Geist Gazette
November 3, 2017
GEIST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Website: http://www.hse.k12.in.us/GES
Location: 14051 East 104th Street, Fishers, IN 46037
Phone: 317-915-4260
Twitter: @Geistgators
Note from the Principal
Thank you for taking the time to come in for parent teacher conferences. This time is so very important in building a strong relationship between home and school. Thank you for supporting your child's teacher and working together for the betterment of your children.
We have an important technology PPT that the Geist Tech Team put together in this SMORE. This may assist you with some additional filters and guidelines for home. I know the purchase of our Circle (Disney) filter ($100) has been very helpful at regulating time and access to the internet in the Thomas house! Please take time to review and if you have questions feel free to call the office.
I look forward to sharing more about our sister school Jinshan Elementary in Ningbo, China. It was an amazing experience to meet our sister school principal, staff and students. In a future SMORE, I will share more about the school and trip to China. I attached a few pictures below to keep your interest :-)
We have a busy two months ahead with Movie Night, Veterans Day program ( 3rd and 4th grade only), book fair, holidays, 2nd Grade Music performance, and winter celebrations with our community service project.
Have a great two weeks!
Christi Thomas, Principal
Signing the Memorandum of Understanding for our sister school partnership!
Students at Jinshan in art class!
Students saying "HELLO" to me at our sister school!
Using Technology at Home
Our littlest learners are often exposed to technology at home in the form of videos or games and apps that mom or dad allow them to use. They may or may not be using technology for educational purposes, and we have no way of knowing if their screen time is monitored (which is strongly recommended.)
Students often fail to see the educational benefits of devices or technology--viewing them instead as something meant for entertainment.
Our goal of the powerpoint is to share a few examples of ways parents can use restrictions and guided access to help guide them in understanding the educational purpose of ipads. Our hope is you can learn a bit more about these restrictions from the comfort of your own home.
In this powerpoint, we discuss resources which may be helpful to you, such as guided access, restrictions and circle.
Wild West Book Fair November 13-17
We are excited to announce our Scholastic Book Fair November 13th to 17th. Money earned from the fair goes specifically to the library budget for purchasing new books and resources each year.
Shopping Days and Times:
Monday the 13th – 4th grade
Tuesday the 14th – 3rd grade
Wednesday the 15th – 2nd grade
Thursday the 16th – 1st grade
Friday the 17th – Kindergarten
Family Night: Tuesday the 14th from 4:30-6:30 PM
Grand Event for grandparents and other grand people:
Thursday the 16th from 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM
Online shopping is also available. Online orders will be sent to the school after the book fair closes. http://www.scholastic.com/bf/geistelementaryschool
Last year the total in sales for our fair was $15,022.00, which allowed us to purchase over 100 new books for our school. In addition, we earned a cash profit of $3,287.00. Thank you to all of our shoppers. We are looking forward to another successful book fair this year.
Click here to volunteer for the Book Fair:
Artists of the Week
Artists of the Week for Oct. 30
K-Lexi F. in Mrs. Adams' class
1st-Lucy H. in Mrs. Carter's class
2nd-Max S. in Mrs. Cushman's class
3rd-Natalie B. in Mrs. Miller's class
4th-Jonas R. in Mrs. Scott's class
Global Studies
This week students had a fabulous time learning about the Lantern festival, which marks the completion of the Chinese New Year celebration. Students celebrated this festival the same way with the Chinese. They solved lantern riddles and made a Chinese dessert. Students had a blast making the Chinese glutinous rice balls. We had the best parent (or grandparent) volunteers who are the real heroes for the success of this event. The best part for the students is, of course, tasting their own hard work at the end of the class. They all did a wonderful job trying something new and some really loved it and asked for more! If you want to make some glutinous rice balls at home., please see below for the recipe.
Chinese Glutinous Rice Balls Recipe
Makes: 40 rice balls | Prep Time: 30 Minutes | Cook Time: 10 Minutes
The Chinese make glutinous rice balls during the Chinese Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month and marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations. The Chinese glutinous rice balls are a dessert symbolizing harmony and reunion. The Chinese people like to enjoy them with their family during the Lantern Festival.
Ingredients
Glutinous Rice Balls
2 cups glutinous rice flour
1 cup water
food coloring
Syrup
4 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
Directions
1. Combine all the syrup ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Place the glutinous rice flour in a mixing bowl. Slowly add the water, mix well, then knead the dough until smooth.
3. Divide the dough into three equal parts. Add 1-2 drops of red food coloring to one of the pieces, then knead until evenly colored. Repeat with the yellow food coloring.
3. Divide each piece of dough into 12-14 equal portions, each roughly the size of a one inch diameter marble. Gently roll each piece into the shape of a ball. Continue until all the dumplings are complete.
4. Bring a pot of water to a boil. In small batches, drop the dumplings into the boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes until they float to the surface. Remove and immediately plunge the dumplings into a bowl of iced water. Continue until all the dumplings are cooked.
5. Divide the warm syrup into serving bowls and add 5-10 dumplings to each bowl. Serve immediately.
See complete recipe at http://www.chineseamericanfamily.com/traditional-glutinous-rice-dumplings-tang-yuan/ At school, we skipped ginger and (in some classes) food coloring.
Students enjoying making the Glutinous Rice Balls!
PE and Focus and Flexibility paired up for Badminton, hacky sack and Tai Chi!
Students worked hard at eating their lunch with their chopsticks!
Friends of the Library
Thank you and congratulations to the November Friends of the Library members. Books have been donated by Kixton G., Carter P., Michael R., Brandon D., Hudson W., Gabe C., Allie J., Cameron C., Clare C., Ty S., Cameron H., Josslyn L., Sophia M., and McKenzie K.
Mrs. K's Music Corner
Click this link https://www.smore.com/rxqby for Mrs. K's newsletter, with the following items:
-Veterans Day Information
-Veterans Day DVD Order Form
-Rehearsal Tracks & Music
-3rd Grade Demo Day Pictures
-Music Performance Schedule
-And much, much more!
Visit from Dr. Bourff and Dr. Combs
Students building structures
K friends learning how to represent numbers using a ten frame
Lunch Menus and Visitors
Click here to see what's being served in the café.
Click here for the food services website.
We are practicing smooth transitions and procedures in the cafeteria as our students adjust to the school schedule. The cafeteria is not open to visitors at this time. We will open for visitors after Labor Day.
Geist Elementary PTO is the best!
Please join HSE in collecting items for Goodwill. For every 13-gallon bag of clothing dropped off at Geist Elementary that is donated to Goodwill, a $5 clothing voucher will go to those in need in our school family. Clothing only. Clothing must come in plastic garbage bags. Drop bags off in the goodwill box in the front atrium .
Text-A-Tip
Submit Via Text
Texts can be sent to 274637 (or CRIMES). Start the actual message with the # symbol and a building-specific keyword. For a list of keywords, click here...
Want to keep up on what's happening at school?
Follow @geistgators on twitter. We tweet throughout the day.
Check our website: hse.k12.in.us/GES
This newsletter, the Geist Gazette, goes out every other Friday (although it may be sent again next week). We will send it to you via email, and post it on our website under the News tab.
Click here to see our building calendar. This lists activities before, during and after hours.
See what the HSE Schools Foundation is up to this month.
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AT GEIST:
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS:
HSE Schools Community Bulletin Board
HSE Schools has created a Community Bulletin Board on its district website. This will serve as a central location to find information about activities and events promoted by organizations that serve our students and their families. This is where the Fishers Library, YMCA, S.P.O.R.T.S. and other groups' registration information will be located.