PARENT UPDATE
October 19, 2018
On Tuesday we held our Bullysaurus assembly where students had another chance to learn about being kind. Thank you for all of your continued support. Please reach out to us if you need anything at all. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Everyone is invited to rock your pink on Fridays during October in support of our warriors and to help raise awareness!
Vanessa and Adam
Upcoming Schedule
October 15-17th - First Grade Trips to Highland Orchestra
October 19th - GVSD Homecoming
Red Ribbon Week Schedule
October 22nd - Get prize
October 23rd - Hat day (Cap on Drugs)
October 24th - Sweats (Being drug free is no sweat)
October 25th - Neon (We’re too bright for drugs)
October 26th - Jersey day (Team up against drugs)
October 29th - Combined Elementary HSA Meeting
Red Ribbon Week
Red Ribbon Week will begin this Monday, October 22nd. GVSD recognizes Red Ribbon Week to support healthy lifestyle choices by saying no to Alcohol and illegal drugs. At Concord, the emphasis is making choices that promote healthy lifestyles. Each day we will celebrate as a school with a spirit day that is in line with GVE and GVMS. Click the link below to see the spirit days for the week.
https://sites.google.com/garnetvalley.org/ceshealthpe/home/red-ribbon-week?authuser=0
Join the fun at this year's Harlem Wizards vs. Garnet Valley Jaguars Basketball Game
Saturday, November 10, 2018
2:00 pm Garnet Valley High School
All proceeds from this event will go towards the GVSD Libraries, Labs, and Makerspaces
Due to the overwhelming success of the last 3 years, this event will no doubt be a sellout. Please purchase your tickets early for this event. Also, in honor of Veterans Day, all veterans in attendance will be recognized before the game.
If the direct link doesn't allow access, please visit https://www.harlemwizards.com/
Join Us On Monday, October 29th for a Combined BSES/CES/GVES Home and School Association Meeting!
Join Us On Monday, October 29th for a Combined BSES/CES/GVES Home and School Association Meeting!
On Monday, October 29th from 7:00 to 8:00 PM at Bethel Springs Elementary there will be a combined Home and School Association meeting for all three GV elementary schools. The purpose of the meeting is to provide parents with an opportunity to receive information on important school-related topics. Topics will be varied and parents can choose two 30-minute sessions (7-7:30;7:30-8). Registration closes on Thursday, October 25th. Use the Google form link below to register for your chosen sessions:
HSA Information
For the latest in all HSA events including fundraising, please check out our NEW WEBSITE!! Using this forum, we will continue to provide updates and details regarding the currently active and yearlong fundraisers - everything you need to know in one place!
Yankee Candle Fundraiser is underway. Orders are due by October 15.
We have limited spirit wear available if you are interested in purchasing please visit our Spirit Wear page.
Membership - It’s not too late to send in your membership donations! Cash, check or myschoolbucks. Please send into school in an envelope marked “Concord HSA Membership”. Thank you to those that have made your donation.
The Coupon Book Sale has ended. Thank you, everyone, who purchased books! If you haven't sent payment in for your book ($25) please do so ASAP.
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL
A note from the School Counselors:
The counselors run inclusive social skills groups where all students are welcome to practice friendship skills. Your child may be invited to attend a social skills group as a peer model for a 30-minute session one time during the school year. If your child is selected as a peer model for a session, he/she will receive a note from the counselors letting you know that they attended. If your child will attend more than one group, the counselor will contact you for your approval. Please contact your child's counselor if you do not want your child to participate in this program. Thank you!
Michele Ventura 610-579-6157
Erin Witmer-Yuska 610-579-6182
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES INFO
New Systems Review
Digital Emergency Cards and Forms SURVEY
Thank you for helping make the transition to digital emergency cards and school forms as seamless as possible. We collected over 3,500 digital forms so far this year and received many positive emails concerning this change. We are now asking you to take this 3 question survey to help us improve this process moving forward. Please use this link to access the short survey.
For parents that did not complete the emergency card form online, a hard copy emergency card has been mailed home. Please complete the emergency card and send in to school with your child(ren). If you did not receive a hard copy card in the mail, please contact your school directly.
Review of Absence Reporting Procedure
Garnet Valley moved to an online absence reporting system last year called Safe Arrival by School Messenger. The School Messenger (Safe Arrival System) gives parents 3 options to report an absence: by phone, by using an App, or logging into the website. The SafeArrival reporting system by School Messenger is available 24 hours/day, 7 days a week. Future absences can also be reported in advance.
We also ask that any parent that is using this system for Early Departures, to please have their child report to the main office before school to pick up an early departure pass.
For more information about these or any new parent technology, please visit the parent portal on our district website or visit the Garnet Valley Technology Snapshot page which will provide more details on each technology system used in the district.
Drop Off Times
The student day will be adjusted by 5 minutes. The day will now begin at 8:45 and end at 3:15. Morning drop-off time for students being driven to school will now be 8:25 to 8:45 in the gym. Students wishing to take advantage of our breakfast program in the cafeteria can do so between 8:25 and 8:45. The "grace period" for arrival is 8:45 to 8:55. Please note that students arriving after 8:55 will be marked late. Thank you
THERAPY DOG!
