Cultivating minds and hearts through the pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. |
|
Weekly Newsletter
January 30, 2022
Table of Contents
Quick Links
|
|
Letter from the Headmaster
Dear Great Hearts Monte Vista North Families,
Congratulations to all our Middle School Spelling Bee participants and our Champion, Brigid Hogan!
|
As a reminder, Friday, 2/4 is an Early Release Day. 6th-12th grade students will be released at 1:15pm.
Be sure to review the Clubs section of this newsletter-- we have a new Film Club being offered this quarter!
You may review our Spring tutoring schedule here and it is also linked on our school website under "Parent Resources."
Finally, I'm pleased to announce the arrival of our newest Lion. Mr. and Mrs. Walker welcomed their third child, Samuel Joseph, on November 29th. He weighed in at 8 pounds even. Everyone is doing well. If you would like to provide a meal for the Walker family during this busy time, you can sign up to do so here.
|
Michael Mathie
Headmaster, GHMV North
|
|
Both Middle School Boys Basketball Teams had BIG wins this week! |
|
Congratulations to the High School Swim Team for being the 2022 UIL District 29-5A Champions! Outstanding job to all the swimmers that set both school and District records! We wish you the best of luck as you advance to Regionals in Corpus Christi this week.
Both the A and B Middle School Boys' Basketball team made playoffs! The first round of semi-finals will be played at home on Monday night. Come cheer our boys on as they take on Castle Hills and New Braunfels Christian Academy!
The HS Boys' Basketball team have two home District games this week! Come support our Lions as they fight to make playoffs.
Great Hearts Monte Vista is excited to offer the following SPRING SPORTS: Golf, Track and Field, Baseball and Softball.
Please register your student athlete here no later than this Tuesday, February 1 and attend the spring sports kickoff meeting on Monday, February 7 at 4:00 PM.
Competitions Last Week
Monday, 1/24 - MS Boys Basketball vs. NBCA @ Home, B team 4:30 PM, A Team 5:30 PM
Monday, 1/24 - HS Boys Basketball lost to Marion
Tuesday, 1/25 - MS Boys Soccer lost to Concordia
Tuesday, 1/25- HS Boys Basketball lost to Cole
Tuesday, 1/25 - HS Girls Soccer beat Gonzalez High School 4-1
Tuesday, 1/25 - HS Boys Soccer beat Gonzalez High School 1-0
Thursday, 1/27 - MS Girls Soccer lost to Concordia
Thursday, 1/27 - MS Boys A & B Basketball teams beat Keystone
Friday, 1/28 - HS Boys Basketball @ Northern Oaks, JV - 5 PM, Varsity - 6:30 PM
Saturday, 1/29 - UIL 5A Districts Championship for High School Swimming, 10 AM at Northside Natatorium
Competitions This Week
Monday, 1/31 - MS Girls Soccer @ Cornerstone, 4:30 PM
Monday, 1/31 - Boys Basketball vs. NBCA @ Home, B team 4:30 PM, A Team 5:30 PM
Tuesday, 2/1- HS Boys Basketball vs. Nixon-Smiley at home, JV - 5 PM, Varsity - 6:30 PM
Friday, 2/4 - HS Soccer @ KIPP, Girls - 3:30 PM, Boys - 4:45 PM
Friday, 2/4 - HS Boys Basketball vs. Luling @ Home, JV - 5 PM, Varsity - 6:30 PM
Friday 2/4 - Saturday, 2/5 - UIL 5A Regional Championship for High School Swimming in Corpus
With a strong dose of Lion Pride!
Jennifer Jones
Athletic Director, GHMV North
|
|
Matching Gifts: Free Money for our School!
Did you know that you can double or even triple your Community Investment donations to GHMV? Many companies will match their employees’ donations to our school through their Corporate Gift Matching Programs. And it’s an easy way to increase the impact of your donations! Inquire with your Human Resources department to find out if your company offers a matching gifts program. Please contact Jacquie Fagan with any questions.
