GES Families,

It was wonderful seeing so many smiling faces at Meet the Teacher on Thursday evening! We were excited to welcome back so many returning students and families and also meet many new ones, too! Thank you so much for joining us. 

If you weren't able to attend Meet the Teacher, we look forward to seeing you tomorrow for the first day of school. Families are welcome to join us on Tuesday morning to walk their child to class and stay for the PTA Boohoo/Yahoo breakfast in the Learning Commons. However, ALL visitors MUST check-in through our Raptor system with a valid ID. If you printed your badge in advance, please wear it in the morning and have your license in hand to show as you enter the building. If you have a badge, you may enter the foyer from either side of the building. If you need to check-in, you will only be able to enter through the main entrance on the Hughes Parking lot side. 

As a reminder, our doors open at 7:20am each morning. For Tuesday morning only, students will go directly into the classrooms. Starting on Wednesday, students will sit outside of their classrooms with a teacher on duty in the hallway until classrooms open at 7:35am. Our tardy bell rings at 7:40am. We kindly ask that you plan to drop your child at their classroom door, take a quick picture, and wish them well tomorrow morning! We will do our best to keep the adult traffic flowing in and out of the building throughout the morning. Our PTA will be hosting the Boohoo/Yahoo Breakfast in the Learning Commons if you would like to stay for breakfast before you leave and visit with other GES parents. 

We appreciate everyone's understanding in helping to keep our students and staff safe! 

All my best,

Mrs. Hale

Welcome Officer Cartwright

We would like to introduce Officer Cartwright to our GES Community. He will be our new School Resource Officer at GES. He was in the Marine Corp for 8 years prior to beginning his career with GPD. He is excited to be with us and eager to serve the community.

What to Bring to School

Your child will need the following items on a regular basis. Some grade levels may also ask for students to keep a change of clothes in their backpacks. We kindly ask that toys and other electronics stay at home. 

• Backpack

• Water bottle

• Snack (no peanut products for the classroom please)

• Lunch box (if not purchasing from the cafeteria)

• District issued Chromebook or iPad (new devices will be issued soon!)

• School Supplies (contact counselor Angela.Horn@gcisd.net if you need assistance with supplies) 

• Tennis shoes (PreK-2 go to PE daily; 3rd-5th go 3 times per week)

School Email Communication

This year we are using a new program to send out the weekly Monday Message. For many families, this meant it went to your spam folder. If you or one of your child's guardians isn't receiving the Monday Message email, please contact the front office. At this time, the district has updated settings to include 4 guardians per student. We will continue to also send the Monday Message via Remind for the first few weeks. 

IF your email is marked as confidential in Skyward, you will not receive these emails because they go through a third party program. Please update your settings in your parent portal or contact the front office for assistance. 

School Supply Lists

If you missed the PTA School Supply order in the spring and will be shopping on your own, HERE is a copy of the GCISD School Supply list for elementary students. Teachers will determine how supplies are handled within their classrooms. If you have a strong preference for your child to only utilize their own supplies, please let your child's teacher know. Ensure your child's supplies and pencil box are clearly labeled to help them keep track of their items. 

Visitors

When any visitor comes to campus, you will need to park in the Hughes parking lot and use our main entrance near the bike racks. Please ring the doorbell and state your name and reason for coming to campus. All visitors will need to bring and present their driver's license to be scanned in our system in order to be admitted onto the campus. This includes checking out your child, joining us for lunch, or volunteering. Our doors to the building and office will always be locked, and Mrs. Sharp and Mrs. Patton will be conducting a visual check before unlocking the doors. 

We also ask that you never hold the door open for another visitor. This is for safety reasons. All visitors should state their reasons for being in the building and office staff should be the only ones permitting entrance. Thank you for helping to keep all our staff and students safe! 

2023-2024 School Lunch Updates 

Welcome back! Nutrition Services is excited about the upcoming school year. School menus, the district charge policy, menu item pricing and more can be found on the department website here.

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Nutrition Services offers a simplified lunch menu during the beginning of each school year. This allows students time to adjust to the school cafeteria environment. It also allows distributors that partner with the district to adjust to the supply and demand challenges faced at the beginning of each school year. The four week cycle menu for plate lunch will begin on September 11, 2023. 

More information including menu item nutritional information and allergens may be viewed through the nutrition services website or by downloading the Meal Viewer app through the apple or android store. 

Beginning with the 2023-2024 school year, Texas legislation has approved a 2024-25 biennium budget, which includes $3.3 million per year to cover the cost of school breakfasts for students eligible for reduced price meals. Students that are approved for reduced-price meals may eat breakfast at no cost this school year. Lunch price for students that qualify for reduced price meals will remain $0.40. 

This institution is an equal opportunity provider. 

First Day of School

Walking your child to class on the first day of school is a time-honored tradition. We want all of our families that choose to be able to walk their child to class on Tuesday, Aug. 15th and take pictures before giving their kids a big hug and wishing them a great day! However, we need your help! In order to safely have all visitors in the building, EVERYONE (over the age of 18) will need to Raptor in at our kiosks in the vestibule. In an effort to alleviate long lines on the first morning of school, we are allowing families to print their "First Day of School" visitor badge in advance. You may do this at Meet the Teacher on Thursday, Aug. 10 from 5:00 - 6:30 OR on Monday, Aug. 14 from 8:00-4:00pm. You will simply scan your ID and print the badge, then hold onto it until Tuesday morning. When you arrive on campus Tuesday, please plan to wear your badge on your shirt where it can be visible to all staff and have your photo ID available as you enter the building so we can ensure it matches the badge. We will have plenty of staff at the main foyer entrances to allow all those with a printed badge to enter quickly. We appreciate your support and cooperation as we continue this tradition in a safe manner for all students and staff. 

Independence Day this year will be on Wednesday, Aug. 16th! Families will be able to walk their children to the foyer entrances and send them off into the building independently from there. We will have lots of adults stationed and ready to help escort students to their classrooms. 

Safety Lockers on Campus

New this year, the Grapevine Police Department has installed two equipment safes in our campus where they are able to store essential tools for a rapid response. The safes do not contain firearms. They are only accessible by Grapevine Police personnel and will remain locked. We just wanted to keep you informed of this new safety measure as the GPD continues to serve and support our schools.

You may see them on campus. We have one located in our teacher workroom and one in the 5th grade vestibule. We know our students may have questions and you are welcome to talk with them about it if you choose. Our response at school if asked by students about the lockers will be, "they contain equipment for the police to help keep us safe." 

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD Free and Reduced-Price School Meals Application 

Starting July 17, 2023, applications opened for the 2023-2024 school year. To apply, please visit www.schoollunchapp.com. You can also download a paper copy from www.gcisd.net or request one from any campus or the Nutrition Services office. 

Completing the application will determine your child's eligibility for free and reduced-price meals, as well as potential eligibility for other benefits. Only one application is required per household. You will be notified by email from the nutrition services department regarding your child's eligibility. 

Our dedicated Nutrition Services staff is excited to provide healthy and balanced meals to students in the upcoming school year. For any inquiries, please call 817-251-5617 or email child.nutrition@gcisd.net. 

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! 

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. 

The Sign-up Genius for lunches will begin the week of August 28th. A link will be available next week in the Monday Message. 

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. 

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.