The GATE Gazette
Friday, November 15 , 2019
This Week
We had a fantastic week!
This week ended with a wonderful assembly celebrating our character strengths of creativity, integrity, perspective, and Knowing my words and actions affect others. We shared examples of how we or other students exhibited these strengths or how we can get better with these. Each teacher also recognized one student they felt really exemplified one of the character strengths from this month. Check out the picture below! We also discussed our upcoming character strengths.
We finished our Coins for Kindness fundraiser benefiting Avondale's Blessings in a Backpack! What an amazing cause and such a wonderful time to show that we care. Great job, GATE students! I'm proud of you! We should find out next week how much money we raised - I can't wait!
Next week we will continue the Gleaners Food Drive @ GATE! See the information listed below. This will run for 1 more week.
Whether we like it or not - the winter weather has arrived! Please make sure that your child is bringing the appropriate winter gear with them each day. Don't forget the winter boots, too! We go outside as long is it is not raining and it is above 10 degrees, including wind chill.
You may have noticed bright yellow directories sent home last Friday! These were sent to "oldest and only" - so there is one directory per family. A special thanks goes out to Kristin Nahass who organized it and had it printed. If you'd like additional copies, they are $7 and can be paid to the PTO.
Enjoy this week's news!
Sincerely,
Kate Martin, Principal
Bringing P2 Home
This week's P2 character trait was understanding that my words and actions affect others. Just one moment of kindness or one moment of negativity toward others can have a bigger impact than we realize.
Now Try This!
To prepare for this - please consider sending in a hand-written note from your child for his/her teacher using the 1/2 page sent home in Friday Folders TODAY. Please have your child bring them directly to me rather than their teacher. I'll have a pile of them on the table in my office. I'd love to post them in the halls next week to show the teachers how grateful we are for their hard work and efforts. They do so much that isn't always recognized or seen.....writing engaging and rigorous lesson plans, giving encouragement to students, tying shoes, wiping tears, giving hugs, running after school clubs, attending evening activities....the list goes on and on. We LOVE our teachers and, although I'm admittedly biased, I think they're the most fantastic, hard-working teachers around! Let's show them we have gratitude for their efforts. Don't forget about our special area and additional staff members, too!
GATE Upcoming Events
- Nov. 11 - Nov. 22: Gleaner's Food Drive @ GATE
- Nov. 22: 1/2 Day; Teacher Records in PM.
- Nov. 25: Fall Photo Retakes
- Nov. 26: 1/2 Day; Teacher Records in PM. End of 1st Trimester.
- Nov. 27-29: No School
- Dec. 2: Art Gallery Walk 6pm @ GATE
- Dec. 2-6: Scholastic Book Fair all week!
- Dec. 6: 1/2 Day; Teacher Records in PM.
- Dec. 12: PTO Meeting 7pm @ Media Center
- Dec. 20: Classroom winter parties - time TBD by classroom teacher
- Dec. 23-Jan. 3: Winter Break
- Jan. 9: PTO Meeting 7pm @ Media Center
- Jan. 16: Early Dismissal @ 1:05pm
- Jan. 17: Blanket Making event sponsored by PTO - details to come
- Jan. 23: GATE Open House Showcase Event - details to come
- Jan. 27-31: NWEA MAP Winter Testing week
Car Rider/Pick Up Line Reminders
Our first big snowfall brought a much slower car rider line on Monday. Please review these quick reminders so that we can efficiently and safely dismiss students in the car rider line.
- Please pull all the way forward in the line, even if you see your child.
- Do not get out of your car.
- Students are allowed to get into the cars anywhere from the entrance area all the way to right as long as your car is stopped and pulled forward.
- Pay attention - please put cell phones down.
- Follow the directions of the GATE staff members so we can move the line along quickly.
- Remind your child to be on the lookout for your car once they are called outside, even if they don't see your car right away.