The first step? Making your Community Investment gift HERE!
|
|
Friday, 2/4 is an early release day--6th-12th grade students will be released at 1:15pm. As a reminder, students will eat lunch on campus.
|
|
Chess Club (6-12) meets Tuesdays in Rm 261 during Lyceum – contact Mr. Floyd
*NEW*Film Club (9-12) meets Wednesdays in Rm 311 during Lyceum (and after school on viewing days) – contact Mrs. Mack
Food Cooking Club (6-12) meets Thursdays in Rm 105 during Lyceum -- contact Mr. West and Mrs. Dotts
*Registration required, $20 fee for the year: click here to register
Honor Choir (6-12) meets on Mondays and Wednesdays in Rm 261 during Lyceum – contact Mr. McMurrin
Lab Assistants (9-12) meets Monday-Thursday in Rm 105 – contact Mr. Cammarota (they are still accepting applications)
Math and Engineering Club (9-12) meets Mondays in Rm 105 – contact Mr. Buchanan
MathCounts (6-8) meets Mondays in the Cove – contact Mrs. Cobb
Middle School Drama Club (6-8) meets Tuesdays in the Library – contact Ms. Potter, see this email for more details
*Registration required, $30 fee for the year: click here to register
Mock Trial Club (9-12) meets Tuesdays (Rm 307) and Thursdays (Rm 403) – contact Mrs. Gonzalez
*If you are interested in registering for this club, it will be $25 for the year – please reach out to Mrs. Gonzalez for more information
Spirit Club (8-12) meets Wednesdays in the Cove during Lyceum– contact Mr. West
SPQR Club (6-8) meets Thursdays in Rm 261 – contact Ms. Bieganek and Ms. Kleven
Swing Club (9-12) meets Mondays in the Gym – contact Ms. Bieganek and Mr. Thibodeaux
Yearbook Club (9-12) meets Mondays and Thursdays in Rm 104 – contact Mrs. Lopez, Mrs. Odle, and Ms. Guerra
|
|
9th - 12 grade students and parents:
Throughout the year the College Counseling center will be hosting workshops, individualized appointments, college representative visits, SAT/ACT test preparation resources, financial aid and scholarship resources, and much more! The College Counseling website is a great start for resource information.
12th Grade:
- Check your email daily!
- Update your college lists in Naviance regularly and update Naviance once you begin to receive college decisions.
-
Work on FAFSA and Outside Scholarship Applications. Many colleges have FAFSA priority deadlines in early January. For more information on Financial Aid and Outside Scholarships, please click here. San Antonio Area Foundation Scholarship application opened up for Seniors on December 1. Please click here for more information. This is a great way to apply for over 100 local scholarships.
11th Grade:
-
Check your email daily! If you don’t have an email account of your own, this is a good time to discuss creating one for college purposes with your parents. Make sure to update your college counselor if your email has changed or you have recently created a new email account.
- If you are having any issues with accessing your Naviance account, please contact College Counseling.
-
Sign up for the Great Hearts Virtual Symposium and College Fair hosted by our Arizona Great Hearts Academies. Additional details were emailed to you. Registration is open to any 10th and 11th grade families. Click here to register by February 1st.
- Junior Outside Scholarship Opportunities-
-
Coolidge Scholarship - Deadline: Extended deadline to Wednesday, January 26 at 4:00pm CT. Please review all criteria for this full ride scholarship opportunity by clicking here.
-
For additional outside scholarship search sites, please click here.
-
Take a FREE practice ACT exam through Revolution Prep. See more details here.
-
All 11th graders will take the SAT exam free of charge on campus on March 2nd. Prior to testing, we recommend that you utilize the Khan Academy, free personalized practice.
10th Grade:
- Check your email daily! If you don’t have an email account of your own, this is a good time to discuss creating one for college purposes with your parents.
-
Sign up for the Great Hearts Virtual Symposium and College Fair hosted by our Arizona Great Hearts Academies. Additional details were emailed to you. Registration is open to any 10th and 11th grade families. Click here to register by February 1st.
- GHTX District Virtual Introduction to College Night - February 8, 2022 - 6:30pm.
9th Grade:
- Check your email daily! If you don’t have an email account of your own, this is a good time to discuss creating one for college purposes with your parents.
- GHTX District Virtual Introduction to College Night - February 8, 2022 - 6:30pm.
|
|
ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES FOR COVID-19:
If your child tests positive for COVID-19, please notify your school nurse as soon as possible. Your child may return to school when all three of the following criteria are met:
1. At least one day (24 hours) has passed since recovery (resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications).
2. The individual has improvement in symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath).
3. At least ten days have passed since symptoms first appeared, or in the case of an asymptomatic individual, ten days since positive test.
Families will be notified when any student or faculty in their child’s section tests positive for COVID-19. We will no longer routinely quarantine close contacts.
