The Gates Mills Gazette
January 31, 2020
All-Access Learning
Spring State Testing
Grade 3: English Language Arts and Math Assessments
Grade 4: English Language Arts and Math Assessments
Grade 5: English Language Arts, Math and Science Assessments
Donations Needed
Health Update
PTC Information
The PTC is sponsoring Family Fun Night on Friday, February 7th from 6:00-7:30 pm in the school gym. Mrs. Ravida will be calling Bingo and the PTC will provide pizza and drinks.
Valentine's Day is Friday, February 14th, and our Annual Pancake Breakfast will take place from 7:15 - 7:50 am in the school gym. All families are invited to attend. Classroom parties will take place in the afternoon. We ask all Room Parents to check into the office at 1:40 pm and then report to your designated classrooms. The PTC is providing a craft and snack.
The next PTC meeting is on April 1st at 6:30 pm in the Idea Lab. Most of our wonderful PTC members are going to be leaving at the end of this school year so now is a great time to get involved! If you are interested in participating on the board next year, please reach out to gatesmillspto@gmail.com
Citizen of the Day
Ambrielle B., Adam A., Ethan K., Elijah G., Adrianna M., Willow C., David K., Anna K., Dhiyanesh J., Joey K., Maysen D., Aarian P., Adrian P., Ayanda M., Myah M., Kadyn J., Sneha K., Anish M. and Kingston M.
It's Cold Weather Time Again!
Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately to participate in outdoor recess (i.e., coat, hat, gloves, boots, snow pants, etc.). As stated in the handbook: All students are expected to go outside unless the temperature is below 20 degrees or the wind chill is below 10 degrees. Generally, if a child is able to ride the bus and attend school, (s)he should also be able to go outside at recess. The only exceptions are: a physician’s request, a written parent request for the day the child returns to school following an illness, or a request by the teacher or Principal. We have a limited amount of clothing for students to change into should they get wet or muddy outside, so please consider sending in an extra set of clothing for your children.
Inside the Idea Lab
This week we visited the Idea Lab twice! On Monday we read another contender for March Book Madness called Penguin Flies Home: A Flight School Story. In this book, a penguin travels a long distance to visit his family and friends. On the way, he sees the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis. This part of the story inspired us to do some online research on this phenomenon, and we viewed many still photos as well as a lovely time-lapse video of the Northern Lights as seen from Northern Scotland. The students loved this research.
We continued working on our puzzles for National Puzzle Day this week. Puzzles are a great way for children to build problem-solving skills, work on spatial reasoning, and improve memory. Puzzling is also a great family activity which naturally lends itself to a relaxed atmosphere where meaningful communication can occur. There are even great “family puzzles” with three different sizes of pieces. Our students really enjoy these.
We also worked on some new Plus-Plus creations this week. I recently downloaded about two dozen new sets of instructions for making animals and other creatures with our Plus-Plus blocks. The students are greatly enjoying these new challenges, as several are quite advanced. Building with Plus-Plus blocks is a fantastic way to help develop spatial reasoning skills in young children, as all of the directions are in three dimensional drawings, similar to the format of Lego instructions.
On Friday we read Nobody Likes a Goblin, the next book in our March Book Madness reading series. This delightful modern-day fairy tale is a great segue into February, when our Dewey Decimal section of the month will be 398.2, the fairy tale section. We will also celebrate with a lot of books for African-American History Month. Stay tuned for more details on our featured reading genres and themes for February.
As winter progresses, please help your children keep their library books safe and dry in their backpacks. We have recently had some damaged books returned due to wet or messy book bags, so please put books in a plastic bag if necessary. Thank you for keeping our library books in good condition for all students to enjoy! Keep reading!
School Fee Reminder
Kindergarten: $25.00/Reduced $5.00
Grades 1-5: $42.00/Reduced $8.40
Lunch Menus
Important Dates
February 3: Leukemia Fundraiser Assembly 9:00-9:30 AM - Gym
February 7: Family Fun Night 6:00 - 7:30 PM - Gym
February 11: Gr. 3 Innovation Center 8:15 - 11:15 AM
February 14: Valentine Breakfast 7:15 - 7:50 AM - Gym & Valentine Parties
February 17: No School - President's Day
February 18: Kindergarten Parent Night/Orientation 6:30-7:30 PM - Middle School
February 27: No School - Staff Professional Development Day
February 28: Gr. 4 & 5 GM Library Innovation Hour (Light Bot Coding)
Important Websites
School Website: Gates Mills Elementary
Gates Mills PTC: Gates Mills PTC
Supply Lists: Gates Mills Supply List
Information for Parents: Summer Central
School Lunch Information: Food Services
Bus Information:Transportation
Detailed School Information: Elementary Student Handbook
Attendance Matters: House Bill 410
Community Flyers: Community Flyers
Friday Folder: Friday Folder Web Page
Alternative Address Form: Alternative Address Form
District Calendars: District Calendars
District Parent Mentor Information: District Parent Mentor Information
Drop Off & Dismissal Procedures: Drop Off/Pick Up
Mayfield City Schools App: Visit the App Store for Android or Apple
Gates Mills Elementary School
Email: lravida@mayfieldschools.org
Website: http://www.mayfieldschools.org/gatesmillselementary_home.aspx
Location: 7639 Colvin Road, Gates Mills, OH, USA
Phone: 440-995-7500
Twitter: @ravida_laurel