If you missed the Dick's Sporting Goods shopping event the first weekend in August, there is yet another opportunity to get 20% off your purchase this weekend. Get your shop on at Dick's Sporting Goods this weekend.
Welcome, Bulldog families, to a brand new year,
With hearts full of hope and spirits of cheer.
At GES, we raise the bar.
Small school, BIG IMPACT that’s who we are.
In our halls, magic will grow.
Thanks to the love and patience our staff will show.
Guiding minds, shaping souls,
Impacting lives through our many roles.
Though our school is small, our dreams are grand.
Together we’ll achieve, working hand in hand.
Every smile, every laugh, every moment we share.
Reflects the strong bond of a community that cares.
Challenges will undoubtedly come our way.
With heart and determination, we'll seize each day.
To our Bulldog parents, your support is key,
Together, we'll build the best school we can be.
Welcome, Bulldog families, to a brand new year,
With hearts full of hope and spirits of cheer.
At GES, we raise the bar.
Small school, BIG IMPACT that’s who we are.
Plans for Grandparents and Special Friends Day have been finalized. Our PreK-8th grade students look forward to welcoming our special visitors to school on Friday, October 11.
10:15-11:15 Fun activities in each classroom
11:15-11:40 Snacks/Refreshments in the cafeteria
11:40 Student Dismissal
Once again this year, instead of starting our day with our Grandparents/Special Friends, we are going to end the day with them. Why? In previous years, some of our youngest students struggled with separating from their special visitors at 9:45 upon the conclusion of Grandparents Day activities. By ending the day with our Grandparents, the children will have the opportunity to go home with them which will make for lots of smiles at dismissal time.
We look forward to a building full of loved ones on October 11.
We look forward to welcoming our PreK-8 students and families back to school this evening for Bulldogpalooza. Meet the teachers, drop off supplies, and stop in the cafeteria for a drink, snack, music, games, and prizes.
Drumroll please.
We are thrilled to announce another addition to our 'rockstar' lineup of educators for the 2024-25 school year. Please help us give a warm Bulldog welcome to Mrs. Sutton. Mrs. Sutton will be working as an individual care aide in the PreK classroom in the mornings and as an RtI paraprofessional in the afternoons.
Mrs. Sutton comes to us with many years of experience working with children. Her background in both daycare and, more recently, in the school setting makes her an excellent fit for our team. In addition, Mrs. Sutton has been trained through her work at Boosting Behavior on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which equips her with valuable skills in behavior management and intervention strategies. Her passion for children has inspired her to pursue a teaching degree in special education.
We are excited to welcome Mrs. Sutton to GES, look forward to walking alongside her on her growth journey, and anticipate she will make a BIG IMPACT on our school community.
Our back-to-school dates are set, and we're ready to rock. It's time to crank up the volume because our small school is ready to make a big IMPACT this year.
Join our rockin' team for the 2024-25 school year. The following positions are still available:
Supervisor/Custodial Helper
This position entails supervising lunch/recess from 11:00-1:00 followed by assisting with various custodial tasks around the building from 1:00-3:00. Specific job responsibilities and the rate of pay will be discussed with applicants.
JV/V Girls Basketball Coach
Do you have a passion for basketball and a desire to coach young athletes? If so, we have a potential opportunity for you. GES is looking for a JV/Varsity girls basketball coach for the 2024-25 season. Practice starts in September. Games are scheduled for mid-October through mid-January. Most JV games begin at 6:00 with varsity games to follow, so prospective candidates must be available in the evenings and on some weekends.
Cheer Coach
Practices typically start in late August/early September. Regular season starts in October and runs through the middle of January. Post-season begins in late January. Most games are held on weekdays and start at 6:00.
Scholar Bowl Coach
Practices typically start in late November. There are 2 Saturday tournaments. The first one is held at Mater Dei High School in early February followed by a tournament at Central High School in late February/early March. The Regional Office of Education also hosts a tournament in late March. Practice matches may also be set up at the coach’s discretion.
If interested in any of these positions, contact Robin Becker at rbecker@ges60.org.
Join our Bulldog family.
Small School BIGImpactGES#60
Through the years, we have been on the receiving end of numerous Spassfest grants that have served to help us in our efforts to keep the playground across the street from the school safe and up-to-date for use by the community children. We appreciate the generosity of the Spassfest Committee and are big supporters of their Breakfast in the Park.
Mark your calendars for Sunday, August 18. Enjoy breakfast at Schoendienst Park while listening to some German music.
Day 7 of Campaign Chronicles
What if we want to support the cause, but we aren't interested in going to a concert?
Donations to the Raise the Roof Capital Campaign can be made as follows: check written out to Illinois Congress of Parents & Teachers Germantown, Venmo @raisetheroof1, or PayPal @Raisetheroof60, and are tax deductible.
A parent/athlete fall sports meeting will be held in the cafeteria at 7:00p.m. on Thursday, August 15. All parents of students planning to participate in cross country, girls basketball, boys basketball, and cheerleading during the 2024-25 school year are encouraged to attend the meeting with their athlete(s).
Get your shop on at Dick's Sporting Goods this weekend, and use this coupon for 20% off your purchase. Happy shopping!
Drumroll please. We are thrilled to announce another addition to our 'rockstar' lineup of educators for the 2024-25 school year.
Please help us give a warm Bulldog welcome to Miss Antonacci. She will be teaching first grade at GES this upcoming school year. Miss Antonacci is no stranger to GES as she completed numerous field experience hours and her student teaching in Mrs. Peppenhorst's first grade classroom. She recently earned a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from Greenville University and is ready to bring her enthusiasm and fresh perspectives to our Bulldog family. Given that Miss Antonacci and Mrs. Peppenhorst have worked together closely over the course of the past 2 years, it posed the perfect opportunity for a seamless transition and continued excellence in our first-grade program.
