Weekly GUFS Newsletter
November 12, 2021
Principal's Message
Dear GUFS Community,
We are excited to welcome you back to our Fall Fest tomorrow from 11am - 1pm. I look forward to seeing everyone for the festivities! Please enjoy reading about our amazing trip to the Statue of Liberty with our 8th graders.
We also want to recognize the Veterans who have served our country in this week's newsletter. Our Middle School students will be donating a gift basket to the local VFW and American Legion. Included in the gift basket will be many kitchen items that they desperately need. We are thrilled to be able to help and show our appreciation!
We would also like to recognize our school psychologist, Jessica VanDekker. This week we celebrated School Psychologist Week and we are so appreciative of everything that Mrs. VanDekker does for our students. We are so lucky to have such a caring, loving and competent school psychologist here at GUFS!
Lastly, we want to thank Kristina Antonucci for her service at GUFS as an extraordinary substitute teacher. She will be joining the Pine Bush Central School District and we are so excited for her. We will miss you, Ms. A!
With Gratitude,
Allison Emig
Calendar Reminders
For a detailed look at what's happening, visit the School Building Calendar for the 2021-2022 school year
- UPCOMING DATES:
- November 13th: GUFS Fall Fest 11am - 1pm at the Upper Parking Lot at GUFS
- November 16th: 4th Grade Field Trip to New Leaf Restoration Farm 10am-11am
- November 17th: Evan Pritchard: A Virtual Presentation to Celebrate National Native American Heritage Month
- November 24th: End of First Trimester Marking Period (Elementary School)
- November 25th: Thanksgiving Recess
- November 26th: Thanksgiving Recess
- November 30th: 6th Grade Field Trip to Anthony's Nose
Time Change for the GUFS Fall Fest 2021
The GUFS Fall Festival taking place this Saturday, November 13th at GUFS has a new start time of 11am (not 12pm as originally stated in the flyer below). All proceeds will go to support the 8th Grade Class Trip.
To sign up for the chili cook-off, cake walk or basket raffle, please go to https://bit.ly/gufsfallfest
3rd Graders took a Field Trip to the School Forest on 11/8
3rd Grade Forces and Motions Unit
Our 8th Graders Took a Trip to Ellis Island on 11/10
On Wednesday, November 10, the 8th graders took a trip to The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island as a part of their learning of Immigration in the late 1800s/early 1900s for Mrs. Valvano's Social Studies class. This trip was generously funded by GCEF. The students and chaperones (Mrs. Valvano, Mrs. Emig, Mrs. DiDiego, and Mrs. Arbor) all enjoyed the most beautiful Fall day as they traveled on the ferry in New York Harbor. As the Statue of Liberty came into view, students rushed to the side of the ferry to take in the magnificent view, just as millions of immigrants did when they entered America and saw the same sight.
Students enjoyed their time on Liberty Island, seeing the Statue up close and also viewing some of the sights in the museum. After another quick ferry ride, they arrived at Ellis Island where they had lunch and then continued the museum viewing. Some of the exhibits that students viewed in the museum involved topics such as why immigrants came to America, the journey from their homelands, as well as the immigrant experience upon arrival to America. One of the major highlights of the trip was the wall of immigrant names outside of Ellis Island. Out here, students searched for their family names with many of them finding their ancestors' names etched on the wall. It was a fun experience for all and a memory not soon to be forgotten!
Honoring our Veterans
This week, students decorated flags with Mrs. Van Dekker and Mrs. DiDiego. They were hung up on a bulletin board to show our appreciation and honor our Veterans.
5th grade students decorated larger flags and will be planting them in front of the school on Monday morning. A gift basket will be donated to the local VFW and American Legion on behalf of our middle school students.
Evan Pritchard: A Virtual Presentation to Celebrate National Native American Heritage Month on November 17th
Evan Pritchard, the founder and director of the Center for Algonquin Culture will be joining us virtually on November 17th to celebrate National Native American Heritage Month! He will be singing songs, showing sign language, displaying maps, showing photos of Native American villages and trails located throughout Garrison, and answering student questions. This is a PTA sponsored event.
A little bit about Evan T. Pritchard… Evan is a descendant of the Mi’kmaq people, has taught Native American studies at Pace University, Vassar College, and Marist College and is the founder and director of the Center for Algonquin Culture. Steeped in bird lore by his Mi’kmaq great aunt Helen Perley, he is the author of several books, including Native New Yorkers and No Word for Time. A regular on radio shows such as NPR’s Fresh Air and on the History Channel, he lives in the Hudson Valley of New York.
