Welcome to Garden City (Aug. 9)

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Welcome to Garden City Elementary, home of the Dolphins! We are so excited to meet you and have you part of the Garden City family! For our returning families, we are beyond thrilled to have you back and see all your amazing smiling faces! Please read the information below thoroughly as it has all the information you'll need to get your child set for success, and a wonderful school year!

Open House Wednesday, Aug 28th from 4:30-6:30pm

We hope to see you there!

🏫 School Address:

Garden City Elementary School

3501 65th Ave N

Brooklyn Center, Minnesota 55429

📞 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

Sharla Foster, Instructional Assistant

Myra Bland, 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!

Lunch and Recess: (30 minutes each)

2nd Grade--------11:15 PM - 12:15 PM

Kindergarten----11:25 PM - 12:25 PM

5th Grade --------11:50 AM - 12:50 PM

4th Grade --------12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

3rd Grade --------12:25 PM - 1:25 PM

1st Grade --------12:35 AM - 1:35 PM

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.

📱 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.

Here at Garden City ALL families are assigned a specific Family Number. This number will be your families unique assigned number for as long as your student(s) attend Garden City. You get 1-2 car hang tags 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 let your student's teacher, or office staff know, and we will make sure to get you a replacement.

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.

Bus information (Bus number, bus stop location, pick-up and drop-off times) will be posted in ParentVue on Thursday, August 22nd.

If your child's bus information is not posted in ParentVUE, please inquire with transportation at 763-391-7244.

As a reminder, transportation is only available to students who live within the Garden City attendance boundaries. To find out if your address, daycare address, etc. is in our boundaries, please click here.

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

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.

8/28: Open House 4:30-6:30pm

9/3: First Day of School (9:30am-4:00pm)