GOODNOE GAZETTE
April 21, 2023
Dear GES Families,
I am proud to share that several Goodnoe staff members were awarded grants this week from the Council Rock Education Foundation! Please join me in congratulating the following GES staff members:
- Kris Topley – Vox Books for all CRSD students
- Stephanie Rothrock, Melissa Sablowsky, and Lauren Pascucci – CALM (Confident Active Learner Minds)
- Jaime Saeger and Lauren McCusker – All I Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten: Social Skills Lessons to Build Confident, Kind and Resilient Kids
This is very exciting news and I look forward to seeing these great tools in action for students! Check out the pictures below!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Beth
CONGRATULATIONS CREF GRANT WINNERS!
CONGRATULATIONS ROCKY'S WINNERS!
THIS WEEK WE HAVE TWO ROWS OF WINNERS!
- Zach Amendo
- Chloe Aldrich
- Sasha Petrov
- Campbelle Devine
- Travis Zhang
- Sophie Addison
- Smruti Patel
- Shrushti Gullapalli
- Joey Swerk
- Leah Tskusker
- Eli Merriman
- Olivia Bertagni
- Matthew Rosenberger
- Nicoletta Raimando
- Hunter Rosocha
- Evan French
- Margot Linden
- Tej Patel
Congratulations to our staff winner, Mrs. Peterson
GREAT JOB GOODNOE READING OLYMPICS PARTICIPANTS!
On April 19th, almost 60 of our 5th and 6th graders competed in the Bucks County Reading Olympics at Neshaminy High School. This a friendly competition where teams read books all year and then earn points for correct answers. All teams earned 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place ribbons. Thank you to students, parents and teachers for supporting this yearly event.
Important Notice Regarding 2023-2024 Student Placements
In Council Rock, the development of elementary classes and the assignment of teachers is a lengthy and complex process. We want to take this opportunity to help families understand the process and criteria utilized to create final class lists.
Our goal is to develop lists that consider the following factors: individual student academic needs, social characteristics, emotional factors, possible personality conflicts, and the number of students with specialized needs. For the 2023-2024 school year, the practice of the district permits parents to provide a submitted request to me describing the type of learning environment and instructional style they feel best fits the learning characteristics of their child.
Please note that requests for teachers by name will not be accepted. While we believe your feedback is critical to our process, this input should be precisely focused on the specific needs of your child. If you are concerned with a specific teacher as a consequence of your personal experience, feel free to contact me directly. Absent this, we will employ our process and do everything reasonably possible to position your child for success. Parent input will be considered as one of many important factors. As such, the final decision on all placements rests with the school team and may be different from the input provided by the parent.
Parent input must be submitted through this GES PARENT INPUT FORM Input will not be accepted after the deadline of Friday, April 28, 2023. We urge families to be proactive regarding this process and timeframe. If input is provided after the deadline, it will be too late to make sound changes to the class lists. Changes made after class lists are established could negatively impact another student’s placement or alter the balance of classrooms. Subsequently, input will not be considered after the deadline.
We appreciate your partnership and trust in the class placement process. If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
2023 PSSA DATES: Grades 3-6
Next week, we will be administering the ELA PSSA’s in grades 3-6. Many parents ask what they can do to help their child prepare for this test. This is not an assessment that you can really study for. Students have been provided with the knowledge and skills to take these assessments throughout their schooling. This preparation started in kindergarten and is built upon each year.
However, parents can help with the following:
⭐Give your child a PEP talk each day!
⭐Provide students with a healthy and nutritious breakfast
⭐Arrive to school on time (Students arriving after 9:30 AM will not be allowed to enter the classroom)
⭐Allow students to get plenty of rest the night before each assessment
Attendance is state mandated for these assessments, therefore family trips are discouraged during these testing windows.
As a reminder, cell phones and other electronic devices MUST be collected prior to testing and returned after testing each day. To avoid this process, students are encouraged to keep cell phones and other electronic devices home during the testing window.
