GECKO GAZETTE
GRANT SCHOOL - SANTA MONICA
WEEK OF MARCH 8 - 14, 2021
~CELEBRATE WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH~
~TRANSLATION OPTION INTO 100 LANGUAGES!~
~ ¡NUEVA OPCIÓN DE TRADUCCIÓN A 100 IDIOMAS! ~
Para leer la Gaceta Gecko en otro idioma, mire a la derecha del boletín y haga clic en "TRADUCIR EL BOLETÍN". ¡Ahora puede elegir entre 100 idiomas!
~ በ 100 ቋንቋዎች ውስጥ አዲስ የትርጓሜ ምርጫ! ~
የጌኮ ጋዜጣ በሌላ ቋንቋ ለማንበብ እባክዎን በራሪ ወረቀቱ በስተቀኝ በኩል ይመልከቱ እና “የትርጉም ጽሑፍ” ን ጠቅ ያድርጉ ፡፡ አሁን ከ 100 ቋንቋዎች መምረጥ ይችላሉ!
~ IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER ~
Please review these important dates:
- Monday, March 15th: Distance Learning Plus begins at Grant. See below for schedule details.
- Wednesday, March 17th: PTA General Meeting: 6:30 PM
- Monday, March 22nd: School Site Council Meeting: 3:00 PM
- March 24 - 26: Grant EL Students assessed with the ELPAC. THESE DATES ARE SHIFTING. PARENTS WILL BE NOTIFIED. Students in Grades TK-2 will be assessed online and students in Grades 3-5 will be assessed in person.
- Monday, March 29th - Sunday, April 11th: SPRING BREAK: NO SCHOOL
- Monday, April 12th: TK-5 Hybrid program begins. Details to be sent soon.
- Thursday, April 22nd: Student Picture Day. The format of makeup picture day is still to be determined due to the pandemic. More info as we get it.
- Thursday, April 22nd: Earth Day. Stay tuned for activities all week long!
- Tuesday, May 11th: Make-up Picture Day
~DISTANCE LEARNING PLUS UPDATE~
March 7, 2021
Dear Grant Parents and Caregivers,
I hope this message finds you all well. We continue to work on finalizing our Distance Learning Plus model and we will begin inviting students back on campus beginning the week of March 15th!
Grant School will be implementing an on-campus AM/PM cohort model which will continue to include distance learning during the week. Thank you to all who attended the information meetings last week and to everyone who submitted their child's RSVP to attend on-campus learning and activities. We had an extremely high response rate! 88% of our Geckos will be returning for on-campus learning beginning March 15th.
The grade-level schedules (AM/PM cohorts) for the weeks of March 15th and March 22nd are as follows:
- Mondays 3/15 & 3/22: Grades 2 and 3
- Tuesdays 3/16 & 3/23: Grades TK and Kindergarten
- Wednesdays 3/17 & 3/24: Distance Learning for All
- Thursdays 3/18 & 3/25: Grades 1 and 5
- Fridays 3/19 & 3/26: Grade 4
- Detailed schedules outlining arrival and dismissal times will be sent this week.
I will be holding "Welcome Back" assemblies for the students on Friday, March 12th at the following times:
- TK-1: 9:00 AM
- Grades 2 and 3: 9:30
- Grades 4 and 5: 10:30
- This is the Zoom link for these assemblies.
Following are items you should be expecting from the school this week:
- AM and PM student cohort assignments (this will include our online learners)
- Finalized AM/PM schedules
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sheet
- Schedules and updates about our instructional model beginning April 12th.
I am happy to announce that our staff is getting vaccinated at a quick rate! We are all so relieved that our Grant family will have an extra layer of protection when we return to campus.
All of us at Grant are so excited to see our Geckos! While we know that their on-campus time in DL+ will not look exactly as it does in a normal year, we are enthusiastic to provide them with some sense of a normal school experience for the remainder of this school year.
It's hard to believe that students have been off-campus for a year now. Their resilience during this time has been incredible and is something we will all talk about for the rest of our lives.
GO GECKOS!
