The Lion's Share Newsletter
November 2022
From the Desk of Mr. Miller:
Wow! It seems like the month of October flew by! Thank you to all of you that were able to join us for our Family STEAM Challenge, helped with our APEX Fun Run, dressed up for our highly successful Trunk or Treat, and spent time with your student's teacher during Parent/Teacher Conferences. On behalf of the Grant staff, I can tell you that we absolutely love seeing you here enjoying these events with your student(s).
Likewise, November will offer a few family friendly opportunities to for you to join us again. Be sure to check out all of the details below! Also, in November, we will be taking a break for school during the week of November 21 - 25. I hope this break offers you the time to relax, rest, and to catch up with family and friends. Regardless if you are staying home for the Thanksgiving break or traveling, I hope it is a wonderful time for you and your Lion.
Finally, on behalf of the Grant staff, I would like to just say thank you for all that you have done for us here at Grant and for our learners! We love seeing you in the building. It means the world to your student when you are here! This month, we have a fun night planned for everyone on Thursday, November 17th with our Family STEAM Night!
As always, thank you for taking the time to stay connected this month!
I hope you all have a wonderful November!
Thank you,
Ryan Miller, Principal
Capturing Kids' Hearts Focus for November: Teamwork
Teamwork is this month's Capturing Kids' Hearts focus! We will be spending time with our Lions looking at how to best accomplish goals using teamwork! What could teamwork look like at home? How could teamwork help you during dinner time, or cleaning the house, or picking up those fall leaves outside?
What is Teamwork?
Teamwork is the ability to work in unity with others towards a common goal. For us to learn how to become team players, it is important that we learn to listen, encourage our peers, and allow and invite others to contribute their talents and skills.
Why focus on Teamwork?
- Teamwork improves communication: Teamwork helps us improves our verbal and non-verbal communication skills, conveying that we care and a relevant message.
- Teamwork builds interpersonal awareness: Growing a great team requires us to first build strong relationships through better understanding ourselves and others.
- Teamwork celebrates diversity. Teamwork thrives from diverse ideas that come from a mixture of different genders, cultures, expertise, experience, and problem-solving approaches.
Teamwork in Action:
- Call them a team, not a class or group. A group consists of many different people. A team, however, has a common purpose and a shared responsibility for success.
- Require teams to set expectations for and manage their own behavior. Do not tell teams what type of behavior is expected -- let them decide for themselves with a Social Contract.
- Teach and encourage affirmations. Giving affirmations helps connect the team and builds trust, promotes engagement, and boosts a positive culture.
Inclement Weather & Green Flag Days
Finally, in the event that we are on a normal schedule, but there is weather outside such as heavy rain, snow, strong winds, or cold, the school will make the determination of having a "green flag" day. If it is a green flag day, you will see green flags hanging outside of our school near the gym, 2nd grade classrooms, and where the busses drop off. If you see a green flag, that simply means it is a normal school day, but all students should head directly to the front of the school to go inside immediately. This will help to keep students warm and dry. Please know that we use the "feels-like" temperature and that the set temperature for a green flag day is 20 degrees.
Parent Survey
- You can take this survey on any device
- There is a Spanish version of the survey in the link
- The link for the survey is here: https://survey.5-essentials.org/sd11/
Lost & Found
Student Feature
We are so excited for you to meet this month's student! Dontavious is a 5th grader in Mrs. DuBois' class and he is truly a leader. Dontavious is always there to lend a helping hand, loves to check in on others, and served as a Lion Helper during the 1st quarter of school this year. He is kind, respectful, and always has the biggest and best smile on his face whenever you see him. He's also a pretty great big brother as well! We are proud to call Dontavious a Grant Lion!
What do you love most about Grant? "What I love most about Grant are the teachers and the students. Everyone is so respectful, nice, and fun!"
What do you love about being a 5th grader this year? "What I love about 5th grade this year is that the work is harder. It's going to prepare us for middle school and I like Mrs. DuBois."
What do you think about Capturing Kids’ Hearts: "What I think about CKH is that I like it because it helps us to make friends and it helps to make others feel better. You can be nice to others and that will make them happy.
What do you want to be when you grow up? "I want to be a football player. I would be happy to play any position for the Broncos. It's my mom's favorite team, so I'd want to play for them."
What’s your favorite subject: "I like math because it's easy and there are cool things to learn in math. Also, you will use it later on in life."
What does it mean to you to be a Grant Lion? "It feels good to be a Grant Lion because all the teachers are great, the students are great, I've made a lot of friends here. I have learned more here than my other school. I have become a better reader and was able to get better at math. I love being a Grant Lion!"
Fun from October!
Important November Events:
Wednesday, Nov 2: NEHS Student Meeting 2:50-4:00
Thursday, Nov 3: Musical Rehearsals 3:00-3:45
Sunday, Nov 6: Daylight Saving Time Ends
Monday, Nov 7: Boys & Girls Basketball 2:50-3:50
Tuesday, Nov 8: Boys Basketball 2:50-3:50, ESL Night 4:30-6:00, PTA Meeting 6:00
Thursday, Nov 10: Motor Mouth Here, Girls Basketball 2:50-3:50, Musical Rehearsal 3:00-3:45
Friday, Nov 11: 2nd Grade Veterans Day Concert 2:00
Monday, Nov 14: STEAM Week Begins, Boys Basketball 2:50-3:50
Tuesday, Nov 15: STEAM Week Continues, Girls Basketball 2:50-3:50, Student Council 3:00-3:45
Wednesday, Nov 16: STEAM Week Continues, NEHS Student Meeting 2:50-4:00
Thursday, Nov 17: Family STEAM Night 5:00-6:30, Boys Basketball 2:50-3:50, Musical Rehearsals 3:00-3:45
Friday, Nov 18: Vision and Hearing Screening
Monday, Nov 21 - 25: Thanksgiving Break - No School
Monday, Nov 28: Girls Basketball 2:50-3:50, Vision and Hearing Screening
Tuesday, Nov 29: Vision and Hearing Screening, Boys Basketball 2:50-3:50, Student Council 3:00-3:45
Wednesday, Nov 30: Girls Basketball 2:50-3:50, NEHS 2:50-4:00
Thursday, Nov 31: Musical Rehearsals 3:00-3:45
We are on Instagram!
Find us on Instagram at @grantlions_d11 and on Facebook at Grant Elementary School D11!
Contact Information:
Email: ryan.miller@d11.org
Website: https://www.d11.org/Domain/35
Location: 3215 Westwood Boulevard, Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Phone: 719.328.5700
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantelementarylions