Gale Elementary School
Home of the Tigers!
An 'A' Rated School
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Location: 678 South Gollob Road, Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone: 520-731-4500
Greetings Tiger Families,
Greetings Tiger Families!
Welcome to September! We’re thrilled to embark on another exciting month in our learning community. It was wonderful to see so many of you at our recent events, including the Ice Cream Social, Curriculum Night/Open House, Skate Night, and Peter Piper Night. A warm welcome to all the new families joining us—our community is stronger with you here!
This year, we have a rich and engaging learning journey planned for your child. Our teachers are dedicated to using their common planning time to craft lessons that meet the diverse needs of all students. By consistently using data to inform our daily instruction, we aim to address each Tiger’s learning needs and help them thrive.
We deeply value your partnership in this educational journey. To keep you informed and engaged, we have a system in place for tracking attendance and grading. You can easily access your child's progress anytime through ParentVue. More details will be shared during parent-teacher conferences, which are scheduled for September 18-20. For your convenience, these can be held in person or via Zoom. Please make sure to sign up for a time slot with your child’s teacher if you haven’t already.
September is packed with events designed to support and engage our families. We’re excited to invite you to join us for activities such as Supporting Success: Family Math & Reading Night, the Scholastic Book Fair, Hotdogs with Heroes Night, our PTC Meeting, Site Council Meeting, and the annual Title I Parent Meeting.
Our teachers will continue to send weekly updates through ClassDojo, providing you with real-time information about classroom and school news.
Let’s make this year a fantastic one!
In partnership,
520-731-4504
Friendly reminder: This year, all TUSD students enjoy free breakfast and lunch! They also get to choose from several healthy options each day. However, we need your help reminding them that they’re selecting their lunch for the following day.
Ms. Ashley and Ms. Susan rely on this information to efficiently prepare lunch for our Tigers, and your support is greatly appreciated!
Gale Domino's Pizza Days: 8/6, 10/18, 11/8, and 12/6
Before School:
You may drop your child off in the front loop between 7:15 and 7:30 if they are eating breakfast. Staff will be on hand to greet them and guide them to the cafeteria doors. If your child isn’t eating breakfast, please drop them off in the south valet loop, marked with colorful chains and flags. Our counselor, Ms. Lewis, and I will be there to greet them. Students can enjoy some time on the playground until the bell rings, but please note that supervision begins at 7:15, so students should not arrive earlier.
After School:
Our dismissal system remains the same:
- Walking students will exit through the back gate on Blacksburg.
- Bus riders will exit through the back gate and board their buses on Blacksburg.
- Day Care van riders will exit through the back gate and board their vans on Blacksburg.
- All other students must be picked up using our valet system in the south lot.
To help the process run smoothly, please write your child’s name in large letters and place it on your dashboard so that the teachers in the valet loop can easily see it. If you arrive early, please stay to the right to allow parents picking up kindergarten students in the overflow lot to pass safely. Remember to stay in your vehicle. When students are called, they will go directly to their assigned number and wait there until you pull up.
This system works efficiently when everyone follows the routine. Thank you for your cooperation!
🏫September
September 2 Labor Day No School
September 3 Dairy Queen 4-8
September 17 Hot Dogs with Heroes 6-7
September 16-20 Scholastic Book Fair
September 18-20 Parent Conferences (10:55 Dismissal)
September 20 PTC Meeting
September 23-October 3 First Quarter BenchmarksGrades 2-5
September 24 Student Success: Reading and Math Intervention and Title I Night 5:30-7
September 30 Fall Picture Day
🎃October
October 4 Grading Day No School
October 7-11 Fall Break
October 18 Trunk-Or-Treat
October 23 Professional Learning Day No School
October 31 Halloween Parade 8:00 a.m.
Family Engagement
Please feel free to reach out to our School Community Liaison, Chrissy Van Cleve, for event information, student support, or community resources. You can contact her by email or at 520-731-4567. Family engagement and support are among our primary Title I goals, and Chrissy is here to help.
