Upcoming Events
Today
- 8th Grade Honor LunchTomorrow
5/27/2013
5/28/2013
District Announcements
Checking Your Child's Grades
As the end of the school year approaches, we know many parents are giving added attention to grades. Don't forget that ParentLink is the place for parents to access grades, attendance and assignment information.
Instructions on how to use ParentLink can be found by clicking here.
If you have lost or forgotten your ParentLink login information, please come to the school office, and we'll be glad to help you out!
Instructions on how to use ParentLink can be found by clicking here.
If you have lost or forgotten your ParentLink login information, please come to the school office, and we'll be glad to help you out!
Registration Dates Announced For 2013 School Year
Attention Parents!
The registration and Meet the Teacher dates for the 2013-2014 school year are set.
Meet the Teacher day and registration for all elementary schools will be Thursday, August 15 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Registration times for middle and high schools vary by school and by grade. For a complete list of times and dates for middle and high schools, take a look at the Meet the Teacher Schedule.
2013 Registration Q & A
The registration and Meet the Teacher dates for the 2013-2014 school year are set.
Meet the Teacher day and registration for all elementary schools will be Thursday, August 15 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Registration times for middle and high schools vary by school and by grade. For a complete list of times and dates for middle and high schools, take a look at the Meet the Teacher Schedule.
2013 Registration Q & A
School Announcements
GMS DAILY ANNOUNCEMENTS
2013-14 TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Gettys Middle School is very proud to announce the Teacher of the Year for 2013-14, chorus teacher Mrs. Amy Byrd. Congratulations, Mrs. Byrd!
2013-14 SUPPORT EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
The 2013-14 Gettys Middle School Support Employee of the Year is media clerk Judy Roe. She has been an outstanding asset to our school library! Way to go, Mrs. Roe!
FOOTBALL SPRING PRACTICE
Spring Practice will be for rising 8th graders only on the following dates: May 6-9 and 13-18 from 3:30-5:30 pm. Rising 7th graders can begin conditioning on June 10. Coach Austin is available at 397-3983.
NEW 7TH GRADE IMMUNIZATIONS REQUIRED NEXT SCHOOL YEAR
The 2013-2014 school year will include a new immunization requirement for all 7th graders. All 7th graders will be required to have a Tdap vaccine on or after their 7th birthday to protect themselves from whooping cough. Students who have not had a Tdap vaccine may not attend school as of August 2013; therefore, we recommend that you make an appointment soon and avoid the rush. Proof of immunization will be part of our Meet the Teachers event during the Summer 2013. Click HERE.
ADVANCED MATH CRITERIA 2013-2014
SDPC has updated the qualifying MAP scores for Advanced Math classes since the test changed and the other two citeria of teacher grade/PASS score will remain the same for the 2013-2014 school year. The new Advanced Math criteria MAP score will be 234 for 6th grade Advanced Math, 239 for 7th grade Advanced Math, and 245 for Algebra One Honors. The score range for Algebra One CP will be 231-244. If you have any questions please contact your classroom teacher or grade level office.
GETTYS MIDDLE MOVING JUNE 2013
Gettys Middle School will be moving to our new temporary address of 510 S Pendleton Street Easley, SC 29640 (formerly Easley High School location) for the 2013-2014 school year so construction can begin for the GMS site on Stewart Drive. We expect to move Gettys Middle School to its temporary location in June 2013. To prepare for the moving of all items within our large school, you will begin to notice our packing and preparation for this move over the course of April and May. Classrooms are taking down non-essential items and packing materials from the first semester. Our media center will begin a transition of limited operations while they pack nearly 18,000 books. Quality instruction will continue for the fourth nine weeks but we appreciate your understanding if you see any items being packed up during this time. GMS plans to move back to their Stewart Drive address when construction is complete August 2014.
