GECKO GAZETTE
GRANT SCHOOL - SANTA MONICA
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 8 - 14, 2021
~ NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN AND NATIVE ALASKAN HERITAGE MONTH ~
At the November 4 board meeting, the SMMUSD Board of Education will adopt a resolution honoring National Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month.
November is Native American Heritage Month, or as it is commonly referred to, American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people.
Following are some great resources with videos, lesson plans, and activities for teachers, students, and parents:
~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:
- Wednesday, November 10th: We will be conducting COVID testing this day due to no school on Thursday for Veterans' Day.
- Wednesday, November 10th: ELAC Special Meeting @ 8:45 AM in the Auditorium.
- Thursday, November 11th: VETERANS' DAY - NO SCHOOL
Monday, November 15th: School Site Council Meeting @ 3:15 PM
- Wednesday, November 24th through Friday, November 26th: THANKSGIVING BREAK - NO SCHOOL
- Thursday, December 9th: 5th-Grade SMC Dance Program Performance: Invitation sent home to 5th-Grade parents.
- Friday, December 17th: Minimum Day: All Grades: PreK-Kinder @ 12:15; 1st Grade @ 1:00; 2nd Grade @ 1:05; 3rd Grade @ 1:10; 4th/5th Grades @ 1:15
~ WEEKLY REMINDERS ~
Check your email every night...
Please check your email daily, including each night and each morning before coming to school, to see if a positive COVID-19 case has been identified in your child’s class and if your child needs to follow the quarantine protocols. Sometimes we are informed of a positive case late at night, and we need to inform multiple families as quickly as possible that their child needs to quarantine. If a positive case is identified in your child’s class, please know that district nursing staff will follow up with you as part of contact tracing.
~GRANT OLWEUS ANTI-BULLYING ASSEMBLY LAST FRIDAY~
The students were treated to skits by our 5th-grade classes that focused on being an "upstander" and not a "bystander", strategies they can employ if they feel they or someone else is being bullied, and four simple rules that reinforce what to do if they see bullying behavior.
The culminating activity was a dance led by 2nd-grade teacher Laura Meshel that was meant to empower students to be their true selves and to be confident in their abilities to support one another. Ask your child to do the Firework dance! :)
If you would like to know more about SMMUSD/Grant School's anti-bullying program please visit the following link: GRANT-OLWEUS ANTI-BULLYING PROGRAM
~PTA REFLECTIONS ART CONTEST 2021 WINNERS!~
CONGRATULATIONS! to all of our PTA Reflections Contest winners! This year we had 170 submissions! Gough Geckos!
A HUGE GECKO THANK YOU TO GRANT PARENT JILL JURENKA FOR LEADING THIS AMAZING PROGRAM FOR OUR STUDENTS THIS YEAR. ALSO, THANK YOU TO PARENT AND REFLECTIONS MENTOR MARY BETH O'DONOVAN, AND TEACHERS STEPHANIE NEUMANN AND VIRGINIA RIPLEY FOR ALL OF THEIR HARD WORK AND EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH JILL AND THE TEACHING STAFF!
A Reflections Art Gallery will be set up on November 18th and 19th for families to view all of the entries. Stay tuned for details!
Primary Division (Kindergarten - 2nd grade)
Photography:
- 2nd place: Meru Ekanadham, kindergartner in Ms. Calek's class, for his photo called "Ocean Life"
- 1st place: Emerson Gallagher, 2nd grader in Ms. Meshel's class, for her photo titled "The World Matters"
Film Production:
- 2nd Place: Oona Bo Seborer, 1st grader in Ms. Martinez' class, for her film titled "You Can Be a Believer if You Choose"
- 1st Place: Oscar Gallant, 2nd grader in Ms. Murcia's class, for his film, "The Robo-Medic"
Literature:
- 3rd Place: Noah Arujo-Hernandez, 2nd grader in Ms. Meshel's class, for his poem titled "Be You!"
