November 2022

Principal Message

Fall break is right around the corner! November is a busy month for us at GDS. We are ending quarter one and starting quarter two. Please work with your child on their schedule as Encore classes are changing. Advisory teachers are also working on this with all students.

Our Character word for the Month of November is Achievement. I would like for all students to understand that struggling with work is good. If students do not struggle, they are not challenging themselves enough, or we are not challenging them enough. This can be in a Math class as well as in a PE class. Times have changed, and COVID was not helpful to our students. We continue to instill in them that providing effort as well as being involved and engaged is essential to learning.

We continue to ask for your help with cell phones and bus behavior. We have had more cell phone infractions these past couple of weeks, and bus behavior continues to be difficult. The buses are full and students have a hard time understanding the pressures of bus driving. Students are struggling with keeping their hands to themselves, sharing their seats, and using indoor voices on the bus. We appreciate any help parents can provide with these ongoing situations.

We have also had a request from Nelson’s Bus Company that parents who pick up their students after school to please be considerate of where the buses come down from Granite Ridge. We ask that parents not park in the area that the buses need to travel as they turn right from the road between Granite Ridge and the GDS parking lot.

I plan to share another video message on November 17, 2022. I hope to have a guest or two speak about a few of our programs at GDS. I would also like to answer some of your specific questions. If you have a question or topic you would like me to talk about please email me at kristen.langer@mgschools.net. I will do my best to find the appropriate answers and talking points before November 17, 2022. If this goes well, I hope to go Live with parents in December.

I would like to thank our PTO and everyone who signs up to contribute to Parent Teacher conference meals and snacks for our teachers. I can not tell you how much we all appreciate your generosity. Those two days are meaningful to us! We look forward to talking with you all about your wonderful student(s).

Sincerely,

Kris Langer

OFFICE HOURS:

7:15 am - 4:00 pm (M-Th)

7:15 am - 3:30 pm (F)

CONTACT:

Main Office: (608) 839-8437

Attendance: (608) 839-2175

UPCOMING EVENTS:

November 4 - End of Quarter 1/No School
November 9 - Parent Teacher Conferences
November 17 - Parent Teacher Conferences
November 23 -No School
November 24 -No School
November 25 -No School
December 25-Jan 2 - No School
January 3 - Class Resumes
January 16 -No School
January 20 -No School
February 24-27 -No School

Teen Cuisine Chopped Lab

Teen Cuisine was working on their final lab for the quarter. For this lab students were given three ingredients to choose from for the center of their dish. Their options were, molasses, chicken and apples. They were in charge of finding recipes, making grocery lists and organizing their teams' roles in the kitchen. Each group did an amazing job and they wanted to share their work with you all!

Winter Giving & Receiving

Dear MG Community,

We want to share with you some upcoming changes to our Winter Wishes program. After careful consideration, we are looking to provide support throughout the year to families when in need. This follows many months of discussion, as well as gathering feedback from the families we have supported in the past. We have found that we can best support by providing food and resources throughout the year, rather than focusing on December. While this may in part be due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is a trend that is not going away and we anticipate supporting our families in different ways moving forward. If your family is interested in receiving support for holiday gifts specifically, the Empty Stocking Club is accepting applications in November for the gift distribution on December 14-15 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. Please visit this site to apply and for more information: https://www.emptystockingclub.com/toy-depot. You can also call United Way by dialing “211” to find out about programs available.

We are so appreciative of the generous support over the years and we know that giving back to the community and helping those in need is important to many of our Monona Grove families. For families who wish to give, we are asking for donations of gift cards in $15, $20, and $25 denominations to grocery stores such as Woodman's, Piggly Wiggly, and Pick N' Save, as well as larger retailers such as Walmart or Target. Gift cards to gas stations such as Kwik Trip are also appreciated. Donations can be brought to your schools' main office and will be distributed to families when they are in need.

If your family is in need of support, please reach out to your student services contact at:

Molly Hartshorn - (608) 839-2167

Andrew Burke - (608) 839-2165

Jessica Schilitz - (608) 839-8434

Thank you for your flexibility and support as we adapt and grow with this new change.

Please see your email for information about the Winter Wishes program.

