Gulf Elementary School 2019-2020
August 26, 2019
Gulf Elementary: The Greatest Show on Earth!
Staying Connected with Gulf Elementary
Good two-way communication between families and schools is necessary for your students' success. Not surprisingly, research shows that the more parents and teachers share relevant information with each other about a student, the better equipped both will be to help that student achieve academically.
Opportunities for two-way communication include:
- Parent conferences
- Parent-teacher organizations or school community councils
- Phone calls
- E-mail or school website
- Gulf Elementary Social Media
- School Messenger
- LiveSchool
Safety Drills
Studies are showing that when a child is dealing with something potentially frightening, if you can get ahead of the anxiety, then we can help kids feel more in control of situations. For this reason, we feel that it is necessary to help our students feel prepared and in control, in the event a real emergency should ever occur while they are on school grounds.
Students respond better to emergency drills and practices when they know the reasons and facts behind these drills. In class, we are going over the drill evacuations that Lee County School District has required all schools to follow. In preparing for emergency situations and helping students understand the procedures and reasons for our drills, we feel that we can help our students feel more prepared in case a real emergency should arise.
Our school has taken all the necessary precautions to keep our students as safe as possible. By practicing drills, we are helping teachers/staff/students feel better prepared for all emergency situations. We also work hard to help our students understand that our #1 priority is their safety. The steps that need to be taken in each drill are gone over in class, and our monthly drills help students to practice different scenarios. Each year, Lee County requires schools to have Fire/Full Lockdown Drills. This year, in accordance to the new District policies, we are required to have one Lockdown Drill each month, in addition to a regular monthly Fire Drill. We will also have a tornado drill, a bomb evacuation drill, and bus evacuations per semester during the year, too.
We do our drills at various times of the day, so students are familiar with what to do if they are in any part of the school, not just in their homeroom class. Some of the drills will occur during lunch or their specials, so that we can practice different scenarios. In class, our conversations with the students are geared towards the procedural aspects of the drill, to help students know the steps to follow. We help them to understand that this is only a practice drill and that we just want to be prepared in case an emergency ever does occur. We help students understand that we will do anything and everything to keep them safe.
At home, you can help your child better understand the reasons for the drills. Discussing the reasons with them and helping your child understand that the #1 goal of the staff and administration at Gulf Elementary is to protect our students and ensure their safety while they are on our campus. The more your child understands the drills and is not scared of them, the more prepared and calm they will be if a real emergency should occur. In an effort to keep you informed of your child’s safety, Administration will inform parents via School Messenger when we have a practice drill at school.
WHERE’S THE BUS
The School District of Lee County has a secure app that can tell you how many minutes away your child’s bus is from his or her stop. It is free and easy to sign up, just go to www.leeschools.net/transportation and click Where’s the Bus? We hope this tool helps make your mornings and afternoons run a bit more smoothly.
FOCUS
Access your child’s grades, attendance and assignment information through the FOCUS Parent Portal. Sign up for a free account at https://lee.focusschoolsoftware.com/focus/ to stay connected to your student’s education!
Your child will receive positive points in LiveSchool for hard work and good behavior. These points will also apply to their house and help the house earn special rewards. It will be used to document poor choices to monitor and correct those behaviors. Points will not be deducted from house point totals.
You will be able to access all of this information right from your computer or phone by downloading the free LiveSchool app, more info attached.
We also want to make learning fun for your child this year! As part of our use of LiveSchool, your child will be able to spend his or her points on various classroom and school-wide rewards. We are going to be focusing on positive reinforcement and encouragement and hope that your child earns lots of exciting rewards!
We will be working hard to make this the best school year yet for your child! To learn more, please visit the following web address for a short video introduction to the service: tinyurl.com/LiveSchoolParent
School Messenger Communicate
The School District of Lee County uses School Messenger Communicate to share important messages about your child’s education. The system allows us to call, text and email you. To receive messages from your child’s school, you need to create a free account. Just go to https://www.leeschools.net/cms/One.aspx?portalId=676305&pageId=3192926
to sign up. In order to receive text messages you must opt in by texting YES, OPTIN or SUBSCRIBE to 67587. The District is not allowed to send you texts unless you opt in.
Transportation Changes and Early Sign Out Procedures
If at any time during the year you need to change the way your child goes home:
Use your child's planner or message the teachers using email and cc: DebbieJM@leeschools.net to notify us in WRITING if your child must go home different from their usual manner. Emergency requests must be approved by administration by 2:15 pm that day.
Early Sign Out
If you must sign your child out prior to the end of the school day, your child must be signed out prior to 2:45 pm. After 2:45 pm students will be sent their usual way home. Thank you for understanding.
PTO/SAC Meeting
Where: IB Media Center
Time: 6:00 pm
Watch D.O.G. Pizza Night
Where: IB Cafeteria
Time: 6:30 pm
Family Math Night
Where: IB Cafeteria
Time: 6:30 pm
Gulf Elementary School
Gwynetta S. Gittens, District 5 (Chair)
Chris N. Patricca, District 3 (Vice Chair)
Mary Fischer, District 1
Melisa W. Giovannelli, District 2
Debbie Jordan, District 4
Betsy Vaughn, District 6
Cathleen O'Daniel Morgan, District 7
Email: Kimberlyav@leeschools.net
Website: www.gfe.leeschools.net
Location: 3400 SW 17th Pl, Cape Coral, FL, United States
Phone: 239-549-2726
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gulf-Elementary-School-162975793873545/
Twitter: @GulfElementary