A Message from GQES Administration!
GQES Vision: Thriving Literacy Community in a STEM School
GQES Mission: Chameleons RISE (Raising Intentionality by Strengthening Expectations)
GQES Belief: Chameleons Got HOPE!
Week 6: 9/16/24-9/20/24
Dear GQES Families,
Please read Dr. Van Heukelums Letter.
We are safe, daily at GQES.
We love having our school resource officer at GQES, Officer Marshall who we share with John Kerr Elementary, every day! Here's a clip from Officer Marshall earlier this school year: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Vi3q1dhEGAqSVedY/
More updates:
- Let's do some UPLIFTING! See: https://youuplift.com/garland-r-quarles-elementary-kindness-wall/.
- Please know your child needs to have their name labeled on their belongings including coats, jackets, hoods, backpacks, etc. This way, if it's left behind, we know who the owner is.
- It's imperative to send your child to school every day, on time, and ready to learn. Here is some information on why attending school is so important: Attendance Matters!
- Winchester Public Schools and the WISH Grant are excited to host a Watch Party on Thursday, September 19th from 7:00-9:00pm at the WPS Central Administrative Office. At 7:00, we will broadcast a fireside chat with the First Lady of Virginia as well as renowned author and researcher, Dr. Jonathan Haidt. This is a great opportunity to learn how we can support the mental health and well-being of our children in today's digital age. Following the broadcast we will host a community conversation where parents, educators, students, and families can collaborate to create best practices for managing cell phone and social media use both in and out of school! Hope to see you there!
- We have completed our Fall Growth Assessment (FGA) for grades 3 and 4 in English/Language Arts and Math recently.
- At GQES, we are in compliance with the Virginia Literacy Act where we are administering the Virginia Assessment of Literacy and Language Screening System (VALLSS) for grades 1-4 with 12 different tasks of encoding and decoding, etc. You will be receiving information on this important new requirement for all students. In addition, we are planning on hosting a very important family engagement evening on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 from 5:30-7:00 with food and childcare to be provided, so we can help parents understand the new Virginia Literacy Act. Stay tuned for more information!
If you have any questions or concerns, please each out to us at 540-662-3575. Thank you for partnering with us to help your child thrive!
Sincerely,
Joanie Hovatter
Principal, Garland R. Quarles Elementary School
(540) 662-3575 (Phone)
(540) 662-8449 (Fax)