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Winter Giving & Receiving (Regalar y recibir durante el invierno)

Estimada comunidad de MG

Queremos compartir con ustedes algunos de los próximos cambios en nuestro programa Winter Wishes (Deseos de invierno). Después de una cuidadosa consideración, en cambio, buscamos brindar apoyo durante todo el año a las familias cuando lo necesiten. Esto sigue a muchos meses de discusión, así como a la recopilación de comentarios de las familias que hemos apoyado en el pasado. Hemos descubierto que podemos apoyar mejor proporcionando alimentos y recursos durante todo el año, en lugar de centrarnos en diciembre. Si bien esto puede deberse en parte a la pandemia de COVID-19, es una tendencia que no va a desaparecer y anticipamos apoyar a nuestras familias de diferentes maneras en el futuro. Si su familia está interesada en recibir apoyo para regalos navideños específicamente, el Empty Stocking Club está aceptando solicitudes en noviembre para la distribución de regalos el 14 y 15 de diciembre en el Alliant Energy Center en Madison. Visite este sitio para presentar su solicitud y obtener más información: https://www.emptystockingclub.com/toy-depot. También puede llamar a United Way marcando “211” para conocer los programas disponibles.

Estamos muy agradecidos por el generoso apoyo a lo largo de los años y sabemos que retribuir a la comunidad y ayudar a los que necesitan ayuda es importante para muchas de nuestras familias de Monona Grove. Para las familias que deseen donar, estamos solicitando donaciones de tarjetas de regalo en denominaciones de $15, $20 y $25 a supermercados como Woodman's, Piggly Wiggly y Pick N' Save, así como a minoristas más grandes como Walmart o Target. También se agradecen las tarjetas de regalo para gasolineras como Kwik Trip. Las donaciones se pueden llevar a la oficina principal de su escuela y se distribuirán a las familias cuando las necesiten.

Si su familia necesita apoyo, comuníquese con su contacto de servicios estudiantiles en:

Molly Hartshorn - (608) 839-2167

Andrew Burke - (608) 839-2165

Jessica Schilitz - (608) 839-8434

Gracias por su flexibilidad y apoyo a medida que nos adaptamos y crecemos con este nuevo cambio.

Feliz Dia de los Muertos!

Ms. Vesperman's global arts class learned all about this bright and beautiful Mexican holiday and they got to create their very own paper mache sugar skulls!

PTO News

The GDS PTO will be providing dinner to our teachers during parent teacher conferences this year. Please mark your donated items “For PTO” and drop off at the GDS office by the assigned day.

Either click HERE or see below for the link to the sign up genius.

There’s also an option to donate cash to offset the cost of the dinners. so much for supporting the PTO and our amazing GDS staff!

Support the GDS PTO and our schools! SCRIP is one of the biggest (and EASIEST) fundraisers we have! Click HERE for an order form.

Yoga at GDS

PTO Holiday Festival & Craft Fair

Glacial Drumlin school will once again be the location for the Annual Craft Fair being held Saturday, December 3 from 9am-3pm. The craft fair is organized by the Glacial Drumlin PTO and is part of Cottage Grove's Christmas in the Grove celebration. This year's event will include over 55 crafters/vendors (over 2/3 of whom live within 15 miles of Cottage Grove) selling a wide variety of unique crafts and merchandise for holiday gifts, or even something for yourself!

There will be concessions, a kids craft room, and booth by Infiniti Martial Arts to help entertain the younger crowd!

Prospective vendors, there are still a few spots available so if you're interested in being part of this great event contact John Radovan at jradovan1@yahoo.com. We look forward to seeing you there!

GDS Concerts

Click HERE for GDS concert dates.

Work Permits

Available to students between 14 and 17 years of age.

What's required?

Minor's birth certificate or state ID (original/no copies)
Minor's social security card (original/no copies)
Letter from employer expressing intent to hire, on employer's letterhead, describing job duties and hours
Parent's written consent
$10 permit fee

Call ahead to ensure staff are available to assist, (608)839.8437.

Need to Pay Fees or Change email or phone number?

Please keep your contact information update today in Infinite Campus. Click HERE to begin.

MGSD requests all families pay fees online via IC. Paying fees online is free.

Forgot your IC portal log in, no problem. Click HERE to request help.

5301 Monona Drive, Monona, WI 53716 Phone: (608) 221-7660 Fax: (608) 221-7688