GVES Weekly Announcements
November 8, 2019
Principals' Message
Happy Friday GVES families!
Can you believe we had our first snowflake in the forecast this week? Brrrr! Fittingly, Dr. Bertrando sent out the first test phone message Tuesday afternoon to notify our school community of schedule changes due to the winter weather. If you did not receive this message please call our main office or log into your ALMA account to verify/update your contact information (610-579-4150). Our third-grade classrooms had a fantastic morning hosting our parent visitors to kick off American Education Week. Schools in Garnet Valley and across the nation invite parents into the classroom for a hands-on experience of what the school day is like for our kids. It also brings attention to the importance of parent involvement in our schools. We can’t wait to see our 4th-grade visitors on Monday, November 11th and our 5th-grade visitors on Tuesday, November 12th. In addition, we hope our HSA letter sent home Monday created excitement about the new ideas the GVES Home and School Association is cooking up this year! We are grateful for your consideration of leading some of the anticipated fun events. Last but not least, during our in-service day on Tuesday, classroom teachers continued learning about Math Workshop and how this instructional strategy develops students’ conceptual understandings of math. We look forward to continuing this work in the spring.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Jones & Mrs. Conley
Upcoming Events
11/12: 5th Grade American Ed Visits
11/14: Sneaker Thursday & Turkey Trot
11/15: Lunch Buddies
11/15: GVES Spirit Day
American Education Week Visits
GVES celebrates American Education Week with visits to our school!
Parents/Guardians may visit according to the schedule below. Please do not bring siblings or other young children. There is no need to RSVP and clearances are not needed to visit. We hope to see you here soon!
Nov. 11 - 4th Grade - 10:00 - 11:00
Nov. 12 - 5th Grade -
Team A - Chiodo, Magrann, Slavin - 11:00 - 12:00
Team B - Conley, Cywinski, Jarema, Long - 9:00 - 10:00
Team C - Carey, Ong, Shank, Travers - 10:00 - 11:00
Parent Teacher Conferences
Welcome to the GVES parent teacher conference scheduling system. Your child's teachers are using this system. Please create your conference by following the directions from your child's teacher.
To schedule a conference with the homeroom, language arts, and math teacher, please select all teachers for the same time slot. Also, select any specialists who work with your child. They will meet you in your child's homeroom. If the teachers are not available at the same time, please choose a different time when they are available. Due to time constraints, we cannot schedule multiple conferences per student. Please do not schedule conferences at multiple times. Thank you.
(The way this works is you first select what conference(s) you want and enter your names and email. The system then sends you a link to choose appointment times. From that link you can also add and change registrations.)
GVE HSA Weekly Announcements – 11/8/19
Coming December 2nd-16th – First Annual GVE Online Auction!
Does your child want to…
- be principal for the day?
- read the morning announcements over the loud speaker?
- have a special lunch with a teacher and friends?
Don't miss your opportunity to bid on amazing school experiences for your student…and just in time for this to make a GREAT holiday gift!
Proceeds will benefit enhancements to the GVE Library. Stay tuned here for more information in the weeks to come!
Monthly Lunch Buddies – Friday, November 15th
Our November Lunch Buddies date is next week on Friday, November 15th!
If you haven’t done so already, you can still sign up now to be a Lunch Buddy! There is one day identified for Lunch Buddies every month between October and March. Spots are available on a first come, first served basis.
This SignUp Genius is broken out into tabs across the top for different lunch periods, listed out by grade and classroom. Find your child’s grade/class on the appropriate tab…. select from the available dates…and MARK YOUR CALENDAR to enjoy lunch with your student!
PLEASE NOTE: Only one guest per student per school year can sign up.
HSA Committee Meeting – Wednesday, November 20th
We will have a meeting for HSA Committees on Wednesday, November 20th at 9am in the LGI.
School Store – Wednesday, November 20th
Our next school store is Wednesday, November 20th! Students can shop at recess for items ranging from 50 cents to $3.00.
School store needs volunteers at all recesses to assist students with shopping and check out. This is a great opportunity to see your students in action with their friends! Please click HERE to sign up to help. There are tabs across the top for the different recess times, so click the tab for the time you can assist. CLEARANCES ARE REQUIRED.
Field Trip T-shirts
We have limited quantities of field day tshirts still for sale. Please ask in the front office or email gveshsa@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing a shirt.
Please sign up to help with Mileage Club
We are in need of parents to help out at mileage club on Thursday afternoons through the Fall.
Every Thursday in the Fall, children have the option to walk or run laps around the recess yard and record how many miles they walk or run! As they build up their miles, they earn charms for their sneakers. Please consider coming out to cheer them on!
Please use this link to sign up via sign up genius. On it, you will see a slot labeled iPad Duty. This simply means carrying the iPads from the gym to the playground for the first recess and returning them after the last recess. Very simple! Any questions ask Karen Riggs:
CLEARANCES ARE REQUIRED
School News
GVPAA Presents the Hunchback of Notre Dame!
Box Tops are Back!
