Greendale High School
Home of the Panthers
04 September 2011
This Week at GHS | 11 September 2011 | 28 August 2011

This Week at GHS: September 9

September 08, 2011 | Posted by Steve Lodes


Good Friday Afternoon, Parents:

I write this on Day 6 of the new school year, and we are still moving forward nicely. There is a great feeling permeating our hallways and classrooms as four grade levels of students start to gel and discern the personality of this year’s high school experience. We are at 936 students right now, and are enjoying a high rate of school involvement if you use co-curricular participation rates as an indicator. Jam-packed fall sports teams, over 190 total students involved in Marching Band, and student clubs firing up this week all create a positive school environment created through student engagement and involvement. That is a real strength of this school, so a thank you goes out to our parents for the schedule/family-gymnastics it takes to support today’s involved student.

This week’s Open House was well attended despite a few sports matches going on and coming off of a three-day weekend. Response was positive and the teachers were definitely ready with informative presentations on their classes, their websites, and everything else that awaits your student in their class. Thanks for taking the time to come out.

Again, the school year is off to a productive, fun start. Thanks for your continued collaboration, your support, and your high expectations.

Sincerely,
Steve Lodes, GHS Principal

Now, in no particular order…

GHS Homecoming Week
Get ready for Homecoming 2011! September 26 – October 1 marks our Homecoming Week. Celebration of this week kicks off with daily spirit days all week (themes TBD), PowderPuff sports contests, and the Friday Pep Assembly, Parade, GPABC Tailgate, and the Football Game versus Whitnall.

On Saturday, the students will be at the Homecoming dance beginning at 8:00 p.m. Students will not be allowed to enter before 8:00 p.m. (please encourage them to come no sooner than 7:45 because all they do is stand outside and wait for the doors to open). Our savvy upperclassmen often time their arrival for 8:15 to avoid the underclassmen surge. No matter when students arrive, they must be in the doors by 8:30 p.m. Anyone bringing a date from another school must have a completed dance pass form when they attempt to purchase tickets. Forms are available in the Activities Office, or click here to download. Many more details on Homecoming will be part of upcoming Weeklies.

GHS Homecoming Apparel
Be in style at the September 30 Greendale Panther Football game vs. the Whitnall Falcons with a 2011 Homecoming T-shirt. Place money (cash or check payable to GHS Football) and order form in an envelope and these are due to the Activities Office NO LATER THAN Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 3 p.m. No orders will be accepted after that date due to time constraints in placing the order. A t-shirt design is available to preview in the Activities office. Questions? Call Kitty Goyette at 414-421-1631. Click here to get your order form for your very own Homecoming T-Shirt!

Greendale Panther Athletic Booster Club (GPABC) Homecoming Tailgate
On Friday, September 30, the GPABC will be having their annual tailgate party before the Homecoming game versus the Whitnall Falcons. Please purchase your tickets ahead of time, as there will only be a limited number available at the door that evening. To purchase tickets, complete the attached order form which will be available at www.greendaleboosterclub.org and send with your payment to the High School c/o GPABC. See you there!

The Greendale Panther Athletic Booster Club was established to promote and encourage a continuing spirit of enthusiasm in and for the Greendale High School athletic program. Specifically, the non-profit civic organization engages in activities which:
Financially and physically assist the Athletic Department and the Athletic Director.
  • Develop between educators, parents, and the general public, united efforts in order to secure the highest advantages for the Greendale High School student athlete.
  • Raise funds in a non-political and non-sectarian manner, which are used to benefit all Greendale High School athletic teams and programs.
  • The GPABC has contributed over $500,000 since 1999 to help fund Greendale High School’s 22 boys and girls athletic programs, and facilities.

Please see the attached brochure detailing this fine volunteer organization.

Greendale School District - Annual Meeting
The Greendale School District’s Annual Meeting is set for Monday, September 19, 2011 starting with a Budget Meeting at 7:00 p.m. and the Annual Meeting commences at 7:30 p.m. in the Greendale High School Auditorium. The purpose of this meeting is for the Board of Education to report on the state of the School District, to pass a resolution regarding the tax levy, and to inform citizens about the District budget.

Annual Report Now Available
Greendale Schools released the 2010-11 Annual Report which highlights student achievement and financial information. For the report, please visit www.greendale.k12.wi.us/annualreport.

Change to Nurse Practitioner Program
The Greendale School District provides students with access to the services of a nurse practitioner, at no cost to parents, through the Aurora Nurse Practitioner program. The nurse practitioner can see students for athletic physicals, to monitor chronic conditions, and to triage health problems. Due to changes in Aurora's school-based health initiatives, the nurse practitioner can no longer write scripts for students at this time. For more information on the program, please click here.

New Varsity Baseball Coach Named
Brian Johnsen has been named as the new Head Varsity Baseball Coach at Greendale High School. Coach Johnsen is a physical education teacher at Canterbury Elementary and Greendale High School, and the 2011-12 school year will be his eighth year teaching in the Greendale School District. Shane Hansen (GHS Athletic and Activities Director) and Coach Johnsen will hold a meet-and-greet for any student-athlete and parent of a student-athlete who is interested in baseball and meeting the new coach. This will take place on Tuesday, September 20 at 6:00 p.m. in the GHS library (IMC).

GHS Scholarships
It is that time of the year! Time to work hard and make some money! Seniors that are planning to attend college in the fall of 2012 should start looking at the GHS scholarship page. There will be new scholarships added approximately every two weeks. It is hard to know if you qualify if you don't apply. For more information, please click here.

Step Up to Better Health Fun Run and Walk
Greendale's Step Up to Better Health Committee, in collaboration with the Greendale Schools, will hold the annual Fun Run & Walk on Sunday, October 16 at 10:30 a.m. Join us for this healthy community event that benefits Greendale Schools! T-shirts guaranteed for those that register by September 23. For more information and to register, please click here.

Greendale Open Market – September 10
The Greendale Park and Recreation Department will host the Greendale Open Market on Saturday, September 10 from 8:00 a.m. – noon. Produce is in peak season, crafts will be available and Big John’s German Band will be performing from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Click here for the list of vendors that will be participating.

Breakfast Program
The Greendale Schools Breakfast Program is available to all students who want to participate. The breakfast program will be set up buffet style to allow freedom in making choices. The cost for this will be $1.00 (.40 cents or free for children that qualify for the free and reduced lunch program). Students can pay for breakfast through the same debit system as the lunch program. Parents are welcomed to join their child for breakfast. Adult cost for the buffet is $1.75. Research has shown repeatedly that students who eat breakfast are ready to learn. For more information on the breakfast program, please click here.

Greendale High School Twitter
You can find GHS on Twitter @GHS_Learns. It is a great way to get the very latest news and announcements from the Greendale Schools. Learn more...

All fall sports information and schedules can be found at our Athletics webpage, click here to learn more.

This Week's Links and Downloads: