The next three weeks will involve students showing what they know on the state’s Smarter Balance Assessment (SBA) and Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS). This week was the start of testing in ELA classes to measure students’ literacy skills.  Next week is the WCAS in science classes. The following week is the SBA for math taken in math classes. Students will take the tests on their laptops instead of taking a paper and pencil test. Attendance is critical! The results of the tests let educators know how to support student learning and it also lets students and families know where students are at academically.

May’s character trait is Responsibility. Students who display this trait are accountable, pursue excellence, and exercise self-control.

School will be closed on

Field Days in Glass Park with games and prizes. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays from July 6th to August 26th, 10am-1pm. Bussing will be available with pickup starting at 9am and drop-off starting at 1pm. Lunch will be provided every day from 12pm-1pm. Registration will be open on their website in a few weeks.

PAL (Spokane Police Activities League)

Athletic and academic programs as well as opportunities to build positive relationships with local police officers. Wednesdays from July 13th – August 10th, 12pm-3pm at Friendship Park. Lunch provided. Register at [email protected] 

Libraries in Spokane offer a variety of programs each week for kids of all ages. Check to see what is available here 

You can sign up for the FREE Splash Pass here . Aquatic centers will open June 20^th. 

This program is limited to students who have completed the 8^th grade or are in high school. Students will have the opportunity to explore a CTE class. Offerings include classes such as baking, automotive, cosmetology and so many more. Learn more here . Registration opens May 1^st and spots fill up FAST. 

The ZoNE  

Our summer sessions will run from 8:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. from June 21-July 1 and July 11 – 22, 2022 (July 4-8 will be a holiday week).

The Spokane Garry Summer Experience is free for current 7th graders moving into 8th grade and incoming 6th and 7th graders wanting to get acquainted with the middle school environment. 

To enroll your child in the Spokane Garry Summer Experience, please contact [email protected] or call 509.354.5127. Space is limited for each grade level. Please enroll early to ensure a spot in our summer program. 

The Spokane Indians Baseball team has reserved 25 seats in the lower left field section for 25 students and family members on Saturday, May 21st (Family Feast Night) and Wednesday, August 17th (Teacher Appreciation & Back to School Night)

(Tickets will be available for the August 17th game at a later date)

Contact Ms. Krause-Ayers for more information! [email protected]

Congratulations to the following students who have been nominated for AVID Students of Quarter 3. These students are recognized for their perseverance in the classroom, attendance, and being a positive role model for others at Garry Middle School.

Mrs. Sargent’s 6^th period 7^th grade AVID

Mrs. Tramp’s 5^th period 8^th grade AVID

Mrs. Tramp’s 6^th period 8^th grade AVID

Congratulations to Mrs. Tramp’s 6^th period AVID Elective class as they recently won the GPA competition and achieving their goal of a cumulative 3.1 GPA. Keep up the great work everyone!

Athletes:

Politicians:

Scientists/Doctors:

Writers:

Saturday, May 14: Jr. Lilac Parade. The parade begins at noon. I will need some parents to help out, including someone with a truck or van we can put equipment in. Estimated times 11:00 AM-1:30 PM. More specifics and itinerary will be sent home soon.  

Saturday, May 28: Silverwood. 9:00 AM-10:00 PM. Qualified students from all music groups. To qualify, students must be passing all classes, have attended all required performances throughout the year, have no recent suspensions, and attending all classes regularly and on time. There will be a $20 per person fee to participate. We will need 4-5 parent chaperones to go with us for the day, including someone with a van or truck for us to store instruments in. More specifics, itineraries, and permission slips will be sent home after the Jr. Lilac Parade.  

Thursday, June 2: Awards Concert at Garry Middle School. All Band, Orchestra, Choir, and Percussion students will perform. Concert will begin at 6:30PM, students should be in place ready to play by 6:00PM.  

Friday, June 3: First Friday performance at River Park Square. Jazz Band will be performing along with the Jazz Bands from Shaw Middle School and Rogers High School. Itineraries and permission slips will be sent home after our Silverwood performance.  

Monday, June 6: Advanced Band and Orchestra students to Rogers High School to rehearse with the Rogers High School Band and Orchestra. 8:00 AM-10:00 AM. Itineraries and permission slips will be sent home  

Tuesday, June 7: Combined concert with Rogers High School at Rogers High School. Advanced Band and Orchestra Students will perform along with the Rogers High School Band and Orchestra. Concert will begin at 7:00PM, students should be in place ready to play by 6:30PM.  

Congratulations to the students who are our new Spokane Garry Mentors! These students will be serving the Spokane Garry community by serving as role models to younger students, assisting with new student orientation and coordinating ASB events such as school spirit activities, dances, fundraisers, assemblies, and field day to name a few.

