Horizons Virtual Academy

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Due to the rising water at the Seama Bridge and the significant rainfall we have been experiencing on the Laguna Pueblo and in Cibola County, Laguna Governor Antonio has requested that all Laguna students be released to their parents/guardians.

This request is being made as a precaution to help ensure the safety of our students and their families as weather and road conditions continue to develop.

Parents/guardians are asked to make arrangements to pick up their students. Please follow the school’s regular student checkout procedures upon arrival. Buses will run on a regular schedule.

Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us prioritize the safety of our students, families, and staff.

🧡 October Mental Health Moment

October is a time to raise awareness about substance use, build healthy habits, and check in with the people we care about.

A simple conversation can make a difference. Try asking, “How are you doing, really?” Then give them space to answer and listen without judgment.

If you or someone you know needs support, SAMHSA’s free, confidential National Helpline is available 24/7 at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

GCCS students can learn about their Talkspace therapy access at talkspace.com/grantscibola. You are not alone. 💙

#GCCS #MentalHealthMatters #SubstanceUseAwareness

🎓 Senior Parents: We Need Your Help!

We’re looking for volunteers to help build the senior float. We’ll meet at the Strickland house starting tomorrow, September 29, at 7:30. We also need float decorations!

If you need the address, please contact Tierra or me, or email roberta.jaramillo@gccs.k12.nm.us.

For the carnival, we need paper plates, whipped cream, a tarp, and volunteers to take tickets.

Thank you for helping make these events special for our seniors!

💙 September is Suicide Prevention Month—a time to raise awareness, spread hope, and remind one another that no one has to struggle alone.

Take time to check in with yourself, your friends, your family members, and those around you. Learn the warning signs, ask how someone is really doing, and listen without judgment. A simple conversation can help save a life.

Reaching out for mental health support is not a sign of weakness—it is a sign of strength.

📞 If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis:

• Call or text 988
• Chat with a trained counselor at 988lifeline.org
• TTY users may use their preferred relay service or dial 711, then 988
• If someone is in immediate danger, call 911

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential, and available 24/7.

You matter. You are valued. You are not alone. 💛

#SuicidePreventionMonth #MentalHealthAwareness #YouAreNotAlone #988Lifeline #SpreadHope #CheckIn

🏃🏽‍♂️🏃🏽‍♀️ Hawks on the Rise! 🦅💪🏽

Congratulations to our LAHS Cross Country team on a great showing at the Ramah Mustang Invitational on Saturday, September 12!

🏆 Boys Varsity — 1st Place out of 9 teams!

Our runners continue to work hard, build confidence, and make progress—not only as individual athletes, but as a team. Their dedication, teamwork, and commitment are something our entire GCCS community can be proud of.

A special congratulations to our athletes for their outstanding finishes, and thank you to our coaches, families, and supporters who continue to encourage our students every step of the way!

Keep running, keep improving, and keep Higher Expectations for Everyone!🦅

Here are the cross-country results from the Ramah Mustang Invitational on Saturday, September 12, 2026.

LAHS Boys Varsity - 1st place out of 9 teams.

Boys Individual Results - N. Vicente, 2nd place, Time: 19:21
T. Lewis, 3rd place, Time: 19:24
A. Vallo, 4th place, Time: 19:37
T. Garcia, 16th place, Time: 21:38
D. Analla, 17th place, Time: 21:49

Girls Individual Results - M. Smith, 7th place, Time: 24:31

#GCCS #LAHSCrossCountry #HawksOnTheRise #Teamwork #StudentAthletes

📣 Grants Cibola County Schools families and community members!

Please join us for our upcoming Indian Parent Advisory Committee (IPAC) Meeting as we kick off the new school year together!

📅 Wednesday, September 16, 2026
⏰ 6:00–7:00 p.m.
📍 GCCS Training Room

We look forward to connecting, collaborating, and supporting our students and families. We hope to see you there!

