PTO Corner September 25, 2022
Geist Elementary School
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IMPORTANT UPCOMING PTO DATES
September 27 - Picture retakes & new student photos
September 27 - October 3rd - Mums pickup dates at Wasson’s
September 30 - Elearning Day/Staff Development/No students at school
October 3 - October 7- Spirit Week
October 7 - Gator Gallop
October 13 - PTO Board Meeting @ GES Conference Room - 9:30am
October 17-October 21 - Fall Break
November 4 - Fall Festival
Gatorade made surprise visits to the kids during recess!
4th Grade Recess
2nd Graders pose with our Gator Gallop board
3rd Grade Recess
Notes from the PTO
Q: What is Gator Gallop?
A: Gator Gallop is our main student fundraiser, which funds many of the things that the PTO purchases for the students and staff throughout the year. Students are currently collecting pledges to run in the Gator Gallop during school hours on Friday, October 7th. This year, we have a newly designed course (seen below), which will be set up in the GES soccer field. Each grade will be on the course for 20 minutes and then will end the run with a 100 foot bubble chute, lined with parent volunteers, leading them to a DJ-led dance party on the playground.
Q: How does the PTO use the funds that the students raise?
A: Below are some of the ways that the money raised is used within our school. We also invite you to attend our monthly PTO Board meetings (2nd Thursday of the month at 9:30am in the GES conference room) to find out more about what is being planned. Please let us know if you plan to attend (gesptopres@gmail.com) so we can reserve a spot!
• Individual teacher/grade level specialty grants written by the staff
• Grade Level Grants to fund enrichment programs and materials such as the Embryology Project
• $400 per teacher classroom allocation
• Beautification of the exterior of the school from Earth Day efforts
• Geist Memorial Scholarship
• Teacher continuing education
• Supplies and programming for character education
• Resources for art and music education
• New resources for art education
• Teacher appreciation events
• disAbility awareness program
• Winter Celebration, Science Fair, Science Night, Gator Gallop, Field Day & other events
Q: Are parents allowed to attend?
A: Yes, we will be sending out a signup to collect parent volunteers. As a volunteer, you will be assigned a location on the course to assist the students with different obstacles. We will also have parents around the course and lining the bubble chute, to keep the bubbles flowing throughout the event. All volunteers must have current safe visitor badges and follow the expected guidelines listed here https://www.hseschools.org/departments/student-services/school-safety/visiting-and-volunteering
For any other questions, please contact Angie and Amy at gesptopres@gmail.com.
Geist Elementary PTO Board
Gator Gallop Fun Run Course Map
September Dine to Donate THIS MONDAY!
Gator Gallop Fundraising is Under Way!
We are SO EXCITED that the Gator Gallop Fun Run is BACK this year!!! The 2022 Gator Gallop is currently scheduled for Friday, October 7, 2022, with a rain date of October 6th.
Each grade level will walk, skip, gallop, dance and limbo their way through a course set-up outside during school hours. The Gator Gallop is a safe and healthy way for Geist Elementary students to raise money for the one-and-only school fundraiser instead of door-to-door selling. Our goal is to obtain or surpass $50 in pledges per student and all money received will be used in support of the school! This is such an important fundraiser for Geist Elementary, and we need your help to make it a success! Please set-up an online donation account for your child by following the steps below!
1. Go to https://geist.myfunrun.com/
2. Click on “Register to Run”
3. Simply fill out the info for your child and a page will be created for them!
*If you have more than one child attending Geist Elementary, please create separate logins and pages for each student so that we can track their fundraising goals individually.
Should you have any questions, please contact Andrea Wright at agantzer@hotmail.com.
GATOR GALLOP SPIRIT WEEK OCTOBER 3rd-7th
Fall Festival Food Vendors
Class Assigned Silent Auction Basket Themes
Staff Appreciation
One of the ways the GES PTO gives back to the school is through staff appreciation events and keeping the staff lounge stocked throughout the year. Here are a few highlights from the start of this school year!
We welcomed all GES staff back to school with a stocked staff lounge and a catered breakfast from The Original Pancake House in Fishers. We are so appreciative of our partnership with them each year and thank them for supporting our staff!
If you own a business and are interested in partnering with us or in sponsoring a staff appreciation event please reach out to geistptotreasurer@gmail.com. If you are looking for other ways to support our staff appreciation efforts here are some quick links!
Mum Pickup
Thank You to Our Diamond Sponsor
Friends of the Library
Easy Ways to Support GES!
Do you shop at Amazon or Kroger? If so, there is an easy way to donate a portion or percentage of your purchases to Geist Elementary. Although the percentage may seem small, the total amount back to GES adds up significantly the more people that register! These rewards programs do not cost anything to sign-up and are easy to register by using the following steps:
Amazon: Anytime you make a purchase on Amazon, go to Amazon Smile to shop at www.smile.amazon.com. Choose Geist Elementary PTO, Inc as your supporting organization and GES will receive 0.5% of your total purchases.
Kroger: Register your Kroger Plus Card at www.Kroger.com/account/enrollCommunityRewardsNow. Then, sign into your Kroger account and link your card to GES’s organization number which is GU130. Then, shop and swipe your Kroger Plus Card at the checkout and GES will earn cash! We had about 140 registered cards last quarter and GES earned over $4400 last year!
Thank you for registering and giving back through these programs!