The Gates Mills Gazette
September 20, 2019
Weekly Update
This week our second graders completed a performance task on building a beaver dam to show that living things change the environment. The students assumed the role of the beaver and built a beaver habitat using materials they gathered from around the school yard. The students then presented their projects, explaining how the beaver changes the environment. Check out their awesome creations below.
Celebrating Constitution Day
Community Club Donations
The Community Club is hosting a fundraiser on Saturday, October 19th from 6:00-10:00 PM at the Community House. Our PTC will be collecting gift card donations of any denomination and type for this event. The goal is to have a gift card tree donated from Gates Mills Elementary School to be placed in the silent auction. Please send your donations to the main office and we will ensure PTC gets them.
The Community Club supports our 5th graders by allowing us to use the Community House during graduation and by providing the 5th grade graduation gifts. This is such a great way to support our community and a great way to give back to the Community Club!
Gift cards will be collected through the PTC and collected up until October 15th. Please send any gift card donations to the main office. We will ensure that PTC gets them.
Thank you in advance for your support and if you have any questions please contact DeAnn Dominish at 440-391-1112.
Join the Parent Teacher Club
Even though the district has gone cashless, the Gates Mills PTC DOES ACCEPT cash and checks! Please complete the attached form (sent home earlier this week with your child) and send it in with your cash or check donation. The classroom with the most participation will earn a popsicle and extra recess party! Thank you for your continued support!
Welcome
We are sad to say that Mr. Jones, our long term Intervention Specialist substitute will be leaving us today! Mr. Jones has accepted a full time position at Progressive and we are so happy for him. He has done an amazing job with our students and he will be truly missed!
We are excited to introduce Mrs. Plunkett as our new Intervention Specialist substitute. Mrs. Plunkett has completed numerous substitute jobs throughout the district and will be a great addition to the Gates Mills Family! She will be here until Mrs. Skufca's return on Friday, October 18th. Welcome Mrs. Plunkett!
Schoology
Good news! The Mayfield City School district has adopted Schoology, an award winning Learning Management System that offers course management, mobile learning, and a communications hub, all in one integrated platform! This resource is new to the students and staff members this year. We will be phasing in the use of this platform throughout the school year. As the year progresses, it will provide you with valuable information. The teachers across the district are currently at different levels of use with Schoology, developing their curriculum to be easily accessible online to students and parents.
With Schoology, students can engage in a variety of activities that include, but not limited to:
● retrieve and submit homework assignments
● calendar access to homework assignments and upcoming projects
● access links, articles or videos relating to their class
● participate in interactive discussions
● receive announcements and feedback on assignments
● take quizzes/tests
Please note that Schoology is different than your Infinite Campus parent account. Infinite Campus will continue to be used for online access to grades, report cards, attendance, etc. Schoology is designed to offer more robust information about assignments and projects, while also providing greater access to learning materials and serving as a digital extension of the classroom.
We are excited for your involvement in your child’s education, and we encourage you to sign up for a parent account. Please see directions below to learn how to setup your Parent Schoology Account.
Inside the Idea Lab
This week in Library/Idea Lab we celebrated International Dot Day! This is a day set aside each year to celebrate the spirit of the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. The Dot is about creativity and is a great example of a growth mindset. Psychologist Carol Dweck coined this term and explains it this way: “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” We began class by watching a video reading of The Dot on our big screen television. We then proceeded to do a practice drawing, just like the main character, Vashti, did in the story. Once we had our warm-up drawing finished, we worked on a “masterpiece” drawing.
After finishing our Dot exercises, second through fifth grades rotated between book search/checkout and a choice of several other activities including big blue building blocks, tiny plus-plus blocks, legos, magna-tiles, or more drawing. While doing these activities we kept in mind what we had just learned in The Dot about trying things that we might not think we are good at. Second through fifth grade used our large interactive television to look up books in the online catalog, which has been great practice. First grade and kindergarten reviewed book care rules in preparation for our first book checkout day which will be Monday, September 23.
Parents, please help your students remember our rule for library books: at all times, library books should be in our HANDS or in our BAGS. This means if a student is not actively reading their book it should be in their school backpack or book bag; this way they will always have it with them on library day. We do not recommend that students put library books on their home book shelves. Several students still have books out from last year, so please help your students search for their missing books. If you cannot find them and pay the fines on infinite campus, please email me to let me know so I can remove the books from your child’s library account. Thank you! - Mrs. Stephens
Annual Update OLR
Annual Update OLR is the electronic process for parents to go into the Infinite Campus Parent Portal in order to update and confirm all student data that is currently in our system. This must be completed for each student even if there are NO changes. You will need to go through each step and click submit. For step by step instructions, please see the link below.
Annual Update OLR Instructions
It is recommended to use Windows IE 11, Firefox or Safari. Windows must be Windows 7 or later. Annual Updates cannot be done via a handheld device (iOS or Android).
If you need assistance with your Parent Portal Login, email: ichelp@mayfieldschools.org
Lunch Menus
Additional Information
Important Dates
September 27th - No School (Staff Development Day)
September 30th - No School (Rosh Hashanah)
October 4th - Walk-A-Thon Kick Off (During School)
October 9th - No School (Yom Kippur)
October 11th - No School (NEOEA Day)
October 16th - Walk-A-Thon (During School)
October 17th - Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:00-9:00 PM
October 18th - No School Parent/Teacher Conferences 7:30-3:00 PM & End of 1st Quarter
October 23rd - Picture Retakes & 3rd ELA Part 1 State Testing 8:30-10:00 AM
October 24th - 3rd Grade ELA Part 2 State Testing 8:30-10:00 AM
October 25th - Fall Fest 6:00-7:30 PM
October 31st - Happy Halloween - Classroom Parties
Important Websites
School Website: Gates Mills Elementary
Gates Mills PTC: Gates Mills PTC
Supply Lists: Gates Mills Supply List
Information for Parents: Summer Central
School Lunch Information: Food Services
Bus Information:Transportation
Detailed School Information: Elementary Student Handbook
Attendance Matters: House Bill 410
Community Flyers: Community Flyers
Friday Folder: Friday Folder Web Page
Alternative Address Form: Alternative Address Form
District Calendars: District Calendars
District Parent Mentor Information: District Parent Mentor Information
Drop Off & Dismissal Procedures: Drop Off/Pick Up
Mayfield City Schools App: Visit the App Store for Android or Apple
Gates Mills Elementary School
Email: lravida@mayfieldschools.org
Website: http://www.mayfieldschools.org/gatesmillselementary_home.aspx
Location: 7639 Colvin Road, Gates Mills, OH, USA
Phone: 440-995-7500
Twitter: @ravida_laurel