February 23, 2018

All GVMS and FSUSD students COMPLETED the MAP Test.  MAP measures a student's growth throughout the year and they take the test three times a year.  In most cases, MAP helps us determine placement for classes for the following year.  We are seeing a TON of growth in our students and we are THRILLED!  Still a little lost when it comes to MAP?  Take a look at THIS Parent Guide to MAP and what it means!  Each student earns a RIT score, which can help our teachers determine where they are at, academically.  Take a look at THIS PARENT TOOL KIT for an easy guide to also help understand MAP testing.  
We use these results to help us place students into classes for the next school year!  

Intra-murals are COMING!!!  GVMS is starting after school intra-murals for students who are interested!  These are FREE, open to ALL students, and will be FUN!  There is a after school meeting from 3-3:30 PM on February 27th for parents and interested students!  Information, contract information, and more will be discussed at this meeting!  We are super excited to have Mrs. Keffer and Mr. Peila be able to offer this to our students!

I am SURE you have heard of SnapChat.  Who hasn't really?  Have you heard about the new updates?  Take a few minutes to watch the video above to make sure you, as a parent, completely understand what the app is and what it actually does, and what the new updates mean to YOU, the parent!  There is even more information HERE so please read it!

Every SINGLE day, over our loud speakers, we make lots of announcements to our students.  These include: events coming up, clubs to join, sports activities, grading windows, and more.  PLEASE make sure that you all, at home, bookmark this page HERE so that YOU don't miss out on what's happening at GVMS!  We have a LOT of exciting activities coming up that you won't want your student (or YOU!) to miss out on!

Additionally, we review our school rules.  EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Including keeping our hands to ourselves and no play fighting/slap boxing.  PLEASE encourage your student to follow our school rules!!

The SPRING FLING IS COMING!!  We are gearing up for our 4th Annual Spring Fling at GV Cellars on Saturday, April 28 from 4-8 PM and WE NEED YOUR HELP!  Do you have connections for tickets to sporting events, time shares, winery tours, limo tours, etc?  Tickets will be on sale FEBRUARY 1st for $25.00 and the Sign Up Genius has gone out!  Click HERE to see if you can donate! Please reach out to your connections and help us make this year's event even more fun and successful than last year's (that may be hard as last year was a TON of fun!).  More details, donation letters, and Sign Up Genius links will be sent at the beginning of February!  You DON'T want to miss this!

*CHECK OUT OUR PROJECTS!!*  THERE ARE MANY of THEM!

We are ALWAYS thinking outside the box to create effective ways to reach all of our students!  Want to be a part of this??  All donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!  Check out THIS LINK to see ALL OF the different ideas that our VERY OWN GVMS teachers have come up with!  NEW PROJECTS HAVE BEEN ADDED!!

February 16, 2018

All GVMS and FSUSD students are in the middle of taking the MAP Test.  MAP measures a student's growth throughout the year and they take the test three times a year.  In most cases, MAP helps us determine placement for classes for the following year.  We REALLY need our students to take it seriously as it may be the difference between an AP class or not going into high school!
Sometimes, we can see negative growth as well.  There are many factors for this, and THIS ARTICLE can help parents understand what that might mean and reasons why.....

Do you know what a JUUL is?  I certainly didn't.  And I still wish I didn't, however, JUULs are becoming more and more popular, especially among teenagers.  They are also SUPER easy to purchase.  While you are supposed to be 18, there are MANY places near us (711, Power Mart, and more) that have no problem selling to our Vikings.  What is a JUUL you ask?  Take a look at THIS SHORT VIDEO and informational piece about what they are, how addicting they can be, and why our kids may have their hands on them.

Do you have gently used equipment at home that is looking for a new home?  We are going to be starting after school activities open to all and need equipment to get them going!  We are looking for Frisbees, foam bats, badminton gear, whiffle balls, whiffle bats, hack sacks and more!  Please look around and send in anything that can help us get these activities up and running for our Vikings! 

Every day, over our loud speakers, we make lots of announcements to our students.  These include: events coming up, clubs to join, sports activities, grading windows, and more.  PLEASE make sure that you all, at home, bookmark this page HERE so that YOU don't miss out on what's happening at GVMS!  We have a LOT of exciting activities coming up that you won't want your student (or YOU!) to miss out on!