Close Contacts:
Great Hearts Texas will not conduct contact tracing for cases that occur on campus, if a scholar is known or suspected of being in close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual, parents may opt to quarantine their child for up to 10 days and this will be an excused absence.
CDC guidelines (fully vaccinated) scholar will need to wear a mask around others for 10 days, test on day 5 (if possible). If more symptoms develop, they should stay home and get tested.
CDC guidelines (not fully vaccinated) Scholar will need to stay home for 5 days. After initial 5 days, continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days.
o If you can’t quarantine you must wear a mask for 10 days.
o Test on day 5 (if possible).
o If more symptoms develop, they should stay home and get tested.
Testing:
Rapid COVID-19 testing is available free of charge to any student or staff with COVID-like symptoms, at the discretion of the campus RN. Consent for testing is required.
Carla M. Leeseberg, RN, MSN/Ed | School Nurse
To stay connected with current policies for COVID 19, use the following link.
|
|
We are pleased to announce that Homework Club is now available daily beginning at 4:00 pm Please follow this link to sign up!
Homework Club
Homework Club is a place for your student in grades 6 – 12 to complete homework, receive peer tutoring, and quietly socialize with friends in a structured, supervised environment. The program runs on regular school days from 4:00 until 5:30PM and on early release days from 1:45 until 5:30PM. There is no Homework Club during vacations and holidays when school is not in session. Children MUST be picked up before 5:30 pm or a $20 late fee will be charged. For details on the program, please read the document titled After School Policies, Procedures, and Programs.pdf. Please note that Homework Club is a separate program from After-School Athenaeum (for grades K-5). Multiple child discounts cannot be applied across the two programs.
What Homework Club is...
Homework Club is a safe, structured environment in which students may quietly work on homework until their parents arrive to pick them up. While we allow for quiet peer tutoring, it should be noted that Homework Club is not a tutoring service. Homework Club monitors will be happy to answer the occasional question, but they will not be able to work individually with students for extended periods. Students who require individual tutoring should make arrangements with their teachers, or they may take advantage of peer tutoring. Homework Club monitors expect that students will work independently on their homework, and that, once their homework is finished, they will read, work ahead, play some of the quiet games we provide, etc. Monitors will not be checking to see that each student has finished his or her homework. Completing homework is each student’s responsibility.
If you believe you may qualify for tuition assistance, please contact, Tahra Canady, to confirm that you qualify. Any applicable tuition discounts will be applied to your online account, so please do not proceed with registration until you have received confirmation from Mrs. Canady.
|
|
Free Breakfast and Lunch! |
|
This school year, Great Hearts Texas will be offering healthy meals every school day to all students at no cost! We are excited about this opportunity from the Texas Department of Agriculture to serve over 8,000 students in Texas. (Note: Second meals will be charged full price. A La Carte items such as milk will be charged if purchased without the full meal.)
While no further action is required from your students to participate, we highly encourage you to fill out the Free and Reduced Application for other discounts and benefits to our school. Please see full information and instructions in the email link immediately below.
***The 2021-2022 Free and Reduced Lunch Applications are now available to complete online. You may apply online at mymealtime.com.***
If you did not receive your child’s Mealtime ID or if you have any further questions, please contact Mrs. Canady
|
|
We receive our daily State funding based on the number of students who are in their classrooms at 10:00 am. Therefore, we encourage parents to schedule appointments before or after that time, if possible, so that the student is in their seat during attendance.
For absences, please email Amanda Lopez if your student will be out for the day. When students return, please remember to bring a doctor's note if appropriate. If email is not available, leave a message on the attendance line at 210-888-9485, option 2 for Upper School, then option 1 for the attendance line.
Documentation via phone, e-mail, handwritten note, or doctor's note is required for ALL days a child is absent from school.
After school/end-of-day appointments: Early pick-up must occur by 3:15 p.m. on regular school days and 1:00 p.m. on early release days. After that time, students will be dismissed at the usual time.
Thank you for your attention to these important matters!
|
|
Each year we reserve some dates within our school calendar as R&R days. These are weekends when our students will not be assigned homework, giving them important time to rest and relax. Please make note of these dates.
|
|
GHMV Alumna Emily Osborn attended the American Chemical Society Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas with fellow ACU Chemistry and Biochemistry majors. Emily is a past GHMV Valedictorian and attends ACU on a Presidential Scholarship.
