Grand Island Public Schools

"I really like the staff and the principal and everything [at Newell]. It's amazing. It just makes me feel like I belong here."

As a 4th Grader, Coco's love for school has shaped her passion for helping others. She has her sights set on becoming an advocate for kids through educational programs when she grows-up.

💜

| Newell Elementary

🎼🎻 Orchestra in the Fall 🎻🎼

Just before Fall Break, the GISH Orchestra hosted their first concert of the season.

The student musicians sounded wonderful and Mr. Leinemann was all smiles at the display of musical wonder.

Here are a few snapshots from the concert. More photos to come soon.

Bravo, Islanders!

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| GISH Activities

Shapes 🟩
Counting 🔢
Colors 🔴
Creativity 🎨

There's always a deeper meaning behind the fun learning in a Pre-School classroom.

This week, Mrs. O'Hara's Pre-School class at Howard Elementary spent time learning shapes, counting sides, identifying colors, and cutting + gluing specifically identified shapes to make construction paper pizzas!

Why?

Each element helps the young student with fine motor skills, critical thinking, and building knowledge of core skills such as math and shape recognition.

Plus, look at all these smiles!

💜

| GIPS Early Childhood

From the classroom to the community, for Barr Middle School November was about making a difference.

⬇️

For the second straight year, Barr hosted their annual “Be Thankful Challenge” — a week-long effort to keep thankfulness top-of-mind for students in school while also giving back to the community.

Led by the efforts Barr's National Junior Honor Society, the school collected and donated 1,1000 items to Hope Harbor, Inc.!

Read the full story at the link below!

READ: https://trst.in/XE2NJS

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🏐 PRO VOLLEYBALL IN G-I 🏐

Catch the Professional LOVB Omaha Volleyball Team in action at GISH this Saturday!

The LOVB-Omaha team, featuring a dynamic roster of former Husker and Creighton volleyball athletes alongside international professionals, will take the court at Grand Island Senior High for a public scrimmage.

Among the standout athletes in attendance are Olympic Gold Medalists from the 2020 Tokyo Games Jordan Larson & Justine Wong-Orantes, and former Husker Lauren Stivrins.

🗓️ - Saturday, Dec. 7
🕖️ - 12:15 p.m. Scrimmage; 2:15 Autograph Session
📍 - GISH West Gym (Door #1)
🎟️ - FREE and Open to the Public

Dig. Set. Spike. See you there!

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| Grand Island Tourism

Congratulations to GISH Unified Bowling!

The Islanders battled hard yesterday hosting A-6 Districts and brought home the 2nd Place plaque.

Way to go, Islanders, we're proud of you!

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| GISH Activities

Immersive and career-based learning opportunities made practical through the GISH Academies.

This is so cool!

GISH students in Mrs. Renee Ekhoff's class got a unique opportunity to participate in a National Research Project.

As part of Ekhoff's Biotechnology Showcase, students were able to collect and extract dog DNA to analyze if the dog contained a gene related to hyper social behavior.

Students also heard from local speakers in the biotechology industry, expanding their knowledge of possible career fields.

Learn more: https://trst.in/6Yi4tz

| Grand Island Senior High

"I really believe that we can change the world one child at a time."

34 years deep in public education and Mrs. Thorne still lives that truth every day.

Mrs. Michelle Thorne, Academic Support Coach at Wasmer Elementary, joins The GIPS Cast to share why teaching is the best way to change the world.

Hear her story on the latest episode of The GIPS Cast!

🔽 🔽 🔽

LISTEN: https://trst.in/mY1XrQ

🔼 🔼 🔼

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform.

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|

📣 Join the GIPS Team! 📣

Grand Island Public Schools is now hiring elementary teachers. Full time and part time positions are available beginning January 2025.

For more information and to apply, visit www.gips.org/employment.

🧡 Community Impact 🧡

Just before the holiday break, student leaders from the National Junior Honor Society at Barr Middle School delivered approximately 1,100 donated items to Hope Harbor, Inc.!

As part of the school's annual "Be Thankful Challenge", the student leaders empowered each grade to bring donated goods to school in November.

Barr connected the efforts to the classroom as well, curating discussions on thankfulness during advisory time throughout the month.

We'll share more on this story soon.

Way to go, Bulldogs!

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I am a HELPER.

⬇️

As a 4th Grader at Newell Elementary, Coco has her sights set on becoming a helper and advocate for kids. Her experiences at school are shaping her way forward.

We'll share more of her story this week!

💜

Catch the Islanders at home this week!

Varsity home events include:

🌴 - Unified Bowling
🌴 - Boys Bowling
🌴 - Girls Bowling
🌴 - Boys Wrestling
🌴 - GISH Chamber Singers & G-I Children's Choir

🎟️ - https://gofan.co/app/school/NE18517

Let's go, Islanders!

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| GISH Activities

New week, new goals, new mindset! 💜

“I really like to focus on having students create. And realizing that technology is something you can create with, not just something you consume.”

Students in Chandra Kosmicki's media class at Engleman Elementary were nationally recognized for their multimedia creativity.

Graphic designers in the making, fifth graders Jordan Newman and Zayden Wilbeck both won grand prizes in Wixie’s Thanksgiving eCard Contest. Fellow Engleman fifth grader Madelyn Sloan was also recognized with honorable mention.

Way to go, Wildcats!

Learn more: https://trst.in/Tsk55R

Calling all Kindergarten - 5th Graders!

The GISH Spirit Squads would love to see your K-5th grade student at our Winter Cheer & Dance Camp!

🗓️ - Friday, December 13th
⏰️ - 4pm - halftime of the varsity boys basketball game
📍 - GISH East Gym (performance in the West Gym)
💰️ - $35 for camp; $15 for spirit pack (optional)

REGISTER: https://trst.in/c0tZWs

Registration closes December 2nd.

Let's go, G-I!

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🌴 GISH Activities