The Glade Gazette
November 3, 2023
SCHOOL CALENDAR
Nov 1-21: PTA Sponsored Winter Coat Drive
Nov 6-10: PTA Sponsored Book Fair
Nov 8: Report cards issued
Nov 9: Band Students – bring your instrument
Nov 10: Spirit Day -- CAMO/USA Day
Nov 14: General PTA Meeting @ 6:30pm
Nov 15: PTA Sponsored Spirit Night - California Tortilla, 11:00am-9:30pm
Nov 16: Band Students – bring your instrument
Nov 17: Reflections Art Fair - Artwork due
Nov 22-24: Thanksgiving Break, School Closed
Nov 29: Picture Retakes
Nov 30: Band Students – bring your instrument
Dec 1: School closes 2-hour early
Dec 8: School Spirit Day - Animal Day - Wear a picture of your favorite animal or animal print
Dec 13: Field Trip - Gr. 2 @ Rosehill Manor, 9:30-12:00
Dec 25-Jan 1: Winter Break, School Closed
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Glade Families,
Early in my career, a veteran principal once pointed out to me that the cheapest and most effective intervention for a student to have success in school is regular attendance. Glade's staff is top-notch and are eager to help students learn! A critical step to being able to have staff have these instructional opportunities is for students to have regular attendance. Due to this, Glade staff have zeroed in a goal for this year at Glade to have an attendance percentage of 96%. Yesterday on Good Day Glade, I shared with students that Glade's current percentage is 94.3%. If your home is having difficulties getting a student to school regularly, please let your child's teacher, school counselor, or front office know. We're happy to support and problem solve!
Also, thank you to all of our donors and PTA organizers who participated in the Walk-a-Thon. It was a huge success and the students enjoyed themselves while getting some extra excercise.
Gladefully,
Steve Raff
34th Annual FCPS Martin Luther King Jr Celebration
Front Entrance
Glade has a secure Front Entrance. All visitors to the building must enter through our main office. We have the buzzer system and we ask that you please state your name and the purpose of your visit upon your arrival. We appreciate your cooperation as we do have a required FCPS protocol we follow when meeting visitors. To ensure the safety of our students and staff, please be prepared to show identification if we have not met you yet. This protocol is part of our security for the building and we thank everyone for their cooperation in helping us maintain this security for our school community.
Procedures for Head Lice
- If a student goes to the health room and they have live head lice and/or an infestation, parents will be notified and provided with guidelines about effective treatment for head lice infestation.
- Siblings of students within the same school with confirmed head lice may also be screened if symptomatic or if not symptomatic, with the parent's consent.
- Parents are expected to consult with their child’s healthcare provider and/or treat their child for head lice prior to sending them back to school.
- Glade monitors cases within classrooms and may communicate with the entire class as necessary.
COUNSELOR NEWS
SPIRIT DAY ALERT
Friday, November 10 is CAMO / USA DAY
Rock your favorite camo and/or American look in honor of Veterans' Day
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
GES continues to welcome optional donations for Blessings in a Backpack on our spirit days*
*Approved Menu Items
- Individual cereal bowls/boxes
- Cereal/Granola bars
- Shelf-stable yogurt or milk packages
- Fruit pouches or cups
- Sunflower seeds
- Meat sticks (i.e., Jack Links, Slim Jim)
- Individually packaged crackers (i.e., Cheez-Its, Goldfish Cheddar Crackers, Animal Crackers)
- Pretzels, or popcorn
- Raisins or craisin packets
- Chef Boyardee (or generic brand) ready-to-eat pasta bowls (pop-top lids required)
- Ready-to-eat soup (pop-top lids required)
*Food Items to Avoid
- Bulk items that require further packaging (I.e., bulk cereal repackaged in individual bag/containers)
- Food items prepared by an individual or group (food items must be packaged in a sealed container by the manufacturer)
- Due to allergies, avoid any products that contain peanuts.
- Fresh produce items that bruise easily (i.e., berries, bananas, peaches)
- Canned products. Choose products with a pop-top lid or pouches.
- Items high in sodium (I.e., greater than 100mg per package)
- Perishable items
- Candy, gum, or food of no nutritional value
Learn more: https://www.blessingsinabackpack.org/
Thank you to everyone who participated in Unity Day on October 18! Glade is united for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion all year long. Over the next two months, Ms. Leahy and Ms. Gordon are visiting classrooms to talk more about these concepts. In the primary grades (PK-2), lessons center around the concept of BELONGING - how to help others to feel like they belong and how to accept ourselves. In the intermediate grades (3-5), lessons revolve around respect and dignity, how to navigate teasing behaviors, and how to show unity. All grades are discussing the concept of bullying and how to stand up for ourselves and others. We are still committed to "FALLing" into Healthy Habits and we love how the front bulletin board turned out! As always, for more information, check out our GES School Counseling Website: https://sites.google.com/fcps.org/ges-school-counseling-program/home
Lauren Gordon, School Counselor
PTA NEWS
- Our next General PTA Meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 14 at 6:30 pm in the Media Center. Please enter through the Media Center door located in the rear of the building.