The SPRING FLING IS COMING!!  We are gearing up for our 4th Annual Spring Fling at GV Cellars on Saturday, April 28 from 4-8 PM and WE NEED YOUR HELP!  Do you have connections for tickets to sporting events, time shares, winery tours, limo tours, etc?  Tickets will be on sale FEBRUARY 1st for $25.00 and the Sign Up Genius has gone out!  Click HERE to see if you can donate! Please reach out to your connections and help us make this year's event even more fun and successful than last year's (that may be hard as last year was a TON of fun!).  More details, donation letters, and Sign Up Genius links will be sent at the beginning of February!  You DON'T want to miss this!

*CHECK OUT OUR PROJECTS!!*  THERE ARE MANY of THEM!

We are ALWAYS thinking outside the box to create effective ways to reach all of our students!  Want to be a part of this??  All donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!  Check out THIS LINK to see ALL OF the different ideas that our VERY OWN GVMS teachers have come up with!  NEW PROJECTS HAVE BEEN ADDED!!

February 9, 2018

Have you ever uttered the words to your tween/teen, "you just put so much pressure on yourself"?  Honestly, many young adults today are more burned out and stressed by the pressure that others put on them, including parents.  How can that be, you ask.....Well, take a look at THIS ARTICLE to see what's going on and ways that you can support without adding pressure to your Viking!

Do you have gently used equipment at home that is looking for a new home?  We are going to be starting after school activities open to all and need equipment to get them going!  We are looking for Frisbees, foam bats, badminton gear, whiffle balls, whiffle bats, hack sacks and more!  Please look around and send in anything that can help us get these activities up and running for our Vikings! 

Every day, over our loud speakers, we make lots of announcements to our students.  These include: events coming up, clubs to join, sports activities, grading windows, and more.  PLEASE make sure that you all, at home, bookmark this page HERE so that YOU don't miss out on what's happening at GVMS!  We have a LOT of exciting activities coming up that you won't want your student (or YOU!) to miss out on!

The SPRING FLING IS COMING!!  We are gearing up for our 4th Annual Spring Fling at GV Cellars on Saturday, April 28 from 4-8 PM and WE NEED YOUR HELP!  Do you have connections for tickets to sporting events, time shares, winery tours, limo tours, etc?  Tickets will be on sale FEBRUARY 1st for $25.00 and the Sign Up Genius has gone out!  Click HERE to see if you can donate! Please reach out to your connections and help us make this year's event even more fun and successful than last year's (that may be hard as last year was a TON of fun!).  More details, donation letters, and Sign Up Genius links will be sent at the beginning of February!  You DON'T want to miss this!

*CHECK OUT OUR PROJECTS!!*  THERE ARE MANY of THEM!

We are ALWAYS thinking outside the box to create effective ways to reach all of our students!  Want to be a part of this??  All donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!  Check out THIS LINK to see ALL OF the different ideas that our VERY OWN GVMS teachers have come up with!  NEW PROJECTS HAVE BEEN ADDED!!

February 2, 2018

Have you taken the time to sit down with your tween or teen and truly ASKED them what they wished you (as a parent) about social media?  I have to be honest....I haven't.  Reading THIS ARTICLE was truly an Ah-ha moment for me, as a parent.  Many, including myself, didn't even realize that most have two Instagram accounts.  One that is fake and one that is real.  Many tweens and teens don't just use their phones for social media: once you take a phone away at night, some just pull another to get back on.  Take some time to read this.  It's worth it, I promise.  

As we start the last semester of this school year, we want to remind all parents and students that this is a fresh start.  Parents, please stay on top of your student by monitoring Parent Portal, downloading the "Grades" app, signing up for Remind texts from the teachers that use it, asking to be connected to Google Classroom and checking out teacher websites.  Please ASK your Viking to show you what they are working on.  Please, oh please, don't wait until May to see what they are missing or what their grades are.  Need help with any of the tech tools we use?  PLEASE reach out to our office at 707-646-7000, email your Viking's teacher directly, check out our website here, or email us!

