Greene County High School

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

JV2/JV boys basketball for tonight (1/4/23) is cancelled. Tomorrow night's high school basketball games (1/5/23) are postponed as well. We do not have a makeup date as of yet.

Happy New Year, GCHS Families! See our January Family Newsletter Here! https://www.smore.com/e6a2t

GCHS introduces staff members Mrs. Schultz and Mrs. Fester and our activities department Dave Wright and Misty Bettey. Thanks for all you do!

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

Thank you to Raccoon Valley Radio & Doug Rieder for broadcasting live from Greene County High School today to promote a Food Drive that is underway here at GCHS. Six students were interviewed to share about their involvement in activities, clubs, organizations, athletics, and arts. We invite you to bring nonperishable food items to the home basketball game tonight. Items will be donated to the local ARC food pantry and Sweet Treats in Scranton.

GCHS's 2022-2023 yearbook received the National Yearbook Program of Excellence award. Criteria for the honor was inclusivity of our student body in the book, yearbook sales, and met deadlines. Only 7% of school yearbooks received this high honor. Congratulations!! Some of the students that contributed to earning this award are: Seth Bellinghausen, Brayton Crouse, teacher Mrs. Kirsten Carman, Eli Mohr, Shai Woodley, Gavin Helmantoler-Baugh, Yaritaza Leon, Maddie McCarthy, Ali Lawson, Kaylee Stalder, and Ava Perrett.

Thank you to Raccoon Valley Radio and Doug Rieder for doing live remotes with the Greene County High School Career and Technical Education students and the Greene County Career Academy students on Wednesday, December 6th. Students enjoyed talking to Doug about the skills they are learning in their classes along with the employability skills that will make them good employees in the future.

Greene County High School is seeking nominations for the Fine Arts Hall of Fame. Nominations are due by January 5th, 2024 with the induction ceremony scheduled May 6th, 2024 in conjunction with our spring awards concert. Nominations can be sent to the Greene County Activities office. Contact Activities Director Dave Wright with any questions.

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!

GCHS Families - Trimester 1 final grades have been posted. Please check Infinite Campus to see your child's grades. If you have questions please contact their teacher or the office on Monday. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Rams Against Cancer, a Relay for Life Event. (Merch orders need to be placed by November 27th)

GCHS Staff members being highlighted this week have a combined 115 years of experience! Wow! Thanks for all you have done and continue to do for youth!

Greene County FCCLA members traveled to Ellsworth for the Prairie Lakes Fall District FCCLA Meeting on Wednesday, November 15. Those members attending were Hailey Carman, Shelby Finley, Rachel Gordon, Shawn Gordon, Savannah Lansman, Carter Pettersen-Hansen, Jocelyn Velazco and Brooke Williams. We participated in team building activities as well as discussions of ways to grow our FCCLA group! Brooke Williams ran for a district office and was elected as the Vice President. Congratulations Brooke on a 2nd year of being a district FCCLA officer!!

What a match! Our Rams put up a valiant effort against Linn-Mar in the first round of the Rainbow Six Siege state playoffs but fell 2-1. Both of the second and third rounds went into overtime. Congratulations on a great season to the coaches and players. The Rams will play Iowa-Falls Alden in the consolation bracket to determine their final placement. Good luck!

Good luck to the Rams Rainbow Six Esports team as the compete at state today! The Rams enter the tournament as the number six seed and will take on Linn-Mar who is the number one seed. The match will begin soon. Use the link below to cheer them on! https://www.youtube.com/live/n02Qbum6ViA?si=p3zxWJlqG_iZx5AO

Greene County wins the first SMITE match in the state championship finals to go up 1-0 against East Buchanan. One more win and they will be state champs. Use the link below to watch. Good luck, Rams! https://www.youtube.com/live/ZrekJ7uKVYs?si=UDIKucRlysjAZq0n