5th GRADE FAMILIES INFORMATION
Our staff puts much planning into the support of our rising 6th graders and their families. Click HERE to visit a webpage dedicated to our new students. We will support their transition to middle school by hosting a parent night on May 14 in our gym and our current 8th grade students will visit with elementary students at their school in June. We will also provide our Meet the Staff day on August 13 from 4:00-7:00 pm at our new location on S.Pendleton Street when families can pick up their schedules, meet their teachers, tour the school and find out more information about our nurse, cafeteria, as well as car and bus procedures all before the first day of school.
AN EMOTIONAL REUNION
Gettys Middle School 7th graders and faculty hosted a very special homecoming in the gym after lunch today. We recognized four students--Trevor Brady, Evin Miller, Banks Ross, and Chandler Pittman--who show Gettys Greatness by faithfully putting up the flag each morning and taking it down each night. We also emphasized the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance and how we can never take that pledge for granted. Then Staff Sergeant Chris Page, back from his latest tour in Afghanistan early, surprised his son Chandler Pittman. It was truly a Gettys Greatness moment!
COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH EDUCATION
Starting May 13 all grade levels will begin units related to Comprehensive Health Education. The purpose of this unit according to the state mandated Comprehensive Health Education Act of 1988 is “maintaining, reinforcing, or enhancing the health, health-related skills, and health attitudes and practices of children and youth that are conducive to their good health and that promote wellness, health maintenance, and disease prevention.” All students should have received and reviewed with you a letter about this activity. The Comprensive Health Education unit will be taught during Science classes by our certified teachers from the areas of Science or Physical Education. The classes will be single-gender classes with a certified teacher of the same gender as the students presenting the material. The district-approved curriculum materials will be utilized and is available for your review in any grade level office if you have any questions. Section 59-32-50 of the Comprehensive Health Education Act of 1988 outlines your right to have your child exempted from comprehensive health education classes. A parent that chooses to exempt their child from these classes must sign and return the letter. Contact our office if we can be of any assistance.
AWARD WINNING BAND INSTRUCTOR-MR. MAINIERI
Congratulations to Mr. Mainieri, band instructor, on being awarded the 2013 Outstanding Young Music Educator of the Year Award that is presented by the South Carolina Music Educators Association. Click HERE for his outstanding contributions to our band programs in Easley as well as our community.
HISTORY CLUB ATTENDS PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION
The History Club attended the Presidential Inauguration in Washington D.C. This trip was coodinated and led by Mrs. Simpson and Mrs. Scovel. GMS students were able to witness the inauguration, some were interviewed by NBC Nightly News, and they witnessed the presidential motorcade visiting Arlington Cementary. We appreciate all of the families support that made this trip possible and especially our chaperones.
GMS EXCELS ON 2012 SCHOOL REPORT CARD
Gettys Middle School achieved a "Good" absolute rating on the SC Department of Education 2012 Report Card! The index achieved that is associated with this rating is the highest index that we have ever received in the past ten years as a school in all the years of the PASS and the previous PACT testing. Also, another significant milestone is that our school performed higher than 70% of all middle schools in the state of South Carolina. We are extremely grateful for the hard work of all of our students that achieved these results. I am also thankful for our outstanding staff members and teachers that are "Making Gettys Great" every day! Click HERE to review our outstanding results.
STOP BULLYING NOW
Gettys Middle School has implemented the STOP BULLYING NOW PROGRAM. This program will help our staff/students/parents better understand the nature of bullying and its effects, how to respond to bullying, and how to work with others at school to help prevent bullying. For more information about the program click HERE. We also recommend parents to review these research-based TIP SHEETS of recommendations. Students should follow the following GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS if they encounter this issue. Always know that communication with the student, family, guidance counselors, and administration is one of the most effective strategies.
CAR- RIDER PROCEDURES
All car-rider students and their parents are expected to review the following letter regarding our car-rider procedures. Student safety is our highest priority and all car-rider families are expected to enter the GMS Traffic Loop in the morning and afternoon. It is important that our students see all of us following procedures, demonstrating cooperation, and supporting Gettys Middle School. Click HERE for letter of car-rider expectations and traffic enforcement procedures. You may also view the TRAFFIC LOOP MAP by clicking on this link.