The SPRING FLING IS COMING!!  We are gearing up for our 4th Annual Spring Fling at GV Cellars on Saturday, April 28 from 4-8 PM and WE NEED YOUR HELP!  Do you have connections for tickets to sporting events, time shares, winery tours, limo tours, etc?  Tickets will be on sale FEBRUARY 1st for $25.00 and the Sign Up Genius has gone out!  Click HERE to see if you can donate! Please reach out to your connections and help us make this year's event even more fun and successful than last year's (that may be hard as last year was a TON of fun!).  More details, donation letters, and Sign Up Genius links will be sent at the beginning of February!  You DON'T want to miss this!

HAVE YOU HEARD?  We are SO excited that our own Green Valley Parent-Teacher Club is signed up for Amazon Smile, where a portion of purchases comes back DIRECTLY to GVMS!  As you are doing your shopping on Amazon, remember to log into Amazon Smile and click Green Valley Parent-Teacher Club to help support GVMS!  Thank you!!

*CHECK OUT OUR PROJECTS!!*  THERE ARE MANY of THEM!

We are ALWAYS thinking outside the box to create effective ways to reach all of our students!  Want to be a part of this??  All donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!  Check out THIS LINK to see ALL OF the different ideas that our VERY OWN GVMS teachers have come up with!  NEW PROJECTS HAVE BEEN ADDED!!

January 26, 2018

Please take a moment to click on the video link for a smile =)  Then please share it with someone else to make their day.  We had fun for the #greatkindnesschallenge on campus and plan to carry these feelings and actions on for the rest of our year!

Have you parents HEARD of this new popular AND potentially DANGEROUS app with access for ANYONE, including our kids?  WeChat is a free texting, video and calling app that ENCOURAGES it's users to chat with strangers nearby OR around the world, at random.  It is a VERY popular app created in China where you can post videos or images and, if security settings aren't changed, anyone using the app can access the users information they've shared.  PLEASE be aware of this app and all of it's features!  The video above can give more info on how to become knowledgeable of it and more!

And, oh, there's more.  Have you heard or read about the updated version of Instagram?  Did you know that the app is FREE because they can SELL the pictures and videos you post and because advertisers pay big money to have the attention of our kids?  Did you know that the newest feature, Instagram Direct, is where ANYONE (including kids) can share ANY photo, get bullied, be a bully or anything else and it cannot be blocked completely?  Wow.  Social media is hard to stay on top of so take a minute to click THIS LINK to educate yourself!!

As we start the last semester of this school year, we want to remind all parents and students that this is a fresh start.  Parents, please stay on top of your student by monitoring Parent Portal, downloading the "Grades" app, signing up for Remind texts from the teachers that use it, asking to be connected to Google Classroom and checking out teacher websites.  Please ASK your Viking to show you what they are working on.  Please, oh please, don't wait until May to see what they are missing or what their grades are.  Need help with any of the tech tools we use?  PLEASE reach out to our office at 707-646-7000, email your Viking's teacher directly, check out our website here, or email us!

The SPRING FLING IS COMING!!  We are gearing up for our 4th Annual Spring Fling at GV Cellars on Saturday, April 28 from 4-8 PM and WE NEED YOUR HELP!  Do you have connections for tickets to sporting events, time shares, winery tours, limo tours, etc?  Tickets will be on sale FEBRUARY 1st for $25.00 and the Sign Up Genius has gone out!  Click HERE to see if you can donate! Please reach out to your connections and help us make this year's event even more fun and successful than last year's (that may be hard as last year was a TON of fun!).  More details, donation letters, and Sign Up Genius links will be sent at the beginning of February!  You DON'T want to miss this!

HAVE YOU HEARD?  We are SO excited that our own Green Valley Parent-Teacher Club is signed up for Amazon Smile, where a portion of purchases comes back DIRECTLY to GVMS!  As you are doing your shopping on Amazon, remember to log into Amazon Smile and click Green Valley Parent-Teacher Club to help support GVMS!  Thank you!!

*CHECK OUT OUR PROJECTS!!*  THERE ARE MANY of THEM!

We are ALWAYS thinking outside the box to create effective ways to reach all of our students!  Want to be a part of this??  All donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!  Check out THIS LINK to see ALL OF the different ideas that our VERY OWN GVMS teachers have come up with!  NEW PROJECTS HAVE BEEN ADDED!!

