Vol. 4, Issue 2 - August 18, 2023
August
24th Curriculum Night
25th Spirit Day - Wear your GRETNA Gear
29th School Picture Day
September
4th NO SCHOOL - Labor Day
5th NO SCHOOL - Teacher Inservice
4-8th School Resource Officer Appreciation Week
12th PTO Meeting at 6:30 PM
14th Kindergarten Family Night @ 6:30 PM
19th Chipotle Dining Night Out from 5-9:00 PM
22nd PTO Fun Run K-5
29th Spirit Day - Wear your GRETNA
Dear Families,
Thank you for attending our Curriculum Night this past Thursday. It was so nice to visit with each of you and share about all the upcoming curriculum and various events scheduled for this year. If you were unable to attend, your child's teacher will be contacting you with any information you might have missed.
As you may have heard, our students are aways working on Giving Kindness, Practicing Accountability, and Staying Safe (GPS). This is a district initiative that we celebrate at Falling Waters with Guardian "Got You" Tickets. We love to recognize your children for showing GPS. Students can then use their "Got You" tickets to "purchase" something from our school store twice a month! We have renamed our store "The Nest". This has been a big hit with our students!
As a reminder, we have school picture day coming up August 29th.
Enjoy your weekend,
-Dr. H
School Picture Day will be held on Tuesday, August 29th by Martin Photography.
We will be sending picture order forms home soon. Online ordering is also available. Click this this link to order. You may pre-order, and the link will be live for two days after pictures are taken.
Curriculum Night Information
We hope you will join us for Curriculum Night! This is for our parents only. This is an opportunity for you to meet with your child's teacher to learn about curriculum, resources, and expectations for the school year.
Please choose a session for your child's grade. Each session at a grade level is the same, so you only need to attend one. Sessions will be held in each teachers' classroom, with the exception of READ Team and Special area teachers hosting their meeting in the library!
September PTO Meeting
Tuesday, September 10 | 6:30 PM
Falling Waters Fun Run
Preschool - Thursday, September 21
K-5 - Friday, September 22
2023-2024 Board Members
President: Stacy Eshbach
Vice President: Mariah Gesink
Treasurer: Liz Reed
Fundraising Coordinator: Jen Shroeder
Secretary: Open
Volunteer Coordinator: Jenny Anderson
If you are not a member of the board, but want to be a part of what is happening, please join us at a meeting!
Our Falling Waters PTO has some exciting plans for 2023-24! Follow the PTO on Facebook @FallingWatersElementaryPTO for the latest events.
We are ordering sprirt wear- Click here for our school store!
To contact the PTO, email us at fallingwaterspto@gmail.com for more information!
10:50 AM 2nd Grade
11:00 AM 4th Grade
11:30 AM 1st Grade
11:40 AM 3rd Grade
12:10 PM Kindergarten
12:20 PM 5th Grade
Parents are able to access their child's lunch account online. Visit our Food & Nutrition Services website here. Accounts and payment information can be found here.
If you should have any questions regarding your child’s lunch account, please feel free to contact our lunch paraprofessional, Mrs. Kelly Leahy at 402-332-3938 or kleahy@gpsne.org.
Students are welcome to celebrate their birthdays at school! Please be sure treats are store bought. Check with your child's teacher if they are a nut-free classroom.
To help your child's birthday celebration run smoothly, please send the treats with your child to school in the morning.
Guests are welcome to join us at lunch. There will be special "Guest" tables set up in the lunchroom for you and your child to eat. Your child will not be allowed to invite another student to eat with them at the guest table.
We do ask that you limit lunch visits to birthdays only until after Labor Day to allow for us to teach expectations and help students learn the routines and procedures. Thank you for your help and understanding.
Meal Benefit Applications are available by clicking here.
Meet our Kindergarten Team! Pictured from left to right: Mrs. Winchester, Ms. Mayme, Ms. Traubel, Mrs. Simmons and Ms. Larson. Ms. Mayme serves as one of our kindergarten paras, along with several wonderful ladies including (not pictured), Ms. Allie, Ms. Allyssa, Mrs. DeVoe, and Mrs. Richards. We LOVE our Kindergarten team!
Click each classroom teacher's name to learn more about them and visit their website.
Tips for Easing Separation Anxiety
from Love and Logic
by Dr. Charles Fay
Nothing jerks the tears more than seeing our little sweeties melting down as we leave them with the babysitter, daycare, preschool, etc. Here's the problem: If we let our own anxiety and sadness show, our kids will pick up on it and have a much harder time adjusting when there are separations. Listed below are some quick tips for easing your child's separation anxiety… and yours:
Prior to and during separation transitions, be very business-like in your tone and general demeanor. Kids take their emotional cues from the important adults in their lives.
Talk as little as possible. Trying too hard to reassure your child will actually elevate their fear.
Make the transitions as quick as possible. When you leave your child, leave quickly. This is even more important if your child appears to be getting upset.
Ask the adults you are leaving your child with how long it typically takes for them to calm down once you are gone. In most cases, it takes just a couple minutes or so.
Enjoy your kids as much as possible when they are with you. Kids who feel secure relationships with their parents tend to experience less anxiety when they separate.
Wearing the wrong shoes can impact a student safety or success during PE activities. Shoes like boots, sandals, crocs, slip-ons, even dress shoes can get in the way with simple activities like running , jumping, and stopping. It is important for students to wear proper footwear (ie. tennis shoes, running shoes, or sneakers) in order to participate safely in class activities and to be successful with those activities. Your cooperation for their safety and active participation is very much appreciated.
For our first day, our car riders were all picked up within 15 minutes through the pick-up loop! Thank you everyone for following the signage!
Also, thank you again for all of your patience and flexibility during our arrival and dismissal processes. I know everyone is working hard to create a safe and smooth flow.
*Remember to pull forward and stay INSIDE your vehicle!*
Because of supervision, students should not arrive to school prior to 8:00 AM. At 8:30 a.m., the bell rings and classes begin.
When arriving, please be sure your students are ready to exit the vehicle with their shoes on.
Please adhere to directives from our SRO, Deputy Wes McVay. We want to be sure that we following building and traffic signage and our walkers are not walking on non-paved areas or private property.
Thank you for showing courtesy to one another as you take turns and serve as models for our students as you enter and exit our parking lots.
Be sure to check out our Printable Flyers website.
Find new information programs and extra curricular opportunities!
Kindergarten - 5th Grade
8:30 AM-3:30 PM
Monday-Friday
Preschool
Morning: 8:00 AM-11:15 AM
Afternoon: 11:55 AM-3:10 PM
Monday-Thursday
Falling Waters still has openings for preschool paraprofessionals! Apply online here! Please indicate on your application that Falling Waters is preferred!
Please contact Dr. Hellbusch at jhellbusch@gpsne.org or call 402-332-3938 for more information!
The Mission of Gretna Public Schools is to accept all unconditionally and maximize their potential.