Principal's Message

Welcome!

And how are the children? How would you answer this question?

We continue to press our children to show up to class on time. Students who have been and are caught this week in hallsweeps more than once will be excluded from activities such as the Harvest Dance this week. Parents, encourage your child to make it to all his/her/their classes on time. Students who consistently do not report to class or to class on time will require intensive support such as Parent Shadow and face increased disciplinary action such as in- and out- of school suspension.

Reminder that breakfast is free for everyone and is served 7:20 - 7:45 AM. If you are a walker or car rider and wish to eat breakfast, you must arrive before 7:45 AM. This is to ensure everyone is able to eat and we can continue timely and orderly school operations. 

We had a great Spirit Week and PSAT P(r)ep Rally last week encouraging our eighth grade Knights to do their best on this week's PSAT 8/9 test! Thank you to the parents and community members who stopped by to see the action live on our sixth grade team. Our teachers and staff had the opportunity to engage in professional learning last Friday. And the BLUE team took home the WIN for our World Cup Soccer tournament. 

This week our eighth graders show off their best on the PSAT 8/9 and open up multiple high school opportunities for themselves. And we welcome seventh grade families and community members to come see the teaching and learning live at our Seventh Grade Open House, Wednesday, October 25 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM. Wednesday, we will also wear our red in solidarity of Red Ribbon Week to keep our children drug free; share vital information with eighth grade families; and shake, dance, and groove at our Harvest Dance. We close our week wearing orange to bring awareness to and prevent bullying.

One more thing- Today's Action for Happiness encourages all to share a hopeful quote, picture, video with a friend or colleague! Happy Optimistic October!

Together, with you, we are the #UndauntedKnights. Together, we will overcome any and all obstacles to ensure our beloved children feel safe, seen, and supported to be successful!

This newsletter will be updated Sunday nights and posted on the G. James Gholson Middle website to keep all students, staff, families and community members informed. Be sure to read and make note of all details.

Principal's Message

Welcome!

And how are the children? How would you answer this question?

Check SchoolMAX for your child's Quarter 1 Progress Report grades; talk to your child; and reach out to your child's teachers to answer "And how are the children." I look forward to seeing families tomorrow, October 9, at the district wide parent-teacher conferences. If you were unable to get an appointment slot for October 9, you can always contact your child's professional school counselor (Dr. Doswell (6), Mrs. Epps (7), Mrs. Jones (8)) to set up an appointment during your child's teachers' planning period most days during the week. 

Recently, we've had some parents and a staff member to allow their fear and frustration to get the best of them and cause them to get aggressive with other Gholson community members. I want to remind you that my (and PGCPS) expectation is that EVERY adult in our Gholson community will speak and behave in a professional manner at all times! PGCPS staff are guided by the PGCPS Employee Code of Conduct and Parents and Visitors are guided by the PGCPS Code of Conduct for Parents and Visitors. Remember, we are all on the same team! And our one goal is to ensure our beloved children are safe, seen, and supported to be successful- even when we disagree! Every adult's speech and behavior must be a MODEL of speech and behavior that we want to see in our children. WHO are WE to complain about our children's violent behaviors and fighting spirits when WE, the adults, do not show our children something different? I ask all the adults in our community to check yourselves before you wreck yourselves, because poor behavior is bad for our children's health (or whatever Ice Cube said). Click here to know who to turn to to resolve your concerns and questions-> https://www.pgcps.org/about-pgcps/contact-us/a-guide-to-addressing-questions-and-concerns

I am excited to invite families to join us this FRIDAY, October 13 for World Cup Soccer. All invitations are for ALL Gholson families, no matter your heritage, race. In order for students to attend, students must meet the participation criteria- 

• No PS-74, minor incident form, suspensions (including cutting class, consistent class tardiness, loitering, absconding, etc.)

• No uniform violations

• no grade less than 70%

Grade 6 will enjoy World Cup soccer MOD 2 (8:50 AM); Grade 7 will enjoy World Cup soccer MOD 4 (12:20 PM); and Grade 7 will enjoy World Cup soccer MOD 5 (1:25 PM). The rain date is Monday, October 16. Note- If a grade level experiences a fight prior to the game, their entire grade level WILL NOT participate as spectators and will remain in class; the game will go on for parents and staff to enjoy. What ever one does or does not do impacts everyone in our community.

And all eighth graders should be at Gholson for the next two Saturday PSAT 8/9 Prep sessions October 14 and October 21 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM. This is a great opportunity for our eighth graders to prepare to do their best on the PSAT they will take the week of October 23!

One more thing- Today's Action for Happiness encourages all to make some progress on a project we've been avoiding. What have you been putting off? Get back at it! Happy Optimistic October!

Together, with you, we are the #UndauntedKnights. Together, we will overcome any and all obstacles to ensure our beloved children feel safe, seen, and supported to be successful!

This newsletter will be updated Sunday nights and posted on the G. James Gholson Middle website to keep all students, staff, families and community members informed. Be sure to read and make note of all details.

Welcome!

And how are the children? How would you answer this question?

We continue to work to build relationships, connections , and everyone's capacity to ensure that every child and adult in our community feels safe, feels seen, and is supported to be successful. While I was dismayed at the group fight two weeks ago and even more so how the media chose to focus on that one fight and not all the great things that we've accomplished in these six weeks, I'm encouraged by the feedback I've received from students, staff, and parents, our children's joy, and their class attendance. Although we are not perfect, we are growing and getting better each day!

Thank you to the families that were able to join us for our #FunFriday Hispanic Heritage Showcase! We appreciate the time and effort the committee (Dr. Hayward, Ms. Rosado, Ms. Saldana, Ms. Kirk, Ms. McElroy, Mr. Davis, Mr. McClary) has taken to coordinate the celebrations and acknowledging our children and staff of Hispanic Heritage. And thank you to the parents who allowed their children to dress down and dress up in attire that reflected their Hispanic Heritage! Thee G. James Gholson Middle School community is all the better for the rich cultures that make up our community! I look forward to and invite our families to our upcoming events - October 6- Hispanic Heritage Movie Day; October 13- World Cup Soccer. In order to attend, students must meet the participation criteria- 

• No PS-74, minor incident form, suspensions (including cutting class, consistent class tardiness, loitering, absconding, etc.)

• No uniform violations

• no grade less than 70%

Be sure you check out and make note of all the things happening at Thee G. James Gholson! Many students missed out on the first day of our in-person PSAT Test prep this past Saturday (and continues this Saturday). And many parents are missing our Parent Workshops and informationals. DON'T LET YOU AND YOURS BE LEFT OUT! 

I look forward to seeing families October 9 at the district wide parent-teacher conferences. If you are unable to get an appointment slot for October 9, you can always contact your child's professional school counselor to set up an appointment during your child's teachers' planning period during the week. 

Did you know we speak at least three languages at Thee G? English, Spanish, and French are the majority languages. Our students and staff represent countries from five of the seven continents! Together, with you, we are the #UndauntedKnights. Together, we will overcome any and all obstacles to ensure our beloved children feel safe, seen, and supported to be successful!

This newsletter will be updated Sunday nights and posted on the G. James Gholson Middle website to keep all students, staff, families and community members informed. Be sure to read and make note of all details.