GECKO GAZETTE
GRANT SCHOOL - SANTA MONICA
WEEK OF AUGUST 22 - 28, 2021
~TRANSLATION OPTION INTO 100 LANGUAGES!~
~ ¡NUEVA OPCIÓN DE TRADUCCIÓN A 100 IDIOMAS! ~
Para leer la Gaceta Gecko en otro idioma, mire a la derecha del boletín y haga clic en "TRADUCIR EL BOLETÍN". ¡Ahora puede elegir entre 100 idiomas!
~ በ 100 ቋንቋዎች ውስጥ አዲስ የትርጓሜ ምርጫ! ~
የጌኮ ጋዜጣ በሌላ ቋንቋ ለማንበብ እባክዎን በራሪ ወረቀቱ በስተቀኝ በኩል ይመልከቱ እና “የትርጉም ጽሑፍ” ን ጠቅ ያድርጉ ፡፡ አሁን ከ 100 ቋንቋዎች መምረጥ ይችላሉ!
~ WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL, GECKOS! ~
~ IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER ~
Please review these important dates:
Monday, August 22nd: Fire Drill #1 @ 8:45 AM
Monday, August 22nd: PTA Room Representative Organizing Meeting @ 8:45 AM in the Auditorium
Tuesday, August 23rd: Minimum Day for all grades: Dismissal times: PreK/TK/Kinder @ 12:15; 1st - 5th @ 1:15
Tuesday, August 23rd: Volunteer Training in the Auditorium @ 5:00 PM
Tuesday, August 23rd: Back to School Night Grades Prek/TK – 2 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Friday, August 26th: PTA Room Representative Parent Information Meeting @ 8:45 AM in the Auditorium
Tuesday, August 30th: Minimum Day for all grades: Dismissal times: PreK/TK/Kinder @ 12:15; 1st - 5th @ 1:15
Tuesday, August 30th: Volunteer Training in the Library @ 5:00 PM
Tuesday, August 30th: 5th-Grade Activities Parent Meeting in the Auditorium @ 5:00 PM
Tuesday, August 30th: Back to School Night Grades 3 – 5 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Monday, September 5th: No School in observance of Labor Day
Wednesday, September 7th: ELAC Meeting #1 @ 8:45 AM in the Auditorium
Wednesday, September 7th: PTA Executive Board Meeting @ 6:30 PM in the Auditorium
- Monday, September 19th: School Site Council Meeting @ 3:15 PM in the Sky Room
- Wednesday, September 21st: PTA General Meeting @ 6:30 PM in the Library
- Monday, September 26th: NO SCHOOL - Rosh Hashanah
- Friday, September 30th: Multicultural Heritage Celebration @ 5:00 PM
- Saturday 10/1 and Sunday 10/2: Grant Beautification Day!
~ THANK YOU FOR A GREAT OPENING TO THE SCHOOL YEAR! ~
August 21, 2022
Dear Grant Families,
THANK YOU for a successful opening of the 2022-2023 school year! The positive energy on the Grant campus during the first two days was incredible! It was so nice to see our returning students and families and to meet all of the newest members of our learning community. I was also proud of all of our new staff members as they embarked on the latest chapters in their careers in education and did so with enthusiasm and professionalism.
The Grant Staff is excited to welcome you to our first in-person Back to School Night in a couple of years this Tuesday, August 23rd for PreK - 2nd grade and next Tuesday, August 30th for grades 3-5. Please read the section about Back to School Night in this edition of the Gazette.
And speaking of the Gazette, please be sure to read the Gecko Gazette each Sunday night as it contains important information from the school, PTA, Santa Monica Education Foundation, the City of Santa Monica, and other community partners. Links to each week’s Gazette are posted on our website.
As always, my door is open and our team welcomes your input. Please feel free to contact me via email at the address below or call to make an appointment to speak with me to discuss any ideas you feel will make this the best year yet!
GO GECKOS!
Best regards,
Christian Fuhrer
Principal
Grant School
~ WEEKLY REMINDERS ~
~ANTIGEN TEST KIT PICK UP INFORMATION~
YOU SHOULD HAVE ALREADY PICKED UP YOUR CHILD'S FREE ANTIGEN TEST KIT LAST WEEK. THIS KIT CONTAINS TWO TESTS, ONE FOR LAST WEEK AND THEN ONE FOR THIS COMING SUNDAY, AUGUST 28TH.
IF YOU HAVE NOT YET PICKED UP A TEST KIT YOU MAY DO SO IN THE MAIN OFFICE.
