Welcome Back! GUFS Newsletter
August 24, 2021
A Message From The Principal
Dear GUFS Families,
I hope you are all enjoying these final weeks of summer vacation! Although we love the summer months, we also miss the children! We are eager to see everyone again and look forward to a successful year! We plan to have our doors open in-person on September 9th and are thankful for your commitment and partnership to keep them open.
Upon reflection, I am amazed at how well our children did throughout last school year with quarantines and remote instruction. We learned to ebb and flow together and built up resiliency and flexibility. We also learned how to best support each other and your children. Towards the spring, we began to see some light and ended the year strong with student events such as field day and on-site BBQs. It felt...kinda normal! This is how we would like to start the year. We want the children returning on September 9th feeling excited to be back to school and parents to feel secure about their return!
We are building a new GUFS with construction underway as well! The children will be living through the phases of the project and watch it unfold. We will continue to use these experiences as organic learning opportunities and not view them as obstacles. We won’t let COVID or construction get in our way of learning and FUN!
As always, we appreciate your continued support, patience and flexibility as we navigate another school year together. We have so many wonderful things happening at GUFS this year that will engage, inspire and promote curiosity in your children. We can’t wait to watch them soar!
With Gratitude,
Allison Emig
Principal
Welcome & Farewell
Welcome Aboard
A warm welcome goes out to our newest Special Education and RTI teacher, Natalie Beglan (pictured below to the left), who will begin working with us in September. She has a wealth of experience in Special Education, literacy instruction and is also a certified speech and language pathologist. We are thrilled to have her join our Garrison community.Another warm welcome is due to our new Educational Environmentalist, Rachel Arbor (pictured below to the right) who is busy getting to know the hiking trails, planning activities in the courtyards, and collaborating with teachers in preparation for students to arrive this September.
Farewell
We also want to wish Liz Heck, our theatre teacher, the best of luck as she is relocating to Rhode Island and has accepted a new teaching position. We thank her for her commitment to our students and for her passion and creativity that she brought to Garrison each day. She has built a strong theatre program and we will be supplementing her program with general music classes while we search for a replacement. We will keep you informed.
Natalie Beglan
Rachel Arbor
Sammartano's Tech-Tok
Teaching and Learning with Technology
Hello! My name is Michael Sammartano, I am Garrison’s new Director of Technology and Innovation. I’m incredibly excited about getting to know your children and the larger Garrison community in the coming weeks. For now, I just wanted to share a couple of important notes about the start of the school year.
Student Devices
This year, middle school students (grades 6-8) will be given district Chromebooks and chargers during the first week of classes. Students will be able to use the device throughout the school day, and bring it home in the evenings for use on homework and projects.
Elementary students (grades K-5) will have access to Chromebooks in classroom carts during the day, but will not be bringing them home in the evenings. If the situation arises where an elementary student is quarantined and requires a district device for use at home, we will certainly accommodate that need. Simply submit a support request ticket by emailing datasupport@gufs.org and we will follow up with further details.
Acceptable Use Policy
We have streamlined the district technology use forms this year, combining them into one simple digital form that each family must complete. The form explains our use of Google Workspace, district devices, and other important information which should be reviewed and signed off on. The form can be accessed and completed by clicking on the link below. Please note that it must be completed for each child who attends GUFS.
Access the form HERE
Please feel free to email men at MSammartano@GUFS.org with any questions or concerns. I look forward to an exciting and productive school year.
A New App for School Dismissal Manager for Parents!
Elementary School Announcements
We will be offering a Kindergarten Orientation on Friday, September 3rd from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM. Mrs. Ricci, our Kindergarten Teacher, will have a Meet & Greet at the Pavilion. During the orientation, the Kindergartners will experience their very first bus ride as a GUFS student!
1st Grade Announcements
The 1st grade class is now split into two cohorts. Kim Katz will be teaching one 1st grade class while Julie Greene will be teaching the other 1st grade class. First grade is an important year of building foundational skills and our 1st graders will benefit from a smaller class size.
2nd Grade will be taught by Marge Guigliano
3rd Grade will be taught by Sara Stevenson
4th Grade Math and Science will be taught by Amy Kuchera
4th Grade ELA and Social Studies will be taught by Jennifer Pitz
5th Grade Math and Science will be taught by Robin Waters
5th Grade ELA and Social Studies will be taught by Debbie Earle
Special Education teachers at the Elementary School level include:
Mary Karp, Megan Smith, and Marisa Gargaro (our Speech and Language Pathologist)
At the primary grades, teachers will have an aide to support students throughout the day. The Elementary School Aides include: Cathy Clark, Jill Ettere, Diane Metviner, and Emily Shortell. Lillian Moser is our lunch/recess monitor for grades K-8.
Leslie D'Onofrio will be an academic interventionist and Meaghan O'Brien will be both an academic interventionist and an ENL teacher.
Special area teachers include Coulter Young (Art), Paul Connors (General Music), Patrick Beckley (P.E.) and Rachel Arbor (Educational Environmentalist working alongside all Elementary School teachers in the classroom, on the trails, and in the courtyards).
As always, Jessica Van Dekker and Krista DiDiego will continue to support all students in K-8 as they transition back to school and build new friendships.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER ASSIGNMENTS POSTED TOMORROW - STAY TUNED!
The Parent Portal will be accessible tomorrow (Wednesday, August 25th) to view who your Elementary School child's teacher is for the 2021-2022 school year.
In case you missed the announcements about the school supply lists and summer reading lists from our end of year newsletter and on the GUFS Website, this information is available to you below by clicking on the blue boxes (above and below).
