Toll Gator Gazette

Assistant Principal: Cindy Davis

Assistant Principal: Scott May

Secretary: Tassie Hall

Office Assistant:Jaclyn Davis

Counselor: Darren Drake

Nurse: Tami Tackett

Health Assistant: Nick Root

Dear TGE Families,

This newsletter is jam packed with important information. Please let us know if you have any questions.

I enjoyed seeing many Toll Gate Elementary students and families at this PLSD's Night of Engagement on January 10. We had TGE students present at the Night of Engagement, and it was amazing to see! It was a great chance to learn about some of the 73 countries and 54 languages that make up our district.

Congratulations to our 4th grade spelling bee participants and co - winners! Both Gavin H. and Scarlett B. are on Team Gullett/Householder in 4th grade, and they will be representing TGE at the regional competition. We are so proud of our super spellers!!

We have started seeing more parents AND NHS students volunteering to help out in classrooms! Thanks to all of you who are helping! The kids WIN when this happens. IF you want to come into the building, sign up on the sign up genius (scroll down in the newsletter).

Thank you for your continued partnership! Together we make TGE the place to be!

Warm regards,

Erika Lomonico
Principal, TGE

• This newsletter can be translated into different languages. See the dropdown menu at the top of the page to translate.

• You will receive news, updates, and message the principals and teachers via Talking Points. The message is sent out in your language.

Academic Fees assigned in Infinite Campus for the 23-24 school year were due on 11-17-23. We currently have almost 500 students who have not paid their fees. Please log into your Parent Portal and pay your fees via eCheck, Credit or Debit Card if you have not already done so. You can even come in and pay.

The first grade level to have all fees paid will earn a PJ day!

Thank you for your assistance!!

• Jan 3, 2024 --> Welcome back students!!

• Jan 15, 2024 - Martin Luther King Day --> NO SCHOOL!

• Jan 16, 2024 - 4th Grade Spelling Bee 1:30-2:30 PM

• Jan 16, 2024 - PTSO Meeting 6 PM in TGE Media Center

• Jan 25, 2024 - PTSO Kindergarten BASH - info has been sent home!

• Feb 8 & 9, 2024 - No School, Staff Professional Development

• Feb 15, 2024 - Evening Parent/Teacher Conferences 4:45 - 8:15pm

• Feb 19, 2024 - No School, Presidents Day

• Feb 20, 2024 - Evening Parent/Teacher Conferences 4:45 - 8:15pm

Our teachers are doing outstanding and amazing things every day to engage our students.

Here is your chance to nominate a Toll Gate Elementary School teacher as a Teacher of the Month. Please click the link below:

https://www.ohiolottery.com/About/Partners-in-Education/Teacher-of-the-Month/Nominate-a-Teacher

Thank you for helping recognize our teachers and what they do for our students and our school community every single day! They truly make TGE the place to be!!

THANK YOU! Our staff is BEYOND appreciative and grateful when they go into their workrooms and find snacks on the table or the fridge being full! YOU are the BEST! PLEASE keep them coming! It is a great pick me up for our staff! We are in need of everything to help stock the fridges at TGE! We have 108 staff members!!

Please help us continue to fill the fridge!

Ideas to donate:

•indiv snack packs

•granola bars/nutrigrain bars

•chocolate

•fruit

•chips/pretzels/etc.

•candy bars

•soda

•vitamin water

•celsius energy drink

•water

•gatorade/powerade

•tea

•coffee

•juice

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

Don't forget to order your 2023-2024 Toll Gate Yearbook by 4/1/24! Online ordering is highly recommended (see image for alternate payment method)!

Link to order:

https://jostensyearbooks.com/?REF=A01110704

PLSD families, let's continue to ensure our competitions are an enjoyable experience for all attendees.

Please note the athletic expectations for students and adults. An adult must accompany ALL K-8 students to enter the winter competition; once inside the competition, K-8 students MUST be supervised by the accompanying adult.

Any action that could cause mental or physical harm is deemed inappropriate behavior and may be subject to immediate exclusion from the competition. Let's continue to work together to support a safe environment for all attendees.

Thank you.

We wanted to share some resources for all those new electronic devices that might be new over winter break.

Setting up parental controls is important but is easy. You don’t have to purchase parental control software to protect your child while connected to the internet. There are already a lot of helpful tools built into your device hardware, software, and internet browser. Click on some of these links below on some tutorials to help you maximize built-in privacy settings and content blockers.

• Parental controls for Apple products

• Parental controls for Google Play

• Parental controls guide for Chromebook

• Content restrictions for Windows 10 and Xbox One

• Parental controls for YouTube Kids

• Content filters on SafeSearch for Google

• Parental controls on Amazon FreeTime

• Parental controls on Netflix

If you want the extra reassurance click HERE for some parental control software that we found. Almost every brand has a free version available, so you can probably upgrade from built-in parental controls without paying additional money.

If you need to sign up for those new accounts, guard yourself and your child's personal information. This can get tricky when your child might need profiles to be identified but personal details need to be guarded closely. None of the following information should be used to identify your child.

• Full first and last name

• Social security number

• Birthdate

• Address

• Phone number

• Photograph

It seems too simple to be so effective, but one of the best ways to keep kids safe online is to make sure that all devices, software, and firmware are up to date. Updates can seem like a pain, but one of the biggest reasons companies come out with new versions is to deploy security patches that address the most recent and innovative threats out there. Plus, an outdated operating system or old version of software can render your parental controls and privacy settings useless.

AVAILABLE RESOURCES FOR PARENTS

The link below contains FREE resources that are being made available to our PLSD parents through a grant between the Fairfield County Educational Service Center and the Cook Center for Human Connection. They are provided as a convenience for our parents and families.

ParentGuidance.org

Website: https://www.pickerington.k12.oh.us/Domain/13
Location: 12183 Tollgate Road, Pickerington, OH, USA
Phone: 614.834.6300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TollGateES
Twitter: @PLSD