GC The Buzz Family Newsletter

10/15-10/16: MEA BREAK (NO SCHOOL)

10/12-10/20: Schedule your students conference time on ParentVue or Call the office and schedule with Mrs. Pettis or Mrs. Jackson

10/14: Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration

10/21: 5th Grade Field Trip---Brooklyn Center Fire Dept

10/22: 2nd Grade Field Trip---Bell Museum

10/29: Trunk or Treat

Conferences Coming.....

Nov 4, 10, 12

October Is Full of Excitement!

Garden City families, we are off to a great start, and we are just getting started! We have some exciting family engagement opportunities coming up, and we cannot wait to celebrate, learn, laugh, and connect with each of you.

🎬 Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration — October 14

We are excited and honored to have the opportunity to co-host our Hispanic Heritage Month celebration with the Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC)!

Join us for a special Family Movie Night featuring Nuestro Norte, a film created with the voices and stories of Minnesota locals. We will also have local speakers who were involved in and connected to the making of the film, giving our families an opportunity to hear directly from members of our community.

This will be more than just a movie night. It will be an evening filled with history, culture, community, and conversation — and you definitely don't want to miss it!

📅 October 14
🕔 After school
📍 Garden City Elementary

Come enjoy the movie, learn something new, grab some snacks, and spend an evening celebrating the rich cultures and stories that make our Garden City community so special.

🎃 Trunk-or-Treat — October 29

Then we are getting spooky! 👻

Our annual Trunk-or-Treat is coming up on October 29, and we are bringing the fun right into our school parking lot. Keeping the event on school grounds helps create a safe, familiar, and welcoming environment for our students and families.

And let's be honest... this may be your one opportunity to see your teachers dressed up in funny, spooky, and sometimes questionable costumes while handing out candy.

Yes, you read that correctly. 😂

The people who spend all year reminding students that "we don't have candy at school" will be the very same people passing it out at Trunk-or-Treat. On October 29, that rule doesn't apply! 🎃🍬

So bring the family, put on your favorite costume, and come celebrate with us!

❤️ We Need Our Garden City Families!

This year is already off to an amazing start, and we want to keep the momentum going! Family engagement works best when we all come together — families, students, staff, and community partners.

I am still accepting volunteer sign-ups and will be reaching out to those who have expressed interest in volunteering with upcoming opportunities. Please keep an eye on your email for information about volunteer opportunities and ways you can help support our events.

Also, be on the lookout for three different flyers coming home with information about upcoming after-school opportunities for students in grades 1–5. There are some great opportunities coming up, so please take a look when those flyers make their way home!

We cannot wait to see you at our October events. Come out, bring the family, and let's continue building a Garden City community where every voice matters and every family feels like they belong.

We can't wait to celebrate with you! 💛🐝

Felicia Giles

Family Liaison

Garden City Elementary

📞 School Phone Number: (763) 561-9768 Dial “0” for the office

📞 Attendance Line: (763) 561-9768 Dial “1” for Student Absence

📠 Fax Number: (763)549-2360

🚌 Bus Information: (763) 391-7244

👪 Kidstop Information: (763) 585-7281

School Website: https://gc.district279.org

Office Hours: 8:00AM – 4:30PM

Office Staff:

David Branch, Principal

Vania Pettis, Administrative Assistant

Jill Dalton, Resource Manager

Kayla Hartman, Instructional Assistant

Mary Vang, Nurse

Felicia Cornell, Family Engagement Coordinator

School Hours: 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM

Students should arrive between 9:05 - 9:30am. NO EARLIER than 9:10 am as there will not be adult supervision.

NOTE: If your student plans on having breakfast at school, please have them arrive NO LATER than 9:15am.

Dismissal begins at 3:50. When picking up your child early for an appointment, the office will not call the classroom for your student, until you have arrived. Be sure to allow plenty of time!

Students should be picked up from school NO LATER than 4:00 pm

👇🛑 NOTE: 🛑👇

-If you are picking up between the times of 3:30-3:55pm, you MUST notify the OFFICE in ADVANCE, (NO LATER than 3:00pm).

-If your students "GOING HOME" transportation changes for the end of the day, please notify the OFFICE NO LATER than 3:00pm.

• We begin to call family numbers at 3:50pm
• There is NO left turn into the parking lot. Cars need to line up on 65th Avenue facing East so you make a RIGHT turn into the Family Pickup Zone.
• Do NOT block the bus lane.
• Do NOT park on the street or stop in the line to send someone to get your student(s). You need to line up in the line like all other families. When in line, you need to stay in line, waiting your turn like other families.

