GES Teachers AND INTERNS are Magical

Recently, I have heard from a few parents about the positive impact our interns are making on your children's lives. I wanted to provide families a way to recognize them just like we do our teachers, so I've added them to our GES Teachers are Magical form. We have had the great opportunity this year to train several future educators. You can find their names and class assignments listed below. Thank you for taking time to recognize the way they have helped create magic for our stars.

Krisha Aghera - Gray

Payton Bagrow - Gray and Fortune

Abigail Brown - Scott and Dodd

Shelby Brownfield - Hickerson and Moore

Briana Harper - Hickerson

Caroline Sild - Killebrew and Hendrickson

Are you Returning to GES?

*Repeated from last week.

We are beginning to prepare for next year and we need your help. If your child is in PreK-4th grade and you're planning to return to GES for the 21-22 school year, please complete this FORM to help us plan and prepare for next year. This helps us ensure we have proper staffing for the number of students expected at each grade level. This is NOT the formal registration process. Skyward registration will open this year in May, and we will be sure to advertise that when the time comes.

National Assistant Principal Week

This week is National Assistant Principal Week! Please join me in celebrating Mrs. Shelley and thanking her for the many ways she supports GES! We are very thankful for her leadership and all the ways she helps our staff and students. We would love to flood her inbox with emails of appreciation or feel free to have your child create a card for her!

Friday - GES Spirit Wear Day

Friday, April 9th is a GES Spirit Wear day! Wear your GES shirt and colors with pride!

Bad Weather Days - April 2 and 30

We do not have school on Friday, April 2 or Friday, April 30. Although we were off for Snowpocalypse, we had enough minutes in our instructional calendar with students to not have to use these 2 days.

Last Day of School - May 27

UPDATE! We recently learned that TEA provided three non-waiver days to all Texas schools following the winter storm we had in February. You might recall Dr. Ryan's email to the community on Feb. 19th that previously said we would adjust the early dismissal day for elementary's last day of school. That has since changed since we don't have to provide any additional instructional minutes and we're back to a HALF-DAY! We recognize that your child's behavior calendar still says 2:55pm, as that was the information we had at the time they were printed. Please feel free to update your child's copy or cross this out. Dismissal will be 11:45am on May 27!

March Star student of the month Flipgrid

During March, students were selected for Star Student of the Month based on RESPONSIBILITY. Please view the reason each student was nominated on the March Star Student Flipgrid!

April Guidance/Star Student of the month Character Quality

Throughout this month, GES staff will be watching for COOPERATION amongst our Stars! Classroom counseling guidance lessons will also focus on cooperation. Please consider discussing what cooperation might look like or sound like at home to further support this character quality!

I am here and ready to help! At any time this year, whether learning remotely or in-person, please click the I want to talk with Mrs. Horn form to request a visit. This form is also be included in grade level newsletters and Seesaws, and stays housed in my email signature, on the GES Counseling district website, and as many locations as possible.

Updated Spring COVID Guidelines

As we enter the home stretch of the 2020-2021 school year, there are some modifications in health and safety protocols that were approved at the GCISD Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, March 29.

Mustang Panther Stadium COVID-19 Testing Center Open for All GCISD Students

GCISD has been participating in a statewide program funded by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) offering rapid COVID-19 antigen tests for staff. The District is pleased to share that it will be expanding this resource to all GCISD students. Beginning today, March 30, GCISD students will be able to utilize the GCISD Mustang Panther Stadium rapid antigen COVID-19 Testing Center. Visit www.GCISD.net/COVIDTesting for more information on the testing center and how to schedule an appointment.

Quarantine Update

The Centers for Disease Control published guidance on how to reduce quarantine for close contacts of COVID-19. Under this option, an individual may end quarantine after Day 7 provided that they have had no symptoms during their daily monitoring and there is a negative COVID diagnostic test. As we will now be offering rapid antigen COVID testing for all GCISD students, we are going to make this option available for quarantined students beginning today, March 30. For more information, visit our Spring 2021 Guide.

Additional Updates to Spring 2021 Guide

The following updates have also been made to GCISD’s health and safety protocols and can be found in the Spring 2021 Guide. Thank you for your continued efforts throughout the spring to ensure the safety of students and staff.

Elementary Plexiglass Dividers

The use of plexiglass dividers in elementary classrooms is now voluntary, however it is recommended that plexiglass dividers still be used during lunch due to inability to social distance.

Visitors and Special Events

Campuses can now provide limited opportunities for visitors and volunteers to come on campus to assist. The process and procedures will be determined by each individual campus and will be communicated with parents as needed.

