Glacier Ridge Gazette
Glacier Ridge Elementary School | November 4, 2022
- - - - - - - - -
Glacier Ridge Gazette
Principal Message: How's the Weather?
How about the weather?! My wife calls me an old man because I can’t stop talking about the weather. This fall has been one of the most beautiful falls for sunny warm weather that I can ever remember. My grass hasn’t needed to be cut in weeks, other than to cheat by mulching them with the lawnmower trying to avoid raking them. The grass is green, but I don’t have to cut it twice a week, as I normally do in the fall. What a gift. The weather this fall constantly makes me pause to find joy in the simple things. I certainly have LOVED the fall weather.
Being in my 11th year as principal Glacier Ridge and my 17th as principal in total, I continually find the joy in my job. I never thought I would be a principal for this long, but I love it. Interacting with students, thinking about instruction, and developing relationships with families brings me joy. Don’t get me wrong, the job is hard and there are parts that I don’t like. However, I always want to make sure the positive outweighs the negative. For me, the weather has been a reminder to stop and pause to appreciate the things that happen everyday that are often overlooked.
This week, I sat in on our kindness coach training initiative at GRE. If you haven’t heard, we are big on kindness here at GRE. We also greatly value student ownership and involvement in their own learning. One of our initiatives is our kindness coach program. Two students from each classroom in grades 2-5 are selected each month to be a kindness coach. Under the guidance of Laurie Coon, they develop the lesson about kindness. The kindness coaches then take that lesson and teach it to the students in their homeroom. Therefore, you have students teaching kindness to students, who then teach kindness to other students. Magical.
The kindness coach program was just one of many moments this week, let alone this year, that forced me to stop and pause to see the great things that are happening. So, in a world that can be filled with bad things, I am grateful for Glacier Ridge, the students, the families, the staff, and of course…..the weather.
I hope you can find some joy this weekend,
Pete Kurty, Ed. D
Principal
Glacier Ridge Information
Kindergarten Girl Scouts
KINDERGARTEN GIRL SCOUTS – All K girls are invited to try Girl Scouts at a meeting on Monday, November 14 at 6:30pm in the commons at Glacier Ridge. Girls will learn some fun Girl Scout traditions, hear the story of our founder Juliette Gordon Low, make a craft to remember the Girl Scout Law, and sing a silly song! For more information or to RSVP, contact Laurie Wirt at lwirt@gsoh.org or visit this link: https://bit.ly/GirlScoutInterestForm2022-23
Operation Kids for Troops - A huge success
It’s been a successful week collecting items for Troops overseas. Thank you to all the students and families that sent in items. Student leaders will sort and pack the boxes and mail them to Troops. Thank you to PTO for providing the funding for the boxes to be mailed. We will often receive a thank you from the Troops following the many months that it takes for them to receive them.
DCS Cough Drop Policy
As the cough and cold season continues to invade our community, I want to remind you of the district cough drop policy.
Students are not required to have a medical provider's order for students to have cough drops at school however they do require a parent signature. The parents are responsible for providing the cough drops and they must be kept in the clinic with a note that gives permission to administer with the parents signature. When the student needs a cough drop, they should be sent to the clinic.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Colder Weather is Coming
It’s getting cold outside! GRE students LOVE going out for recess. We want them to stay safe and healthy. Please make sure your child leaves for school with outerwear appropriate for the day’s weather. Make a habit of checking the weather forecast and encouraging your child to wear a coat, hat, scarf and gloves on these colder days. Students are welcome to wear shorts while inside, but they MUST wear pants over them for recess during cold temperatures. Students must also bring out a jacket that is appropriate for the temperature.
20 degrees or below with wind chill - all recesses will be indoors
21-25 degrees with wind chill - lunch recess will be indoors, short recess will be outdoors
26 degrees with wind chill and warmer - all recesses will be outdoors
Lastly, it is a good reminder to put your child's name in their respective winter attire. A simple task of putting names in coats and on sweatshirts helps get them back to their owner.
