Miller's Minutes
August 24th, 2026
Happy November, Tiger Families!
First, we want to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to all of our families, staff, volunteers, and community partners who helped make our 1st Annual Trunk or Treat such an AMAZING success! 🎃🍬 It was wonderful seeing our Tigers and their families come together for an evening filled with fun, creativity, and school spirit. We are so grateful for the incredible support from our Gulf Gate community and look forward to making this a yearly tradition!
In this week's edition of Miller's Minutes, we're sharing important reminders about morning drop-off, afternoon dismissal safety, and keeping our Tigers healthy. You'll also find updates on upcoming November events, including Spirit Week and our Tiger Trot, along with celebrations of our Attendance Champions and an ASD Spotlight featuring our amazing staff! We also want to recognize our wonderful business partners and families for their continued support.
We are looking forward to another great week of learning, growing, and showing our Tiger Pride!
Thank you for your continued partnership and for all you do to make Gulf Gate such a special place for our students!
With Tiger Pride,
Principal Miller & Assistant Principal Sheffield 💙💛
We want to remind families of the importance of ensuring that students who walk or ride their bikes home leave campus promptly and head directly home after dismissal.
We have experienced ongoing concerns with students gathering and loitering on the church property across the street from Gulf Gate. Unfortunately, there have been several incidents involving students engaging in unsafe behavior, including horseplay, verbal arguments, and physical altercations.
Please remember that once students leave school property, Gulf Gate staff are no longer available to provide supervision. For the safety of all students, we ask that parents and guardians speak with their children about the expectation that they go directly home rather than gathering at nearby businesses or properties.
Beginning immediately, Sarasota County Sheriff's Office deputies will be increasing patrols in the surrounding area over the next several weeks. Students found congregating on the church property will be directed to leave. Please be aware that remaining on private church property without permission may be considered trespassing.
Our priority is always the safety and well-being of our Tigers, both on and around campus. We appreciate your partnership in reinforcing these expectations and helping us maintain a safe environment for everyone! 💙💛
As we enter cold and flu season, we want to remind families of the importance of keeping students home when they are sick.
Students experiencing flu-like symptoms, fever, or vomiting should remain home until they have been symptom-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing or other symptom-relieving medications.
Keeping sick students home helps prevent the spread of illness and keeps our Tigers and staff healthy!
Thank you for doing your part to keep Gulf Gate a happy and healthy place to learn! 💙💛
At Gulf Gate School, we understand that families may want their children to have cell phones for safety reasons. However, all cell phones must remain in students' backpacks and be turned off or silenced throughout the school day.
If a student is found using or having their phone out during the school day, the following consequences will apply:
First Incident: A Notice of Concern (NOC) will be issued, and a phone call will be made home.
Second Incident: The cell phone will be collected by administration, and a parent or guardian will be required to come to campus to retrieve it.
Additionally, if your child is feeling unwell during the school day, they must notify their teacher, who will provide a pass to the clinic. Students should not call or text parents directly to request being picked up. Our clinic staff will assess the situation and contact families when necessary.
Thank you for helping us maintain a safe, focused learning environment and reinforcing these expectations with your child! 💙💛
A huge THANK YOU to all of our Gulf Gate families for supporting Tiger Tribe's Cookie Dough Fundraiser! Your generosity and participation are greatly appreciated!
Cookie dough orders will be available for pick-up on Tuesday, December 15th, from 3:30–6:30 PM.
Important Pick-Up Reminders:
All orders MUST be picked up on December 15th, as we do not have freezer space to store items after this date.
Orders cannot be sent home with students who walk or ride the bus.
A parent or guardian must pick up all orders during the designated pick-up time.
Thank you again for supporting our Tiger Tribe and helping make this fundraiser a success! 💙💛
Show Your Tiger Pride Every Friday! 🐯💙💛
Fridays are Spirit Days at Gulf Gate School! Show off your Tiger pride by wearing your favorite Gulf Gate spirit wear!
Don't have any Tiger gear yet? No worries! Check out our awesome selection of shirts and spirit wear to get ready for Fridays!
Shop here: Gulf Gate Tigers Spirit Wear – Direct Embroidery
Let's fill our hallways with blue, gold, and TIGER PRIDE every Friday!
Our Attendance Champions are back! 🎉 Congratulations to this week’s winning classrooms for having outstanding attendance and earning those, Tiger Bucks!
🔵 Blue Hallway: Freyre
🟢 Green Hallway: Iglesia
🟡 Yellow Hallway: Youseff
🔴 Red Hallway: Korzecki
👏 Way to go, Tigers! Every day at school matters, and we love celebrating our classrooms that are showing up, ready to learn! 🐯💙💛
Who will take the Attendance Champion title next week?
A huge shoutout to our amazing Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) and AIM Teacher for creating such a fun and inclusive experience at Gulf Gate's Trunk or Treat!
Inspired by the beloved book The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, our team brought the story to life through an interactive, hands-on trunk experience designed to make the event accessible and engaging for all students.
By incorporating familiar literacy activities, visual supports, and opportunities for communication and participation, our team helped ensure that students of all abilities could join in the Halloween fun!
This is inclusion in action!
💙💛 Thank you to our incredible staff for going above and beyond to create meaningful experiences where every Tiger feels welcomed, supported, and included! 🐯🍁
Looking for a way to get involved at Gulf Gate? Tiger Tribe, our parent-led PTO, is open to parents, grandparents, and guardians who want to help support our students, teachers, staff, and school community. Whether you want to volunteer at an event, help with fundraising, serve as a room parent, or simply learn more, there’s a place for you in the Tribe!
Click the Tiger Tribe logo to join now!
November is here, and we have some exciting activities and important dates coming up at Gulf Gate School! Be sure to mark your calendars so you don't miss out on all the fun!
📝 November 2–5 | Writing Interim Assessments
Students in Grades 2–5 will participate in Writing Interim Assessments.
🍧 November 13 | Kona Ice Day
Kona Ice is coming to Gulf Gate! Students can enjoy a refreshing, delicious treat for $5, which includes a fun color-changing spoon! Don't miss out on this sweet way to kick off the weekend!
💙💛 November 16–20 | Spirit Week
Get ready to show your Tiger Pride! Join us for a fun-filled week of school spirit. Stay tuned for more information about our daily themes!
🐯🏃 November 20 | Tiger Trot
Get ready to run, walk, and show your Tiger Pride at our Tiger Trot! We look forward to a fun-filled day of fitness, school spirit, and celebrating our Tigers!
🦃 November 23–27 | Fall Break – NO SCHOOL
Gulf Gate School will be closed for Fall Break. We hope all of our Tiger families enjoy a safe, relaxing, and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
Thank you for staying connected and involved in all the exciting things happening at Gulf Gate School! 🐯💙💛
