Coin War Success!

A huge thank you to everyone who sent in coins, dollar bills, and online donations. We were able to raise $2,508.59 to go towards our PBIS initiative for next school year. As you may have heard, the district doesn't provide any funding for PBIS so this is a huge help for our Garner teachers as they work to instill positive behavior in our Gator students.

And a huge congratulations to our winning buddy classes, Luce and Schroeder, who raised $581.13

Classroom Snacks & Celebrations

• The District is committed to providing a safe and healthy learning environment for our students. Due to the increase in food allergies and concerns with childhood obesity, changes are being made to the district’s Wellness Policy regarding classroom snacks, birthday treats and classroom celebrations. Some elementary schools are celebrating birthdays without food, so please check with your child's school to find out their practice.
  
  When food is served to students in the classroom as a snack, birthday treat, or during a classroom celebration, the following rules apply (ICCSD Wellness Policy 507.9):

  • allow only fresh fruits/vegetables or purchased foods with the ingredients listed (no homemade foods).
  • allow only foods that meet the Healthy Food Guidelines/ Smart Snacks. (the only exception to this would be food-tasting related to district-approved curriculum lessons)
  • not allow foods with peanuts or peanut butter, or foods that were made in a factory where cross-contamination may occur.
  • food that does not meet the guidelines will be sent home.
  • a list of acceptable foods (Healthy Food Guidelines/Smart Snacks) will be made available to parents and teachers at the beginning of the school year.

  
  

Please call the Garner office 2 days prior to make a lunch reservation with your student. Due to the size of our small cafeteria, only 5 parents per lunch period. All parents must have a district approved background check. Click the link below.

online authorization

For more up to date information about our Garner PE program, please follow Ms. Ward's Twitter page https://twitter.com/mswardpe

Click here to download

Upcoming Events:

June 25th: Garner Community Day at Cedar Rapids Kernels Game

July 1st: Popsicles in the Park for Garner families

July 23rd: Garner Gators' Summer Pool Party

Kernels Game: Sunday, June 25th at 1:05 pm. Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids.

Join fellow Garner families and cheer on the Cedar Rapids Kernels. It’s also kids eat free day! Mark your calendar and we will share the link to order tickets soon.

Popsicles in the Park: Saturday, July 1st from 2-4pm. Quail Ridge Park in North Liberty.

Our generous friends at Country Landscapes, Inc. are sponsoring a fun afternoon at Quail Ridge Park. Cool off with popsicles and water balloons with your Garner friends! Siblings welcome, guardians required.

Summer Pool Party: Sunday, July 23rd from 6-7:30 pm. North Liberty Pool.

This is a FREE community event for all our Garner Gator families! No registration required. *This is not a drop off event. Guardians must attend with their children.*

Looking ahead: YES, we are going to offer school supply kits to order this summer. Watch for more info later on. If you're not already following the Garner PTO Facebook page; get on it! @GarnerPTO

Hy-Vee Receipt Collection: Keep forwarding copies of your receipts from any Iowa City/Coralville Hy-Vees and Hy-Vee Drugstores to hyvee.receipts@garnerpto.org to help Garner earn more cash from Hy-Vee in the ongoing Cash 4 Students program. $1 will be earned for every $200 collected in receipts. PTO receives the money to use toward budgeted items and/or events that benefit Garner kids.

It was recently brought to our attention that there were some recess issues that seemed to stem from boredom, and our teacher representative requested new balls for the students. Because of our generous volunteers and families during all of our fundraisers this year, we were able to get these ordered that same night. THANK YOU, THANK YOU for allowing us to help in all the big and little ways throughout the year!

Celebration Rock

**The Garner Celebration Rock is a fun way for YOU to paint a birthday message to your student! For a pre-paid $10 rental fee (proceeds go to the school PTO) the Celebration Rock can be reserved for your child's special day. Read more information and sign up using this link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040d4ca9ac2ea2fa7-garner

The Garner PTO needs your help! Our work fundraising and planning activities supports the students, teachers, and staff of Garner Elementary, but we can't do it without YOU. Let us know how you'd like to get involved by filling out the form at the link below. This form is also on our Facebook page: @GarnerPTO

Garner PTO Volunteers (google.com)

Garner families,

Cold and flu season is upon us and we are seeing an increase in seasonal illness and Covid-19 within our community. Please review our school districts health and safety protocols (https://www.iowacityschools.org/Page/15737) and keep your child home if they are ill. If your student reports symptoms but seems well enough to be at school, please check a temperature before sending them. To help prevent the spread of seasonal illness, please help us reinforce the following good hygiene habits

• Wash hands frequently
• Do not touch eyes, nose or mouth
• Cover mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, use a paper tissue, throw it away and then wash hands
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick

We always have masks available for those who choose to wear them. If you would like to be cautious and have your student mask, please remind them that they can get one in the main office.

We hope to send our students to their winter break feeling healthy so that they can enjoy their days off and feel their best.

Nurse Haley

“Breakfast is available each day beginning at 7:30 a.m. We offer lots of student friendly options and each meal contains a serving of fruit and a carton of milk. Breakfast menus can be found at Meal Viewer. Cost is $2.15 for full priced students, $0.30 for reduced students and free for students who have qualified for free benefits.”

May 29th: No School Memorial Day

June 1st: 1st grade Field Trip to Forever Green and Centennial Park

June 2nd: 2nd Grade Kent Park Field Trip 8:30-2:30.

June 5th: 6th Grade Graduation Ceremony 9:30

June 6th: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL 1:55pm dismissal

Summer Dates to Remember:

June 25th- Gators go to the Kernels Game

July 1st- Popsicles in the Park with Garner Families

July 23rd- Garner Gator Summer Pool Party

July 31st- School Registration

August 21st- Ice Cream Social/Open House

August 23rd- First Day of School

It is the policy of the Iowa City Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (for employment), marital status (for programs), sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status (for programs) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy, please contact Laura Gray, Director of Diversity and Cultural Responsiveness (programs), gray.laura@iowacityschools.org or Eric Howard, Director of Equity and Employee Relations (employment), howard.eric@iowacityschools.org, 1725 N. Dodge Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52245, (319) 688-1000. If you are unsure how to proceed or would like assistance in discussing your options, you may also contact Janet Abejo-Parker, Ombuds, ombuds@iowacityschools.org or (319) 688-1312.

Students, Families, and Employees - The Ombuds Office is here to help! Visit www.IowaCitySchools.org/Ombuds to learn more!

Email: bennett.debbie@iowacityschools.org

Website: https://www.iowacityschools.org/Domain/500
Location: 80 Birch Street, North Liberty, IA, USA
Phone: (319) 688-1190
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GarnerGators/