Message from the Principal . . . .

Christmas season is a busy yet wonderful time of the year at Glen Este Middle School. It is such a pleasure to see the numerous ways that our student organizations and staff give back to the community to help those in need. What a great time to teach our students the importance of community service and that each person has a moral obligation to help make their community stronger and more desirable. I am excited to see our student leaders taking initiative by collecting loose change for the YWCA and to see how our staff takes part in helping our school community by organizing a “giving tree” to help our families.

I talk about academic achievement all the time. I constantly think about test scores and assessments and how we can measure student growth. However, much of our responsibility, between school and home, isn’t just about math, language arts, etc. Much of it is to help each child become a responsible, respectful, young adult. Educational scholars call this the “hidden curriculum.” In other words, it’s what we teach students in addition to the academic classes that they take. It can be measured right now by watching our students’ interactions throughout the day and seeing the ways they’ve gotten involved during the holidays to help others. I’m grateful that the staff is modeling this important lesson for our students by getting involved themselves!

I hope that you and your family create memories this holiday season that will last a lifetime and I wish each of you a Happy New Year.

Important Dates

December

21 Winter Break Begins

January

3 School Re-Opens
5 PTO Meeting, 6:30 P.M., Library
16 NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
20 2nd Quarter Ends
25 Early Release Day - 11:00 A.M.
27 Report Cards Mailed
30 Parent/Teacher Conferences, 4:30-8:00 P.M.

Winter Conference Dates

Monday, January 30 & Thursday, February 9
Conference Request Forms Will Be Mailed Home The First Week of January 2006
Be sure to send completed forms back asap!

Student Council Update

After listening to the concerns of their fellow students, student council will be working on programs that directly benefit the school. Three committees have been set up. The first will address cafeteria issues such as recycling, improving food choices and student behavior. The second committee will address restroom issues such as proper hand washing, painting stalls, etc. The third committee will be addressing hallway issues such as littering and bullying. Each committee will create educational posters and skits for broadcast on WGEM to inform the Glen Este student body.

Student Council Officers

• Co-Presidents - Matt Weinstein, Emily Large

• Vice-President - Eileen Parry

• Secretary - Mary-Kate Slone

• Treasurer - Conner Meranda

• Activities Coordinators - Suzy Hines, Lakin Louiso, Patrick Spall.

Student Council Representatives

8th Grade: Cody Clark, Tori Velten, Katie Cox, Amanda Sands, Dylan Gerding, Allison O’Moore, Casey Neff.

7th Grade: Michelle Thomas, Maetchen MacLeod, Jon Piatt, Leeann Malucky, Desiree Belew, Darian Smith, Hilary Morgan, John Hart, Danielle Porter, Ritika Shah.

6th Grade: Brianna Eberhardt, Matt Walter, Savannah Walling, Calvin Holloway, Lindsay Beasley, Peter Brandt, Steven Stoffel, Michelle Robinson, Alisha McDaniel, Heaven Finn, Meagan Woessner, Emily Conner.

WGEM News

The WGEM news team was invited to the Channel 5 News Studio on Wednesday, November 30 to watch the noon newscast from behind the scenes. From there, the team toured the News 5 newsroom, editing bays, computer graphics lab, video tape generating room and the main studio. The news team was introduced to meteorologists John Bateman, Kristin Cornett and Susanne Horgan. Many thanks to Channel 5 and also to Mrs. Parry and Mr. Branson for chaperoning. The WGEM news team members are: Emily Large, Gabrielle Branson, Matt Weinstein, Lynette Fenchel, Eileen Parry, Katie Cox, Katy Kleinwachter, Courtney Toler, Carley Dunkman, Savannah Sexton, Alyssa Sexton, and Hannah Macke. Mr. Bob Brosmer is their advisor.

Yearbook Sale Extended

You can buy a 2005-06 yearbook for $30.00. Please make checks payable to GEMS. Order forms are in the school office or you can put your money in an envelope. On the envelope, Include your name and your 1st period teacher’s name. Then turn it in to your teacher.

Honor Band

Congratulations to the following students for their participation in the District 14 Honor Band: Petra Bradley - trumpet; Elizabeth Dallman - clarinet; and Christopher Marchman - bass clarinet. These students performed in a concert with the honor band at Walnut Hills High School on December 4.

Sports News

Basketball

The boys basketball team will play on Tuesday, December 20 at home against Loveland and the girls team will play at Loveland. All basketball games start at 4:30 P.M. Seventh grade plays first and 8th grade immediately follows. Admission is $4.00 for adults and $2.00 for students.

Wrestling

The GEMS Invitational Wrestling Tournament was held Saturday, December 10. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped out! There will be a “Tri-Meet” with Milford and New Richmond at Glen Este on Tuesday, December 20 at 4:30 P.M. in the gymnasium.

GEMS Spirit Wear Makes GREAT Christmas Gifts!

Check out our Spirit Wear Shop link on the GEMS website (www.westcler.org/gm/spiritwear)! You can view items, see the cost, and print order forms from there. Spirit Wear will be sold at lunch times (10:45-12:45) until Christmas on Mondays and Fridays (after Christmas on Fridays only).

