Here it is February already!  I hope you and your family are happy and healthy through this difficult flu season.  We have been doing pretty well with attendance of staff and students and are hoping that the end of the major flu season is in sight!

We start February off with Parent-Teacher conferences.  I am very excited that we have been able to secure a couple informational sessions this set of conferences.  Our students are faced with a lot of pressure and stress daily, due to social media. It grows and changes so fast, we can hardly keep up with it. To help keep us all informed we are bringing in some professionals to help us navigate through exactly what we need to be continually talking with our students/children about.  We are also going to be providing information on vaping. I worry our students are faced with vaping often in middle and high school, and like I have said in the past, it is so scary that few people know what they are really inhaling. I hope your family is able to catch some of these sessions, the more we continue to partner, the more our children will benefit!

Also remember to stop by the lost and found table during Parent-Teacher conferences. It is amazing how many items we collect each day!

MG21 Liberal Arts Charter School for the 21st Century is an alternative project-based school for grades 6-12 that services MGSD.  Read more...

 

Through the Foundation for Rural Housing an internet assistance program is available to pay for internet services in the home during the school year.    

Read more 

Click HERE for application

Feel free to speak with GDS Student Services - 839.8416.

Jumpstart for Incoming Freshmen

June 15-18

Class runs from 8:30 am - 2 pm with a 30 minute lunch

Bus transportation will be provided from GDS to MGHS

Click here for more information

Click here to register online

We teach our students about kindness and respect throughout the year, but February is a great time to celebrate friendship and kindness!  Teachers are encouraged to celebrate friendship and kindness with various community-building activities that also teach students about the value of these qualities.  Some of these activities may include making cards, doing acts of kindness, or working on a classroom or grade-level project.  Please avoid sending in valentines (cards or treats) so that these projects and activities can be created and owned by students as a group.  

Energy drinks such as Red Bull, Monster Bang, Spike, Red line, 5- hour, Rockstar, Arizona energy and many others, though often not easily identified on the products packaging, have extremely high amounts of caffeine and sugar and are marketed and easily accessible to adolescents. T he total amount of caffeine contained in some cans or bottles of energy drinks can exceed 500 mg (equivalent to 14 cans of common caffeinated soft drink. A lethal dose of caffeine is considered to be 200 to 400 mg/kg.  Caffeine can result in nervousness, disruption of sleep patterns, insomnia, restlessness, and tremors.  High amounts of caffeine can also trigger abnormal heart rhythms or seizures. High levels of sugar found in energy drinks is also problematic as high sugar consumption can cause an immediate burst in energy but then is followed by a sharp decrease in energy that leads to sluggishness, headaches, moodiness, and difficulty concentrating.     The American Academy of Pediatrics publication volume 127 Number 6 concludes that energy drinks pose potential health risks of developing neurologic and cardiovascular systems because of the stimulants they contain, and dietary intake should be discouraged for all children.

Source: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/127/6/1182  

Congratulations to GDS Honor Roll Students for their outstanding achievements.  Honor Roll GPA is 3.3 or higher.

 

Grade 6

Grade 7

Grade 8

 

 

Congratulations to the winners of the Character Award.  These were given to students who demonstrated Respect during the 2nd quarter. 

5th grade winners:  Shane Fisch, Kaitlyn Geib, Bindi Larson, Rylee Klinger, Anika Aravindan, Andrew Neal, Bella Martin   6th grade winners:  Fisher Bruckner, Ryken Finke, Elizabeth Baumgarten, Blake Leach, Carson Janisch, Danielle Becker, Kennedy Johnson, Eli Boger, Vanaysha Souphakdy, Henry Piec, Sherly Flores Zuniga, Addie Connelly, Lily Schneider, Megan Hanson, Dylan Dennis, Alexa Buelow

7th grade winners:  Amelia Litwicki, Isabella Koory, Terek Verhage, Ivy Stouffer, Cassie King, Anna Payne, Lucy Wurz, Michael Schnell, Matthew Cline, Claire Howes, Aniyah Steele Coney, Mattea Jaeb, Mason Buss, Sawyer Tolley, William Wright, Toni Kozich 8th grade winners:  Haylee Mack, Lukas Beck, Solina Switzky, Dylan Hesthaven, Daniel Koory, Sam Schwalbach, Belle Dehner, Kira Stack, Paxton Braun, Alex Munn, Lincoln Metcalfe, Zach Massie, Katelyn Everhart, Josh Ivory, Ava Hackel

GDS students competed at the Southeast Regional Science Olympiad Tournament held at UW-Milwaukee Saturday, January 25th. 27 total teams from 17 districts competed in the B-middle school division.

GDS Results: 

Katelyn Everhart & Jenner Zeutzius 1st place Mousetrap Car

Morris Salzmann 2nd place RoboCross

Blake Cook & Ethan Warnke 3rd place Reach For The Stars

Noah Thwing & Blake Cook 3rd place Solar Lab

Leon Li & PJ Meyer 5th place Crime Busters

Miriam Israel & Anna Fairweather 6th place Fossils

Cord Smith 7th place Game On

Adam Gray & Sam Braselton 11th place Circuit Lab

     

 

 

With frigid winter temperatures, please remember that liquid crystal display on your Chromebook can freeze and become fragile.  To help prevent cracks:  power it all the way down before heading outside, don't leave it in a cold car, and let it warm up to room temperature before turning it on.  

 

Click HERE for calendar

 

Students must have their picture ID to be able to attend any home athletic events at the HS or GDS.

 

Click HERE for Cottage Grove information/offerings.

Click HERE for Monona information/offerings.

Breakfast and lunch menus are available HERE.

Click HERE for Free and Reduced application and FAQ.

 

If your student will be absent from school for any reason, call the attendance line 24/7 at 608.839.8437 press 2.

If your child has a fever (>100 degrees), is vomiting, has diarrhea, has a rash you do not know the cause of, or has a communicable disease do not send them to school -  keep them home until they are 24 hours vomit/diarrhea/fever free without medication.  

 

If you are planning to help in the classroom or accompany your child on a field trip, you must complete the Online Volunteer Form.  

 

If you are visiting GDS during regular school hours, please be prepared with your driver's license or state issued ID.  For more information on the district's Raptor Visitor Management System click HERE.