Greene County Elementary School

Dear Families, I am writing to update you on an incident that was reported to have occurred at Greene County Middle School during the school day on Tuesday, January 23. A middle school aged student was reported to be making a verbal threat to school safety. Our middle school principal immediately took action to investigate and provide necessary information to our local police department. We have been informed that the student is likely to face charges as a result of the comments. While this was an isolated incident, we want our families to know that we take this situation very seriously. We are fully cooperating with the police investigation and are doing everything we can to ensure the safety and security of our entire school community. As always, we encourage everyone to speak up if they see or hear anything that could represent a potential school safety issue. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for your attention to this communication. Sincerely, Brett Abbotts Superintendent

Good morning Ram Families, Greene County Schools will have a 2 hour late start this morning, Tuesday, January 23rd. There will be no morning Pre School or Athletic Performance classes. Please take the additional time to travel safely to school and have a great day! Greene County Schools

Good evening Ram Families, Greene County Schools will have a 2 hour late start on Friday, January 19th. There will be no morning preschool or Athletic Performance classes. Please stay safe, stay warm, and have a great evening! Greene County Schools *Message sponsored by Peoples Bank

Dear Greene County Families, Due to the forecasted hazardous driving conditions, Greene County Schools will be dismissing 2 hours early on Thursday, January 18th. There will be no evening activities or PM preschool. Please stay safe, stay warm, and have a great evening! Greene County Schools

Good evening Ram Families, Due to the continued freezing temperatures forecasted, Greene County Schools will have a 2 hour late start on Tuesday, January 16th. There will be no morning preschool, activities, or athletic performance classes. Please stay safe, stay warm, and have a great evening! Greene County Schools

Good evening Ram Families, Greene County Schools will be closed for Friday, January 12th, 2024. There will be no activities. Monday, January 15th will remain a scheduled holiday and students will return on Tuesday, January 16th. Please stay safe, stay warm, and enjoy your weekend! Greene County Schools *Message sponsored by Peoples Bank

Good morning Ram Families, Greene County Schools will have a 2 hour late start for Thursday, January 11th, 2024. There will be no AM preschool. Please take the additional time necessary to arrive at school safely. Have a great day, Greene County Schools

Greene County Community School will be holding the monthly board meeting at the admin building (101 Ram Drive, Jefferson, IA) this evening beginning at 5:15 PM. With school being closed today, the meeting will be held on-site and via Google Meet. The public is welcome to attend in-person or view the livestream on the district's YouTube channel (see below for the link). The meeting agenda can be viewed on the GCCSD Board of Education page under the Links header. GCCSD Board Meeting YouTube Livestream Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/IEuYxdZvlyk?si=BEgTWOEpZbquqvJj Board Meeting Agenda: https://www.gccsd.k12.ia.us/page/board-home

Good morning Ram Families, After re-evaluating the road conditions within our school district, Greene County Schools will close for Wednesday, January 10th. There will be no activities or practices after school. Multiple factors included drifting gravel roads, ice and slick conditions, and settling fog. The regularly scheduled board meeting at 5:15pm will still take place. Information to attend virtually will be shared through our social media pages as normal. Have a safe day! Greene County Schools

Good evening Ram Families, Greene County Schools will have a 2-hour late start. All activities and classes before school will be canceled and there will be no morning 3-year-old PreSchool. Travel conditions will be re-evaluated in the morning. Please stay safe and have a great day! Greene County Schools

Good evening Ram Families, With the hazardous weather not improving, Greene County Schools will be closed for Tuesday, January 9th. There will be no activities, practices, or athletic performance classes. Please stay safe and enjoy the day!

Due to the impending hazardous weather, Greene County Schools will dismiss at the following times: Elementary - 12:20pm Middle School - 12:25pm High School - 12:40pm This is 3 hours from the Tuesday-Friday regularly scheduled dismissals. We apologize for the previous confusion.

Due to the impending hazardous weather, Greene County Schools will be releasing 3 hours early today. There will be no evening activities and staff will not have their regular professional development. Please stay safe!

Dear Ram Family, As students are arriving back to school tomorrow morning, we understand and empathize with the fears and concerns that you may be having sending your child back to school. Our teams at each school have been planning for this arrival to ensure that our students are safe, secure, and supported after the tragedy that unfolded in Perry last week. We also want to provide you with some transparency regarding the conversations our teachers and staff will be having with students regarding the events and let students have the opportunity to share their thoughts. Our administrators, teachers, and staff will be having age appropriate conversations with students and they will touch on the following points in student’s homeroom (Base Camp or Advisory) classes: - Acknowledging the events and situation that occurred - Express our condolences for those who have been impacted - Empathy for the range of emotions that this will cause - Identify the actions being taken at the district level - Identify the actions being taken at the building level Jefferson Police will have officers present at all three schools throughout the week. They will be patrolling hallways, maintaining a presence at the buildings during most arrival and dismissal times, and be available to students and staff as needed. As a district, we will continue to partner with the Jefferson Police Department to investigate any inappropriate comments, actions, or social media posts that would cause a threat to school safety. Greene County Schools and the Jefferson Police Department are being vigilant to ensure safety at our schools and within our community. Inappropriate comments or posts we have been made aware of at this time have been thoroughly investigated and deemed not credible by both the Jefferson Police and County Magistrate. We want to formally extend our gratitude to the Jefferson Police Department for their willingness and preparedness for our students and schools. All staff will be practicing our Lockdown drill on Monday during the early release Professional Development time to ensure that these drills, processes, and procedures are effective.  As a district, we will then be organizing a district-wide lockdown drill, including all students, with communication coming to all families with more specifics on the date and time as to when that will happen.  Lastly, our High School Student Council invites all Greene County Schools to participate in a unified showing of support for the students, staff, and community of Perry. We are encouraging all of our students and staff to wear blue in support of Perry on Monday, January 8th. Again, we want to thank you in partnering with our schools to ensure that we can make this a safe return back to school. Please reach out to the building administrators with any additional questions you may have. Thank you, Brett Abbotts, Superintendent Greene County Community School District

