Silver Lake Elementary
Family Newsletter
2023-24
April 15th - April 19th
4/15/24 - No School/Winter Make Up Day
SLE PTA
Plans are underway for the 2024-2025 school year for Silver Lake Elementary PTA!
The SLE PTA Nominating Committee invites you to nominate yourself or someone you know who is willing to share their time and talents for the benefit of our students and staff. We welcome fresh perspectives, imaginative ideas, and your willingness to become involved. Your interest does not guarantee a position nor constitute a commitment. We invite your questions so that you may find a volunteer position that best suits you.
The Nominating Committee is tasked with recommending a slate of officers. More detailed descriptions of each role can be found here.
2024-2025 SLE PTA's Interest Form
Thank you for your interest!
Field Day
Silver Lake families,
Field Day is just around the corner! This is an exciting, fun filled day for K-5 students. In preparation we need your help stocking the concession stand. If able, please sign-up to provide the needed items. This year we have created an Amazon wishlist to make donations easier and they will be delivered directly to the school. We also have a link to PayPal or you can send cash donations to the office. The money will be used to buy Gatorade and other snacks for the concession stand. We would like to have all donations to the school by April 17. Thank you for supporting our students! - SLE PTA
SLE families,
With STAAR testing quickly approaching, our staff was wondering if we could do a Stock the Lounge! If you are interested in helping us stock the staff lounge with treats, drinks and paper products. The SignUp Genius link below has more information and a list of items we thought would make a great addition to our lounge We appreciate any and all donations for the staff during STAAR testing season!
Upcoming Events
April 15 - Winter Make Up Day (NO SCHOOL)
April 17-18 - STAAR testing (NO VISITORS)
April 23 - STAAR testing (NO VISITORS)
April 24 - Tour the school with the Principal @ 8:30 am
April 25 - 2nd-grade walking field trip
April 26 - Field Day (Fast pass link coming soon)
April 29 - Spirit Day, National Superhero Day
May 2- Kinder program @ 6:00 pm
May 10 - Career Day
May 13 - Pre-K awards @ 8:00 am
3rd grade field trip
May 14 - Principal Star Student Breakfast
May 15 - Kinder Graduation @8:30 *TIME CHANGE
PTA General Membership Meeting 5:30 pm at Chuck E Cheese
May 16 - 2nd grade awards @ 8:00 am
Tour the school with the Principal @ 1:30 pm
Performance groups @ 5:15 pm
May 17 - 3rd grade awards @ 8:00
May 20 - 4th grade awards @ 8:00
May 21 - 1st grade awards
May 23 - Last day of school
5th grade awards @ 8:00
Campus Updates
Points from your Principal:
The last few weeks we have been working towards tomorrow's community service day to finish up the Dianne Tovey Outdoor Learning Center. From 9-11 we invite our families and community members out to finalize the former garden area by painting rocks, tiles, and planting some plants.
There will be a dedication at the beginning of our time together starting at 9, then you can help add some details and love to the space.
Ms. Tovey loved and cared for our Silver Lake families and we are looking forward to honoring her service and joyful spirit.
Thank you to all of families, students, Dad's Club, 121 Church, staff, and Ms. Tovey's family for making this happen!
Nicole Whiteside
Principal
GCISD Walk a Mile
After a successful inaugural Walk a Mile event in 2023, GCISD is bringing it back for a second year! Mark your calendars for 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 7, at Mustang Panther Stadium. Once again, this will be an evening where GCISD comes together to walk the track, meet new people and spend time with friends. Thank you!
Points from your Assistant Principal
Arrival parking lot reminders
Parents, if you are dropping your students off and walking them to the front door before 7:20 am, please DO NOT drop off in the bus lane. You will need to park your car in a parking spot and use the crosswalk to walk your student to the front door. Our buses need that space and can run behind schedule if they are waiting for a parent to move their vehicle. Thank you for understanding!
