Glacier Ridge Gazette
Glacier Ridge Elementary School | August 3, 2022
- - - - - - - - -
Back to School Information
Principal Message
Dear Glacier Ridge Families,
I hope you were able to have a wonderful summer following another year of changes, uncertainty, and flexibility. I’m optimistic that we will continue to build upon our strong community and use the skills we have learned over the past few years.
This year does bring some exciting changes. We are welcoming many new families to Glacier Ridge. We will embrace the new families coming from Depp Elementary, some of which are returning to the GRE family. We also welcome newly enrolled students. Regardless of whether you are new or a returning Glacier family, I am sure you will experience the strong school community and kindness that we uphold.
As we do each year, we start the school year focusing on building a strong classroom and school culture, with an emphasis on our motto, "Choose Kind"! We will have multiple initiatives that focus on building relationships and community. You will notice that grade level meetups have been scheduled for August 11th (see Grade Level Meet-up section for details). We will also have new student orientation for all new families in grades 1-5. Our annual Tiger Trot will combine tiger conservation and classroom collaboration by incorporating community building activities. On the first day of school, all students will read the book, Letters to Live By: An Alphabet Book With Intention, by Lisa Frenkel Riddiough. A special thank you to the GRE PTO for providing funding for the whole school book messaging initiative and coordinating many of our school community initiatives.
There have been some changes in staffing for the 22-23 school year. Shana Materkoski, our admin intern in 21-22, had a strong desire to return to the classroom. Fortunately for us, she will stay right here at GRE, teaching 5th grade. I am excited to share that Lisa Orem will be transitioning to the administrative intern role from Thomas Elementary (in Dublin City Schools) For the past 20+ years, Ms. Orem has been teaching special education at Thomas. She brings her strong instructional and intervention knowledge and will combine them with her leadership skills as our new administrative intern. In addition, below is a list of all the new staff that will be joining the GRE family for the 22-23 school year. We are fortunate to attract and hire high quality professionals. Please join me in welcoming them.
Christy Birkholz - 1st grade
Erin Flory - Reading Support
Maureen Force - Building Educational Attendant
Jaime Jarrett - English Learning
Kristen Klopfer - 4th grade
Lisa Orem - Administrative Intern
Taylor Sholl - Kindergarten
Allison Stollar - English Learning
Beth Sullivan - 4th grade
Mary Watts (Johann) - Kindergarten
Sarah Zink - Special Education
Fifth Grade Teaming Teachers: This year, we have 5 sections of 5th grade. Four of our fifth grade classrooms will be departmentalized into teams this year, as we have in previous years. Students in those classrooms will have one teacher in the morning and then switch to another teacher for the afternoon. Mrs. Harper (math/science) will team with Ms. Fain (reading/social studies) and Ms. Mathias (reading/science) will team with Mrs. Hunter (math/social studies). Ms. Materkoski will have a self-contained classroom and teach all the subjects.
Whether you are counting down the days until school starts or counting the days left of summer, please enjoy the rest of your summer. We are all working very hard to ensure that your children will have the best educational and social experience possible. We look forward to seeing the students and families this year as we collaboratively strengthen our kind GRE school community. We can’t wait to see you!
Sincerely,
Pete Kurty, Ed.D
Principal
Glacier Ridge Elementary
&
Lisa Orem
Administrative Intern
GLACIER RIDGE INFORMATION
The information below will help you plan for returning to school. Although it is a lot of information, it is our intent to help you and your children feel comfortable and informed about coming to Glacier Ridge. Additional Glacier Ridge Forms for you to complete will be emailed to you as we get closer to school.
Arrival & Dismissal Procedures
Click HERE to view the procedures for arrival and dismissal
Click HERE to complete the Transportation Survey Form for ALL STUDENTS. This helps us get your child home correctly, especially the first days of school.
Classroom Teacher Assignments: Week of August 8
On or after August 8th, you will receive an email from the district with your child’s classroom/teacher assignment. Please be patient, as it takes a significant amount of time to email each family with their individual classroom assignment. Please remember that there are many factors that are considered when creating the class lists.
