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 the 24-25 school year! I look forward to seeing everyone. For those of you that are new, welcome! Gale is a great Learning Community. Once a Tiger, ALWAYS a Tiger!
We have lots of learning planned for your child this year. Teachers will focus on using their common planning time to ensure lessons address the needs of all students. Our goal is to consistently use data to guide our daily instruction. We appreciate your partnership and continued support.
We also have a system in place for attendance and grading. Parents have access to student progress at any time by logging in to ParentVue. Parents may also report absences in ParentsVue for your convenience. More information will be available during our Open House/Curriculum Night on August 20th and Parent-Teacher Conferences in September.
Teachers will send online weekly newsletters about their Classroom via Class Dojo. This will provide you with “up to the minute” information regarding both classroom and school news. As always please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions at the email or number below. Let’s make this a great year!
In partnership,
520-731-4504
First Day Key Information:
• Transportation: If eligible, determine/review your child's transportation option in ParentVue.
• Before School: You may drop your child off in the front loop at 7:15 if they are eating breakfast. There will be staff ready to greet them and guide them to the cafeteria doors. If not, please drop them in the south valet loop (with colorful flags). I will be there to greet them. Students will be allowed to spend time on the playground until the bell rings but should not be on campus earlier than 7:15 as that is when monitor supervision begins. Bring a refillable water bottle to use. We have several touchless water filling stations.
• After School: Our dismissal system has not changed and is as follows:
Walking students will exit through back gate on Blacksburg.
Bus riders will walk out together through the back gate and board buses on Blacksburg.
Day Care van riders will walk out together through the back gate and board their Day Care Vans on Blacksburg.
All other students must be picked us using our valet system in the south lot. Please write the name of your child in big letters and place the paper on your dashboard so that teachers working the valet loop can easily read it. Please remain in your vehicle. As students are called, they go straight to their number and are waiting at the numbered spot when the driver pulls up to the number. It is a
well-oiled machine IF everyone follows the routine.
DATES to REMEMBER
August 1 First Day of School
August 15 Skate Night 6:00-8:00
August 20 Open House 5:30-6:30
August 21 Professional Learning Day No School
August 27 Peter Piper 4-8
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 Fall Picture Day
September 23-October 3 First Quarter BenchmarksGrades 2-5
September 24 Reading Intervention and Title I Night
Family Engagement
Please reach out to our School Community Liaison , Chrissy Van Cleve for event information, student support, or community resources by email or 520-731-4500. Our upcoming family engagement focus group provides vital information and parent perspective which helps drive Gale’s future family engagement goals. Chrissy will be reaching out to parents regarding participation in the two hour process soon.
Email Chrissy Van Cleve
Phone: 520-731-4500
CHARACTER STRONG & TIGER TRAITS
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.
Every week we highlight a different trait. This month's Character Strong and Tiger Traits is respect.
WHAT DOES MY SCHOOL COUNSELOR DO?
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 Respect.
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 starting 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 consist 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. Please get in touch with me or the Kindergarten/First-grade teachers if you are interested.
• The Lunch Bunches will also start the week of August 14th (TBD grade level); stay tuned!
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 August, 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