The PSSA 2022 testing dates are as follows:
ELA – Tuesday, April 25th – Thursday, April 27th
Math – Tuesday, May 2nd and Wednesday, May 3rd
Science – Thursday, May 4th and Friday, May 5th
MAY 8th - GES EVACUATION DRILL
On Monday, May 8th, Goodnoe Elementary School will once again practice our A.L.I.C.E. procedures. As you may recall, A.L.I.C.E. is an acronym that stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. The program is designed to provide our students and staff with more options in the event of an emergency such as an intruder. We will conduct this drill at approximately 9:45 a.m. on this day, and we will be focusing on the letters A, L, and E (Alert, Lockdown, and/or Evacuate).
This drill will be facilitated in conjunction with several first responder departments throughout the school district, along with Council Rock safety and security personnel. The first responders will be present at school during the drill so that they can help with maintaining safety during the activity, learn more about our safety protocols, and provide invaluable feedback about our procedures. We hope that we never have to experience any type of emergency at school, but if we do, we want everyone to be prepared with choices on how to best respond.
Prior to the drill, local first responders may be arriving on campus during our morning arrival time. This will not impact our arrival procedures involving buses/vans or those families who drive their children to school. I simply want families to be aware that there’s no need for concern if they see emergency vehicles/personnel at the school that morning. In addition, if your child will be late to school on that morning, you will not be able to sign in your child between 9:45 and 10:15 a.m.
Regarding the activity, we will notify all of the children and staff members that it is only a drill. There will be no simulation of sounds or any type of “actor” portraying an intruder. To the students, it may feel much like a fire drill, and they will be asked to follow the teachers’ instructions to respond to an unsafe area in the school. Upon the completion of the drill, I will provide a message to all families letting them know that it concluded and went well.
Our goal as educators is to completely prevent violence in our schools, and this drill represents another step in Council Rock School District's safety and security programming. Preparing for such scenarios is a responsibility we take seriously, and I thank you for partnering with us in this process. We are confident that by implementing the A.L.I.C.E. protocol, the children and the staff will be as prepared as possible to respond in a crisis.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
APRIL
April 25th - April 27th – PSSA ELA (Grades 3-6) 9:15-12:15PM
April 28th - 2nd grade Insectopia Presentation 9:15-11:15AM
April 25th & 26th - 1st grade trip to Silver Lake Nature Ctr.
April 28th – 2nd grade Insectopia Presentation in gym
MAY
May 1st - Yearbook orders due!
May 2nd - May 3rd - Math PSSAs (Grades 3-6)
May 4th - May 5th - Science PSSAs (Grade 4)
May 5th – 2nd grade trip to New Jersey State Museum
May 10th – 9:30 AM Spring Concert (gym) & 6:30 PM Spring Concert (NMS)
May 12th – 6:30 PM PTO Movie Night (field)
May 15th – 7:30 AM-3:15 PM 6th grade trip to Citizen’s Bank Park
May 16th – Election Day – School closed
May 17th – 9:30 AM 6th grade visits NMS
May 17th – 7:00 PM PTO General Meeting
May 18th – 11:00 -11:30 AM Kindergarten Show& 3:00-3:30 PM Kindergarten Show
May 19th – 10:00 -10:30 AM 4th grade State Fair
May 19th – 9:45 -11:45 Art Show (CR South)
May 22nd - 2:45 -3:15 BMX Bike Assembly
May 24th – 3:00-5:00 6th grade Track Met (CR North)
May 25th - 3:00-5:00 Rain Date 6th grade Track Meet
May 29th – Memorial Day – Schools Closed
GOOD AFTERNOON GOODNOE RAFFLE
Have you ever wanted to star on an episode of Good Afternoon Goodnoe along with the Rocky Ambassadors? Well, now you can!!
For the cost of $2.00 per raffle entry, each GES student may purchase as many entries as they choose. Students will then place their entries in the boxes in the Goodnoe lobby that represent the different segments of the show that they are interested in starring in.
Segments Include:
News
Sports
Trivia
Prize Patrol
Shout Outs
What’s Trending
In the Spotlight
Top Ten
All raffle submissions must be submitted between Tuesday, April 25th - Monday, May 1st.