School Supplies
All students that purchased school supply kits will have the kits given to them in their classrooms on the first day of school. For those that did not order supplies from the PTO in the spring, you can visit the GRE website to view the supply lists. You can purchase the items on your own and do the best that you can to find similar items.
Grade Level Meet-Ups & Hawaiian Ice Truck: August 11th
Come meet other GRE families at an optional, informal meet and greet at the Glacier Ridge Elementary School playground on August 11th. This is an informal opportunity to meet current and new GRE families and students in order to make new connections and relationships. In addition, the Hawaiian Ice Truck will be available from 5:30 - 8:00pm. Much like our ongoing school initiative, we hope that families and students will Start with hello > Find a connection > Create a friendship. Siblings in other grades are welcome to attend other grade level meet and greets. GRE staff will not be in attendance, but we hope many families will come out to meet one another. This event will be held rain or shine, so please use your own discretion in the event of inclement weather. Grade level times are listed below:
Kindergarten & 1st grade at 4:30PM
2nd & 3rd grade at 6:00PM
4th & 5th grade at 7:30PM
Hawaiian Ice Truck 5:30 - 8:00PM
The Hawaiian Ice is provided free of charge for all current GRE students and is $3 for siblings or family members. Thank you PTO!
New Family Orientation: Grades 1 - 5 - August 11 @ 5:30 - 6:30PM
Our new family orientation is for families and students in grades 1-5 that moved into the attendance area for the 22-23 school year and families being redistricted from Depp Elementary that did not attend the new family orientation last May. Those families that already attended orientation last May but would like to hear the presentation or see the school again, you are more than welcome to attend. At the new family orientation, families and students will have the opportunity to meet current students, connect with one another, tour the building with a scavenger hunt, and ask any questions. The grade level meet-ups will coincide with the orientation so families can meet other GRE families and have the opportunity to get a snowcone from the Hawaiian Ice Truck. You can enter the building through the front entrance and keep in mind that parking may be limited.
Meet the Teacher: Tuesday, August 16th
Students and families are invited to this open house type event to see the classroom and meet the teacher and other staff members. The PTO has purchased GRE Choose Kind pens that students will receive from their classroom teacher. Please remember to keep your children with you during this event. As usual, parking is limited, so please be patient and understanding.
Last names A-K 2:30-3:00
Last names L-Z 3:15-3:45
Staff Flipgrid
You can see a video of our GRE staff introducing themselves and sharing a little information about who they are. New or transitioning staff are still in the process of recording their video. So, you are looking for a staff member that is not there, visit the site again as we get closer to the start of school.
Password: Choosekind (Capital C - no spaces between words)
First Day of School: Kindergarten
All kindergarten families should have already received a letter in the mail in June with the AM/PM and phase in day assignment. If you did not receive this letter, please call the school for your assignments after August 1. Kindergarten students will attend one of the first two days of school (August 17 or 18). All kindergarten students will begin with their regular schedule on Friday, August 19th. AM K is from 9:10 (arrive at 9:00) – 11:45am and PM K is from 1:00 – 3:40pm (arrive at 12:50). Please communicate with your child how they are getting home. If your child is going home differently on the first day of school, please communicate that to your child’s teacher and the front office (gres_attendance@dublinschools.net). Kindergarten teachers will meet students at the front of the building to gather all kindergarten students. Other staff are on duty to help escort kindergarten students to their location as well.
First Day of School: Grades 1-5
Our first day of school for grades 1-5 will be Wednesday, August 17th. Students will be allowed to go to their classrooms at 9:00am and the tardy bell rings at 9:10. School dismisses at 3:40pm. Please communicate with your child how they are getting home. If your child is going home differently on the first day of school, please communicate that to your child’s teacher and the front office (gres_attendance@dublinschools.net).
Glacier Ridge Frequently Asked Questions
If you are new to Glacier Ridge you can find common questions at our GRE Frequently Asked Questions document. It is also located on the GRE website.
