessenger InfoCenter allow you to set your consent state to also receive text messag-es and emails. At least one phone number must be selected for Non-school Hours Emergency, School Hours Emergency and

Attendance. These classify as emergencies and therefore you cannot opt to only receive these emergency notifications via

text or email. Please disregard the Survey box under the preference configurations. The District will not be using this feature at

this time.

Please visit infocenter.schoolmessenger.com today to create an account and set up your preferences. You can also manage your account by downloading the SchoolMessenger InfoCenter App from the App Store and Google Play.

Instructions for how to set up your account, with step-by-step directions and screen grabs are on the

P-H-M website at www.phmschools.org/parents/schoolmessenger.

New Way to Access Fliers of Community Events/Activities

Looking for the latest events and activities from area community organizations?

We’ve gone Paperless!!!

An online listing of non-school events & activities agencies have asked us to share

with P-H-M families:

www.phmschools.org/community-events-activities

website for

Just look for the bullhorn icon on the District website