Galesburg-Augusta Primary School

There is NO Middle School Boys (7-8) open gym tonight at the Primary. Enjoy Halloween Night. Practice tomorrow 3:30-5:30 at the Middle School. Parent meeting Wednesday night 5:30. Scrimmage Thursday vs Gagie at 4:00 (Home). Pay to Participate fee is due Friday, November 12.

*** 2021 Bond Proposal *** Q: Does G-A still have one of the lowest millage rates compared to other local districts? A: Yes. At 5.5 mills we are second to the bottom. With an increase to 6.7 mills, we will still be in the bottom third for the number of mills levied.

Recently I was asked why we need space at the Primary School when student enrollment overall in the district has gone down. As Mr. Sportel and I have previously shared, we have added teachers to reduce class sizes, added more curricular opportunities, and added more intervention staff. In addition, these are the facts around the student enrollment numbers at the Primary School: K-4 enrollment in 2016 was 349 students. K-4 enrolled in 2019 (pre-pandemic) was 380 students. In addition, we currently have 75 preschoolers. Families are choosing G-A, and to do our best by the students entrusted to us, these facilities matter! - Ms. Somers

*** 2021 Bond Proposal *** Additional classroom space at the Primary School means returning 4th grades to the PS and 8th grades to the MS. It will open space back up at the High School for needed programs: Space is maxed out at our Primary School due to necessary and additional programs being added over the past several years. By adding an additional wing on to the Primary which will house four 4th grade classrooms and a STEAM education classroom, we once again will be able to house our 8th graders back at the Middle School and our Primary will return to a PreK-4 building. Currently the High School space is also maxed out keeping us from adding teachers and courses. Our very successful Robotics program is housed in a maintenance building.

You can register to vote AND vote at the same time! Just bring a valid ID to your precinct on November 2nd!

The Primary School Halloween Parade will start at about 8:10 AM tomorrow, 10/28. If you would like to watch the parade, please line up on the outside of the sidewalks from the front of the building, all the way around to the back. The student will parade two laps from the back to the front along the sidewalk by the football field parking lot, and into the front door.

WHY do we have delayed starts? Click the link below to watch a quick video and learn how they benefit our students. https://business.facebook.com/GalesburgAugustaCommunitySchools/videos/252594876823111/

**** 2021 Bond Proposal *** Watch this video for all the details! https://youtu.be/gSwsUe5xrtE

DELAYED START TODAY 10/27! Just a friendly reminder that TODAY, 10/27 is a delayed start day. Delayed starts are scheduled every Wednesday, except for the 1st Wednesday of each month. School will start 90 minutes later on delayed start days. School will dismiss at the normal time. Delayed Start Times: Primary School 9:20 AM Middle School 9:44 AM High School 9:00 AM * Bus riders will be picked up 90 minutes later than their scheduled pick up time.

All G-A students will get in FREE at the JV and Varsity Volleyball matches tomorrow 10/27. JV match starts at 5:30 p.m.

Just a reminder: THIS THURSDAY 10/28 is a 1/2 Day for K-12. Parent Teacher Conferences in the PM. FRIDAY 10/29 there is No School for K-12. Parent-Teacher Conferences 9-11a.m.

Q: How will this bond help academic achievement at G-A? A: Expanding and repurposing facilities, increasing the number of academic/athletic opportunities, offering increasing STEM/STEAM curriculum, flexible spacing for after-school student groups, has been shown to positively impact students' interest in learning, encouraging them to stay in school and graduate! ● By upgrading and improving the learning environment, our students will be better able to learn the skills needed to be successful adults in our communities. Researchers have followed adults who participated in high school after-school programming such as athletics. They found that those adults exhibit goal setting, perseverance, communication skills and far greater confidence in themselves and their futures. All G-A students deserve the opportunities to learn and master these life skills for their future success as community members and contributors to the world around them.

Q: Are there still buses in the bond project? A: Yes. Our bus fleet is an aging fleet that requires increasing and costly repairs to keep them safely on the road. Did you know G-A's oldest running bus is 21 years old? https://youtu.be/UR9iOHlSlik

Why does Galesburg-Augusta need additional classroom space? Additional classroom space at the Primary School means returning 4th grades to the PS and 8th grades to the MS. It will open space back up at the High School for needed programs! https://youtu.be/nLdbAfdhpfI

2021 Bond Proposal - Athletic Facility The site at the HS was created to support a new athletic facility. And it's not just for football. We have students who play soccer, perform in marching band, softball, tennis, baseball, and who are required to take fitness and health in our PE classes. Currently, there are no bathrooms outside for anyone’s use and we must bus all our groups of students to the Primary on game days. Imagine loading up all our marching band equipment into a trailer, taking it to the old field, performing at half time and throughout the game, loading the equipment all backup, busing band students back to the High School, and then unloading all the instruments again. Our students deserve to walk outside their band room and head onto the field! This facility will be utilized by all our high school students, many middle students, and by community members who would like a safe place to walk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBcyurSEwK8

Primary School walk to event is tomorrow Friday, October 22nd. Students will walk from River Oaks Oaks entrance to the school starting at 7:35. Students can be dropped off at the park starting at 7:15.

*** 2021 Bond Proposal *** Our Kids Our Community Our Responsibility *slide show* https://youtu.be/XscrCXlNwk0

Galesburg-Augusta seeks $16.5M bond for new athletics complex, classrooms https://www.woodtv.com/news/kalamazoo-county/galesburg-augusta-seeks-16-5m-bond-for-new-athletics-complex-classrooms/

*** 2021 Bond Proposal *** Please visit www.ga-bond for details.

DELAYED START TODAY 10/20! Just a friendly reminder that TODAY, 10/20 is a delayed start day. Delayed starts are scheduled every Wednesday, except for the 1st Wednesday of each month. School will start 90 minutes later on delayed start days. School will dismiss at the normal time. Delayed Start Times: Primary School 9:20 AM Middle School 9:44 AM High School 9:00 AM * Bus riders will be picked up 90 minutes later than their scheduled pick up time.