Team 6-3 News

Team 6-3 is hosting an Author’s Tea on Friday, December 16 from 12:30 until 2:00. The focus of the tea is to showcase students’ autobiographical scrapbooks. Parents and guests are invited!

"Mile Club" Members

Congratulations to the leaders in the Mile Club in Mr. Redmond and Mrs. Turck’s physical education classes. Once a week, the students complete one mile or more on the track. The leading students in each grade and their number of laps completed so far this quarter are listed below. Four laps on the track equals one mile.

6th Grade

7th Grade

8th Grade

Become a Better Reader!

Parents can help their children become better readers by trying some of the reading strategies below two or three times a week:

• Repeated Readings - Choose a story for your child to read. Ask your child to read aloud to you for three minutes. After three minutes is up, ask your child to read the same section again one or two more times.

• Error Correction - Choose a story to read. Ask your child to read a section aloud. Write down any mistakes your child makes or words he or she does not know. When your child is done reading, show him or her the words missed. Tell them the correct word. Then, ask your child to read the sentence again with the incorrect word in it. Repeat this until your child reads the sentence correctly.

• Listening While Reading - Begin reading a story out loud to your child. Make sure that your child follows along with his or her finger. Then ask your child to read the same section to you.

• Vocabulary Word Flashcards - As you read with your child, write down incorrectly pronounced words on flashcards. Write their definitions on the backs. After reading, present the flashcards to your child and ask him or her to read them aloud. If he or she answers incorrectly, say the correct way to say it.

• Question-Answering - Ask your child to read a story. After each paragraph, ask your child to stop reading, and ask him or her questions about that paragraph.

• Identifying Story Parts - Ask your child to read a story. After reading, ask your child to say or write down the topic (title), main idea (usually in first sentence), and supporting details. You can also ask your child to summarize the story in his or her own words. Make sure all important points in the story are in the summary.

PTO News

PTO would like to invite parents to attend the next PTO meeting on Thursday, January 5 at 6:30 P.M. in the library. Planning will begin on the spring Walk-A-thon. PTO would love to hear your ideas and suggestions. Please come!

Bigg’s Pay-Back Program

November’s receipt total came to $27,878, up $7,400 from October. The winning class for the highest class total was Ms. Bowman’s class with $6,566! That class will receive a donut party for their efforts! Congratulations! Keep sending in those receipts!

Spirit Wear

Starting Friday, January 6, spirit wear will be sold at lunch times every Friday from 10:45 A.M. - 12:45 P.M. Spirit wear will also be sold at all home basketball games. You can view spirit wear and check prices on the school website.

Thank You

PTO would like to thank Kim Meranda for continuing to refill the teachers gift baskets daily during the week of December 12.

2004 Straight-A Program

Once again, students who hit a home run academically can earn free Reds tickets as the Cincinnati Reds, The Cincinnati Post and the Kentucky Post kick off the 2004 Straight-A Program. The Reds have designed the Straight-A Program to reward academic achievement among students in grades 7 through 12. Students obtaining an “A” or “A-” grade point average are eligible for the free tickets. Qualifying students will be given an order form redeemable for tickets. Each Straight-A student will be able to select two free View Level tickets for one of the designated Straight-A dates on the Reds’ 2006 schedule. Eligibility will be based on first quarter grades in all subjects. A list of students who qualify will be posted outside the office in late January.

Emergency Dismissals

Early dismissal has occurred, in the past, because of inclement weather, power failure, or a threat to the school. This sometimes catches parents off guard. Like you, we do not want your child going home to an unsafe situation. It is important for families to discuss with their children what to do if an emergency situation would occur. Please talk to your children about where to go if no one is home or about carrying house keys with them. All families should have a contingency plan.

Are We Closed?

Winter weather is here! To see if school is closed Glen Este Middle School parents can call our School Closing Information Line at 947-7798. This line will have updated school closing information as received from the West Clermont School District. Please do not call the school office or transportation office to see if school is closed. We need to keep our lines open for emergency information. You can also go to our district’s website, www.westcler.org, to see if we are on any kind of delay. The notices are put on the front page of the web site under “announcements” by 5:30 A.M. Please listen to your radio or watch your television for WEST CLERMONT School District. Always continue to watch or listen for updates in case delays are changed.

Health Clinic News from Mrs. Scott

• As most people know, it is virtually impossible to escape illnesses in the school setting. Adequate sleep, eating breakfast every morning, covering the nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing, and regular hand washing will help protect your child from many contagious illnesses. If your child has not received a flu shot, it is not too late! Contact your physician to see if your child would benefit from one. If your child has a fever of 100.5 or higher, keep your child home for observation. A child should be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school.

• Students are allowed to carry cough drops to school with them but no other medication. The West Clermont policy states that the school must have written authorization from the physician in order for a student to take prescription or over-the-counter medication at school. (Authorization forms are available in the school office or by going to www.westcler.org/gm, click on "Staff" and then click on “Health Aide.”) The medication must be brought to school and picked up from school by a parent/guardian in the original container.

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