Geist Gazette
September 15, 2017
GEIST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Website: http://www.hse.k12.in.us/GES
Location: 14051 East 104th Street, Fishers, IN 46037
Phone: 317-915-4260
Twitter: @Geistgators
Updates from Mrs. Thomas,
Hello Gator Families,
We have had a wonderful week at Geist. This week has been school safety week. We spoke with your children about 11 things they can do to help keep us all safe! We discussed with your children about never opening doors for strangers, reporting information he/she hears or sees that does not feel right to an adult, and even not sharing personal information on the internet! Your children did a lockdown drill, bus evacuation drill, fire and tornado drill! They did an excellent job. Two of the most important steps children can take in a crisis situation is to follow the directions of the adult in charge and be quiet so he/she can hear directions. Your children did a wonderful job. We talked about all visitors having a badge on their lapel. Please know, we tell our children to report anyone who is not wearing their visitor badge. Thank you for complying with directions to wear your badge at all times and on your lapel! (THANK YOU!!!!)
Recently our Geist Staff finished creating and finalizing our school improvement plan. We have three data focused goals for the school year that include improving our overall ISTEP math and ELA growth and performance scores, closing the achievement gap between subgroups populations at Geist as seen in NWEA and ISTEP, and providing opportunities for our students to serve others! We will utilize our Teaching and Learning Best Practices HSE21, professional learning communities (collaboration among teachers), training and emphasis on equity, training in PBIS ( positive behavior intervention and supports) and implementation of our resources of Units of Study in Reading and Everyday Math. You are welcome to review our SIP plan by following this link.
Finally, we are very excited to announce our sister school in Ningbo, China. Jin Shan Elementary located in the Zhejiang Province. Our sister school is Grade 1-6 and has 2500 students! They have about 190 staff members. Their school was built in 2012 and they focus on multicultural exchange and learning. Learning English and using English to learn are a focus of their education! We are excited to begin our partnership, share information and resources, exchange ideas, visit each other’s schools and form lasting relationships with new friends from across the world! More to come on our sister school in the next edition of the Geist Gazette!!!!!
Thank you for all that do to support your child’s education and support the staff of GES!
Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent teacher conference information will be coming home by September 19th. All systems for signup will go live on the 19th. Please know that staff can pick the days and times that work best for their schedule in the beginning part of October. However, below are the times that related arts and other special services will be present in the building if you have a need in this area.
*Office staff, Nurses, SpEd, and Special Area staff will be available to assist where needed on the following dates and times:
-Thursday, Oct. 5th (4:00-6:30 PM)
-Monday, Oct. 9th (4:45-6:30 PM)
-Tuesday, Oct. 10th (8:00-8:45 AM)
-Wednesday, Oct. 11th (7:45-8:45 AM)
Art Room News
Please make sure your student(s) have the following apps on their iPads for Art and Music class.
Art: Artsonia, MoMA Art Lab, Assembly
Music: Show Me Whiteboard, Sketch-A-Song, Story Maker
(Side note: PE, F & F, and Global Studies do not have any required apps at this time.)
Ms. Erin Green
Art Teacher
Geist Elementary
317-915-4260 ext. 1622
Library News
Mrs. Friedle's students have been working with a website called Biblionasium to write book reviews. The reviews will be displayed in the library along with the books. Here is an example from one student: https://tinyurl.com/ycpv92gg.
Friends of the Library
Thank you and congratulations to the September Friends of the Library members. Books have been donated by Rylee F., Kinley B., Delaney M., Elliot R., Jack K., Evie P., Taylor M., Kendall F., Ella K., Claire R., Charlie D., Isaac S., Rileigh P., and Hank L.
Teachers learning and growing at our recent staff meeting!
Math- Find the missing addend
Students show their work and then must explain their thinking!
Global Studies - China Week
In Global Studies - Mandarin, we are continuing to build our vocabulary, which is the most important foundation to learning a new language. Body parts, animals, and colors are what we are focusing in the next few weeks. Students had so much fun learning new words through songs, competitive games, as well as collaborative teamwork.
We are also learning the alphabets of Mandarin Chinese. We started from the consonants which are very similar to English phonetics and will move to vowels which are more different. We have also been practicing writing commonly used Chinese characters, familiarizing ourselves with the order and names of strokes and the structure of Chinese characters.
Festivals represent an important element of Chinese culture. We will continue to introduce students to major Chinese festivals, such as Chinese New Year, Chinese Valentine’s Day, Double Ninth Festival (the Senior’s Day), Lantern Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival. Students really enjoyed listening to the stories behind these festivals and how they are celebrated nowadays.
During the week of Oct. 23rd -27th we will be having a China Week to celebrate the Chong Yang Festival. It falls on the 9th day of the 9th month on a lunar calendar. It’s also designated as Senior’s Day, for everyone to pay respect to the elderly. Our goal is for students to experience different aspect of life in China, from PE to music to in class writing activities! Thank you helping our children gain a stronger global perspective!
