October Communigram

École Goulds Elementary

46 Doyle’s Rd., Goulds, NL, A1S 1A1

www.ges.k12.nf.ca

And just like that, September is behind us! We’ve settled into our routines and established our expectations for the year ahead. It’s wonderful to see our students adapting, growing, and engaging in their learning.

As we move into October, we look forward to more exciting activities and opportunities for our students to shine. Thank you for your continued support and partnership in fostering a positive school community.

Please note that we have students and staff with life-threatening allergies - We are a peanut /tree nut (pistachios, cashews, almonds) / avocado/ fish / shellfish / legume / scent aware school.

Students with Medical Conditions Requiring Medical Management At School

It is important that you alert the school as soon as possible if your child has any serious medical conditions or life-threatening allergies that will require medical management at school. According to district policy, school staff cannot administer any medication, including over-the-counter products, without signed consent from a doctor.

Parents and guardians are asked to please get in touch with the office to return the forms and deliver any medications. (Please note: medications must be delivered to school by an adult. We cannot accept medications from students.)

Any questions regarding medical management at school can be directed to our Assistant Principal, Jill Hann, at jillhann@nlschools.ca

Our Terry Fox walk was a huge success. Thank you to those parents who came out to help! Thank you to everyone for your donations! Our school raised $206.43 through your generous support!

Thank you to the St. John’s Fire Fighters Association Local 1075 for their $460 donation to our Breakfast Club.

We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the generous donations we received during our Breakfast Blitz to support our school breakfast program. Your kindness and commitment to the well-being of our students are truly appreciated.

Thank you to the members of the Nevaeh Denine Memorial Softball Tournament who donated $1650 to our school. Thank you for "paying it forward".

On September 27th we wore Orange to spread awareness of the multigenerational impacts that the Residential School system continues to have on Indigenous people, and to show support for the healing journey of Survivors and their families

World Teachers’ Day is a wonderful opportunity to recognize the invaluable contributions that teachers make to education and development. We are incredibly fortunate at Goulds Elementary to have such a dedicated and professional group of educators.

Their commitment and passion for our students do not go unnoticed, and we truly appreciate everything they do to inspire and support our children.

Overall, we are pleased with how things are going on our school parking lot. To ensure the safety of everyone, we ask that parents escort children through our lot to the crosswalk if opting not to use the Kiss and Ride lane. Remember to use extreme care when entering/exiting our lot. As well, Vehicular access to our front parking lot will not be allowed during drop off and dismissal procedures - 8:05-8:25 and between 2:05 and 2:30. This change is to ensure student safety on our school grounds during dismissal. Thank you for your continued cooperation.

All available courtesy seats have been awarded. If your child will not be using the bus this year, please fill out the opt out form ( at the end of this link) courtesy seating and email it to jillhann@nlschools.ca

Some of our routes have students waitlisted for a courtesy seat.

Busing matters, including eligibility, route design, and stops, are determined by the Student Transportation Division at NLSchools. If you have questions or concerns pertaining to busing, there is an online inquiry form that families can use to make inquiries. The form is accessible here: Public Inquiry Form - Student Transportation. Further information about busing can be found on the Student Transportation/Busing page of the district website and in NLSchools My Bus Planner.

Fire prevention week is coming up from October 6-12. The Goulds Fire Hall is having an open house on October 20th from 12-3 pm for anyone who would like to attend and explore. They would love to see lots of kids there! Members of the Fire Department will be in on Monday to do fire prevention demonstrations.

Menus for November will be available on Monday, October 7th and the deadline for ordering is Tuesday, October 15th. Menu deadlines are strictly adhered to and late orders will not be processed

The Grade Two’s will be having their assembly on Friday, October 11th at 10:30 am. Please line up at the main entrance. Doors will open at 10:15 am. Parents/Guardians of Grade Two students are invited.

We will be having our annual Thanksgiving Food Drive again this year. Students can bring donations to their class up until Friday, October 11th. We will be donating these items to the Family Aid Center in the Goulds.