Winners will be drawn and announced on Monday, May 1st. Hard copies of this information will be provided to students.
6TH GRADE PRETZEL SALE
6th Grade is having our final fundraiser pretzel sale of the school year.
All pretzels will need to be pre-ordered and prepaid.
The total number of pretzels needed for your homeroom and the money you’ve collected are both due to me by Monday 4/24.
The pretzel delivery date is 5/1/23
4/17 – 4/24 - Pretzels can be ordered - $1 per pretzel (no pennies, nickels and dimes)
4/24 – All pretzel orders are due to Room A-8 by 10:00am (Please let me know if you need an RA to pick up your order)
5/1 – Pretzels will be delivered by Rocky Ambassadors to your homerooms
A NOTE FROM THE NURSE'S OFFICE
In anticipation of your child’s fieldtrip, please review the following information:
In compliance with the Council Rock School District drug and alcohol policy, and medication policy, no student is permitted to carry any form of medication on field trips. Medications essential to health (epi-pens and inhalers) will be carried in a bag along with basic first-aid care by your students teacher. For more medically fragile students, including the support of those with a seizure disorder or diabetes, a school nurse or parent/guardian will be present on the trip to administer medication as needed. If you have any questions specific to your student, please contact the health office to discuss further.
SCHOOL BREAKFAST & LUNCH INFORMATION
The April breakfast and lunch menus are available on the homepage of the GES website, the menus website and buttons below. To avoid confusion, be sure to review the meal options with your child each day.
WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING 2023-2024 REGISTRATIONS
Online Registration: The Council Rock School District utilizes a secure online portal for a parent(s) to enroll their child(ren). Please ensure you have all required documents ready before starting the enrollment process below. The application functions best in the Chrome browser on a desktop or laptop. Please be aware that June 1st is the deadline to guarantee placement in home school.
Your child is NOT registered until all documents have been received, reviewed by central registration, and the final registration document has been signed by the parent.
ORDER YOUR GES YEARBOOK TODAY!
ALL ORDERS ARE DUE BY MAY 1ST!
Reading Tidbits & Tips
Shower your shelves with books! April is one of the year’s best reading months. With spring comes a mix of mild sunny days and cloudy rainy ones too, which puts many in a bookish mood. It makes the perfect time of year to dive into funny stories since it is National Humor Month!
Just a friendly reminder from the PE Department
Our Physical Education classes will be going outside for the remainder of the year (weather permitting), please make sure your child has a water bottle for class and sunscreen if needed.
REPORT CARDS
On Monday, April 17th , parents were able to view their child’s Standards-Based Report Card, through our Home Access Center. As always, teachers are available to meet or discuss should you have questions or concerns about the report card.
Council Rock Evening Summer Music Program
Students can improve their musical skills this summer by participating in the CR summer music ensembles. All ensembles are directed by Council Rock Music Staff, and the program is designed to improve students' music reading and performance skills while having fun playing music.
The Council Rock Evening Summer Music Program offers ensembles for students entering grades 4 through 9. These will take place from June 20th to July 19th, and there are offerings in band, orchestra, and chorus.
Check out the flyer and the button below, and you can register your child at this LINK. For more information contact Keith Rudat at krudat@crsd.org..
District Art Show: May 18 - May 20, 2023
The district art show gives our community a chance to see our curriculum in action. The show highlights the work of students in grades 1 through 12. Work is both 2D and 3D. In total, there are over 3000 works on display during the show. This year's show will take place at Council Rock South. Students will tour during the school day on May 18th and May 19th. The show is open to the public Friday, May 19th from 6:00 - 8:00 and Saturday, May 20th from 10:00 - 2:00.
SAVE THE DATE!
Our Summer Reading Kickoff, Buy-One-Get-One-Free Book Fair, will take place June 1st-June 8th. Most students will shop during their library time. Family Night is Monday, June 5th from 4-9. More information coming soon.
ARRIVAL TO SCHOOL TIME
I would like to send a friendly reminder about arrival time to school which is 8:45 a.m. When children arrive earlier than that time, there may be no adults outside to supervise the children. Specifically, some students who walk to school are arriving prior to 8:45 a.m. and they are left alone with cars driving through the parking lot. Adhering to this arrival time helps to maintain safety. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.
