Upcoming Dates
February 2: GW Open House for rising 6th grade families
February 5: National History Day at GW
February 5: GW Elective Fair and Curriculum Night, 5:30-7pm
February 5-9: National School Counseling Week
February 7: Chipotle Dine Out Fundraiser, Potomac Yard, 5-9pm
February 8: School Board meeting
February 9: Freezy Pop party for 6th Grade for PTA Honor Roll of Donors
February 13: PTA meeting, Zoom/Facebook Live, 7pm
February 15-16: Early Dismissal - Parent/Teacher Conferences
February 19: Presidents’ Day, No School
February 21: Open House for rising 6th grade families in Spanish
February 24: “Your Future Today” Mentoring event at ACHS
March 2: National History Day Regional Competition
A Message from the President:
Thank you to Stephanie Paulson and her team of volunteers for a very successful and widely-attended appreciation breakfast on Friday! We welcomed so many grateful teachers and staff - thank you to the bakers and shoppers, and those who donated time or money. None of this is possible without our PTA members and volunteers!
Our 6th grade class was the lucky winner of our Honor Roll of Donors fall competition! With the greatest number of individual donations, the 6th graders will enjoy freezy pops during lunch on Friday, February 9th. Please contact our VP of Fundraising, Pam Townsend (gwptafunds@gmail.com) with any questions.
Greta Gordon
GWMS PTA President 2023-2024
Chipotle Dine Out Fundraiser, February 7th
Take a night off from cooking, gather your family and friends, and join your GW community for dinner! Our next dine out fundraiser will be Wednesday, February 7th, from 5:00-9:00pm, at Chipotle, Potomac Yard location. What an easy and delicious way to support GWMS PTA!
National History Day
The 2024 National History Day Contest theme is “Turning Points in History.” Our in-school National History Day competition is February 5th. The regional competition will be March 2nd at West Springfield High School.
Mr. Parks is looking for a few NHD judges - 9:30am-12pm, for our in-school competition, Monday, February 5th in the library. If you are interested in serving as a judge on the 5th, please email 8th Grade Civics Teacher, Dana Parks: dana.parks@acps.k12.va.us
GW Elective Fair and Curriculum Night
The Elective Fair and Curriculum Night will take place on Monday, February 5th, from 5:30-7:00pm. Rising 6th grade (students currently in 5th grade) and their families are strongly encouraged to attend to learn more about GW elective offerings and course expectations. Rising 7th and 8th grade students and families are welcome to attend too, to explore elective options.
GWMS PTA will have a table with information and GW spirit wear for sale.
Rising 6th Grade Information
In addition to the Electives Fair, families of rising 6th grade GW families should plan to attend one of the open houses. The first open house will be Friday, February 2nd from 9:00 to 10:30am. (This is the first one since the scheduled Jan. 12th open house was canceled due to snow.)
Also note the open house dedicated to Spanish-speaking families on February 21st.
Casa abierta con padres y cuidadores de alumnos de habla hispana que irán al 6° grado, 21 febrero, 5:30-6:30pm.
Check out the full list of GWMS Orientation and Transition Events.
Finally, please take a moment to read the Academic Advisement Letter:
Rising 9th Grade Information
Starting today through Friday, February 5th, 8th grade students and parents/caregivers will have an opportunity to enter in PowerSchool the desired courses requested for the 2024-2025 school year as rising 9th grade students attending Alexandria City High School. 8th grade students will also meet with their counselors in the coming weeks to discuss and finalize their course selections.
Families should review this presentation, as well as this list of 9th grade courses offered, and have a robust conversation regarding interested courses and/or programs (e.g. Health and Medical Sciences, STEM, etc.).
Directions for how to enter course requests in PowerSchool are linked here. You may also access the 2023-24 Program of Studies, which includes course and program descriptions, graduation requirements and much, much more. (Please note that the 2024-2025 Program of Studies should be posted any day now.) In the meantime, please reference the 2023-2024 Program of Studies as the course offerings and descriptions are similar for next school year.
GW Spelling Bee Results
Congratulations to our Spelling Bee winners! Best of luck to 8th grader, Meredith Pugh, who will compete as our Regional Bee representative in March!
GW’s Visit with Reggie Love
Reggie Love, President Obama’s personal aide, visited with some of our 7th and 8th grade students on Friday, Jan. 26. Students learned about his professional duties working for the former president, as well as what led him there and what he’s been doing since. Our GW students asked very poignant questions relevant to them and took pictures. It was an enlightening experience!
ACPS Licensed Staff Hiring Fair - February 10th
ACPS will be hosting a job fair for licensed professionals on February 10th. The event will be in-person or virtual and is by invitation only. Pre-registration is required.
ACPS Mentoring Event “Your Future Today” - February 24th
ACPS will host a mentoring event, “Your Future Today” geared toward Black/African American males in grades 6-12. at the Alexandria City High School - King Street campus from 9 am. to 2 pm.This event is free of charge. To register, fill out the online form.
Thanks to our 2023-24 Business Sponsors!
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