Gashland News
September 2019
Welcome Gashland Stars
We also welcome 20 morning preschoolers and 17 afternoon preschoolers. Mrs. Jennifer Tapp and Mrs. Julie Hensley are our preschool teachers. You may have noticed cars lined up in front of our building around 8:10/11:10/12:10 and 3:20 pm. Those are the times for preschooler student drop off and pick up for these two programs. Parents who participate in this program have to provide transportation to participate, so thank you for keeping the front of the building (marked by orange cones) clear for preschool parent drop-off and pick-up. For more information about the preschool, please call our Parents As Teachers district program.
Secondly, last spring we sent home a Parent Survey to gather feedback about our school. We received about 100 responses! The results continue to reinforce that Gashland is a great place to grow and learn! Our Building Leadership Team will review the feedback and examine our programs to see if any changes are needed. Please feel free to let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions as well as we go through the school year.
Finally, we are most grateful to our Gashland Clardy Booster Club. These parents are actively putting programs in place to link our families and the community with our Gashland/Clardy schools. These volunteers work tirelessly with fundraiser projects, family interest meetings, and family community-building opportunities. Booster Club funds provide free field trips for all students, cultural arts events throughout the year, and awards for our perfect attendance and Buzz Bee A Reader Programs, to name a few. Please become a member of our Booster Club. Your support and participation is greatly appreciated.
As excited as we are about all of this, one thing that remains the same is our commitment to our students and families in providing the best education for our primary learners. We are most fortunate to have a top-notch team of professionals who will continue to fulfill our pledge of “Excellence in Primary Education.” However, we recognize that this can only be done in partnership with YOU—our students’ families. So, we look forward in partnering with you as together we help each Gashland Star reach academic excellence. I look forward to getting to know your family and working with each of you this year. My door is always open, so please feel free to contact me should you have any thoughts, concerns or questions.
~ Cindy Lakin, Principal EdS
Lunch Room
Attendance Policy
Why is school so important?
When your child is absent or late to school it will impact their success
- They get a late start on their school day
- They get behind on classroom work
- They miss important leaning opportunities, such as targeted academic interventions
- They miss the opportunity to ask their teacher questions and receive valuable teacher directed instruction
- Absences can affect their ability to develop strong peer relationships and important social skills.
School Board Policy
Once enrolled, the North Kansas City School Board of Education expects:
- Students to attend school regularly
- Parents/Guardians or other adults having charge, control or custody of the student to communicate regularly and honestly with the district regarding the student's absences.
- Every student to have 95% attendance or better
- State law requires district staff to report all instances of educational neglect to Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect hotline.
- If a student falls below the district expectation of attendance, reported reasons and received documentation are taken into consideration in the non-attendance process.
First Day Lunch Time
Mrs. Agbaji and Mrs. Lansangan welcome class of 2032
Mrs. Kingery, Mrs. Settles & Mrs. Bryant welcome class of 2032
Kindergarten News
We have had a great start to the year and, for the most part, kindergarteners are settled in and comfortable with their classrooms, school and routines! We continue to review classroom rules/procedures as well as school rules/procedures. Students have learned and practiced many things:
*Arrive at school
*Begin their day
*Go to specials (art, gym, etc.)
*Walk nicely in the hallway
*Navigate the “lunchroom”
*Socialize at center time
*Sit nicely on the carpet
*Restroom expectations
*Snack time
*Classroom Expectations
*Meet new friends
*Recess expectations
*Use supplies correctly
*Dismiss at the end of the day
*Plus, much more!!!
The kindergarten students have been working hard. Please be sure to look over their work with them and ask them about what they've been doing. It's often hard for children to remember all that they did that day, but looking at something they brought home will probably jog their memories. You can also reinforce what your student has been learning. When you see your child’s new alphabet character sheet come home, please take the opportunity to have your child practice that letter’s name and sound, as well as how to form the letter. When your child brings home a new labeled drawing, check to see if he/she can read the name of the object; the name will combine letters/sounds that we have previously learned.
Please help your child to practice writing his/her first name correctly--with only the first letter capitalized. By reading to your child daily and talking about the stories, your child should be able to recall the characters, setting, and the important events that happen in the story. (Remember to write the book titles on your student’s “Catch the Buzz. . .Bee a Reader” list! Many children have already completed one or more lists. Thanks!) We so appreciate you working with your child one-on-one and partnering with us to accomplish as much as we can this year!
Finally, we have begun our Second Steps social skills curriculum. You will see a weekly homework page explaining the skills we are learning. This month we are learning about listening skills and how to be even better listeners.
- Mrs. Agbaji, Mrs. Bryant, Mrs. Kingery, Mrs. Lansangan and Mrs. Settles
First Grade News
First graders are motivated and excited for the new school year! The first few weeks of school the students reviewed and practiced Gashland rules. They also learned classroom procedures and expectations.
