Gearity PDS
1.23.26 Family Message
Greetings Gearity Families:
What is Data Day? Students will not attend school on Monday as the teachers will be participating in a deep dive into their student's assessment results from the Acadience, MAP and Interim tests. After analyzing your student's middle of the year performance, the teachers will identify children in their classes who would benefit from targeted academic supports. The goal is for teachers to be able to create focused support plans that can assist students in demonstrating mastery of their grade level's content standards by the end of the school year.
We appreciate your patience with the recent days off from school - planned and unplanned. I know that it can be a challenge to find childcare. We don't control the weather, but know that we make every effort to ensure your students are in a warm, safe and dry learning environment. As a reminder, we keep the students inside for recess when the temperatures fall below 28 degrees.
The Kalahari Fundraiser is Back! the school will once again be offering reduced price Kalahari tickets starting February 2nd. By purchasing the tickets through the school, you will be able to save $10 per ticket and you will be supporting school programming. Please note that there are blackout dates. We hope you will participate as this is a great way to reward your students for working hard at school. (Flyer is linked below for details)
The Family Dance is Still on: the family dance will be on January 23rd from 6:00 - 7:30. Mr. Sullivan professionally DJs and will create an amazing dance environment with lights and special effects in the gym for our families. We usually get a large turnout and hope you can join us as this is a great opportunity to meet your student's classmates and their families. The PTA will be selling food as a fundraiser. Please consider volunteering to help with concessions either with food sales or by donating to the cause. You can sign up using this link!
Mr. Mc Nichols
Principal, Gearity Professional Development School
Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District
Peek at the Week
Kindergarten
Reading – Students are identifying characters and major events in stories.
Writing – Writing centers on personal narratives using drawings and simple sentences.
Math – instruction focuses on addition and subtraction within 10 through hands-on experiences.
Parent Tips
Ask your child to name the characters and tell what happened first, next, and last.
Encourage your child to draw and talk about a personal experience.
Practice adding and subtracting small groups of objects during daily routines.
Grade 1
Reading – Students are retelling stories and comparing experiences across texts.
Writing – emphasizes nonfiction pieces that share information.
Math – focuses on understanding place value concepts and solving simple word problems.
Parent Tips
Have your child retell a story using key details.
Encourage writing facts about an animal or topic they enjoy.
Practice solving story problems using everyday situations.
Grade 2
Reading – Students are using text features and visuals to locate information and explain how authors support ideas.
Writing – focuses on expository pieces with clear facts.
Math – instruction strengthens place value understanding and number relationships.
Parent Tips
Explore headings, charts, and diagrams when reading nonfiction together.
Ask your child to explain what they learned using facts from the text.
Practice counting and grouping numbers to reinforce place value.
Grade 3
Reading – Students are analyzing characters, themes, and text structures in both fiction and nonfiction.
Writing – emphasizes opinion pieces supported with reasons and evidence.
Math – instruction continues to build multiplication, division, and problem-solving skills.
Parent Tips
Ask your child to explain the main idea and key details of what they read.
Encourage them to share opinions and support them with examples.
Practice multiplication facts through games or real-world examples.
Grade 4
Reading – Students are citing evidence from informational texts and analyzing text structure.
Writing – focuses on clear explanations using facts and details.
Math – instruction strengthens fraction concepts and problem solving.
Parent Tips
Ask your child to point to evidence in the text to support answers.
Encourage explaining a topic clearly and in order.
Use cooking or measuring activities to practice fractions.
Grade 5
Reading – Students are comparing points of view and analyzing how themes are developed across texts.
Writing – focuses on argumentative pieces with clear claims and evidence.
Math – instruction emphasizes place value understanding and applying math to problem solving.
Parent Tips
Discuss how different characters or authors present ideas differently.
Encourage your child to support opinions with evidence from texts.
Practice place value concepts using large numbers in real-world contexts.
Important Links!
School Supply Lists: Gearity Elementary
Food Service: You can see the monthly menus by clicking on this link.
Registration Information: New student registration can be completed online or in person. Find instructions, required documents, and contact information here. Please share the registration link with new neighbors or friends who may need help getting their children registered for the start of the school year.
Student Code of Conduct: Link to the Student Code of Conduct and Anti-Bully forms.
Upcoming Events
January 23rd - Family Dance from 6:00 - 7:30
January 26th - Professional Development Day (No Students)
January 27th - PTA Meeting
January 30th - PAWS Assemblies
February 12th - School Market
February 13th - Teacher Independent Work Day (No Students)
February 16th - President's Day (No School)
February 24th - PTA Meeting
