Good Evening Panther Families, We hope everyone had a great weekend and is looking forward to the last week of 2023!
Upcoming events:
Tomorrow, Monday 12/18 is an A day for exploratory and MTSS classes.
Winter Break begins on Friday. No School on Friday 12/22. We return to school on Tuesday, 1/2/24.
District Calendar: The school district calendar for the 23-24 school year is linked here:
Upcoming Winter Sports Games: Our wrestling schedule is linked here:Our last match is Tuesday home vs. McCullough
Spirit Week: Monday – PJ DAY NO Slippers, Tuesday – Grinch Day, Wednesday – Glad for Plaid or Flannel Day, Thursday – Merry & Bright Day, We can’t wait to see your Panther Pride!
New Updates:
After-School Activities Pick-Up Details: As we move into our next season of after school sports and activities, we want to clarify procedures for parents who pick up their students from after school activities. Student safety is our biggest concern. Please do not park in the first 5 bus slots or along the sidewalk outside of the auditorium. Both areas are noted in the map below by a blue ‘X.’ This ensures that our students can safely cross the bus court to get on their assigned buses.
Attending After-School Sports Games: Students must go home and return with a parent if they plan to attend an after school sports event. Parents are required to remain with their student throughout the entire event.
Enrichment Competition: There are only 3 more days left in the “12 Days Until Winter Break” enrichment competition. Remember, the goal is to earn as many Power Up units, ST Math puzzles and iReady lessons as possible by Wednesday, 12/20. The top 4 winners in each program for each grade level will earn fun prizes on Thursday, 12/21. The competition is getting EXTREMELY close! There are only a few units, puzzles and lessons separating the top 4 and beyond. And in 8th grade, we have a large tie for 4th place in iReady! It is anyone’s game this week! Keep working hard Panther’s! Here is the most up to date leader board:
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Power Up |
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6th grade |
Sean Chance |
David Manos-Kamara |
Samiah Dukes |
Zari O’Gilvie |
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7th grade |
Brayden Petrillo |
Tavion Brady |
Ethan Douglas-Wilson |
Matthew Fisher |
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8th grade |
Amir Allen |
Jaylen Reeves |
Scott Jones |
Anya Kinderman |
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St Math |
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6th grade |
Meriem Zigh |
Ian Martinez-Yepez |
Dhreeya Desai |
Lailah Foster |
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7th grade |
Brayden Petrillo |
Jocelyn Ho |
Ariana Gilmer |
Kori Taylor |
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8th grade |
Jeremy Vollay |
Luke Stambaugh |
Victor Diaz-Martinez |
Isaiah Ellison |
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iReady |
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6th grade |
Brandon Ocampo Marrufo |
Anthony Zelano |
Messiah Ward |
Landon Hearn |
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7th grade |
Jalen Carr |
Ethan Douglas-Wilson |
Michael Dubois |
Jayden Harris (tie) Omar Washington (tie) |
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8th grade |
Aiden Dominick |
Xavier Brock |
Tie between: Uriel Arizaga-Sanchez Jakhi Baxter Aiden Ferrier Avery Glenn |
Tie between: Christine Howard Abel Mukaku Heaven Price Marie Volcy Sanai Williams |
Updates from Grade Level: Please see updates from our grade level administrators and staff here:
6th Grade: 7th Grade: 8th Grade:
Community Events:
Girls Tech Together: Girls Tech Together (GTT). GTT is an international 501(c)(3) non-profit organization aimed at introducing girls to fundamental concepts in the Computer Science field through introductory activities, coding lessons, and interaction with professionals in the CS area. We are currently partnered with and sponsored by the Bank of America, TD Bank, the DE Foundation for Science and Math Education, and more. For more info, see link here:
YLI Leadership Recruitment Flyer (12).pdf Youth Leadership Institute, a program for middle school students in New Castle County, Delaware. Please see attached flier and application link. Registration link is here:
Rolling Updates
Back to Basics Tutoring: Please see flier here: 23-24 SY Back to Basics Learning Dynamics Colonial Revise Flyer.png
Morning Car Rider drop-off & Afternoon pick-up: Parents dropping off students in the morning need to create a single line on the right side of the cones. Students should exit their cars to the sidewalk. Cars are not to travel on the left side of the cones. Student safety is our top priority. As a reminder, please review the images linked before on where drop-off and pick-up is located. am and pm. AM is in the front of the building, PM is on the side of the building. Staff will be present to support in building the routine with students and families. Please be patient with students, staff and our fellow families as we learn together. Our doors open at 7:55AM each day. Please be mindful of dropping off students before then as staff are not outside. In the afternoon, car rider dismissal begins at 2:37PM on the side of the building. Families will pull into the parking lot on the side of the building and form a line that goes up and around the lot. Please follow the directions of staff supporting the dismissal to ensure a safe dismissal for all.
Library Information from Ms. Hewes: Please visit HERE to get more details.
Student Lockers, Coats, Cellphones, & Expectations for Dress: All students have access to a locker. Students are to use their lockers to store their coats and bags each day. Students have access to their lockers multiple times during the school day to pick-up/dropoff items. Students are to not wear backpacks or coats during the school day. Link for Code of Conduct & Colonial Expectations for Dress: Please see link for a reminder for our district expectations for dress and this year’s code of conduct. Students are to not wear hats, hoods, or sunglasses inside the building. Please remind students about our cellphone expectations of devices being away while at school. Students are able to use YONDR pouches and/or have phones remain in their bags. A brief presentation about our cellphone expectations is linked here: Also, student horseplay is not appropriate at school. Students are to keep hands/feet to themselves.
GB Gear: Please see link here to order GB clothing & apparel. I purchased 2 sweatshirts this week and they are great quality!
Emergency cards: Emergency Card 2023-2024.pdf If you have not submitted an Emergency Card, please do so ASAP. If you need one, it is linked above. Any new information from medical, to emergency contacts, to new phone numbers can all be updated on the emergency card.
2023-2024 Yearbook Order Form: Linked here if interested in pre-ordering.2024 Yearbook QR Code Order Link.pdf
Health Office Information: Our school nurse is Ms. Taylor & her email is: olivia.taylor@colonial.k12.de.us Please view the Welcome Letter from Nurse Taylor here with important health office information.
Breakfast & Lunch for students: All students at Gunning Bedford get free breakfast & lunch each day. Students can pack their breakfast or lunch as well. Students are not able to have any outside delivery food for lunch time; For example no Door-Dash or UberEats delivery. The lunch times for students is:
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11:05-11:35 |
8 lunch |
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11:47-12:17 |
6 lunch |
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12:27-12:57 |
7 lunch |
Support Links for Families: –Please use this link for more information & FAQ about Home Access Center –To update the contact information you have on file please fill out the form linked here:
Grade level Administrators & Counselors: The names and contact emails for our grade level assistant principals, student advisor and school counselors are listed below. They are your go-to contacts for supporting your student.
Administration School Counselors
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6th Grade AP: Dr. Thomas-Brown |
6th Grade: Ms. Sheppard |
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7th Grade Interim: Ms. Robinson |
7th Grade: Mr. Arent |
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8th Grade AP: Mrs. Nowell |
8th Grade: Ms. Pine |
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ILC Administrator: Mrs. Eger |
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Principal: Mr. Johnston |
Have a great rest of the day and remember, you can’t hide that Panther Pride!
Sincerely,
Mr. Johnston
Principal
Gunning Bedford Middle School