The Lions' Pride

All of our Gahanna-Jefferson elementary schools will be participating in "Start with Hello" during the week of September 16th. This week was developed by Sandy Hook Promise with the goal of creating connections and a sense of belonging. Each day we will have a different clothing theme and special guests greeting our students as they enter the building. We want our students to know the power of starting with "Hello!" Please see this flyer for the clothing themes for the week:

Please click here to sign up for parent/teacher conferences .

Our Parent/Teacher conferences for the Fall are Oct. 8th and Oct 10th. We are excited to share about your child at parent/teacher conferences.

We are currently looking for a 2nd grade teacher. If you know if any licensed teacher that would be an amazing addition to our wonderful staff, please have them apply here

All students (both NEW and RETURNING) MUST have their emergency forms completed on Infinite Campus by September 15th. Students will not be able to have snacks or go on a field trip without it.

You can complete this on infinite campus!

Dear GJPS Families,

Beginning last school year, districts in Ohio have been navigating new legislation related to

health and safety lessons that schools are required to include as a part of the curriculum. House

Bill 123 and Senate Bill 288, as outlined in the chart below, provide instruction to students in

grades K-12 on these topics.

We have developed our plan for delivery and have begun communicating with parents in

preparation for instruction. There are many details related to both House Bill 123 and Senate Bill

288 and we wanted to provide clarifying information on both components of our curriculum.

Instruction required annually for students in grades K-6:

Child Sexual Abuse, Dating Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention instruction is required annually for students in grades K-6.

Instructional Materials used:

SPEAK UP

Second Step Crime Protection Unit

Both HB123 and SB288 require districts to provide families the opportunity to examine

instructional materials and/or excuse their student(s) from taking part in the instruction.

For your convenience and due to a low response rate across the district, we have

created this HB123 & SB288 Parent Opt-Out Form for families to use ONLY IF YOU

WISH TO OPT OUT.

If you would like to read more about these pieces of legislation, you can access information

using the links below.

Prevention Education Resources (HB123 & SB288)

Legislative Requirements

Thank you,

Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools

Newsletter info for September 13th

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for Start With Hello Week

Sign up here: https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0F49A8A62FA1FDC43-51071476-start

PAWS TO WALK is finally here! This is our ONLY fundraiser this school year!

Along with our walk-a-thon on October 18th we have a silent auction and raffle!

• We are raffling off a pair of tickets to an OSU football game! Raffle is LIVE right now: onecau.se/pawstowalk

• All the PAWS TO WALK information can be found here: https://sites.google.com/view/gahannalincolnelementarypto/paws-to-walk

Upcoming PTO Dates

September 16 - 20 Start With Hello Week

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10C0F49A8A62FA1FDC43-51071476-start

September 19 - PTO Meeting 6:30 PM

Join in person or virtually through Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/acf-mbfx-dmo

We will be talking all about Paws to Walk at this meeting! We hope you can join us!

September 27 - Outdoor Movie Night

This is a free event! Bring blankets and chairs and watch DESPICABLE ME on the big screen! The movie should start at about 8:00 PM

Food trucks will be available starting at 7:00 PM

October 7th - 11th - Book Fair

Sign up to volunteer here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F49A8A62FA1FDC43-51370483-book

October 8th and 10th - Teacher Conferences

Sign up to help with dinner here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F49A8A62FA1FDC43-51373157-teacher

October 17 - PTO Meeting 6:30 PM

October 18 - Paws to Walk https://sites.google.com/view/gahannalincolnelementarypto/paws-to-walk

October 25 - Trunk-or-Treat - sign up to be a “trunk” coming soon!

Subscribe to the PTO’s Google Calendar:

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=Zjk3Y2NlM2U0MDljZTYzY2UyNmNiMDA4ODYzNWU5NGM2NGE2ZDFiODdiYzNkMTgzNzk4ZjNiMDMyMjA3NjVhM0Bncm91cC5jYWxlbmRhci5nb29nbGUuY29t

Don’t forget to follow us on social media!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561414813835

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gahannalincolnelementarypto/

• Dash on Sunday, 10/13 @ 11:00 a.m.
• Where: GLHS stadium
• Stash begins at 12:30 (early entry for Dashers)
• Who: ALL GJPS families and community members
• Businesses and GJPS building staff will decorate their vehicles and give away candy to the community children.
• MUST register for the Dash, www.gjef.org
• Costumes encouraged!

Come and join the fun, whether you dash, walk or run!

Come see the progress of the new GLHS!

Do you own a business or work at a business that would like to have a decorated trunk at the Stash?

If you would like more information, please contact Dianna Bessignano at bessignanod@gjps.org OR (614) 269-4262.

Please pull up closely to the car in front of you in the afternoon car line lane so more cars are able to fit, to avoid being on Helmbright.

