Weekly GUFS Newsletter
September 10, 2021
A Message From The Principal
Dear GUFS Families,
What an amazing first couple of days we had back at GUFS! It was so good to see all the students' smiling faces walking through the hallways. They are the ones who fill the school with an exciting energy and it's wonderful to see our school back in action! It's going to be a great year of learning!
Thank you to all of our parents for doing your part in preparing your children for this week. Everyone worked collaboratively through the drop-off and car pick-up procedures (which we are continuing to fine tune). Please remember to enter your exceptions for dismissal in School Dismissal Manager by the 2:00 PM deadline. All of us play a part in making the school run efficiently for the students. I also want to thank the PTA for the lovely assortment of cookies that were delivered for our staff to enjoy on our opening day. We feel the love! We appreciate YOU and all of the support you give the staff and students at Garrison. We could not do this without each and every one of our community members. Garrison is a special place!
We are excited to see how our students blossom as they settle into their routines.
With Gratitude,
Allison Emig
Principal
Mrs. Waters' Outdoor Science Class
Updates & Tweaks to the Arrival/Dismissal Procedures for 2021-2022 School Year
In order to expedite the arrival and dismissal process, we are making some adjustments.
- ADJUSTMENTS to Student Drop-Off at 8:15am for All Students:
The retaining wall sidewalk is complete and we will begin to have students dropped off at the orange cones to proceed to the retaining wall sidewalk. This will allow us to move the drop-off traffic quickly. Please have your child ready to exit your car to support this process so it moves swiftly. Once the buses leave, we will guide traffic toward the front of the building to continue moving the drop-off line. However, please do not have your child exit your car until you see a staff member available to assist with this process. This morning, we were able to shave 10 minutes off the drop-off as a result of making these adjustments. We thank you for your cooperation.
DISMISSAL REMINDERS:
- Make Sure Your School Dismissal Manager Reflects Your Plan for Your Child to Be Picked-Up or to Ride the Bus:
Children must follow their regular dismissal plan through School Dismissal Manager (bus, car pick-up, or walking). Any changes to dismissal plans will be made by parents through School Dismissal Manager before the cut-off time. The cut-off time for making any changes to Dismissal Manager is 2 PM.
Dismissal - Car Pick-Up Updates:
Beginning Monday, your child will be waiting for you at the retaining wall under the overhang and will be walked to your car and hand-delivered. We hope to have this pick-up procedure move swiftly now that we have a walkway and retaining wall staging area for students.
Sammartano's Tech-Tok: A Special Message for Middle School Parents
I hope everyone is doing well, and that the start of school yesterday went smoothly. I wanted to send a quick note about devices for all of our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders this year.
For this school year, we have decided to run a full one-to-one Chromebook program for all of our middle schoolers. We will be distributing a district-owned Dell 3100 Chromebook and charger to each student, which they will use throughout the day in their classes, and will bring home each night to support their learning outside of school. We would like all students utilizing district devices (as opposed to personal devices) for several reasons, including ease of management, ability to monitor usage, and ease of access to district learning resources. Alongside the role out of the one-to-one, we will also be implementing a new method for logging in to devices and school-provided instructional websites. This tool, called Clever allows students to log into their Chromebooks by Scanning a QR code badge. This means they will no longer need to remember login credentials for the devices or the many different websites they will be using. There will be much more information coming as we roll Clever out throughout the building, including some exciting features for parents!
On Monday, I will be visiting with all students in their Spanish classes to introduce myself, talk a bit about technology use in school, distribute Chromebooks, and Clever badges, so expect to see the devices/badges coming home after school.
Please be sure to speak with your kids about taking good care of these valuable learning tools and practicing general good tech habits. With that in mind, if you have not already done so, please complete our new digital Acceptable Use Policy, available on the district website, or directly through this link. You must complete the form once for each of your children in the district (at any and all grade levels).
I’m excited to get to you know you and your kids, and to have a fun and productive school year. Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have.
Michael Sammartano
Director of Technology and Innovation
Fall Sports Registration Information
Cell Phones
Remote Learning Guidance for 2021-2022
The Garrison Union Free School District developed this guidance in the event remote learning becomes a necessity. We anticipate school closures may occur short-term and re-open, or may require a long-term closure. In any event, we are prepared for a seamless transition. We are dedicated to providing a highly engaging educational experience while in a remote setting. We also recognize the importance of keeping consistency across grades, schedules and developmentally appropriate expectations while always considering the needs of the students.
The Remote Learning Guidance Plan for the 2021-2022 school year will be complete shortly and posted on our website. Thank you!
5th Graders Take Their First Field Trip to Taconic Outdoor Education Center on September 17th!
Nurse Melissa's Corner
COVID-19 Testing Continues
Nurse Melissa continues to offer COVID-19 testing for GUFS students on Monday mornings. The next testing date is Monday, September 13th before school starts. If you wish to have your child tested, please email Nurse Melissa at mdefonce@gufs.org to schedule your appointment.
A New App for School Dismissal Manager for Parents!
Community Organizations & Resources on The GUFS District Website
Stay connected to our community and see what's happening locally by visiting the Community Organizations & Resources page of the GUFS District Website
A Letter from the PTA
Hello, parents,
With a new school year about to start, we—the officers of your PTA—thought we’d check in.
To begin, here’s hoping you and your kids had the summer of your dreams. After the challenges of last year, you deserved it. This coming year will present its own hurdles (the campus is a construction zone, after all, and we’re still grappling with COVID), but we know we can clear them and help our students have fun in the process.
Speaking of that: We’re hoping to be a more active PTA this year. Changes in the school’s COVID policies should allow us to offer more afterschool programs than we did last year, especially if we focus on outdoor activities. We’ll announce those plans soon; if you have ideas and requests, please send them our way. We’re all ears.
Following is some information pertinent to the here-and-now to share. If you’ll allow a switch to list-format, here goes:
- The good people at Drug World in Cold Spring have made it possible to order school supplies online. Here’s a link. Thank you, Drug World!
- We need class parents. Someone in every class willing to serve as a contact and, to a lesser extent, representative. It’s not a huge time commitment—no more than a few hours per month—but it is important. Class parents provide a link between the PTA and the student body, an essential communication channel that helps us offer students the help, support, and opportunities they want. Interested? Please drop us a line.
- We encourage you to join the PTA as a member. To support the PTA is to support the kids at GUFS. Afterschool activities, the school directory, the book fair, class photos, faculty-appreciation breakfasts, Field Day—these are all PTA efforts. Your membership makes it possible. Here’s how to join.
With that, we’ll end, paradoxically, with a pair of introductions: Carly Arnold and Gradie Oakes have been sworn in as your PTA treasurer and secretary, respectively. Like Programming Chairman Jake Haelen and me, they are parents of very-soon-to-be First Graders. It’s the makings of a good team, and we’re excited to help give your kids a magnificent year at school.
Please contact us (our website is gupta.org) if you have questions, suggestions, or criticisms. We’re eager to hear from you.
Cheers,
Ned P. Rauch
President
Calendar Reminders
For a detailed look at what's happening, visit the School Building Calendar for the 2021-2022 school year
- UPCOMING DATES:
- September 16th: Yom Kippur
- September 17th: 5th Grade Field Trip to Taconic Outdoor Education Center
- September 28th: Virtual Back to School Night (Open House)- MS (7pm-8pm)
- September 30th: Virtual Back to School Night (Open House) - ES (7pm-8pm)
We are GUFS!
Email: slusardi@gufs.org
Website: https://www.gufs.org/Domain/4
Location: 1100 NY-9D, Garrison, NY 10524
Phone: 845-424-3689
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrisonufs/