Greenland Pines Parent Connection

GPE Families,

We have had a great first month back to school. Thank you for all your support to make this a smooth and successful transition for our students. During this month, many of your children have taken their first state assessment. Teachers will send home assessment scores within 2 weeks of testing. Please reach out to your child's teacher with any concerns or questions.

Our boosterthon will kick off on September 26th. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and we appreciate all of your support. Look for more information coming home soon!

The DCPS App is now our primary source of communication. Please make sure that you have downloaded the new app (information is below.) This app will ensure that you get classroom updates from your child's teacher, get emergency updates and information from the school and will allow you to receive and message your child's teacher. In addition, please consider following us on Facebook for school updates and celebrations.

We are looking forward to an incredible year of learning!

Your Principal,

Michelle Hinkley

Join us for Open House on Thursday, September 12th at 6pm. We will have 2 sessions to accommodate families with more than one child. The first sessions starts promptly at 6pm. The 2nd session will start at 6:30pm. During Open House, you will visit your child's classroom and listen to a presentation from their teacher(s). This will include information about grading, homework, field trips, state testing and more. We hope to see everyone here!

Parents will need to download the NEW DCPS app and then access rooms to see their child's classroom and message the teacher. If you do not see your child's room in the app, check if you have a linked Parent Portal account. You must have a linked account to see the room. Join today!

If you do not have a LINKED parent account, please follow these directions to get one. A linked FOCUS account is how you will be able to see your child's grades, attendance etc.

All parents will need a linked parent portal. Click the button below and follow these steps to ensure your account is linked. Without a linked account you won't have access to school emails, classroom communication, student grades and report cards or attendance. Each parent that wants access will need a parent account.

Car tags are required for anyone picking up a student. Please make sure to give this to someone if you are allowing them to pick up. In addition, please make sure you have added them as an allowable pickup to your child's FOCUS account. Parents can make these changes through their Parent Portal.

Additional tags are available for purchase for $5 (CASH ONLY) at the office.

Our PTA is selling class T-Shirts. Each class will have a specific color and students will wear these on field trips and for school events. Order forms went home last week. Reach out to your child's teacher if you need another form. All orders are due 9/18. Shirts are $12 each. Parents can order class shirts or black GPE shirts for themselves if they want to show their school spirit!

School Cash online will be used for all payments this year including field trips. Please make sure you sign up for an account today!

Link: School Cash Online

The New Worlds Initiative is a program through UF which allows students who meet the criteria below to receive the monthly books until they graduate from fifth grade. Criteria is listed below. The beginning of the year baseline data can be used to qualify students. We recommend that all parents sign up. Books will be sent if your student qualifies. The sign up is quick and can benefit your child!

The link to register is here: https://www.newworldsreading.com/fl/en/home.html

Parents of CSS & PreK students: Please help us by dropping off your child before 8:30am in the car loop. When a child comes in late, we have to have a para leave the classroom to walk them to class. This disrupts the flow of the classroom. We do understand that things come up but please help us by following normal drop off procedures on most days.

Arrival will begin at 8:00am daily. Dismissal begins at 2:45pm daily. As a reminder, the car rider line/gate will close at 3:10pm daily. Please make sure you are in line before 3:10pm this to help us get all students dismissed on time.

Car Riders: All PreK and VPK students and siblings will use the car loop in the front of the school for arrival and dismissal. The front car loop is for those with orange hang tags. All other students (including CSS) will use the main car loop on the west side of the school. Those with green hang tags will use the main car loop.

Walkers: Please do not drop children off in the parking lot or park and walk them up to the building. All walkers will enter through the bus loop. Students who are walkers should cross with the crossing guard in front of the school. Walkers will be dismissed at 3:00 daily. Parents who are meeting their children should wait for them at Greenland Road. A staff member will walk students out.

Bus Riders: Please make sure your child knows their bus number AND bus stop location. We recommend writing this down and putting in their bookbag in addition to communicating this information to their teacher. All kindergarten bus riders MUST have a KG Bus Form filled out.

Picture Retake Day is October 8th. Please communicate with your child's homeroom teacher if they are in need of retakes.

All students will be issued a picture ID at the beginning of the year. This ID has been placed on their backpack. Please make sure that it stays on their backpack all year. They will need this to ride the bus, get breakfast and to get lunch. If your child gets a new backpack, please move the ID to the new bag.

If a student looses their ID, a replacement badge will be printed for $5. Every child is required to have an active student ID at all times. If your child needs a new ID, please send the money and a note to their HR teacher and we will reprint.

The DCPS Food Service Department is pleased to announce that for the 2024-2025 school year, every public school in DCPS will be a part of the Community Eligibility Provision program. Under CEP, school meals are available to all students at no cost to them.

Breakfast will be served from 8:00-8:30am daily. Students wishing to eat breakfast at GPE should arrive early enough to be ready for class at 8:30am.

