Monday Message
News from Mrs. Hilcher-Principal of Grapevine Elementary
Week of September 7-11
Curriculum Showcase
Reminders: Arrival & Dismissal
Students are expected to be dropped off at the school no earlier than 7:15 unless enrolled in KidzU's before school care
GES staff will supervise students in the gym (3-5) and cafeteria (K-2) from 7:15 until the first bell rings at 7:35-when they are dismissed to their classrooms
All GES students will walk independently down the instructional hallways to their classrooms
Students must be in their seats in their classrooms at 7:45 or they will be counted as tardy
Afternoon Dismissal:
- All students will be escorted to their dismissal locations by a staff member. Please do not arrange to meet your child in the foyer, work room or library after school.
- Students have designated pick up areas depending on their mode of transportation home. KidzU and daycare bus riders will be escorted to the cafeteria. Car riders and walkers have set locations outside the building that their teachers will escort them to, as well.
- Walkers will meet their siblings, neighbors and/or walking parents and quickly proceed to the crosswalk nearest their homes. Walker Station areas should be cleared out within minutes of dismissal
- K-2 students walking to the northern crosswalk (Hall Johnson & Hazy Meadow) will be dismissed from the picnic table area only
- K-2 students walking to the southern crosswalk (Hall Johnson & Hughes) will only be dismissed from the area near the front entrance to the school only
- These new front loop walker stations will eliminate the cross traffic of walkers that poses a safety concern to dismissing K-2 car riders. Please help us by arranging to meet your child at the walker station closest to your house.
North Crosswalk
K-2 Walker Station
South Crosswalk
K-2 Walker Station
Volunteering at GES
Each year, volunteers are required to complete an online background check. If you plan to volunteer on campus, on a field trip, or any other responsibility that puts you in contact with students, you must complete the application found by clicking on this link: http://www.gcisd-k12.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=474 Background checks from last year will NOT roll forward. ALL volunteers MUST complete a new form each year.
- All volunteers will need to sign in with front office staff
- If you're volunteering for an early morning opportunity, please plan to check-in between 7:15-7:30
- If you are volunteering in the classroom once the school day starts, we ask that you wait until KGES/Morning announcements are over before signing in. This allows the front office staff to tend to student needs from 7:35-7:50.
Classroom volunteers typically complete their work prior to 2:45 and are asked to check out in the front office at that time. To clarify, volunteers who are working with after school student groups, or PTA ticket sales, etc...will check out once their volunteer time is complete. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need clarification on sign-in and sign-out expectations. We appreciate your cooperation with all sign-in/out procedures and the extra support you provide our teachers and staff!
Yearbooks
Enter our school's passcode: 1013813367251830. Watch for more information from our PTA in your child's folder within the coming weeks.
2015-2016 Handbooks
The ABC's of Grapevine Elementary document has also been updated and can be found on the GES website~About Us~Policies and Procedures or by clicking on the following link: http://www.gcisd-k12.org/cms/lib4/TX01000829/Centricity/Domain/1678/ABCs%20of%20GES.pdf
Campus Excellence Committee
The Campus Excellence Committee is made up of 9-15 members with representation from GES administration, faculty, staff, parents and community members. The vital role of the Campus Excellence Committee(CEC) is to ensure the implementation of site-based decision making. The CEC makes important decisions for the campus regarding budget, goal setting, curriculum, staffing patterns and school organization. We are looking forward to having our first Campus Excellence Committee meeting on 9/29 at 3:00pm. If you would like to serve on this committee, or you know of a community member who would be a good candidate, please call the front office at 817-251-5735. Meetings will be held on Tuesday afternoons in the GES library. The following dates are our scheduled meetings for the 2015-2016 school year: 9/29; 10/27; 12/15; 1/26; 2/23/ 3/29 and 5/3.
Homeroom Parents Needed
Are you interested in becoming a Homeroom Parent or want to learn more about it? Please join the GES PTA for a Homeroom Parent Meeting on Friday Sept.11 at 8:15am in the Cafeteria. Our Homeroom parents help coordinate two class parties and classroom carnival participation. They also work closely with our teachers on additional classroom needs. If you are interested please send an email to Mandy Grimplin to let her know you will be attending and what classroom your child is in!
Mandy Grimplin -Homeroom Parent Coordinator: 214.282.6726 or mailto:mandygrimplin@hotmail.com
Class DoJo
Share Your Thoughts
As you know, we are inviting our community to please take some time to respond to a few important, open-ended questions that will help guide the future of our school and our district. This process will help us understand shared concerns and positive things about our organization.
Visit Thoughtexchange at http://gcisd-k12.thoughtexchange.com/invitation to share your thoughts for the future of Grapevine-Colleyville ISD. There are no logins or passwords and you are not signing up for a product or service. Notes about this process:
- We estimate it will take you between 5 minutes and 15 minutes to participate.
- Please complete this step by Sunday September 13, 2015 11:00 PM.
- You can complete questions at your own pace, and come back to change, add or delete your answers at any time until this date.
GCISD Book Challenge
Again this year, GES students will have the chance to participate in a district-wide reading challenge. K-2 students will be challenged to read 100 books and grades 3-5 are encouraged to read 25 books. Why encourage reading in this manner?
The Book Challenge:
- fosters a love for reading
- encourages an exploration of genres
- builds stamina
- allows students to share and recommend books to others
- designates class time for independent reading
- allows students to pick books they WANT to read
For more information, click on the link:
Follow the challenge on Twitter-students, teachers, parents... #GCISD25
Happy reading!!
Telling Our Story
Join Twitter. Create a free account and follow the excitement!
Follow Mrs. Hilcher: @GESHilcher
Follow Ms. Ray: @GESKRay
Follow Grapevine Elementary: @GESStars
Follow your favorite teacher: @GES[lastname]
Follow all the classrooms by checking our #GESshineon
Join us on Facebook. Search for Grapevine Elementary School and “Like” us: https://www.facebook.com/GrapevineElementary
- Keep your Skyward Family Access email and phone number up to date. These lists are frequently used by GES and GCISD to send out important information.
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, 9/8 Homework begins at GES
Thursday, 9/10 GES Curriculum Showcase (6:30-7:30pm)
Saturday, 9/12 Grapevine Lake Clean Up Day (see district website for details)
Thursday, 9/17 PTA meeting & Spaghetti Dinner (6:30pm)
Friday, 9/25 GES Rachel's Challenge Rally for students
Tuesday, 9/29 Campus Excellence Committee (3:00pm)
Friday, 10/16 GLOW DANCE! (6:30-8:30)