Please share this information with anyone else who may not be on this email list but may pick up your child. Thank you!
Updated Code of Conduct
Update: Gleaner's Food Drive @ GATE!
All classrooms will have a donation bin - students can bring in donations on ANY DAY between November 11-22. Gleaners donations will be collected, weighed and sorted on select days during each week.
Our food drive will run November 11-22.
There will be 2 goals:
1. School-wide goal: 550 lbs = We all earn a Pajama Day!
2. Classroom goal: Most pounds donated = Pizza Party!
About Hunger
More than 720,000 people in southeast Michigan live in poverty.
One in six people in Michigan will need emergency food this year.
34% of households served by Michigan food banks have at least one employed adult.
62% of people served by food banks live in suburban or rural areas.
38% of the people Gleaners serves are children and 7% are seniors.
Child poverty has more than doubled in the past decade; one in four children are now at risk of hunger.
About Gleaners
Gleaners collects and distributes over 34 million pounds of food annually, providing more than 28 million emergency meals to our neighbors in need.
How it works: Food is donated by major food processors and retail chains, collected through food drives, or is purchased by Gleaners at deep discounts. The food is then brought to a Gleaners Distribution Center to be inspected and sorted by the 48,000 volunteers that we rely on each year. Gleaners distributes the food to more than 510 partner agencies throughout southeast Michigan that provide pantry supplies or prepared meals directly to hungry people. Those partners include pantries, schools, shelters, senior citizen centers, and soup kitchens.
Holiday Breakfast - Sponsored by Woodland PTO
Woodland Elementary School has been thoughtful enough to invite us to their annual Holiday Breakfast! Please see the details below. If you're interested, please print the form below and turn the form and payment in to your child's teacher.
Woodland's 21st Annual Holiday Breakfast will be held on Saturday, December 7th from 8:30am-11am. Breakfast includes all-you-can-eat pancakes served with sausage and a toppings bar! There will be pictures with Santa, crafts and games.
In order for us to provide the proper amount of food and crafts, you must have an advanced reservation to attend the Holiday Breakfast. Please send in your response form with your payment no later than Monday, November 25th.
If you would like to volunteer your time to help at the Holiday Breakfast, please click on the following Sign Up Genius:
Other Reminders
Volunteer Requirements
I wanted to clarify some things about volunteers in Avondale and what regulations we have to follow. There are two different levels of volunteers:
Level TWO Volunteers:
-Just submit the volunteer form and driver's license copy.
-Examples of activities they can do once cleared: field trip chaperone, classroom helper, copy parent, can volunteer for lunch/recess but must be monitored by GATE or SafeEd staff, etc.
-Parents need this when they will be doing activities that still involve a GATE staff member or SafeEd guard monitoring the room/area.
-These volunteers are never alone with a child.
Level ONE Volunteers:
-Must go to HR to get a fingerprinting sheet, get the fingerprinting done, and pay for it themselves.
-Examples of activities they can do once cleared: hold small group activities without a GATE staff member or SafeEd guard in the same room, overnight field trips, book room volunteer on their own, can volunteer for lunch/recess and monitor on their own, etc.
-These volunteers can be alone with a child.
Field Trips: Prior to signing up to be a field trip chaperone, submit your volunteer form and ID.
Special Events: No volunteer status needed, but you do need to sign in and get a name tag. In January we will have a new system for any visitor which will involve everyone bringing their ID called Raptor. More info to come on this from the district soon.
I have linked the level 2 volunteer form below. You can submit the form and a copy of your ID to Brenda in the front office. It typically takes about a week to process. Thank you for your diligence with this!
Secure Doors: During the school day, parents may not let other parents into the building, even if you know them. Only GATE staff members or SafeEd staff may do this.