#GCCS #IPAC #FamilyEngagement #CommunityCollaboration #SupportingStudents

🏀 JOIN THE LOS ALAMITOS COACHING TEAM! 🏴‍☠️

Grants Cibola County Schools is seeking enthusiastic and dedicated individuals to serve as:

🏀 Boys Basketball Coach
🏀 Girls Basketball Coach
📍 Los Alamitos Middle School

Help develop our student-athletes, strengthen our basketball programs, and inspire the next generation of Pirates!

✅ An active NMPED coaching license is required.

📲 Scan the QR code on the graphic or apply online:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeY8xp11PI4o3CrQ4TujyVEFYenggzfobzK9JVSxHNJUYCt6w/viewform

Please share and help us find our next LAMS basketball coaches!

#GCCS #LosAlamitosMiddleSchool #LAMSBucs #NowHiring #BasketballCoaches #NewMexicoEducation #GoBucs

🎟️ FREE ADMISSION 🎟️
🤝 LET’S SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS TOGETHER! 🤝

We love seeing our students and community members come out to support GCCS Athletics! 🏆

Through our partnership with ORCNM, admission to athletic events at Los Alamitos Middle School, Laguna-Acoma High School, and Grants High School is FREE to our community. 🎉

While we are excited to make our athletic events accessible to everyone, we want to remind families that:

⚠️ Elementary and middle school students MUST be accompanied by an adult when attending athletic events.

⚠️ Students in elementary or middle school may not attend athletic events on their own or be dropped off at an event.

✅ Admission is FREE.
👨‍👩‍👧 Parent/Guardian supervision is REQUIRED.

Thank you to our families and community for helping us maintain a safe, positive, and welcoming environment at all GCCS athletic events. ❤️

👏 Thank you, ORCNM, for partnering with GCCS Athletics!

🏴‍☠️ Go Pirates! 🦅 Go Hawks! ☠️ Go Buccaneers!

GCCS Athletics

📶🏡 GET CONNECTED, GRANTS-CIBOLA FAMILIES!

High-speed internet may be available for qualifying rural households within Grants-Cibola County Schools through a partnership with ReSound Networks.

Reliable internet helps students learn, families stay connected, and communities thrive! 💻📚

✅ See if your household qualifies:
https://resoundnetworks.com/connect-grants-cibola

Please share this opportunity with families who may benefit!

#GCCS #GrantsCibolaCountySchools #ReSoundNetworks #GetConnected #HighSpeedInternet #DigitalLearning #CommunityConnections

🏴‍☠️ PIRATE FANS & SUPPORTERS — THE X-GRAIN TEAM STORE IS OPEN! ❤️🖤

Gear up and show your Pirate pride! X-Grain offers high-quality apparel with personalization and customization options so you can make your gear your own.

🛒 Shop here:
https://stores.inksoft.com/WS140746/shop/home

⏰ STORE CLOSES OCTOBER 19, 2026!

Don’t wait—get your Pirate gear ordered before the store closes!

ORDER • CUSTOMIZE • REPRESENT 🏴‍☠️❤️🖤

🏟️ FREE ADMISSION TO ALL GCCS HOME SPORTING EVENTS! 🎉

We are excited to announce a new partnership with ORCNM that will allow free admission to all Grants Cibola County Schools home sporting events, effective September 1, 2026!

That means you can come out, support our student-athletes, and cheer on our teams FREE OF CHARGE through the end of the current fiscal year. 🙌

📅 Effective: September 1, 2026
🎟️ Admission: FREE
🏆 Applies to: All GCCS Home Sporting Events
⏳ Valid through: The end of the current fiscal year

⚠️ Please Note: This free-admission opportunity is for the 2026–2027 school year ONLY. Beginning with the 2027–2028 school year, athletic admission fees will return to the same structure used in previous years.

🍿Take advantage of the money saved at the gate and support our concessions while supporting our student/athletes.

Bring your family, bring your friends, and COME SUPPORT OUR GCCS STUDENT-ATHLETES! ❤️💙

#GCCS #GCCSAthletics #GoPirates #GoBucs #GoHawks #SupportOurStudents #FreeAdmission

📢 GCCS FAMILY — NO SCHOOL WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND!

