GVES Weekly Announcements
September 20, 2019
Upcoming Events
9/28: GVEA Flea Market at GVHS
September Weather is Here!
After School Clubs
● Monday, October 1st and end on Monday, December 3rd
Parents will also notice that some activities are designed to be developmentally appropriate, so please read each activity’s description carefully.
Use the link below to access registration information.
https://www.garnetvalleyschools.com/news/what_s_new/elementary_after_school_fall_activities
Book Donations Needed
GVE HSA Weekly Announcements – 9/20/19
Error on MySchoolBucks HSA Membership
If you paid for your HSA membership on MySchoolBucks, you may have been prompted to indicate if you’d like a free GVE car magnet. This was an error left over from a prior year. Unfortunately, we do not have magnets to distribute. Our sincerest apologies. Thank you for understanding!
Homeroom Parent Meeting – Friday, September 27th - 9:30 am
There will be a Homeroom Parent meeting in the GVE Cafeteria at 9:30 am on Friday September 27th. If you have been selected to be a homeroom parent you will be notified this weekend.
Mileage Club starts Thursday, 10/3
Mileage Club will start on 10/3 during your child's recess. 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! We can always use volunteers for mileage club. Keep an eye out for a sign up genius coming next week.
HSA Meeting – Tuesday, October 15th – 7pm
Calling all “do-ers!” We NEED you! Want a great way to get involved with GVE and benefit your child’s school? Join us at the next HSA meeting on Tuesday, Oct 15th at 7pm in the LGI room to learn about what we do for our kids and the school, and meet a fun group of people who all have the same goal in mind: Make GVE a GREAT place to learn, work, and volunteer! There are LOTS of changes going on this year, and we need YOUR support more than ever!
Grandfriends Days are coming fast!
- Wednesday – October 16th – 3rd Grade
- Thursday, October 17th – 4th Grade
- Friday, October 18th – 5th Grade
Grandfriends Days are a great opportunity for the special person(s) in your child’s lives to get an “up-close and personal” look at what goes on these days in elementary school and a wonderful bonding opportunity for our students! More information about the schedule for different classes will be coming in future weeks, but now is the time to mark your calendars and let those special people know!
Volunteers are also needed to help the Grandfriends as they arrive and get them to the right classrooms. If you have questions or are interested in volunteering, please contact Karen Gerace, the Grandfriends Committee Chair at: ckgerace@comcast.net.
School Store
Our next school store is Wednesday, October 23rd! Students can shop at recess for items ranging from 50 cents to $3.00.
HSA Library Signups
Calling all Library Volunteers!! Our students love to have parents/guardians come in and read to them during their library time each week! This year, GVES is coordinating our library volunteers using signupgenius. Please visit the link below and click on your teacher(s) tab at the top of the screen to sign up for a maximum of THREE time slots for the year per teacher. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE CLICKED ON THE CORRECT TEACHER TAB- teachers are listed in alphabetic order. This will ensure that everyone gets a chance to sign up (if you sign up for more than three slots per class, we may remove your name from additional slots to make room for other volunteers). If slots are still available after September 20th, please feel free to come back and sign up for an additional time slot.
GVES LIBRARY SIGN-UP LINK:
https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/70a0c4ba4a82da3fe3-gves5
*Clearances are required for volunteering in the library. Please click on this link for more information regarding clearances:
https://www.garnetvalleyschools.com/cms/one.aspx?portalId=151092&pageId=1537537
Please contact Kristine Potochar- kristine.potochar@gmail.com for any questions.
Happy Reading!
Box Tops are Back!
VEFLS Registration
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1099q8zQbqDP4OXuW2jNeRl7MAQwicJwE
Elementary Handbook & GVSD Procedural Manual
Band & Orchestra for the 2019-2020 School Year
Band and Orchestra sign ups for the 2019-2020 school year have begun! 3rd graders are completing the instrument interview process and will come home with a form reflecting their instrument recommendations. To sign up for band or orchestra for next year, please click this link:
Sign Up for Chorus
Every student is invited to join chorus. Singing in chorus gives your child a wonderful opportunity to perform in an ensemble while building upon concepts generated in the general music classroom. We perform two concerts a year, one in the winter and one in the spring.
At the beginning of the school year, parents may go to the online sign up form which will need to be filled out with contact information, student home room and grade level. The information provided will help me communicate with parents regarding rehearsal attendance, performances and other announcements. Students may join in January if they did not join in September.
Morning chorus rehearsal begins after the buses arrive and runs from 8:30 to 8:55 a.m.; students are then dismissed to their homerooms. Chorus rehearsals will not conflict with morning language classes. Students who participate in language class will be dismissed from their class to attend chorus at 8:30 a.m.
PLEASE NOTE: There is absolutely no conflict with orchestra/band lessons and chorus. Instrumental lessons run during the day with ensemble rehearsals after school. More than half of our chorus students also perform in an instrumental ensemble.
https://sites.google.com/garnetvalley.org/gves-music-mr-lenderman/join-the-chorus
Garnet Valley CTC Quick Tip #3 Parenting 2019
Did you know? An important finding from last three PAYS, Pennsylvania Youth Surveys, was the level of attachment that Garnet Valley students have to their parent/guardians, 74% in 2013 and 74% in 2015 and 74% in 2017. This level of enduring attachment puts parent/guardians in a unique position to model the values they hope their children and teens will develop.
Call to action…. Children and teens are watching as we shop, drive, and attend school-sponsored events. What are you teaching them by your actions in everyday situations? Click on the link below to see what kids are learning when we think they are busy with phones and friends.
PAYS Survey Opt Out
This is the fourth year that the Garnet Valley School District is taking part in the 2019 Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS) sponsored by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. The survey will ask questions about the behaviors of students in the 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grades, including questions about school climate, violence, depression, bullying, and substance abuse. The results guide our efforts as a district and Garnet Valley Communities That Care to create programs that enhance our parent/guardian efforts and help our students to be their best.
As a parent/guardian, you have the right to opt your child out. Participation in this survey is completely voluntary. The survey is anonymous and confidential.
The survey will be administered during the school day, the week of October 21st for GVHS and the week of October 1st for GVMS. If you do not want your child to participate, please submit your request to Carolyn Falcone in writing to falconc@garnetvalley.org by September 26, 2019.
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