We are excited to see the positive IMPACT Miss Antonacci will have on our students and look forward to a fantastic year ahead.
The school office will be closed tomorrow as our rockin' custodial crew will be cleaning the floors in preparation for the start of the new school year.
Day 6 of Campaign Chronicles
What is the Capital Campaign Committee doing to generate Revenue?
When the Capital Campaign Committee was established in August and set a goal of raising $750,000, it was decided that we needed to go big if we wanted any chance to raise that kind of money. Through the committee’s hard work over the course of the past eleven months, we have put together an event called the Raise the Roof Rock Fest. The Raise the Roof Rock Fest will be held on Saturday, September 21, starting at 3:00. Five different bands will rock out on two stages at Schoendienst Park. Headlining the event is Vince Neil, the frontman of Mötley Crüe. The legendary classic rock band Head East is opening for Neil. Local favorites Joe Dirt, Taco Truck, and Cheers Band will also be performing. Through event sponsorships, ticket revenue, a 50/50 raffle, and food/drink sales, we hope to generate the funds to reach our goal. Tickets are available at germantownrockfest.com.
Drumroll please.
We are thrilled to announce another addition to our 'rockstar' lineup of educators for the 2024-25 school year.
Please help us give a warm Bulldog welcome to Mrs. Vides. Mrs. Vides earned a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from McKendree University and a Master's Degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She taught fourth grade in Arizona for 2 years and comes to us from Murphysboro where she taught fifth grade the past 5 years. Mrs. Vides is a teacher leader who actively participates in committee work to support the school community's continuous growth and improvement efforts.
We are excited to see the positive IMPACT Mrs. Vides will have on our school community and are grateful her life journey brought her to GES.
Day 5 of Campaign Chronicles
What about the old gym?
The construction of a new gym would give us much more flexibility as we would have two gyms to use throughout the year.
On days when PE cannot be outside due to weather, the gym is booked nearly all day long. That means indoor recess and PreK gross motor time has to be held in the classrooms which is less than ideal. Having a second gym would give us the flexibility of taking the students to a gym on indoor recess days instead of playing in the classrooms.
An open gym would also give us the flexibility of conducting science experiments in the gym instead of in the hallway or simply giving our teachers a bigger space free of classroom furniture to spread out and engage in hands-on activities.
During sports season, our gym is typically booked until 9:00 every night. This means some of our students are practicing late at night. A second gym would allow us to schedule two practices at one time and thus get our students home earlier in the evening.
As our school continues to grow, a second gym would allow us to split PE classes to make them more manageable.
If the need were to arise in the future, the original gym could eventually be transformed into classrooms.
PTA treasurer, Allison Schroeder, presents Superintendent Becker with a check for $8400 from proceeds raised through the annual PTA Raffle. The money will be allocated to maintaining and upgrading technology throughout the district. We appreciate our PTA Board for their time and efforts during the 2023-24 school year as well as the support of the school community with selling and buying raffle tickets.
Drumroll please.
We are thrilled to announce another addition to our 'rockstar' lineup of educators for the 2024-25 school year.
Please help us give a warm Bulldog welcome to Mrs. Knapp. She will be teaching fourth grade at GES this year. Mrs. Knapp earned a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from SIUE and brings with her many years of experience working with children of all age levels. This past year, she worked a a substitute teacher in the district. With her calm demeanor and ability to connect with children, she quickly earned the trust and respect of the students and staff. Mrs. Knapp is an avid writer. In fact, she serves as the content coordinator and writer for the Neighbors of Clinton County magazine . She is a creative thinker who will challenge and inspire our students to reach their full potential.
We look forward to seeing the positive IMPACT Mrs. Knapp has on our school community and welcome her with open arms to our Bulldog family.
Day 4 of Campaign Chronicles
Why do we need a new gym?
Our current gym has hosted countless events over the years, graduations, concerts, assemblies, sporting events, and PE. While it has served its purpose, due to limited seating it is a struggle to accommodate the needs of our growing school community. Some of the challenges we face with our current gym include:
For sporting events, visitors to the building often have to congregate in the hallway until their child's game starts because of limited seating in the gym.
Our athletes are at a disadvantage practicing on our small court. Conditioning and game prepping on a small court does not prepare our athletes for playing games on bigger courts.
In addition, the small dimensions of the court do not allow basketball players to comfortably shoot a three pointer from the baselines.
As a result of the small court dimensions and limited seating, hosting sporting events that draw a large number of people, such as Regionals, is not a viable option.
For events such as concerts, the overflow crowd results in some visitors having to stand for the entire performance.
For whole school assemblies, some students have to sit on the floors to accommodate our growing enrollment.
When PE cannot be held outside due to weather or other circumstances, the gym is occupied the entire day. As a result, indoor recess and PreK gross motor time have to be held in the classrooms.
As our class sizes increase, the small size of our gym inhibits our ability to effectively carry out PE activities.
Do you have a passion for basketball and a desire to coach young athletes? If so, we have a potential opportunity for you. GES is looking for a JV/Varsity girls basketball coach for the 2024-25 season. Practice starts in September. Games are scheduled for mid-October through mid-January. Most JV games begin at 6:00 with varsity games to follow, so prospective candidates must be available in the evenings and on some weekends. If interested in the position, contact Athletic Director, Blain Loepker, at ad@ges60.org.
Please help us share this opportunity with others.
