Grizzly eNews 1-10-25
Principal’s Message:
Before break, our school conducted surveys and focus groups with our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders about their “sense of belonging” here at Grace McWayne. During our focus groups, students shared great ideas that we hope to make happen in the months and years ahead (BPS Strategic Plan Priority 2.1). For example, one idea is to assign student greeters in the hallways in the morning who can welcome fellow students into the school. Another idea was to help students practice things to say and do in order to include others more at recess. How cool are those ideas?
On Monday, our staff used part of our day to examine all of this student feedback in order to brainstorm ways we can improve the sense of belonging for all students, staff and parents. We look forward to sharing some of these ideas with all of you as soon as we can set our plans into action.
~Principal Jeff Modaff
jeff.modaff@bps101.net
PTO News:
2024/2025 GMS YEARBOOK
Please send any photos you have from the following school activities to yearbook@gmspto.org.
- First Day of School
- Spirit Week
- Fall Parties/Costume Parade
GMS FAMILY NIGHT AT CHICAGO STEEL
Come join fellow GMS families for Star Wars Night at the Chicago Steel game on Saturday, January 18th! Game starts at 6:05 pm. Tickets are $15 and $5 per ticket comes back to the PTO! It’s a win win! Use offer code: GMS. Questions- email info@gmspto.org. Looking forward to seeing you there! *Parents must stay with their children.
FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT! – WILD ROBOT
Save the Date for the 2025 Family Movie Night Featuring Wild Robot! January 24th at 6:30 pm (doors will open at 6:15). Bring your cozy blankets, pillows & chairs. Snacks & drinks will be available to purchase with cash only for $1 each. Every family attending will be entered in a raffle for a DVD/Blu-ray of the movie!
GMS TRIVIA NIGHT!
Start gathering your team now! Adult’s Only Trivia Night will take place on Saturday, February 8th, 2025 at 6 pm at the Moose Lodge in Batavia. Register on the PTO website! Maximum of 8 team members. Don’t have a team? That’s ok! Register anyway and we can form teams with individuals or couples!
WINTER WONDERLAND
Have gently used gift bags you don’t want to store and might want to donate? We would love them for next year! A bin will be in the vestibule until the end of January. Thanks in advance!
School / District News:
GRIZZLY KIDS CLUB – UPCOMING EVENT
The Grizzly Kids Club is sponsoring a Feed My Starving Children School-Wide Volunteer Event on January 23rd from 5-6:30. This is a family volunteer event so a parent/guardian is required to attend. Children ages 5 and up are invited to join the fun! Sign up HERE
RMS INCOMING 6TH GRADE PARENT’S/GUARDIAN’S NIGHT
On February 5th, Rotolo will be holding a Parent’s/Guardian’s Night for incoming 6th grade parents. The night will be set up as an open house where parents can go to booths to get information about the start of the year. See the flyer for more details.
DISC GOLF EQUIPMENT NOW AVAILABLE AT GMS
The weather may be cold, but the course is open for all to enjoy! If your family would like to borrow a backpack w/8 discs, please fill out this form!!!
STEM CLUB COMING SOON!
2nd Grade STEM Club January 13-16! Click here to learn more and sign up!
COMMUNITY RESOURCE FAIR, JANUARY 14, FROM 5-8:00 PM
Come one, come all! Free resource fair for members of our community to connect with over 20 local resource organizations. Many local non-profits will be available to discuss what they have to offer our families. Come for the connections, and stay for the giveaways, free haircuts, dinner, screenings, and MORE! Flyer in Backpack Mail.
BPS101 ATTENDANCE AWARENESS
Many classrooms in BPS101 use the 7Bs—”Bandage, Breathing Bad, Bump, Bruise, Burning Up, Barf, or Bleeding”—as a guide for determining when students should visit the health office. This common language helps ensure students visit the health office only when necessary, minimizing disruptions to learning while keeping them safe and cared for. Additionally, our school teams monitor health office visit data to identify patterns and proactively support a healthy school climate and culture.
We also want to ensure students stay engaged in learning and in the school building as long as they are healthy and able to do so.
By working together, we can help your child make the most of every school day. Here’s to a healthy, happy, and successful 2025!
GLENBARD PARENT SERIES: NAVIGATING HEALTHY FAMILIES
Free online presentations for families! Are you a parent of a student in early childhood? Check out The Way of Play: Little Moments–Big Connections from best-selling author and psychotherapist Dr. Tina Payne Bryson and Georgie Wisen-Vincent. Are you a parent of a teen? Check out The Breakthrough Years: A New Scientific Framework for Raising Thriving Teens hosted by award-winning author Ellen Galinsky. Please see the 24.25 brochure for additional offerings, information, and links to join. All events are free and open to the public, and participation is possible in person or online.
VARSITY TUTORS: FREE 24/7 CHAT TUTORING SERVICE!!!
BPS101 is now partnering with Varsity Tutors to provide a free tutoring service. Varsity Tutors is an online tutoring service students can access for free through Classlink. They have various options, from live chat to test prep and classes. How do you access it? From your student’s Chromebook: Open Classlink, then Click on Varsity Tutors. In the Learning Lab, type in your student’s question or upload the whole assignment and get connected to personalized tutoring within 5 minutes. Sessions are recorded so students can reference them again if needed.
BSPN
BSPN is excited to host the 12th annual BSPN Resource Fair again this year. I have attached the flier with the information to share with our families across the district and surrounding areas so they can save the date and we will have a larger attendance at the fair.
Also, each year we have more families from neighboring districts attend so please share with any of your network groups to invite those interested.
Additionally- if you have any vendors who may like to be invited, please let me know. I will send them the invite and registration.
THE PRESCHOOL LOTTERY IS NOW OPEN!
The BPS101 Preschool at the Early Childhood Center is a tuition-free, lottery-based system. Families are, however, responsible for the District’s standard registration fee. The 2025-26 school year lottery opened today and closes on January 24, 2025, at 3:00 PM. Learn more, click here.
EARLY CHILDHOOD SCREENINGS
The Early Childhood Center at Alice Gustafson Elementary School will host Early Childhood Screenings monthly through February 2025! (Priority 1, 3: Personalized Learning Pathways). For more information, please visit our Early Childhood website.
STAY CONNECTED
Please check the Directory to be sure YOUR FAMILY information is correct! Parents use this for play dates and birthday invites!
Visit the PTO website to search the student directory, view the school activity calendar, sign up to volunteer, or purchase tickets to the next PTO event. Download the Membership Toolkit app for easy access!
Trouble with the website: website@gmspto.org
Suggestions/Feedback: info@gmspto.org
ONGOING FUNDRAISING
Box Tops
Collecting extra support for GMS is now super easy. Download the Box Top App and scan your receipt!
Casey’s Rewards Points
Our school is participating in Cash for Classrooms, part of Casey’s Rewards. The best part? Donations don’t come out of your own pocket. When you buy from Casey’s and use their rewards program you can simply turn your points into a donation to our school. Help Grace McWayne School make the most of this program and learn more HERE!
IMPORTANT DATES
MONDAY, JANUARY 20 – NO SCHOOL – MLK JRS. BIRTHDAY
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15 – RESTAURANT NIGHT – CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN
UPCOMING CLUB DATES – WEEK OF DECEMBER 16
MONDAY, JANUARY 13 – CHORUS – 5TH AND 6TH GRADE
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14 – BAND – 5TH GRADE
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15 – BAND REHEARSAL
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15 – WINTER CHORUS CONCERT – 7PM
THURSDAY, JANUARY 16 – GRIZZLY KIDS MEETING
IMPORTANT LINKS
