Our staff had some time on Thursday to finalize OUR GRAY HAWK MISSION STATEMENT and we are proud to share it with OUR COMMUNITY.

"OUR GRAY HAWK FAMILY works together to help students feel safe, loved, and inspired so they can be empowered learners and engaged citizens."

Shout out to our first grade teacher, Mrs. Brown, for helping to organize our first Wellness Wednesday activity. On Wednesday, October 6 Gray Hawk will celebrate National Walk to School Day. We will meet at the pavilion located at 160th and Garden Circle at 8:20 on October 6 and arrive at school as the doors open. Parents are encouraged to attend the walk with us as well. Thank you!

If you ordered mums through PTO, please plan on picking them up on Wednesday, September 22 between 4:30 and 7:00 pm. Pick up will be on the South side of the building where busses pick up students. There is a grassy area between the Early Learning Center and Gray Hawk and PTO will be set up in that area.

Nurse MJ will begin our hearing and vision screenings in the weeks ahead and wanted to remind everyone to make sure that children are bringing their glasses to school if they wear them.

We have decided to follow KDHE student screening guidelines and instead of screening every student, every year, we will be screening them every OTHER year, starting with Kindergarten. Students in Kindergarten, second, and fourth grade this year. The exceptions to this guideline are that every student new to the district will be screened, as well as any of our students receiving special education services or students deemed at "high risk".

If you feel your student needs to be screened and they are not part of screenings for this year, please reach out to your student’s teacher or Nurse MJ. We have no problem completing screenings by request. If you have any questions or concerns, please call the front office or email MJ directly at mjohnson@usd458.org.

OUR GRAY HAWKS are invited to join our Homecoming float on Thursday, September 30. OUR GRAY HAWK PTO is sponsoring the float in the Homecoming parade. If your child wants to ride on our 90s themed foat they will need to be dropped off at Holy Angels parking lot at 5:30. Make sure your child has used the restroom as there are no facilities to use on the route. Students can dress in 90s attire: tight rolled jeans, fanny packs, overalls, bomber jacket, football jerseys, etc. If your child would like to pass out candy, please bring inindividually wrapped candy. The parade concludes at the high school. Look for our float and we will release the children to their parent/guardian. Students may go with another adult that is not their parent or guardian, but we MUST have a written, signed note indicating who SPECIFICALLY they can go with.

There is a social media challenge going around on Tik Tok right now encouraging students to film themselves stealing classroom supplies r personal items from teachers, or to damage school property. Please be aware of social media use and consider having conversations with your child if they have this app on their device so that we can be proactive in addressing this issue before it appears in our community, Thank you for your consideration.

As a part of our commitment to ensuring that our students are exposed to the contributions of people of color and from different backgrounds, we kicked off this past week by giving daily clues to a famous person from history that has made our world a better place. This past week, the students heard the following clues:

I was born on September 8, 1954 and was the youngest person involved in the Civil Rights Movement.

I was the first African American to integrate an all white school in the South.

I was escorted to school by federal police to make sure that I was safe on my way to and from school.

My first grade teacher, Mrs. Henry, always believed in me!

Who am I?

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Teachers discussed their guesses with their students each day until we revealed that the person of the week was Ruby Bridges. They were then given a video that introduced OUR GRAY HAWKS to Ruby and her accomplishments. You can check out the video below:

Patricia Polacco is an American author and illustrator. Throughout her school years, Polacco struggled with reading but found relief by expressing herself through art. Polacco was discouraged in school and did not learn to read until she was nearly fourteen. In junior high school, one of her teachers finally discovered that dyslexia was the reason for her lack of confidence. She has written over 100 books but did not write her first book until she was 41 years old.

Our feature book is “Thank You, Mr. Falker”. This is her tribute to the teacher who finally recognized Patricia’s reading disability and helped her learn to read.

Patricia has written many amazing books and won many awards. Each book tells a story about amazing characters. Check out some of her other works below.

(Thank you Mrs. Kenton and Miss Quinby for another great author!)

This is just a reminder that breakfast and lunch will be free to our students in USD 458 for the 2021/2022 school year. Students would only be charged for additional milks. Extra milk is 50 cents per carton.

Breakfast is "Grab and Go" and has moved down closer to the cafeteria to ensure that the lobby does not get too crowded.

Our Neuroscience News this week is focused on neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change and grow throughout a person’s life. Scientists used to think that the ability to change your brain was only possible in early childhood. Then science advanced and with the new research, scientists believed that the brain solidified and became "fixed". However, research has shown the brain continues to change even as we advance into old age.

The other video shows neuroplasticity in action. It is absolutely fascinating and kids and adults alike will be entertained AND learn at the same time. I hope you take a few moments to check it out.

Please click the link for more information about USD 458's Safe Return to School Plan. Thank you.

Email: dspringer@usd458.org
Website: http://ghes.usd458.org/
Location: 16000 Garden Parkway, Basehor, KS, USA
Phone: (913) 269-8648
Twitter: @drspringer12301