Gateway Gator Gazette

🐊🏆🎉 EXCELLENCE IS OURS, GATEWAY GATORS! 🎉🏆🐊

💚💙 WE DID IT! 💙💚 Gateway Elementary has earned an EXCELLENT rating on the 2025–2026 South Carolina School Report Card, and we couldn't be PROUDER of our Gators! 🌟 This outstanding achievement reflects the hard work of our incredible students, the determination, expertise, and dedication of our amazing teachers, and the unwavering support of our families and community!

⛰️🐊 TOGETHER, WE ARE MOVING MOUNTAINS… AND ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE! 💚💙

Reaching Higher at Greenville County Schools! At Gateway Elementary, we are celebrating GCS as one of the first school districts in South Carolina to earn the 90-90-90 milestone by surpassing 90% in all three major achievement areas: reaching a 92.2% Graduation Rate for the Class of 2026, 90.5% of the graduating class earning College/Career Ready status, and 98.9% of Greenville County schools rated Excellent, Good, or Average on the State Report Card. This is a powerful reflection of the GCS Advantage in action, where we have Stronger Communities, Greater Opportunities! To learn more about the celebration, visit GCS’s website.

Gateway Families,

It is hard to believe we have already reached the end of our first quarter! What an incredible start to the school year it has been! Our Gators have been working hard, building relationships, learning new skills, and growing each day. I am so proud of the progress we are making and incredibly grateful for the dedication of our teachers and staff and the continued support of our families.

As we head into the long weekend, I hope all of our Gateway families enjoy some well-deserved time to rest, recharge, and make memories together! Our students and staff have worked hard throughout these first nine weeks, and I hope everyone enjoys a little extra time with family and friends.

We are also looking forward to our PTA Fall Festival on Friday, October 23! This is always a wonderful opportunity for our Gateway community to come together for an evening of fun, fellowship, and Gator pride! Our PTA works incredibly hard to support our students, teachers, and school throughout the year, and events like this are a great reminder of the strong community that makes Gateway so special. We hope to see you there!

As we begin the second quarter, I am excited about the learning, growth, and opportunities ahead for our Gators. Thank you for continuing to partner with us, encourage your children, and help make Gateway a place where every student feels known, valued, challenged, and supported.

Enjoy your long weekend, Gateway family!

Mr. Gambrell
Principal

As a reminder, please do not let students out of their cars before 7:00 a.m. Staff members are not on duty before this time, which means students may be left unsupervised while waiting at the front doors. For everyone’s safety, please keep students in their vehicles until this time so that they can be supervised at all times. Thank you for helping us keep our students safe each morning!

4th Grade is selling Smencils to help raise funds for their grade level field trip to Camp Hannon. These are sold on Fridays in the Atrium.

Our Gators are sharing their Gateway Pride with the TR Community in Scarecrows on Main!

This year’s theme, Stars, Stripes & Scarecrows – America 250, is bringing plenty of patriotic personality and creative characters to Downtown Travelers Rest and we are excited that Gateway has joined the fun!

Beginning October 3, stroll Main Street, check out this year’s scarecrow creations, explore our local shops and restaurants, and vote for your favorites (of course our GATOR!)

How Voting Works

FAN PICKS: Cast a paper ballot at participating shops in town. The scarecrows with the most votes take home the Fan Picks honors! Participating Shops: DeCafe, Community Tap, Farmhouse Tacos, Scouts Honor, Birdie Boutique, Shortfields, Urban Hare, The Crescent Olive, The Flop Shop, TR Makers Co, White Rabbit Gallery, TReehouse Cafe, Whistle Stop, Verb Beauty Salon.

FACEBOOK FAVORITES: Head over to the City of TR's Facebook page and vote for your favorites online.

BEST IN THEME: A panel of judges will select the scarecrow that best brings Stars, Stripes & Scarecrows – America 250 to life.