STAAR Practice Site
If you want to view a STAAR practice test, please follow the steps below:
Click on the STAAR Practice Site
Scroll down to the bottom of the page Practice Test Login
Guest User and Guest In should be toggled on
Click Sign In
Select a grade level
Click on STAAR Practice Sets
Select the language and grade level you would like to view
Follow the instructions to start the practice test
STAAR Dates:
April 17-Reading (3rd, 4th, 5th)
April 18-Science (5th grade only)
April 23-Math (3rd, 4th, 5th)
Silver Lake Apparel Spirit Store
If you would like to announce your student's birthday on our marquee in the front of the school, please use this link above. Click link for additional information.
(Please complete if you would like to attend any campus event, lunch or field trip.)
Grade Level Newsletters
Visual Arts Exhibition
Please visit the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District Visual Arts Exhibition. This elite exhibition features hand-selected student artists from all district schools, kindergarten through 12th grade.
The exhibition will be on display through April 18th inside the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau Center, located at 636 S Main St, Grapevine, TX 76051. The exhibition features original paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and other works of art by our outstanding student artists. There is no admission fee to attend.
Missing glasses?
If your student is missing their glasses and they look like either of these pairs, please have them stop by the front office to see if these belong to them. Misplaced glasses are always placed on the window sill of the nurse's clinic when found.
Attention Parents of Pre-K Students,
Here's a heads up for next school year. The State of Texas requires documentation for DTaP and Polio after the age of 4 and a second dose of MMR and Varicella (chicken pox) vaccinations prior to entering kindergarten. These 4 vaccines are often given at the 4 year old check up by your primary care doctor. If you have a 4 or 5 year old child who has already seen the physician this school year for their annual exam, please contact your physician's office for an updated copy of your child's vaccination records. Otherwise, please plan to obtain these vaccines and provide a copy to the school nurse OR you may consider a conscientious waiver (see below) for these vaccines. You can email a copy of the updated record to jessica.wilkins@gcisd.net. I will update Skyward to reflect the latest vaccine dates. This is one thing you can check off the list early and save yourself the anxiety of scrambling for these shots prior to the first day of school in August. And I'm all about making things easy.
Please see the link below to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services regarding information on waivers. The conscientious waiver forms may take up to 3 weeks to arrive to you and they do require a notary signature so plan ahead. Please note the COVID-19 vaccine is not required by the State of Texas to attend school.
https://co-request.dshs.texas.gov/
https://www.dshs.texas.gov/immunize/school/Exemption-Information---School-Immunizations/
For more information on vaccine/immunization requirements for school, see the link below.
https://www.dshs.texas.gov/immunize/school/school-requirements.aspx
You may view and print your child's vaccine records on file with GCISD by logging in to your Skyward Family Access account. Pick your student's name and then click "Health Info" on the bottom of the left column. Then click "display options" at the top. A box will pop up for you to click "Show Vaccinations". Please be sure to take a copy of your child’s current immunization record to your physician or to CVS, CareNow, or any facility or pharmacy who offers vaccinations should you not have a primary care doctor. If you do not have health insurance, you may contact the Tarrant County Health Department (817-248-6066) for an appointment to receive vaccines and take a copy of your current immunization record.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Jessica Wilkins, RN, BSN
Direct phone: 817-251-5758
jessica.wilkins@gcisd.net
Repeated Information
Reporting Absences:
Please email Tyla Aguilar, our Attendance Clerk when reporting student absences or any other attendance related emails. Her email is tyla.aguilar@gcisd.net
STUDENT DROP OFF & Pick UP
Please note that the school does not open until 7:25. If you drop your child off before this, please know that they will not be under adult supervision.
We are continually streamlining our arrival and dismissal procedures and are grateful for your help and assistance in getting our learners to and from school safely!
With that, we wanted to send some updates and reminders regarding our arrival and dismissal procedures:
Parents, please stay in your car during carline drop-off and pick-up. This keeps the line moving efficiently for all, and is safer for students and families.
Children will be responsible for buckling and unbuckling themselves.
