Dismissal Clarification

I had great meetings with families this week to provide clarity on the dismissal process and get feedback. One area of clarification was regarding walkers. 

• Walker: If your student is a walker, then they can walk straight out of the building and head home; no sign is necessary. Walkers in K-1st grade and those in K-1st with an older sibling will continue to exit on the Hall Johnson side. Walkers in 2nd-5th grade without younger siblings will continue to exit on the Hughes side. We have opened the younger/smaller playground gate on both sides, allowing students to walk around the building if needed through the playground. 

• Parent pick up at the door: If your student is being picked up by a parent, then parents will continue to come to the door and bring their blue/yellow sign for pick up. 

• Parent pick up by car: If your student is being picked up by a car, then you will continue the same process we have been doing. One request that has been made to help with the car line is that once your child is in your car, if you will flip over your sign or remove it, that will help teachers know your student has made it to the car, so they don't have to continue calling for them. 

• If your child is a bike rider, please remind your child about bicycle safety, as some students have been riding through the parking lot and into the street. Parents have reported several near-accidents involving cars.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through our new dismissal process and make adjustments based on feedback. 

Campus Club Opportunities

If your Star(s) is interested in extracurricular opportunities at GES, our GES Club Information Packet is linked here and live! All club applications included are due by Wednesday, September 3rd. There will possibly be micro clubs hosted throughout the school year where they meet for brief periods of time (e.g. one month instead of an entire semester or school year). Details regarding those micro clubs will be shared out as they open. 

All club participation is dependent on TWO things--completing the individual applications AND completing the SB 12 Club Permissions Form in Skyward Family Access. Your club sponsors are excited for the 25-26 school year!

Lunch Visitors

Lunch guests will sign in through our secure vestibule with a valid ID, stop by the front office to check in and receive a visitor badge, and then meet their GES star at the entrance to the cafeteria. Families will have the option to sit outside in the picnic table area for lunch or in our cafeteria at an empty table near the windows. Parents are welcome to bring in outside food when having lunch with their child. Lunch visitors may only eat with their child or student. You may not invite friends to sit with you when coming for lunch. 

Due to spacing, we ask that you please be mindful of our amazing GES community, who wants to have lunch with their children, and limit lunch visits with your child to no more than once a week. This will allow all families to have the opportunity to visit. We appreciate your cooperation!

The sign-up for lunches will begin this week! Please sign up HERE!

Grandparents Day Lunch Visits

Grandparents Day is Sunday, September 7th! 

It's time to celebrate our wonderful grandparents and grandfriends! We're excited to start a new tradition here at GES and would love to have grandparents or grandfriends join their students for lunch during the week of September 8-12 to celebrate Grandparents Day.

Due to limited space in the cafeteria, please pick just one day for your student's grandparents or grandfriend to join them for lunch. Throughout the week, we'll also have a fun photo opportunity available during all lunch periods.

We can't wait to see you there! 

Please sign up HERE!

Upcoming Events

• 9/1- No School due to Labor Day

• 9/2- Lunch Visitors Start Today

• 9/5- Hats Off to Learning $1 & Spirit Day

• 9/5- PTA Back to School Bash

• 9/8-9/12: Grandparents Day Lunch Visits

• 9/15- DOT Day

• 9/16- McDonalds Spirit Night

• 9/17- Coffee with the Prinicpal

GCISD Technology Open Office Hours for Parents

Parents, do you have a technology question or issue? Whether it's a concern with your own parent access into Skyward or Canvas, or a technical issue your student is experiencing, we've got you covered!

GCISD Technology will be hosting its first online open office session on September 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is a great opportunity to get one-on-one help with any technology concerns you may have. Technology specialists from key areas will be online and available to assist you.

Click here to see the session information and join link. 

We are excited to try this new drop-in format and hope to offer more events like this, including after-hours sessions, in the near future to better support our community. We look forward to seeing you online!

Student Absence Form

This year, to streamline communication, families will fill out this GES Student Absence Google Form, which goes directly to Mrs. McCann, our data clerk/registrar. Any time that your student is absent, please fill out this Google Form, and she will code it correctly in Skyward. If you have any questions, please email Allison.Mccann@gcisd.net or call 817-251-5733.

Arrival and Dismissal

For safety and security purposes, all parents are asked to use the car lines and walker stations on either side of the building for drop-off and pick-up. Families are not allowed inside the building during arrival and dismissal. If a parent needs to access the front office at any time during the day, including arrival or dismissal, they should enter through the secure vestibule (Hughes parking lot side) and follow our visitor procedures to check in with their Driver’s License. We appreciate your support as we keep all of our star students and staff safe.  

Morning Arrival:

• Students are expected to be dropped off at the school no earlier than 7:20 a.m. 

• Parents may use the front OR the back driveway to drop students off in the morning. Parking is available in the main parking lot off Hughes Road before and after school. Parking is not available in the circle drive off Hall Johnson Road as that is reserved for the staff. 