January 19, 2018

As we start the last semester of this school year, we want to remind all parents and students that this is a fresh start.  Parents, please stay on top of your student by monitoring Parent Portal, downloading the "Grades" app, signing up for Remind texts from the teachers that use it, asking to be connected to Google Classroom and checking out teacher websites.  Please ASK your Viking to show you what they are working on.  Please, oh please, don't wait until May to see what they are missing or what their grades are.  Need help with any of the tech tools we use?  PLEASE reach out to our office at 707-646-7000, email your Viking's teacher directly, check out our website here, or email Mrs. Cherry!

We know that all parents want what's best for our children and that includes raising a good digital human.  Many of our students feel that they are "invincible" behind the screen of their phones and do not truly realize that everything they put out on any form of social media is part of their digital footprint.  The good, the bad and the ugly.  So how do we, as adults still navigating our own way through this digital time, support and teach our students to be very aware that what they throw out there has a LASTING effect?  Take a look at THIS ARTICLE for ways to work with your Viking!

The SPRING FLING IS COMING!!  We are gearing up for our 4th Annual Spring Fling at GV Cellars on Saturday, April 28 from 4-8 PM and WE NEED YOUR HELP!  Do you have connections for tickets to sporting events, time shares, winery tours, limo tours, etc?  Please reach out to your connections and help us make this year's event even more fun and successful than last year's (that may be hard as last year was a TON of fun!).  More details, donation letters, and Sign Up Genius links will be sent at the beginning of February!  You DON'T want to miss this!

HAVE YOU HEARD?  We are SO excited that our own Green Valley Parent-Teacher Club is signed up for Amazon Smile, where a portion of purchases comes back DIRECTLY to GVMS!  As you are doing your shopping on Amazon, remember to log into Amazon Smile and click Green Valley Parent-Teacher Club to help support GVMS!  Thank you!!

*CHECK OUT OUR PROJECTS!!*  THERE ARE 7 of THEM!

We are ALWAYS thinking outside the box to create effective ways to reach all of our students!  Want to be a part of this??  All donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!  Check out THIS LINK to see ALL OF the different ideas that our VERY OWN GVMS teachers have come up with!  NEW PROJECTS HAVE BEEN ADDED!!

January 12, 2018

As more and more students are receiving devices and logging into social media accounts, some that parents have NO IDEA about, we all need ways that we can encourage our students to be SAFE.  They must understand that their "digital footprint" starts the minute they sign up/log on.  What they put out on social media cannot be taken back.  Check out THIS ARTICLE for ways parents can be safety experts.  Also, please oh please, check your students phone every once in awhile.  Do you have their log in and passwords to their social media accounts?  You should.  Most likely, you are the one paying for the service in the first place =)

Please remember that you MUST have an ID to pick up your student from GVMS.  While many of us have known many of you for a long time, it is a requirement that all adults, who are here to check out our students, must be on the emergency card and have ID.  Thank you for helping to keep our precious students safe!

HAVE YOU HEARD?  We are SO excited that our own Green Valley Parent-Teacher Club is signed up for Amazon Smile, where a portion of purchases comes back DIRECTLY to GVMS!  As you are doing your shopping on Amazon, remember to log into Amazon Smile and click Green Valley Parent-Teacher Club to help support GVMS!  Thank you!!

Wow.  We have NEVER seen so many requests for short term Independent Study (IS) as we have this school year.  It is SO very important for our students to be in school, even if they get the work from their teacher.  The instruction that they loose is way too valuable.  PLEASE, parents and guardians, remember the policies for IS as outlined in our student agenda, webpage, and welcome pamphlet:

• GVMS must be given at least 5 school days advance notice prior to the request
• IS must be at least 5 school days missed or more (weekends and holidays don't count)
• IS will not be granted the first two weeks and the last two weeks of school
• All assignments are due the day that the student returns
• For 18-19, IS may not be granted leading up to a long holiday week break (Thanksgiving, Winter Break, Spring Break)

Hope to see you all there!

*CHECK OUT OUR PROJECTS!!*  THERE ARE 7 of THEM!

We are ALWAYS thinking outside the box to create effective ways to reach all of our students!  Want to be a part of this??  All donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!  Check out THIS LINK to see ALL OF the different ideas that our VERY OWN GVMS teachers have come up with!  NEW PROJECTS HAVE BEEN ADDED!!