The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to GMS!

📅 October 19–27, 2026
⏰ Open Daily: 8:10 AM–3:10 PM
🌙 Conference Night: October 21 | 3:30–7:00 PM

All students will have an opportunity to visit the Book Fair during their Reading and Elective classes. Families can also shop online October 19–November 1, with 25% of online purchases benefiting GMS!

Book Fair Disclosure:
The materials available for purchase at the Book Fair were not selected by the School District of Indian River County. We encourage parents and legal guardians to review their student’s wish list and have a conversation about what they wish their student to purchase at the Book Fair before sending money to make any purchases. You can preview books from the Scholastic Book Fair by visiting our Book Fair Home Page. Some books in the Preview might be excluded based on availability; likewise, you may see books that aren’t featured in the Preview sent as substitutes for other titles.

📅 GMS Conference Week is coming!
Gifford Middle School will hold Conference Week October 19–23, 2026. This is a great opportunity for families to connect with teachers and discuss their student’s progress.
Conference Night:
📍 Wednesday, October 21
⏰ 4:00–7:00 PM
Families, please review the step-by-step directions attached to this post for information on scheduling and attending conferences. Families can start scheduling the week of October 12th.

GMS Weekly Family Update:

As we continue through the school year, we want to remind our Tiger families of the importance of following the SDIRC Student Dress Code each day.

Please take a moment to review the dress code guidelines with your student and help ensure they arrive at school dressed appropriately and ready to learn!

🦑🔬 Dissection Friday in Marine Science! 🐯

Our Marine Science students were at it again! This week's hands-on dissection featured squid!

A HUGE thank you to our wonderful GPAC for surprising our Tigers with sweet treats to celebrate a fantastic first quarter of the school year! 👻🍭

We appreciate all you do to make our students feel special and recognize their hard work!

📰🐯 Hot Off the Press! Mr. Rains’ Journalism students are hard at work in our Innovation Station, putting the finishing touches on the first edition of Tiger Times! We can’t wait to see what our talented student journalists have been working on!

Celebrating the Best of GMS!

We are excited to announce and congratulate our 2027 Teacher of the Year, Mr. Stephen Brecher, and our 2027 Employee of the Year, Mr. Robert “Ben” McDonald!
Both of these incredible Tigers go above and beyond to make Gifford Middle School a special place for our students and staff.

We are so grateful for their dedication, hard work, and positive impact on our GMS family! Please join us in congratulating them on these well-deserved honors! 🎉🐯

Muffins in the Morning at GMS! What a wonderful morning spent with our Tiger families! A huge thank you to our amazing GPAC for organizing the event and providing delicious goodies for everyone to enjoy! Thank you to all the family members who joined us and to our talented GMS Cheerleaders for their fantastic performance

🦞🔬 Dissection in Marine Science! Our Marine Science students wrapped up last week with another hands-on dissection! Exploring the anatomy of crawfish!

GMS Weekly Family Update:

Today we celebrate National Custodian Appreciation Day! ❤️🐯 A huge THANK YOU to our incredible GMS custodial team for everything you do to keep our school clean, safe, and welcoming for our students and staff each day.

6th grade ELA working collaboratively on a question trail as they read about the investigation into Yellow Fever.

October is National Principals Month! Please join us in celebrating Mr. Thimmer! Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and commitment to promoting student success. Your leadership helps create a school community where students are encouraged, supported, and challenged to reach their potential. Leading a school takes heart, patience, and determination. We appreciate the time and energy you invest in supporting our teachers and staff, partnering with families, and creating opportunities for our students to grow. Thank you, Mr. Thimmer, for all you do for our Gifford Middle School community!

✈️ Taking flight at Gifford Middle School! 🚁 Our Aviation and Drone Club kicked off its first day with a hands-on aerodynamics lesson! Students explored the four forces of flight—weight, lift, drag, and thrust—and compared copy paper with cardstock to see how material affects flight. A fun start to learning, experimenting, and exploring aviation! 💙

Mrs. Banks’ seventh-grade students are working collaboratively on a project to plan dinner for friends while staying within a budget. Students calculate the meal cost, tax, and tip to determine the total bill.

🍎 STOCK THE TEACHERS' SUPPLIES! 🍎

Gifford Middle School teachers told us what their classrooms need, and we're making it happen together!

✅ Needed: pencils, copy paper, sharpies, headphones
📅 Collecting through: Friday, October 9th.
📍 Drop off: Gifford Middle School - Front Office - ATTN: GPAC
🔗 Wish list / donate:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0548AAAD2AAAFAC34-66232261-gmsteacher#/

Big or small, every donation helps our teachers focus on what they do best: teaching. Thank you for supporting Gifford! 💛

— Gifford Positive Action Committee

Last week, our Marine Science students got their first experience with dissection as they explored the anatomy of sea cucumbers!

6th graders in Ms. Andrews’ class took their learning to our outdoor classroom for an observational field study! Students identified changes happening in their surroundings and gathered evidence to determine whether each was a physical or chemical change. 🧪🔎

Gifford Middle School was recognized at this evening’s School Board meeting for earning our STEAM designation! 🌟 GMS is one of only six schools in the district to earn this designation and the only secondary school!