GES Families,

As we approach the holiday season, we wanted to stress the importance of having ALL parents and grandparents complete the GCISD Background Check process. As we have been sharing throughout the year, a background check is required anytime you are coming to campus to enter our instructional hallways or interact with any child other than your own. This includes being a reader in the classroom, chaperoning a field trip, helping with small groups, volunteering with PTA, etc. 

NEW THIS YEAR - if you are planning to attend our Winter Parties on Dec. 15th in the classrooms, you MUST have a completed background check! In the past, it was only required to volunteer at the party and visitors were still allowed. This district policy has been updated and ALL visitors or volunteers in the classroom during the school day MUST complete a background check. This is because any adult who is inside the locked foyer doors has access to other students. PLEASE help us keep our students safe by completing the process so we don't have to turn anyone away when you come to campus. 

We are letting everyone know now so that you have ample time to complete the form and be cleared. The process can take 1-2 weeks. Following the Thanksgiving break, we will share a Fast Pass Form that will have a question regarding if you have completed the background and have been cleared. 

All my best,

Mrs. Hale

One School One Book - SHHHH!!!

We have some VERY exciting, TOP SECRET news to share! We are almost ready to launch our One School One Book program in January! For the third year in a row, we are thrilled to offer our students another opportunity to celebrate reading. Last year our students had a wonderful reading adventure with The Imaginary Veterinary: The Sasquatch Escape. If you are new to GES, One School One Book is a family engagement program where the whole school including students, staff, and families read the same book together at the same time! We have nightly reading assignments (designed to be completed in 10 minutes or less) and trivia questions for prizes each day. The students get very excited about it! We have so much fun each year reading together and we hope you will join us on a new adventure this year! 

Shhh! The next part is a secret from the kids! Please, don't tell your children so we can keep it a surprise for everyone. We want them to learn about it together with their classmates when we reveal the book at school to kick-off the program in January. At that time, families will receive more information about the program including the reading calendar. 

This year we will be reading Wedgie and Gizmo, Book 1 by Suzanne Selfors! In an effort to make the program more cost effective and sustainable for years to come, you have three options. Please select the one option that works best for your family by our deadline - December 1st! We only need one form completed per family. You can find the form here: https://forms.gle/aB3YH4B6u69WRfnB6

Thanks so much and we look forward to beginning a new reading adventure in just a few weeks! 

Zootique Volunteers for November

We have loved having volunteers come in and run our Zootique for students to spend their Zoo Bucks! If you have a completed background check and are interested in volunteering your time and sharing in some financial literacy with students as they save and spend, you can sign up HERE. Because of our holiday break, we are doing Kindergarten-5th grade Zootique this Thursday and Friday. 

We also have continued to add to our Amazon wishlist and have some new seasonal items that we thought students might enjoy to add to the Zootique. If your family would like to make a donation, you can find the wishlist HERE. New this month, we will also have campus coupons that students can purchase for experiences such as eat lunch on the stage with a friend or lunch with the principal! 

Thank you so much for all the donations we have already had this year! Our GES families are the absolute best! 

Cup Stacking

This week our school is participating in the annual WSSA World Record STACK UP event! The World Record attempt is for the “Most People Sport Stacking at Multiple Locations”. The goal is to beat 737,863 people Sport Stacking. Your child is being counted in this RECORD BREAKING ATTEMPT!

LEARN MORE at https://www.thewssa.com/stackup/2023/the-sport/?rid=40057

Literary Lunch is Tuesday, November 14

Nutrition Services is thrilled to announce the inaugural Literary Lunch event for the 2023-2024 school year, scheduled for November 14, 2023. This exciting event will be hosted in all GCISD elementary schools and will feature a beloved children's book titled "If You Give a Moose a Muffin," part of the well-loved "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" series.

To make this day even more special, Nutrition Services will provide a complimentary whole grain muffin to every student who chooses a plate lunch. Additionally, one lucky student from each grade level (PK-5) who opts for a plate lunch will be selected at random to receive a free copy of the featured book. Furthermore, a copy of the book will be donated to the school library, enriching the reading resources available to students.

This event exemplifies how GCISD Nutrition Services is strengthening the connection between the cafeteria and the classroom, enhancing student learning and engagement in a delightful way!

Snack Donations Needed

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 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.

November Character Quality - GRATITUDE

This month, classroom Circle Ups, conversations, and guidance lessons will focus on GRATITUDE. Gratitude can be defined as choosing to notice and appreciate things in our life, things in others, and things in the world. Families can partner with the campus focus by viewing THIS Family Connection Newsletter and discussing some of the pieces at home with Star(s).

Candy Donations

Thank you to all the families who have donated their left over Halloween candy to us. If you are looking for somewhere to donate your extra candy, we love to have it for teachers throughout the year. We put it out throughout the year in our front office and PLC room for staff. 

GRACE Christmas Cottage

GES is hosting a donation drive for local families participating with GRACE at their annual Christmas Cottage program. Through the Christmas Cottage, each qualified family is given a hypothetical “budget” that allows parents to “purchase” donated toys, home goods and appliances in a private, store-like setting. This approach allows families to budget their resources and select unique presents while preserving the family’s dignity. Over 2,500 individuals and families are served at Christmas Cottage each holiday season.

Providing warmth and comfort this season not only allows families facing hardship to uphold cherished traditions, but it also empowers them to continue a legacy of giving and instill new traditions year after year.

If your family is able to donate an item or two, please see THIS WISH LIST to send new and unwrapped gifts to the GES foyer donation station. They also have an AMAZON WISH LIST to browse and/or purchase from.

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 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. 

You can sign-up for lunch from October 2-31 HERE. 

You can sign-up for lunch from Nov. 1-30 HERE. 

Volunteering

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!  

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.