GATES Family Newsletter

August 27th: First Day of School

August 27th-29th: GATES Success Orientation

August 30th and September 2nd: No School, Labor Day Weekend

September 3rd: Learning Cycle 1 begins

September 12th: Back to School Night

September 25th: Picture Day

September 26th: Blood Drive

Early release Wednesdays: September 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th

Dear Gator Family,

I’d like to welcome our new Gators and welcome back our returners! We are very excited for the upcoming 24/25 school year. Our entire team has been working very hard to continue to build upon our mastery-based learning model and build creative and engaging course work for our students to have meaningful learning opportunities that will extend beyond the schoolhouse and into their communities. We would love to share more about this with you at our community celebration event on September 12th from 4:30-6:00. There will be a light meal provided, and you will hear directly from our students what a day in the life of a Gator looks like. We hope to see you.

This year, we are really holding to our cell phone policy during instructional time. Student cell phone use during instructional time has become a serious distraction and is impacting student mental health as well as their academic success nationwide. To do what is best for all students, we will be closely following the cell phone contract that all students received and signed on the first day back to school. Recognizing that urgent situations may arise, a student may, with parent/guardian approval, receive an “emergency” pass for the day, in the event of a family emergency that requires immediate contact with your student. If you have any concerns or questions regarding this policy and its enforcement, please reach out to me directly.

Gator families have a long history of being supportive and caring for their child/student. On behalf of our learning community, I thank you for trusting us with your most valuable and cherished child. We will do our best to serve in a way that honors the uniqueness of every student in a caring and respectful manner.

Respectfully,

Val Jones

vjones@fpschools.org

Email: klevendoski@fpschools.org
Website: https://gates.fpschools.org/
Location: 4608 128th Street East, Tacoma, WA, USA
Phone: 253-298-4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GATESHSgators