Soccer Nets
Viewing School Fees in Skyward
School fees are due to be paid by September 29, 2017. When viewing fees in Skyward Family Access, there will be multiple fees displayed. There will be one for textbook fees, one for consumable fees, and for Kindergarten, an additional one for material fees. Textbook and consumable fees may include digital resources or periodicals depending on the grade level. If your student is renting an iPad, a separate fee will be listed. Although fees are named the same, they are different categories. ex. 1st grade fee 1, first grade fee 1 (means first grade fee consumable and first grade fee textbook).
The total fees due are listed under Balance Due.
Please make checks payable to GES include Student name and ID number on the memo line. Payment may also be made online via the Efund Link. Partial payments must be set up in Efunds for automatic withdrawal.
https://eps.mvpbanking.com/cgi-bin/efs/login.pl?access=55481
If you have any questions regarding your student’s fees, please contact Amy Mudd at amudd@hse.k12.in.us or(317)915-4260
Student Council News
Several HSE schools are partnering together to help Braeburn Elementary School in Houston, Texas. Braeburn Elementary is a school that was greatly affected by the hurricane and forced to relocate due to to extensive damage. This school is located in a high poverty area and greatly in need of our help! FitzMark Inc has agreed to donate transportation of our collected goods to Braeburn Elementary School on September 25. GES Student Council will be collecting needed supplies. Watch for a wish list of supplies to come home soon. Donations will be accepted thru September 22.
Technology News
Our digital world is changing faster than we can imagine. Although technology can be a wonderful tool, we also need to make sure our children understand the safety of using it, as it does not come without potential risks. Teachers work hard to teach students digitally responsible ways to connect with the digital world. However, we wanted to share some of our resources so you can also have these conversations at home. The attached article includes websites can be valuable tools and include engaging activities for you and your child to learn about digital citizenship and safety. Click here for the article: http://tinyurl.com/ycd4yadq
iPad Update News
Apple will be releasing a new update to their iPad operating system, iOS 11, early next week. At this time, it is our recommendation that students/families NOT install this update. Our testing provider for ISTEP and IREAD, Pearson, has not approved this operating system for the TestNav app. Also, by waiting, it provides time for other apps that are used in the classroom to release their updates.
Once Pearson approves of iOS 11 we will inform you.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Hamilton Southeastern Schools
Late Picture Orders
Lunch Menus and Visitors
Click here to see what's being served in the café.
Click here for the food services website.
We are practicing smooth transitions and procedures in the cafeteria as our students adjust to the school schedule. The cafeteria is not open to visitors at this time. We will open for visitors after Labor Day.
Geist Elementary PTO is the best!
Want to keep up on what's happening at school?
Follow @geistgators on twitter. We tweet throughout the day.
Check our website: hse.k12.in.us/GES
This newsletter, the Geist Gazette, goes out every other Friday (although it may be sent again next week). We will send it to you via email, and post it on our website under the News tab.
Click here to see our building calendar. This lists activities before, during and after hours.
See what the HSE Schools Foundation is up to this month.
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AT GEIST:
3rd and 4th grade parents ... Destination Imagination at Geist Elementary - Informational Meeting September 19
Geist Elementary
What is it? Go to https://youtu.be/8qy4iwZeVeY
Sponsor Name: Ally Gamble email: agamble@hse.k12.in.us
Meeting Dates and Times: Wednesdays at GES 3:45-5:00 pm (Oct. – Jan.)
Regional tournament: date TBA (usually end of Feb./ beginning of March) Affiliate tournament April 14th
GES Informational meeting: Tuesday September 19th, parent/guardians and students are required to attend. GES Café at 6:30-7:30 pm.
Fee: $280 Form due by: 15th
Description: Destination Imagination is a place where kids take what they know and what they are good at and apply those skills to solve challenges. Students will work together with a team to push the limits of their imaginations to better themselves and their team. For more information go to www.hsedi.com.
This club requires parent involvement and students that can make the time commitment for meetings and competitions. Please consider volunteering your time leading a team; we need one parent for every 7 students.
American Sign Language (ASL)
American Sign Language Club is open to students 1st thru 4th grade
The club meets on Wednesday after school, 3:45-4:45.
Students will learn the alphabet, greetings, seasonal words, food, animals, numbers, common phrases and high frequency words, along with aspects of Deaf Culture. Classes are taught by Tara Frieden, licensed teacher and Certified Signing Time Instructor.
Session dates: 9/20, 9/27, 10/4, 10/11, 10/25,11/1, 11/8, 11/15
Cost is $80
Cash Checks payable to Tara Frieden, PayPal: tara.frieden@yahoo.com
To Register: Return registration form with payment or email tarafrieden@signingtimeacademy.com . Click here for the registration form.
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS:
HSE Schools Community Bulletin Board
HSE Schools has created a Community Bulletin Board on its district website. This will serve as a central location to find information about activities and events promoted by organizations that serve our students and their families. This is where the Fishers Library, YMCA, S.P.O.R.T.S. and other groups' registration information will be located.