Good Afternoon Panthers, We hope everyone enjoyed a beautiful long weekend & was able to make memories with family & friends.

 

Upcoming events:

Tomorrow, 5/6/24 is a B day for exploratory & MTSS classes.

 

Teacher Appreciation Week:  This week we celebrate our wonderful teachers.  Be sure to thank our teachers for all of their hard work!

 

DeSSA This Week:  Students will be completing their end-of-year iready math assessment this week on Wednesday, May 8. Our 8th-grade students will complete the state science assessment during class on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week.   On Wednesday, we will start testing at 8:30. Please encourage your student to be at school on time and to show their learning growth this year on the assessment. Thank you for your support.

DeSSA Spirit Days this week:  Spirit Days this week: Monday 5/6: Culture Day; Wear traditional clothing or outfits (or just a fun t-shirt) that shows off your pride in your culture.

Spring sports: Spring Sports continue this week. Softball and baseball are each facing MOT Charter on Monday, May 6 and McCullough Middle on Wednesday, May 8.  Our track and field team is facing Everett Meredith Middle on Monday, May 6 and McCullough Middle on Wednesday, May 8.  All of our sporting events this week are at home… Schedules: Baseball      Softball      Track & Field

District Calendar: The school district calendar for the 23-24 school year is linked here:

2024-2025 School Calendars:  July 2024-December 2024      January 2025-June 2025

New Updates:

Upcoming Variety Show Information: “Calling all Gunning Bedford Stars! Do you have a talent that’s ready to shine? Are you ready to dazzle the audience with your skills? Then get ready because it’s time for the Gunning Bedford Middle School Variety Show Auditions! Whether you’re a solo act or part of a group, we want to see what you’ve got! Singers, dancers, musicians, actors, comedians, magicians, jugglers, and any other talented individuals or groups are invited to audition. The Audition sign up link is now open and will close on April 23rd. Auditions will be held on Thursday 4/25. To audition, all performances must fill out an audition form which is located in schoology. Come prepared to showcase your talent and impress the judges! To sign up for auditions please visit schoology or for more information, please contact Ms. B in room 201.See you at auditions!” Audition link 

Colonial Summer Programming 2024: Please please see link for programs offered this summer and the locations. https://www.colonialschooldistrict.org/academics/summer-learning/ If you have any questions or concerns regarding this information please contact Jessica Hitchens (jessica.hitchens@colonial.k12.de.us)

Updates from Grade Level: Please see updates from our grade level administrators and staff here from before break:            6th Grade:      7th Grade:       8th Grade:    ILC: 

Rolling Updates

Early Dismissal Procedure: Students will no longer be able to wait in the Main Office for a family member to pick up early. As increased security measures we must check the ID of the persons picking up before releasing the child. Thank you for your understanding and your partnership in keeping our students safe.

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.

School Pictures Order Form: Linked here is the form to order pictures of your student from picture day.

2023-2024 Yearbook Order Form: Linked here if interested in pre-ordering. 2024 Yearbook QR Code Order Link.pdf

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. 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.

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:

11:05-11:35

8 lunch

11:47-12:17

6 lunch

12:27-12:57

7 lunch

Support Links for Families: –Please use this link for more information & FAQ about Home Access CenterTo update the contact information you have on file please fill out the form linked here:

Grade level Administrators & Counselors:

Administration                                                  School Counselors

6th Grade AP:  Dr. Thomas-Brown

6th Grade:  Ms. Sheppard 

7th Grade Administrator: Mr. Sopkanich

7th Grade: Mr. Arent

8th Grade AP:  Mrs. Nowell

8th Grade: Ms. Pine

ILC Administrator: Mrs. Eger 

Principal: Mr. Johnston

 

Have a great rest of the day and remember, you can’t hide that Panther Pride!