We have teamed up with Varsity Tutors to offer DCPS students personalized learning support when they need it. Students across the district will receive unlimited live support from highly qualified tutors in all core subject areas. They can also attend interactive extracurricular classes and clubs ie. coding and financial literacy via enrichment classes. Additionally, they can receive essay review and writing support.

How do students access the platform?

· Students click on Blended Learning, then the Varsity Tutors icon, and log in with Clever.

Parents can visit https://www.varsitytutors.com/school-solutions/duval for support for their students. There are also a document attached below for parents to get more information about this opportunity.

• September 25 Early Release (1:00pm)
• October 14 No School (Teacher Planning Day)

You can view/print the DCPS calendar here: DCPS Calendar

As a reminder, we can not dismiss students after 2:15 PM or after 12:15 PM on Early Release days, per DCPS policy. In addition, please reserve early pick up for days when it is absolutely needed. We understand that appointments and emergencies come up at times but please ensure your child is in school the entire day when possible.

All students who will ride a bus to and/or from school this year need to be registered for bus transportation. This can be done following the steps on the link below through your parent FOCUS account. Bus routes will be created based on addresses of students riding so please sign up as early as possible and make sure your address is correct in FOCUS. Once available, you will also be able to view your child's bus stop information in your parent FOCUS account. Make sure to register each child that will be riding.

If your child is in Kindergarten and will be a bus rider, please print and fill out the form below. You can also pick one up in the front office. KG students will not be able to ride the bus without this form on file. You can bring this form to your child's teacher at orientation or email it to AP O'Quinn at oquinnc@duvalschools.org. Please do not complete this form until routes are posted and you confirm your child's bus stop.

We will use PikMyKid again this year for dismissal. All families should download the app. This will allow you to have access to change your child's dismissal, who is allowed to pick up and see when your child is dismissed from school. All changes must be completed by 2:00pm daily. Due to safety considerations, we will not take any dismissal changes by phone throughout the day.

Classroom volunteers may return to our classrooms on an as needed basis. If the teacher needs a volunteer, he/she will reach out to families. If you would like to be a volunteer in our school when needed, please make sure you have filled out the volunteer information at https://dcps.duvalschools.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=29120.

A volunteer application is good for two years. The same application is needed for those wishing to volunteer in the classroom, chaperone field trips and eat lunch with their child on campus. We encourage any parents, grandparents or other family members who may want to get involved at GPE to fill out this application as early as possible in the school year. Applications can take up to a few weeks to be approved.

FortifyFL is a suspicious activity reporting tool that allows you to instantly relay information to appropriate law enforcement agencies and school officials.

By accessing FortifyFL, students can provide a description of the threat, share pics and videos and optionally submit their contact information.

• Anonymous or Non-Anonymous - You decide whether you want to include your name and contact information.

• Convenient - Submitting a tip is quick and easy using our mobile app or website.

• Include Photos and Video - You can also include photos or video with your tip report.

Are you a Changemaker? A great way to support our school is to become a Changemaker! You can directly support GPE by signing up to round-up your change from purchases. These funds make a BIG difference. Use this link to sign up and learn more:

https://go.changemaker.app/donate/greenland-pines

PTA is looking forward to another great school year!

Memberships are good for one year and help with funding the PTA programs and events. Single memberships are $10 and two person family memberships are $15.

If you are interested in joining the PTA board, we do have several open positions. Contact PTA President Valerie Wurdeman at gpeptapresident@gmail.com.

Keep up with what is going on with PTA via our website (http://gpe.my-pta.org) or our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/GreenlandPinesPTA}

What is SAC?

A School Advisory Council is an elected committee made up of parents, staff, administrators, businesses, community members and students (in secondary schools) who work together to help a school improve. By state law, school boards must establish an advisory council for each school.

Become a SAC member!

Get involved! Being a School Advisory Council member is a good way to be an important part of your child's education. Please contact Janine Santangelo at janine.santangelo@gmail.com or Michelle Hinkley at simrellm@duvalschools.org for more information.

Meeting Dates

3rd Wednesday of Each Month at 3:30pm

Meetings are held in the GPE Media Center

Next Meeting

Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 3:30pm

Hazel Health has partnered with Duval County Public Schools to expand student health services at no-cost to families this school year. When your student needs help, they can connect with Hazel for same-day care.

Get more information and sign the parent consent form at https://my.hazel.co/duvalschools/info

Did you know that you can stay connected with GPE on social media? We will be posting events, reminders and information on the following sites:

GPE on Facebook: @GreenlandPines

GPE Website: https://dcps.duvalschools.org/greenlandpines

We need you! Interested in being a business partner here at GPE? Our business partners are invaluable here at GPE. If you own or manage a business and would like to learn more about the perks of being a GPE business partner, please reach out to Ms. O'Quinn, at (904)260-5450 or oquinnc@duvalschools.org.

Please support those who support GPE. Click on the business logos below to support these local businesses. If your business is interested in becoming a GPE sponsor, email our AP, Ms. O'Quinn at oquinnc@duvalschools.org for more information.