Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley CUSD #5

Todays JV football game at Dee-Mack will start at 6 PM.

Tonight's JV football game vs Dee Mack has been moved from 5:30 to 6:00 pm.

REMINDER!!!! Today is an 11:30 dismissal and Monday there is no school due to the holiday. All GCMS offices will be closed this afternoon for offsite activities. Enjoy the holiday weekend. -Mr. Darnell

A reminder that tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 1st) is a 11:30 dismissal. Thank you for having plans for picking up your kids/being home for when they arrive by bus arranged ahead of time!!! Mr. Kean

High School Parents, You can click the links below for information on College Recruitment and the NCAA Eligibility requirements for student-athletes. If you think your student will be playing college athletics, now is the time to start becoming educated on the process and requirements. Recruitment - https://bit.ly/47Utzdo NCAA Eligibility - https://adobe.ly/45uOXUZ

Elementary School pictures will be on next Thursday, Sept. 7th. Picture forms are coming home today. You can prepay online at www.vsi.co/schools, or you pay using the picture envelope/form that is coming home. If you prepay, please include your confirmation code on the envelope that you send back with your kiddo. Thanks! Mr. Kean

GCMS Families and Tax Payers, I wanted to take a moment and share some information on your real estate tax bill and the GCMS impact on that bill. GCMS has a long history of working hard to ask the local tax payers to pay what is "necessary" to offer great educational opportunities and facilities for our children. Local school systems are the largest portion of your real estate tax bill and we know the impact that has on property owners. This year GCMS was able to reduce our tax rate from 5.65 to 5.29. This equates to a 6.42% decrease this year which is approximately $120 for a $100,000 home. Since 2017 the tax rate has been reduced by 17.7%. Fortunately, and unfortunately, this reduction does not always translate to saving because of the rapidly increasing values of homes. Many properties in GCMS School District have been seeing increasing assessment values on their property (this is the "Fair Cash Value" on your tax bill) offsetting the rate reductions. Those who have been in the area have seen the improvements / additions we have made to our facilities all while reducing the tax rate. This past summer we had $2,000,000 worth of HVAC work done to upgrade aged equipment and we reaped the benefit last week when our system withstood the extreme heat. We added our our new gym, weight room, upgraded our performance stage, tennis courts, flooring across the district, fence painting, a greenhouse, parking lots, maintenance shed, and many more projects equaling nearly $14,000,000 worth of work. What GCMS is today is a reflection of decades of effort, management, and pride from board members, leadership, staff, students, and community. I am extremely proud of GCMS. A school system is filled with human engagement that will never be perfect, but it is always a great day to be a Falcon! Sincerely, Jeremy Darnell Superintendent

GCMS Elementary will host Vision and Hearing screenings September 11th-15th. More information is available at https://drive.google.com/file/d/19GTalLi9jgvEcnj6gVPvAzrMO8Iut69Q/view?usp=sharing

GCMS FAMILIES, Please take a moment and read a few announcements / informational items. Great first week of school, despite the heat. Thanks for adjusting to our new traffic patterns at pick up and drop off. Your attention and cooperation keeps kids safe! Extra curricular activities are up and running and we are excited to see our students compete and perform. Tonight is the first home football game and we want to remind families that children under 6th grade should be accompanied by an adult. We also want to remind our fans to be a positive part of the events experience by cheering for our teams and representing yourself, your children, and our district with class and character. Our facilities look absolutely amazing and it takes everyone's effort to keep them that way! Friday, September 1st is an 11:30 dismissal followed by no school on Monday, September 4th for the Labor Day holiday. Reminder that we want healthy kids in attendance and sick kids should stay home. All children should be fever free for 24 hours to be in attendance! The staff at GCMS are very thankful for our supportive families and community. Have a great weekend and it is a great day to be a Falcon! Sincerely, Mr. Darnell

Students in Ms. Spiker's Life Skills class joined in the 5th Annual Special Person's Day at Leroy Fall Festival. A special thanks to INSPIRE Treats and Sweets for inviting our students and putting the whole event together!

All high school students and parents are invited to the Illinois Regional College Fair at Parkland College on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Representatives from colleges all over the midwest will be in attendance. For a list of colleges that will be in attendance and to register for this free event, visit https://explore.parkland.edu/register/?id=b33f369e-391c-40b4-86d3-727f02d0b550 contact carter.josh@gcmsk12.org with any questions.

Middle School picture day is tomorrow morning. Order forms were sent home earlier this week. You can also pay online https://vsi.co/pay/

Did you know that GCMS has thousands of books available for students to check out through the Sora app? Learn more at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nECdv5vZ8qOtxK2VU7_EJYX1EqVxmf1xlpmTxOMe3E4/edit?usp=sharing

Correction to MS Girls Softball practice for today (Tue. 8/22)- PRACTICE WILL NOW BE IN THE AUX GYM, not the MS gym. Pickups should be at the aux gym at 5PM.

HEAT ADVISORY UPDATE: Families, It is certainly hot outside and will be all week. GCMS is fortunate to be fully air conditioned allowing us to keep our normal schedule for the school days when excessive heat enters our area. We will be minimizing, or eliminating, outdoor activity during the school day as appropriate (recess / p.e. classes), and we will modify athletic contests in accordance with the IHSA guidelines. Athletes / Families- Be prepared for cancellations or schedule adjustments to accommodate the conditions. BUS RIDERS - Please be sure to drink plenty of water and we will encourage kids to fill water bottles at school for the trip home. This is a full week of school and the heat will add some extra fatigue and stress to a long week of getting back into the swing of the school year, so please do your part by encouraging proper hydration, sleep, and meals to make it a great week for everyone. Stay cool and safe! Mr. Darnell

A reminder that we have Parent Orientation for 1st-5th grades on Wednesday (8/23/23). 4th and 5th grades will be from 5:00-5:45 and 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades will be from 6:00-6:45. We hope to see you Wednesday! This event is for parents or guardians only. Thanks!

Due to the heat, the middle school baseball game for today has been cancelled. Today's softball practice has also been cancelled.

The bus for the MS Softball trip to LeRoy on Saturday 8/19 will pick up AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AT 8:30AM. The girls will be sharing the bus with the baseball team which will also be playing at LeRoy.

GCMS Families, One down and 174 more opportunities to go! Great first day at all three buildings, but I want to take a moment for a couple of safety reminders. Elementary School Parents: Please DO NOT drop your kids off on the north bound side of Lott Blvd. Several kids crossed the street outside of the crosswalk today and this is very dangerous. The drop off lanes on the west side of Lott and at the north end of the building are purposely very wide, please pull close to the sidewalk to have safe exits on both sides of your car. If you need to get out of your car on Lott Blvd please do so in one of the parallel parking spaces on the north or south end. Overall great job today!! Middle School Parents: If you are using the south parking lot (front entrance) please keep traffic flowing and don't sit and wait if your child is not present, you can pull into a parking space. If you choose to pick up in the bus parking lot please be mindful of the buses and obey the stop signs when they are out. High School: Great job today. Students please remember when you drive off that you are in a school zone and a lot of other younger children are present! Friday is another 2:20 dismissal! Thanks for partnering with us to make this year great. Sincerely, Mr. Darnell

Middle School Families: You have one final chance to purchase 2022-23 Middle School Yearbooks! Contact Mrs. Ferguson at the Middle School by September 1 or while supplies last.