Additionally, there may now be limited opportunities for specially designed outdoor events during the final nine-week grading period. For these events, there will be specific COVID-19 guidelines and criteria that are communicated ahead of the event by the campus.

Outdoor Activities

For spectators at UIL sporting events, masks are required when moving throughout the venue, however, masks may now be removed when individuals are seated and socially distanced from others.

Join the GCISD Team!

Great opportunities are available in our auxiliary departments:

• Head Irrigation Technician - maintain district irrigation systems

• Warehouse Driver

• Cafeteria Food Service (Nutrition Specialists) -PT w/ benefits – work while your students are in school!

• KidzU Site Aides – PT w/ benefits – great schedule for local college students!

• Night Custodians

• Bus Drivers/Bus Driver Trainee – paid training program to earn your CDL and drive our children.

Apply now to work with the BEST! www.gcisd.net/careers

Elementary Art Showcase (Updated Information)

We are excited to announce the launch of the Elementary Art Showcase and Forum! This is a wonderful opportunity for young students to learn about the 3 branches of government and showcase how they interpret the government through their theme-based artwork. Please see the attached documents for more information and the student participation and release form. The deadline to register to participate is Friday, April 16, 2021.

• To participate, please complete the following steps:

• Complete the Student Participation and Release Form

• Provide a completed copy to our office via mail or email

• Send a photo or digital copy of your artwork (jpeg or tiff) to Rachel Garcia at Rachel.Garcia@mail.house.gov

• Bring your artwork in a standing frame with or without glass to our in-person event.

• Event will take place in late April/early May; more details to come.

Additional information can be found on our website at https://vanduyne.house.gov/services/elementary-art-showcase-and-forum.

GCISD Student Transfers

The general student transfer application window for the 2021-2022 school year opened on Monday, March 22, 2021, at 8 a.m. Online applications will be accepted through Friday, April 2, 2021, at 4 p.m.

All students (including employee students) must apply for a transfer if they desire to attend a campus other than their zoned campus and/or when a current transfer student is moving from the following grades/campuses:

• Pre-K to Kindergarten

• Elementary school to middle school

• Middle school to high school

Students who are already approved on a transfer and are not moving to the next transition level do NOT need to submit a transfer request. For more information and to complete an online application on or after Monday, March 22, click here.

Chromebooks - KIOSK Mode

The Spring Interim Assessment window is approaching. During the window, February 16- March 31, all district-issued student CHROMEBOOKS (grades 5-8) will be placed in KIOSK mode for test security purposes for the remainder of the school year beginning February 16, 2021. To exit KIOSK mode, students will need to hold down the CTRL-ALT-S key combination.

Technology Assistance

GCISD Technology Resources is committed to serving students and staff, especially during the District's remote learning instruction. Please keep in mind these very helpful resources:

ClassLink - GCISD's single sign-on portal for students and staff. ClassLink allows users to sign in once and have access to all of their accounts at the click of a button.

Help Desk - Students and staff can submit help requests to GCISD's Help Desk at any time. If you need your student's password reset, or are having trouble accessing ClassLink, please call 817-251-5629 during our extended help desk hours. For all other issues with student devices, please fill out a help ticket at help.gcisdstudents.net.

Outdoor WiFi Access - As a reminder, wireless network access is available outside of many GCISD campuses for use by students, parents and staff. Click here for locations, maps and instructions on how to connect.

Volunteers are significantly limited at this time, but there may be opportunities later in the year. Go ahead and apply now so you're ready when the time comes.

In order to volunteer at GES, or around GCISD, all volunteers must:

1. read the Volunteer Handbook (this replaces the previous face to face volunteer trainings held on campus)

2. watch the appropriate video included in the handbook

3. electronically sign the verification Google form for each campus you plan to volunteer

4. complete the volunteer background check. A link is included in the handbook.

The following link takes you to the online Volunteer Handbook and background check: https://www.gcisd.net/cms/one.aspx?pageId=195550

When you are ready to volunteer at GES, feel free to call the front office at 817-251-5735 to verify that both of the required steps have been recorded as completed. We appreciate your support as you complete these steps and volunteer to work with our GES students.

Parents and loved ones are not able to come up for lunch at this time. We are currently limiting visitors in our building.

Lunch Times

• PreK: 10:15 - 10:45

• Kindergarten: 10:45 - 11:15

• 1st Grade: 11:15 - 11:45

• 2nd Grade: 11:45 - 12:15

• 3rd Grade: 12:15- 12:45

• 4th Grade: 12:45 - 1:15

• 5th Grade: 1:15 - 1:45