- 2nd Place: Isabella Ara, 1st grader in Ms. Spanos' class, for her poem and collage titled "Earth Girl"
- 1st Place: Brody Fried, 1st grader in Ms. Martinez' class, for his poem, "I Will Change the World By"
Visual Art:
- 3rd Place: Eliza Young, 2nd grader in Ms. Meshel's class, for her drawing titled "Plant a Garden"
- 2nd Place: Penelope Coroy, 1st grader in Ms. Spanos' class, for her painting titled "Taking Care of the Ocean"
- 1st Place: Ellie Chapman, 2nd grader in Ms. Chen's class, for her painting titled "Picking Up Trash"
Intermediate Division (3rd grade - 5th grade)
Dance Choreography:
- 1st place - Ella Meyer, 5th grader in Ms. Kooy's class, for her dance titled "The Dance That Will Make a Change"
Music Composition:
- 1st place - Rae Groth, 4th grader in Ms. Ware's class for her song titled "I Will Change the World By…"
Photography:
- 3rd Place: Ethan Cederbaum, 5th grader in Ms. Kooy's class, for his photo titled "Hummingbird"
- 2nd Place: Aubrey Houtz, 5th grader in Ms. Kooy's class, for her photo collage, "I Will Change the World By"
- 1st Place: Michael McLoughlin, 5th grader in Ms. Kooy's class, for his photo titled "Ripple of Kindness"
Film Production:
- 3rd Place: Lillian Lipman, 5th grader in Ms. Kooy's class, for her film, "Small Acts Change the World"
- 2nd Place: Irene Lee, 5th grader in Ms. Kooy's class, for her film titled "Film Production"
- 1st Place: Dylan Fried, 3rd grader in Ms. Lipson's class, for her film, "Laundromat Library"
Literature:
- 3rd Place: Josie Lipman, 3rd grader in Ms. Ripley's class, for her poem, "My Bakery"
- 2nd Place: Jade Martinez, 5th grader in Ms. Croft's class, for her short story, "A New Beginning"
- 1st Place: Dylan Geary, 3rd grader in Ms. Ripley's class, for his poem titled "Perspective of a ____"
Visual Art:
- 3rd Place: Maccabee Kushner, 3rd grader in Ms. Martinez' class, for his collage titled "Creating Changes"
- 2nd Place: Dalia Mamedov, 5th grader in Ms. Kim's class, for her drawing titled "Dahlia Can Change the World By"
- 1st Place: Kalia Bell, 3rd grader in Ms. Martinez' class, for her collage titled "Helping the World"
- 1st Place: Jonathan Harkness, 3rd grader in Ms. Adams-Hoffman's class, for his drawing titled "Transportation in the Future"
And the lucky winner of the raffle drawing for the Reflections Artist’s Gift Basket: Kate Kawano, in Ms. Lipson’s 3rd-grade class, who entered two drawings titled “Cleaning Up Ocean Trash”.
~GRANT'S SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL LEARNING FOCUS~
ALL SCHOOL READ ALOUDS
The Grant School Social and Emotional Learning Committee has planned all-grade read-alouds once per month that focus on empathy, bullying, diversity, inclusion, equity, and other important topics. The purpose is to have all students read (or be read to) a specific SEL-focused book on the same day and have discussions in classrooms that same day. Ideally, we believe this strategy will foster greater empathy and understanding among students and also encourage conversations in their homes.
The first book we read was I Am Human: A Book of Empathy by Susan Verde. All students then participated in a lesson relevant to the book. The second book we will read this month is Annie's Plaid Shirt by Stacy B. Davids.
In addition to these books, the District's Teaching and Learning Committee put a great deal of effort into compiling books that showcase, highlight, and celebrate diversity. Grant's own Laura Calek (Kinder teacher) represented our learning community in this important work! The following books are currently in the Grant Library and available for teachers to check out and share with their classes. There will also be companion lessons for each of these books:
- Kinder:
- The World Needs Who You were Made to Be by Joanna Gaines
- Don't Call Me Special by Pat Thomas
- Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
- First Grade:
- Fry Bread by Kevin N. Maillard
- When the Cousins Came by Katie Yamasaki
- Desmond and the Very Mean Word by Desmond Tutu
- Second Grade:
- The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
- Just Ask by Sonia Sotomayor
- Where Are You From? by Yamiel Saled Mendez
- Third Grade:
- Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal
- Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson
- We Are Water Protectors by Carol Lindstrom
- Fourth Grade:
- I Can Write the World by Joshunda Sanders
- Drawn Together by Minh Le
- Harvesting Hope by Kathleen Krull
- Fifth Grade:
- Dreamers by Yuyi Morales
- The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad
- Lilian's Right to Vote by Jonah Winter
~GRANT RANKED #2 SCHOOL IN SANTA MONICA BY US NEWS & WORLD REPORT~
GRANT ALSO RANKED #343 OUT OF 5,887 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN CALIFORNIA.