UPDATED LACDPH COVID PROTOCOLS: Updated T-1 and T-2 Exposure Management Protocols as of 8.10.22
BACKGROUND: For Covid-19 testing this school year, we will be providing free at-home weekly testing kits to all students and staff. The kits will be provided by SMMUSD through your school site or office. This decision was made following: a review of the recent parent and staff survey results with nearly 3,500 responses, management and staff’s analysis of the logistics and complexities required in implementing the different options proposed, along with discussion at our public Board of Education meeting Thursday night.
With this decision comes the expectation that parents and staff will be cooperative in weekly antigen testing at home. It is in our collective best interests to maintain in-person instruction without disrupting class or school closures due to outbreaks. We want everyone to recognize that we are part of a school community that relies on each other to do the right thing, which is to support the health and safety of all students, staff, and visitors to our campuses and offices, by taking these weekly tests. Any positive result needs to be reported to Nurse Furano and a minimum of five-day isolation instructions followed. (More on that in a follow-up email from Dr. Drati.) If you or your child are sick, please stay home from school and notify us at Grant.
Please do not forget to send with your child every day:
- Backpack with classroom materials (notebook, writing utensils, class books, etc.)
- Water bottle
- Snack and/or lunch (lunch available to all students free of charge for the 2022-23 school year.)
- Sunscreen (put on prior to arriving at school)
- Hat
- Layers of clothing (sweatshirt, windbreaker, etc.) Keep an eye on the weather.
~BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT INFORMATION~
While in your child’s classroom, your child’s teacher will present an overview of the year’s instructional program, schedules, digital resources, and expectations for the coming year.
THIS IS AN ADULT-ONLY EVENT. PLEASE MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO KEEP YOUR CHILDREN AT HOME THAT EVENING.
We look forward to seeing you all at Back to School Night!
Please click the image to see a full-size schedule
~DROP OFF AND PICK UP PROCEDURES~
This year, we will be reverting back to our pre-COVID student drop-off procedures. You may recall that during the 2018-2019 school year, our school community engaged in an extensive, healthy, and productive dialogue around bolstering Grant’s safety and security. All stakeholders, including members of the School Leadership Team, School Site Council, PTA, ELAC, Santa Monica Police Department, and SMMUSD district administration, had an opportunity to share their ideas and feelings about how we as a community can best provide a safe and nurturing environment for our children. The consensus among all of these groups was that Grant students and staff deserve a more secure campus and a greater emphasis on protecting instructional time. Unfortunately, due to distancing guidelines and the difficulties we faced during the pandemic we were forced to relax certain aspects of our updated procedures.
While safety is the paramount reason for implementing this change, an important benefit was the addition of important instructional time in the mornings. Grant students and teachers gained between 45 – 50 minutes per week of instructional time!
Grant School is known for being a “neighborhood school” and for its close-knit community. Our goal now, as it was then, is to maintain these special characteristics of our wonderful school. It is important to understand that with these new procedures, we are not trying to remove our parent’s and guardian’s access; we are merely trying to control who is accessing our campus and when they are visiting.
With this in mind, we will begin the drop-off and pick-up procedures outlined below beginning Monday, August 22nd. Because this is a return to how drop-off and pick-up were organized pre-pandemic, we ask for your patience while we all get reacquainted with and refine the procedures.
In an effort for parents to see where their child’s class is located on campus and to say hello to the teacher, parents in all grades were permitted to walk their children to the classroom for the first two days of school.
All students in Grades Kindergarten through 5th grade will be dropped off at the main gate at the front of the school in the morning or at the pedestrian gate in the rear of the school and will be picked up at either the main gate or the Kindergarten yard. Your teacher will let you know where their specific pickup location is. If you are unsure, please ask.
*Please do not drive into the staff parking lot at either the front or the rear of the school to either drop off or pick up your child.
DROP-OFF and PICK-UP PROCEDURES
Preschool and TK Drop-off: Due to State law, all Preschool and Transitional Kindergarten students must be dropped off to their teacher. Preschool parents will continue to enter the campus at the main gates after checking in with the Campus Monitor, proceed to Room 59, and sign their child in with Ms. Reed. TK parents will walk their children to the Transitional Kindergarten yard where Ms. Herman and Ms. Cedillo will greet them each day.
Preschool and TK Pick-up: All Preschool parents will meet Ms. Reed at the main gates for dismissal. Students whose parents have not picked up their child at dismissal will check into the main office and then proceed to Room 59 to check their child out from Ms. Reed. All TK parents will enter the Kindergarten playground from the Pearl Street entrance at dismissal time and students will be checked out by Ms. Herman and Ms. Cedillo.
Kindergarten Drop-off: Kindergarten students will be dropped off by their parent or guardian at the gate next to Room 2 beginning at 8:00 AM M-F. Students will walk to the Kindergarten playground where they will be met by a teacher or Campus Monitor. Students enrolled in SAP will be walked to their classrooms by SAP personnel.
