Gateway Family Newsletter (English)
November 2021
Important Upcoming Events
Friday, Nov. 12th---2nd Quarter Progress Reports Sent Home
Friday, Nov. 19th---No School for Early Childhood Students, Early Childhood Planning Day
Monday, Nov. 22nd thru Friday, Nov. 26th---No School, Thanksgiving Recess
Notes From the Gateway Office
Please remember that school will not be in session on the dates listed below.
- Monday, Nov. 22nd thru Friday, November 26th, Thanksgiving Recess
School will resume on Monday, November 29th. On behalf of the Gateway Staff, we wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Safety Tips
- Please use only one of the three designated crosswalks to safely cross to/from school each day.
- Please use only the right hand lane to drop off and pick up students each day. The left lane is used as an exit/drive thru lane.
Crosswalk
Crosswalk
Crosswalk
Handicap Parking
Gateway Lost and Found
Covid-19 Vaccine Clinics
Music Program Updates
Out of a desire to provide our students and families a safe performance experience, we have decided to make some changes to how we do our music program this year. Each grade level will be having their own music program. We hope that you will find it easier to find parking on program days, will have a better idea of how much time you will need out of your day to attend the program, and will feel safe that we are able to adequately distance family groups in the performance space.
Please see the performance schedule below for the programs you would like to attend:
- Kindergarten: Monday, December 6th, 2021 11:55am-12:25pm (Snow date: December 13th)
- 1st Grade: Tuesday, March 1st, 2022 2:15-2:45pm (Snow date: March 9th)
- 2nd Grade: Friday, February 18th, 2022 1:20-1:50pm (Snow date: February 22nd)
- 3rd Grade: Thursday, April 14th, 2022 3:10-3:40pm
- 4th Grade: Thursday, April 14th, 2022 9:10-9:40am
- 5th Grade: Friday, January 28th, 2022 11:00-11:30am (Snow date: February 3rd)
- 6th Grade: This performance will be in May and the date will be passed along to families as soon as it is set.
- Chorus: There will be a performance in late March or early April. The date will be passed along to families as soon as it is set.
After you have attended your child(ren)’s performance, we would like to hear your feedback on how this change works for you. Please feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher, Mrs. Kloke, Mr. Burton, or Miss Egan.
Thank you,
Mrs. Kloke and Miss Dworsky
General Music Teachers
Gateway Elementary
Teammates Mentoring Program
It has been a goal at Gateway's to grow our TeamMates mentoring program!!
If you or someone you know would have about an hour a week to come to Gateway and eat lunch with one of our students, please see the information below! It would mean so much to many of our students to have another adult investing in their life!
Program information is listed below, along with a document that gives highlights about the program. If you would like to talk more about the TeamMates program, please contact Gateway School Counselors, Kelsey Buglewicz-Miller and/or Alison McGovern.
Important Attendance Information
Attendance is a key component to the academic success and social development of our students. OPS has a goal for all students to attend 95% of the instructional days in each school year. The Strive for 95 initiative is the backbone of Gateway's Attendance Gold Committee, a group of teachers and other faculty who are dedicated to reinforcing high attendance. You may remember our Raising Canes certificates from last year or even received one already this year! Read below to get more information about our 2021-2022 attendance awards.
Individual Awards:
Students can earn a free meal from Raising Canes if they have 100% attendance for the quarter. This includes missing class for appointments, late arrivals, and early departures since elementary attendance is based on the minutes our students are in school. Students can also earn awards each month by being present for 95% of the school minutes for that month. These prizes will be different for each grade level.
Classroom Awards:
Each month, the classroom with the best attendance for that month will have stars posted outside of their classroom and earn an extra recess. Additionally, the classrooms will be announced over the morning announcements or via intercom!
Semester Awards:
Students who are present for 95% of the semester will earn a movie day! Students will be split by primary and intermediate levels in order for us to pick an age-appropriate movie and make it easier to accommodate to Covid restrictions. Snacks will be provided for students who attend. More information about this will be coming out at the beginning of December!
Family Awards:
We are hoping to secure some gift cards for our students' families. We know that our students' attendance is nearly fully dependent on the adults in their lives, so we want to reinforce you all for helping our students get here on time every day! Our plan right now is to have students enter a drawing each month that they earn the 95% individual award, then we will draw for gift cards at the end of the semester. More information will come later in the semester.
If you have any questions about these awards or need some support with getting your student to school, please reach out to Alison McGovern, Gateway School Counselor. You can reach Ms. McGovern at (531)299-9529 or by email at alison.mcgovern@ops.org.
Nominate Your Favorite Teacher
Do you know an Omaha Public Schools teacher who deserves recognition?
A great teacher can turn a geography lesson into an exciting adventure or make a conversation become a life lesson. And the Omaha Public Schools community is fortunate to have so many great teachers. It’s why the Alice Buffett Outstanding Teacher Award was created more than 30 years ago — to recognize those teachers who have gone above and beyond to help their students in the classroom and in life.
Nominate an Omaha Public Schools teacher for this award and tell us what he or she has done that has made a difference. Now more than ever, let’s recognize the extraordinary efforts of educators within the Omaha Public Schools. Omaha Public Schools teachers continue to meet today’s challenges with an unwavering spirit and passionate dedication to their students. Please submit your nomination by Jan. 15, 2022.
Not Feeling Well?
While it’s important for children to be at school, it’s also important for them to stay at home and rest if they are sick--both so they can recover and so they don’t make others sick. If your child is sick, please notify the main office at 531.299.1480. Strict adherence to our health and safety guidelines protects other members of our community and allows in-person learning to proceed more successfully.
If you have any questions, please call our School Nurse, Mrs. Lauren Boll @ 531-299-1480.
Nebraska Family Helpline
Raising kids is hard. It’s okay to ask for advice. The Nebraska Family Helpline is a free, confidential resource for parents who have questions regarding their child’s behavior. Trained counselors are standing by. Have a question? Give them a call at 1-888-866-8660.
Terry Burton, Principal Gateway Elementary
Email: terry.burton@ops.org
Website: gateway.ops.org
Location: 5610 South 42nd Street, Omaha, NE, United States
Phone: 531-299-1480