Geist Gazette
February 5, 2016
GEIST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Website: http://www.hse.k12.in.us/GES
Location: 14051 East 104th Street, Fishers, IN 46037
Phone: 317-915-4260
Twitter: @Geistgators
Upcoming Dates
Monday, Feb. 8
Spanish Lessons
Everyone Counts
Engineering for Kids
Tuesday, Feb. 9
Geist Running Club - 3rd Grade
Yearbook Club
Everyone Counts
Topsicle Tuesday
Destination Imagination
Wednesday, Feb. 10
Choir Practice
Everyone Counts
Math Bowl
GES Talent Show Rehearsal
Thursday, Feb. 11
Spanish Lessons
Everyone Counts
Science Fair: Set up 8:00-8:30 am; Parent Viewing 4:00-4:45 pm; Project Pickup 4:30-4:45 pm
Math Bowl
PTO Board Meeting
PTO Open Forum: Coping with Children's Anxiety and Technology Night. 7:00 pm; babysitting provided.
Friday, Feb. 12
Chess Club
GES Talent Show Rehearsal
Monday, Feb. 15
No School - President's Day
Tuesday, Feb. 16
No School - Flex Day
Wednesday, Feb. 17
Choir Practice
Science Fair Rain Date (only if Science Fair is canceled on 2/11)
Math Bowl
GES Talent Show Rehearsal
Thursday, Feb. 18
Spanish Lessons
Math Bowl
Friday, Feb. 19
Geist Running Club 4th Grade
GES Talent Show Rehearsal
Chess Club
Specials Rotation
Feb. 8 - Feb 12 - Week 2 (PLC)
Feb. 15 - Feb 19 - Week 1
Lunch Menu
Feb. 8 - Feb 12 - Week 1
Feb. 15 - Feb 19 - Week 2
Click the links to see the lunch and breakfast menus. Visit the HSE Food Services page for prices and nutritional information.
Open Concept Library...
Many of you may have noticed that this year our GES media center went to an open concept media center where the classroom teacher takes and stays with the students each week. Teachers can play an important role in helping children pick just right books as well as guiding them to find books of interest. Mrs. Pidcock is then able to assist where needed in the media center or plug into classrooms to partner with research practices, HSE21, inquiry projects, genius hour, books clubs, skype, technology integration, book reviews with students, lessons, and small groups. Below is just one example of how students and staff are tapping into Mrs. Pidcock's expertise!
From Mrs. Brown's (4th Grade):
This morning, Mrs. Pidcock came in and spoke to us about how to organize our information for our earthquake/volcano inquiry project. We have so many options for resources, that her expertise was needed on how to document what we've used, as well as give others a heads up as to where they can find more information about earthquakes and volcanoes.
PTO Corner
Kindergarten Registration
Please share with your friends and neighbors that Kindergarten Round-Up this year is:
April 14th from 5:00-7:00p.m. in the GES café. Children must be 5 years old by September 1st, in order to be eligible to attend kindergarten.
Paperless registration will occur this year, please be patient and we will send more information as the date nears.
I-PAD DEVICE SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE 2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR
Beginning in the fall of 2016, each student in grades K-4 will use an iPad during their day at school. Families may provide their own iPad or rent an iPad from HSE Schools. More communication about the elementary 1:1 program will be forthcoming; in the
meantime, please visit the HSE School Corporation website to find more information about HSE21 and HSE’s 1:1 program.
Dr. Loane and Dr. Combs will be at the February 11th PTO Meeting from 7:30-8:00 pm (in the cafe) to address any questions regarding the 1:1 program.
For families who choose to provide their own iPad, device requirements are as follows: "Model: (Full-sized) iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4 (iPad Retina), iPad Air, or iPad Air 2 Memory Size: 16 GB or greater Internet: Firewalls and filters will enable secure use of Wi-Fi at school. Therefore, no additional purchase of data plans/cellular/3G/LTE connection is needed."
Artist of the Week
Jan 25: Ava G. in Mrs. Brown’s class
Feb 1: Sophia L. in Mrs. Mann’s class
Crayon Collection
GES Art is partnering with a FHS student, Ashley Steffen to collect broken or unwanted crayons. These will be melted down and made into new crayons that will be provided to children in area hospitals. Donations can be dropped off in the art room. Contact Ms. Green if you have questions, egreen@hse.k12.in.us
Jump Rope and Hoops For Heart
Tennis Balls Please
Sweatpants Needed in our Clinic
YEARBOOK ORDERING IS GOING ON NOW THROUGH MARCH 16!
This year, yearbook orders will be sold online only. To order a yearbook, go to www.inter-state.com/yearbook. Our school code is 04553Y.
The cost for each yearbook is $15. Orders can be placed between now and March 16, 2016.
Questions should be directed to Ms. Green at egreen@hse.k12.in.us
ISTEP Practice- 3rd and 4th grade
Dear 3rd and 4th grade parents,
This year the state of Indiana is moving to a new publisher for the ISTEP test, Pearson Education. With a new test publisher comes new types of questions found on ISTEP. Rather than have our students just show up to testing without knowing what to expect, classroom teachers in 3rd and 4th grade have started practicing going over these test questions in class. What is even better is that you as a parent can jump online with your student and have them practice at home. The more our students can understand how the questions are structured and what they are asking for the better prepared they are. We STRONGLY urge you to use the following links to help better prepare your student for ISTEP.
Please note that these links will not work in Chrome browser!
The PARCC Practice test- This is Pearson’s PARCC assessment they have been using in other states. Though it is not ‘ISTEP’, the types of questions found on PARCC will mirror those found on ISTEP this year. Please scroll down to where it says ‘take the test’, select reading or math, and then select the grade your student is in.
The ISTEP Practice test- (will not work in Chrome browser) This is ISTEP’s official practice test for math, reading, and science (4th grade only). Just click on grade 3-4 and start the test.
For your planning purposes here is the testing window for this year’s ISTEP and IREAD assessments. Please make sure that your 3rd or 4th grader are in school on these dates:
ISTEP Applied Skills (Grades 3 and 4) ISTEP Online (Grades 3 and 4)
Feburary 29th- March 11th April 18th- May 6th
IREAD- (3rd Grade Only)
March 14- March 18th
Geist Elementary Parking Lot Procedures
As a district we continue to evaluate the safety guidelines we have in place for morning and afternoon dismissal. Below are some areas we want to make you aware of and remind you of if you use the car line for arrival and dismissal.
- Traffic cones are in place to direct and ensure single file traffic through the driveway. Drivers will not be allowed to drive in front of the canopy or to pass cars that are loading/unloading children. Please wait until you have been waved on by school staff to move forward. It becomes very dangerous when cars are passing each other in the driveway.
- Please put your car in park while your children are getting in and out of the vehicle. This helps protect your child as well as staff members who may be assisting in the area.
- Children should enter and exit your vehicle through the right side doors so they step directly to and from the curb.
- Please do not talk or text on your cell phone as you drive through the car rider line. We want to assure driver attention is focused on safely dropping off and picking up our cherubs.
I do appreciate you taking time to read these guidelines and respecting their importance. These are necessary precautions to ensure the safety of your children and our staff. I know that safety measures can be inconvenient at times; however, I know we can all agree protecting our children and staff is a priority. Safety first!
Thanks for helping us do the right thing and keep everyone safe!
HSE21 IN ACTION!
In this short clip, technology is used as a creative presentation tool. Watch to see how these students use Skitch and Puppet Edu to share the character traits they've found in their favorite fiction books!