Bus Information
Middle School Announcements
We are offering an array of electives for our students during 9th period. These enhancements to our middle school schedule will offer opportunities for student engagement, creativity, exploration and problem solving.
An example of some of these classes include:
Electives:
STEAM: Community-Based Conservation
Interdisciplinary Art
Social Emotional Learning
Music: Band, Chorus
Debate
Rachel Arbor, our Educational Environmentalist, will be leading our STEAM electives which will be project-based, inquiry-driven learning opportunities for our students with an emphasis on problem solving and conservation. Our students will identify and help solve conservation issues of their choosing in our local Garrison community!
Krista DiDiego, our Guidance Counselor, will lead our SEL elective which will be centered around our themes from our Yale RULER Program and Dialectical Behavior Strategies. Topics include building, repairing and sustaining relationships, tools for coping during stressful times, and mindfulness.
Paul Connors, our Music teacher, will continue to direct Middle School Chorus and Band ensembles this year. These ensembles will have 9th period classes and weekly band sectionals with performance opportunities all year long. All are welcome and encouraged to continue participation, or to join.
Coulter Young, our Art teacher, will lead our Art electives which will have an interdisciplinary focus working alongside content area teachers such as Science and/or STEAM. This art elective is being offered in addition to his general art classes.
Chrissy Valvano, our Social Studies teacher, will lead a debate elective where students will take a position on a particular topic of study and learn to engage in respectful and appropriate exchange through the artful skill of debate.
Classes With Combined 6th Grade Cohorts
Our two 6th grade cohorts will be combined for shared instruction during their ELA (reading/writing), Science and Social Studies classes. Benefits to having a combined cohort includes opportunities for more diverse project based learning among peer groups and consistency with the same teacher.
Maura Shanks, will lead instruction for 6th grade reading and writing and our Science teacher, Naomi Cook, will provide instruction for all 6th graders. The ELA class will also have a special education teacher, Natalie Beglan, present each day to support instruction. Additionally, our Science class will have collaboration built in with our Environmental educator, Rachel Arbor. Christine Valvano, will teach Social Studies to both cohorts in a combined class and additional support will be provided by our Speech and Language pathologist, Marisa Gargaro.
Additional subjects in 6th grade include:
Math will be split into two cohorts and taught by Michael Roman.
Spanish will be split into two cohorts and taught by Melissa Gartner.
Specials include Physical Education, taught by Patrick Beckly, General Music led by Paul Conners and Art taught by Coulter Young.
7th and 8th Grade Cohorts
We will continue to have 7th and 8th grade split into two cohorts for all core subjects; however, some specials and electives will be combined (ex. Both 7th grade cohorts combined for PE). Classroom teachers for 7th and 8th Grade include Maura Shanks- (ELA), Michael Roman (Math), Christine Valvano (Social Studies), Naomi Cook (Science), Melissa Gartner (Spanish), and Lauren Johnson (Special Education).
8th Grade Living Environment Regents for All
We are excited to announce that Naomi Cook will be teaching Regents level Living Environment Science Class for both cohorts this year. This means that all 8th grade students will take the Regents level course and exam to receive Regents credit. We are confident that all our students will perform well in the class with ongoing support and differentiation.
Middle School Student Schedules Will Be Posted on Friday, August 27th
Middle School student schedules for the 2021-2022 school year will be posted to the Parent Portal in eSchool on Friday, August 27th.
Reminder: Upcoming 6th Grade Event!
Remider to our 6th Grade Students: On Friday, September 3rd at 11:00 AM, join us for your 6th Grade Locker Set-Up and Pizza Party at GUFS. More information is provided in the flyer below. If you have any questions, please email Krista DiDiego (kdidiego@gufs.org). See you then!
Capital Project Updates
Construction at the Elementary School wing is coming along nicely and will look beautiful when complete. Since classrooms will be completed in phases, the current state of Elementary classrooms will not be fully renovated. Please prepare your children by explaining that some floors will be concrete and ceilings will have steel beams. The children will be amazed by the transformation as the project progresses. We anticipate that grades 1-3 will be completed sometime in November, followed by 4th and 5th grade. The Kindergarten and Music rooms, library media and art/collaboartion spaces and the cafeteria will be completed over next summer. Construction will only occur after school hours so that it does not interfere with the school day. As always, construction timelines change and we will routinely keep you informed of any changes.
Nurse Melissa's Corner
Please know that additional immunizations are required for students entering grades 6 (Tdap) and 7 (Meningococcal). Please plan to complete these immunizations over the summer so your child's education is not interrupted. If you need to check your child's status, please feel free to contact me at mdefonce@gufs.org
If your child is receiving the COVID vaccine please snap a photo of the card or send the dates to Nurse Melissa mdefonce@gufs.org so she can input this information into the system. It is best to wait until both vaccines have been received to send this information in.
COVID Testing for Students Survey
Calendar Reminders
For a detailed look at what's happening, visit the School Building Calendar for the 2021-2022 school year
- UPCOMING DATES:
- August 25th: Parent Portal: Elementary School teacher assignments will be posted
- August 27th: Parent Portal: Middle School student schedules will be posted
- September 3rd: Kindergarten Orientation from 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
- September 3rd: 6th Grade Locker Set-up & Pizza Party from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
- September 9th: First Day Of School!
We are GUFS!
Email: slusardi@gufs.org
Website: https://www.gufs.org/Domain/4
Location: 1100 NY-9D, Garrison, NY 10524
Phone: 845-424-3689
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrisonufs/