April 2026

Spring is here!

While the flowers are blooming and the birds are chirping, you can also hear the buzz of excitement in our kids as they enter our building doors. Students are preparing to finish up this year, and staff are eagerly planning fun activities.

There has been a lot of information going out about field trips and school activities going on. Be sure to be checking your Seesaw and emails for more detailed information. Seesaw is a good app to use to get in touch with your child's teachers and to see some of what they are doing in their classrooms.

If you are planning to volunteer for field trips, whether it's this year or next year it's a good idea to get a jump start on getting your clearances done and turned into our office.

Reminders:

~Breakfast is free and served in the cafeteria. "To-Go" breakfast bags are handed out in the hallways as well every morning!

~If your child is late or absent from school, a note or doctor's note is needed so their absence or tardy is not unexcused.

~Just a reminder school starts at 8:40am. Students are dismissed at 3:05. Dismissal is at 12pm on half days.

📌NEW Next Year 26/27

As we prepare for the upcoming school year, please note that teacher requests

cannot be accommodated.

Please know that class placements are carefully developed using a variety of factors, including academic needs, learning styles, social dynamics, and overall class balance. Our goal is to create well-rounded classrooms that support the success of all students.

Because of this comprehensive process, we are not able to accommodate requests for specific teachers. We are confident that every member of our teaching staff is dedicated to providing a positive and effective learning experience for all students.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support.

PSSA's are just a few weeks away!

Please have your child at school on time (School starts at 8:40), with a good night of sleep.

Late students will have to sit in the office until their class is finished and will need to make their test up during a makeup section.

Try to refrain from making any appointments during those days.

Only mints will be handed out to each student taking the assessments for each day the test is given.

📝Students in grades 3, 4 and 5 will take the tests for English Language Arts on April 20th - 22nd and Math from April 27th - 28th.

📝5th grade will also be given the Science assessment on April 29th & 30th.

SAT 10 Testing has already begun for grades K-5

As we head into our final months of school, the mandatory health screenings on all students continue to be completed and available for you to view in Skyward. As always if you have any questions or concerns please reach out to me. Parents of 2nd, 4th and 5th grade students please see below for important information in regards to forms that need completed for next school year.

ATTENTION PARENTS/GUARDIANS OF 5TH GRADE STUDENTS – During the 1st week of April, there will be a letter sent home with all 5th grade students reviewing the physical examination and vaccination requirement under the Pennsylvania School Health Law for students entering 6th grade. A physical form will be attached to the letter for completion by your child’s physician. Physical exams done after August 20th 2025 will be accepted. Physicals are due by September 30th, 2026.

ATTENTION PARENTS/GUARDIANS OF STUDENTS OF 2ND AND 4TH GRADE STUDENTS – During the 1st week of April, there will be a letter sent home with all students in 2nd and 4th grade. Each child entering Kindergarten, 3rd, and 5th grade is required by the Commonwealth of PA to return a completed dental visit form. This form will be attached to the letter and should be completed by your child’s dentist. Dental visits after 8/19/2025 will be accepted. All forms should be returned at the beginning of the 2026-27 school year, no later than September 9th, 2026 to the nurses office.

Melissa Weikert RN

James Gettys Elementary School Nurse

898 Biglerville Road

Gettysburg, PA 17325

717-334-6254 opt.5 ext. 1227

Teacher Appreciation Week will be held the first week of May. This is a special time for us to recognize the heart of our school. Each day, they go above and beyond to create meaningful learning experiences, support their students, and build a positive, caring environment where every child can grow. Their patience, creativity, and dedication do not go unnoticed, and the impact they make reaches far beyond the classroom.

Our PTO will be sending out a Sign Up Genius to parents asking for donations. Keep a look out for that coming soon. We encourage families and students to join us in

recognizing their efforts and showing appreciation throughout the week.

K-2 Field Day is May 5 from 9:00 am-11:00 am.

Rain date: May 7

3-5 Field Day is May 7 from 1:00pm -3:00pm.

Rain date is May 8.

More information will be sent home soon!

Thank you!

Michele Pecaitis

Health/Physical Education Teacher

James Gettys Elementary School

mpecaitis@gasd-pa.org

The Scholastic Book Fair was a huge success!

Thank you to all who supported the fair! The money will be used to purchase books and materials for the library!

James Gettys Elementary just ended our 4th annual Math Madness competition. This initiative serves as a key fundraiser for our PTO and a community-building event that encourages students to master their math facts.

The competition featured an exciting bracket-style tournament, with each classroom representing a college team. We are thrilled to share that our school not only met, but exceeded our fundraising goal of $4,000!

As a reward, we traveled to Gettysburg College to enjoy a fun and spirited Staff vs. Students basketball game. During our visit, we proudly announced the tournament winners, congratulations to Mrs. Becker’s Kindergarten class! Our runner-up was Mrs. Arentz’s Third Grade class.

We also celebrated academic achievements, recognizing the classrooms with the highest growth in math fact scores: Mrs. Roy’s Kindergarten and Mrs. Peterman/Mrs. Cooper’s Fourth Grade.

Because we surpassed our fundraising goal, we added an extra dose of fun to our assembly, two teachers were pied! A big thank you to Mr. Cool and Mrs. Becker for being such great sports.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this fundraiser such a tremendous success!

As your GASD Family Navigators, we’d love to connect with you as the school year begins to wind down. With just a couple of months left before summer, we welcome the opportunity to meet with you while we’re still in session.

To keep things simple, you can find us at the same locations (and times!) on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month, open-house format. If you have time, please stop by to say hello, share ideas, or just chat—we’d love to see you before the school year ends!

📅 Wednesday, April 1
⏰ 9:30–11:30 AM
📍 Gettysburg Dunkin’

📅 Wednesday, April 15
⏰ 9:30–11:30 AM
📍 Adams County Library (basement)

Coffee & Conversations
Thank you to everyone who has joined us for our community outreach series throughout the year—we’ve truly enjoyed the opportunity to connect with all of you. We’re excited to invite you to our final Coffee & Conversations gathering of the school year on Friday, April 24th from 10am-12pm.

Again, this relaxed monthly meetup is open to our entire community and provides a chance to come together for meaningful conversation in a relaxed setting. For this final session, we’ll be joined by our high school counselors, who will share insights on three areas of their work: academic development, career development, and student wellness.

As always, we’ll meet at the Norris-Wachob Alumni House on the Gettysburg College campus. Free parking is available in the Constitution Lot.

Stay tuned for the event flyer with more details coming soon—we look forward to connecting with you there!

*If you or someone you know needs support with food, clothing, or any other resources, please don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re here to help.

Hello families,

This month, we are back in the garden! We have been watching the daffodils come up, cleaning out the weeds, and planting.

Mrs. Black, from the Master Gardeners came over to our school and did winter sowing at the end of February. We had to have jugs so we would pick out a plant and plant it in the jugs. We put them outside to get rain and sun. A lot of people wanted to plant blanket flowers. I wanted to pick them because they had a lot of colors and they were really pretty. Later on we will take them out and plant them in the ground. Our school decided to put a rain gauge outside to collect all of the rain and when we bring it in, we measure it.

Last week, we planted some carrots and some snap peas in the raised beds. Some of my classmates took the lettuce and spinach from our winter sowing milk jugs, and transplanted them into the raised beds. The garden has gotten a lot of weeds so we had to do a lot of weeding. This is what we have been doing in the garden. We can’t wait to see what comes up next!

Sincerely yours,

Ellie Thompson