September will bring many academic challenges. The first testing period of the year has begun. Our students are taking several assessments in reading and math. This information will be used to help teachers know where students should be placed for Guided Reading groups. The math tests will help determine skills that need to be taught.
In each classroom, the children are already reading and writing. The first grade teachers are impressed by the strong skills that are being demonstrated. First graders have begun both Readers’ and Writers’ Workshops. Students are given opportunities to read and write in a variety of genres. The workshop models help foster a love for reading and writing. These special times give our readers and writers the opportunity to develop old skills and practice new skills.
First graders will also begin bringing home books to read every night for their “Buzz Bee a Reader” book lists. Once again this year, children will be rewarded for reading at home with small prizes and school wide recognition. First grade teachers hope to see every child in the “One Hundred Book Club”. Remember ALL books that your child reads or that is read to him/her can be added to the lists. Books from home, the Gashland library, or the public library can be included on the reading lists. If your child is reading chapter books, each chapter counts as a book.
We’ve also experimented with some of the math routines that we’ll be using throughout the school year. This month we’ll be building number sense by developing different strategies to compose and decompose numbers. We will be adding, subtracting, and problem solving too.
We have also begun our Second Steps social skills curriculum. You will see a weekly homework page explaining the skills we are learning. This month we are learning about listening skills and how to be even better listeners!
This year’s first graders have made a great start! The first grade teachers are looking forward to a successful year! Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher with any questions you may have.
-Mrs. Kimball, Mrs. Minter, Mrs. Robke, Ms. Roddy and Ms. Vaughn
Pre-K News
Preschool is off to a great start! We have been practicing routines and learning our Gashland rules, reading many books, and learning about using supplies at school. For many of our preschoolers, this is their very first school experience. It takes a lot of practice to learn how to walk in a line, sit quietly on the carpet, and follow simple directions. We are so proud of the progress our students have already made!
We have decided Pete the Cat is going to be one of our favorite characters this year! We have read several of his books, discussed how authors can write many books, and have learned that characters are the people or animals in a book or story. We practiced sorting by color after reading Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons and used our felt board to retell the story Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes. We are already working on retelling familiar books and stories!
We are looking forward to learning the letters in our names and diving into our curriculum as the month progresses. It’s been a great start to the school year, and we are excited to see the growth our students make!
Buzz Bee a Reader
We are proud to announce that our students read 66,777 books this past school year. WOW! We hope this years student body will surpass that number!
Buzz Summer reading challenge:
We had 20 first graders read over the summer and turn in their BUZZ reading lists when they returned in the fall. Congratulations to:
Austin Eckles---Layla Myers---Harper Sickel
Oliver Talboy---Graham Walters---Ajla Karaga
Colton Curtis---Penelope Claire---Sarah Johnston
Katie Long---Micah McKinnis---Kelsey Wingert
Makenzie Williams---Dietrich Sublett---Max Sickel
William Medina---Jack Price---Grayson Wagoner
Jacob Long---Zoey Sticken
Nurse's News
Welcome everyone! It has been so great to see all the smiling faces of our students at Gashland as they start a new school year! I hope you had a wonderful summer.
As summer continues, we will have outdoor recess if the temperature and or heat index is 95 degrees or below.
All students will have a vision screening in the next couple of months. Please note that this is a screening and not an eye exam. You will be notified only if there is a concern about your student’s vision testing results. If you have concerns, please call me.
It is not unusual for a student to need to change his/her clothing at school due to various accidents. PLEASE put a change of clothing for your student in her/his backpack.
Thank you!
Theresa Keaveney, RN
Counselor's Corner
Library
Welcome to a new school year! I’m Nova Bradfield, the Gashland library media specialist. I am at Gashland on Monday afternoons and all day on Tuesdays, but I am available by phone or e-mail to answer any questions you might have during all school days. I’d also like to introduce you to our library assistant, Cheryl Svoboda. Mrs. Svoboda is here on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays all day.
I would like to take this time to tell you a little bit about the library services your child will be receiving this year. At Gashland, kindergarten and first grade students come to the library every other week for a thirty minute library lesson. During this time, students are exposed to many different kinds of fiction and non-fiction texts and learn to do simple age appropriate research. We also use our time in the library to support the learning students are doing in English Language Arts.
All students also come to the library every week to check out books with Mrs. Svoboda. Along with having a weekly class check-out time, students are invited to come to get new books every morning during a brief morning checkout time.
We are looking forward to a great year at Gashland!
Mrs. Bradfield nova.bradfield@nkcschools.org
321-4212
Library Checkout Schedule – Please make sure to send books back to school on this day!