You may be wondering what in the world this all means. You are not alone!

Phonemic Awareness is the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. Manipulating the sounds in words includes blending, segmenting, or otherwise changing words. This is the process children are taught to use when learning to read-we call this decoding. This infographic was created to help you understand the work teachers do in helping your child learn to read. It will also be helpful in understanding how you can help your child read at home.

We have most parents and guardians registered with Rycor. If you have not done so already, please sign up for your Rycor account. Rycor is the new school funds online payment and forms system. Parents of students in Grade K-5 will need to go to Rycor's NLESD login page and create an account. Once created, they will be able to add their child to their account by entering their child's Student Number. Students are not able to access technology unless consent is granted. If you are having any issues, please contact the office.

We will be having a school council election as we have an opening for a Parent Representative. We have three individuals running for the position. A PDF of candidate information will be sent out later today and we will be voting through a Google form. Voting will begin on Wednesday, Oct. 9th at noon and ends on Friday, Oct. 11th at noon. If you are not able to use your Google form, please contact the office.

We would like to congratulate our cross country runners who have competed in the cross country running series. The last run in the series is this Saturday at Bowring Park. They are working hard and are doing a great job representing our school! Go Grizzlies Go!

We encourage parents/guardians to use email to communicate with teachers. It is important to note that teachers may not get time during the day to check emails. If you have an urgent message that you need to pass on and you have not received a reply from your child’s teacher, please call our office and speak to our secretary so they can pass the message on.

We are very excited to be starting our monthly recycling blitzes! Our next Recycling Blitz will take place on Wednesday, October 30th. Students are asked to bring 10 recyclables to school that Wednesday. Each child bringing in 10 recyclables will receive a chance to win a prize. We will give a prize of two $5 gift cards per grade level. Be sure to drop a note to your child’s teacher indicating the number of recyclables dropped off. Please note that we do not accept glass products.

Goulds Elementary staff will be taking part in our first Professional Learning Day on Monday, October 21st. There will be no school for students on that date.

Picture Day is October 22nd.

Families of children in NLSchools' K-6 schools are reminded that students are not permitted to use their cellphones in classrooms except in circumstances where their use is required to support the documented learning needs of individual students in accordance with the NLSchools Acceptable Use of Technology Policy.

To protect the safety and privacy of everyone in our building, students are not permitted to use their electronic devices to take pictures or videos in school or on the bus. When devices are used it will be with the permission of the classroom teacher and under direct supervision. If you need to contact your child during the school hours, please call the office and we will be happy to assist you.

🚨

Please have a conversation with your child about the appropriate use of technology/social media.

Just a reminder –In keeping with our school policy, please do not send in treats/loot bags to be distributed to students. Please do not place a classroom teacher in the difficult position where she/he has to refuse to distribute treats/loot bags in the classroom and then send the items back home with your child. We still want our students to have fun – just safe fun where everyone feels included. Therefore, on October 31st, children in Kindergarten to Grade 5 will have Halloween Parties/Activities in the afternoon. Children are encouraged to bring along a party snack for themselves for their Halloween party.

Children are encouraged to wear costumes for their Halloween party. We kindly request that students avoid wearing face masks, bringing toy weapons, and using fake squirting blood.

Thank you once again for your support and understanding as we all work together to ensure our students come to school in a safe, caring and socially-just environment.

• Sunday, Oct. 6th- Sunday, Oct. 12th - Fire Prevention Week
• Monday, Oct. 7th - School Lunch Ordering Opens
• Friday, Oct. 11th - Grade 2 Thanksgiving Assembly
• Monday, October 14th - No School - Thanksgiving Holiday
• Tuesday, October 15th - School Lunch Ordering Closes
• Monday, Oct.21st - PL day - No School For Students
• Tuesday, Oct. 22nd - Picture Day
• Wednesday, Oct. 30th - Recycling Blitz