Students need to be in class by 7:40. With that in mind if you are not in the car line inside the gate at 7:40 you will be asked to turn around and walk your student in. Please bring your ID to Raptor into the office.
After the initial traffic in the first week, the back gate will be closing at 3:20. If you arrive after this time, students will be picked up in the front of the school through the office.
Thank you for all you do to help us keep our students and staff safe during these times.
FRIDAYS ARE SPIRIT WEAR DAYS!
Every friday we encourage all students and staff to wear Silver Lake gear, or green and blue! We have a competition going to see how many class members can wear the most spirit wear!
We will have a spirit shop open to purchase shirts and gear soon.
Student lunch accounts
Parents, as a reminder, please check your student's lunch account. It is important to check often so your student's lunch account does not go into a negative balance. Our cafeteria manager has sent home letters and an email if your account is currently negative.
BIRTHDAYS- NO FOOD, NO DRINKS, NO BALLOONS
You may bring small toys, stickers, pencils (if you want to bring something to share with others).
Lunch Drop off:
Parents, please leave lunches in the vestibule, if you come before 9:45 to drop off a lunch. After that, you will need to get a raptor badge and place your student's lunch on or in the shelves right next to the cafeteria doors.
If you come during your child's lunch, you will need to raptor badge in, and go into the cafeteria as a visitor to hand it to your child.
We wish we had enough staff to manage this, but we could really use your extra hands! Thanks for understanding.
If you want to come into the school, and you will be around other children you MUST complete a Volunteer Background Check. This could take up to a few days to complete. Click Here. If you are unsure if your volunteer background check has been approved or not, please contact Itzy in the Front Office at 817-251-5750.
Lunch Visitors Will Start Sept. 5th
Upon arrival, you will need to use our intercom system and let the front office know you wish to have lunch with your student. Please state if it's inside or outside. You will need to bring a valid state-issued ID and use our visitor kiosks in the vestibule to obtain a visitor's badge, then proceed to the front office. Please allow extra time before your scheduled time to get checked in. You will need to bring your own lunch as we will not be able to accommodate visitor lunches through our lunch lines at this time. You may bring lunch for your student or they may go through the line while you wait.
You will be meeting your child in our visitor area in front of the office. Since we have very limited seating we will be following the schedule below:
Mondays - Pre K, 1st, and 4th
Tuesdays - Kinder and 3rd
Wednesdays - 2nd and 5th
Thursdays - All grades while spots last
Fridays - All grades while spots last
Returning Parent Volunteers- You must complete the volunteer background check EVERY SCHOOL YEAR. Please be sure you click the link to re-enroll for the 23-24 school year.
Times to remember:
7:20-Students will be able to enter the campus beginning at 7:20am in the morning. They may get breakfast until 7:35. After this, the breakfast line will be closed.
7:40-Classes begin promptly at 7:40am. Please ensure that your child has time to get to their classroom and be in their spots ready to learn at 7:40!
Our outdoor staff come into the building at this time-as we begin serving our students in classrooms then!
Tardies-Students are late if they are not in class by 7:40. If your student is late, please park your car and Raptor into the office. Please bring your ID. This will ensure students enter safely
3:00- Dismissal is at 3:00 pm
From The District
Join Us for the Final Bond Community Presentation April 16
Don’t miss GCISD’s final bond community presentation at 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 16, at Grapevine Middle School’s cafeteria, 301 Pony Pkwy, Grapevine, TX 76051. Community presentations are open to anyone who lives or works in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. Informational presentations are given by GCISD staff, and residents will have an opportunity to ask questions.
Do you have questions about the 2024 GCISD Bond? Visit www.gcisd.net/FAQ to see the list of frequently asked questions and answers. If you still don’t find what you are looking for, submit your question by clicking the link at the top of the FAQ page or attend the community presentation.
GCISD’s bond page at www.GCISD.net/Bond also has a tax rate information, and a Campus Updates page with district-wide projects as well as specific projects proposed for each school.