October 18, 2022: Although school is closed due to a power outage, we expect power to be restored later today. Decisions about after school activities will be made at that time and will be communicated to our families.
We are thrilled to announce that Grand Traverse Academy has been voted Best School in the 2022 Record-Eagle Simply the Best of Northern Michigan Readers Choice Awards! What's more, Jocelyn Bohrer and Maria Drost are Best Teacher Runners-Up! Thank you to everyone for all you do to have made this recognition possible.
Watch the Facebook Live awards ceremony tonight at 7:00 pm on the Record-Eagle Facebook page and see all the awards in the flyer included in today's issue of the Record-Eagle.
Update Regarding Grand Traverse Academy Superintendent Interviews Scheduled for Tuesday, September 27: Dr. Rachel Roberts, one of two candidates scheduled for second round interviews this evening, September 27, 2022, at Grand Traverse Academy, has withdrawn her candidacy for the position. In an email to Shawn Lewis-Lakin, Search Consultant for the Michigan Association of School Boards, Dr. Roberts expressed gratitude to the Board of Directors and Grand Traverse Academy Community for the opportunity to interview and be considered to serve as superintendent.
The GTA Board of Directors will hold a candidate open house and second-round interviews for the two finalists for the position of school superintendent on Tuesday, September 27. The open house will take place in the White 1 and 2 Classrooms from 4:30-5:15 pm. Interviews will take place in the Aqua 5 Boardroom starting at 5:30 pm. GTA parents and staff ae encouraged to participate. For complete details, please check your email box for a message from Grand Traverse Academy dated September 21, 2022.
As a reminder, all preschool and K-12 students and staff will have school pictures taken on Wednesday, September 14. Online orders are highly encouraged to keep lines moving quickly and prevent errors. Instructions may be found on page two of the September 9 Connections newsletter. Simply scan the QR code provided or visit the Timeless Image ordering site at https://vando.imagequix.com/A9PRL9G. Be sure to use the appropriate school code as follows:  Elementary: 5822,  Secondary: 6322.  Uniforms are required of all staff and K-12 students for school pictures.
Order forms were handed out at the Back-to-School Open House should you choose that option. Just be sure the form is completed and payment is included. Thank you!Â
We're so looking forward to seeing our students back at school tomorrow! Families coming from the east side are reminded that road reconstruction and lane closures on US-31 between Five Mile and Holiday Roads will likely cause delays through mid-November. Be sure to plan accordingly.
Dear Grand Traverse Academy Families,
If you're coming to Wednesday's Back-to-School Open House later in the day and want an easy dinner when you get home, we have a solution! That'sa Pizza, our neighbor across the road (and now owned by a GTA family), will be selling large cheese or pepperoni pizzas for takeout at the discounted price of $12 each. Pizza will be available at the Elementary entrance from 4:00-7:00 pm. Please be sure to bring cash, as credit cards cannot be accepted.
And remember, if you need to do some last-minute uniform shopping, stop by Multipurpose Room 1 (across the hall from the Secondary Office) to check out the Family Council Used Uniform Sale. It will be open from 1:00-7:00 pm or until inventory is sold out. Gently used uniform pieces for donation to the sale may be dropped off at either office tomorrow, Tuesday, August 30.
We look forward to seeing you at the Open House!
Just a reminder that the stakeholder input surveys sent out last week as part of our board's search for a new superintendent for GTA are due by Wednesday, July 6. If you haven't already completed yours, check your email for a message sent today from Grand Traverse Academy. Your feedback is appreciated as the board searches for our next leader, and the survey will only take about 10 minutes of your time. Thank you!
Parents: We still have so many personal items in the Lost & Found waiting to be claimed! All items remaining after tomorrow, June 3, will be donated to the Goodwill (with the exception of GTA logo wear, which will go to our uniform closets). Please stop by to take a look between 4:00 and 4:30 pm today or 8:00-8:25 am or 12:00-12:30 pm tomorrow.
Don't forget the GTA Family Council's final meeting of the year tonight, from 6:30-7:30 pm in Multipurpose Rooms 3 & 4. If you plan to attend, be sure to contact Kristin at kristinboogaard@gmail.com as soon as possible. Please park in the north parking lot and use the Secondary entrance. We hope to see you there!
Dear Grand Traverse Academy Families and Staff,
Following the threat to Grand Traverse Academy on Saturday, May 14, the building has been cleared by the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department K-9 Unit. The law enforcement investigation continues, with deputies actively working throughout the weekend. The detective on the case, as well as the sergeant and deputies who responded to the incident on Saturday, are confident that school operations may resume on Monday, May 16.
The entire staff at GTA is committed to ensuring that we can deliver to you our mission - that all students are safe, loved, and learning as they achieve excellence in character and academics. Thank you for sharing your children with us.
Respectfully,
Jim Coneset
Superintendent
Don't miss the GTA Drama Club's production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs this weekend: Friday, May 13 at 6:30 pm and Saturday, May 14 at 2:00 pm in the Big Gym. Tickets are $3 per person at the door and proceeds will support Drama Club activities.
To wrap up our Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week festivities, Friday, May 6 will be a school-wide jeans day. Students and staff may wear GTA-appropriate jeans (no holes, tears or legging-style, please) with either a uniform top or GTA spirit wear shirt!
The North Ed Career Tech's "Cool Tech Camp" classes are popular and fill up fast, so don't delay in signing up your child! Open the link and click on the green Register box to view available courses and full descriptions. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cool-tech-camp-2022-registration-227806384027?
Just a reminder that tomorrow, Thursday, April 14, is Purple Up! Day for Elementary students. Purple shirts may be worn with uniform pants, skirts or jumpers in celebration of the Month of the Military Child and in recognition of our military-connected students. Don't forget to Purple Up!
Just a reminder that tomorrow (Thursday, March 24) is our next Fill the Pantry Jeans Day. Students and staff may wear school-appropriate jeans (no holes, rips or legging-style, please) with uniform tops in exchange for a $2 per person donation. Contributions will be used to help stock our student lunch pantry, which provides school lunches for our less fortunate students and those who occasionally forget to bring a lunch. No food donations, please, due to food allergies and dietary restrictions. We thank you for your participation, which is voluntary, of course.
We're well on our way to reaching our our Read-A-Thon goals but have just three full days left of our two-week event! Can we achieve a total of 80,000 minutes read by our elementary students? It's not too late to activate your child's personal page at https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/cdRRML. It only takes a minute or two and is where we track our progress and success! Family Council thanks everyone for their participation.
Our Elementary Read-A-Thon is underway! Most grandparents love to keep up with their grandchildren's activities and they'd love to know how much they're reading. They are often generous sponsors, too. Click on this link to go to the Grandparent Email tool to let them know about your K-6 child's participation in Read-A-Thon: https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/tool/cdRRML/1
The Mustang girls play Maple City Glen Lake tonight at district basketball semifinals. They would love to have some fans in the stands - the game is at 5:30 pm at St. Francis High School. Tickets are $7 per person at https://gofan.co/app/school/MI10297. See you there!
Congratulations to our Mustang girls on winning their first game in district play tonight, defeating the Benzie Central Huskies 42-35! They go on to play Glen Lake, the #3 team in the state, on Wednesday. Go, Mustangs!
