GARRISONVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
February 5, 2024
March 4, 2024
Thank You!
Thank you to all of our staff and families for making Gator Week so incredibly epic for our Gators this year! Our hallways radiated with Gator spirit! The reaction of our Gators last Monday morning as they entered into our transformed school was nothing short of magical! Our students looked fabulous in their outfits each day! We had a great family turnout for our Word Parade, Book Fair, and Gator Patrol route! The Gator Rappers certainly showed out during lunches on Friday!
Also a big thank you to PTO for providing some goodies to our staff on Thursday with breakfast treats and snacks for our Gator Patrol bus! We also want to thank PTO for hosting our tradition of Reptile World for our Gators. The students love seeing their reptile friends each year.
Each year Gator Week grows in spirit and is an example of what makes GES the best! We are so fortunate to have such amazing staff and families that promote our Gator Pride for our students!
Is it too early to say that we already have Gator Week on the calendar for 2025?!? Only 371 days until March 10, 2025!!! Let the countdown begin!
Sincerely,
Alexis M. White, EdS
Principal
No School Tomorrow!
Reminder that students do NOT have school tomorrow due to schools being used as polling locations. This is a calendar change from August and has been shared for the last few months.
2024-2025 KinderGator Welcome Events
We are excited to welcome our rising KinderGators for the 24-25 school year to GES! Kindgarten Registration opens on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. To register for 2024-2025 Kindergarten, please visit https://www.staffordschools.net/kindergarten.
We will be holding two KinderGator Signing events to allow families to visit our school, meet staff, and see what being a Gator is all about! This event will be open to all Kindergarten students and families that have registered online.
Our Signing Events will be held on Monday, April 29th (5:30-6:30pm) and Wednesday, July 31st (10:00-11:00am), and families are welcome to attend whichever event works best for them. Incoming KinderGators will have the opportunity to spend time with our KinderGator teachers while the grown-ups get to spend time with our administrators and other staff learning all about the upcoming year.
Rising KinderGator families, please RSVP here to let us know which date you plan to attend! http://tinyurl.com/GESK24
Save the Date!
Stafford County Law Enforcement will be taking on Stafford County Educators in the D.A.R.E basketball game fundraiser! Our very own Mr. Brown will be playing and representing GES! We will have a SPECIAL GATOR CHEERING SECTION so look for our signs! We hope to see many Gator families in attendance!
The game will take place at Stafford High School on Friday, March 22nd at 6:30pm.
Tickets: $5 or 5/$20 Cash Only Pay At Entry. All money raised goes to the DARE Program for 5th Graders in Stafford County.
Jump Rope for Heart
A special thank you to all our gators and their families for helping our school reach our goal of $10,000 for our Jump Rope for Heart Fundraiser. We were able to raise over $10,500 this year! All those students that completed Finn's Mission had a blast dumping Slime on Mr. Sargent on Wednesday! Prizes will be handed out as soon as all they are received from the American Heart Association.
Special recognition goes out to our top 10 Jump Rope for Heart Fundraisers:
1. Klaire P.
2. Victor C.
3. Jule E.
4. Brayden G.
5. Lily W.
6. Easton C.
7. Jane M.
8. Bella M.
9. Payton H.
10. David P.
Book Fair
Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent Scholastic Book Fair. It was a huge success and a great time for all of our Gator students. Money raised will be going towards adding new library books as well as adding items to our Makerspace. Sharing the joy of books and reading is such a wonderful thing, and we are so happy to be able to help our Gators find their love of reading!
Happy Reading!
Ms. Golles and Mrs. Guzman
3rd-5th Grade Growth Assessment Scores
3rd, 4th, and 5th Gator Families,
Beginning on Thursday, March 7th, the SOL Winter Growth Assessment Report will be available to you in ParentVue. This report is from the Virginia Department of Education and will provide information on your student's Fall and Winter growth score and will explain more about the vertical scaled scores.
To access this report, log into ParentVue and select the "Documents" tab.
