The GATE Gazette
Friday, November 1, 2019
This Week
We had a great week! We finished our fall parent-teacher conferences with an excellent turn out. I heard so many wonderful comments from parents and staff about how things were going this year, how much their child liked school, and how the students feel so much more understood and supported in their learning. The teachers and I truly appreciate our open communication lines and partnership! We also had a fun Halloween parade and classroom parties! It was so fun to see the students all dressed up, laughing and having a good time.
Enjoy this week's news!
Sincerely,
Kate Martin, Principal
Bringing P2 Home
This week's P2 character trait was creativity.
Creative people can look at the world in original ways. They are open to new experiences, and have an imaginative and independent thought process. They generate lots of different ideas and can pursue them with energy and enthusiasm. Creativity is a process that takes courage. Anytime you share your original ideas with the world, you risk being criticized or even ostracized. Positive psychology breaks creativity into two components: First, he/she must produce original ideas or behaviors. Second, the original idea or behavior must make a positive contribution to that person’s life or the lives of others. There are both big and small acts of creativity. Big acts are exemplified by great artists and scientists. Small acts include everyday acts of creativity, such as how people create solutions to deal with problems at work or at home.
Now Try This!
Try this activity together at home:
Give your child some items from your recycling bin such as: plastic containers, cardboard, plus tape, markers, string, etc. Follow these parameters:
GATE Upcoming Events
- Nov. 4-15: Internal Application Window for residents and students already enrolled in Avondale thru schools of choice
- Nov. 5: 1/2 Day - Election Day
- Nov. 7: PTO Event - Cookies and Canvases 6-8:30 @ GATE
- Nov. 8: ALICE discussion with our Security Officer Mr. Dan. 2/3/4 Classes and then 4/5/6 classes will have separate discussions. (Shelter-in-place/intruder discussion)
- Nov. 11 - Nov. 22: Gleaner's Food Drive @ GATE
- Nov. 12: Fall Photo Retakes
- Nov. 13: Vision Screening
- Nov. 14: PTO Meeting 7pm, Media Center
- Nov. 22: 1/2 Day; Teacher Records in PM.
- Nov. 26: 1/2 Day; Teacher Records in PM. End of 1st Trimester.
- Nov. 27-29: No School
- Dec. 2: Art Gallery Walk 6pm @ GATE
- Dec. 2-6: Scholastic Book Fair all week!
- Dec. 12: PTO Meeting 7pm @ Media Center
- Dec. 20: Classroom winter parties - time TBD by classroom teacher
- Dec. 23-Jan. 3: Winter Break
- Jan. 9: PTO Meeting 7pm @ Media Center
- Jan. 16: Early Dismissal @ 1:05pm
- Jan. 17: Blanket Making event sponsored by PTO - details to come
- Jan. 23: GATE Open House Showcase Event - details to come
- Jan. 27-31: NWEA MAP Winter Testing week
Volunteer Reminders
I wanted to clarify some things about volunteers in Avondale and what regulations we have to follow. There are two different levels of volunteers:
Level TWO Volunteers:
-Just submit the volunteer form and driver's license copy.
-Examples of activities they can do once cleared: field trip chaperone, classroom helper, copy parent, can volunteer for lunch/recess but must be monitored by GATE or SafeEd staff, etc.
-Parents need this when they will be doing activities that still involve a GATE staff member or SafeEd guard monitoring the room/area.
-These volunteers are never alone with a child.
Level ONE Volunteers:
-Must go to HR to get a fingerprinting sheet, get the fingerprinting done, and pay for it themselves.
-Examples of activities they can do once cleared: hold small group activities without a GATE staff member or SafeEd guard in the same room, overnight field trips, book room volunteer on their own, can volunteer for lunch/recess and monitor on their own, etc.
-These volunteers can be alone with a child.
Field Trips: Prior to signing up to be a field trip chaperone, submit your volunteer form and ID.
Special Events: No volunteer status needed, but you do need to sign in and get a name tag. In January we will have a new system for any visitor which will involve everyone bringing their ID called Raptor. More info to come on this from the district soon.
I have linked the level 2 volunteer form below. You can submit the form and a copy of your ID to Brenda in the front office. It typically takes about a week to process. Thank you for your diligence with this!
Secure Doors: During the school day, parents may not let other parents into the building, even if you know them. Only GATE staff members or SafeEd staff may do this.
Volunteer Form
New PTO Website!
Afterschool Club Pick-Up Policy
-1st time late = warning
-2nd time late = unable to continue participating in the club; no refunds
*Ukulele club has an additional $10 childcare fee assessed with the warning since it is run by a separate company and not Avondale SD.
Thank you for your help with this important matter.
No Toys, Please
Exceptions would be made if there was a special event or if teachers specifically asked for students to bring in an item.
Thank you for your help with this!
Upcoming: Gleaner's Food Drive @ GATE!
Our food drive will run November 11-22.
There will be 2 goals:
1. School-wide goal: 550 lbs = We all earn a Pajama Day!
2. Classroom goal: Most pounds donated = Pizza Party!
About Hunger
More than 720,000 people in southeast Michigan live in poverty.
One in six people in Michigan will need emergency food this year.