CALIFORNIA — More than 7,850 elementary and middle schools in the Golden State have been ranked among the best in California, according to a brand-new ranking released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.
Nationally, California has 5,534 ranked elementary schools — the most of any state — followed by Texas at 4,446; New York at 2,211; Florida at 2,128; and Illinois at 2,038 schools. California also has the most ranked middle schools with 2,319, followed by Texas at 1,942; Illinois at 1,243; New York at 1,219; and Florida at 997.
For the inaugural list, U.S. News published rankings and data on more than 80,000 public elementary and middle schools across the United States.
See the full list here.
To determine the rankings, U.S. News used data from the U.S. Department of Education to analyze two areas at each school:
- Math and reading proficiency — or how well students perform on state assessments.
- Math and reading performance — or how well they perform compared with expectations.
~GECKO WEAR SCHOOL SPIRIT FRIDAYS~
~GRANT GEAR RECYCLE COLLECTION~
Do you have Gecko Wear that no longer fits and can be passed on to our Grant community? Please consider donating all your gently used gear to our Grant Recycle Collection. We accept all sizes & styles from our different school events. We ask that items being donated are cleaned and gently worn only. Please drop off your items in the school office. If you have any questions please contact Florencia Rams, our Bilingual Community Liaison at 310-450-7651 ext 63110 or send email to frams@smmusd.org or geckowearshop@grantpta.org
~GOOD LIFE ORGANICS PROGRAM~
Want to use your food dollars to support our school?
Sign your family up for a farm box from Good Life Organics so you can enjoy sustainably grown organic fruits & veggies at home while raising money for our school at the same time!
What are you waiting for? Sign up today!
(If you want help signing up, fill out this quick shortcut form)
~HELP WITH DISTRICT ISSUED LAPTOPS~~ AYUDA CON LAPTOPS DISTRIBUIDAS POR EL DISTRITO ~
- 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 school work at home 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.
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Los estudiantes NO DEVOLVERÁN las computadoras portátiles entregadas por el
distrito al final del año a menos que:
- La computadora portátil de su hijo no funciona
- Te mudas fuera del distrito escolar
Si su hijo está utilizando actualmente una computadora portátil del distrito para participar
en la educación en la casa y necesita asistencia técnica, envíe un correo electrónico a
nuestro especialista en tecnología a:
Bilingüe de la escuela, Florencia Rams, a frams@smmusd.org
~ 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 so important. 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!
~COMMUNITY RESOURCES for FAMILIES~
A Panel Discussion will follow the film!
The Story of Plastic is a searing expose revealing the ugly truth behind plastic pollution and the false solution of plastic recycling. Different from every other plastic documentary you’ve seen, THE STORY OF PLASTIC presents a cohesive timeline of how we got to our current global plastic pollution crisis and how the oil and gas industry has successfully manipulated the narrative around it. From the extraction of fossil fuels and plastic disposal to the global resistance fighting back, THE STORY OF PLASTIC is a life-changing film depicting one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues.
When: Wednesday, November 17th at 6:00 pm PST
Where: Online - A link to the event will be sent to you the day of the event. Please check your email!
The event is FREE!
But you must register at https://storyofplastic_sm.eventbrite.com
Panel
A Panel discussion will follow the film, panelists include,
Dianna Cohen, Plastic Pollution Coalition CEO & Co-Founder and The Story of Plastic Co-Executive Producer
Chris Celsi, Resource Recovery & Recycling Manager with the City of Santa Monica
Page Schult, Co-founder at topanga.io
Sarah Spitz, UC Master Gardener, Los Angeles County will moderate the panel.
Prize Drawing
Two lucky winners will each receive a Zero Waste Kit.
*Some events and resources not sponsored by or affiliated with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
+Algunos eventos no están patrocinados o afiliados al Distrito Escolar Unificado de Santa Monica-Malibu