Updates from PTO
Executive Board Nominations for 2024-2025 are open!
Are you interested in serving on the PTO Board? Do you know someone who would be great at serving on the PTO Executive Board? Nominations are taking place now! Nominations will close on Monday, April 8th. Please visit www.gatorpto.com to see more details about the board.
https://forms.gle/wU66f3w7X1PAe9pX7
GES PTO Bingo Night
Bingo will be on Friday, April 5th. Doors will open at 5pm and Bingo starts at 6pm. There will be only one session with *10 games* of Bingo played. Each participant will receive one book of 10 games for free! Additional books will be available for purchase, while supplies last. Food Trucks will be available at 5pm! Lunchbox on Wheels, Island Flavourites, The Good Puff, and The Happy Waffle. If you would like to bring your own snacks and drinks you are able to....please no glass!
PTO Meeting is NOW on Monday, March 18th at 5:30 pm in the GES Library!
Our next PTO Meeting will be rescheduled to MONDAY, MARCH 18th at 5:30pm and will be held in the library. Childcare will be available. If you are unable to attend in person, you can join virtually by using the following link:
https://meet.google.com/avx-daus-jpi
Get Rid of Litter 3-D Art Contest
In collaboration with the R-Board, Stafford County Public Schools calls all student artists to participate in a community-wide anti-littering and pro-recycling 3-D art contest!
Submissions are due on March 20, 2024.
Prizes will be awarded in each of the folowing catergories:
Elementary K-5
Middle School 6-8
High School 9-12
A Community Choice Award will also be voted at the Festival!
For more information and to get an entry form, please visit the Stafford School website. https://www.staffordschools.net/Page/34164
Clothing Donations
We are collecting new and gently used clothing for our clinic ranging in sizess 5-14. We ask that you please wash your items before donating.
Our greatest needs are:
- t-shirts
- leggings
- sweatpants
- shoes
We appreciate all donations.
Reasons to Stay Home From School
- Nurse's judgment or parental discretion
- Fever over 100 orally within 24hr without fever reducing medications
- Active vomiting within 24hr
- Diarrhea within 24hr
- Swollen or painful joints from injury
- Severe earache
- Suspected contagious diseases (until on treatment for 24 - 48hrs)chicken pox
- Flu or viral symptoms
- conjunctivitis (pink eye) with drainage
- pediculosis (head lice)
- scabies
- undiagnosed rashes
- untreated and uncovered ringworm
- Injury or illness requiring further immediate treatment. Antibiotic treatments of less than 24 hours and possibility that student may be communicable to others.
Reporting an Absence
The online form can also be found on the GES website.
Did you know that children who are chronically absent in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade are much less likely to read on grade level by the third grade?
Visitors
Save the Date!
March 5 | No School - Teacher Workday
March 6 | Kindergarten Registration Window Opens
March 7 | End of 3rd Quarter
March 8 | No School - Teacher Workday
March 11 - 15 | Spring Break
March 18 | GES PTO Meeting in the GES library 5:30 pm
March 20 | Spring Picture Day
March 21 | 3rd Quarter Grade Reports Live in ParentVue 4pm
March 22 | DARE Basketball Game at Stafford High School 6:30pm
March 23 l Fine Arts Festival at Brooke Point High School 11 am - 4pm
March 23 l Fine Arts Festival County Musical 11 am
March 24 l Fine Arts Festival at Brooke Point High School 11 am - 4pm
March 24 l Singing Gators Perform at Fine Arts Festival 11 am
March 29 | No School
April 1 | No School
April 5 | GES PTO Bingo Night (Door Open 5pm; Games Start 6 pm)
April 10 | No School
Translate This Newsletter
Garrisonville Elementary School
Email: whiteam1@staffordschools.net
Website: https://www.staffordschools.net/Domain/13
Location: 100 Wood Drive, Stafford, VA, USA
Phone: 540-658-6260
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gesgators/
Twitter: @GESGATOR