CRSD CELL PHONE/SMART WATCH POLICY
This is a reminder that all Electronic Devices are against our District Policy. Even if text/phone usage is disabled on these devices, many still have the capability of taking photos & accessing the internet, etc. As a result, they are not permitted to be worn during the school day. All electronic devices should be turned off and remain in backpacks if they are brought to school.
Excerpt from CRSD/GES Parent Handbook
The use of cell phones by students is prohibited during the school day or on the school bus (Section 1317.1 PA School Code). Students, who possess cell phones, must secure them in their backpacks/schoolbags throughout the school day, turned off, not silent or vibrate. This eliminates unnecessary interruptions to instruction.
Students may not use cell phones during lunch, recess or breaks. Cell phones are to remain off during the school day, including the school bus. In the event a student uses a cell phone (calling, texting, photographing or otherwise) or the phone rings, during the school day, the student will be asked to turn the cell phone off before releasing to staff. Following, the cell phone should be picked up by a parent/guardian/designated adult at their earliest convenience, in the main office during school hours. The Council Rock School District assumes no responsibility for cell phones or other electronic devices that are lost, stolen or broken.
SCHOOL WIDE POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT
During the past few weeks, your child’s class has been reviewing the SW-PBIS (School Wide- Positive Behavior Interventions & Support) school expectations. The lessons included a class discussion, modeling and practicing of respectful, responsible, and safe behaviors in the locations listed on the school-wide matrix. Your child’s class also learned about the voice levels that are expected for the different locations. Please take some time to review the matrix and voice level chart with your child. Our school website has a SW-PBIS link with more specific information regarding the structure of Goodnoe’s School Wide Positive Interventions & Support system. Check out more information at the links below.
FAMILY TRIP FORMS
Click the following LINK for the form to be completed for Family Educational Trips. Handwritten letters are accepted, however this form is preferred. Please be sure to submit the form/letter at least ten (10) days prior to your trip, for approval. This can be sent to school with your child or emailed electronically to Mrs. Susan Bogucki at SBogucki@CRSD.org
DOGS/PETS ON SCHOOL GROUNDS
When escorting students to and from school, please do not bring pets on school grounds or into the school building. Many of our children have pet allergies or are afraid of animals; therefore, the presence of animals in school or on school grounds is prohibited. Some classes at Goodnoe Elementary School do participate in the Nor’Wester Reading Dogs program, so on occasion you may see dogs visiting. These dogs are specially trained and licensed to work in the schools with students. No other animals are permitted on school property during school hours. Please refer to our board policy for more information on animals in school policy 718 https://go.boarddocs.com/pa/coun/Board.nsf/vpublic?open#
Council Rock Community Aquatics Program
Spring/ Summer 2023
Includes children’s swim lessons (group & private)
Spring competitive Swimming & Diving Clinic
Summer swim program grades eight and up
Registration begins on Monday, April 17, 2023 at noon
Champions Kindergarten Enrichment Program 2023-2024
North Stars Girls' Basketball Camp Registration 2023
The Council Rock North Girls' Basketball Staff will be hosting the "North Stars Girls Basketball Camp," a weekday camp for girls entering grades 3 - 9. The camp will be held on Monday, July 17th through Thursday, July 20th from 9 AM - 2:00 PM at CR NORTH High School. Students may bring their own lunch, but there will be an opportunity to purchase lunch/snacks daily. Counselors will also include current and former players of CR North girls' basketball. Cost of the camp is $200. Sibling discounts are available. Payment can be made via check or Venmo. Once registered, you will receive instructions to finalize payment. For more information, contact Jack Kelly at kellyjp15@gmail.com. To register, please complete the survey below. North Stars Girls Basketball Camp is not affiliated or associated with Council Rock School District.
GOODNOE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Principal
Email: bfox@crsd.org
Website: https://www.crsd.org/goodnoees
Location: 298 Frost Lane, Newtown, PA, USA
Phone: (215) 944-2100
Twitter: @BethFox_GES