Updated District Communications Release
Avondale School District uses many internal and external tools to celebrate students, staff, and programs including school-wide and district-wide newsletters, social media posts, district and school websites, radio, newspapers, television, yearbooks, etc.. Recently, Avondale School District has updated their Communications Release guidelines to reflect the current practices being used at a district and school level. You can find the updated guidelines on the last page of the Avondale Student Acceptable Use Policy and Communications Release- Parents/Guardians Consent document that is attached to this email.
If you are in agreement with the updated guidelines, then you do not need to do anything further. If you are not in agreement with the updated guidelines, please contact the main office at 248-537-6400 and we will update your child's information showing that you have not given consent.
Lunch/Recess Help Needed
Parents and volunteers - even ONE day a week or every other week HELPS a TON! Please consider signing up to help monitor students between 11:50-12:46.
Please sign up here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080a49aca62da0f58-lunchrecess
Please note that due to volunteer requirements and restrictions, you MUST have submitted a volunteer form and your photo ID to be processed before signing up. See additional instructions at the link above.
If you think you **might** be interested in our actual lunch/recess supervisor position, know that you can do it PART-TIME as well and share the job with someone else! Please email me if you think you might be interested in this option! We need 2 Lunchroom/Recess Supervisors. Hours are 11:30am-1:00pm Monday-Friday.
Please email me if interested.
PTO News
Box Tops for Education
To earn money for our school From BoxTops:
-Open the App Store on any device with a camera,
-Search for “BoxTops” app,
-Download the app, and follow instructions.
(Our schools’ name is “Avondale GATE Magnet School.”)
Parents do NOT need to label your child's name on the baggies anymore. We have a school-wide goal to earn $500 back. We can do it!
Kroger Rewards
Amazon Smile
Staff Contact Information
If you need to notify the school of an:
ABSENCE
ABSENCE EXCUSE
EARLY DISMISSAL
OTHER IMPORTANT INFO FOR YOUR CHILD
Please call/email Brenda in the front office AND email your child's teacher:
GATE OFFICE CONTACT:
248-537-6400 (voicemail is now set up) or email brenda.trager@avondaleschools.org
You do not need to notify Ms. Martin of absences or early dismissals; please follow directions above.
Classroom Teachers
4th/5th: Ms. Michelle Gierman
michelle.gierman@avondaleschools.org
4th/5th: Ms. Erica Burmann
erica.burmann@avondaleschools.org
2nd/3rd: Ms. Amanda Merrill
amanda.merrill@avondaleschools.org
Long-Term Sub for Ms. Merrill - Ms. Leanore Ray
2nd/3rd: Ms. Kimberly McDermid
kimberly.mcdermid@avondaleschools.org
3rd/4th: Ms. Rachel Breeden
rachel.breeden@avondaleschools.org
6th: Mr. Mike Bigelow
michael.bigelow@avondaleschools.org
Special Area Staff
STEAM Lab: Ms. Heidi Heil
heidi.heil@avondaleschools.org
Physical Education: Ms. Adrianna Pfeffer
adrianna.pfeffer@avondaleschools.org
Art: Ms. Elizabeth Lowe
elizabeth.lowe@avondaleschools.org
Support Staff
Learning Resource Room: Ms. Jennifer Spencer
jennifer.spencer@avondaleschools.org
Speech Therapist: Ms. Kristen Genslak
kristen.genslak@avondaleschools.org
Social Work: Ms. Anne Ossewaarde
Contact Info
Our secretary, Brenda Trager, will be answering your calls.
Please call this number to report absences or when you have school related questions.
brenda.trager@avondaleschools.org
8:00-9:15am & 2:15-2:53pm - Enter at GATE entrance. All other times, enter main office.
Our address is 1435 West Auburn Rd. Rochester Hills, MI 48309
Our website: https://sites.google.com/a/avondaleschools.org/gate-1/
Contact Information
Email: kate.martin@avondaleschools.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/a/avondaleschools.org/gate-1/
Location: 1435 West Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, MI, USA
Phone: (248) 537-6400
Twitter: @KateMartinGATE