GECKO GAZETTE
GRANT SCHOOL - SANTA MONICA
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 21 - 27, 2022
~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!
~ IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER ~
Please review these important dates:
- Monday, February 21st: President's Day - NO SCHOOL
- Tuesday, February 22nd: Grade-level stable groups discontinued for recess and lunch play periods
- Tuesday, February 22nd: Volunteer Training on Zoom: 4:00 PM - Join the Meeting by clicking this link Meeting ID: 853 2246 7814; Passcode: 972204
- Wednesday, February 23rd: Shelter in Place Drill
- Thursday, February 24th & Friday, February 25th: All families: You are invited to view the Grant Black History Month Art Exhibit in the Auditorium from 1:45 - 5:00 on Thursday and 1:45 - 4:00 on Friday.
- Friday, February 25th: Report Cards sent out to parents
- Thursday, March 10th: Grant School Future Facilities Community Meeting: 4:00 PM
- Friday, March 11th: Talent Show Group A Rehearsal - 3:00 - 6:00 PM
- Friday, March 11th: Grant Movie Night - On the Big Field - 6:00 PM - More info coming soon!
- Wednesday, March 16th: PTA General Meeting - 6:30 PM - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5329339940 Meeting ID: 532 933 9940
- Thursday, March 17th: Earthquake Drill #2 @ 8:40 AM
- Friday, March 18th: Talent Show Group B Rehearsal - 3:00 - 6:00 PM
- Saturday, March 19th: SMMUSD Stairway Concert. There will be one concert this year.
- Monday, March 21st: School Site Council Meeting @ 3:15 PM
- Friday, March 25th: Talent Show Group A Rehearsal - 3:00 - 6:00 PM
- Saturday, March 26th: Grant Parent Gala - More info coming soon!
- Friday, April 1st: Talent Show Group B Rehearsal - 3:00 - 6:00 PM
- Friday, April 1st: Minimum Day - All Grades
- APRIL 4TH - 15TH: SPRING BREAK - NO SCHOOL
- Thursday, May 26th: Open House ~ Details coming soon~
~COVID UPDATE: ADJUSTMENT IN STABLE GROUPING PROTOCOLS~
Dear Grant Families,
Beginning Tuesday, February 22nd, we will loosen the stable grouping protocols.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Since the Spring of 2021 when we brought students back to campus, we have maintained stable groups by class during lunch, recess, PE, and all other activities. We have found that this safety protocol has assisted us in keeping COVID exposures among students while on campus very minimal. Now that cases are lower we are dropping the stable grouping by GRADE LEVEL. This means that students will be able to do the following:
- Stable groups will be dropped at each grade level. For example, all 5th-grade students will be allowed to play with each other during the recess and lunch play periods. They will not be required to stay with their own class. They will not be permitted to play with other grade levels.
- Because PE is run by grade level already, all classes in a grade level will be able to mix during PE class.
- Students will be able to participate in intervention with others in their grade level.
- There will now be two BIG zones instead of eight little ones. Grades will switch back and forth between the two zones. For example, 2nd grade would be in the new Zone 1 on Monday while 3rd grade would be in the new Zone 2. Tuesday they would switch.
To be clear, we want to ensure we are keeping everyone in our learning community safe. The following protocols will remain in effect until the District and Board of Education adjust the policies:
- Students will still be required to eat in their class groupings because they are taking their masks off to eat and drink. For example, Ms. Kooy's class will continue to have lunch with only the students from her class. After the eating period, students may go out and play with other 5th-grade students on the yard.
- Indoor and outdoor masking will remain in place for now. This will not change until the Board of Education and Superintendent adjust the policy. This is not a school site-level decision and we do not know when this policy will be changed.
- We will continue to enforce hand-washing and sanitizing.
- Volunteers are already on campus helping out at lunch and around the campus. They will continue to do so but they must be "volunteer trained" and vaccinated. Additionally, we are considering a plan to have our regular volunteers PCR test with us on Thursdays for an extra added layer of protection. Volunteers may not yet work in classrooms. This is standard across the district. I will be holding a volunteer training on Tuesday, February 22nd at 4:00 PM on Zoom. If you would like to become a certified volunteer please attend.
While some in our community believe we should drop all protocols immediately, I believe our measured approach in discontinuing them when it has become safe to do so has allowed us to maintain a healthy and safe environment during this unprecedented time. We are not "out of the woods" yet but hopefully, we can all agree that the light at the end of this tunnel is shining big and bright! Let's continue to move in the same direction with a common purpose and do the hard work as one learning community!
GO GECKOS!
All my best,
Christian Fuhrer
Principal
Grant School
~SMMUSD Registration for Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten Now Available~
If you missed the TK/Kindergarten Roundup last week the link will be posted on the Grant School website under "About Us" and then "Presentations". The link to the video will be posted on Monday, January 31st.