GMS USES TWITTER
Gettys Middle School is using Twitter. Twitter is a real-time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices. People who sign up to follow Gettys Middle School can access education news and events as it happens. Your can receive updates as a text or email of one or two sentences from Mr. Cory, Principal. Join Twitter today and follow your school. Click HERE for GMS Twitter.
BUS PROCEDURES AND HELP
The phone number for any bus questions or assistance is 855-1088. Our bus drivers will be sure to get all students home safely. If you want to know the status of any bus that may be in route call the Easley Bus Office 855-1088.
BUCKS FOR BOOKS
Gettys Middle School PTO invites you to visit our Bucks for Books website. Bucks for Books is a fundraising program to raise money for the media centers of Gettys Middle School and the new middle school scheduled to open in 2014.
THE LIBRARY IS ON TWITTER
The Gettys Middle School Library is now on Twitter! Keep up with library news about events, new arrivals, reading programs, Book Fair, and much more! Follow us @gms_library (https://twitter.com/gms_library).
GMS AWARDED PALMETTO SILVER AWARD
Congratulations to all students, teachers and staff that contributed to our school’s first Palmetto Silver Award from the South Carolina State Department of Education! Our school met the criteria for the Palmetto Silver Award for consistent growth in student achievement over three years. Section 59-18-1100 of the EAA established the Palmetto Gold and Silver Awards Program to give recognition to schools that attain high levels of absolute performance and schools that attain high rates of growth. Our Palmetto Silver Award is in recognition of three years of strong performance. It has been over fifteen years since our school received a similar award in 1997.
GMS IS A "PEANUT SAFE" SCHOOL
At Gettys Middle School, we will serve several students with severe food allergies, particularly to nuts and nut products. We will take a proactive stance and will not serve peanut butter and peanut products in the cafeteria. Food allergies are growing in seriousness and it is not an exaggeration to say the condition contains the potential to be life threatening. We have a designated “Peanut-Safe” table in the cafeteria that is blue in color and signs are posted in hallways and classrooms as reminders to adults and children. Students with nuts and nut products will not sit at any of the blue cafeteria tables. Nuts and nut products will not be served by our cafeteria. Individual classrooms will receive letters making parents and students aware of the allergy situation. I am requesting parents be sensitive to this situation by knowing your child’s classroom food allergy status and not sending or bringing potentially dangerous foods to school. Thank you for your cooperation.
GMS PHONE DIRECTORY: CALL DIRECT
Our school has a new phone system with all staff having individual phone numbers. We encourage you to begin using the new phone numbers that will take you directly to your contact. Teachers can be called at anytime as it will just go to voicemail during their class time. PHONE DIRECTORY Our main office number is 397-3900. The nurse office is 397-3907. The cafeteria is 397-3908. The 6th grade office is 397-3915. The 7th grade office is 397-3917. The 8th grade office is 397-3916.
BUILDING FUTURES UPDATE
Many of the new high school projects are finishing and they look outstanding! Construction continues at the old EHS site and will be completed around June 2013 while we remain at GMS. For the 2013-2014 school year our school will move in its entirety to the newly renovated middle school on Pendleton Street, but remain in name as Gettys Middle School. During the 2013-2014 school year, the GMS site will be renovated and under construction. Around August 2014 the GMS renovation should be complete and we will then transition to two middle schools in Easley with grades 6-8 structures for the 2014-2015 school year. At the September 2010 board meeting, they approved that Forest Acres and West End Elementary attendance zones will attend the middle school at the Pendleton Street named J.C Brice Middle School. Their school colors will be green and black and their mascot is the Riptide. The board also approved East End Elementary, Crosswell, and McKissick schools to attend the middle school at the Stewart Drive location and will remain Gettys Middle School. Thank you for investing in SDPC's future.
