Gregory Gardens Weekly Bulletin
Week of November 10, 2019
Greetings from Administration
Monday, November 11, school is closed in observance of Veteran's Day.
Gregory Gardens has a tradition of having students create art and thank yous for the local Veteran's and then deliver it in time for a special luncheon for them. We are looking for volunteers to join us in decorating the meeting room for the Veterans' lunch hosted at the Denny's on Willow Pass Road by Water World. We will be meeting at 6:00 A.M. on Thursday, November 21st to decorate and set up the artwork made by our students that thank the Veterans. It always means so much to the veterans.
Garden Classroom
We are excited to have our Garden Classroom up and running for students. With this new class we are asking all families and community members to refrain from picking any fruits or vegetables. Students are harvesting these items for their class. Please let me know if you have questions.
A note from our School Nurse Bea
Strep throat and other communicable illnesses are common in the school age population. Please monitor your child for the following symptoms
-Sore throat
-Headache with nausea
-Fever
-Pain with swallowing
-Fatigue
-Rash
-Decreased appetite
-Change in mood/behavior
If your child(ren) exhibits some or all of these symptoms, please contact your health care provider. The only way to prevent the spread of the illness in school is to keep sick children at home.
Dine and Donate
November 20 and 21 11am-10pm
Get ready for another Dine and Donate event! This time we have two days to dine out or take out at Round Table Pizza located at 716 Contra Costa Blvd. in Pleasant Hill. Just tell them you're with Gregory Gardens Elementary and they will donate 20% of your bill to GG PTA! Order ahead by calling (925) 798-3355 https://www.roundtablepizza.com/menu/.
Please remind students they are not to share food at school. While we recognize this is confusing for students....we ask them to share all the time. Sharing food can be dangerous for children who have mild to severe food allergies. We work hard to provide safe places for students to eat.
PTA Corner
Why Does the PTA Fundraise?
Gregory Gardens PTA funds various programs and activities at GGES and RSP including our new STEAM Lab, teacher wishlists, drama productions, music programs and instruments, recess equipment, library updates, resources for social and emotional health, and many more PTA Initiatives!
Visit the GGES/RSP PTA Facebook page for more information.
For more information and ways you can help, please connect with your PTA room parent or check us out on Facebook.
If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call.
Let's have a great week!
Katie
What's Happening Around School
GGES/RSP Community
We are creating an inclusive and respectful climate on our campus. We support all types of learners from diverse backgrounds on our site. It is imperative that parents, students and staff conduct themselves in a tolerant and respectful manner at all times. Please be aware of your surroundings when talking to members of our GGES/RSP community and be mindful that all students regardless of race, religion, abilities (e.g. physical, social/emotional development, cognition), socio-economic status, language, gender identity, race or family structure are welcome and important members to our school family.
Student Pick Up/Drop Off
Please remember that we cannot have cars parked in the traffic circle at any time, this includes TK/Kinder pick up and drop off. Please use the 15 min spots or another parking stall to pick up your students before 2:30. The circle is used for buses for students attending the Preschool. Parking is available in the school lot or if needed in the church parking lot next door. Thank you for helping us get buses and students to and from school safely.
Campus Updates
*MDUSD M&O stopped by last week to take final measurements for our crash gates.
Click here to view the 2019-2020 MDUSD Academic Calendar
Student Attendance
It is important to be on time. Arriving late disrupts the classroom flow and effects the classroom climate. As a reminder
4th and 5th graders bell is at 7:40 am
TK/K-3rd grade 7:50 am.
The earliest students can be on campus is 7:30 am. What can we do to support you in getting your student(s) to Gregory Gardens on time? Please let us know.
Currently Mrs. Medeiros' class is in first place for the least amount of tardies last week. Our Tardy Party Popcorn celebration will be Friday November 22nd. GOOD LUCK!
Please continue to communicate to your students the importance of their attendance and arriving on time!
Gregory Gardens Elementary
Homelink Parent Portal
HomeLink Parent Portal is available for all MDUSD students and legal guardians. This is a secure and private online resource that will provide access to your student's attendance, state test score reports (CAASP, ELPAC) and allow you to update demographic information. Gregory Gardens is rolling out the use of this system for our students. You may have received your letter with a verification code for your student in August. We encourage you to set up your parent portal for your student (s) as we will be using this as our demographic sheet update each school year.
