GVES Weekly Announcements
January 10, 2020
Principals' Message
Happy Friday GVES families!
What an exciting week it has been! We had busy lunch and recess periods this week filled with the preliminary rounds of both the Geography and Spelling Bees. On Tuesday, the ten finalists in the Geography Bee will compete to move on to the state Geo Bee. The Spelling Bee final contestants will compete on Friday for the county Bee. The 4th-grade band and orchestra musicians demonstrated all they have learned this year with fabulous performances to close out our winter concert season. We hope you all have a wonderful weekend and look forward to another exciting week!
Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Conley
Upcoming Events
1/15: School Store
1/16: Sneaker Thursday
1/17: Spelling Bee Finals
1/17: GVES Spirit Day
Recess Reminders
Carline Information & Reminders
Morning: Carline stops accepting drop-offs and is unsupervised at 8:50 AM. If you arrive at 8:45 or after please drive around to the front of the school and drop off. Our buses have cleared the parking lot by that time. We have an attendant at the front door until 8:55 that will pass students through. Students are not considered formally late until 8:55. If it is past 8:55 we ask you to please escort your child into the building to fill out a late note. Afternoon: Carline dismissal begins after 3:05 PM. Our school day officially ends at 3:15 so please arrive by 3:20. If you arrive at 3:20 or after please drive around to the front of the school to sign out your child from the main office. Our buses have cleared the parking lot by that time.
GVE HSA Weekly Announcements – 1/10/2019
Upcoming HSA Meeting – Wednesday, January 15th
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 Wednesday, January 15th at 9am in the LGI room (off main lobby) 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!
The most exciting topic we’ll be discussing at this upcoming meeting will be a new event we are planning for the Spring: The first annual GVE Walk/Read/Math TRIATHALON! If you can’t make the meeting but are interested in helping with this new event (and it’s going to be SUPER FUN!), email Stephanie Carmichael at: stephanie.carmichael@wolterskluwer.com.
MLK Week of Service – Jan 21st – 24th – Collecting food donations through Thurs, January 16th
This year, to celebrate Martin Luther King week of service, GVE students are preparing “blessing bags” to be donated to City Team in Chester. We are partnering with Concord Elementary to make even better bags than last year! Concord’s MLK week of service is the week before ours and Concord’s students are providing socks, gloves and toiletry items. GVE students will add small, non-perishable food items to the bags when we get them the following week! We are trying to fill 470 bags – so BULK quantities are much appreciated!
We’ve had an amazing response in our first week of the food drive, so here’s an update on Items still needed:
- PROTEIN: Slim Jims, jerky, other meat sticks (must be non-perishable) – Have 346 of the 470 servings we are shooting for
- STARCH/CARB: Cup of Noodles, Instant Mac & Cheese, Oatmeal (must come in a ready to make bowl) – Have 140 of the 470 servings we are shooting for
- FRUIT: applesauce or other fruit pouch (no cups please, too heavy!), raisins or craisins or other dried fruit – Have 268 of the 470 servings we are shooting for
- SNACK/TREAT: Rice Krispy Treat, granola bar, gummy fruit snacks – We have met our goal
- GUM/MINTS: TicTacs or small packs of gum or mints
We have created two SignUp Geniuses:
- 1 for the food here
- 1 for parent volunteers to assist while the students are packing the bags here. You must have clearances on file in order to sign up.
There is also an Amazon “Wish List” for the food – you can purchase any brand from anywhere you’d like…we just thought we’d make it easy by providing this list with items we think are a good fit and cost effective. We’ve even pre-entered the shipping information so it can go straight to the school!
You can also contribute money toward the purchase of the food items by sending:
- Cash or check in an envelope with your child – LABELLED GVE HSA MLK DONATION (checks made payable to GVE HSA)
- Venmo: @GVESHSA
PLEASE NOTE: WE MUST HAVE ALL DONATIONS ARRIVING TO THE SCHOOL NO LATER THAN JANUARY 16TH! If Amazon can't guarantee delivery by that date, please DO NOT PURCHASE!
School Store – Wednesday, January 15th
Our next school store is Wednesday, January 15th! Students can shop at recess for items ranging from 50 cents to $3.00.
Don't miss the 2019 CLEARANCE SALE ITEMS and NEW 2020 INVENTORY!!!!!
School store needs volunteers at all recesses to assist students with shopping and check out. This is a great opportunity to see your students in action with their friends! Please click HERE to sign up to help. There are tabs across the top for the different recess times, so click the tab for the time you can assist.
Lunch Buddies – Friday, January 24th
If you have signed up to be a Lunch Buddy for January, your time is coming! Friday, January 24th is our next Lunch Buddy opportunity. There is one day identified for Lunch Buddies every month between October and March and spots are available on a first come, first served basis. There are still spots available, so check it out and join your student for lunch!
This SignUp Genius is broken out into tabs across the top for different lunch periods, listed out by grade and classroom. Find your child’s grade/class on the appropriate tab…. select from the available dates…and MARK YOUR CALENDAR to enjoy lunch with your student!
PLEASE NOTE: Only one guest per student per school year can sign up.
3rd and 5th Grade Math Night – Wednesday, January 29th
The GVES Home & School Association is very pleased to sponsor the seventh annual Math Night for 3rd and 5th grade students. This special night will be held at GVES Cafeteria (3rdGrade) and Gym (5th Grade) on Wednesday, January 29th from 6:30 to 7:30 PM.
The goal of this event is to encourage the love of math in our children. There will be multiple stations where children can participate in challenging and fun math activities, games and puzzles. Raffles with prizes will be included at each station.
Students require an adult to accompany them and space is limited to 50 students in each grade. Additional students will be added to a wait list and contacted if space becomes available. To register your child for the 3rd or 5th grade Math Night, please fill out the following form: https://forms.gle/bitkqhNJM1aq3rjD6
Any questions, please reach out to:
Laurie Harding – 5th Grade: psunittanylionfan@yahoo.com
Angela Metros – 3rd Grade: angmetros@yahoo.com
MLK Week of Service
Garnet Valley CTC Quick Tip #17 – Vape Help
Did you know? GV CTC’s New Realities of Parenting hosted a panel of experts on Vaping. Vapes and Juuls were available to see and touch with careful handwashing after. Jen Tront reviewed the PAYS survey and GV CTC activities, Erik Gudzinas provided an overview of the problem and INDEPTH program, Dr. George Avetian discussed the recent lung injuries and deaths from vaping, Judge Wendy Roberts updated us on new legislation and its impact, Carolyn Falcone shared Garnet Valley’s response, and Danielle Prescott spoke about student and parent responses to vaping. Paula Dugan, Beth Uniake and several wonderful students provided child care. The power points will be posted in the GV CTC page in the next few weeks.
https://www.garnetvalleyschools.com/cms/One.aspx?portalId=151092&pageId=589727
Call to action… Education provides power for parent/caregivers to understand the Vaping/Juuling phenomenon. The links below provide in depth information. The second set of links allows teens to access help for vaping that is private and confidential through a text app and online program.
Please consider sending in your donation to the GV CTC. You can do this through the GV CTC web page listed above. Help us continue our work for you.
Parent resources:
PREP: Prevention Resources & Education for Parents/Caregivers
https://www.caron.org/our-programs/education-alliance/courses/prep
Teen resources:
Truth Initiative E-cigarette Quit Program
Text QUIT to 202 804 9884
Caron Foundation Digital Learning Courses
CONNECT 5: Find a NicoTEEN-Free You!
https://www.caron.org/our-programs/education-alliance/courses/connect5
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