GECKO GAZETTE
GRANT SCHOOL - SANTA MONICA
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 22 - 28, 2021
WE ARE THANKFUL!
Christian Fuhrer
Principal
~THANK YOU TO ALL WHO COORDINATED AND PARTICIPATED IN WORLD KINDNESS WEEK!~
World Kindness Day is an international holiday that was formed in 1998, to promote kindness throughout the world and is observed annually on November 13 as part of the World Kindness Movement. It is observed in many countries including the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia and the U.A.E. World Kindness Day presents us with the opportunity to reflect upon one of the most important and unifying human principles. On a day devoted to the positive potential of both large and small acts of kindness, try to promote and diffuse this crucial quality that brings people of every kind together.
The Grant Kindness Tree will continue to be located in front of the school this week.
~NATIONAL INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS WEEK GRANT PRESENTATION~
Thank you to the SMMUSD Board of Education for inviting our team to present during National Inclusive Schools Week (a couple of weeks early) and share our philosophy and practices on providing opportunities for our neurodiverse students.
“Over the years, there has been a shift in attitudes and perceptions of how neurodiverse students are served in the general education setting. The term “those students” has been replaced with “our students”. The idea that neurotypical students can “help” neurodiverse students has been retired and a more inclusive philosophy that all students’ experiences and skills can benefit each other has taken root.”
Click the following link to view the presentation: GRANT INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
~TRANSLATION OPTION INTO 100 LANGUAGES!~
~ ¡NUEVA OPCIÓN DE TRADUCCIÓN A 100 IDIOMAS! ~
Para leer la Gaceta Gecko en otro idioma, mire a la derecha del boletín y haga clic en "TRADUCIR EL BOLETÍN". ¡Ahora puede elegir entre 100 idiomas!
~ በ 100 ቋንቋዎች ውስጥ አዲስ የትርጓሜ ምርጫ! ~
የጌኮ ጋዜጣ በሌላ ቋንቋ ለማንበብ እባክዎን በራሪ ወረቀቱ በስተቀኝ በኩል ይመልከቱ እና “የትርጉም ጽሑፍ” ን ጠቅ ያድርጉ ፡፡ አሁን ከ 100 ቋንቋዎች መምረጥ ይችላሉ!
~ IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER ~
Please review these important dates:
- Wednesday, November 24th through Friday, November 26th: THANKSGIVING BREAK - NO SCHOOL
- Thursday, December 9th: 5th-Grade SMC Dance Program Performance: Invitation sent home to 5th-Grade parents.
- Friday, December 17th: Minimum Day: All Grades: PreK-Kinder @ 12:15; 1st Grade @ 1:00; 2nd Grade @ 1:05; 3rd Grade @ 1:10; 4th/5th Grades @ 1:15
- DECEMBER 18TH, 2021- JANUARY 2ND, 2022: WINTER BREAK! SCHOOL IS CLOSED.
- Monday, January 27th, 2022: Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday: NO SCHOOL
~ WEEKLY REMINDERS ~
Check your email every night...
Please check your email daily, including each night and each morning before coming to school, to see if a positive COVID-19 case has been identified in your child’s class and if your child needs to follow the quarantine protocols. Sometimes we are informed of a positive case late at night, and we need to inform multiple families as quickly as possible that their child needs to quarantine. If a positive case is identified in your child’s class, please know that district nursing staff will follow up with you as part of contact tracing.
~PTA REFLECTIONS GALLERY~
SPECIAL THANKS TO MORGAN RUVOLO FOR HER ASSISTANCE IN SETTING THIS ALL UP!
~THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE~
Gecko gratitude and kindness continues this week
Help support our community and drop off non-perishable items through November 23rd outside the main office. All donations will go to Feeding Families Santa Monica.
CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS DRIVE:
~PTA MEMBERSHIP DRIVE AND CONTEST~
The big news right now is the GET THE SCOOP PTA drive. We will soon find out where our class membership is, but please take the time to sign up! Just $10!
100% membership wins our class a TREAT!!
🍨GET THE SCOOP! November PTA Membership Drive
- $10
- Classes will compete to reach 100% participation.
- If you are not a member of the PTA please join!
- You get the inside "scoop" on Grant and allows you to vote at the PTA meetings.
- If you're already a member (THANK YOU!) - It has been counted towards your class!
- Classes that reach 100% will get a popsicle or treat party!
- Use the QR code on the flyer or click HERE
~GRANT RANKED #2 SCHOOL IN SANTA MONICA BY US NEWS & WORLD REPORT~
GRANT ALSO RANKED #343 OUT OF 5,887 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN CALIFORNIA.
CALIFORNIA — More than 7,850 elementary and middle schools in the Golden State have been ranked among the best in California, according to a brand-new ranking released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.
Nationally, California has 5,534 ranked elementary schools — the most of any state — followed by Texas at 4,446; New York at 2,211; Florida at 2,128; and Illinois at 2,038 schools. California also has the most ranked middle schools with 2,319, followed by Texas at 1,942; Illinois at 1,243; New York at 1,219; and Florida at 997.
For the inaugural list, U.S. News published rankings and data on more than 80,000 public elementary and middle schools across the United States.
See the full list here.
To determine the rankings, U.S. News used data from the U.S. Department of Education to analyze two areas at each school:
- Math and reading proficiency — or how well students perform on state assessments.
- Math and reading performance — or how well they perform compared with expectations.
~GECKO WEAR SCHOOL SPIRIT FRIDAYS~
~GOOD LIFE ORGANICS PROGRAM~
Want to use your food dollars to support our school?
Sign your family up for a farm box from Good Life Organics so you can enjoy sustainably grown organic fruits & veggies at home while raising money for our school at the same time!
What are you waiting for? Sign up today!
(If you want help signing up, fill out this quick shortcut form)
~HELP WITH DISTRICT ISSUED LAPTOPS~~ AYUDA CON LAPTOPS DISTRIBUIDAS POR EL DISTRITO ~
- Your child's laptop is not working
- You are moving out of the school district
- Troubleshooting issues
If your child is currently using a district-issued laptop to engage in school work at home and you require technical assistance, please email our technology specialist at:
If you require translation services for this assistance, please contact Bilingual Community Liaison Florencia Rams at frams@smmusd.org.
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Los estudiantes NO DEVOLVERÁN las computadoras portátiles entregadas por el
distrito al final del año a menos que:
- La computadora portátil de su hijo no funciona
- Te mudas fuera del distrito escolar
Si su hijo está utilizando actualmente una computadora portátil del distrito para participar
en la educación en la casa y necesita asistencia técnica, envíe un correo electrónico a
nuestro especialista en tecnología a:
Bilingüe de la escuela, Florencia Rams, a frams@smmusd.org
~ DONATE TO THE GRANT PTA AND SANTA MONICA EDUCATION FOUNDATION TODAY! ~
Your donation does so much for Grant!
Please consider donating to the two organizations that enhance education for all Grant students: the Santa Monica Education Foundation and Grant PTA. Your donations are so important. Check out the crucial staff, programs, technology, and materials funded by your donations in this chart!
Our goal is for 100% of Grant families to give to PTA and the Ed Foundation. ANY amount makes a difference to our kids. If you have already donated, thank you!
~COMMUNITY RESOURCES for FAMILIES~
*Some events and resources not sponsored by or affiliated with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
+Algunos eventos no están patrocinados o afiliados al Distrito Escolar Unificado de Santa Monica-Malibu