GV CTC QUICK TIP #10 MENTAL HEALTH
The results of the 2013, 2015, and 2017 anonymous Pennsylvania Youth Survey are self-reported and represent 83.9% of our students. Our 2019 PAYS is in the process of being tabulated, thank you to the students and parent/caregivers who are supporting this important initiative for our kids!
Did you know? The month of November is special for many reasons. One of these reasons can save a life! The Great American Smoke-Out, GASO, celebrates getting more Americans to more birthdays each year. There is a new threat to this goal - Vaping also known as Juuling. Vapes and Juuls are tobacco products that promise with their popularity with young people to change the downward trends of youth tobacco use.
Call to action… Please click on the link below from the American Cancer Society to learn more including how to talk to your child and family members about the risks of vaping.
https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/faq-vaping-and-your-kids.html
DCIU Workshop for Parents
Elementary Handbook & GVSD Procedural Manual
Communication Procedures
Early Dismissals - Early dismissals due to weather or unforeseen circumstances will be announced through the phone number you provide in Alma, email, district-level social media, and websites. Please keep your Alma contact information current. You can update this information in your account.
Absence Reporting - Launched at the end of the last school year, the new School Messenger (Safe Arrival) Absence Reporting System makes it easy for parents/guardians to report their child's absence, reduces the time it takes to verify student attendance and will allow our staff to respond to unexplained student absences more efficiently. Please click here for directions on how to use your phone, app, or computer to report an absence.
Social Media - GVES is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! Our handle is @GarnetValleyES on all three platforms. We also podcast on iTunes. Just search iTunes for "Jaguarmax."
GVES Calendar
The view the full calendar on our website, click here or go to https://gves.garnetvalleyschools.com/calendar.
Attendance Information
State law establishes conditions under which any child may be excused from attendance at school. In keeping with these statues and recommendations of the State Department of Education, pupils in the Garnet Valley Schools may be excused temporarily from school attendance for the following reasons:
Sickness
Quarantine
Death in the immediate family
Weather so inclement so as to endanger the health of the child or make roads impassable
For observance of a major religious holiday
College visits, pre-approved educational trips
In order for an absence to be excused, a parent/guardian must respond to the Safe Arrival phone call, use the Safe Arrival app to report the absence ahead of time, or submit a written note to the office within three days after return from an absence. The absence of any student failing to comply with this time period will automatically become unexcused and illegal, and the school laws of Pennsylvania shall be applied accordingly.
Raptor Information
The Raptor system is used to enhance our ability to monitor who enters our buildings by screening visitors, contractors, and volunteers. Upon entering a district building, visitors will be asked to present an ID such as a Driver’s License, which can either be scanned or manually entered into the system. If a parent or guardian for any reason does not have a US government-issued ID, the school staff member can use any form of identification and manually enter the person’s name into the Raptor system. The Raptor system will check to ensure that registered sexual offenders are not entering our school campuses without our knowledge. 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 ID is gathered or recorded and the information is not shared with any outside agency. Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue a badge that identifies the visitor, the date, and the purpose of his/her visit.
Please adhere to the following regulations:
1. Enter the building at the main office door.
2. Go directly to the office, sign in through Raptor and inform the school secretary of your
destination.
3. PLEASE DO NOT GO to any area of the building without receiving permission from the office.
4. Do not attempt to go to a classroom to pick up a child. Students who are being dismissed early
will be sent to the office.
5. Return the visitor badge at the conclusion of your visit to sign out.
Volunteer Clearance Information
Legislation in Pennsylvania requires community members and parents to obtain clearances in order to volunteer in our schools. If you have previously submitted your clearances to the Human Resources office, they are good for five (5) years from the date of the clearance.
Governor Wolf has waived the fees associated with the Pennsylvania State Police—Criminal Background Check and the Child Abuse History Clearance. Since the FBI clearance is a federal program, those costs still remain; however, the district has decided to permit individuals who have resided in Pennsylvania continuously for ten years or more to sign a certification form that saves the volunteer the expense of the fee, ensures compliance with the law, and allows the district to maximize student safety.
Jaguarmax Radio Podcast
Jaguarmax Radio is changing formats! We will be a student-run podcast created through the after school club program starting in the fall. Check us out on iTunes!
Jaguarmax Radio Podcast on iTunes
Important Links
After School Activity Dismissal Procedures - Dismissal Locations
VEFLS - Foreign Language Contact Person, kgardler@yahoo.com or 610-717-2755
Cafeteria Information - Menus and Payments
GVES Yearly Calendar - Important Dates
Safe Arrival - Attendance Reporting App
GVSD App - Download app here
MySchoolBucks - Online Payments
District Text Messaging Opt-In - Registration Info
Handbooks & Manuals - GVSD Resources
Parent Right to Know Information
Connect with GVES!
Garnet Valley Elementary School
"A Caring Community of Learners"
Est. 1997
The mission of our learning community is to maximize the potential of all students by empowering them to do their personal best.
Website: gves.garnetvalleyschools.com
Location: 599 Smithbridge Rd
Phone: (610) 579-4150
Facebook: facebook.com/GarnetValleyES
Twitter: @GarnetValleyES