Above all, BE PATIENT in the Garden City parking lot pick up line, so everyone stays safe. Thank you!

Healthy Food and Drinks:

We are asking that families keep candy, sweet treats, and beverages like soda pop, Kool-Aid, juices, etc. at home. Do not bring them to school. Clear water bottles are allowed for water only. Please do not send students to school with sugary drinks.

Birthdays/Celebrations

Out of respect for instructional time, family and religious choices, and many food allergies, birthday treats are NOT permitted in the classrooms. This is a district wide policy.

📱 Student Cell Phones/Devices at School:

Student Cell Phones/Electronic Devices at School:

Student cell phones should be left at home. If you choose to send your child to school with a cell phone, please keep the following in mind:

1. The school and district are not responsible for replacing damaged, lost, or stolen cell phones or electronic devices.
2. Students that bring cell phones need to keep them in secured backpacks. With Principal approval, students may leave drop their cell phone in the main office at arrival and pick up before dismissal.
3. Students cannot use them to access social media, taking pictures, or videos during school hours or on the bus.
4. Electronic Devices being inappropriately used at school will be collected by staff and returned the student at the end of day. If it becomes a repeated interruption to learning, a family member may be asked to come to school.

All students have access to district devices while at school, so cell phones are not needed or required for instruction. If you have any questions, concerns, or situations that require your student to have a cell phone at school, please contact Principal Branch.

This is our Parent Portal and is used to see your child(ren)’s grades, attendance, schedule conferences, etc. Below is a link to ParentVue which will be your portal to your child's education their entire time in the district. Be sure to click on the "Request Activation Key". Once you log in the first time, you will create your own login credentials and will no longer need the activation key. Please note that there is also a ParentVue app for both Android and Apple if you'd like to have access right at your fingertips.

Please go to the main office/or call 763-561-9768 for your child's special access code/activation key (if you do not have your Parent Vue set up yet).

All back to school forms MUST be completed and/or verified to enter ParentVue for the first time each school year. ParentVue will prompt you to do this when you login. Be sure to select the begin registration button. You will have to verify ALL CHILDREN in your home, even young siblings!

As a reminder, transportation is only available to students who live within the Garden City attendance boundaries.

If you have further transportation questions, need to make changes to your student's bus information, etc. please email transportation at BusQuestions@district279.org. or call at

763-391-7244.

FirstView 1.0 Bus Tracking App

Download updated bus tracking app to receive real-time info

Stay connected with your student's bus via our updated bus tracking app – FirstView 1.0.

This new app replaces the previous system with improved features such as easier navigation, notifications and family/caregiver email alerts. Current users should delete the previous app and download FirstView 1.0 to continue receiving real-time bus information. Refer to the Getting Started guide for first steps once the new app has downloaded onto your device.

Questions? Visit district279.org/FirstView or email support@myfirstview.com.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership.

Here at Garden City ALL families are assigned a specific Family Number. This number will be your family's unique assigned number for as long as your student(s) attend Garden City. You get 1 car hanging tag at the beginning of the school year (Open House), or upon enrollment and starting with us. These are important to have and know, as they are used for parent pick ups, during breakfast/lunch, and many other times during the school year.

If you lose or misplace your family number, just write your family number down on a piece of paper. Unfortunately, we do not have additional hanging tags to distribute.

Again, please note that these should hang VISIBLY from your car when going through the family pick-up line at the end of the day.

One breakfast and one lunch per day are free for all students in Minnesota.

If students bring a lunch from home and wish to have school milk, they must purchase one for $0.50 using their SmartSchoolK12 lunch account. Once you’ve created this account, you can log in and add money to your child’s meal account. Balances are shared by all students in a household.

To load your student’s lunch account, view menus, apply for free/reduced lunch, etc., click the button below to create a SmartSchoolK12 account.

Educational Benefit Information

PLEASE APPLY!!!! Our school receives critical funding based on the number of families in our building who qualify for Educational Benefits (aka Free/Reduced Lunch).

To be considered for educational benefits, parents/caregivers must complete the Educational Benefits Application each year. The benefits of filling out the application and being approved (or qualifying) may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Applications completed and approved prior to Oct. 1 will help provide funding for the school your child attends, which can be used to provide additional resources that benefit students.
• Testing fees for the ACT, SAT and AP Fees may be discounted as well as field trips and instrument rentals.
• Reduced internet rates with certain providers.
• Athletics fees waived or reduced.