George McGovern Middle School

6221 W. Maple St., Sioux Falls, SD 57107

Where attitude is everything, and the attitude is one of respct.

Principal Mr. Tim Koehler Assistant Principal Mr. Richie Hutchinson Intern Asst. Principal Ms. Beckie VanDrongelen

Important Phone Numbers

Main Office 367-4440 Office Hours 7:45-5:00 Attendance 367-4438 and Health 24 hr voicemail Counseling 367-4435 and Registration Kitchen Manager 367-4492 Fax 367-4434 IEP Facilitator 367-4481

Facebook Page: George McGovern Middle

School PTA

Publ ished Monthly

Issue No.0045

Important Dates

May 3— 9:15 to 9:45 am—CODE to the Future Showcase, students Pro Time room. May 3: Ensembles Night Jazz Band, Gryphon and Expressions

Principal Koehler’s News

May 2019

Dear GMMS Families, Despite the weather pretending otherwise, the end of the school year is fast approaching. But the school year isn’t over yet! In addition to the academic work and learning, we have left to accomplish, the next few weeks are filled with many opportunities and experiences for our students. As always, we encourage you to take an active role in building relationships with your child, our staff, and the community. We thank you for your continued support of our efforts as we work together to provide the best middle school experience for your child. As we move towards the end of the school year, it is important we stress to our students the importance of a strong finish. In addition, please feel free to discuss your student’s goals for the next school year and connect how the finish to this year can lead to a great start for next fall. The choices we make today have a large impact on the options that we have available to us tomorrow. As each year closes, we begin to reflect on our 8th-grade students. They have grown tremendously during their time at GMMS. I can’t help but wonder who they’re going to become and what they’re going to contribute to this world. As a class, they have matured so much over the last three years and they have certainly made an impact on George McGovern Middle School. Please let your son/daughter know how grateful we are for each of them, no matter what we have navigated this year. Each of them contributes in a special way, and I hope they will always know how much they matter. These kids are great kids, and we are glad they were a part of GMMS! As a final reminder, the last day for students will now be May 24. This is a change in the calendar to make up for the days that have been missed due to weather.

Have a great summer!

Tim Koehler GMMS Principal

President’s Bowl - Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt High Schools 1 Mile? 5K? or 10K Runs…

Friday, June 21, 2019 Riverdale Park

Come support your Sioux Falls Public Schools Learn more about this community building event below website:

http://www.allsportcentral.com/EventInfo.cfm?EventID=65661

Building the Future

By Dr. Brian Maher, Superintendent

How quickly a year flies by! It is hard to believe yet another school year is

wrapping up and that it has been a year since a task force of 30 Sioux Falls taxpayers

outlined a construction plan for the future of Sioux Falls Public Schools!

The summer months are traditionally a busy time for maintenance and construction

work in schools. With students and staff on summer break, custodial crews and

contractors have the freedom to complete their work without noise and construction

dust impacting learning. This summer, however, things are being “throttled up” even more than

normal!

Dirt work, footings, and foundation structures are on the “to do” list for two new schools that

were overwhelmingly approved by voters in the $190 Million bond election last September. Thomas

Jefferson High School will begin taking shape in the northwest corner of Sioux Falls, not far from the

Career and Technical Education Academy near Madison St. & I-29. On the other side of town, similar

work will begin on Ben Reifel Middle School, just east of Highway 11 and north of 41st Street. Both

schools are set to open in the Fall of 2021.

These two flagship projects define the exciting growth that continues in Sioux Falls and the

commitment of residents who believe in providing a high-quality education for all students. Another

large project taking place this summer and scheduled to be ready by fall will increase space for the

popular music program at Memorial Middle School.

Support of the bond also puts a new elementary school on the docket for 2024 and it makes

improvements to 13 other existing buildings; including finalizing our work on entrance redesigns at two

schools for improved safety and security and adding classrooms, gym space, and music and art rooms at

several elementary schools.

This work would not be possible without the support of our community. As your

superintendent, I am grateful to know that Sioux Falls appreciates the value of investing in children.

Progressive decisions that support public education result in a more productive workforce and a more

welcoming community for all.