Kindergarten Pick-up: Kindergarten students will be picked up at the Pearl Street Kinder gate at dismissal at 1:45 PM. Teachers will be there to greet parents and guardians. No Kinder student will be released to anyone other than a parent/guardian or emergency contact. Students enrolled in SAP will be picked up from SAP personnel in their classrooms.
Grades 1 – 5 Drop-off: All students in grades 1 – 5 will be dropped off by their parent or guardian at the main gate in front of the school or at the 24th Street gate each morning. Students will enter the school and walk to the playground where they will be supervised by a Grant School Teacher, Campus Monitor, or Administrator. Drop-off will begin at 8:00 AM every day.
The start-of-school warning bell will sound at 8:25 AM. The final bell will sound at 8:30 AM. Students in grade 1 will walk to their lineup on the big map on the playground where their teacher will meet them and walk them to the classroom. Students in Grade 2 will walk to their lineup behind their classroom where their teacher will meet them. Students in grades 3 – 5 will line up in front of their classroom where their teacher will meet them.
Grades 1 – 3 Pick-up: Students in Grades 1 – 3 will be dismissed each day according to the bell schedule above. Teachers will walk students to the main gate at the front of the school where parents will meet their children at this time. Students in Grades 1 – 3 who are enrolled in an afterschool program, such as CREST or PTA enrichment classes, or Playground Club, will walk or be walked to the lunch tables where their program teacher will meet them.
Grades 4 – 5 Pick-up: Students in Grades 4 and 5 will be dismissed each day at 2:55 PM. Students will exit the campus either from the main gates or the 24th Street gate at the rear of the school. Students who are enrolled in an afterschool program, such as CREST or PTA enrichment classes, or Playground Club, will walk to the lunch tables where their program teacher will meet them.
Early Dismissal Procedures: Wednesday drop-off and pick-up procedures are the same as those during regular school days but will follow the Wednesday bell schedule. Please see the new bell schedule ABOVE.
SAP Drop-off: All students enrolled in SAP before-school care will be dropped off in Room 4. Drop-off begins at 7:00 AM.
Breakfast Club: Students who participate in the Grant Breakfast Club will still arrive at school under the same procedures as all students. Parents will drop their children off at the main gates by 8:00 AM so that there is ample time to eat and walk to their classrooms by 8:30 AM. Preschool, TK, and Kinder students will continue to be accompanied by a parent or guardian to Breakfast Club if the parent so chooses.
New Security System
Grant is very fortunate to have had new security systems installed over the last couple of years. In addition to new security cameras around the entire perimeter and interior of the school, we now have a new secure fence in the front courtyard equipped with a camera and buzzer. All visitors during and after school hours must be buzzed into the school by pushing the button on the panel. Once permitted entrance, all visitors must go immediately to the main office to receive a visitors' badge.
Raptor Security System
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District will use the Raptor visitor management system to strengthen our campus safety programs for students and staff. All schools currently have this system installed.
An important aspect of keeping students and staff safe is for site staff to know who is on our campuses at all times. The Raptor system achieves this interest as it allows office staff to screen visitors, contractors, and volunteers, in our schools and provides us with a safer environment for students, staff, and approved volunteers.
Upon entering campus, visitors will be asked to present identification such as a driver’s license, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian does not have a US government-issued identification, for any reason, the visitor may submit an alternative form of identification for school staff to enter into the Raptor system.
The Raptor system checks the visitor's name and date of birth for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. The registered sex offender database is the only official database checked by the Raptor system. No other data from the identification is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency. The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not allowed on our campuses. Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit. A visitor’s badge will not be necessary for those who visit our schools simply to drop off an item at the front gate.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND COOPERATION IN KEEPING OUR STUDENTS AND STAFF SAFE!
~ GRANT LIBRARY NEWS ~
Welcome back, families! I am happy to be back and can’t wait to see the students when they visit for library time. We have lots of great events planned starting with a fall book fair.
Online shopping from Aug. 19 - Sept. 23 and in person in the library from Sept. 16 - Sept. 23.
TO SHOP ONLINE Click the link and search for Grant Elementary in the dropdown search box: https://efairs.literati.com/?school=grant-elementary-school-santa-monica-ca
Volunteers needed to help organize and work the book fair. Please keep a lookout for the sign-up link. It should be out next week. Sign up for a shift or 3.
My goal this year is to establish a library committee to oversee all the library activities and celebrations which include book fairs, monthly celebrations, read-a-thon, and a poetry month event. I am also looking for volunteers to help in the library with daily tasks such as shelving books, bulletin boards and book displays.
