Make-up Photos

If your child was absent on Thursday, Nov. 9th for Picture Day or you wish to have do a retake photo, those will be first thing on Thursday, Dec. 7th. Please let your child's homeroom teacher know if you would like your child to have a make-up picture so they can add them to our photo list.

Sack Lunch Orders for Dec. 15

Friday, Dec. 15th is an early release day and students will not have a regularly scheduled lunch. Half-sheets will be coming this week if your child will need to order a bag lunch from the cafeteria that day. They make them specifically for those that order in advance. Students will pick up their lunches after our sing-along and before class parties begin around 10:30am. They will have the opportunity to eat in the classroom during class parties.

Lost and Found

Is your child missing a jacket or a water bottle? We have a plethora of items in our lost and found. In fact, more than we can adequately display at this time. We are showing them on the morning announcements and it's visible daily at lunch, but we're having a hard time finding anyone to claim their items. If your child is missing something, please stop by at arrival or dismissal, sign-in at the vestibule, and take a look through our Lost and Found! Items left over Christmas break will be donated.

Book Vending Machine

Students who meet their growth goals for reading after middle of the year assessments will have the opportunity to visit the Book Vending Machine! This is based on progress in reading according to their mClass (K-2) or AimsWeb (3-5) assessments. Both programs have a growth measure that tells us if a child is making adequate progress. We are hopeful that with their targeted practice on specific reading skills as well as the check-in at the end of the 1st nine weeks, we will have many students meeting their student growth progress measures! 

PreK students will have an opportunity to visit the book vending machine following their CLI assessment in January.

Holiday Party Fast Passes

Holiday parties are scheduled for Friday, Dec. 15th from 10:45-11:45am. It is critical that we have as many families as possible sign up for Fast Passes this year for our holiday parties!

You are eligible for a Fast Pass IF you have been to campus during the 2023-2024 school year AND scanned your license through the Raptor System. Fast Passes will be available for pick-up outside the main entrance starting at 10:00am on December 15th. Please provide both your FIRST and LAST name and your birthday the way it appears on your Driver's License. Fast Passes can be reserved until 3pm on Monday, December 11th.  We will contact you if the above information cannot be located.

Please complete the Fast Pass form HERE. 

Complete Your Background Check

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. 

You can complete your GCISD Background Check here. 

Middle of the Year Assessments

Students in grades K-5 will be completing Middle of the Year Assessments over the next 2-3 weeks. This is when our students take our Universal Screener, which is required by the state of Texas. In GCISD we use both mClass and AimsWeb to assess students' current performance levels. These are skill based assessments that tell how students are performing in relation to other peers in their same grade level. Teachers will be sending home scores prior to the December for both reading and math. 

Zootique Volunteers for December

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. 

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. 

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

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.

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.

Holiday Bells Celebration

Our teachers participate during the whole month of December in a holiday calendar. They earn bells for participating in our daily themes. This is an exciting time for the teachers and students that they look forward to all year long. 

After the students leave on Dec. 15, the staff have the opportunity to "spend" their hard earned bells on a variety of items such as Sonic drink passes, duty coverage, jeans passes, holiday decor, and more! We always try to have a few big ticket items for drawings, as well. If your family has a business or any connections or would like to donate a gift card or gift to be part of our staff celebration, we would love it! Please send to the attention of Mrs. Hale or Mrs. Menard for the staff holiday bells. Thank you for your generosity.

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 Dec. 1-14 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.