• Student drop off is not permitted in the parking lot at any time.

• Once in the school, students in Pre-K will walk directly to their classrooms and sit outside the classroom doors from 7:20 - 7:30 a.m. Students in K-5 will walk directly to the cafeteria where they will sit in there from 7:20 - 7:30 a.m. 

• At 7:30, students will walk to their classrooms in the instructional hallways. 

• Students must be in their seats in their classrooms at 7:35 a.m. or they will be counted as tardy.

• Students who wish to eat breakfast may purchase in the cafeteria from 7:20-7:30am. 

Afternoon Dismissal:

• This year's dismissal will look the same whether it's sunny or rainy outside. 

• All students will be escorted to their dismissal locations by a staff member. Please do not arrange to meet your child inside the school building.

• Students have designated pick-up areas depending on their mode of transportation home:

  • EDP students will be escorted to the cafeteria. 

  • Walkers will meet their siblings, neighbors, and/or walking parents and quickly proceed to the crosswalk nearest their homes. Walker Station areas should be cleared out within minutes of dismissal.

  • Bus riders and daycare students will be waiting inside on the Hall Johnson side as they wait for the bus. They will be monitored by a staff member. 

• K-1st-grade students and their older siblings walking home will be dismissed from the area outside the foyer doors near the cafeteria on the circle drive side of the building.

• 2nd - 5th-grade walkers will be dismissed to the Hughes parking lot side near the bike racks. 

• Car Riders

  • PreK - 1st grade students AND their older siblings will be waiting indoors and will exit the building off Hall Johnson Road when their parent arrives in the circle drive. 

  • 2nd - 5th grade students WITHOUT younger siblings in PreK-1st will be waiting indoors in the gym and will exit the building on the Hughes Road side (where the large parking lot is located) when their parent arrives. 

Dismissal Changes:

Requests for dismissal changes should be sent in advance whenever possible to your child's homeroom teacher. If there is an emergency and you need to change your child's regular dismissal plans on the day of, please call the front office at 817-251-5735. 

Friendly reminders regarding dismissal: 

• • Parents may NOT park and walk through the building to pick up PreK-1st graders on the Hall Johnson side of the building. 

  • Student pick-up is not permitted in the parking lot at any time. 

  • Dogs are not allowed on campus grounds due to student safety. 

  • The small playground is closed after school due to it being reserved for EDP until 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Thank you for your cooperation as we ensure the safety of all of our students!

Car/Walker Signs

Car Riders: Please have your car/walker signs visible and hanging from your Rearview Mirror when you come through either car line at dismissal. This will expedite our pick-up process and ensure your child makes it safely to your car. 

Walkers: We are making a change this year regarding the walker pick-up process. Please carry your car/walker signs every day throughout the entire year when picking up your child. This is to ensure the safety of all students, especially as we have new administration, front office staff, and teachers. 

Anyone who doesn't have a car/walker sign to pick up a child will be asked to come to the front office and show their ID for verification. 

Additional Car/Walker Signs

This year we have a google form for parents to use for additional car sign requests. This is the link: https://forms.gle/crdtbo9BAa6B4cZ29.

Mrs. Ellis and Mrs. McCann have access to the form responses. When we receive new requests, we will work to get car signs printed within 1 week (though likely sooner). This form can be used for additional copies or also to get new signs if something needs to be corrected.

Marquee Birthday Messages

Want an extra fun way to say "Happy Birthday" to your child on their special day? You can sign up to have your child's "Happy Birthday" message placed on the GES digital marquee from 6:30am - 8:00pm on their big day!

Complete this digital form AND then send $20 payment to GES by the following deadlines:

• Fall Birthdays - by October 30th

• Spring Birthdays - by January 31st

You can pay using cash (exact change ONLY) or check, payable to GES the following ways:

• Send to school with your student

• Mail check to Grapevine Elementary c/o Zainab Ellis at 1801 Hall Johnson Drive, Grapevine, TX 76051, OR

• Drop off exact cash or check to the front office during business hours, Monday-Friday, 7:30am-3:30pm.

Payment must be received at least one day in advance for any message to be posted.

Volunteer Background Check

We LOVE our volunteers at GES! This year, we are encouraging all families who plan to come to campus and interact with students to go ahead and complete the background check. Volunteers must complete this EACH YEAR beginning in August! It can take 1-2 weeks for your background check to clear. If you plan to be a guest reader, volunteer at a class party, chaperone a field trip, volunteer with PTA, open car doors with our Dad's Club, etc., you will need a completed Background Check!  

This year, GCISD has moved to a different program to complete background checks. Please follow the steps below:

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD is pleased to announce that we will begin using the Raptor Volunteer Management System in all of our schools to strengthen our volunteer program of campus safety for students and faculty.  This system is similar to what we have used in the past, AppGarden. 

Please use the following link to apply to become a volunteer in GCISD. 

GCISD Volunteer Page

Thank you!

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.