If you’re interested in getting involved in our Parent and Teacher Club (PTC), Chrissy can provide you with all the details. We are stronger together!
Email Chrissy Van Cleve
Phone: direct line 520-731-4567 or 520-731-4500
Character Strong and Tiger Traits are basically character traits we teach and encourage children to use in order to help them be more successful students and members of our society.
You can support our efforts by discussing the meaning of each trait and the role it plays in your child’s life. It is important for you to notice and recognize your child as s/he practices using their traits even at home.
Weekly Tiger Traits Recognition
Each week, we focus on a different trait, and our teachers select a student who exemplifies that quality. During our Tiger assembly, we proudly honor these students, just like Everett (pictured here).
This month’s Character Strong and Tiger Traits are responsibility, effort, organization, and perseverance. We look forward to celebrating more outstanding Tigers!
Important Reminder: Zero Tolerance for Play-Fighting
I want to take a moment to address a serious matter regarding student behavior. We have a zero-tolerance policy for play-fighting. Statements like "I was just kidding" or "we were just play-fighting" are not acceptable excuses. Even when it starts as a joke, play-fighting can quickly escalate, and it's too easy for situations to get out of hand—especially when everyone wants to be the one to get the last shove.
Our priority is to maintain a safe environment for all students, and we ask for your support in reinforcing this message with your children. Please remind them that physical interactions of any kind that resemble fighting are not allowed, and there will be consequences if this policy is not followed.
Thank you for helping us keep our school safe and respectful for everyone.
I am here to help you and your students!
A glimpse into our School Counseling Program:
Counseling Lessons:
• Bi-weekly Classroom lessons (30 mins for K-2. 45mins-1hr for 3rd-5th grade) • Character Strong/ Tiger Traits will influence the topics I teach. This month we will be focusing on Responsibility
Individual Counseling:
• Students might see me for individual counseling to work on decision-making, anger management, anxiety, friendship skills, or another concern.
• You can email me, call me, or call the front office if you would like to refer a student for individual counseling.
• You, the student, the teacher, Ms. Osollo, and other supporting staff can do referrals.
• Students in 2nd-5th grade can self-refer by writing me a note and putting it in the box outside of my office.
Small Group Counseling:
• Small groups will meet for 30 minutes for approximately 6-8 sessions.
• The first group will be started the week of August 14th for Kindergarten/ 1st grade only. This group is for students needing extra assistance beating the back-to-school blues. It will consists of six weekly 30-minute sessions on separation anxiety to help younger students feel good about coming to school while creating morning routines and goodbye rituals.
• The Lunch Bunches will continue this month.
COPE: We have a FREE Mental Health partnership with COPE. Please reach out if you have any questions.
Thank you, Families, for your continued support
Let's make this school year fun and productive!
Counselor's Corner with Ms. Lewis
Happy September, and welcome back, Tiger Families!
Meet the Counselor
Hi! My name is Ms. Lewis, and I’m thrilled to be the new school counselor at Gale this year. I have been a school counselor for a couple years now and love my job! I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa and moved to Lincoln, Nebraska to get my bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Nebraska. After that I decided to move to Minnesota and get my Masters in school counseling and clinical mental health. I moved to Tucson a year ago with my Fiancé and am loving the warmer weather here. When I am not at school, I love taking care of all my plants, reading books, and adventuring around Arizona! I can’t wait to get to know more about all of you! Be on the lookout for future information and resources from me. First and foremost, I am here to help students and families so please feel comfortable connecting with me anytime. The best way to reach me is by email. We are going to have a fantastic school year!
Best,
Katie Lewis
B J's Restaurant treated families on Curriculum Night.
Our families were treated to rootbeer floats and pizzookies. Thank you!
We’re finding items all over campus, especially on the playground. Please use permanent markers to clearly label all of your child's belongings. When items are labeled, it not only helps us return them to the right owner but also teaches children to be responsible for their things. This way, teachers can focus more on teaching.
Thank you for your support!
