GES Families,

We are excited to welcome our students and families to school on Tuesday, March 11 for our annual Open House from 6-7pm. This is a come and go event where students have the opportunity to share with their families about their growth this school year. They will share their goals, student data, and special artifacts that demonstrate their learning. 

Our students are always SO excited for this evening and we hope you're able to make it, even if it's for a brief time. Traditionally it has always been the Thursday before spring break, but it had to be moved to Tuesday this year due to having Friday, March 14 off school. 

Before you leave Open House, you will have the opportunity to print a Fast Pass to save for Thursday's Fun Run if you plan to attend and cheer on your child! Students will be running during each specials period on Thursday, March 13th for our PTA Groovy Fun Run Fundraiser! More details were sent home with your child and can be found in the PTA section below. 

Following Open House, our PTA will be hosting a Spirit Night at Chicken N Pickle from 6-9pm. A portion of all the proceeds raised on March 11 from 6-9pm will benefit our GES PTA! We hope you will stop by for a bite to eat and to enjoy visiting with other GES families. 

All my best,

Mrs. Hale

Read Across America Week - March 3-7

All this week we will be celebrating reading! Your students will be engaged in all different types of reading Monday-Friday. We would love for you to join us at home by reading outside, taking a trip to the public library, maybe reading with a pet, or even a loved one via FaceTime! 

1st Grade Performance - March 6

This Thursday our 1st Graders will be presenting a musical adaptation of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. They will perform for our students and staff at 1:30pm and then again in the evening for family and friends. 

Doors will open at 6:15pm. 

Spring Pictures - March 4-6

Angela Wengrenovich Photography will be on campus March 4-6, 2025 to provide Modern School Photos for our Spring Photos. More information can be found in this letter. Students will have their photos taken based on grade level as follows.

Tuesday, March 4- Kindergarten and 1st Grade

Wednesday, March 5 - 2nd and 3rd Grade

Thursday, March 6 - PreK, 4th and 5th Grade

If you requested a sibling photo, you should have received an email from Angela Wengrenovich with the specific day that both of your children will be photographed. 

Any questions you may have will be answered by Angela directly at awengrenphoto@gmail.com. 

Book Battle Week 2

Our week 1 winner of the Book Battle was Simon and the Better Bone by Corey R. Tabor! The vote count was 396 to 90... AMAZING! We announced this to our students Monday morning on KGES.

Here is a link to the Week 2, which we started reading in the library on Friday with PreK. Students are always welcome to listen and catch up to the books if they miss their library day and they can stop in to vote! We are also sharing the links each week on the Facebook page. Feel free to share with your friends and neighbors to follow along! 

Guinea Pig Wish List

Our guinea pigs that we adopted last year during our One School One Book reading of Wedgie and Gizmo are still enjoying life in the GES Learning Commons! Our students love to visit them and read to them and guinea pigs especially love to eat! If you would like to donate to their care, here is an Amazon Wish List of some of their favorites. They also love fresh veggies if your child would like to bring them a small handful. We only ask that they touch base with Mrs. Wahpekeche before feeding them so she can ensure a balanced diet. 

Save the Dates: Success Ceremony & End of Year Parties

We hope you will save these dates for the end of year Success Ceremonies and Celebrations! The end of the school year is quickly approaching and we can't wait to celebrate with our students. 

Mathematics Telescoping Testing

Please see the Mathematics Telescoping flyer for information regarding telescoping testing for the Spring and Summer of 2025. Additional information is also available on the mathematics telescoping website. 

We have a new district system that is tracking student attendance and generating letters to families. While we have always had notices that generate through Skyward and notify families, several families have recently received warning letters regarding absences so we wanted to give a quick reminder of the 2 state laws governing student attendance: 

The Attendance For Class Credit (Texas Education Code Section §25.092) rule states that a student in any grade level from kindergarten through grade 12 may not be given credit or a final grade for a class unless the student is in attendance for at least 90 percent of the days the class is offered. If your student reaches 17 absences, we are required to hold a meeting to determine possible retention. 

• *Please note that even if these absences are excused from illness or doctor’s appointments, they still count as absences toward the Attendance for Credit law. 

• Attendance for Credit (AFC) This law addresses both excused and unexcused absences as well as tardiness occurring after 7:40 a.m. and early dismissals. Section 25.092 of the Texas Education Code conditions credit for a class on a student's attendance for at least 90 percent of the days a class is offered. Attendance for Credit continues throughout the school year, includes excused as well as unexcused absences, and a total of 17 absences for the year would be less than 90% attendance. 

• Failure to Attend (FTA) This law addresses unexcused absences and tardiness occurring after 7:40 a.m. and early dismissals. The Texas Education Code mandates that a child who is required to attend school do so each school day for the entire school year, per Section 25.085, Compulsory School Attendance from the Texas Education Agency.  When a child fails to attend for 10 or more days or parts of days (includes being tardy after 7:40 a.m. and early dismissals) within a six-month period in the same school year, or on three or more days or parts of days within a four-week period then the parent is deemed as "contributing to non-attendance" (Sec. 25.093) and an offense under this section may be prosecuted in a justice court. The state mandates that it is the parent's duty to monitor the student's school attendance and require the student to attend school. The school is required to keep attendance and report daily to the state. We want to ensure that you are aware of this law because, should your child reach 10 unexcused absences, truancy prevention measures would automatically generate.

Documentation Note Threshold: Up to 8 days per year (4 per semester) may be excused by a parent note for missed attendance beyond true medical and statutorily exemptions.

Within three (3) days of returning to school, a student absent for more than four (4) consecutive days because of a personal illness must bring a statement from a doctor or health clinic verifying the illness or condition that caused the absence. Otherwise, the absence may be considered unexcused and in violation of compulsory attendance laws.

Should you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Menard, our assistant principal, who oversees attendance. 

Snack Donations

We are completely out of snacks in the front office for students who may have food insecurities. Individual teachers may have snacks in their classrooms for students that have forgotten on occasion, but for some of our families, providing a nutritious snack each day to assist their GES star’s performance throughout the day does not happen consistently because of food insecurities. If you are able, please donate individually packaged Goldfish, Cheez-its, or pretzels in order to help us provide that snack for students that arrive at school without it because of the insecurities. This would not pertain to students that simply forgot a snack that day. If your Star forgets his/her snack often, sending multiple days worth of snacks might help. For questions, please feel free to contact Angela Horn at angela.horn@gcisd.net or 817-251-5740. Thank you for your continued generosity and thoughtfulness.

Substitute Nurses

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD is always in need of substitute nurses to help at our campuses as needed. If you have a valid RN license and are interested in assisting, please apply for our Substitute Nurse position at https://grapevinecolleyville.schoolspring.com/.

Thank you for your support!

Increase in Illness

We are seeing an increase in student and staff illness. It is the time of year when we frequently hear of students with head colds and fevers. Please help us stop the spread of illness by reminding your children of good hygiene habits such as washing their hands frequently with soap and water, sneezing or coughing into their elbow, etc. We also ask that you keep your children at home when they have fever, severe cough, difficulty breathing, or vomiting. Students should be fever free for 24 hours WITHOUT medication in order to return to school.