This past week, we made some changes at lunch. We have lowered the lights a bit, are now playing calm music and have different tranquil videos playing. For many of our students, it has helped bring more sense of calm. In the coming weeks, we will also be trying some additional strategies to continue to support the regulation of our amazing Gray Hawks.

Additionally, this past week I spoke to all of our students about contributing to OUR GRAY HAWK COMMUNITY. As lunch is nearing the end, we have one person from each class assist with sweeping the three classroom tables and then a table wiper from each table. This has provided OUR GRAY HAWKS the opportunity to take ownership of our school and helped tremendously with the transition from lunch to PE. We also have students that are door greeters every morning and assist with holding doors at the end of the day to wish everyone well as they leave for the day. I am so proud of all of our students as they work together to build OUR GRAY HAWK culture.

Gray Hawk staff have a professional development day on Tuesday, September 7. Students do not have school. They will return on Wednesday, September 8.

Teachers will have conversations about designing OUR Makerspace, examining OUR Fall test data, and furthering discussions around continuing to develop OUR GRAY HAWK culture. This will involve finalizing OUR Mission and Vision and beginning to create an action plan centered around the things that are most important to us.

Every morning at Gray Hawk, a student leader reads OUR GRAY HAWK AFFIRMATION (as seen below) to OUR students. It is OUR job to breathe life into OUR GRAY HAWKS and encourage them to embrace their uniqueness and know that they are loved. As OUR affirmation says, "at GRAY HAWK we are a family." As a family it is also our job to honor one another's differences and embrace OUR shared values as a school community. When we embrace diverse backgrounds, we are building a strong, inclusive school community and preparing our students for the real world. I believe the work and dedication needed to create OUR GRAY HAWK culture is some of the most important foundational work we can do as a community of educators and I am excited to begin these conversations to strengthen our community and one another.

September 6 - Labor Day NO SCHOOL District Offices are closed

September 7 - NO SCHOOL - Teacher Professional Development and Collaboration

If you have gently used clothing that you would be willing to donate to Nurse MJ for our students it would be much appreciated. We are looking for shorts, pants, t-shirts, and socks that we could give to children that may have an accident or spill on their clothes throughout the day.

We would also appreciate any donations of NEW underwear in sizes 4-6, 6-8, and 8-10 for girls AND boys. Thank you for your consideration.

This is just a reminder that breakfast and lunch will be free to our students in USD 458 for the 2021/2022 school year. Students would only be charged for additional milks. Extra milk is 50 cents per carton.

Breakfast is "Grab and Go" and has moved down closer to the cafeteria to ensure that the lobby does not get too crowded.

Thank you to OUR GRAY HAWK PTO for organizing our first two fundraisers.

Gray Hawk spiritwear is on sale now through September 14. Scan the QR code or go directly to the site to place your order here.

OUR GRAY HAWK MUM sale is going on through September 14. 8" 2 gallon mums are $10 and will be picked up on Wednesday, September 22 at Gray Hawk between 4:30 and 7:00 pm. All proceeds from this fundraiser will directly impact OUR GRY HAWKS!

Please see the flyers below to place your order.

Our video this week is entitled "How Parenting Affects Your Child's Brain". We used to think that the human brain was pretty much fully developed around the age of five and that the brain you had was what you had to work with, but research has shown that is not true. Our brain adapts based on experiences that we have - both positive and negative. If our child's brains are filled with positive experiences it will specialize for positivity. Negative experiences = negative specialization. It is crucial to breathe life into our children! Check out what Child and Family therapist Jennifer Kolari has to say about parenting and the child's brain.

Please click the link for more information about USD 458's Safe Return to School Plan. Thank you.