MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS

Happy New Year!  We hope that everyone had a fun and restful holiday break.  

December was a month of celebration at Garden City Middle School.  The month kicked off with the addition of amazing winter decor, designed and coordinated by our Middle School Beautification Committee.  It was the perfect way to get us all in the holiday spirit.  Thank you to the Committee for all your planning and work.  We also enjoyed concerts from the Middle School chorus, band, jazz band and orchestra.  The talent of our students under the direction of our wonderful teachers is a joy to watch.

Updates:

High School Open House for 8th Grade Students and Families

The High School Open House for 8th Graders is scheduled for Thursday, January 30 at 4 pm.  This is an opportunity for students and their families to walk the halls of the High School, as well as to chat with teachers and guidance counselors.  We encourage families to attend!

GC Cares-a-Thon

The PTA is thrilled to partner with SEPTA and the Middle School for another year of the GC Cares-a-Thon.  GC Cares-a-Thon is an interactive event, designed to open students' minds to local and global causes, and ideas on how they can make an impact.  Homebases, teams, clubs and individual students are already in the process of developing ideas on how to help others in need (food drive, toy drive, writing inspirational notes, greeting cards for senior citizens, thank you cards to veterans, and much more).  These ideas are then made into student run tables along the halls of the middle school, where attendees can choose how they would like to make a difference.  Each attendee receives a punch card at the event and are asked to complete activities at a certain number of stations in order to receive two hours of community service.  They can use this community service for school requirements such as National Junior Honor Society, or for other organizations they are involved in.  We can’t wait to see how our children make an impact this year!  The GC Cares-a-Thon will be held on January 31st from 6:30pm-8:30pm.  The sign up genius to participate will be coming out in the next few weeks.  Stay tuned!

Reflections 

We are so proud of all our MS Reflections participants.  Congratulations to the Middle School Reflections Winners below!!  First and second place winners will be advancing to the Nassau County level competition.  Thank you to the Reflections Committee for all their help, and to the Middle School staff for supporting the program!  

Emma Hughes - Literature 1st Place

Alexandra Aw - Literature 2nd Place

Grace Santare - Literature 3rd Place

Alexandra Pontone - Literature Honorable Mention

Liam Iudica - Photography 1st Place

Caitlin O’Mullan- Photography 2nd Place

Luke Iudica - Photography 3rd Place

Liam Iudica - Photography Honorable Mention

Natalie Yu  - Visual Arts 1st Place

Katie Zhao - Visual Arts 2nd Place

Grace Bans - Visual Arts 3rd Place

Leanne Ng - Visual Arts Honorable Mention

Hannah Cianciotto - Music Competition 1st Place

The awards ceremony will be held this spring.  We look forward to celebrating these accomplishments.

PTA Meetings

PTA meetings provide parents with school updates from our principal and teachers, as well as from our guest speakers. The meetings are a great way to learn what is going on in and around school.  Our January Meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 15th at 9:15 am (in person and zoom).  We are thrilled to welcome our Middle School Social Worker, Mr. Keegan Baker, LCSW-R.  Mr. Baker will be discussing strategies for communicating with our children about challenging topics.  

Please see below for a list of this year’s remaining meetings.  We look forward to seeing you there.

• January 15th, 9:15 am, in person and zoom
• February 12, 7:30 pm, All School PTA Meeting, in person and zoom
• March 11, 9:30 am, in person and zoom
• April 9, 7:30 pm, zoom
• 
  

We are still in search of volunteers for several PTA committees, specifically the Nominating and Sportswear Committees.  I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have about what participation in a PTA Committee entails.  These two committees are great opportunities to be involved in deciding the leadership of our PTA, and fundraising for our district.  If you are interested in participating, click here.  

I sincerely thank you for your continued support of the PTA and I look forward to continuing to work with you this year.  Please feel free to contact me at middleschool@gardencitypta.org if you have any questions or concerns.  

Sincerely,

Tara Kelly

Middle School PTA Director

www.gardencitypta.org

Like us on Facebook @GardenCityPTA

Follow us on Instagram, X @GardenCityPTA