We will be finishing our unit about Imagination and moving on to practicing more reading skills in our Exploration Unit.. Additionally, we are preparing to take the final MAP test over

reading and language usage. Please encourage your child to read over the summer.

Read together, talk about reading; just keep kids reading.

We will spend some time working with surface area, decimal calculations, and percents. We will also be preparing for the

final MAP test of the year.

We will finish the year talking about Christianity and Islam at the beginning of may! The final weeks will be spent

learning about Middle Age topics that the students have picked.

Those topics will include; 100 years war, the black death, and the vikings!

We will play a 3 day long game and do an escape room!

We have finished our unit on water and atmosphere. We are now starting a final unit on

astronomy and phases of the moon. We will also look at galaxies, black holes, and the

various types of stars.

LANGUAGE ARTS/

READING: brigid.berger@k12.sd.us

lance.cowan@k12.sd.us marissa.larson@k12.sd.us

MATH:

amy.booth@k12.sd.us geoff.smith@k12.sd.us

cassey.penney@k12.sd.us patti.hancock@k12.sd.us

SCIENCE:

shayla.kruse@k12.sd.us amy.miller@k12.sd.us

danielle.schntker@k12.sd.us

SOCIAL STUDIES:

eric.hettinger@k12.sd.us olivia.liesinger@k12.sd.us

blake.miller@k12.sd.us

PLEASE ATTEND: May 3 from 9:15 to 9:45 am—CODE in Students Pro Time room 6th, 7th and 8th Graders, during this event your child will showcase the work they have completed during

their coding sessions. The students are very excited to show you their hard work! Hope to see you There!

It’s hard to believe that this year is coming to an end very soon! Please remind your child to check his/her grades on Infinite Campus to make sure they don’t have any missing assignments. Also, many students are out of supplies. Please check with your child to make sure he/she has enough paper and pens/pencils to finish off the year.

We teach all the way up to the last day and students need to come to class prepared!

C O U G A R S

V I K I N G

Science Terry Helget, Tim Josephson and Ms. Moeller

During the month of April the students explored the Diversity of Life. They began by studying invertebrates and made a cool Invertebrate Menu along with dissecting an earthworm. A focus was then put on vertebrates where they had the opportunity to

create a reptile presentation and dissect a frog. The month of May will place an emphasis on Growth and Development where the students

will study plants and human body systems. We will finish up the year by dissecting a sheep eye.

Geometry/Math Ms. Hieronimus, Ms. Wenzel and Mrs. Hancock

We have started our unit focusing on geometry. We are starting with the characteristics of angles. We'll move on to angles and equations. We'll learn about triangles and their specific characteristics. We'll also work with circles, finding the area of perimeter. We will study other polygons and how we can determine their

interior and exterior angles. We will work a little with volume of rectangular prisms. We will end the year with a little bit of statistics and probability. We will

continue to work hard in class to learn as much as we can before the end of the school year. We have enjoyed your 7th grade students this year!

Geography (Social Studies) Mr. Flock and Mr. Moulton We have been learning about the world economy and globalization. We had some fun activities to show the differences between a market and command economy. We have been listening to Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen to help students learn about investments,

stocks, and entrepreneurship. Ask your child to tell you about the book, it is a very entertaining story. We will be doing a world food production simulation called

"Baldicers” to show students the importance of globalization and working together with other countries. Much of the material we are learning will be brand new to most

students as we expand thinking on a global scale.

Language Arts (ELA) Mrs. Dossett, Mrs. Huwe, Ms. DeRoos and Ms. Merritt

We are winding down to the end of the year and still have one more test to complete. PLEASE make sure your child gets a good night's sleep the nights of May 6-8th

as we will be completing our final MAP testing.

We have been ending our year with a unit about Adversity and the stories have been quite interesting. We would love to have you ask the students about the stories and see what they can recall. We will be finishing up our year

with some impromptu speeches, group activities and writing assignments. It has been a joy getting to know your kids and we thank you for sharing them with us this year!

KIDS ~ HAVE A GREAT SUMMER AND DON'T FORGET TO READ, READ, READ in between the games of

Fortnight, Netflix binges, pool time and pick-up games of basketball this summer

PLEASE ATTEND: May 3 from 9:15 to 9:45 am CODE in Students Pro Time room

6th, 7th and 8th Graders, during this event your child will showcase the work they have completed during their coding sessions. The students are

very excited to show you their hard work! Hope to see you There!

