GMS Parents:



On April 10th and 11th GMS will be administering the STAAR test. Our campus will be closed to all visitors. Please make sure your child does not have a doctor's appointment on these days.



Tuesday, April 10th- 7th graders will be taking the Writing STAAR test and 8th graders will take the Math STAAR test.

7th and 8th grade students need to bring a sack lunch, book, and pencil to testing.
Students are not allowed to have an electronic device, cell phone or Blue Tooth watch in their testing room. We encourage students leave these items at home on testing days.


Wednesday, April 11th- 7th Grade students in Accelerated Math take the 8th Grade Math STAAR and 8th graders will take the Reading STAAR test.

7th and 8th grade students testing need to bring a book, and pencil to testing. (No sack lunch needed this day)
Students are not allowed to have an electronic device, cell phone or Blue Tooth watch in their testing room. We encourage students leave these items at home on testing days.


Patti Hodges M.Ed.
7th Grade Counselor
Gorzycki Middle School

March 20, 2018

Dear Gorzycki Families,

Family involvement at GMS is important and a huge part of the culture. However, after reflecting on the safety protocols at Gorzycki, there are a few procedures that need to be added to increase campus safety. The following procedures will be made effective starting on Monday, March 26th, 2018.

1. When visiting a student on campus, the visitor must be on the student's registration form. This will be a new procedure for lunch. For lunch, visitors must be on the student's registration form and eat in the commons with only that student. For efficiency, parents may make a reservation by sending a note in the morning with their child stating that they will be on campus for lunch. Students can submit the note before school (like when students leave during the day) and the office will check status.

2. During the school day, visitors are only allowed through the front doors in order to check in at the office before entering areas with students.

3. The visitor’s badge given to you by the office staff when you check-in must be worn on your shirt and must be easily visible for the entirety of your visit. Badges will identify specific locations for visitors. Visitors must remain in the area specified. Visitors without badges or that are in the wrong area will be escorted to office. Please remember to sign out in the office before leaving Gorzycki.

4. When on campus, do not open any outside doors for another person.

5. Visitors need to park in parking lots and not in fire lanes.

I realize that these are new procedures to practices that have been in place at Gorzycki for many years. However, the safety of your children is a priority and these protocols add another layer of protection. Visitors not following these safety procedures will be asked to leave the campus and might be prevented from future visits.

I appreciate your support and help in providing a safe campus for our students.

Cathryn Mitchell, Ph.D
Diane Gorzycki Middle School Principal
http://gorzyckiprincipalsblog.blogspot.com/
@GMS_DrMitchell

This Saturday March 24th, Gorzycki students are competing in Academic UIL @ Hill Country Middle School. If you are able, please consider signing up for a volunteer spot using the following link:

March 19, 2018

Dear Austin ISD families,

We hope that you and your family had a restful and relaxing Spring Break, but we understand that tension may be high as our children return to school in the midst of the situation in Austin involving explosives.

We want you to know we are coordinating with the Austin Police Department—along with state and federal partners—to take any and all necessary security precautions.

This is what our campus faculty and staff are doing:

• Being mindful of anything that looks out of the ordinary.

• Contacting the Austin Police Department immediately if they see anything suspicious.

• Conducting perimeter checks for any suspicious items inside or outside of school buildings.

• Carefully examining all mail deliveries.

We remain vigilant with our safety and security measures, and we need your help.

Talk with your students about being cautious. Make sure they understand they should not touch anything unusual or suspicious, and should report it to a trusted adult or the police. Remind other adults, your friends, family and neighbors to do the same. No matter how minor, if you see something, it needs to be reported to the Austin Police Department 9-1-1.

Additional actions you can take to improve safety when visiting your student’s school:

• Enter through the visitors’ entrance and check in at the front office.

• Do not let anyone “piggyback” on your entry into the school. Ask them to wait their turn.

• Wear your visitor sticker in a clearly visible location.

• Report anyone you see walking around campus without an AISD badge or visitor badge to the front office.

• Know that firearms are not permitted in school buildings at any time with the exception of those carried by law enforcement.

• Remember: “If you see something, say something.”

• Follow Austin ISD’s social media accounts that may be used in an emergency. On Twitter, follow @AustinISD and on Facebook, like https://www.facebook.com/austinisd/.

• Follow your school’s social media accounts that may be used in an emergency.

Additionally, you can talk with your child about reporting suspicious rumors or activity. Make sure your children can name two adults at school that they would feel comfortable alerting.

Our campus counselors are trained to support students and staff and are available if needed. For more advice about how to talk to your children about violence, visit the National Association of School Psychologists online resources: http://bit.ly/2khji7j.

The Austin ISD team works closely with the Austin Police Department to keep our students safe. Know that if you receive an alert from AISD, we are coordinating with APD to send those messages.

We are one, large Austin ISD family, and we care for all our children. It takes all of us to make school safe, and we thank you for your assistance in keeping our students safe.

Sincerely,

Paul Cruz, Ph.D.

Superintendent

Hey GMS students join the Cheerleaders in our PBL theme week to win prizes. Tickets will be given out in the morning for students best dressed for the theme of the day. The Cheerleaders will draw a winner daily during Excel.

The theme days are as follows:

Monday: Patriotic Day
Tuesday: Tie Dye Day
Wednesday: Decade Day
Thursday: Career Day
Friday: Wear Yellow to Spread Happiness

The Cheerleaders Thank you for Participating!