Gateway Elementary Newsletter
April 2021
From the Principal
Dear GREAT Gateway Families,
I hope that everyone enjoyed a rejuvenating spring break and that each of you found time for yourselves and your families. As we enter the month of April and settle in for the home stretch to summer, our thoughts tend to shift towards what we have achieved this year—especially with students entering the abbreviated testing season! Ben Franklin said, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” When I think of these words, I experience a shift in my thinking. I stop wondering what our children have achieved, what we have achieved as a staff, or what Gateway has achieved collectively. I begin to look closely at our growth and our progress and even at our failures, for through these we experience growth. Our growth and progress here at Gateway is tremendous. I see our academic growth in our DIBELS and MAPs tests. I hear our academic growth in the conversations children are having in the classroom and with each other. I witness our personal growth in the behaviors of students and in the daily shout outs recognizing their leadership, empowerment, respect, and care. I have watched our sense of family grow from the first day of school. Our students and staff have come together with such heart to take care of each other by wearing masks, practicing social distancing and a LOT of handwashing and sanitizer! We have grown in person this year. We have grown remotely this year. We have grown online and in our enrichment program and with all I have seen and heard and with all I know regarding our growth and our progress, I’m not worried that we will achieve—I know that we already have and that we will continue to as we move through these last two months of school.
If you haven’t registered your current student for the 21-22 school year, please do that as soon as possible. If you have any trouble at all, please reach out to our attendance secretary Lindsey Prahl at 686-2040. And s always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Principal Ashley Lawson
Yearbooks on Sale Now!
Did you miss out on last year's yearbook? We are offering a special deal - get both yearbooks for $25.00! (This offer is NOT available online - while supplies last).
Congratulations!
From the Counseling Team
The Five Keys to successful SEL are:
1. Self-Awareness
2. Self-Management
3. Social Awareness
4. Relationship Skills
5. Responsible Decision-Making
Research show that SEL not only improves achievement, but also increases prosocial behaviors (kindness, empathy, assertiveness), improves student attitudes toward school and reduces depression and stress among students (Durlak et al., 2011).
Please complete the short survey below, so we can understand more about what's important to you. Thank you for your input!
At-Home Daily Symptom Screener
- Feeling feverish, having chills
- Temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher
- New or unexplained persistent cough
- Shortness of breath
- Difficulty breathing
- Loss of taste or smell
- Direct contact with a person with confirmed COVID-19 or symptoms
- Waiting on results of a COVID-19 test
You may not attend school if the answer to any of these questions is yes. Stay home. Inform the school of symptoms, and reach out to a health care provider as needed.
Morning Drop Off
Animals on School Grounds
Important Dates
April 4-6 - CMAS Testing for Grades 3-5
April 8 - Spirit/Popcorn Day
April 19 - District Closed
April 20 - Work Day for staff; no school for students