PLEASE ATTEND: May 3 from 9:15 to 9:45 am CODE in Students Pro Time room

6th, 7th and 8th Graders, during this event your child will showcase the work they have completed during their coding sessions.

The students are very excited to show you their hard work! Hope to see you There!

Greetings from the Coyotes/Jackrabbits Eighth Grade Teams

May will be a month packed with work and activities. Right off the bat on May 1st we will spend

the morning in the auditorium for our in school Poetry Slam! We will be entertained by our

eighth grade students performing their Spoken Word poems. From those students, four will be

selected to represent George McGovern at the Sioux Falls middle school Poetry Slam!

Competition at the Sioux Falls Pavilion on May 14th. On the afternoon of the 1st wel will go on a

field trip to Roosevelt High to see their Spring musical, Little Shop of Horrors. The following

week the students will undertake their last round of MAP testing. Parent, please help by

ensuring they are well rested and motivated to do their best! As mentioned above we will go to

the Pavilion on the 14th for the Poetry Slam! We will have Honors Night the next week on

Monday the 20th. The students will wrap up the week and year on Friday the 24th with our last

day celebration activities

The eighth grade teams wish to say how proud we are of the goals and successes our students

have achieved this year. It has been a pleasure working with them and watching them grow.

Please come to Honors Night on May 20, when we will recognize the accomplishments of our

8th grade team students.

We wish each and everyone of our students the best of luck and success in high school and the

future!

Here is the news from the core courses:

Social Studies—Mrs. Case & Mr. McIntyre- For the remainder of the year, will be studying the

Civil War and the Reconstruction period after the war. We are currently working on causes of

the Civil War..

Math—Ms. Schrier & Mr Knapp— So close to the end of the year! Students will be finishing their

exploration of transformations and reviewing key concepts needed for Algebra next year! We

highly encourage you to help your students fight the summer learning loss by putting in some

time on khanacademy.org or other websites over the break. All students should have an

account that they can use via their school email. Algebra is racing to the end of the year with a

dive into quadratics and review for the semester test. Be on the lookout for an email regarding

upcoming review sessions for the semester test. Reminder the testing dates are May 21st,

22nd, 23rd in the afternoon.

Science—Mrs. Schroeder & Mrs. Kruger-- The students will be finishing the unit Forces and

Energy by building Rube Goldberg machines (very cool!) After that they will move into the unit

over the next book Sound and Light.

English Language Arts—Mrs. Freese & Mrs. Vanmaanen— We have finished our poetry unit.

The students did a fabulous job presenting in front of their peers! We will spend some time

getting to know a guy named Charlie and some of the struggles he has. We will continue to read

about Capricorn Anderson and his life. It’s been a great year!

G Y M

C L A S S E S

The students are finishing up FitnessGram fitness testing. We hope to spend the month of May outside participating in a variety of outdoor activities. If you have any questions or concerns please contact your child’s teacher: Mr. Nugteren—perry.nugteren@k12.sd.us Mr. Sannes—jon.sannes@k12.sd.us Mrs. Smith—Julie.smith@k12.sd.us

T E A C H E R

A P P R E C I A T I O N

TEACHER APPRECIATE WEEK

Track Season will come to a close with the Metro Field Meet on May 6th and May 7th. Monday, May 6 Metro Boys & Girls Field Events 8th@ HWF & 7th@ O’Gorman *Wed, May 8 Metro Boys & Girls Field Events Rain Date 8th@ HWF & 7th@ O’Gorman

Tuesday, May 7 Metro Boys & Girls Track Meet Everyone @ HWF *Thurs, May 9 Metro Boys and Girls Track Meet Rain Date Everyone @ HWF

New records have been set this year in Track and Field. A list of those records can be seen in the display case outside the school office.

NEW FOR 2019-2020 MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETICS PARTICIPATION Parents. The SFSD sent an email to you with similar information that you can see below - Please find four (4)

IMPORTANT attachments in this email regarding participation in Middle School Activities for the 2019-2020

school year.

