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October 10, 2016
Welcome
Welcome to
FRONTRUNNER, Groveport Madison Schools' monthly community
e-Newsletter. Our goal is to provide parents and community members with news, accomplishments and updates associated with our students, schools, staff and school district.
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District's State Report Card Indicates Positive Student Growth
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Based on the results of the 2016 State Report Card, Groveport Madison Schools is seeing improvement in student achievement. Among the many indicators in the state report card, is the "A" the District earned for student progress. Students achieved more than a year's worth of learning over the course of the 2015-16 school year. The District also received an "A" rating for the academic growth of its gifted education students and for students who have struggled the most. In addition, Groveport Madison received a "B" rating for the progress accomplished by its students with disabilities. The District was one of only two central Ohio school districts (the other being Worthington City Schools) to earn an "A" on the student progress indicator of the report card.
There are still areas of the report card in which the District must improve, and there is a plan for doing so. "We have added new curricula, and we are providing ongoing training to our staff to enable them to reach beyond the traditional instructional approaches to connect with all of our students," said Superintendent Bruce Hoover. "We have added rigor to our instruction and have accelerated learning for our students who are ready to take on the challenges of college-level work while still in high school. We have increased our focus on career and job readiness, ensuring our students are prepared for well-paying jobs - jobs that will raise household incomes and reduce the impact that poverty has on our community. Finally, we have created more partnerships with county agencies to help address the greater needs of our community and we have begun to build parent partnerships across our community."
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GMHS Student Served as Buckeye Boys State Governor
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David Helm |
David Helm showed up to Buckeye Boys State ready to work. The Groveport Madison High School senior knew he wanted to run for governor at the annual convention where high school students create a mock government and work to pass legislation.
He arrived on the Bowling Green State University campus this summer wearing a tie and was ready to campaign. After defeating his primary opponents, Helm handily won the Buckeye Boys State gubernatorial election. The experience gave him a lot of insights into government that he anticipates will be useful in school and life. Back at GMHS this fall, Helm is taking Advanced Placement (AP) Government and looking at various leadership positions at school.
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"Cruising" Around the District!
September proved to be a busy month at Groveport Madison Schools. Students have had many exciting learning opportunities as they settle into their classes. For example:
- Students accepted Rachel's Challenge at Groveport ES.
- Peace Day was celebrated at Glendening ES.
- Dunloe ES held a Family Literacy Night.
- A motivational speaker visited MS South students.
- Dunloe ES held a Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.
- Groveport ES became a Monarch Butterfly Way Station site.
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Counseling Department adds Coordinator Position
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Juanda Jones
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In an effort to streamline counseling services and address the growing needs of our students, the District created a counseling leadership position. Juanda Jones, former school counselor at Middle School South, will serve as the new school counselor
coordinator.
The purpose of the position is to help create continuity among services throughout the grade levels, Jones said. "We want to make sure our services are as effective as possible and translate from the elementary schools to the middle schools and on into the high school in an effort to meet as many of the students' needs as possible in each building."
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Career Exploration Course New for Middle School Students
Beginning this school year, Groveport Madison seventh- and eighth-graders will experience a new computer-based career exploration course using a program through Naviance.com. Students will be introduced to 16 Career Technology Clusters, learn about what cluster or clusters might fit their interests, and begin to plan a path to pursuing jobs within those career clusters.
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District Service Center (DSC) Construction Update
Work on the new District Service Center, located at 4400 Marketing Place, in Groveport, is moving swiftly in preparation for a late December move. The exterior of the building is being painted; parking lots repaired, sealed and striped; and landscaping is being installed. Inside, crews are busy completing the metal-stud framing and are beginning to hang drywall. At the same time, plumbing and HVAC crews are installing ductwork, piping and other fixtures. The work remains on schedule and within budget. When completed, by consolidating all of the District's support functions into one location, Groveport Madison Schools will save an estimated $327,000 in annual lease/rental expenses.
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GM Preschool Earns Top Ranking in State Evaluation
Groveport Madison School District has earned top honors from the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) for its special needs preschool program. The ODE gave the District a "Five-Star Rating" - the highest possible rating - after a rigorous evaluation of the program, which serves a mix of special needs and typically-developing students.
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Preschool Teachers (L to R): Leeanne Neumeier, Sheila Downing, Cassie Rankin,
Julie Spero, Janice Landau
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District Adds Gifted Coordinator to Help Expand Services
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Lynnea Johnson
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Lynnea Johnson has joined the District as a coordinator of gifted services. She will focus on developing programming for high school students and assist gifted services supervisor Kelley Rains with services for children in elementary and middle schools.