A reminder to our GCCS families that all Grants Cibola County Schools will be closed on Wednesday, September 2nd, in observance of Cultural Day. 🎉

We encourage our students, staff, and families to take this opportunity to celebrate and appreciate the rich cultures, traditions, and heritage that make our community so special. ❤️💙💛

📅 No School: Wednesday, September 2nd
🏫 School Resumes: Thursday, September 3rd

Enjoy the day, GCCS Family! We look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Thursday!

WE ARE GCCS. WE ARE FAMILY. ❤️

#GCCSFamily #CulturalDay #NoSchool #GrantsCibolaCountySchools #WeAreGCCS #WeAreFamily

🏴‍☠️⛳ Calling All Golfers, Businesses & Pirate Supporters! ⛳🏴‍☠️

Join us for the Grants High School Pirates Golf Tournament and help make a lasting impact on our student-athletes!

📅 Saturday, November 7, 2026
📍 Coyote Del Malpais Golf Course — Grants, NM
⏰ 9:00 a.m. Shotgun Start
🏌️ Four-Person Scramble
💲 $400 per team
🍽️ Lunch provided
🏆 Prizes and giveaways

We are also seeking tournament sponsors! Your support helps provide equipment, travel, tournament expenses, and valuable opportunities for our Pirate golfers.

🔴 Title Sponsor: $500
⚫ Hole Sponsor: $250
🔴 Title & Hole Sponsorship: $750
⚫ Other donations are also welcome!

Sponsorship forms are due no later than October 26, 2026.

Register at Coyote Golf Course or contact Troy Kennington at Troy.kennington@gccs.k12.nm.us for registration and sponsorship information.

Good company. Greater impact. Let’s come together to build champions, support our Pirates, and create opportunities! ❤️🖤

#GrantsPirates #PiratePride #PiratesGolf #SupportStudentAthletes #GolfTournament #GrantsNewMexico

🎉 GCCS, GET READY FOR BE HERE DAY! 🎉

Grants Cibola County Schools is proud to join schools and districts across New Mexico on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, to celebrate BE HERE DAY and the importance of strong school attendance! 🏫✨

Being present matters! Every day students are in school is another opportunity to learn, connect, grow, and succeed. 💙📚

Let’s come together as a GCCS community to encourage our students, celebrate great attendance, and remind everyone that EVERY DAY COUNTS!

📣 Be here. Be engaged. Be ready to succeed!

Together, we can build a culture of strong attendance and help every GCCS student reach their full potential. Let’s show up, GCCS! 💪🎓

#BeHereDay #BeHereNM #GCCS #GrantsCibolaCountySchools #AttendanceMatters #EveryDayCounts #BeingPresentMatters #StudentSuccess

🏈 BIG NEWS FOR ANGRY JACK FOOTBALL! 🏈

We are incredibly excited to share some HUGE news for the Grants High School Pirate Football Program!

Athletic Director Reyes Jaramillo took the initiative to apply and submit our GHS Football Program to the T-Mobile Friday Night Lights 5G Contest — and his efforts have paid off in a BIG way!

🎉 The Pirate Football Program has been selected to receive a $5,000 donation from T-Mobile! 🎉

But that's not all…

🏆 GHS Football is also a FINALIST for the T-Mobile Grand Prize — a $1,000,000 award for facility upgrades! The grand prize winner will be announced at a later date.

We want to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to Mr. Jaramillo for his excellent and continued efforts to put our students, programs, and Grants High School at the top of his priority list. His commitment to finding opportunities and resources for our student-athletes is making a difference!

💙 The $5,000 donation will go a long way toward improving our football program and creating an even better experience for the student-athletes who proudly choose to be part of the Angry Jack Family.

And now… we're keeping our fingers crossed for that $1 MILLION GRAND PRIZE! 🤞🏈💰

THANK YOU AND WAY TO GO, MR. JARAMILLO!
This is what happens when we believe in our kids and invest in their future!

#GrantsPiratesFootball #AngryJackFootball #AngryJackFamily #GrantsHighSchool #GHSFootball #FN5GL #TMobileFridayNightLights #FridayNightLights #GCCS #GoAngryJack

📣 EQUITY COUNCIL MEMBERS NEEDED!