Good afternoon Ram Families, In the wake of the events that took place in Perry, I wanted to take some time and communicate what the Greene County Community School District has done recently to ensure the safety and security of our students, staff, and schools. Our belief is that before any child is able to learn, they must be safe. We also believe that you, as parents, family members, and community members should know what the school district is doing to provide a safe and secure environment for your children, grandchildren, relatives, neighbors, and friends. In November of 2022, an assessment was completed in each building by the Department of Homeland Security to determine key points that needed to be reinforced and secured. Our district immediately applied for and received $150,000 for our buildings through Governor Reynolds’ School Safety and Security grant. This allowed us to spend $50,000 per school on safety and security improvements. These funds, along with additional funds through our Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) were put to use in the following ways: Elementary: Installation of cameras in the gym, library, and cafeteria; guest access system in the front office, video door entry at the front of the school; badge-only access to all exterior doors; auto-communication with local law enforcement; emergency lockdown access from the main office Middle School: Installation of cameras on the south side of the school; guest access system in the front office, video door entry at the front of the school; badge-only access to all exterior doors; auto-communication with local law enforcement; emergency lockdown access from the main office High School: Installation of cameras in the south parking lot and south egress stairwell; additional security cameras in the main hallway; video door entry at the north and south entrances of the school; badge-only access to all exterior doors; auto-communication with local law enforcement; emergency lockdown access from the main office In the next two weeks, our elementary and middle schools will be having new, reinforced door handles with more secure and interior locking mechanisms included. These door handles are the best on the market, will allow our teachers to immediately lock doors from the inside of the classroom, and keep students safe. Furthermore, each school building is in the process of reviewing, revamping, and practicing the processes and procedures that are within each of their Emergency Operations Plans to put safety at the forefront of the conversation for our students, staff, and schools. Our principals and building leadership teams have done a tremendous job already and I know that they are going to continue this work each and every day. Lastly, our staff will be on high alert with a strong presence at entrances and exits of our buildings, standing in the available thresholds of their classrooms while monitoring students in the hallway, and be on the lookout for any activity that might be suspicious. While these are actions that all of our staff members take on a daily basis, we will reinforce the supervision and coverage. We want to thank you for partnering with each of our schools and our district to ensure the safety and security of all of our schools. It is extremely important to us that we provide a safe and secure environment for our students every day. Thank you, Brett Abbotts, Superintendent Greene County Community School District

Reminder: Families can apply for free and/or reduced lunch benefits at any time during the school year. You may apply through your Infinite Campus Parent Portal. Paper applications are also available in building offices. The National School lunch program requires that each meal includes 3-5 different components to qualify. Please note, if your child only takes a milk this does not qualify for the program and the child's account will be charged. The price of milk only is $.40

Greene County Community School will be holding the monthly board meeting at the admin building (101 Ram Drive, Jefferson, IA) this evening beginning at 5:15 PM. The public is welcome to attend. The event will also be livestreamed on YouTube. The meeting agenda can be viewed on the GCCSD Board of Education page under the Links header. GCCSD Board Meeting YouTube Livestream Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/IEuYxdZvlyk?si=BEgTWOEpZbquqvJj Board Meeting Agenda: https://www.gccsd.k12.ia.us/page/board-home

Please join us tonight, 12/05/2023, in the high school auditorium at 6:15 for the Kindergarten program, Cock-a-Doodle Dandy. Cock-a-Doodle Dandy and the other farm animals will search for a solution to their very important problem! Following that, please join us at 7:15 for the first grade production of Flakes! Discover how the Littlest Snowflake can make the biggest difference among a million others just like her! For those unable to attend in person, we're excited to offer a livestream for the programs -- see below for the link. Please note that due to copyright restrictions, the livestream will NOT be accessible once the events conclude. We look forward to sharing these delightful performances with you and celebrating the talents of our students. Livestream Link: https://youtube.com/live/hq4bd6AxNd0?feature=share

Sam Pedersen was last year's 2nd place State Fire Safety Contest winner who just received her 2022 State prize. Here is this year's chosen 3rd Grade poster by Nora Kroeger, and 4th grade poster by Mila Sebolt, whose Fire Safety Contest posters are going on to the State 2023 Competition from Greene County Elementary.

Friendly Reminder: For the safety of our students and staff, all guests at Greene County Community School District are required to check in at the front office during regular school hours before entering any building. Please have a valid driver's license or photo ID ready for registration. Your cooperation helps us maintain a secure and welcoming environment. Thank you for your understanding and commitment to the safety of our school community!