We would love to have students, staff, and families watch our Lincoln Live Broadcast every school day. Just click on this link and find Lincoln Elementary on the list. You may also go to video.gjps.org.

Columbus Metropolitan Library’s School Help Centers are now open, offering students in your family free after-school help.

• Reading Buddies, 15 minutes of one-on-one reading practice for K-3 students

• School Help Centers, offering K-12 students free help with their schoolwork plus use of computers, printers, digital research tools and other resources

• HelpNow, connecting them one-on-one with a virtual tutor Monday-Friday, 2-11 p.m.

• Online school help tools available 24/7

• YouMedia, an open lab space at nine locations where teens can explore technologies

• After-School Snack, offered at 16 locations in partnership with the Children’s Hunger Alliance

Learn more at columbuslibrary.org.

Pursuant to House Bill 410, student attendance is now calculated in hours. This includes absences that have been identified as both excused and unexcused by the school, as well as planned absences. Being late or tardy to school does calculate into the total hours absent.

PLANNED ABSENCES (Such as vacation):

The time missed will be counted as an authorized, UNEXCUSED absence but shall not be a factor in determining grades unless the make-up work is not completed. Students who are absent 38 hours in a month or 65 hours in a school year with or without legitimate excuse are now considered Excessively Absent. These students will receive a letter from the District and will be required to follow the District Truancy Plan.These hours include approved planned absences. Planned absences will not be approved if your child has already met or will meet (based on this request) the absence threshold for Excessive Absence and/or Habitual Truancy.

If you have a planned absence, please fill out this form and send it in to the office. For more information or questions, please visit the GJPS website.

• Infinite Campus: Please log-in to the parent portal and update all Emergency Medical Forms, make sure all contact information is current, apply money to lunch accounts, and more! DIRECTIONS
• Bus Information: find your student's bus route, contact information, and download the bus app.
• District Calendar
• Free and Reduced Lunch Applications: To apply for free or reduced lunch prices, please visit this site for more information

Gahanna Residents In Need (GRIN) has partnered with Lincoln Elementary to offer a “Weekend Supplemental Food” program for our students. The program provides for students who are in need of help with food at home. If you would like to participate in this program, please fill out the permission form below. Your student will receive a bag of non-perishable food items every Friday to bring home.

Lincoln Supplemental Food Permission Slip

We are excited to be implementing new Math (Bridges) and Reading/Writing (Wit and Wisdom) Curriculum throughout the district this year in all K-5 classrooms. We will be starting on Monday, Aug 19th with the new curriculum tools.

There will be some changes for our procedures and routines for these new curriculum tools, and we will ease into this with our students.

Below are resources for families for both math (Bridges) and reading/writing (Wit and Wisdom) if you are interested in learning more:

BRIDGES MATH

WIT AND WISDOM

Pursuant to House Bill 410, student attendance is now calculated in hours. This includes absences that have been identified as both excused and unexcused by the school, as well as planned absences. Being late or tardy to school does calculate into the total hours absent.

PLANNED ABSENCES (Such as vacation):

The time missed will be counted as an authorized, UNEXCUSED absence but shall not be a factor in determining grades unless the make-up work is not completed. Students who are absent 38 hours in a month or 65 hours in a school year with or without legitimate excuse are now considered Excessively Absent. These students will receive a letter from the District and will be required to follow the District Truancy Plan.These hours include approved planned absences. Planned absences will not be approved if your child has already met or will meet (based on this request) the absence threshold for Excessive Absence and/or Habitual Truancy.

If you have a planned absence, please fill out this form and send it in to the office. For more information or questions, please visit the GJPS website.

The Heart and Pride Award recognizes two outstanding staff members each month who make a profound impact on our students and Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools. Families are encourage to nominate a staff member today! The Heart & Pride Nomination Form will remain available year-round and is open to any member of our staff, regardless of position.

Sept. 23, 2024: PD Day - No School

Oct 18, 2024- Walk-a-thon
Oct. 21, 2024: Comp Day - No School
Oct. 22, 2024: Staff Work Day - No School
Nov. 8, 2024: PD Day - No School
Nov. 27-29, 2024: Thanksgiving Break - No School
Dec. 23, 2024-Jan. 2, 2025: Winter Break - No School
Jan. 3, 2025: Staff Work Day - No School
Jan. 20, 2025: Martin Luther King Day - No School
Feb. 14, 2025: PD Day - No School
Feb. 17, 2025: Presidents Day - No School
Mar. 10, 2025: Staff Work Day - No School
Mar. 31-April 4, 2025: Spring Break- No School
April 18, 2025: Comp Day - No School
May 2, 2025: PD Day - No School
May 23, 2025: Last Day of School for Students