For more information on the districts WINTER WEATHER PROCEDURES, please click this link: https://www.dublinschools.net/domain/84
Cookie Dough and Pastry Sale
The PTO cookie dough and pastry sale kicked off on Wednesday, November 2nd and will conclude on Wednesday, November 16th. The designated time for picking up all orders is Thursday, December 8th from 4:30-6:30 PM.
Your child was given a flier to bring home earlier this week with product information; however, ordering is ONLINE only. The flier includes a unique Web Sale Code that is associated with your student. Once you log in with the code, you will receive an email link specifically for your child that you can send out to family and friends for ease of ordering as well. This eliminates collecting cash and checks from those you sell to.
Girl Scout Costume Collection
The Girl Scouts from Troop 6219 are collecting new or gently used costumes for students in need. There is a box in the GRE commons by the front door. The costumes benefit the Run the Race charity. The costume drive ends on Nov. 7th. Any post Halloween costumes you would like to donate will be put to good use.
Costumes will be donated to the Run the Race organization which provides snacks, tutoring, sports, and extracurricular activities to inner city students in need.
Candy Give Back - November 1-7
Donate your leftover Halloween candy to support Feed The Kids Columbus. FTKC is a non-profit working to serve and advocate for children in Central Ohio with food insecurities, including students in DCS. Your treat will be added to food bags given to hungry kiddos.
Sign Up and Volunteer Opportunities
Tiger Student Announcements
We have a new and exciting opportunity for 2nd thru 5th graders at Glacier Ridge this year! Would you like to start your day saying “Hello!” to everyone at Glacier Ridge in the morning? Then sign up to read the morning announcements! If you would like to find out more about this opportunity and sign up to be a Tiger Student Announcer then go to this link via SignUp Genius: GRES Tiger Student Announcements
Glacier Ridge Greeter Team
Glacier Ridge Elementary believes in creating a caring and comfortable environment for its community of learners. This begins as students enter the front doors of the school in the morning. Our student greeters help facilitate this goal!
- - - - - - - - -
GRE EVENTS
Upcoming Events
Nov 8: No School - Professional day
Nov 11: Veterans Day celebration
Nov 14 - 18: Non-perishable food and toy drive
Nov 16: General PTO meeting @ 6pm at GRE
Nov 23 - 25: No school - Thanksgiving break
- - - - - - - - -
DISTRICT NEWS
District News
THURSDAY, NOV. 3
No School - Safety Waiver Day
There will be no school on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Staff will be participating in safety training.
Military Options Information Night
Our annual Military Options Information Night is November 14, 6-8 pm at Emerald Campus. This is an informational meeting for middle and high school students and their families to learn about options and roles in all branches of the military through an overview presentation and panel discussions. RSVP here.
Scioto Veteran’s Story Event
Dublin Scioto’s Veteran’s Story Event, November 10, 3:30 - 6 pm, is a celebration of Veterans and a great learning experience. Intentionally held on the 10th instead of the 11th to honor and celebrate our Veterans so that military connected students, veterans, and community members can attend other events on the Veteran’s Day. Learn more about the event, what the Purple Star Committee is doing, and Flags of Honor sponsorship.
PERC Event
Free Mental Wellness Workshop, Nov. 8., 10-11:30 a.m. The Family Engagement Center at The Ohio State University is offering a free workshop on Engaging Families for Student Mental Health and Wellness.
Need more information? Visit our sites below.
Attendance
If your child will be absent from school, please email our attendance line at gres_attendance@dublinschools.net.
Glacier Ridge Elementary
Email: glacierridge_info@dublinschools.net
Website: https://www.dublinschools.net/Domain/18
Location: 7175 Glacier Ridge Boulevard, Dublin, OH, USA
Phone: 614.733.0012
Twitter: @greDCSD