Welcome to a New School Year!

Welcome to the 2023-24 school year! I surely hope you found your summer to be relaxing, reenergizing, and enjoyable.

The beginning of a new school year has always had a special meaning and a sense of excitement. It is a time that marks a fresh start, exciting possibilities, and great promise. For children, it means new friends and teachers, new learning, discovery, and growth.

We are excited about the new students and staff that joined our Goza family this year. We have several new faces on our team:

Michael Ankton - Social Studies Teacher
Jalisa Bowers - 6th-grade Literature & Social Studies Teacher
Cathy Brooks - Bookkeeper
Maci Burris - Science Teacher
Cody Kehmeier - Choir Teacher
Anita Malcom - 6th-grade Math & Science Teacher
Samantha McCarroll - English Teacher
Eduardo Ortis - Instructional Specialist
Paige Purifoy - Health & PE Teacher and Coach
Taylor Stamps - Instructional Specialist
Kayla Todd - Instructional Specialist
Hailie Unruh - 6th-grade Literature & Social Studies Teacher
Angela Whitworth - Paraprofessional

I look forward to working with you as we educate your children in these middle years of school. I appreciate that you recognize your child's academic progress and enthusiasm for learning at this exciting time, and know you will encourage it to continue throughout the academic year.

In addition to engaging in an enriching curriculum, I expect your children will experience inner growth with more self-direction and greater understanding.

We look forward to a positive and productive school year at Goza Middle School. Please know that we are available to you if you have questions, concerns, or comments. Nothing could be more precious or more worthy than our collective attention to your children.

Our phone number is 870-246-4291.

Thank you for your support,

Cheryl Merk, Principal

"We are excited about the new students and staff that join our Goza family this year."

~ Cheryl Merk, Principal

Flu shots will be the morning of Tuesday, October 10, at Goza. Forms will be sent home soon.

If we have any parents who are nurses or pharmacists with an active license and are able to volunteer for our flu shot clinic, please contact Nurse Beth at 501-690-4231

Goza News You Can Use

Goza Guardians

Orientation for Goza Guardians is at 4:30 p.m., on Monday, September 11 in the Goza cafeteria. All dads interested in becoming a volunteer are encouraged to attend.

Goza P.A.T.H.S.

Meetings for Goza PATHS (Parents and Teachers Helping Students) will be held on the first Tuesday of every month at 2 p.m. This schedule was created for parents of car pool students. Park and learn about what is happening at Goza and how you can support our school. You will be dismissed in time for school dismissal.

Our first meeting is at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, September 5. If you have any questions, please contact, Ms. Miller at gozapaths@arkadelphiaschools.org. Be sure to like our Goza PATHS Facebook page to stay informed of things happening within the organization.

School Spirit T-shirts

More Goza t-shirts have been ordered, and are $10 each.

Access Echo from Home

Echo can be accessed from any digital device at home. Follow these steps to access the school's learning management system.

Step 1: Students visit https://www.arkadelphiaschools.org/o/goza. This is our school's website.

Step 2: Click the down arrow next to FOR STUDENTS.

Step 3: Select Echo LMS.

The student is to log in with their firstname.lastname and password. If they do not know their password, then they can click on the 3 dots next to the password to change it.

Parents can use these same instructions by selecting FOR FAMILIES (in Step 2) to access the Echo LMS Parent Account Login.

Goza continuing Food Bag Program

We will be continuing our weekly food bag program at Goza Middle School this year. We have a limited number of food bags that will be available for students to take home each Friday. This program is designed for children who do not have enough food at home on the weekends.

If you feel that your child has a need, please contact Mrs. Tuggle in the counselor's office at 870-246-4291, ext 2249.

This program is funded by donations from Patterson Federal Credit Union, Kiwanis Club of Arkadelphia and many community donations. If you would like to donate to this program, call or email Mrs. Tuggle at dana.tuggle@arkadelphiaschools.org.

Celebrating Birthdays

Happy Birthday! Diamond Harper and Savannah Garrett, who celebrated their birthdays August 15, were the first recipients of Goza's birthday gift coupons for this school year. Ms. Della Miller, our Instructional Facilitator, secured donations of coupons from Dairy Queen and Taco Bell to gift to every student on their birthday this year. Students will receive a free small ice cream cone from DQ, and a free taco or burrito from Taco Bell. We want to give a big Thank You to these two businesses for their generous donations.

The Scientific Method using Skittles

In Mrs. Christy Smith's science classes, students were reviewing the scientific method by creating a data table and graphing using Skittles.

Which color skittle is most common in a fun-sized package of skittles? They had to create a hypothesis and test to see if it was correct. Students then created a data table and graph for their results.

Learning about History

Students in Mrs. Armstrong's Social Studies classes got to get a glimpse into the Louisiana Purchase thanks to a "loan box." The loan box, which came from the Arkansas History Museum, included information about the rich culture of the Caddo, Quapaw, and Osage Native Americans, the pre-purchase of the land that the Spanish and French explored, and the river travels of the Louisiana Purchase. Students learned about the hardships and complications of traveling in unexplored areas with few supplies, the Hunter-Dunbar trip, and the work that went into surveying the newly acquired territory.

The box included: Surveying Chains (ranging rod), Quapaw clay pottery, Replica Compass, Map of Louisiana Purchase Survey, Folder with information about 18th century clothing, Hardtack (shaped like the state of AR), Badger pelt (Meriwether Lewis wrote extensively about his discovery of the western badger - the Taxidea Taxus).

Mrs. Armstrong has plans for more boxes for students to view throughout the school year.

Goza Guardians

Goza Guardians is a group of volunteer dads who will serve our students and teachers by being present. Ms. Della Miller was inspired by Watchdog Dads and All-Pro Dads at Perritt and Peake Elementary Schools. She felt the need to provide additional support for the administration, teachers, and students.

Attendees at the meeting on Monday, September 11, included our school board president, Mr. Blake Bell, and local Clark County leaders - Sherriff Jason Watson, Chief of Police Jason Jackson, and Fire Chief Jason Hunt. All volunteers will require background checks. We appreciate Sherriff Watson for agreeing to do the background checks for this group at no cost to participants.

Volunteers are asked to work half a day. However, scheduling is flexible. The goal is to have two dads on site every morning and afternoon, Monday through Friday. You do not have to be a dad or have a child who attends Goza. If you have a heart for the safety and emotional well-being of our students, please sign up by completing the Google Form:

Goza Guardians Volunteer Sign Up