Important Upcoming Dates:
October 11: HALF DAY- Students Dismissed at 11:30
October 16: Unity Day- Wear Orange to Celebrate Unity
October 25: Haunted Forest
November 1: No School- Staff Development Day
Unity Day- October 16: October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Students and staff are working together to focus on social-emotional learning that centers around this topic. Next Wednesday, October 16th we will celebrate Unity Day. This is a national movement to promote kindness, acceptance, and inclusion and to prevent bullying. The Greenspire Kindness Club is helping to share the importance of these ideals with fellow students. Please encourage your student to wear orange in support of our commUNITY! Thank you. Haunted Forest:
Get ready for a spooktacular night at our Haunted Forest event! We need your help to make it a success, so bring your friends and family for a fright-filled evening. You can also support us by signing up to bring donations or volunteering to help at the event. Click here to sign up! To learn more about this completely student-driven event, visit our site: Haunted Forest Website. Students have been working with their committees to plan their part of the event. Please ask your student if they are participating and what role they may have. This is 100% optional and students meet in committees at brain break and lunch. If your student is participating, please plan on having them at school on October 25, with a pickup scheduled for 7pm (the end of the Haunted Forest event). If you have any questions or suggestions on how to contribute, feel free to reach out at greenspireschoolpto@gmail.com. Don’t forget to share the attached poster to help spread the word!Carline:We appreciate everyone using name tags during carline – it helps make the process much quicker! As a friendly reminder, please be mindful of our neighbor on Red Drive and avoid blocking their driveway during pickup and drop-off. Your cooperation ensures a smooth and respectful carline experience for everyone.
Quill:Students in English will be using a new educational software program called Quill.org. This is a program that requires parental consent for student use. The tool offers excellent opportunities for grammar and writing practice, well-tailored to students’ abilities and needs. If you would prefer to opt your child out of using this software program please email Emily.Feaster@greenspireschool.org by Friday, October 18th.
Spirit Wear SaleWe’re excited to kick off our first Spirit Wear sale of the year! Show your school pride by ordering your Greenspire Swag through this link. Don’t forget, that every Wednesday is Spirit Day, so students are encouraged to wear their Greenspire gear all year long. Orders are due on October 13th by Midnight.
Picture Retakes- October 29Great news! Your student is receiving their school pictures today. If they were absent on the original picture day, October 29 will be their opportunity to get their photo taken. If you would like your student to have a retake, please remember to send them with their printed photo package on October 29 so that we know they will need a photo retake.
Counseling and Culture:
Today students participated in a viewing of Inside Out and then engaged in social emotional programming related to the movie. As a timely follow up, Collective Self Cinema is screening Inside Out tomorrow, October 12th at The Dennos Museum, and will then be offering a workshop for families that dives deeper into these topics of emotional exploration. Sliding scale tickets are available here.
Project Updates:
For more information about a specific class, please click on the class name to email the teacher directly. To access PowerSchool, please click here: Powerschool Link
Math: Please visit the Math Website to learn more.
Science: With some students still needing additional time to complete their Wicked Problem Research form, the activities for exploring human nutrient needs, the limitations due to their Wicked Problems, and viable solutions to best disrupt their problem was pushed ahead to next week. We will also investigate how humans gain nutrients and energy from food as well as conducting an experiment to better understand digestion*. Students will be sampling edible insects! 
If your child has an allergy to shellfish – it is advised that they do not eat an insect. Please email me if this is the case with your child.
This past week students finished a physical and chemical changes lab and began looking at substances at the element and molecular level. We observed the combustion of ethanol which will be used to better understand respiration. *Note: Please do not expose students to “pre-learning” before they participate in class investigations. Looking everything up and learning about content before coming to class defeats the purpose of these investigations. Thank you!
Social Studies: please visit the Social Studies Website to learn more.
Sustainable Agriculture: We wanted to inform you that our Sustainable Agriculture teacher, Michelle, is currently out on medical leave. We are fortunate to have Tracey as her short-term substitute during this time. Please join us in wishing Michelle a smooth and speedy recovery, and we look forward to welcoming her back on October 21st. All grades for Sustainable Agriculture will be updated after her return. Thank you for your understanding and support.