For the 2016-17 school year, the District has added advanced sections of language arts, math and science designed to serve freshman and sophomore students who have been identified as gifted. Johnson and Rains will provide professional development to those teachers and the Advanced Placement teachers who serve gifted students as juniors and seniors. "We'll be working with those teachers to make sure they have the tools to meet the needs of our gifted kids."
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Behavior Specialist Helps Kids Succeed in Class
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Scott Brinker |
Scott Brinker wants to see all children in the District succeed. Brinker works with teachers and principals across the District to help students with behavioral issues develop strategies to become more successful learners.
Brinker, who has worked for Groveport Madison Schools for several years, has this year taken on the role of a full-time behavior specialist for the District. In addition to his undergraduate teaching degree, Brinker has a master's degree focusing on intervention services from Ashland University.
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Ryan Kelly Named 2015-2016 High School Teacher of the Year
The Albert Einstein quote that serves as Ryan Kelly's email tag line sums up the math teacher's philosophy about education: If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
Kelly, who was named as Groveport Madison High School's Teacher of the Year for the 2015-2016 school year, said he focuses on personalizing his lessons to his students' needs. "I try to figure out how it makes sense to them - how each kid goes about learning it," said Kelly, who has spent 10 of his 21 years as a teacher in the Groveport Madison School District.
Kelly is dedicated to helping students learn, said principal, Aric Thomas. He routinely asks to teach the students who have the most difficulty learning mathematics, Thomas said. "Mr. Kelly is a student-centered educator and breaks down content in a manner most accessible to his students," he said. "He shows an unwavering amount of patience for students and is supportive of their learning process."
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New School Improvement Coordinators at Asbury, Groveport and Sedalia Elementary Schools
In 2015, in an effort to raise academic achievement in the District, the Board of Education approved a $7.1 million plan to add critically-needed staff support for students and teachers.
The five-year, student achievement plan allocated funds to help buildings address their individual needs. To aid in the effort the district hired school improvement coordinators for each elementary school. For the 2016-2017 school year, three buildings - Asbury, Groveport and Sedalia Elementary Schools - have new professionals in these roles.
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Jennifer Maille
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Kerri Lloyd
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Sheryl Hernandez
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Community Connection
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High School Construction Update
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2016 GMHS Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees
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If you haven't been to a home football game or peeked around the corner of the current high school building recently, you have missed quite a sight!
Work on the new high school is moving quickly, with the majority of the masonry walls having been erected for the gymnasiums and athletics wing. At the same time, the remaining footers have been poured and work has begun on building the masonry load-bearing walls in the dining commons, auditorium, music rooms and academic wings. The project remains on schedule and is under budget.
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On Friday, Sept. 9, four individuals, as well as members of the 1919 Girls Basketball Team, were inducted into the Groveport Madison High School's Athletics Hall of Fame. The individual inductees include:
Lisa Miller Debiase - Class of 1989 (multiple sports)
Larry Drake - Class of 1999 (Boys Basketball)
Jack Coppess - Class of 1983 (multiple sports)
Gary Smittle - 22-year Head Varsity Baseball Coach
"These inductees represent some of the most successful athletes and coaches from Groveport Madison High School," said GMHS athletics director Steve Petros. "It is such a privilege to recognize them and their contributions to our high school." This is the fifth year the high school athletics department has hosted the event.
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GM Digital Preschool Program Taking Applications
Many parents are looking for an affordable, high-quality preschool program for their three- and four-year olds. Groveport Madison School District is currently enrolling preschoolers in our Early Learning Digital Preschool Program.
The program is designed to assist three- and four-year-olds develop strong reading, writing and math skills to prepare them for success in school. The program combines a digital (online) learning experience with monthly classroom activities, as well as workshops for parents.
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Important Dates to Remember
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DATE
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EVENT
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Oct. 13
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Teacher Release Day -
NO SCHOOL
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Oct. 14
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COTA -
NO SCHOOL
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Oct. 19
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Two-hour Late Start
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Nov. 8
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Waiver Day -
NO SCHOOL
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Home & School Connection
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Middle Years Newsletter
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Check out this month's Home & School Connection newsletter for practical ideas that promote parent involvement, effective parenting, and student success.
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Check out this month's Middle Years newsletter for strategies that show parents how to improve their children's school success--and behavior-- during the middle years.
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Share Good News About Groveport Madison Schools!
We know that great news occurs every day. We invite you to share positive news items with us via our social media outlets as well. News and information can be shared via personal messaging on Facebook (Groveport Madison Schools). You can also email us at
[email protected], or call us at (614) 492-2520.
Thank you,
Office of Marketing, Communications & Community Relations
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Office of Marketing, Communications & Community Relations
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