Grandview Elementary
Parent/ Family Update - August 1, 2025
Dear Grandview Families,
I want to wish you a happy holiday season and thank you for your continued partnership and support. We hope the break brings your family time to rest, reconnect, and make wonderful memories together.
As a reminder, school is closed through January 5th, and students will return on Tuesday, January 6th. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in the new year, refreshed and ready for a great start to the second half of the school year!
Thank you for all you do to support Grandview. We are grateful for you!
With appreciation,
Dr. Susan Short
Principal, Grandview Elementary
🗓️ End of Quarter 2
December 19
❄️ Winter Break – No School
December 22–January 5
Students return on January 6
đź“„ Report Cards Sent Home
January 8
🗳️ SBDM Meeting
January 21 • GES • 4:00 PM
🏫 District Board of Education Meeting
January 21 • BMHS • 6:00 PM
Activities to Keep Kids Learning Over Winter Break
Wondering how to keep your kids engaged and learning over winter break? Try some of the activities below for fun, meaningful learning at home!
Learning Through Play
These activities reinforce core academic skills while encouraging curiosity and creativity:
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Winter Observation Journals: Track daily weather changes and seasonal patterns.
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Snowflake Geometry: Explore symmetry and geometric transformations using paper or digital tools.
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Cozy Literacy & Language Fun: Read winter-themed books together and talk about the stories.
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Kitchen Learning Lab: Cook or bake together to practice math, measurement, and basic science.
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Winter Word Wall: Build vocabulary by creating a list of winter-themed words with pictures.
Creative & Artistic Activities
These ideas encourage imagination, creativity, and self-expression:
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Paint a winter landscape
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Make snowmen crafts using socks or recycled materials
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Try winter watercolor projects
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Create collage art
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Sew simple plushies
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Design a winter-themed comic strip
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Make paper lanterns
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Draw winter fashion designs
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Fold origami winter animals
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Build miniature winter scenes or dioramas
Calm & Reflective Activities
Perfect for quieter moments, these activities keep minds active while still feeling relaxed and enjoyable:
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Start a winter reading challenge
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Write a short winter-themed story
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Keep a winter break journal
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Write letters to your future self
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Create a family storybook
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Explore winter folklore from different cultures
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Try daily writing prompts
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Create character profiles for a winter adventure
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Make winter vocabulary flashcards
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Write a gratitude list
These activities offer a balance of learning, creativity, and reflection—helping students stay engaged while still enjoying a well-deserved break.
December’s Character Trait Focus: Empathy
This month we are focusing on Empathy, which we define as: understanding and connecting to other people's feelings. You can learn more about this month’s focus by checking out the latest Character Strong newsletter.
Tip of the Week
Instead of asking your child, “How was your day?” try asking, “How did you try to understand someone else's feelings or perspective today?” This small shift encourages reflection and deeper conversations at home.
Family Resource
The Purposeful People library is a fantastic resource that organizes book lists by character trait. Try checking out some of these titles from your local library, or search for read-aloud versions on YouTube. Reading or listening to these stories together is a wonderful way to spark meaningful conversations about gratitude and other important values.
Stay warm,
Allison Craig
School Counselor-allison.craig@bellevue.kyschools.us
"Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another and feeling with the heart of another." ~Alfred Adler (Psychiatrist)
"If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." ~Atticus Finch (from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
Paloma Reading Program
The Paloma Reading Program is free innovative initiative that empowers families to become their children's biggest supporters in developing literacy skills. By clicking on the text link provided by Paloma daily, families can provide 15 daily minutes of short-burst tutoring at home, which translates to an entire extra year of school for every student. Parents do not have to download or purchase anything.
This program is particularly beneficial for K-2 students, as it helps accelerate learning by equipping parents with the skills to deliver curriculum-aligned instruction. Paloma's approach is effective and culturally responsive, allowing parents to engage in their children's learning in a way that aligns with their cultural backgrounds. The program has been recognized for its effectiveness, with 76% of K-2 parents successfully using it to tutor their children, resulting in a 45% increase in reading growth and a doubling of progress for multilingual learners.
Paloma's commitment to enhancing instructional time outside the classroom aims to create a seamless partnership between schools and families, ultimately improving student outcomes. Please click the links below for more information on how the program works.
Want to be more involved but don't know how?
Check out the Grandview PTO!
At GES, our main mode of communication is ClassDojo.
You can also find all of our info on the Bellevue app.
Not signed up yet?
Scan the QR codes to get connected!
