To my fellow GMS Families,
Welcome to the 2018-19 school year!
The Greensboro Montessori School Community Association (GMSCA) is excited and honored to welcome families joining our school community for the first time. We’re also proud to welcome back our returning families for another wonderful year at GMS!
Our hope is that every family will find value in the GMSCA. Our mission is focused on building and sustaining community. More specifically, "the GMSCA is a dynamic, inclusive organization that strives to enrich the school experience for all. We foster a vibrant school community, and serve to bridge and connect home and school while supporting the mission and goals of Greensboro Montessori School."
Unlike many public and private schools, membership in the GMSCA is automatic and free! We don't ask for or require dues. Nor do we ask you or your children to sell anything. Instead, our activities are funded through other ways, with our primary source of income being the School's fall and spring Scholastic Book Fairs. We also raise funds through initiatives like Harris Teeter's Together in Education (link your VIC card to #1849), General Mills' Box Tops for Education, and AmazonSmile.
The most visible way you will see the GMSCA in action is through GMSCA-sponsored events, teacher appreciation initiatives, and community volunteering.
- Events: The largest event we plan every year is the Fall Festival, a family-centered Sunday afternoon featuring dozens of activities for our entire student population. (Don't miss this year's event on Sunday, October 14 from 2 to 5 p.m.) We also organize the School's International Fair, an annual celebration our community’s cultural diversity through music, food, art, and fun. We also host coffee socials on campus and community gatherings at local businesses.
- Teacher Support and Appreciation: The GMSCA supports designated room parents who work directly with your teachers and help coordinate other parent volunteers needed to plan and execute many of the fun and educational activities our students love. Throughout the year, we also provide organized opportunities through which families can express appreciation for our professional educators.
- Community Volunteering: Our School partners with BackPack Beginnings to help fulfill this local nonprofit's mission: to deliver child-centric services to feed, comfort and clothe children in need. In addition to coordinating food drives, we also sponsor Peeler Open Elementary. Parent volunteers make weekly deliveries to Peeler students who need child-friendly, nutritious food to fill the weekend food gap.
We invite you to connect with us. Whether you join our private Facebook group, volunteer at the Fall Festival (details coming later this month), or contribute in your own way, we appreciate every gesture of kindness and community-building. Most importantly, know you don’t need to attend a meeting, host an event, or take a day off work to volunteer to be an essential member of our school community.
We’re looking forward to an amazing 2018-19 for our School, our families and, most of all, our children.
See you at school!
Cordially,
GMSCA Lead Coordinator