Voting Begins October 3! Last day to vote is Saturday, October 24.

Go downtown, find your favorite (our Gator!), and cast your vote While you’re here, grab a bite, browse the shops, and enjoy all the creativity along Main Street.

And a BIG SHOUT OUT to Mrs. Owens & Mrs. Pifer for their help in getting our Gateway Scarecrow ready for this fun community event!

• Thursday, October 22 - 1st Quarter Report Cards
• Friday, October 23 - PTA Fall Festival @ Trailblazer Park

• October 26-30 - Red Ribbon Week
• Friday, October 30 - Ice Cream Day & House Spirit Day
• Friday, October 30- Gateway Spirit Night at TR High Home Game

• Monday, November 2 - Teacher Work Day - No School for Students
• Tuesday, November 3 - Election Day - No School

• November 9-13: Me & My VIP Lunch & Book Fair

• Thanksgiving Lunch
• Thursday, November 19- K5, 1st, 4th, 5th, Daigle
• Friday, November 20- K4, 2nd, 3rd, Varghese

• November 25-27: Thanksgiving Break - No School

• November 20-December 4: Santa Shop

• Friday, December 18- Half Day for Students
• December 21-January 1: Winter Break - No School

Technology Safety Virtual Parent Workshops: Please see the information linked below about the upcoming Technology Webinar - Beyond the Screen: A Parent/Guardian's Guide to Video Gaming and Online Safely in school newsletters, social media sites, and websites.

Link: Technology Safety Virtual Parent Workshops

In honor of America's 250th Birthday, students in grades Pre-K through 12 are invited to participate in this district wide celebration through poetry, speech, song, dance, artwork, photography and essay! America 250 Coordinators are assigned at each school. Deadline for students to enter is October 30. A graphic is included for use in your school-wide communication.

Link: Graphic | Flyer | Website

The House Point competition is heating up as we reach the halfway point of October! Our Gators continue to demonstrate positive behaviors throughout the school day, and the race couldn't be much closer!

💚 Green House of Peace: 738 points
🧡 Orange House of Leadership: 753 points
💜 Purple House of Perseverance: 758 points
💛 Yellow House of Integrity: 768 points 🏆

Congratulations to our Yellow House of Integrity for moving into the lead! With only 30 points separating all four Houses, it's anyone's race!

We are especially excited that our Gators continue to earn the most House Points for being ON-TASK! We love seeing students focused, engaged, and making the most of their learning opportunities.

🐊 Our CHOMP Challenge: Let's Grow in Every Area!

As we enter the second half of October, we're challenging our Gators to build on their success with being on-task and look for more opportunities to demonstrate the other four CHOMP characteristics: Caring, Honest, Motivated, and Prepared!

Families, help us reinforce these important habits by having a few conversations at home this week:

❤️ C – Caring: How can you show kindness to someone who might be having a difficult day or feeling left out?

💬 H – Honest: What should you do if you make a mistake, even when telling the truth might be difficult?

💪 M – Motivated: When you finish something quickly or easily, how can you challenge yourself to keep learning and growing?

🎒 P – Prepared: How can you plan ahead to make sure you're ready for learning, even when your day doesn't go exactly as expected?

Our goal is for every Gator to understand that CHOMP is more than earning House Points—it's about developing habits and character that will help them succeed in school and beyond!

Thank you, families, for encouraging these positive behaviors at home. Together, we're helping our Gators Move Mountains—one positive choice at a time! 🐊⛰️

We are looking for parent volunteers to help make our Fall Festival a fun and successful event for our students and families! We need enough volunteers to help with games, activities, and other event needs throughout the evening. Having plenty of volunteers is important to ensure the festival runs smoothly and allows everyone to enjoy the event. If you are able to volunteer, we would greatly appreciate your help! If you are interested in volunteering, please use the link to sign up. Thank you for supporting our school and helping make our Fall Festival a special event for our students and families!