- The next restaurant spirit night will be held on Wednesday, 11/15 at California Tortilla. Please mention Glade when placing your order!
- The annual walkathon took place on 10/26/23. Your children moved their paws, enjoyed yummy snow cones and got to see Principal Raff and Assistant Principal Ivanova dressed up as hot dogs to celebrate their success. We were able to raise $10,323. A huge thank you to our generous donors: THANK YOU!
- Book Fair is next week, 11/6-11/10. The incredible Book Fair Team has been planning hard to bring you a Winter Wonderland of books! Please check out the Glade Elementary PTA 2023-2024 Facebook page or your child’s Thursday folder for flyers about the event and how to set-up an e-wallet. If you have questions, please email: erin.rethemeyer@gmail.com.
- We are collecting gently used or new winter coats, new hat and gloves for the GVCS Holiday Toy Shoppe. Please bring in clean and gently used coats from 11/1-11/21. All types, sizes and styles from infants to adults are accepted. Please check for working zippers and snaps. There will be a box in the lobby at Glade. If you have questions, email: megan.k.lucas@gmail.com.
- The Reflections Art Fair is being chaired by Michelle Gish and her email is gishburg@gmail.com. Artwork that is turned in should show how one would finish the sentence "I am hopeful because..." and be turned into the school "Attn: Michelle Gish, PTA Reflections Chair" by November 17. It must be original artwork by the student, smaller than 24" X 30" or if it is 3D must be easily transportable. Student names should not be visible on the front."
- We have a huge staff appreciation event coming up this month. Last year’s “Sweet as Pie” event was such a huge hit so we are bringing it back again this year. As we did last year, we will set-up a menu, allowing teachers to order a whole dessert they may take home and share with their family over the holiday. If you are able to bake or purchase one or more store bought dessert(s) please visit the sign-up genius link to pledge a donation https://signup.com/go/JrYaZTR. I will confirm what teachers sign up for and remove any unneeded slots as we get closer to November 21. If you have questions or would like to be added to the Staff Appreciation volunteer list, email: Kerry@TKPups.com
- You may view our November Member Newsletter at the following link: https://gladepta.memberhub.com/w/november-2023-newsletter
HEALTH ROOM NEWS
Confidential Health Information Cards were to be completed at the start of the school year. If you have already completed this, thank you and please disregard this information. This year, the procedure changed and we are no longer printing the yellow card stock for each child. We request that you go to the FCPS website, go to FCPS Forms at the top right corner and choose Health Information Card. You will see one in Spanish and one in English. They are fillable documents. When complete, print, sign it and return to your child’s teacher as soon as possible.
The Confidential Health Information Card provides your child’s school health staff with extremely important health information needed to plan for the care of your child during his/her school day.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the health information card, please contact the school health staff, 240-236-2056. Thank you for your prompt attention to this very important matter concerning your child’s health and safety.
Notes for Early Dismissal & Absences
All absences need a parent note or they are unexcused and marked unlawful. Be sure to include the child’s first/last name and teacher name. Even if you have called the school to report an absence, we still require a note upon returning to school. You may print one off - ABSENCE NOTE or email a note to GES.Attendance@fcps.org
Any changes in your child's transportation home needs to be shared with the front office. Please CALL the office for dismissal changes before 2:30. If you email the teacher only and they are absent, nobody will get that information. Thank you.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Address change: Please provide a new proof of residency (a copy of a property tax bill, gas bill, electric bill, water/sewer, cable bill or a signed current lease/rental agreement; NO phone bill or mortgage statements).
Custody change: If there is a change in child custody, please make sure you share that information with your child’s teacher and the office. It is extremely important that a copy of the court document be delivered to the school and placed in the child’s permanent record folder. Should the school not have this documentation, we have no recourse but to release your child to either parent upon request.
Weapons: Possession of any firearm or other weapon by a student on school property is strictly forbidden. This also includes look-alike weapons. The penalties for violation are detailed in the Discipline section of the FCPS handbook. Please remember it is a serious offense to possess a weapon of any kind on school property.
Stay Connected
The Glade Gazette will continue to be available first via Find Out First. Links to the Gazette can also be found through:
- Twitter: Steve Raff @FCPS_GES
- Facebook: Principal Raff, as part of the Glade Elementary Community group
Email: stephen.raff@fcps.org
Website: https://education.fcps.org/ges/
Location: Glade Elementary School, Glade Road, Walkersville, MD, USA
Phone: 240-236-2100
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/GladePTA
Twitter: @FCPS_GES