The Jr. Bulldog Pride

Greetings Jr. Bulldog Families,

We hope everyone stayed safe and warm this past week! We know that between teacher workdays and unplanned school closings, some families have felt stressed and are anxious to get your kiddos back on a normal schedule! We are still in the middle of our mid-year testing window. Hopefully our winter weather is behind us and we will be on normal schedule moving forward. Reach out if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing everyone Monday morning!

Monday, January 27th: Specials Day 1 - Day 87 of school

Tuesday, January 28th: - Specials Day 2 - Day 88 of school

Wednesday, January 29th: Specials Day 3 - Day 89 of school

Thursday, January 30th: Specials Day 4 - Day 90 of school

Friday, January 31st: Specials Day 1 - Day 91 of school

Friday, January 24th: 2nd Quarter Awards Assemblies (K/1 - 8:15, 2/3 - 9:00, 4/5 - 9:45)

Tuesday, January 28th: 2nd Grade Field Trip to International Civil Rights Center & Museum

Wednesday, January 29th: Class & Group Pictures

Thursday, January 30th: Hearing Screenings for select grade levels

Friday, January 31st: PBIS Bulldog Store (Students Reward Celebration)

Wednesday, February 5th: Grove Part PTO Meeting (In Person or Virtual Option)

Wednesday, February 12th: Duty Free Lunch for Teachers (See SignUpGenius link below)

Thursday, February 13th: 100th Day of School!

February 19th-25th: NC Check-In Testing window for 3rd-5th graders

Friday, February 21st: Progress Reports available in PowerSchool

Each week, we will be sharing ideas and resources on how you can help your student be successful!

Students should be reading each night at home. This can be books, articles, comics, magazines, etc. Read together with your child. Discuss the stories or information in the text and make connections to real life. Your child will be more apt to read if they see you reading with them. This promotes literacy and comprehension skills!

The winners from the final Week 4 of the Earning and Learning Attendance Campaign for the week of January 14th-17th are:

• For grades PreK through 2nd grade: Mrs. Kerns'/Mrs. Brown's 1st Grade Class with a 94% attendance rate for the week!
• For grades 3rd through 5th: Ms. McCray's 3rd Grade Class with an 86% attendance rate for the week!

What a great competition! Way to go winners for giving it your best last week! CONGRATULATIONS to the students and teachers of these classrooms. These classrooms will receive an Attendance Champions banner to hang outside their classroom door and the whole class will receive a prize chosen by your teacher.

INCLEMENT WEATHER

In the case of inclement weather (snow, sleet, etc.) the decision to close school is the responsibility of the ABSS Superintendent. If at all possible, a decision to close or delay school is made no later than 5:00 a.m., and the notification process begins, within minutes, in the following order:

• An email is sent to all ABSS email accounts

• Announcement is posted on the district website and all school websites

• Announcements are posted to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

• Local TV and radio stations

Please do not call the school. Listen to the news media. If inclement weather occurs during the school day, please do not call the school. If the phone is tied up with a vast number of parental phone calls, the school will be unable to receive the necessary messages from the central office. Please be sure that your child has instructions as to what to do if school is dismissed early. You will receive a form to complete giving us instructions later in the fall.

During the school year, our students participate in a variety of practice drills to ensure that they know what to do to be safe. If school is in session and we are experiencing adverse weather conditions or any unsafe situation our staff will direct students to follow our safety protocols.

During adverse weather conditions, families are welcome to come into the building to seek shelter. During any time of crisis, we will not release students until we have lifted the safety precautions for all students.

During any time of crisis, the school will make every effort to keep families informed. Please know that if there is a delay in communication it is because we are working to keep the safety of students as our first priority.

If you have questions about PTO or if you are interested in being a part of our PTO, please email Ana or Necole at Groveparkpto2024@gmail.com

Thank you to everyone who purchased shirts and/or hoodies for our first Spirit Wear order! Items from the first order should be in within the next week. Another form will be coming home soon for the next order!

Our PTO is planning to provide duty free lunch for our teachers on Wednesday, February 12th. If you are willing and able to volunteer 30 minutes of your time, please use the SignUpGenius link below to sign up for a time slot.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4AABA62CA5F8CE9-54223327-duty

We are including the link to the District’s Code of Conduct here. While each of you are familiar with our school handbook, we wanted to make sure you had access to the District’s Code of Conduct that guides our decisions with consequences. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our administrative team.

To view the full month's menu, please click here.

• School begins at 7:50 a.m. for ALL students Pre-K-5. Students that arrive by car should be in the building at 7:50. To make sure our students have enough time to get in the building, get through the breakfast line and arrive in class to start their day, the car rider line cut off time is 7:49 (cell phone time) each day. If you are arriving on campus at 7:49 or later, you will need to park and walk your student in to the front office to sign them in.
• Changes in transportation - If you need to change your child's afternoon transportation, please call the front office at (336) 570-6115 before 2:00 p.m. Teachers cannot check and respond to messages and emails throughout the day when they are teaching. Please do not expect an immediate response from your child's teacher during instructional hours. Office hours for teachers begin after 3:00 p.m.
• Signing Students out early: If you are signing your students out early (before 2:20 p.m.), you must go inside the front office and check them out. No student early check outs will be allowed after 2:20 as students are beginning to transition for dismissal. We appreciate your cooperation with this matter!
• Lunch Visits- Families may come to eat lunch with your students. Please reach out to your child's teacher 24 hours in advance to let them know you are coming so they can plan for seating. Remember: NO OUTSIDE FOOD OR DRINK MAY BE BROUGHT IN. Upon arrival, please sign in at the front office and get a visitor's tag. This must be worn while on campus. All visitors will wait for their child’s class outside the office until their student's lunch time. At the end of lunch, all visitors will need to come back to the office to sign out. Visitors are not permitted to walk down to classrooms.

  Lunch visits will end the Monday prior to Memorial Day in May. We look forward to opening this back up and thank you in advance for following the procedures.

Families that wish to send in a special treat to the classroom to honor their child’s birthday must pre-arrange this with the classroom teacher 24 hours in advance. Treats for celebrations must be dropped off in the office. Please check with your student’s teacher to determine if there are any classroom food allergies that should be considered when purchasing food for the class. The teacher will distribute the treats at a time and manner that does not disrupt instruction or the overall workings of the school. The school cannot provide serving utensils. Student birthday celebrations can only include snack items such as cupcakes, donuts, chips, juice boxes, etc. According to state law, any cupcakes or other snacks must be store-bought and labeled. Items such as treat bags, noise makers, balloons, party favors, etc are not allowed. Parents are not allowed in the classroom for this event. Treats for celebrations cannot be brought to the cafeteria during lunch per ABSS food service guidelines. No homemade food items are allowed. Special food from off campus (like pizza) cannot substitute food service offerings.

Welcome to Grove Park Checklist:

• Complete Forms in PowerSchool

• Review the GPE Student/Family Handbook: English; Spanish

Grove Park Elementary School

141 Trail One

Burlington, NC 27215

Phone:336-570-6115

Fax:336-570-6205