~GRANT SCHOOL FUNDRAISER THIS TUESDAY~
~THE GRANT TALENT SHOW IS BACK!~
Grant Talent Show is back! We had an amazing video production last year, but we are excited to see our performers back in person this year. The shows will be on April 29th and 30th with rehearsals starting Friday, March 11. Everyone is welcome to participate, no auditions are required. We can't wait to see your talent!
Please read the 2022 information sheet (attached) or here. There's a lot of important information including all the rehearsal times, important guidance on the content of acts, and yes, COVID rules so please read these thoroughly before signing up.
Signup is via Google form:
https://forms.gle/aSrTPRoxofiEBd5u6
Questions? Email juliehoskin2002@yahoo.com
BLACK HISTORY MONTH IS FEBRUARY 1-28
The Grant PTA Diversity Committee and the Grant School staff are pleased to kick off African American History Month programming at Grant! The story of African American history is filled with examples of courage, bravery, forgiveness, empathy, and community. These themes reiterate that our shared history and hope for the future will always outweigh the differences between us.
~SPECIAL NOTES~
kmiller@smmusd.org and palbrecht@smmusd.org
SAFETY REMINDER: PLEASE DO NOT WALK STUDENTS THROUGH STAFF PARKING LOTS. IT CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS AND WE WANT TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE.
ADDITIONALLY, PLEASE DO NOT BLOCK OUR NEIGHBORS' DRIVEWAYS WITH YOUR CARS. THE SCHOOL CANNOT CONTROL WHETHER THE POLICE WILL TICKET OR TOW A CAR OFF CAMPUS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
~COME AND BE A PART OF THE FUTURE OF GRANT!~
I am happy to share that we will be reverting back to our "safe school" protocols in the near future. These protocols include parents picking up their children who are in 2nd and 3rd grade in the front of the school and not walking inside the campus when classes are still in session. As a reminder, until we revert back to our previous pick-up protocols, please honor our teachers by making an appointment if you wish to meet with them. Often times they cannot take an impromptu meeting after school as they may have other commitments to attend to and any questions you may have about student progress or regression would require them to prepare materials for your meeting.
If you have been at Grant for a while you may recall the lengthy year-long process we all engaged in to ensure our students had the safest learning experience we could provide while maintaining that "neighborhood school" feeling. When we surveyed our community a few years ago about creating a safer school environment, and this includes all staff, well over 90% of respondents supported this plan.
I am extremely proud of our learning community for coming together the last few years and moving in a positive direction for the benefit of every student. These have been trying times for all but as an eternal optimist, I see brighter days just in front of us.
I will be sending you updates on our return to our safe school protocols in the near future. in the meantime, please know how much the entire Grant Staff appreciates you and your partnership!
GO GECKOS!
All my best,
Christian Fuhrer
Principal
Grant School
~FEBRUARY "GRANT GIVES" ACTIVITY~
~ASSISTING OUR COMMUNITY~
~Coping with Stress, Burnout, & Anxiety~
~A MESSAGE FOR 5TH GRADE PARENTS/GUARDIANS~
~GRANT RANKED #2 SCHOOL IN SANTA MONICA BY US NEWS & WORLD REPORT~
GRANT ALSO RANKED #343 OUT OF 5,887 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN CALIFORNIA.
CALIFORNIA — More than 7,850 elementary and middle schools in the Golden State have been ranked among the best in California, according to a brand-new ranking released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.
Nationally, California has 5,534 ranked elementary schools — the most of any state — followed by Texas at 4,446; New York at 2,211; Florida at 2,128; and Illinois at 2,038 schools. California also has the most ranked middle schools with 2,319, followed by Texas at 1,942; Illinois at 1,243; New York at 1,219; and Florida at 997.
For the inaugural list, U.S. News published rankings and data on more than 80,000 public elementary and middle schools across the United States.
See the full list here.
To determine the rankings, U.S. News used data from the U.S. Department of Education to analyze two areas at each school:
- Math and reading proficiency — or how well students perform on state assessments.
- Math and reading performance — or how well they perform compared with expectations.
~GECKO WEAR SCHOOL SPIRIT FRIDAYS~
~ 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!
~COMMUNITY RESOURCES for FAMILIES~
~CREST SPRING SESSION~
~GOOD LIFE ORGANICS PROGRAM~
Sign up today for our farm-to-school program so your family can receive a weekly box of Organic fresh fruits & veggies to your door. Every box comes with recipes and how-to’s, and every week you are voting with your food dollars for a healthier future!
Our school gets $$ back, and you can pause or cancel at any time. Be sure to include our school name in the "how did you hear about us" box.
Sign up at GLObox.org and use the coupon NY2022 for 22% off your first order.
*Some events and resources not sponsored by or affiliated with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.