Monday- Robke, Roddy
Wednesday- Vaughn, Lansangan
Thursday- Kimball, Kingery, Bryant
Friday- Minter, Agbaji, Settles
Encore
PE/Health
Welcome to the 2019-2020 school year at Gashland Elementary! My name is Coach Lozano and I am so thrilled to be your child’s Physical Education and Health teacher! I am excited to have a great year full of fun and learning! In PE, students will have the opportunity to learn playing safely around others and with equipment, teamwork, good sportsmanship and positive social interactions. Our first unit is Cooperative Learning; some objectives for this unit are: I can follow directions in order to stay safe, I can follow directions in order to play a game appropriately and I can share equipment with others. We will be learning and playing lots of fun and active games!
I would love every student to participate, learn and be safe in PE, so wearing appropriate shoes is very important. Your child will need gym shoes (sneakers, tennis shoes) to participate in activities. They must have a flat bottom (no heel) and the foot must be fully covered. Sandals, Crocs, dress shoes, boots and any heeled shoes are not safe for class. One way to always have your child prepared is to have an extra pair of gym shoes kept at school, in the classroom or kept in backpacks. This way everyone can be safe while participating in class. If your child is not wearing gym safe shoes, I will give them an alternate activity.
Communication is very important to me, if you have any questions or need to contact me, please do not hesitate and email me at justice.lozano@nkcschools.org
I look forward to meeting and getting to know your child this school year!
ART
Hello! My name is Nichole Peacher and I am super excited to announce that I will be your ONE and ONLY art teacher this year at Gashland. In our first month of school we will be learning how to be safe, responsible and respectful in the art room. Our young artists will be introduced to new materials, learn how to use tools correctly and safely. We will create artwork using line, shape, color, texture and space. We will be connecting literature and art, signing songs about art, and writing about art as well. STAY TUNED!
Music
Our Gashland Musicians are off to a great start in the music room! We are practicing how to be strong musicians each day!
All of our Gashland Stars are singing our school song. Ask your student if they can sing our Gashland School Song and Shining Stars Song!
Gashland School Song
Gashland is a mighty school!
We always live by the golden rule.
We have the best teachers and the smartest kids!
You can bet that we’re proud of this!
Hooray! Hooray! For mighty Gashland!
Hooray! Hooray! For mighty Gashland!
Hooray! Hooray! For mighty Gashland!
Gashland is a might school – Hooray!!!!
Gashland Shining Stars
Gashland Shining Stars, thanks for all you do!
You make our school a better place, our hats are off to you – Wooo!!
Keep Singing,
Mrs. Lovenduski
Literacy Launch
Make Reading A Part of Your Family Time!
Family time is so important... Why not make reading part of this valuable time with your kids? Here are some tips and ideas for integrating reading and writing into your daily family activities or to add to your nightly routine!
- Read to your child EVERY day
- Visit your local library
- Read a recipe and cook something yummy together
- Create a comfy reading space in your home
- Make shopping lists together
- Play sight word games (ask your child’s teacher for a sight word list if you haven’t received one yet)
- Encourage your child to write creatively just for fun
**Using these tips and ideas consistently will help your child see the importance of reading and writing in our daily lives. If you value these things, they will value them as well.
Megan Markovich, Reading Specialist
---Save the Date!!! October 3rd @ Gashland “Camp In” Literacy Night---
Speech and Language
All students who are new to the district or are a kindergarten student will be having a hearing screening and a language screening. These will begin taking place after the Labor Day weekend! If you have any questions please contact Ms. Witt at sharon.witt@nkcschools.org
World Culture Corner
This year we will feature a different country each month, highlighting home countries of some of our Gashland families. If you would like to share information about your family’s home country, please email Elizabeth Thompson--- elizabeth.thompson@nkcschools.org
Let’s get to know each other better!
Federated States of Micronesia
Location: Western Pacific Ocean
Size: Over 600 islands with a combined area of 271 square miles
Climate: Tropical all year
Language: English is the official language, but many local languages are spoken outside of major cities. Languages include Chuukese, Kosrean, Pohnpeian, and Yapese.
Population: 103,643—most live in the states of Chuuk and Pohnpei
Currency: US Dollar
Fun Facts:
• Popular foods include rice, many kinds of bananas, homemade tapioca, fish, chicken, papaya, mangoes, breadfruit, and yams
• Extended families live together, and kids often have two or three cousins in class with them at school
• Soccer and volleyball are popular sports in Micronesia
Next month’s country: Mexico
About Us
Fax: 816-321-5101
Attendance: 816-321-5102
Nurse: 816-321-5103
Cafe: 816-321-5104
Email: cindy.lakin@nkcschools.org
Website: www.nkcschools.org/gaes
Location: 500 Northeast 83rd Street, Kansas City, MO, 64118
Phone: 816-321-5100
Twitter: @gashlandstars
Gashland Clardy Booster Club
Email: gashlandclardybooster@gmail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/gashlandclardybooster
Twitter: @GaClBooster