GVES Weekly Announcements
November 15, 2019
Principals' Message
Happy Friday GVES families!
On Monday morning, we celebrated the service of all U.S. military veterans during our morning announcements. We are grateful for their service to the United States on Veterans Day and always. We would like to thank our 4th and 5th-grade parents and families who helped us celebrate American Education Week. We had a wonderful time hosting you in our classrooms. On Thursday, the Health and PE department kicked off the annual GVES Turkey Trot. It was a fun and exciting event watching our turkeys trot around the playground. As a school, we trotted 489 miles! In addition, we are excited to share Mr. Windsor and Mrs. Grillo will kick off the 2020 Spelling Bee with a student information meeting in the cafeteria next Friday. The Bee is open to all 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and the actual Spelling Bee event takes place in January.
Stay warm and have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Jones & Mrs. Conley
Upcoming Events
11/21: Sneaker Thursday
11/22: GVES Spirit Day
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.)
GVHS Mini Thon's Super Magical Brunch
This Saturday, November 16th, Team FTK is hosting the “Super-Magical Brunch”. From 9am-12pm in the Garnet Valley High School cafeteria, the whole family can enjoy a morning of play and brunch with royalty and superheroes alike! Throughout the morning we will participate in music, games, and crafts for only $5 a person and $15 for a family! We encourage you to dress up and celebrate this event with us, ‘For The Kids’. This surely will be a great morning for your family!
All of the profits are donated to our annual Mini-THON, which is a nine-hour dance-a-thon that raises money for the Four Diamonds Foundation. The Four Diamonds Foundation assists families with bills used to pay for their child’s cancer treatment and therapists, while also financing doctors as they continue to search for a cure to pediatric cancer.
We hope to see you there,
Team FTK
Parents Night Out
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1TYkGA8ep0WouqqcMcYuGK_6u63bZx4Kj1O9pdDGKR5Y
GVE HSA Weekly Announcements – 11/15/19
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.
We always need volunteers to help with School Store – please use the Sign Up Genius here to sign up to help. There are tabs across the top for the different dates.
Holiday Shop is coming! – Week of December 2nd
Students will have the opportunity to shop for holiday gifts for family and friends during school hours the week of December 2nd. We are excited to pair with a new vendor this year. Visions of Sugarplums will be providing quality holiday gifts for the entire family at various price points between $1 and $15.
Keep an eye out for more details as we organize this fun event. We will need lots of volunteers to make this event run smoothly. The sign-up genius will be out soon. (There is no school store in December since the kids will be participating in Holiday Shop).
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! A few community donations (i.e: private chef dinner, summer camp, tickets to school plays, etc..) will also be available to bid on, so you won’t want to miss this!
Proceeds will benefit enhancements to the GVE Library. Stay tuned here for more information in the weeks to come!
HSA Raffle – to be drawn December 16th
GVES HSA is hosting a raffle! Get your tickets for a chance to win. Tickets will be sent home the week of December 2nd in your childs collection folder. Tickets cost $5 for one, $20 for 5. 1st prize is $300, 2nd prize is $200 and 3rd prize is $100. The raffle winner will be announced Monday 12/16/19. Our raffle is sponsored by Realtor John Williams RE/MAX Excellence.
School News
GVPAA Presents the Hunchback of Notre Dame!
Garnet Valley CTC Quick Tip #11 – Leftover Alcohol
Statistics are taken from the 2013, 2015, and 2017 Pennsylvania Youth Survey results for Garnet Valley - 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th graders. Any statistics reporting student use and access to substances are only for those students who reported using that particular substance.
Did you know? Alcohol is often more accessible to young people during holiday gatherings in the form of small amounts left over in bottles, blenders and glasses. In addition, coolers with alcohol and bottles of wine and spirits may be untracked and/or unattended at times during a get together. This can be the first experience with alcohol for young people as well as an opportunity for under age accessibility to alcohol.
The lifetime statistics for students reporting that they had had beer, wine or hard liquor in their lifetime rose slightly in 6th grade from 10.9% to 12.1% to 12.4%, 8th grade reported a slight decline from 25.5% to 23.4% to 23.5%, 10th grade showed a bigger decline from 50.2% to 49.1% to 36.9%, and 12th grade held on to their previous decline from 78.4% to 66.4% to 65.2%. Despite declines the numbers are still concerning.
Call to action… An 11-year-old boy or a 13-year-old girl represent the average age of the first alcohol experiences in the United States. At any age, talking to them about alcohol has an impact. You can use the guidelines below.
- Set clear expectations, and communicate your values. Youngsters are less likely to drink when they know that parents and other important adults in their lives have strong feelings about it.
- Control your emotions. If you hear something that upsets you, take a few deep breaths and express your feelings in a positive way.
- Ask about your teenager’s friends. Express an interest in getting to know them better. Getting to know these friends and their parents will help you understand your teenager’s world.
- Click on the link below for more information
https://www.samhsa.gov/underage-drinking/parent-resources/why-you-should-talk-your-child
Box Tops are Back!
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