College Colors Day - Friday

This Friday is College Colors Day at GES! The fourth Friday of each month is dedicated to a college-going culture as we prepare our students for life beyond high school. Your child may wear the colors or jersey of their favorite College or team this week on Friday, Oct 25th. 

Lunch with a Loved One - Oct. 29-Nov. 1

We have a special Lunch with a Loved One Sign-up for Book Fair week! On Tuesday-Friday families may sign-up to eat with their child and shop the book fair during lunch hours. Please sign-up HERE so we can ensure we have plenty of seating. Families will have the opportunity to sit in the back of the cafeteria at the usual seating, on the patio tables to enjoy the nice weather, or on additional tables we may need to set-up on stage. We ask that families please do not sit at the tables with our students, and please refrain from taking friends to eat or to the book fair. 

Parents Can Manage Meal Payments Online Via MySchoolBucks App

GCISD’s Nutrition Services is pleased to announce that parents can now download the MySchoolBucks app to make online prepayments on their child’s school meal account and view transactions. There is a $3.25 processing fee for each transaction. 

After downloading the app from the App Store or Google Play on their mobile device, parents will need the following to establish an account:

• Visa, Mastercard or Discover credit cards

• Child’s six- or seven-digit student ID number

Transactions made prior to 10 a.m. will be posted to the meal account the same day. Prepayments made after 10 a.m. will be posted the next school day. 

Although the online option is available, parents will still continue to have the option to pay at their child’s school using cash or via check. There is no processing fee for payments at school.

If you need assistance with the meal account, please call GCISD Nutrition Services at 817-251-5617 or send an email to child.nutrition@gcisd.net. 

Free and Reduced-Priced Meal Applications Are Still Accepted 

Every dollar counts and if you qualify for free and reduced meals for your child, there is still time to complete an application. Applications are available at www.schoollunchapp.com and can be completed at any time during the school year. The sooner the application is completed and if you qualify, the sooner your child can begin to receive meals at the free or reduced price. 

October Character Quality - Responsibility

RESPONSIBILITY is the character trait focus for this month. Responsibility will be defined as taking action and understanding the impact of your choices. Teachers will also be nominating students based on showing the most responsibility or growing the most in responsibility for Star Student of the Month. Consider partnering with GES by reviewing the family connection newsletter HERE.

Birthday Marquee Messages

Want a new 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 - 8:30pm on their big day! Complete this digital form, and then send payment to GES by October 31st! You can send $20 cash or check to the front office with your child or drop it by the office to Mrs. Sharp. Please put cash in an envelope c/o Gina Sharp with your child's name. Messages will begin as early October 9, but payment must be received in advance to secure your message. 

Birthdays at School

Friendly reminder to please refrain from sending any food products to celebrate student birthdays. We cannot provide baked goods of any kind to students or classes on their birthdays. We also ask that you not have any candy or treats in birthday bags if you send for the whole class. You may choose to send pencils, small trinkets, or even donate a book to the classroom library.

If you would like to send birthday invitations to friends in class, this can only be done if the whole class is being invited or all the students of your child's gender. (i.e. inviting all the girls) Otherwise, we ask that birthday invitations be distributed outside of school. Teachers are generally willing to help send electronic invites with advanced notice when going to the whole class. 

Helpful iReady Resources for Families

The following links have been shared in the previous Monday Messages and are for family use while supporting students in iReady from home: 

• Video on Understanding iReady and the Student Dashboard

• Fridge tips

• Family Guide

Check Your Skyward Emergency Contacts

Have you checked your Emergency Contacts for your child lately? Please ensure that you have the names and correct phone numbers of anyone authorized to pick up your child from school should an emergency occur. Thank you! 

Lunch Visitors

Visitors may join us for lunch with their child if they are signed up in advance HERE. Available October dates are Tuesday, Oct 1 - Monday, Oct. 28. (Oct. 29-Nov. 1 will be on the Book Fair Lunch with a Loved One sign-up.) Please be sure to share our Sign-up link with your family members who wish to come eat with your child. Also, it is critical that anyone coming to lunch with your child, if not accompanying the guardian, is on your child's emergency contact list. 

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 their lunch with their child. We ask that you please be courteous to the rest of the community and limit lunch visits with your child to no more than one per month so that all families have the opportunity to visit. We appreciate your cooperation. 

Each family needs only 1 slot reserved. For example, Mom, Dad, and sister may all come eat lunch with Nancy. Only Mom needs to be registered as 1 visitor to reserve 1 picnic table together. When it asks for quantity of visitors, please select just 1. Lunch visitors may only eat with their child or student. You may not invite friends to sit with you when coming for lunch. 

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!  kjkhkuh

The following link takes you to the online Volunteer Handbook and background check: https://www.gcisd.net/o/gcisd/page/volunteer-background-check 

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.

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.

Follow us on Facebook

If you are on Facebook, we would love for you to follow our Grapevine Elementary Facebook page if you're not already. We post activities and campus life in addition to helpful reminders. We would love for you to follow our story!