Parsons Weekly Update

October 23, 2023

Autumn Break

We made it! I know everyone is so excited for this special break this year. It definitely does come at a great time. Our behavior has been pretty good for October. However, I am confident that this little break will bring us all back rested and recharged!

Bond News

We have exciting news for all GSD Community!

This summer, the Gibraltar School District Board of Education has approved placing no tax-rate increase bond proposal on the November 7th ballot. Voter approval of the bond proposal will not increase residents' current tax rate.

The $81.5 million no-tax-rate increase bond proposal is designed to improve the learning environment and update the interior and exterior of school buildings.

The bond proposal will allow the school district to make improvements in five key areas:

1. enhancing elementary educational programming;

2. enhancing student safety and security;

3. improving the learning environment;

4. expanding arts, athletics, and play areas; and,

5. addressing aging facility infrastructure and, increasing building efficiencies.

To learn more about the bond proposal, click HERE

Amy Conway- Superintendent

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U of M versus MSU

We loved celebrating our hometown rivalry! U of M beat MSU $73 to $31.50. The money is being used to purchase additional candy for Trunk or Treat.

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Fun Run Fundraiser Update

Wahoo!! We have raised $23,122 towards our school goal of $20,000. We've also had $8,000 in sponsorships! We successfully were able to pull off our Fun Run event with a few bumps in the road due to a late bouncy house, a breaker, and impending rain!

First, the PTO has purchased an additional assembly for us as a result of our earning! Basketball Jones is coming on November 15th and the Space Dome is coming January 11th!

We did make all of our goals and have Spirit Days coming up that we earned!

Mismatch Day - Monday 10/16
Hat Day - Wednesday 10/25
Crazy Sock Day - Thursday 10/26
Crazy Hair Day - Friday 10/27
Wear Your PJs and Bring Your Favorite Stuffed Animal to School Day (Stuffed Animal must be able to fit in student’s backpack) - Friday 11/3

10/30 $125 Tier Raffle winners and the classroom winners will be announced

11/3 at the Town Hall we will announce $250 Tier, the Baseball winner, and Students in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place

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Trusting Readers Book Study

Book meeting 1:

We reviewed the Introduction and structure.

We decided to meet every 3 weeks. Our next meeting will be on MONDAY, October 30th (due to Halloween). Thank you to Colleen for leading this conversation and for the delicious gluten free breakfast casserole!

What to expect:

We will meet twice per month for 30 minutes each time
Everyone reads at their own pace, please attempt to keep up
Safe zone: this is where we can ask questions and discuss to deepen our understanding
Practice respect
Be willing to participate

Parent Teacher Conferences

Conferences are scheduled for Thursday, November 9th and Friday, November 10th. Both days are half days of school for students but full days of work for staff.

Our evening conferences will be held on Thursday, November 9th till 7:00 pm.
Please allow yourself time to take a lunch break and a dinner break between afternoon conferences and evening conferences.
In person conferences and Zoom conferences can be offered to accommodate families.
Please reach out to Wendy, Jackie, Dane, Julia, or Angel if you need support and/or would like them to sit in with you.
I am happy to sit in any conferences that you like. I am here to support you!

Please share with both Veronica and I your Parent-Teacher Conference schedule once it is finalized and make sure to take attendance so I can get a percentage of participation afterwards. I need this information for the Annual Education Report. THANK YOU!

Evaluations and Observations

Thank you everyone for completing your self assessments, student growth data, and performance goals!

Here is the link for observation sign up!

Crisis Team

Change in Fire Drill Date

Our next fire drill is scheduled for 11/10 at 12:55 but I have a principal's meeting at 1:00. The new date is 11/6 at 12:55. We need to practice a drill during lunch and this will be at the end of 5th grade lunch.

Walkies

You must take a walkie out to recess. We did order 2 way walkies for all classes but there was a problem with the order. Stay tuned because they are coming!

Blue Backpack

Please take your Blue Backpack with you to recess.

Please make sure you have copies of your emergency forms in your backpack.

We understand that the Blue Backpacks have not been updated with new supplies recently. Julie Raymond sent me this checklist of what should be in the blue backpack. Please print this checklist and inventory your backpack. Turn in your inventory checklist to Sarah by 10/18. Please check expiration dates of glucose tabs.

Drill Feedback

Our fire drill was quick and efficient. The Special Ed team reminded us to put up your red card if some of your students are with them. You might think they have been but you can't be 100% sure.