Our school is blessed to have many Marshallese students! In honor of our Marshallese families, we present a photo of the flag of the Marshall Islands, an island nation in the Pacific. Following World War II, the United States administered as a trust territory the area that later became the Republic of the Marshall Islands. When the first local government was introduced there on May 1, 1979, the occasion was heralded by the hoisting of a national flag, which had been created in a flag design competition. The winning entry was designed by Emlain Kabua, wife of the president of the new government, Amata Kabua. The blue background of the flag refers to the Pacific Ocean, the white stripe stands for brightness, and the orange stripe is for bravery and wealth.

The two stripes together suggest the Equator, which is located slightly south of the Marshall Islands. Growth and vitality for the country are reflected by the increasing width of the stripes. The white star has 24 points, referring to the municipalities of which the nation is composed. The four long rays stand for the capital, on Majuro atoll, and the three administrative centres of the subdistricts. Those rays also suggest a cross and therefore refer to the Christian faith of the Marshall Islanders.

Hello Garry Families! Can you believe we are so close to the end of the school year? As a parent myself, this is about the time I start thinking about how to keep my children entertained and academically engaged while not going crazy myself – the struggle is real! Summer learning loss is a big deal for many students though. Until a few years ago, I didn’t even know how significant summer learning loss was. According to the article Students return to school with significantly lower achievement scores, “(1) on average, students’ achievement scores declined over summer vacation by one month’s worth of school-year learning, (2) declines were sharper for math than for reading, and (3) the extent of loss was larger at higher grade levels.”  Because of this, our family tries to spend at least an hour a day growing our minds over summer break. I am thankful that there are so great resources in Spokane to help with this. In the Newsletter there is a list of local summer programs that will help kids have fun AND help address learning loss. If nothing else, spend some time as a family reading and learning something new every day. "An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." - Benjamin Franklin 

As always, if I can help support you or your family in any way please reach out. My phone number is (509)354-5170 and my email is [email protected]  

1^st place – Mrs. McHenry

2^nd place – Mrs. Palm

3^rd place – Mr. West

If you have questions email: [email protected] 

State testing is right around the corner. Spokane Garry Middle School students will complete the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA), the annual state measurement of student achievement and proficiency in ELA & Math in May. Seventh graders who took the truncated 6^th grade assessments in the fall will take the full 7^th grade ELA SBA the week of May 9^th and the Math SBA the week of May 23^rd. Eighth graders who took the abbreviated 7^th grade assessments in the fall will take the full 8^th grade assessments, ELA the week of May 9^th and Math the week of May 23. For 8^th graders, in addition to the ELA and Math SBA, they will also take the Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS) the week of May 16^th.

This is a great opportunity for students to show their growth over the 21-22 school year. The ELA and the Math tests are broken into two main sections: the computer adaptive test (CAT), which provides questions that get more challenging as students answer them correctly and less challenging as questions are answered incorrectly to find a student’s achievement level, and the performance tasks (PT), which are more open-ended questions where students demonstrate ability to support thinking with text evidence and rationale.

These assessments are delivered in content classes through a secure browser on their district provided laptop. It is important that students are in attendance and bring their charged laptop with them to school each day. Please let Mr. Hibbard know if there are questions about our state assessments.

Baseball - In Varsity Baseball action on April 28th, the Garry Ravens were victorious over the Shaw Vikings 15 to 1. Alex Christensen, Kolton Reed, and Cameron Kiefer led the way on offense. Kolton Reed and Camera Kiefer both having two RBI doubles and Alex Christensen with an inside the park homerun for the Ravens. Graham Nesbitt led the way in pitching for the Ravens- striking out 12 Vikings and giving up no hits and allowing one run on an error. The Mighty Ravens were back on the road against Salk Middle School, and home on Wednesday Night May 4^th for their home opener against the Chase Chargers! “Catch Some Spring Fever” and come out to support your Ravens Baseball Team this season!

7^th/8^th Track & Field                    April 11- May 27

7^th/8^th Baseball                             April 11- May 27

Sign up for Family ID here!

Would you like to play sports next school year? If so, you can get a free sports physical at Logan Elementary School Health Center on Tuesdays from 3:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m. The sports physicals take approximately 30 minutes and there are two interns on site. The Health Center is open until June 14^th for this school year and will reopen once school resumes. You may call them directly to schedule an appointment. You do not need any insurance for the sports physical however; you will need insurance to play sports after school. 

I am an 8^th grade mathematics teacher who also tutors for Raven Circle in the winter. I also coach Track and Field and 7^th grade Volleyball. This is my first year teaching at Spokane Garry Middle School, but I taught lessons at Garry while I was training to be a teacher at Gonzaga University!