BIPOC Monthly Event Series - September: Double Dutch

BIPOC monthly events are spaces where BIPOC students from all levels, can connect, learn from each other, enliven their spirits, and cultivate a sense of community energy that can radiate throughout the whole school, so that every place feels like home to the 191 students who identify as BIPOC at GRS.

For September and October BIPOC Events, GRS has the honor of welcoming Mizz Mercedes, as she and her friends spread Spread love, peace, and unity to the GRS community, through her sharing of the Rondo Double Dutch and Broken Robots project.

Looking for substitute opportunities? Apply today!

Ethnic Studies Summit, Friday, October 18th 2024, 8:30am - 3:00 pm

This summit is open to all people who are actively working to ground Ethnic Studies education in MN. The Summit will gather over 250 students, educators, and community members to spend a day together to 1. connect, learn and grow together. 2. Examine how different identities experience Ethnic Studies across Minnesota 3. Explore ways to prepare and normalize Ethnic Studies instruction in K-12 classrooms.

The Summit is free for all youth. Registration fee for adults are $ 125. If you are an adult who is interested in attending, please email mknguyen@greatriverschool.org

BIPOC Monthly Event Series - September: Double Dutch

BIPOC monthly events are spaces where BIPOC students from all levels, can connect, learn from each other, enliven their spirits, and cultivate a sense of community energy that can radiate throughout the whole school, so that every place feels like home to the 191 students who identify as BIPOC at GRS.

For September and October BIPOC Events, GRS has the honor of welcoming Mizz Mercedes, as she and her friends spread Spread love, peace, and unity to the GRS community, through her sharing of the Rondo Double Dutch and Broken Robots project.

Ethnic Studies Summit, Friday, October 18th 2024, 8:30am - 3:00 pm

This summit is open to all people who are actively working to ground Ethnic Studies education in MN. The Summit will gather over 250 students, educators, and community members to spend a day together to 1. connect, learn and grow together. 2. Examine how different identities experience Ethnic Studies across Minnesota 3. Explore ways to prepare and normalize Ethnic Studies instruction in K-12 classrooms.

The Summit is free for all youth. Registration fee for adults are $ 125. If you are an adult who is interested in attending, please email mknguyen@greatriverschool.org

Fall Archery Sessions for grades 1-8

Fall Archery Sessions for grades 1-8!

Grades 1-3, Tuesdays, September 24-October 22 (5 sessions) 4-5 pm

Grades 4-8, Tuesdays, October 29-November 26 4-5 pm (5 sessions) 4-5 pm

Lead coach: Hadley Musselman

Cost is $100.

All sessions will meet in the GRS gym, and parent pickup is at 5 pm at the south main door. 

We are looking for parent volunteers to help out with the archery sessions (see form to sign up). A coaches’ meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 17 after school. 

Space is limited Scholarships in case of need and discounts for current Big Canoe participants are available; contact bigcanoe@greatriverschool.org

Use this link to sign up. A payment link will be sent before the first meeting; registration is confirmed when payment is complete.

Middle School Baseball Clinic, Sept. 21, 28, and Oct. 5, 2024

A Middle School camp for 3rd-8th graders will take place at Nova Classical Academy on three Saturdays:
September 21, 28 and October 5 from 11:00am - 12:30pm.

$75 fee.

For questions and to register, email Coach Lindholm slindholm@twincitiesacademy.org 

PEG Monthly Newsletter - September 2024

Check out the new PEG newsletter by clicking on the image above or the following link: https://secure.smore.com/n/f2mqa

Did you know PEG has a parent volunteer-composed Monthly newsletter to keep you updated on all the events, volunteer opportunities and other ways to get involved in the GRS Community? Take a look! Thanks to the amazing work of parent volunteer, Ashley Beermann, a vibrant PEG Newsletter will be updated every month! Happy reading!

New updates, information, and PEG newsletters will also be available on the PEG website: https://www.greatriverschool.org/peg

PEG Monthly Newsletter - September 2024

For ongoing PEG news and more details on opportunities to volunteer and connect with other families, check out their monthly newsletter. Happy Reading! https://secure.smore.com/n/f2mqa

Join PEG for the Back to School Picnic on Friday, September 13th, 6 - 8pm at Great River School!

GRS all-ages Chess Club–Fall session

GRS is partnering with the Twin Cities Chess Club once again for a guided chess club.

The Twin Cities Chess Club will provide coaching for any students interested in developing their game. Any skill level is welcome! Open to grades 1-12.