Best regards,
Christian Fuhrer
Principal
Grant School
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
~SUSTAINABLE SANTA MONICA STUDENT POSTER CONTEST~
~SPECIAL EDUCATION WORKSHOPS FOR PARENTS~
~GRANT LIBRARY CURBSIDE PICKUP~
Library Book Curbside pick-up will continue during Distance Learning Plus. Instructions for placing holds, accessing the library catalog, and the library website are all in the PDF which is linked below. Students will be notified when holds are ready for pickup. Contact Ms. Wolfe if you have any questions. pwolfe@smmusd.org
Pick up days will be:
Monday - 9:00 - 11:00
Wednesday - 9:00 - 11:00 and 2:00 - 4:00
Friday - 9:00 - 11:00
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE BELOW INTERACTIVE DOCUMENT:
~HELP WITH DISTRICT ISSUED LAPTOPS~
- Your child's laptop is not working
- You are moving out of the school district
- Troubleshooting issues
If your child is currently using a district-issued laptop to engage in distance learning and you require technical assistance, please email our technology specialist at:
If you require translation services for this assistance, please contact Bilingual Community Liaison Florencia Rams at frams@smmusd.org.
~ A MESSAGE FROM THE GRANT SCHOOL PTA ~
~ DONATE TO THE GRANT PTA AND SANTA MONICA EDUCATION FOUNDATION TODAY! ~
Your donation does so much for Grant!
Please consider donating to the two organizations that enhance education for all Grant students: the Santa Monica Education Foundation and Grant PTA. Your donations are still so important, even during distance learning. Check out the crucial staff, programs, technology, and materials funded by your donations in this chart!
Our goal is for 100% of Grant families to give to PTA and the Ed Foundation. ANY amount makes a difference to our kids. If you have already donated, thank you!
¡Su donación hace mucho por Grant!
Considere hacer una donación a las dos organizaciones que mejoran la educación de todos los estudiantes de Grant: la Fundación Educativa de Santa Mónica y la PTA de Grant. Sus donaciones siguen siendo muy importantes, incluso durante el aprendizaje a distancia. ¡Consulte el personal, los programas, la tecnología y los materiales fundamentales financiados con sus donaciones en esta gráfica!
Nuestra meta es que el 100% de las familias de Grant den a la PTA y a la Fundación Ed. CUALQUIER cantidad hace la diferencia para nuestros hijos. Si ya ha donado, ¡gracias!
~SANTA MONICA'S MOST LOVED NON-PROFIT POLL~
The top five businesses in each category with the most nominations become finalists. You can also nominate your other local favorites. Buy Local SM is a partnership between the City and the business community. Santa Monica businesses give schools love all year thanks to sales tax revenues. Let’s give them some love in return! You can vote daily today through March 12 at the Most Loved nominations page. Nonprofits/Charities are part of the "Services" category. Friends and family all over the country can also vote every day. Please share!
~Grant's SMEF Donation Participation~
~COMMUNITY RESOURCES for FAMILIES~
~CREST - CITY OF SANTA MONICA~
~Santa Monica Public Library~
*Some events and resources not sponsored by or affiliated with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
~ CITY OF SANTA MONICA - CREST ~
~NEW CREST PROGRAM!~
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE APPLICATION IS HAPPENING NOW!
This fall, the City of Santa Monica's after-school programs will continue to reopen with limited capacity to ensure community safety. City staff are working to make the necessary changes to the schedule due to modified hours of operation, staff reductions, social distancing, and infection control guidance. The City of Santa Monica offers financial assistance to qualifying moderate to low-income Santa Monica Residents and non-residents attending an SMMUSD school. Financial assistance is available and can be applied to City youth program fees such as: CREST Club, CREST Enrichment, Santa Monica Swim Center classes, community classes, and seasonal day camps. A completed application for financial assistance is required annually. We are currently accepting applications for fiscal year 2020-2021. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
You may email completed applications (which must include the necessary income, address and identification information) to our office at crest@smgov.net or by drop-off through the mail slot at the CREST Youth Office at Reed Park 1133 7th St.
Did you know that CREST Club is running in-person camp from 12:00PM to 5:15PM at Reed Park for youth ages 8-14?
The health and safety of all participants, staff and parents is of the utmost importance. We would like to share that CREST Club will run and look differently. CREST will still be devoted to having fun-filled and engaging activities that you expect from our CREST Program.
We are taking guidance from the CDC and LA County Public Health Guidelines for programs providing Day Care for School-Age children, additional Safety Protocols and Procedures are being implemented to keep everyone safe while in programming.
Visit smgov.net/crest for more information