The Geist Gazette
February 19, 2023
GEIST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Website: https://ges.hseschools.org/
Location: 14051 East 104th Street, Fishers, IN 46037
Phone: 317-915-4260
Twitter: @Geistgators
Principals Notes:
Hello Gator Families-
We hope the eLearning day went well and your children are excited to have a long weekend. Our staff had a very productive day participating in Professional Development. Our staff began their day at FHS with self-selected trainings, then K-4 teachers all learned more about the Science of Reading, and this afternoon our staff finished our training on Restorative practices. We appreciate your hard work at home so that we can continue to train our staff and minimize the use of substitutes.
We hope to see all our families at Science Night this Friday, Feb. 24. It will be a wonderful night to explore with many hands-on activities. If you have older children who need service hours, please have them reach out to ddobbins@hse.k12.in.us. We are in need of more volunteers and we love seeing our past students giving back to current GES students!
Enjoy the week-
Mrs. Thomas
Principal
Flying Fun in STEM Class
In STEM, we are currently learning about aerodynamics and how wind can affect flight. K-4 got the chance to create their own paper airplanes, and to test them outside to see whose can fly the furthest.
Good attendance at school has an impact on achievement, academically and socially. As children grow older and more independent, families play a key role in making sure students get to school safely every day and understand why attendance is so important for success in school and in life.
As outlined in the HSE Student Handbook, a maximum of eight (8) days per semester and a maximum of sixteen (16) days per school year will be excused. In the event your child needs to miss school, please call our GES Office Attendance Line at 317-915-4260 to report your child’s absence. In the event your child is seen by a medical professional, please provide a doctor’s note to the front office to be documented in your child’s attendance record. At the elementary level, the half day absence mark is 10:55AM for student day. Any student arriving after 8:40AM and prior to 10:55AM will be marked half day absence.
We realize some absences are unavoidable due to health problems or other circumstances, both excused and unexcused. However, we also know that when students miss too much school— regardless of the reason – it causes an interruption in the child’s learning.
Hamilton Southeastern Elementary Schools Behavior Expectations & Student Handbook 2022-2023
Kindergarten and 2nd Grade Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)
The CogAT measures general reasoning abilities and cognitive potential. No preparation is needed for this assessment.
Kindergarten and 2nd grade students first take the CogAT screener. The screener is simply a partial version of the full test. Students who score in the 80th percentile or higher on the screener will then take the full CogAT test.
The CogAT testing window is February 21 – March 10, 2023, testing will take place during the school day.
In the coming week, each grade levels classroom teacher will share specific testing date information with families. In the event your child is absent on the days testing is administered makeup testing will be administered during the testing window.
If your child uses a personal iPad, please make sure the Riverside Data Manager app is downloaded on your student’s iPad by Tuesday, February 21, 2023. The app icon is blue with the words Data Manager and a colorful bar graph on it. If your child has a rental device, you do not need to do anything. The app will download automatically.
Emails with testing results and identification information will be sent to K and second grade families through our Central Office in June when our identification process is complete.
Miss Schmitt and Mrs. Caughman's Kindergators visited with their Kindness Wagons
Kids Heart Challenge February 6-28
Kids Heart Challenge
February 6-28
Packets were sent home with each child for the Kids Heart Challenge this week. Each year we support this great service project for the American Heart Association. In 19 years, we have raised over $300,000. Last year we raised over $25,000. Thanks for your past support and I hope you will join us again this year. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Sutherlin - rsutherlin@hse.k12.in.us
Bonus Incentives
$100 after school activity / bonus prize
$300 Movie and Pizza
Most Money Donated - Shave Mr. Sutherlin's hair
Jump Rope / Free Throw Contest / must donate $15 or more
Global Studies: Around the World in 40 Minutes!
Hello, my name is Suzanne Chadwell and I have been the Global Studies teacher at Geist for the for the last 5 years. I split my time between Thorpe Creek and Geist. In this portion of Global Studies, we focus on our world, the people and the many cultures that make up our world. I always enjoy returning to Geist the second semester. It is a lot of fun to see all my old friends and to meet so many new ones!
I'm excited to share with you what each grade level is working on in my classroom! You can find details below.
GES Science and Engineering Fair - Judges Wanted
Science Fair Judges
Are you a science fan? The GES Science and Engineering Fair needs judges!! These volunteers will be needed on February 24th to judge the science fair entries. Please click here to sign up!
GES Family Science Night Friday, Feb. 24
The PTO is hosting a FREE Science Night on February 24th from 5:30-8:30 pm. Hands on inquiry, coding, Rick Crosslin’s Science is Fun program, and much more!! See the attached photo for more information. We need volunteers! Click here to sign up to help with Family Science Night!
Save the Memories with a GES Yearbook!
Yearbooks are on sale now through March 17.
All sales are online only. Yearbooks cost $18 each.
To order your yearbook visit:
inter-state.com/order and enter code: 75435YMy App Isn't Working!
Are you having trouble with your Safe Visitor App?Click on the SafeVisitor Solutions logo below for instructions!
SEL
R.A.V.E. REVIEWS
Help us in recognizing and appreciating our talented, hard-working, and dedicated employees by submitting a R.A.V.E. (Recognizing All Valuable Employees) Review. All HSE staff members are eligible for nomination and may be recognized multiple times. To submit a R.A.V.E. Review, click here to fill out a quick and easy online form and share why the individual is a 5-Star employee.
Recipients will receive a R.A.V.E. Review window cling to proudly display their nomination in their workspace, a certificate and letter of recognition with their review. Each month, one R.A.V.E. Review recipient will be selected at random by the Hamilton Southeastern Education Foundation for a $100 gift card. Thank you for your support!