Please consider volunteering for the upcoming book fair, joining the library committee, or just helping out regularly in the library. It is a fun way to get involved. If you would like more info or to sign up to help in the library please email Petra Wolfe pwolfe@smmusd.org or call 310-450-7651 x63152.
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” — Frederick Douglass
Petra Wolfe
Library Coordinator
Grant Elementary School
310-450-7651 ext. 63152
~GRANT SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL COMMITTEE MEMBERS NEEDED~
The purpose of the GRANT SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL is to develop the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) to ensure that all of the resources available to the school, the basic program, and the supplemental resources, are coordinated and focused on providing a high-quality educational program and learning environment in which students of all ranges and ability and background can succeed. This committee will meet once per month during the course of the 2022 - 2023 school year. The meetings are on the third Monday of each month unless there is a holiday.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the GRANT SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL please email Principal Christian Fuhrer by Monday, August 29th at 3:00 PM. Click the following link to email: >>EMAIL PRINCIPAL FUHRER<<
El Consejo Escolar de Grant actualmente está buscando dos padres voluntarios para servir por un período de dos años. Si más de dos padres están interesados en las vacantes disponibles, entonces se llevarán a cabo ELECCIONES.
El propósito del Consejo Escolar de Gobierno es desarrollar el Plan Único para el Logro Estudiantil ( sigla en inglés SPSA) para asegurar que todos los recursos disponibles para la escuela, el programa básico y los recursos suplementarios estén coordinados y enfocados en proporcionar un programa educativo de calidad y un entorno de aprendizaje en el que los estudiantes de todos los rangos, habilidades y niveles puedan tener éxito. Este comité se reunirá mensualmente durante el año escolar 2022-2023. Las reuniones son el tercer lunes de cada mes a menos que haya un día festivo.
Si está interesado en ser miembro del CONSEJO ESCOLAR DE GOBIERNO de la ESCUELA GRANT, envíe un correo electrónico al director, Christian Fuhrer, antes del lunes 29 de agosto a las 3:00 pm. Haga clic en el siguiente enlace para enviarle un correo electrónico: >>EMAIL PRINCIPAL
~GRANT PICTURE DAY IS COMING~
~COMMUNITY RESOURCES for FAMILIES~
~FREE MEALS FOR STUDENTS FOR THE 2022-23 SCHOOL YEAR~
~METRO GO PASS FOR STUDENTS - YEAR 2 INFORMATION~
~ DONATE TO THE GRANT PTA AND SANTA MONICA EDUCATION FOUNDATION TODAY! ~
Your donation does so much for Grant!
Please consider donating to the two organizations that enhance education for all Grant students: the Santa Monica Education Foundation and Grant PTA. Your donations are so important. Check out the crucial staff, programs, technology, and materials funded by your donations in this chart!
Our goal is for 100% of Grant families to give to PTA and the Ed Foundation. ANY amount makes a difference to our kids. If you have already donated, thank you!
Grant’s outstanding teachers create the foundation for your child’s academic success. In addition, a large part of the Grant Learning Community’s success can be attributed to its active and engaged parents who are involved in the PTA. Please consider contributing to the Grant PTA so that we can continue to fund engaging enrichment programs, assemblies, and much-needed supplemental equipment and supplies that will support teaching and learning this year. Your donations directly affect your child’s education. Last year your contributions enabled us to provide digital learning resources in literacy, math, and science, musical instruments, field trips, new lunch tables, and a variety of outdoor equipment. Please visit the Grant PTA website at https://www.grantpta.org/ to become a PTA member and to learn of the many opportunities available to volunteer at Grant. In addition, we hope you consider donating to the Santa Monica Education Foundation. Donations to SMEF enable us to provide our students with a well-rounded and world-class education through music, visual arts, and instructional assistant support. Please visit https://www.smedfoundation.org/ to donate today! Last year’s, donations allowed us to purchase supplemental science programming and other important instructional tools!
*Students enrolled in Grant School are not required to pay any fee, deposit, or other charge for participation in an educational activity offered by the school or the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, except as authorized by law and consistent with the California constitution and Hartzell v. Connell (1984) 35 Cal.3d 899. Donations are sought and accepted for various activities and supplies, and are at times critical to the continued success of classes and activities, but donations are always voluntary, and no child will be denied the right to fully and meaningfully participate in any activity because he/she has not donated money or supplies. For more information, go to http://www.smmusd.org.
~ CITY OF SANTA MONICA CREST PROGRAM ~
*Some events and resources not sponsored by or affiliated with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
+Algunos eventos no están patrocinados o afiliados al Distrito Escolar Unificado de Santa Monica-Malibu