Back to School Forms: (required)
You will receive an email with back to school email with login/password and instructions to complete back to school forms. You can access those forms at https://www.dublinschools.net/updatestudentinformation. You will be directed to a webpage with specific directions and links to the sites you will need to access prior to the start of the school year on August 17 and throughout the rest of the school year. Please note, once you complete them, you will not be able to go back to edit. Should you have any changes, you can contact the school office.
Family Group Login:
Username: Student ID of your youngest child in DCS
Password: Date of birth of youngest child in DCS (M/D/YYYY)
Emergency Forms from CareDox
You will receive a separate email from Caredox for each student enrolled to complete the needed emergency medical information.
PTO Directory
The PTO directory is an optional method to share your contact information with the PTO and the room parents. You have the opportunity to opt into sharing your information as you complete your back to school online forms. Due to FERPA laws, schools cannot share directory information with other families. However, families can opt to share their contact information with the PTO. Room parents use this information to communicate via email with all families in the classroom about events and parties without the teacher having to do so. Your contact information is not used or distributed for any other purpose. We strongly encourage you to opt into sharing your information with the PTO as you complete your back to school online forms.
Parent Teacher Organization
Glacier Ridge is fortunate to have an actively involved PTO. Ellie Moore and Hilary Brooks will be serving as PTO President and Vice Presidents for the upcoming school year. Please visit the PTO webpage for important information and dates.
Bus Routes
Bus routes will be posted on theDCS Website > Operations > DCS Transportation website approximately Monday, August 15th. Bus route and bus stop information is released this week so it can be as accurate as possible. There will be a transportation representative at the open house event on Aug. 16th.
Lunch
Dublin City Schools is switching to the Sodexo catering company starting in the 22-23 school year. Lunch menus and payment information will be available at the Back To School page and will be available to view the week of Aug. 15 on the district’s website > Parent Resources. Lunch will NOT be free for all students this year. However, the free and reduced lunch program will be in place. More information about pricing or applying for the free reduced lunch program will be provided closer to the start of school.
Family Information Presentation (Formerly Curriculum Nights)
Curriculum nights will be conducted differently this year for all elementary schools. In lieu of a traditional in-person event, a pre-recorded parent information video will be provided by your child’s teacher by Friday, August 19th to watch at your convenience. This allows for flexibility and eliminates the need for childcare. Please take the time to watch this video provided by the teacher(s).
Principal Q & A Session: Aug. 23 @ 5:30pm
In addition to the Family Information Presentation video from your child’s teacher, a live online Q & A session with the principal and admin intern will occur on Tuesday, August 23 at 5:30pm. This is an opportunity for families to ask questions and hear school information and updates. The session will be recorded, if you are unable to attend. You can join the Zoom link below:
Important Tasks:
Complete the GRE Transportation Form
Complete district back to school forms (emailed by DCS)
Complete district health forms (emailed through CareDox)
- - - - - - - - -
GRE EVENTS
Upcoming Events
Aug 19 (and following week): Family information presentation video emailed to families
Aug 23: Online Principal Q & A (Zoom Link)
Sept 5: Labor Day – NO SCHOOL
Sept 21: Fall Picture Day
Oct 14: No school - Professional day
Oct 20: Family Conference Night 1
Oct 26: Family Conference Night 2
Oct 26: Fall picture day make-ups
Oct 26: 3rd grade fall Ohio State Test (reading) day 1
Oct 27: 3rd grade fall Ohio State Test (reading) day 2
Oct 31: Harvest parties
Nov 8: No School - Professional day
Nov 11: Veterans Day celebration
Nov 16: General PTO meeting @ 6pm at GRE
Nov 23 - 25: No school - Thanksgiving break
- - - - - - - - -
DISTRICT NEWS
District News
Be looking for updates from DCS each week in our weekly newsletter.
Need more information? Visit our sites below.
Attendance
If your child will be absent from school, please email our attendance line at gres_attendance@dublinschools.net.
Glacier Ridge Elementary
Email: glacierridge_info@dublinschools.net
Website: https://www.dublinschools.net/Domain/18
Location: 7175 Glacier Ridge Boulevard, Dublin, OH, USA
Phone: 614.733.0012
Twitter: @greDCSD