Here is the link to the parent portal:
Lunch on the Green with your Student 11/15
Join your student during their lunch period on Friday, 11/15, for lunch on the green!
TK/K lunch 11:15 am
1st grade 11:15 am
2nd grade 11:40 am
3rd grade 11:40 am
4th grade 12:00 pm
Please check into the school office for a visitor's sticker before meeting your student for lunch. Adults do not need to be fingerprinted for this event.
Volunteer Opportunities
*Check into the office to receive your visitors pass.
*Adults will be verified using our online database.
*Make yourself available to all students.
Thank you for helping support our positive and safe campus climate.
Volunteers are always encouraged, any day of the week - just come in when you can. However, for the safety of everyone, we can no longer allow non Gregory Gardens children on campus during volunteering, unless they can be carried in a baby carrier.
Below is a link to the MDUSD volunteer instruction page.
https://mdusd-ca.schoolloop.com/pf4/cms2/view_page?d=x&group_id=1394262952238&vdid=i4ea1lrm2y3nd
Attendance
If you think your student will be absent, please call the Attendance Hotline at (925) 682-8000 ext. 7042. Please include your student's name, teacher, and reason for absence. Please be sure to call before 9:30 am. Thank you.
To avoid a Truancy for your student, please call the office within 72 hours for any absence. Without a verification for a day(s) missed of school after that time it becomes a truancy.
See MDUSD website for more details on truancy and absenteeism:
https://mdusd-ca.schoolloop.com/pf4/cms2/view_page?d=x&group_id=1516177890380&vdid=i4a284jj12xmu
Follow Us
Check out how we spend our days! Follow us
Twitter @gregory_gators, @GGESgarden, @RSP_MDUSD, @MsKoontzMDUSD
Instagram @gregory_gatorsMDUSD
Robert Shearer Preschool
What's Happening around Preschool
We are excited to welcome our Program Specialist Lisa Tom to Robert Shearer Preschool. She comes with 7 years of experience serving preschool and elementary school special education students. She is excited to join our team at Robert Shearer and Gregory Gardens!
Students are working on Fall and Thanksgiving themed vocabulary. Words we are focusing on include turkey, feathers, leaves and different kinds of foods. Students also continue to practice friendship and communication skills as well as counting and identifying numbers to 10.
2019 Celebration of Success
We were proud to have Derek Chun represent RSP at last week's event. Derek has been a joy to work with since he began at Robert Shearer at 18 months old. He has made strides in every area; speech-language, academic and social. He can be found running around on the playground holding hands with his classmates and other peers. When not running around, he is hungry for learning! He recently learned how to read! Derek is a caring little boy who checks with his classmates when they are crying to make sure they are ok.
In speech-language and auditory skills, he has made tremendous gains. He is using 5+ word sentences with adjectives, plurals, pronouns and more!!
Way to go Derek! We are so proud of you !!
Looking Ahead
November
November 11: Veterans Day- No School
November 12- See's Candy Fundraiser begins
November 12- Preschool Picture Retakes
November 15- Lunch on the Green
November 20 & 21- DIne and Donate Round Table Pizza
November 22- Report cards sent home
November 25- 29: Thanksgiving Break
December
December 2- See's Candy Orders Due
December 9-20- Parent Teacher Conferences
December 13- GGES Winter Concert 6:00pm
December 23-January 6- WINTER BREAK
January
January 7- WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL
January 17- Family Movie Night- 6pm
January 20- Martin Luther King - No School
January 27-31- Multicultural Week
January 27-31- Book Fair #2
January 31- Multicultural Week Potluck
Conversations to Have at Home
Happenings around campus
Parents please refrain from picking from our garden....we are saving everything for our scholars.
Previous Newsletters
2019-2020
November
October
September
August
2018-2019
June
May
April
March
Gregory Gardens/Robert Shearer Community
Website: https://gges-mdusd-ca.schoolloop.com/
Location: 1 Corritone Court, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523, USA
Phone: (925) 827-3770
Twitter: @gregory_gators