Dear Concord Families,
We are excited that our CES Therapy Dog Program will continue this year! On Fridays, therapy dog, Roux, will be in the building. He will attend groups, support students individually, visit classrooms by teacher request, and will also be available for struggling readers. Any student that visits the guidance office during the time that Roux is “working” is welcome to say hello! However, if you prefer your child to NOT interact with Roux throughout this year, that is completely okay: Please complete the form below:
Therapy Dog Program Opt-Out Form
https://goo.gl/forms/lAG3CALQcMXXd5zl1
For any questions, please contact:
Michele Ventura
School Counselor
610-579-6157
Seesaw for Parents
Important Information
New Digital Emergency Card and Parent Agreement Forms
All Garnet Valley School District emergency cards and parent forms will now be completed online usingFamilyID. This means that all of the information that was once mailed home and stored on paper is now digital, making the process for both our parents and staff more efficient. Family ID is a secure registration platform that provides families with an easy, user-friendly way to complete school emergency cards, sign school policies, media releases, and more. FamilyID also helps the district to be more administratively efficient and environmentally responsible. When you register through FamilyID, the system keeps track of your information in your FamilyID profile. You enter your information only once for each family member for multiple uses and multiple programs.
Please click here to access the FamilyID Site and create or sign into your account (top right corner of the page). All emergency cards should be completed before the start of school.
Absence Reporting System
Please click here for directions on how to use your phone, app, or computer to report an absence.
Garnet Valley Communities That Care
The GVCTC is a community organization that is driven by the PAYS (Pennsylvania Youth Survey) administered in odd-numbered school years to 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th graders and run by a board including GVSD administration and staff as well as Parents/Community Members.
Garnet Valley CTC Quick Tip #6
The results are back from the 2017 Pennsylvania Youth Survey for Garnet
Valley’s 6th , 8th , 10th , and 12th graders. We also have results from 2013 and 2015.
The results of this anonymous survey are self-reported and represent 83.9% of
our students.
Did you know? The percentage of students in Garnet Valley reporting that
they were bullied via social media in the past 12 months has decreased from
12% to 10% between 2013 and 2017. At GVSD we are working to foster the
practices of Digital Citizenship for all students. They are digital natives and will
grow and learn in that environment. Let’s give them the tools to manage the
challenges and the training to reap the rewards.
Call to action… Join us on Tuesday, 10/2/18, at GVMS at 7 pm
for the film Screenagers. Read more about the film and register for the event below.
https://www.screenagersmovie.com/
https://www.garnetvalleyschools.com/news/what_s_new/screenagers_even
GVCTC has proudly funded the following:
-New Realities of Parenting Series
- Senior Graduation Walkthrough
-Aevidum Club and SADD Club
-Bullying Prevention
-Speak UP
-Red Ribbon Week
-GVHS Health Fair & GVMS Family Prevention
-Scholarships & Community Service Recognition
- Mindfulness Workshops
Please consider donating to our organization. You can send in an envelope addressed to “GVCTC” to your child’s school with your donation as cash or a check payable to Garnet Valley CTC or donate via MySchoolBucks.com. Go to mySchoolBucks: https://www.myschoolbucks.com/
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Name:__________________________________
Donation Amount: __$10 __ $25 __$50 __$100 ___ I’d like to give more)$
Thank you in advance for Your generous support!
If you have any questions, email us at garnetvalleyctc@gmail.com
PROGRESS REPORT
Our GVSD elementary progress report is updated for the 2018-2019 school year to reflect current trends in education. It remains anchored in a standards based reporting principle where students’ progress towards standards is indicated along with reporting on the Qualities of a Learner. The updated progress report enhances the Qualities of a Learner to reflect 21st century skills and updates academic indicators to be more accessible to students and parents/guardians. Characteristics of an ideal progress report were identified through research on assessment and best practice, examining samples from other districts, and by defining those qualities essential in our own district.
The recent updates were created to achieve different goals. The updated progress report provides more information to parent/guardians, has a consistent grade scale across K-5 via a new rubric, reflects elements of current instructional practices like reading workshop, and will include the level of books the student is reading.
Student progress on each Quality of a Learner and academic indicator will be reported using a 4-point rubric. This rubric is a departure from previously used state reporting language and intended to be more student-centered. The rubric was designed so that grades do not indicate the end of the learning progress. The student score on the rubric informs the student and parent/guardian of where the student currently is on a learning continuum.
A full description of the new progress report will be included in the Elementary Handbook that will be sent to parents when back to school information is sent out.
NEW WEBSITE ADDRESS
The new address for our school's website is https://ces.garnetvalleyschools.com/.
Concord Elementary School
Website: garnetvalleyschools.com
Location: 114 Station Road, Glen Mills, PA, United States
Phone: 610-579-6100
Facebook: facebook.com/ConcordElementarySchool-GVSD
Twitter: @ConcordGV