In Summary...

New for the 2019-2020 school year is the requirement for middle school students to have a physical.

This is a onetime physical that will be good for BOTH 7th and 8th grade participation.

The clinics in Sioux Falls are aware of this physical and have assured that they would keep the cost

down. A cash price of $35 maximum at the clinics. Talk to your insurance provider about cost. We also

have a partnership with Falls Community Health. Please contact them for Free or Reduced rates. If none

of these options is possible for you, please contact Mr. Flock at GMMS.

Attachments:

SFSD_Forms_Needed_for_Participation_in_Middle_School_Athletics_2019-2020.pdf(152.0 KB)

Clinics_that_offer_Preparticiaption_Evaluation_2019_(3.27.19).pdf (162.3 KB)

SFSD_Preparticipation_Physical_Evaluation_2019-20.pdf (190.1 KB)

SFSD_Activity_Participation_Packet_Instructions_2019-2020_(002).pdf (166.3 KB)

SUMMER ACTIVITIES FOR ALL MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS The summer is a great time to improve those athletic skills and stay active. All the high schools offer a variety of camps for all different sports. Go to the high school websites to find out details about when these camps take place. Those forms and dates can be found on the school district website. There are also free open gym times at the high schools for boys and girls in grades 7-12. Again, look at your high school websites or call the high school for more details. Scholarships are available for those camps at the High School if cost is a concern. IMPORTANT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS INFORMATION: All 9th grade athletes participating at the High School during the 2019-2020 school year are required to have a physical from a doctor. Forms can be found on the district’s website or at your high school office. Summer weight-lifting and open gyms will start the first week of summer and the physical is required before participation.

Have a great rest of the school year! Mr. Flock, Athletics Coordinator

Jump Start 2019 Jump Start is a program for incoming 2019-2020 6th Graders

Get a Jump Start on 6th grade!

Get to know your new school and get answers about: Classrooms, lockers, the lunchroom, classes and teachers, your team,

computer labs, music programs, after school programs, our fantastic library, clubs, the teaching garden, and much more!!!

Cost: $25.00 (Cash or checks payable to George McGovern Middle School)

Location: 6221 West Maple Street, (605) 367-4440

August 5, 6, 7, 8 or August 5, 6, 7, 8 8:30 am-11:30 am 12:30 pm-3:30 pm (Please return the bottom portion of this form to George McGovern Middle School,

6221 W. Maple St., Sioux Falls, SD 57107) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

George McGovern Middle School Jump Start Registration

(Only incoming 2019-2020 6th grade students who will attend George McGovern qualify for Jumpstart.)

Student name_________________________________________

Elementary school _____________________________________

Your telephone number _________________________________

Parent signature _______________________________________ Morning or Afternoon Session (sign up for only one):

___________ Morning Session 8:30-11:30 – August 5, 6, 7, 8

___________ Afternoon Session 12:30-3:30 – August 5, 6, 7, 8 ___________Cash or Check enclosed (please make checks payable to George McGovern Middle School)

COUNSELOR’S CORNER

5th to 6th grade Transition: The George McGovern

Counselors, along with several current George McGovern 8th grade students (WEB Leaders), will be visiting our feeder elementary schools throughout the month of April

and May. We are excited to meet our new incoming 6th grade students and assist them through the registration process during our visits! Students will also visit George McGovern during the 5th grade visit day on Thursday, May 9th.

Parent Night for Parents/Guardians of next year’s 6th graders

On Thursday, May 9th will be having an Information Night for parents/guardians of next year’s incoming 6th graders and their children that will attend George McGovern Middle School. When: Thursday, May 9th Time: 6:00 – 7:00 pm Where: George McGovern Auditorium If you have any questions, please call the George McGovern counseling office at 367-4440.

Preparing for High School – 8th graders

CONNECTIONS Class is designed to assist students in making a smooth transition to high school by providing connections with math, reading, and writing skills. The class incorporates a variety of activities which provide students with an opportunity to improve their academic skills, as well as to familiarize them with their new high school (does not take place at the CTE Academy), expectations, procedures, opportunities available, and organizations/clubs/activities. Students who successfully complete the class will earn a .50 elective credit toward their total high school credits. This is an excellent opportunity for students to get a head start as they enter high school. Students should meet with their counselors as soon as possible to help get registered. Please see your counselor for details. Connections will be taught at each high school.