Grants Cibola County Schools is looking for passionate parents, students, teachers, school staff, community members, and tribal representatives to join our Equity Council! 💙💛

Together, we can help ensure that every student is seen, supported, and empowered to succeed.

As an Equity Council member, you’ll have the opportunity to:
✨ Provide input on district policies and practices
✨ Help identify and address equity gaps
✨ Promote inclusion and cultural responsiveness
✨ Collaborate on solutions that reflect our community’s values
✨ Be a voice for positive change

The Equity Council meets once a month, with both in-person and virtual options available.

Your voice. Your ideas. Our future. Make an impact!

Interested in being part of the change? We’d love to have you! 💙💛

📞 505-285-2769
📧 nolan.valdo@gccs.k12.nm.us
📍 Grants Cibola County Schools Central Office
208 W. Roosevelt Ave., Grants, NM 87020

Collaborate. Commit. Succeed.
#GCCS #EquityCouncil #EveryStudentEveryDay #TogetherForEquity #OurStudents #BeTheChange

📢 FREE FURNITURE GIVEAWAY – TODAY & TOMORROW!

Grants Cibola County Schools is offering the community and GCCS staff an opportunity to claim leftover furniture from the former Mesa View Elementary School!

🗓 Today & Tomorrow
🕓 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Drive around to the backside of Mesa View Elementary School and take any available items you'd like. Furniture is available on a first-come, first-served basis and includes items such as:

🪑 Student desks
🪑 Chairs
🗄 Office furniture
📚 And other miscellaneous school furnishings

Our GCCS Maintenance Team will be on site to help load items into your vehicle.

Please drive carefully through the area and follow any directions from staff while on campus.

We hope these items find a great new home!

Dear Mesa View Families,

As we are preparing for a successful school year, we want to share our arrival procedures to ensure the safety of all students, families, and staff, as well as maintain an efficient flow of traffic each morning.
Students will arrive at school in one of the following two ways:

1. Front of School Drop-Off Only
Parents who are dropping off students by vehicle must use the front drop-off lane. Due to limited parking availability, parents should not park in the school parking lot during morning arrival. Insufficient parking creates congestion and poses a safety risk for students and families entering and exiting vehicles.
To help keep traffic moving smoothly, please pull all the way forward past the school entrance before unloading your child. This allows multiple vehicles to unload at the same time and helps reduce traffic backups.

2. Park at Future Foundations and Walk Your Student
Families who prefer to walk their students to school may park at Future Foundations and walk their child to the front entrance of the school.
Please remember that Mesa View Elementary is a closed campus. To help maintain a secure learning environment and ensure the safety of all students and staff, parents and visitors will not be permitted to enter the building during morning arrival.
We appreciate your cooperation and support in helping us provide a safe and orderly start to each school day. Thank you for partnering with us to keep our students safe.

3. Staff Parking
Staff arriving after 7:40 AM will have to enter through the Entry Only student drop off and work their way to staff parking to avoid cross-traffic with buses and parents on Washington Ave.
Sincerely,

Mesa View Elementary Administration

📣 Introducing Edia's AI Attendance Assistant! 🤖📱

Staying connected with families has never been easier. We're excited to introduce Edia's AI Attendance Assistant, a smarter way to improve communication between schools and families while helping reduce chronic absenteeism.

✨ Here's what families can expect:
✅ Instant two-way text conversations with school staff about student absences.
✅ Upload documentation such as doctor's notes, letters, or other attendance-related forms directly through text.
✅ Communicate in any language, making it easier for every family to stay informed.
✅ Automatic updates to school attendance records, saving time for both families and staff.

📋 Important Reminder: Please complete and return your student's Emergency Medical Form and be sure to:
• ⭐ Place an asterisk (*) next to the parent/guardian who should be contacted first.
• 📱 Include a cell phone number to receive attendance text messages.
• 📧 Provide your email address on the form.

Together, we're making school-home communication faster, simpler, and more accessible—because every day in school matters.

#EdiaLearning #AttendanceMatters #FamilyEngagement #SchoolCommunication #StudentSuccess #EducationInnovation #EveryDayCounts #AIinEducation