34% of households served by Michigan food banks have at least one employed adult.
62% of people served by food banks live in suburban or rural areas.
38% of the people Gleaners serves are children and 7% are seniors.
Child poverty has more than doubled in the past decade; one in four children are now at risk of hunger.
About Gleaners
Gleaners collects and distributes over 34 million pounds of food annually, providing more than 28 million emergency meals to our neighbors in need.
How it works: Food is donated by major food processors and retail chains, collected through food drives, or is purchased by Gleaners at deep discounts. The food is then brought to a Gleaners Distribution Center to be inspected and sorted by the 48,000 volunteers that we rely on each year. Gleaners distributes the food to more than 510 partner agencies throughout southeast Michigan that provide pantry supplies or prepared meals directly to hungry people. Those partners include pantries, schools, shelters, senior citizen centers, and soup kitchens.
Updated District Communications Release
Avondale School District uses many internal and external tools to celebrate students, staff, and programs including school-wide and district-wide newsletters, social media posts, district and school websites, radio, newspapers, television, yearbooks, etc.. Recently, Avondale School District has updated their Communications Release guidelines to reflect the current practices being used at a district and school level. You can find the updated guidelines on the last page of the Avondale Student Acceptable Use Policy and Communications Release- Parents/Guardians Consent document that is attached to this email.
If you are in agreement with the updated guidelines, then you do not need to do anything further. If you are not in agreement with the updated guidelines, please contact the main office at 248-537-6400 and we will update your child's information showing that you have not given consent.
Fall Has Arrived!
Please remember to write your child's name inside of any coats, hats, etc. It is much easier to return items with a name inside should they get misplaced.
The new location for the lost and found is the table across from the Book Room.
Avondale Comicon is Back!
Other Reminders
Lunch/Recess Help Needed
Parents and volunteers - even ONE day a week or every other week HELPS a TON! Please consider signing up to help monitor students between 11:50-12:46.
Please sign up here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080a49aca62da0f58-lunchrecess
Please note that due to volunteer requirements and restrictions, you MUST have submitted a volunteer form and your photo ID to be processed before signing up. See additional instructions at the link above.
If you think you **might** be interested in our actual lunch/recess supervisor position, know that you can do it PART-TIME as well and share the job with someone else! Please email me if you think you might be interested in this option! We need 2 Lunchroom/Recess Supervisors. Hours are 11:30am-1:00pm Monday-Friday.
Please email me if interested.
PTO News
Cookies and Canvases Event!
Box Tops for Education
To earn money for our school From BoxTops:
-Open the App Store on any device with a camera,
-Search for “BoxTops” app,
-Download the app, and follow instructions.
(Our schools’ name is “Avondale GATE Magnet School.”)
Parents do NOT need to label your child's name on the baggies anymore. We have a school-wide goal to earn $500 back. We can do it!
Kroger Rewards
Amazon Smile
Staff Contact Information
If you need to notify the school of an:
ABSENCE
ABSENCE EXCUSE
EARLY DISMISSAL
OTHER IMPORTANT INFO FOR YOUR CHILD
Please call/email Brenda in the front office AND email your child's teacher:
GATE OFFICE CONTACT:
248-537-6400 (voicemail is now set up) or email brenda.trager@avondaleschools.org
You do not need to notify Ms. Martin of absences or early dismissals; please follow directions above.
Classroom Teachers
4th/5th: Ms. Michelle Gierman
michelle.gierman@avondaleschools.org
4th/5th: Ms. Erica Burmann
erica.burmann@avondaleschools.org
2nd/3rd: Ms. Amanda Merrill
amanda.merrill@avondaleschools.org
Long-Term Sub for Ms. Merrill - Ms. Leanore Ray
2nd/3rd: Ms. Kimberly McDermid
kimberly.mcdermid@avondaleschools.org
3rd/4th: Ms. Rachel Breeden
rachel.breeden@avondaleschools.org
6th: Mr. Mike Bigelow
michael.bigelow@avondaleschools.org
Special Area Staff
STEAM Lab: Ms. Heidi Heil
heidi.heil@avondaleschools.org
Physical Education: Ms. Adrianna Pfeffer
adrianna.pfeffer@avondaleschools.org
Art: Ms. Elizabeth Lowe
elizabeth.lowe@avondaleschools.org
Support Staff
Learning Resource Room: Ms. Jennifer Spencer
jennifer.spencer@avondaleschools.org
Speech Therapist: Ms. Kristen Genslak
kristen.genslak@avondaleschools.org
Social Work: Ms. Anne Ossewaarde
Contact Info
Our secretary, Brenda Trager, will be answering your calls.
Please call this number to report absences or when you have school related questions.
brenda.trager@avondaleschools.org
8:00-9:15am & 2:15-2:53pm - Enter at GATE entrance. All other times, enter main office.
Our address is 1435 West Auburn Rd. Rochester Hills, MI 48309
Our website: https://sites.google.com/a/avondaleschools.org/gate-1/
Contact Information
Email: kate.martin@avondaleschools.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/a/avondaleschools.org/gate-1/
Location: 1435 West Auburn Road, Rochester Hills, MI, USA
Phone: (248) 537-6400
Twitter: @KateMartinGATE