We take clothing orders at all times by emailing

order to: gmmssfpta@gmail.com

PTA MEETING WILL BE May 14, 2019, 6:30 pm

HyVee at 10th St. and Kiwanis Ave.

HyVee Market Grill 10th St. and Kiwanis Ave.

Join us at HyVee Market Grille

JOIN GEORGE MCGOVERN FACEBOOK PAGE:

George McGovern Middle School PTA

PTA Board 2018-19

President: Randi Baker

Vice President: tbd

Secretary: Lisa Teas

Treasurer: Nichole Schlueter

Items to be purchased for Christmas Gifts are:

Sweatshirts

Sweatpants

T Shirts (long and short sleeved)

Lanyards

Shorts

This is the GMMS Summer Reading Bingo Sheet. Even though school is ending for summer break, that doesn’t mean reading needs to end, too. Research shows that children who continue to read during the summer maintain or improve their reading skills and perform better in the fall when school resumes. To promote summer reading, we are encouraging students to participate in our Summer BINGO Reading Program. We also recommend visiting any of the Siouxland library branches in Sioux Falls and participating in their summer reading programs. Students who participate in the Summer Reading BINGO Program must complete at least one complete BINGO (five across, down or diagonally including the free space). Students should choose books at their interest and reading level or from the suggested list on this page. Prizes will be awarded in the Fall for students completing a BINGO. Sherri Wolles Librarian - George McGovern Middle School

...See Below the GMMS Reading Bingo card...

Your Name:________________________ Parent/Guradian Signature:_______________________________

George McGovern Middle School Summer BINGO

READ a book

with

200+ Pages

Title:

READ A BOOK

WITH AT LEAST

ONE

NON HUMAN

CHARACTER

Title:

READ FOR 30 MINUTES STRAIGHT!

Title:

READ A

BOOK CHOSEN BECAUSE OF

THE

COVER

Title:

READ A

NONFICTION BOOK

Title:

READ a book about

sports

Title:

READ A BOOK THAT IS A

MOVIE

Title:

READ ANY

BOOK Title:

READ

OUTSIDE 30 minutes

Title:

READ a

magazine or

newspaper

article Title:

Read a Food Package

Title:

READ a book with

a one word title

Title:

READ A BOOK SET IN THE

FUTURE

Title:

READ A book you loved

when you were younger

Title:

READ a

BOOK with

a COLOR in

the Title

Title:

Read a book

that is more

than 10 years

old Title:

READ a book

with a cat in it

Title:

READ

The street signs

Title:

READ a book recommended

by a friend

Title:

READ A

GRAPHIC NOVEL Title:

GET A PUBLIC LIBRARY

LIBRARIAN’S AUTOGRAPH!

Signature:

READ A BOOK WITH

A NUMBER

IN THE TITLE

Title:

READ A

SCARY BOOK

Title:

READ

30 minutes with a flashlight

Title:

Return to school by Friday, September 12, 2019

ROOSEVELT ROUGH RIDER BASKETBALL CAMP JUNE 3RD- 6TH Summer Basketball Camp

When: June 3rd-6th (Monday-Thursday)

Where: Roosevelt High School

Time: High School Camp: 7:00am-9:00am

3rd-8th Grade Camp: 9:00am-11:00am

Registration: http://www.ridercamps.com/boys-basketball.cfm

HAVE FUN!

____

GET BETTER!

____

POSITIVITY!

____

DEVELOP

RELATIONSHIPS!

____

#ALL IN

Sign your children up for 2 free games of bowling all summer long!

Over 21 million kids have participated

Sign your children up for 2 free games of bowling all summer long!

Over 21 million kids have participated

Sign your children up for 2 free games of bowling all summer long! Sioux Falls

Eastway Bowl Empire Bowl Sport Bowl

Basketball

Volleyball

Golf

Tennis

Dance

SUMMER CAMPSGymnastics

Football

Wrestling

Soccer

SIGN UP TODAY AT:WWW.RIDERCAMPS.COM