Meetings: Wednesdays, 4-5 pm, September 25 - December 18  (10 sessions, only meets on school days)

Cost: $150

Space is limited. Scholarships in case of need and discounts for current Big Canoe participants are available; contact bigcanoe@greatriverschool.org

Registration: Sign up by filling out this form. 

Please pay the fee at this link to complete registration.

Montessori Matters: Support the programs that define GRS

This school year, our fundraising goal of $250,000 will help close the gap between our state funding and the cost of supporting the unique learning opportunities that define the Great River experience. As a charter school, Great River receives less than 87% percent of the funding allocated to traditional district schools, and the amount is designed to decrease over time. Financial support from families, grants, and corporations has always been critical to fully fund our school, and our strength in fundraising will need to grow alongside our charter. 

Our goal this year is big. But we are a powerful community of almost 800 students and their families, and reaching our goal is achievable. There are several ways you can join in to support:

• Give to the Fall Fund Drive

• Cover the cost of your child’s Key Experience

• Sign up to become a monthly donor: $40 per month ($480 per year) per student achieves our goal

• Check with your employer for matching gifts (matching for monetary gifts or your volunteer hours)

• Share our mission and ways to give with others who value Montessori education

GRS Spiritwear Back to School Discount!

Did you know that you can buy GRS spirit wear from our online school store?

Check out the wide variety of options available here.  And, we’ve arranged to have a special back to school discount for all families from August 30th - September 13th!  Just enter the discount code of GRSBTS24 upon check-out for a 15% discount on anything you order.

Did you know that these two designs were made by GRS Students? Recent graduate, Elise Barros, designed the heron with the sunset background and current 5th grader, Axel Beermann, designed the constellation heron.  These designs will only be available through this spring after we complete our design contest this year.

Adolescent Back to School Night and Elementary Open Houses!

Adolescent
Back to School Night
Wednesday, August 28th

Come and join us for a revamped August Key Experience and Back to School Night.

Parking:  Please do not park in neighboring lots.  The school’s north lots are likely to fill up quickly, but you can park south of the school on Energy Park Lane (including in the pick-up lane).

4:30-5:30 Informational sessions & Meet your adolescent guides!
These sessions are directed at New families or Rising families, but anyone can attend! Come learn about the program and Meet your guides.

7 / 8 Parent Info Session
7 / 8 New/Rising student session
9 Parent Info Session
9 New/Rising Student Session
10-12 Parent Info Session, IB Info Session
10-12 New/Rising Student Session

5:30-6:30 Key Experience Orientations

These sessions are for ALL ADOLESCENT FAMILIES. Please attend in person. 

7 / 8 Grade Odyssey Orientation - Performance Space

9th Grade Farm Trip Orientation - Gym

10th Grade Itasca Trip Orientation  - 278

11th Grade North Star Quest Orientation - 274

12th Grade Canoe Trip Orientation - 270

A Big Reminder: Join us for Back to School Night & Key Experiences Orientation on Wednesday 8/28 from 4:30-6:30. More information on this event is below. 

Elementary Open House
Thursday, August 29th

5:30-6:15 - Lower Elementary

6:30-7:15 - Upper Elementary

Bring your student, meet with your guide, and see the classroom. For classrooms with a new guide this year, this is your first opportunity to meet them!

• School Supply List

• Elementary Classrooms Map

• Lower Elementary Welcome Packet (1st-3rd grade)

• Upper Elementary Welcome Packet (4th-6th grade)

Sailing Team for 6th through 12th graders

Great River is once again putting together a sailing team, open to anyone in grades 7-12.

Minneapolis Sailing Center on Bde Maka Ska hosts area high schools and provides instruction, coaches, boats and equipment. We will carpool to the lake on T/W/Th after school for practices. Sailing is a great sport that combines brawn and brains, strength and strategy, teamwork and trust, and is truly gender inclusive. No sailing experience necessary. Registration in through Minneapolis Sailing Center. Contact Jessica McDonald jmcdonald@greatriverschool.org (GRS) or Collin Mueller collin@sailmpls.org (MSC) for more information.

https://sailmpls.org/high-school

Please let Jessica know if you are registering to get connected with the carpool.

Box Tops for Education! Earn Money for

Earn Free Money for Great River School! The Boxtops4Education Program allows our school to earn cash from commonly used items your family already purchases. It is NO LONGER necessary to cut out the physical proof of purchase on participating items and send them in to school. Just download the Boxtops App and scan your receipts! The rewards will go directly to Great River!-you don't even need to track which items might qualify! You can apply in person, online and pick-up orders to our earnings! For directions on how to download the free and easy-to-use app, click on the provided link. https://www.boxtops4education.com/s/get-the-app

THANK YOU for supporting Great River School!

