Silver Lake Elementary
Family Newsletter
2023-24
April 8th - April 12th
Solar Eclipse Information
Dear Parents,
On April 8, 2024, there will be a rare and exciting astronomical event, a total solar eclipse of the sun in the North Texas area.
Our teachers and staff will provide all students with approved eyewear and the opportunity to go outside and observe the eclipse in the afternoon. Teachers will train the students on how to use the eyewear as well as other precautions associated with this event. The eyewear provided is approved by the American Astronomical Society, supported by NASA. We understand there may be individual parent concerns, and if so, you may opt-out if you do not want your child to participate. There will be an opportunity for students who have opted out to view a live stream of the eclipse. This way each student will have the ability to take part in viewing this event.
Here is a link to a doc that will guide you through the opt-out process. Please contact a campus administrator should you have any further questions. Thank you for your partnership in this experience.
While we are providing protective eyewear, we also ask that you have a conversation with your student before this event. No student should attempt to view the eclipse using anything other than the provided protection glasses. Regular sunglasses do not provide sufficient protection for viewing an eclipse. Please advise your student that looking at the sun without these protections can cause serious, permanent eye injury. If you would like additional information to share with your student, NASA has provided resources regarding the eclipse that may be found by clicking on the link below:
Silver Lake's Outdoor Learning Center
Dedicated to Mrs. Dianne Tovey
Over the past several weeks, we have been working on creating a fun and inviting outdoor space for students. Teachers will be able to use this space for instruction, awards, and any other time they feel an outdoor space is needed for their students. This space was previously a garden but we felt this space could be used to support all grades and their needs. Church 121 had a community day a few months back to clear out the garden beds and install benches.
Silver Lake will be hosting a community service day on Saturday, April 13th from 9:00-11:00 am to help bring color to our new space. We have created a SignUp Genius for families that would like to donate items or sign up to come help the day of. Most of the help we are needing on the community service day is painting. Adults will help add detail work to the student benches while kids can paint rocks or stepping stones with volunteer supervision. Please view the link provided for more information. We hope to see you there! (The dedication will start at 9, and we will work on the projects after the dedication.)
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 8 - Solar Eclipse - more information below
April 10 - PTA General Membership Meeting 5:30 pm at Palio's Pizza Cafe
April 11 - 1st grade program @ 6:00 pm
April 13 - Dianne Tovey Outdoor Learning Center Community Service Day 9am-11am
The dedication to Ms. Tovey will begin at 9, and work will start after the dedication.
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 awards @ 8:00 am
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:
PARENTS! We need your help in helping us experience the Solar Eclipse in a fun, AND SAFE way. On Monday, all students and staff will experience the TOTAL solar eclipse beginning at 1:25 and will last through totality at 1:41.
We all have protective eye wear provided by the Perot Museum, but looking at the sun is dangerous without it. Please review the safety measures and talk with your child about the seriousness of keeping the eyewear on. Of course, all of our staff will be outside to support and share when to take the viewers on and off with the children, as well.
All students will participate UNLESS you have filled out the "opt out" form available below in Skyward. Thank you for your support in this.... what a great experience to share together!
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)
From the nurse
With the solar eclipse coming up on Monday, we want to make sure that everyone understands the importance of protecting their eyes when viewing the eclipse and not have an eye injury by looking at the eclipse without the proper eye protection. Please talk with your child about the importance of not looking at the eclipse without the proper eye covering. Since many people do not know the risks of looking at the sun without eye protection or what symptoms to look for as an eye injury after looking at the sun, I wanted to share what to look for if your child makes an unwise viewing decision and looks at the sun without proper eye protection.
Eclipse Eye Injury Care Information
Not wearing glasses for the eclipse will lead to injury. The main mechanism of injury is a burn to the retina.
A person would not feel pain due to the fact there are no pain nerves in the eyeball.
Damage will present in the form of vision changes.
Symptoms will develop in 6-12 hours.
Mild Symptoms:
- Watery eyes
- Eye soreness
- Headaches
- Light sensitivity
More Serious Symptoms:
- Blurred Vision
- Blind Spots
- Dim Vision
- Distorted Vision
- Eye Pain
- Altered Color Vision
- Loss of Central Vision
Seek treatment from an eyecare professional if any vision changes.
There is no treatment for solar retinopathy. See ophthalmologist - may scan eye to determine the extent of the damage.
Many people recover in 3-6 months.
Some will suffer from permanent vision loss (blind spots).
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
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
Swim Center Tour April 9; Bond Community Presentation April 16
The community is invited to attend a come-and-go Bond 2024 Swim Center Tour/Open House from 5:30-6:30, Thursday, April 9. Visitors will learn more about the swim center, its uses and facility deficiencies addressed in the bond package. GCISD’s Swim Center is located at 2305 Pool Rd, Grapevine, TX 76051. We hope to see you there.
Be sure to also attend the final bond community presentation at 6 p.m., 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.
As a reminder, the voter registration deadline is Thursday, April 4, to be able to vote in the May Election. Please visit VoteTexas.gov for information on how to register.
Want to learn more about projects, tax rate information or have questions? Visit www.GCISD.net/Bond, which has a Bond 2024 FAQs page, tax rate information, and a Campus Updates page with district-wide projects as well as specific projects proposed for each school.
GCISD Returning Student Registration Opens Monday, April 8; New Student Registration is Already Open
Returning student registration will open on Monday, April 8. While parents are able to register up until the first day of school, parents are encouraged to register by Friday, May 17, to help the district gather enrollment numbers as early as possible for planning purposes.
To register a returning student click here. Prior to completing online registration, students enrolling in pre-kindergarten must have completed a separate online application, which may be found here.
Families who are awaiting a transfer request should register for the campus they are currently zoned for. Transfer requests will be processed at a later date. To view attendance zones, visit our School Maps Online.
New student registration is also open and can be completed here. Students new to the district (including those entering kindergarten) must provide proof of residency, birth certificate, social security number, immunization record, emergency contact numbers and a report card from the previous school unless enrolling in kindergarten.
Families needing assistance with registration for the 2024-2025 school year should contact the campus registrar. Families who need additional assistance or have specific questions or concerns, should contact their campus directly.
For more information, visit GCISD’s 2024-2025 registration page.
State-Based Pre-K Roundup is on April 2 and 4
GCISD’s State-Based Pre-K Roundup will be from 8 a.m.-7 p.m., April 2, and from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., April 4, at the Professional Development and Education Center, 5800 Colleyville Blvd, Colleyville, TX 76034. An RSVP is required for attendance and will be available April 1 at www.gcisd.net/pre-k.
Tuition-based pre-K is also available. To register for tuition-based pre-K, please email gcisd.pk@gcisd.net or call 817-251-5538.