Announcements, September 30

Time Flies...

Can you believe the end of the first 6 weeks is already here?  As the old adage says, time flies when you're having fun.  Our teachers and students have had a great 1st 6 weeks learning and growing together.  In the first 6 weeks, our students have had amazing discipline.  They have worked hard to learn the procedures for the campus and for learning.

When you receive your child's report card next week, your child's report card will tell you their progress in reading, language arts, math, science and social studies.  In addition, you will know your child's reading level.  Next week, when you receive your child's report card, you will also be informed of where your child should be in their reading at this point in the year.  It is critical to know that your child's reading level is extremely important, and you play a vital role when you read with your child every night for a minimum of 15 minutes.

Upcoming Events

Date	Event	Information
Mon, Sep 30 through Fri, Oct 4	Kindergarten 1st 6 weeks Assessment	Kindergarten will have their 1st 6 weeks assessments this week.
Thu, Oct 3	4th Grade Book Club	4th Grade Book Club will meet in the Library from 4:00-5:15 p.m.
	College Day	Students and staff are encouraged to wear jeans with their college attire.
Fri, Oct 4	Fall Picture Day End of 6 Wks	All pictures will be taken in the morning. Report cards will come out the following week.
Mon, Oct 7	Fundraiser orders and money due.	Please send your fundraiser money and order forms in on this day.
Wed, Oct 9	Buckeye Store	The Buckeye store will be visiting PK-1st classrooms on this day.  Students can spend their Buckeye Bucks on prizes.
Thu, Oct 10	Buckeye Store	The Buckeye store will be visiting 2nd -4th classrooms on this day.  Students can spend their Buckeye Bucks on prizes.
	Report cards	Will go home with the kids
Fri, Oct 11	CHAMP’s Assembly	PreK-1st grades at 8:15 in the gym   2nd - 4th grades  at 2:40 in the gym Parents are invited to attend.
Wed, Oct 16	Early Release	Student will be released at 12:30 on this day.
Thu, Oct 17- Fri, Oct 18	Yamboree  Holiday	No school!  Enjoy the Yamboree!!

Fall Fundraiser

This year, we are having our fall student fundraiser with the Great American Opportunities company.  Today your child will come home a catalog called "Imagine".  The catalog is full of many options from everyday household items to Christmas gift ideas.  The items are very nice and I think you will like them.

Dates of the Fundraiser:  The fundraiser starts today and ends on Monday, October 7th.

Where does the Money Go:  The money will go to the student activity account to pay for incentives and special events for the students.

Questions:  If you have any questions about the fundraiser, please contact Olivia Secord at 903-841-7700.

Announcements - September 13

Happy Friday to everyone.

We just finished our third week of school, and it was great!  I would like to let you know (if you don't already know) that Gilmer Elementary School received its accountability rating from the state this past August.  GES received a rating of Met Standard which means that our campus met the requirements under our new STAAR test.

What we are very excited to report is that GES received 2 out of 3 Academic Distinctions for exceptional performance and growth in Math Achievement and Student Progress.  GES was in the Top 20% of elementary schools in the entire state of Texas that received 2 or 3 distinctions.  This achievement is the result of our teachers' hard work, our students great performance and our parents' tremendous support of the school.  Thank you for your continued support of GES.

Fall Leaves by
Madyson Tate

This year, we have begun a huge emphasis on writing and showing our thinking in our work.  We want our students to get into the habit of getting their thoughts down on paper and then going back and making corrections after the thoughts are completely out.  Here is a great example of how our art teachers, Ms. Currey and Ms. High are having their students write about the awesome art work that they are creating.

Home Connection - Parents can write with their child 5 minutes per day about something interesting at home.  It can be about a trip, a person or a funny event.  Take 5 minutes and write with your child.  It'll make a world of difference.



Twitter has become a popular way to keep up with our favorite athletes.  Our 4th grade teachers are using Twitter to teach capitalization, punctuation and spelling.  Here is a great example of how Mrs. Menadier's students are correcting a tweet that Tony Romo wrote last week.

Home Connection - Parents can help their children by pointing our grammar errors in every day life.

How we solve subtraction
problems with borrowing.

Math is everywhere.  Anytime that you are using math is a great time to challenge your child to develop their mental math skills.  There are lots of smartphone apps and games that reinforce math skills.  Another great skill that your child can learn is how to make change at the store.  Finally, teaching your child how to estimate the cost of a group of items at the store or keeping a running tally of the cost of items at the store is a great way to reinforce addition and subtraction.

Kindergarten students are learning sight words every day.  This week's password is "My".  Students are learning how to write, spell and pronounce sight words.  In addition to sight words, Kindergarten students are doing  a great job learning the routines for school as well as their letters, letter sounds and numbers.

Kindergarten is the foundation for reading, and every time you help your child learn their letters and sight words, you are preparing them to be fantastic readers.



Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Moore are creating future scientists in our science lab.  Last week, the students learned how to take every day household products and combine them to create a solution called Oobleck.  The students also learned how it was created by reading the Dr. Seuss book, "Bartholomew and the Oobleck".  The teachers also dressed in costume to make learning an experience they'll never forget.

Science is also doing a great job incorporating writing and technology into their daily work.

Important Events and Reminders

Book Fair is during the week of September 23 through September 27.
Family night will be on Thursday, September 26 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Fall Picture Day will be on Friday, October 4th.

End of 3 Weeks is today.  Progress reports will come out next week.

Parent Communication
Be sure to check your child's folder for newsletters, announcements, behavior reports and grades.

We Remember 9/11/2001