I Ready Spotlight

Here's how we did in Reading and Math this week! Keep it up!

i-Ready Apple

Meredith and Danni have i-Ready apples. Similar to what Erika did with donuts, students write their names in a square every time they get 100%.

Keep up these engagement strategies!

Reading Data

Math Data

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Clubs

We are going to compile the Club data and get back to you asap. I have almost all of the supplies but will just need to purchase some items for friendship bracelet club and disco party. Please enter your data here.

pdf

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PBIS Matrix (Repaired).docx.pdf

Parsons PBiS Behavior Flowchart.pdf

Download

190.9 KB

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Shout Outs

Thank you to Wendy for creating the schedule and being prepared for MTSS. Everyone did a great job! Our early behavior MTSS meeting seemed to really help us to be able to focus on academics this month.

Thank you to Casey for letting us use her room during the Bullying assembly! Also, thank you for teaching all of our students about storm drains, down spots, and clean water!

Thank you to everyone for the sweet Principal's Day card and gift. I appreciate it so much!

Thank you to Angel for making sure we were ready for Unity Day!

Thank you to everyone for helping with Fun Run, especially the Kindergarten teachers for waiting due to the oversleeping bounce house owner ;0 and the 4th/5th grade teacher who had to listen to the DJ music ALL day!

Thank you to Kim for helping to spread the Crisis information.

Thank you to Kim, Patty, Kristyl, Meredith, and Danni for turning in their Data Reflection Worksheets!

Parent Shout Outs:

Mrs. Scheetz is awesome!

Staff Shout Outs:

Wendy Brozek for selflessly supporting students and Parsons teachers too!

Veronica McIsaac for keeping our “space” ship afloat. Veronica is always on top of everything in order to keep things running smoothly!

Alisha Coppo for always checking in on her colleagues, whether she’s asking about your day or sharing a laugh with you, Alisha always has a smile on her face!

Who would you like to Shout Out? Fill out the form here.

https://forms.gle/GQ4FtXAbx55YZUdN6

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Orange Frog

Spark Staff Member of the Week: Katie Buza

Here is what Wendy saw in Katie.

Katie greets everyone with a smile.
She is kind and full of positive energy.
She makes the library a great place to be

I also loved Katie's antics with Room on the Broom this week! The kids were full of excitement! I asked Katie the following questions.

What brings you joy? Coffee in the morning and being in nature or in my flower garden brings me joy.
How do you bring joy to others? Baking or bringing someone flowers. I love celebrating my loved ones birthdays and making them feel like the most important person in the world.
Who is someone that brings joy to you? My children, Dylan and Josie, bring me so much joy my heart could burst!

Spark will hang out with Katie for a week. She is going to try to spot joy in others and will pass on Spark next week. Stay tuned!

Spark Student of the Week: Jakub

Jakub is a new 4th grader this year and has been a welcome addition to the Parsons family. He is ready to work and determined to learn. Jakub always has a smile and a wink for teachers and students. We are glad you are here Jakub!

I asked Jakub the following questions.

What brings you joy? Family and video games
How do you bring joy to others? Being King
Who is someone that brings joy to you? Hudson, Bella, and Lucas

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Orange Spark

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Jakub

Anti Bullying Presentations from the Guidance Center

The Guidance Center will be presenting four session to our 4th and 5th graders. They will present to all three classrooms at once in the library. Fourth grade will be 1:15-1:45 and 5th grade will be 2:00-2:30.

10/30-Session 3
11/06-Session 4

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Bite Sized PD

Check out the Be Good People site that Jackie Moreno found! These are already completed slides that would be awesome for morning meeting and to match our pillars of the month.

This month we are focused on Kindness. Both of these lessons are titled Showing Respect but the objective is to learn why it is important to be polite and kind to people.

K-3 Showing Respect

4-5 Showing Respect

Free Breakfast and Lunch vs Milk Clarification

All students can receive free breakfast and lunch daily regardless of income this year. However, if a student only wants a milk, they will be charged 50 cents. This is an MDE rule. If you have students who are receiving a bill from food service, this is most likely the reason why.

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Website News Article

Thank you to Scott Grima for agreeing to do November to write about Turkey Trot! Please talk with your colleagues and chose a month! Team work makes the dream work! News articles should be short articles with one picture. Please sign up for one month as a grade, special, or committee. Even better, have a student group write an article! Here is the sign up.