September Newsletter
Gateway Elementary
From the Principal
We come alongside students and families with relentless love in action to maximize each student’s potential to become. -Gateway Mission Statement
Dear Gateway and ECC Families,
September is here, and we are off and running! Our start to the school year has been busy as we learn new routines and test students to determine beginning of the year benchmarks. Our focus this year is going to be on maximizing each student’s “potential to become.” You are a critical component to maximizing your student’s success here at school. Simple things like reading to or with your child each night or playing a math game will help reinforce the skills we are teaching here at school. For more ideas and ways to help support learning at home, please come to our Family Orientation on September 9th. We will have a couple of scheduled sessions and then many stations that you can visit at your leisure and that will give you great resources for reinforcing skills at home. If you are planning to volunteer at Gateway this year, please plan to attend the Parent Volunteer Orientation, which provides important information prior to being in our building and working with students. Watch for a schedule for the evening to come home right before and after Labor Day.
Our two “first” days of school began with our welcome assemblies. During these assemblies, we came together to celebrate our Gateway Family!! My message to the students was twofold: we are family and family treats each other with kindness, and we are each capable of doing something WONDERFUL each and every day. We are helping these messages become part of our culture by including shout outs in our morning announcements. Each day I recognize at least 3 students who demonstrate something wonderful like being kind to a family member or showing perseverance in learning.
Many GREAT things happen at our school through family and community collaboration. If you would like to be involved at Gateway, please consider volunteering or attending one or more of our parent group meetings: PTO, WatchDOGS, and/or District Accountability Committee. Dates and times are listed each month in our newsletter and on our website. Many individuals also volunteer to help in the classroom and in other ways here at school. I encourage you to fill out a volunteer packet during the year. These are available in our front office. Speaking of volunteering, our annual Fun’d Run is coming up on Sept. 24th and this is a fabulous opportunity for families to volunteer!
A few reminders:
· There is no student drop off prior to 8:10 for Kinder-5th grade. Please note that supervision is not provided prior to 8:10.
· Students who are tardy must be signed into the building by an adult.
· Please make sure you have your Dismissal Tag displayed in your vehicle. Adults without tags will be requested to show ID before picking up students, which will slow down pick up.
On behalf of our entire staff, I thank you for the privilege of working with your children. As always, if you ever have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact me.
Principal Ashley Lawson
Counselor's Corner
Welcome to a new school year students and families!
I’m so excited to be back at Gateway for a 3rd year, and have already seen so many wonderful, familiar faces! I’m eager to learn new faces and names, as well!
I hope you had a refreshing summer and can’t wait to share summer stories with students!
This year three of us will be working together to meet the social/ emotional needs of both students and families at Gateway! I’m excited for you to meet our new counselor, Debbie Bartley! She comes with many years of experience and is eager to get started. We also have our School Social Worker, Tory Hartsock, who is full of energy and great ideas!
Ms. Bartley and I will start out co-teaching counseling Lessons to all grades K-5 so that we can both get to know ALL the students at Gateway! We will also be in the ECE classrooms monthly and will be teaching mini-lessons with those cuties, as well. And of course, “Lunch Bunch” dates with any student who requests one! This is one of my favorite times to get to know students!!
I will be working closely with K- 1st grade students, Mrs. Toth's 2nd grade students and Mrs. Smerkonich’s 2nd/3rd grade students doing individual and group counseling, as needed, and with your permission. Mrs. Bartley will be working with Mrs. Elzy's 2nd/3rd grade students, fourth grade students and fifth grade students. Mrs. Hartsock works primarily with students on IEPs and/or MTSS plans. Please feel free to make a counseling request by contacting us with any concerns or needs you might have.
Rachel Gray rgray@wpsdk12.org, 686-2044
Debbie Bartley dbartley@wpsdk12.org, 686-2183
Tory Hartsock tpetrusawich@wpsdk12.org, 686-2170
Warmly,
Rachel Gray
Student Counselor
Choir Information
Click on the link (Royal Musicians) below for choir information.
Landsharks
Landsharks is a non-competitive youth program to introduce running to young athletes in a safe and fun environment.
Dates: Sept 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 22 & 29Time: 3:30 - 4:15 pm
Y.E.S. Club
First Field Trip - September 22nd : Build Your own Beaver Dam at a river in Teller CO (transportation provided by YES Club staff).
There are 12 spots , 4th & 5th Graders only so register soon!
Ask your parent /guardian to:
1. Register to save your spot!
2. Don't let the $100 membership fee keep you from joining! Scholarships available - see below for scholarship app.
3. If you have questions contact Rachel Gray - if I don't know the answer I'll find it and get back to you asap!
Important Dates
Sept 6 - Labor Day (District Closed)
Sept 9 - Family Orientation 6:00-7:30 pm
Sept 16 & 17 - Health Screenings
Sept 17 Citizenship Day
Sept 24 - Fun'd Run
Sept 28 - Individual Picture Day
Morning Drop Off
OPEN GYM starts at 8:00 am. Doors close at 8:10 am.