Happy December! Our staff here at Gertie Belle Rogers truly hopes your Thanksgiving Break was great, and that you are looking forward to spending time with family and friends in the coming weeks. This is an exciting time for learners as they near the halfway point of the year, and reminders of upcoming holidays and breaks are ever present!

In December we switch our focus to Energy Bus rule number four: Love Your Passengers! "Love Your Passengers" from "The Energy Bus for Kids" emphasizes fostering a positive mindset by choosing to focus on the good within oneself and others. It encourages kids to surround themselves with people who uplift and support them, creating a happy and supportive environment. By cultivating love, kindness, and encouragement for themselves and those around them, children can steer their journey towards success and happiness.

December kicks off with some great events within our building! On the 4th we will have our monthly assembly, featuring a visit from a representative from Midwest Honor Flight to receive a check (see below for details in Gertie Belle Penny Way). Then, on December 7th and 8th we will have back to back science presentations. First, a visitor from the Sanford Underground Research Lab will share with our students about both "A Day in the Life" and "Particle Accelerators - Smashing Science!" Then on Friday the 8th, we will have a traveling planetarium in our building! Rounding out the month we have a Kindergarten concert in the GBR commons on the 19th.

Christmas Break will begin at the end of the school day (3:15) on the 21st. School will resume on January 3rd.

If our staff in the office can ever be of service to you, please give us a call at 995-3091. Or, email Mr. Gubbrud directly at chris.gubbrud@k12.sd.us

This year, to honor Veteran's Day, the GBR Student Council sponsored a Penny War fundraiser. All proceeds will be donated to the Midwest Honor Flight! Students were encouraged to bring their pennies and bills to create positive points for their respective classroom buckets. Time was set aside for students to put negative points (silver coins) into the buckets of other classrooms. The Student Council members and advisors then counted the money in each bucket. The total amount of money raised by GBR was $2,003.70!

The class which brought in the most points was Mrs. McManus' 4th grade class! They won a pizza party!

On Monday, December 4, 2023, a representative from Midwest Honor Flight will give a presentation at GBR to help students learn what the program is about.

The Caring Kernel Award is given monthly to teacher nominated students who have shown to go above and beyond. Students are chosen for showing kindness to other at school or within the community, showing true Kernel spirit, having a positive attitude, demonstrating great sportsmanship at school activities, and overcoming hardships in school or at home. Below is a photo of the October 2023 student recipients.

Thank you to the Kiwanis Club of Mitchell for sponsoring this honor!

Please remember to send your student(s) to school every day with weather appropriate outdoor gear! This includes coats, hats, mittens, snow pants, and snow boots.

We are seeing a lot of students coming to school with no coats, or wearing only hooded sweatshirts. All students are required to go outside for recess - even during cold weather. Students only stay inside for recess when the temperature or "feels like" temperature is zero degrees or BELOW.

School doors unlock every morning at 7:30am

Breakfast is served every morning from 7:30am to 8:10am

School begins every day at 8:15am

School ends every day at 3:15pm

*Please drop off your child/ren to school as close to 8:00am as possible, especially if they are not eating breakfast, as there is limited supervision in the commons.

**If your child/ren will be late to school, absent from school, or leaving school for any reason during the school day, please call the school office at 605-995-3091 to inform the office staff. All doctors' notes can be faxed to or school office at 605-996-6610. We ask for a doctor note anytime a student misses a day of school due to illness and/or medical appointments of any type. Thank you!

There will be no school on the following dates due to Winter Break:

❄️Friday, December 22, 2023

❄️Monday, December 25, 2023 through Tuesday, January 2, 2024.

School will RESUME on Wednesday, January 3, 2024!

Veterans Day was November 11, 2023. GBR celebrated by setting up a display in the library. Students and staff were able to submit photos and stories of family members who are Veterans. Mrs. Elias' 5th graders also did a special project to salute our Veterans.

Mr. Gubbrud and Tyndahl Guza visited the Mayor's office on November 14, 2023 for the proclamation of American Education Week.

The GBR Adopt an Ornament Tree will be up and ornaments ready to take on Friday, December 1, 2023. If you would like to adopt an ornament this year to help make the holiday season al little brighter for another family, please visit our tree located in the school office. If you select an ornament, please let Ms. Rebecca or Ms. Liz know your name and the number of the ornament you chose, as we need to account for each ornament so they are not mistakenly removed or misplaced.

The ornaments are numbered and have gift suggestions on the back along with the gender and age of the child. If you take an ornament, please bring the wrapped and labeled (child's age and gender) gifts to GBR along with the ornament by December 15, 2023. We will arrange gift pick up the families. Thank you and Happy Holidays!

*December 4, 2023 - Pizza Ranch Night, 5:00pm to 7:00pm

*December 12, 2023 - Culver's Night, 5:00pm - 8:00pm

*December 27, 2023 to January 1, 2024 - Papa Murphy's Fundraiser. Online orders only.