School News

It is the end of the calendar year, and the school year is almost halfway over as well. It always goes quickly, but time seems to continue to accelerate. The school year is going well and in our mid-year meetings with teachers, they have been pleased with the academic and social growth of our students. The next three weeks will speed by, numerous activities are happening from Mid-year testing, Santa's Shop, and special classroom activities, to a special pizza lunch! The town of Gilcrest provides a fun pizza lunch for all of our students on the Friday before Winter Break. We are fortunate to have the town's support! There is so much happening- please be sure to check out the Upcoming Events section as well as ClassDojo!

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and have time to spend with those you love. There are many different celebrations this time of year, but family is usually the center of them all. As part of the Gilcrest Elementary family, we wish you all the best and look forward to a great 2025!

Mrs. Dunlap

Reminders

• The GES Annual Food Drive is happening now through December 13th!

• The last day of school in December is the 20th!

• Students return on Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Upcoming Events

• 12/3 - 12/20 Mid-Year NWEA testing

• 12/3 - 12/13 3rd & 4th swimming lessons at VHS

• 12/4 - Board of Ed, meeting- 6:30 pm at ESC

• 12/9 - 12/20 Spirit Week and Santa Shop

• 12/20 Town of Gilcrest Pizza Lunch, End of Quarter 2, and Winter Parties at 3:00 (Unless otherwise specified)

• 1/10/25 - quarter 2 Awards Assembly at 8:15 am

Hello GES Families, It has been an amazing Fall but temperatures are definitely changing! It’s time to get the gloves, hats, boots and heavy coats out for the kids. If you need any help with these items please reach out to myself, or anyone in the office and we can provide assistance. We’re wrapping up October which is one of our busiest months of the year. We conducted parent-teacher conferences, with conferences comes our annual book fair. Both were very positive and well attended. Closing out October was our Halloween celebration. The kids were able to participate in some fun activities before parading through the school to show off their great costumes and then wrapping up the day with the classroom parties. Thank you for your help in making the parties an enjoyable time for the kids. This year our last day of school before kicking off Thanksgiving break will be November 22nd, and the kids return to school on December 3rd. It is hard to believe that after their return the students will begin working on their Middle of the Year testing. As we work together during the year, I encourage you to let me know how you and your child/children are experiencing school. When the families and the school work together and have open communication the students benefit greatly.

Warm Regards, Mrs. Dunlap

Upcoming Events

11/6/24- Principal’s Coffee 8:15-9:15am, Board of Education Work Session 6:30-8:30pm

11/7/24- Picture Retakes 11/11/24 Veteran’s Day

11/15-11/17/24- VHS Fall Play

11/19/24- PTO Meeting 8:30-9:15am, Big Kahuna Limo Award 11/28/24- THANKSGIVING

Help Our School Shop At King Soopers

Help earn money for the school without buying or selling fundraising items, just by shopping at King Soopers! It does not cost you anything to participate, it is FREE and easy. This is not a gift card or credit card program.

All we ask of you is, if you shop at King Soopers and use or are willing to use a Kroger Plus card to please enroll your Kroger Plus card number (which you can choose—most use their personal phone number) on-line at KrogerCommunityRewards.com and search for Gilcrest Elementary.

King Soopers does not use or sell your email address to anyone else. Every time you shop at Kroger using your Kroger Plus card, a percentage of your spending will be given to GES. Please feel free to forward this to other family members and friends. Thank you for your support ! Simply enroll or re-enroll at krogercommunityrewards.com *Select 'Create an Account'

1. Create a digital account. A digital account is needed to participate in Kroger Community Rewards. If you already have a digital account, simply link your Shopper’s Card to your account so that all transactions apply toward the organization you choose.

2. Link your Card to an organization. Selecting the organization that you wish to support is as simple as updating the Kroger Community Rewards selection on your digital account.

1. Sign in to your digital account.

2. Search for your organization here.

3. Enter the name or NPO number of the organization you wish to support.

4. Select the appropriate organization from the list and click “Save”. Your selected organization will also display in the Kroger Community Rewards section of your account. If you need to review or revisit your organization, you can always do so under your Account details.

3. Your organization earns. Any transactions moving forward using the Shopper’s Card number associated with your digital account will be applied to the program, at no added cost to you. Kroger donates annually to participating organizations based on your percentage of spending as it relates to the total spending associated with all participating Kroger Community Rewards organizations.

If you have any questions, please contact our Customer Service Center. Whether you’re a customer or an organization, get started today!

Note: If you are a customer, make sure you have a preferred store selected to view participating organizations. If you are applying on behalf of an organization, please select a store in the same area as your organization.

School Attendance Matters

We want to partner with our community to build a culture where everyone understands why going to school everyday matters and what they can do to ensure students are in school. Even being tardy on multiple days means your student is missing out on crucial instruction and community building in his/her classroom. Please let us know if you need support with getting your student to school. We are here to help. For those times that your student is ill, please call the Attendance line at 970-350-4201 option 6.

Teamwork

Here are 5 reasons why teamwork is important and why it matters to you:

1. Teamwork benefits from differing perspectives and feedback. A team environment allows individuals to bring their diverse perspectives to problem-solving, which in turn increases their success at arriving at solutions more efficiently and effectively.