Since 1990, his work bringing the Algonquin message to the media has helped thousands of people gain a better understanding of this great civilization and its teachings. He lectures frequently around the United States, sharing storytelling, traditional and contemporary songs, and bi-lingual poetry.
This promises to be a special event for all to celebrate this special month!
Pumpkin Hotel update
Students May Return Their Desmond Fish Library Books to GUFS
8th Grade Holiday Wreath Sale
It's that time of the year. 8th graders are selling their beautiful Holiday Wreaths. If you are interested please complete the form here by November 19, 2021. Please send in your money to your child's homeroom in an envelope marked "Holiday Wreath, Attention: Cathy Clark".
Thank you for your support!
Cathy Clark
SAMMARTANO'S
Sora Reading Resource Available to GUFS Students
Hello GUFS families!
This week, I’m excited to share a fantastic new resource with you! Students of The Garrison School now have access to nearly 10,000 digital e-books, audiobooks, read-alongs, picture books, and digital magazines through Sora. We have joined a consortium of local school districts which gives us access to this amazing, curated collection of content. Additionally, Sora allows us to add our local public library system on as well, further extending the number of available titles. Sora can be accessed from any device. Students have been using it on their district Chromebooks, however it can also be added on any personal family devices (for free!). Check out this brief video overview.
Have a wonderful weekend!
PLEASE TAKE THE GUFS PARENT & COMMUNITY SURVEY HERE
Dear GUFS community,
GUFS is working on a strategic plan for the district. Part of this work involves surveying our school community about school and district communications.
All parents and caregivers are welcome to complete this survey - the more participation we get, the better we can create the most effective communications plan for our district. Responses to this survey are anonymous; we do not collect any personally identifying information. This survey should take about 5-10 minutes to complete.
You can find the survey by clicking on this link. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Director of Technology and Innovation Michael Sammartano at msammartano@gufs.org.
Thank you for your participation. We value your input.
Nurse Melissa's Corner
COVID-19 Vaccination Status
COVID-19 Testing
Hello Garrison Community,
We continue to keep our eye on ways to keep our school safe and open. There is one mitigation tool we feel is under-utilized and that is our testing. Testing is a tool used to identify people who may be contagious even without knowing they are. It is a way to keep our school a safe environment. We would like to expand our testing program to include more students. To this end, we will expand our testing availability into the school day, with help from the Putnam County Department of Health. If you would like to sign your child(ren) up, please complete the attached consent form. With an increased pool of students to test, we expect to test individual students on a rotating basis, so each student would be tested appropriately once a month. The tests we use are BINAXNow which are rapid antigen tests and results are shown in 15 minutes. A nurse would communicate the results to you.
Please consider completing the consent form to sign your student up for testing. If you have any questions please contact Melissa DeFonce, mdefonce@gufs.org or 845-424-3689 x226.
Thank you for your support,
Melissa DeFonce, RN
Community Organizations & Resources on The GUFS District Website
Stay connected to our community and see what's happening locally by visiting the Community Organizations & Resources page of the GUFS District Website
Philipstown Recreation
PTA Corner
GCEF Corner
GCEF Fall Appeal Kick-Off
Your annual support for Garrison Children's Education Fund (GCEF) creates impactful programs where they are most needed.
To continue providing educational initiatives for the students of Garrison, please make a tax-deductible donation to GCEF today here: https://www.gcef.net/donate
The attached PDF contains more information on recent Fall 2021 grants and more.
Thank you for believing in the potential of our students as thinkers and learners!
Best,
Karen Nelson
President, GCEF
Consider Making a Recurring Monthly Gift to GCEF
Did you know that you can easily automate a monthly credit card donation to Garrison Children's Education Fund (GCEF)?
"I'm proud to make my recurring gift to GCEF. It was easy to set up on the website, and now it just automatically gets charged to my credit card each month.
Over the course of the year, it really adds up to a meaningful contribution for the students. Everyone should do it; even a gift of $10/month makes a big impact. What could be more important than our kids' education?"
- GUFS parent, Jennifer Colandrea
Please consider making your own recurring gift today, by checking the "Make this a monthly donation" box as you give online at www.gcef.net/donate
GCEF is a 501 (c)(3) organization, and your donations are fully tax deductible.
Coat Drive
We are GUFS!
Email: slusardi@gufs.org
Website: https://www.gufs.org/Domain/4
Location: 1100 NY-9D, Garrison, NY 10524
Phone: 845-424-3689
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrisonufs/