USD 457 Garden City Events Update

(Stories courtesy of USD 457 Public Information Coordinator, Roy Cessna)

Literacy Night Planned For Jennie Wilson Elementary School

Jennie Wilson School will hold a Family Literacy Night on Thursday, March 7^th, from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. in classrooms throughout the school.  The event will have a Dr. Seuss theme as part of the Read Across America week of activities at the school.  There will be a number of organizations from the community that will have booths setup and will be providing information to families.

There will be a number of activities for the whole family to participate in during the evening.  The bookmobile will also be at the event providing free books to those who attend.

Family Literacy Night provides students and their parents an opportunity to obtain materials that will help them work together on literacy skills at home.

Family Fitness and Science Night Planned

Florence Wilson Elementary School will hold a Family Fitness and Science Night for students and parents on Tuesday, March 5^th, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.  A number of organizations from the community will be providing activities and information about fitness and leading a safe lifestyle for the entire family.

There will be science experiments that will be taking place during the event. The fourth grade students will also be displaying their science fair projects.

Garden City Public Schools To Celebrate National School Breakfast Week

To encourage more families to take advantage of the healthy choices available for school breakfast, Garden City Public Schools will celebrate National School Breakfast Week during March 4-8, 2019.

Garden City Public Schools will recognize National School Breakfast Week during March 4-8, 2019 to encourage more families to take advantage of the healthy choices available with school breakfast.  Busy weekday mornings make it a challenge for families to find time for a healthy breakfast.

The US Department of Agriculture data shows that more students are starting their day with a nutritious breakfast in school cafeterias. The School Breakfast Program currently serves more than 14 million students every day. Studies show that students who eat school breakfast are more likely to: reach higher levels of achievement in reading and math; score higher on standardized tests; have better concentration, memory and alertness; and maintain a healthy weight.

The National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) campaign theme, “Start Your Engines,” reminds the entire school community that school breakfast provides a healthy and energizing start to the day for students. Students will be encouraged to show their enthusiasm for “Start Your Engines,” during the week with special menus, cafeteria events, and more.  

“A healthy breakfast at the start of the day is one way to ensure students are getting the best education possible,” said Tracy Johnson, Nutrition Services Director for Garden City Public Schools. The district serves over 3,100 breakfast meals daily through the federally funded School Breakfast Program. School nutrition professionals in Garden City Public Schools prepare breakfast and lunches every day that meet federal nutrition standards – limiting fat, calories and sodium – while encouraging students to choose from the fruits, vegetables and whole grains offered with school meals.”

This year Horace Good Middle School and Charles Stones Intermediate Center has implemented serving breakfast at alternative times.  Horace Good has breakfast after the first bell and Charles Stones has breakfast after first hour.  Both schools have quadrupled their participation.

“The high school also offers a second chance breakfast and it has been a huge success.  We are also incorporating oatmeal bars and other homemade items to attract more students to the breakfast line,” Johnson said.

Parents and students can follow the fun on Facebook.com/TrayTalk using the hashtag #NSBW19

For more information about schools meals, visit www.gckschools.com or www.schoolnutrition.org/SchoolMeals.

Music Concerts Scheduled At Schools During The Week

There will be a number of music concerts scheduled during the week at Garden City Public Schools.  The free concerts are open to the public.

Kenneth Henderson Middle School will present a choir concert on Monday, March 4^th, at 6:00 p.m.  The concert will be held in the gymnasium, 2406 Fleming Street.

Horace Good Middle School will present a band concert on Monday, March 4^th, at 6:00 p.m. The concert will be held in Clifford Hope Auditorium, 1412 N. Main Street.

Garden City High School will present a jazz band concert on Monday, March 4^th, at 7:30 p.m.  The concert will be held in the auditorium, 2720 Buffalo Way Blvd.

Kenneth Henderson Middle School will present a band concert on Tuesday, March 5^th, at 6:00 p.m.  The concert will be held in the gymnasium, 2406 Fleming Street.

There will be a middle school orchestra concert on Thursday, March 7^th, at 6:00 p.m.  The concert will be held at the Kenneth Henderson Middle School gymnasium, 2406 Fleming Street.

Garden City High School will present a band concert on Thursday, March 7^th, at 7:30 p.m.  The concert will be held in the auditorium, 2720 Buffalo Way Blvd.

GCHS Musical Evita Rescheduled To Monday

Garden City High School drama department postponed the Sunday, March 3^rd, performance of the musical Evita, due to weather conditions.  The rescheduled performance will be presented on Monday, March 4^th, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium on the Garden City High School campus, 2720 Buffalo Way Blvd.  This production contains language and content that might not be appropriate for all audiences, parental guidance and discretion is suggested.

Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for students.  Tickets may be purchased at www.gchsdrama.booktix.com or at the door on the night of the performance.  The box office opens an hour prior to production, and cash, checks and credit/debit cards are accepted. 

GCHS Drama students will be selling merchandise at the door for Evita including light up roses for $5, Eva Peron postcard/Break a Leg Notes for $1, and Argentinian flags for $1.  They will also have Hamlet t-shirts for $12 and Hamlet stickers for $1 to help support the production of Hamlet that will be staged at the International Festival in June. Checks and cash can only be accepted for merchandise.

Evita charts the young and ambitious Eva Peron’s meteoric rise to sainthood. Set in Argentina between 1934-1952, the Tony-winning musical follows Eva Duarte on her journey from poor illegitimate child to ambitious actress to, as wife of military leader-turned-president Juan Peron, the most powerful woman in Latin America, before her death from cancer at age 33. The events in Evita’s life are presented in song and commented on by the show’s narrator, Che. Well-known numbers from Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical masterpiece include “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” “Oh What a Circus,” “Buenos Aires” and “Another Suitcase in Another Hall.” (www.themusicalcompany.com)

GCHS Band Concerts Rescheduled

Garden City High School has rescheduled the jazz band concert that was to be held on Monday, March 4^th, to Thursday, March 7^th, at 7:30 p.m. in the GCHS auditorium.  The concert was rescheduled due to the GCHS performance of the musical Evita, that was postponed and rescheduled due to weather conditions.  The rescheduled performance of the musical will be presented on Monday, March 4^th, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium on the Garden City High School campus.

The Garden City High School band concert that was scheduled for Thursday, March 7^th, at 7:30 p.m. will now be presented on Tuesday, March 19^th, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium, 2720 Buffalo Way Blvd.

The free concerts are open the public.

School Postpones Heroes’ Breakfast For First Responders

Jennie Wilson Elementary School has postponed its annual Heroes’ Breakfast that was to be held on Tuesday, March 5^th.  The school has not rescheduled the event at this time.  The school invites personnel from the Garden City Fire and Police departments, Finney County Sheriff’s Department, Finney County EMS, Kansas Highway Patrol, and Life Save employees to breakfast at the school.  The school expresses its gratitude for everything that they do to keep the community safe.  The event also provides an opportunity for the first responders to visit with the school’s students before the start of school.