LIST League soccer signup for grades 5-8

LIST co-ed soccer will run from September-November. We anticipate offering one 5-6 team and one 7-8 team.

Practices will be at McMurray fields north of Great River Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:15-5:30 pm, with games on Wednesdays (gr 5-6 team) or Fridays (gr 7-8 team). 

Grade 5-6 coaches: Joe Brennan and Chris Bock

Grade 7-8 coach: Corey Peterson (and 2nd coach if there is interest)

Cost is $150 (jersey, league and coach fee)

Sign up here to indicate your interest, and you'll be contacted with team and payment information. Please note that space is limited and we will create a waitlist when teams are full. 

FIRST Lego League for Grades 4 - 8

Calling interested students and parents! GRS hopes to host 4 lego league teams this fall under the direction of head coach Pam Husak.

Teams will practice every Wednesday after school from 4-5:30, and every other Saturday culminating in the all-day tournament in December. 

There is a virtual, mandatory parent meeting scheduled for August 23 at 6 pm. The link is on the application form. 

The fee is $200 (scholarships available--contact bigcanoe@greatriverschool.org). The fee goes towards materials, equipment, competition fees, and GRS staff resources.

Lego League gives students a hands on technical challenge to solve while working as a team to study the problem and find solutions. We're looking for kids who are committed to hard work and building strong, cooperative teams. To apply, students and parents should fill out the Lego League application form. 

We are also looking for parents who are able to volunteer their time to coach a team--no experience is needed, just a willingness to help guide the kids in their work! 

Teams fill up quickly, and placement is not guaranteed. Registration is complete upon team confirmation and payment.

Contact legoleague@greatriverschool.org with any questions.

Great Employment Opportunities at Great River School 2024 - 2025!

Are you or someone you know interested in working with a great crew at Great River School? Great River School is hiring for multiple positions, including, non-licensure teaching positions as well as volunteer positions! Check out some current open positions below:

Spanish Guide (Adolescent)

This position delivers instruction of introductory Spanish and IB Spanish courses. The Spanish Guide at Great River School monitors student progress, supports students in understanding concepts and skills, manages student goals and assessment within the course, carries out duties related to the operation of Great River School including community meetings, collaboration with student support specialists, special education, and colleagues teaching within the same level and department.

Science Guide (Adolescent)

This position will teach science to adolescent students. A successful hire for this position would be experienced in the teaching of Chemistry and/or Physics.

To apply, go to greatriverschool.org/employment to see the current job openings.

Get Ready for Fall Ultimate Frisbee 2024-2025!!!

Fall Ultimate for 5th-8th grade will be a U14 league.  Players are encouraged to play on the GRS Mixed teams (coached by GRS) but do have the option to play on a boys only or girls only teams.  If you don't want to play on the GRS Mixed team, you don't have to fill out the following form. Practices for our GRS mixed teams will be once a week on Mondays or Wednesdays from 4:15-5:30 at McMurray field.  The first official practice will be Wednesday, September 4th at McMurray Field 4:15-5:30.  Games will be on Saturdays at Lake Nokomis Park at 12:00 and 1:15.  Games are from September 7 to October 12. 

Please fill out This GRS Form in order to register.

After you register with GRS, you will be sent info on how to pay the $20 GRS Coaching fee.  You will also need to register with MNU ($60) here: Middle School Link

Tell your friends and spread the word on Social Media if you like!

Please post on Adolescent Blog only:

Fall league will have a variety of GRS coaches present at practice and games. If we get enough players, we will have two teams, but for now, please register with MN Ultimate on our Fall U20 mixed team. Practices will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4:15-6:00 at McMurray field.  The first official practice will be Tuesday, September 5th at McMurray Field 4:15-6:00.  Games will be on Saturdays at Nokomis Softball fields at 9:00, 10:45, or 12:30.  Games are from September 7 to November 2.  After you register, you will be sent info on how to pay the $75.00 fee.

Please fill out this form to get started.  You'll also need to register with MN Ultimate (info in the form).  When you do, choose the Great River School HS U20 Fall Mixed Team.

Feel free to share with friends and/or on Social Media.

Math Corps Tutors Needed for the 2024-2025 School Year

Help GRS students solve problems - become a math tutor! We are looking for a Math Corps tutor for Elementary students for the 2024-25 school year. Tutors work with 1-3 students at a time to help them build essential math skills. An excellent math curriculum is provided, and you don't need any teaching experience. Refer to this flyer or send an email to nanderson@greatriverschool.org before the end of the school year.