2. Teamwork leads to learning. Individuals have their own set of skills and strengths. When the whole team works as a unit, everyone has an opportunity to learn from each other.

3. Teamwork can improve efficiency and productivity. One person working on a project is always going to take longer to complete it in comparison to the collaborative efforts of many. Efficiency rules when work is appropriately divided within a team, responsibilities are shared, and tasks are more likely to be finished within a set time frame.

4. Teamwork cultivates communication and strong work relationships. Teamwork can be effective in building great work relationships. We do not mean that team members must be the best of friends. Rather, a great working relationship flows from the right frame of mind where you collaborate with positive intent, with respect, and active listening.

5. Teamwork brings an expanded sense of accomplishment. When a team works on a project as one unit, the sense of accomplishment we experience expands beyond our individual achievements.

With winter on the way, we are collecting new and gently used winter clothing in collaboration with the Gifts from the Heart foundation. All clothing items collected will be redistributed to District families at no cost. Donations can be dropped off at any RE-1 School.

Winter clothing will also be distributed at our Clothing Giveaway Event in December or on an as-needed basis. A Flier for the December giveaway event will be sent home/or posted at your child's school once a date is determined.

Thanks in advance to all those who choose to contribute!

If you have any questions, please get in touch with the Weld RE-1 District Social Worker, Daniel May, at (970)-576-6628

Thursday, November 7 is Picture retake.

Access Code: X94DJ3

Two types of students will come to Retake Day

1. Students Who Were Absent:

These students were absent for the original picture day. They will need to have their picture taken in order to appear in the yearbook. They may use their original order envelope or pick up another from the school office.

2. Students Who Want a Retake:

These students are not satisfied with their original pictures. Have them bring their entire picture package to the photographer. The photographer will retake the picture and we will reorder the package that was originally ordered.

Online Order Form for Pickture retakes

We will be having our annual Halloween parade and parties on Thursday, October 31 beginning @ 2:45. We will be spending the majority of the day learning, so please follow the guidelines below.

• Students can wear their costumes to school as long as it doesn't interfere with classroom activities, for example, recess, morning movement & PE

• Teachers will give students time before the parade to get their costumes on.

• No face paint or masks representing blood or gore.

• Absolutely NO weapons or items that could represent a weapon is allowed.

We will begin our parade outside by the preschool playground, then circle around to the picnic table area, and then back into the building to their classrooms. Parents are welcome to watch from the table and grass areas. For inclement weather, we will move inside and have parents go to the gym where our students will parade through and then go to their classrooms for their parties. We appreciate your cooperation with our guidelines as we aim to keep all students feeling sage while enjoying their holiday parties here @ GES.

Dear Families,

Get ready- the Scholastic Book Fair is coming to our school! This is a great opportunity to connect with your child over the thrill of bringing home new books to dive into again and again. Studies show that kids read more when they choose books for themselves. and fostering a love of independent reading leads to a wide variety of benefits --including academic success and improved mental health.

Here is everything you need to know about the Book Fair:

Dates: October 22-25, 2024 Tuesday & Thursday 8 am-8 pm (open during P/T Conferences)

Wednesday 8 am-4 pm and Friday 8 am-1 pm

Location: GES Library

There's even more info on our school's Book Fair homepage

While you're there, set up a Book Fair eWallet, the digital payment account that allows your child to shop for books at the fair without cash. Then share your eWallet link so friends and extended family can add funds.

When you fund an eWallet, you'll have the opportunity to contribute to a giving initiative called Shair the FAir. Your contributions directly support our students who need help buying books from the fair.

Many of us still remember the rush of finding the perfect book as a Scholastic Book Fair. I hope you'll join your child at our school's Fair and share a reading experience they'll remember forever.

Happy reading,

Jennifer Dunlap

Interim Principal

Gilcrest Elementary School

PS: Need one more reason to visit the Book Fair? Every purchase at the Fair benefits our school.

The month of October is already upon us as the school year is moving by so quickly. As we reflect on the first 8 weeks of this school year, we can really see that the kids are into their routines and working so hard. A couple of things come to mind that make students successful. Responsibility and accountability are huge. We are able to take those two items instilled at home and move forward to do great things here at school. Resilience is another trait that is super helpful for our students. Not knowing or missing answers provides great opportunities to learn and grow. With those three things working in sync, our students can and will accomplish anything. OCTOBER 2024 Reminders Please make sure your child has the appropriate outdoor wear for the weather. We will go outside every day unless it is below 20 degrees, with wind chill, or if it is too wet. Call the office by 9 am each day your child will be home from school. Upcoming Events Our 5th-grade students are headed out next week for their Outdoor Education trip. The students have worked hard to earn this trip. Thank you to the parents who have also worked hard to make this a possibility for our students. We are excited to hear all about the trip and all that they learned from their adventures! October 4- Quarter 1 ends, Big Kahuna Fundraiser starts October 9-11- Outdoor Ed trip October 11- Quarter 1 Awards Assembly at 2:30 pm The first Parent/ Teacher Conferences are in a few weeks. Conferences are scheduled on Tuesday, October 22, and Thursday, October 24. We look forward to having conversations about your student’s progress since the beginning of the year.

Respectfully yours, Mrs. Jennifer Dunlap

Upcoming Events:

October 18- Report cards sent home

October 22 and 24- P/T Conferences

October 31- Halloween parade and class parties at 2:45