What a wonderful opportunity, Emily! We continue to be incredibly proud of you.
|
|
If you would like to submit a feature for this section, please email Jacquie Fagan with details and a photo. We'd love to hear from you!
|
|
Parent Service Organization |
|
The Great Hearts Monte Vista Parent Service Organization (PSO) includes the parents/guardians of every student at the school. We are glad you are here and want to help you get involved in supporting our school. Contact information for PSO officers is located at the bottom of this section.
Battle of Flowers Parade – Friday, April 8
|
|
Hey remember when we were going to do this in April 2020???
GHMV didn’t participate because… well, there was no parade.
It’s happening this year. Stay tuned for more info… we need a ton of help!!
2022 GHMV Spring Carnival – Friday, April 29
|
|
Please mark your calendars for GHMV Spring Carnival on Friday, April 29!
Will we need a ton of help for this event, too? Absolutely. Lots of help is needed. Details coming soon.
PSO, we have not done big, big things in a while. We have a chance to make this a successful event and hope you will consider participating in some way. “Many hands make light work” and a fun time for GHMV families and all this genuinely impacts our kids’ school and teachers in a positive way.
Stocking the Lounge – FEBRUARY – 9th Grade Families
|
|
PSO stocks the Teachers’ Lounge throughout the year by assigning a Grade Level to a month during the school year. For the entire month of February, 9th Grade can take care of GHMVN Faculty and Staff by providing drinks and snacks. Families can help when they can, all month long.
Eighth Grade Families: you still have some days to do your part this year. To be honest, we’ve only had one grade show up to bring things for the lounge. You don’t have to purchase enough for ALL the faculty and staff… whenever you’re out shopping, just pick up a box of this or that and send it in with your student. If many families do this, the lounge will easily be stocked each month. And thank you!!
Ninth Grade Families: okay, it’s your turn! In January, we are calling on you to help stock the teachers’ lounge. We need k-cups and snacks. Here are ideas on what to drop off this month...
**K-cups, pretzels, nuts, popcorn, chocolate, granola bars, cookies, kind bars, trail mix, dried fruit, fresh fruit, ramen noodles**
There are two ways to deliver treats to the Upper School:
(1) Drop items off at the front desk anytime during your assigned month or
(2) Purchase items online and have them shipped to
Great Hearts Monte Vista North
319 E. Mulberry Ave.
San Antonio, TX 78212
9th through 11th Grade Families: your turn is coming up! Here is the plan:
March – 10th Grade
April – 11th Grade
Thank you for supporting our teachers this way.
Luncheons and Treats for Upper School Teachers & Staff
|
|
Information about the next luncheon will be posted here in the newsletter and in the PSO facebook groups. If you have questions or would like to help with future events, please message Anna Rosedale.
Human Letters Symposium – Friday, January 21
|
|
On January 21, GHMVN held the 7th annual Humane Letters Symposium for high school students. The PSO helped with food and drinks for students and faculty, and served breakfast, lunch and snacks throughout the day.
Huge thanks to the parent volunteers who helped during the symposium event: Diana Chase, Diana Dragonne, Noelle Goforth, Stephanie McClain, and Kristina Spice. You helped in a big way and it was greatly appreciated.
While this was an official school event (not a PSO event), a great deal of effort and time went into planning the symposium by many teachers and staff… the PSO would like to thank to Mrs. Gunn, Mrs. Faesser, Mrs. Fagan and Mrs. Canady for their help and direction with planning and tables and serving that day.
Volunteering at GHMV North
|
|
Information about the next luncheon will be posted here in the newsletter and in the PSO facebook groups. If you have questions or would like to help with future events, please message Anna Rosedale.
Volunteering at GHMV North
|
|
The GHMV Parent Service Organization focuses primarily on events and activities that align with our goal of service to this school. PSO offers different volunteer opportunities so all Parents have a chance to be involved at some point during the year.
*****
If you would like to help with events for the 2021-22 school year, please add your email to the PSO Parent Volunteer List here: https://ghmvpso.org/volunteer
PSO Calendar of Events
Stay Connected: GHMV North PSO and Grade Level Facebook Groups
|
|
Parents and caregivers can join Facebook groups for PSO announcements and for each grade level. These are unofficial group pages and are not managed by Great Hearts Monte Vista South or School Administration. The groups are monitored for appropriate content. No buy-sell-trade posts.
The groups contain important information and updates. You can search for questions you may have or ask in the group. It’s a great resource if your student is not able to reach their homework buddy.
Questions about Facebook groups may be sent by PM or email to GHMV PSO.
GHMV PSO Officers and Leadership Team:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
