Gearity PDS
2.27.26 Family Message
Greetings Gearity Families:
How to Schedule a Parent Teacher Conference? The teachers, school age and pre-K, will be sending you instructions at the start of next week to schedule conferences. Conferences are March 19th from 1-7pm and March 20th from 8:15 - 11:30. We encourage in person conferences, but will make video conferencing available if that works best for your schedule. Students will not be in attendance on conference days!
Lockdown Drill on Friday, March 6th: The state of Ohio requires schools to have 10 fire drills, two safety drill and two tornado drills each school year. Next Friday, we will have a level 3 lockdown where the teachers will lock their doors, turn off the lights and move the class away from the doors. Please speak to your students about following adult directions and maintaining silence during the drill. We will check to make sure the doors are locked and we can not hear anyone in the room. In the case of a real emergency, students may be directed to evacuate but for the purposes of this drill they will remain in the classroom. We always tell the students that drills are used to build skills. We hope to never have to go into a real lockdown, but we want our students to know how to respond if there ever is a real emergency.
PBIS Reminder: We had our 1st warm days of the year last week and students have had a lot of energy ever since. Please take a moment to reinforce our PAWS expectations at home as we want students focused on their academics while saving their energy for the playground or when they get home. Students should do their Personal Best in class every day, Act Responsibly by completing their work, Work and Play Safely, and Show Respect. Together, we can ensure a strong end to the school year.
Reading Logs: Please make sure your students return their reading logs for our whole school reading competition which ends on Monday. The top three homerooms will win a trophy and get a food prize from Mr. Lausche.
Free Family Ice Skating: Join us on Saturday, March 14th from 5:30 - 7:00 at the Cleveland Heights Rec Center. Mr. Sullivan has arranged for all Gearity families to get free ice skates and ice time for the event. Whether you are a novice or an expert, this is a great way to connect with our school community and possibly experience something new. This is our second year of hosting the event and we hope to continue to have a strong turnout.
Kindergarten Information Night: Gearity will host a Kindergarten Information Night on March 4th from 6-7 pm. If you will have a new kindergarten student plan to attend. If you know anyone who has a child that will be entering kindergarten next year that lives in our residential zone please share the date and time with them as well.
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)
Mr. Mc Nichols
Principal, Gearity Professional Development School
Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District
Peek at the Week
Kindergarten
Reading – Students identify the main topic and key details in informational text.
Writing – Students write realistic fiction with a clear event sequence.
Math – Focus on counting, number relationships, and composing/decomposing numbers.
Parent Tips
Ask your child to retell a story using beginning, middle, and end.
Count everyday objects and practice making numbers in different ways (e.g., 5 = 2 + 3).
Encourage drawing and writing simple stories about real-life experiences.
Grade 1
Reading – Students distinguish between information provided by pictures and words and identify the author’s purpose.
Writing – focuses on nonfiction with facts and details about a topic.
Math – Students solve addition and subtraction word problems within 20.
Parent Tips
Ask: “What do the pictures teach us? What do the words teach us?”
Create quick mental math problems during car rides.
Have your child write 2–3 facts about a favorite animal or topic.
Grade 2
Reading – Students describe how characters respond to events and use illustrations to deepen understanding.
Writing – focuses on realistic fiction with well-developed events.
Math –Students solve one- and two-step word problems using addition and subtraction.
Parent Tips
Ask: “How did the character feel? Why?”
Encourage writing a short story with a beginning, middle, and end.
Present real-life multi-step problems (e.g., combining totals).
Grade 3
Reading – Ask and answer questions using evidence, understand text structure, and distinguish the author's point of view.
Writing – focuses on expository pieces with facts and clear organization.
Math – Students develop understanding of fractions as numbers on a number line and compare fractions.
Parent Tips
Ask your child to “prove it” using details from the text.
Encourage writing an informational paragraph about a topic of interest.
Draw number lines to compare fractions visually.
Grade 4
Reading – Determine theme, describe characters and events, and compare points of view.
Writing – Writing focuses on structured expository essays with clear introductions, facts, and conclusions.
Math – Students generate equivalent fractions, compare fractions, and represent data using line plots.
Parent Tips
Ask: “What lesson did the character learn?”
Collect simple household data and create a line plot together.
Support organizing writing with paragraphs and transition words.
Grade 5
Reading – Quote accurately from text, determine main idea, and analyze text structure.
Writing – Write argumentative pieces supporting claims with reasons and evidence.
Math – Students understand place value relationships and perform operations with decimals to hundredths.
Parent Tips
Ask your child to support answers with direct quotes from the text.
Compare decimal values using money examples.
Identify how chapters or sections are organized.
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
March 4th - Kindergarten Information Night
March 12th - School Market
March 14th - Family Ice Skating at the Rec Center
March 17th - PTA Meeting
March 19th - No Students: Conferences from 1-7 pm
March 20th - No Students: Conferences from 8:30 - 11:45
March 20th - Spring Break Starts
March 30th - School resumes and the 4th quarter starts
