We couldn't be happier with how the 2024-2025 school year has started! As we welcome the start of another school year, we are thrilled to see our students back in the classrooms! September brings fresh opportunities for academic growth, personal development, and community engagement. Newsletters (like this one) will be sent at least monthly to ensure you stay informed.

Students and staff are working hard and adjusting well to the changes this year brings while getting settled into school routines. We look forward to partnering with you in supporting your child’s success. Here’s to a fantastic year ahead filled with new experiences, challenges, achievements, and memories!

Please read through this fully and click on all necessary links to ensure you are informed of all that is going on at GCE!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Hinote

September is National Attendance Awareness Month. We are very excited to report that we have had 73 days of classroom perfect attendance achieved at GCE! Our classrooms are earning an attendance banner outside their door for every day they have perfect attendance in their classroom. Keep it up!

We are working hard to decrease our number of students considered chronically absent.

Throughout the past two years, our chronic absentee percentage has been as low as 13%. We will continue to strive for positive school attendance - as this gives students the best opportunity for academic growth - being at school. Thank you for everything you do to ensure success!

Automatic attendance calls will begin this week. Please make sure you have notified the office by 8:30 if your child will be gone.

Our school day: Kindergarten-4th Grade School Day: 8:10-3:25

Here at GCE we value respectful, responsible, kind, and safe behavior. To help reinforce positive behavior with our students, we will be continuing GCE Jubilee's. Jubilees are periodic celebrations that are earned by students for making positive, respectful and responsible choices.

All students will have the opportunity to participate unless they have a behavior referral. If a student has a behavior referral, they will spend time reflecting and creating a success plan for their week during the Jubilee. This activity is meant for everyone to learn from the past and create a successful, restorative plan for the future.

Data from 23-24:

21 weeks of Jubilees

Average of 97% of students attended the Jubilee every week.

Thank you for your support to create a safe, positive, respectful environment at GCE where everyone is striving to be the best version of themselves!

The Homecoming parade will start at the gravel parking lot on Chestnut Street and continue North on Chestnut Street. The parade will circle the square and finish on the corner of Lincolnway and Wilson Street.

One drill we will be adding to our schedule this year is an Off-Site Evacuation. Our designated safe space for our students in the Greene County Fairgrounds. We have been collaborating with local law enforcement and the Greene County Fairgrounds Board to ensure the success of this drill. We will be practicing this drill with all K-4 students and staff on Thursday, September 19.

What does this mean for your child?

• Your child will be walking to the Greene County Fairgrounds and back on Thursday, September 19.
• All staff will assist and supervise students for this practice.
• Upon arrival at the Fairgrounds, we will congregate in our safe place, briefly regroup, and head back to school.
• The goal is to familiarize students with this procedure in the event an off-site evacuation is needed.

We will practice this drill twice during the 24-25 school year. Parents will always be notified of our emergency drills.

We have increased the number of students we are serving breakfast to everyday - thank you to the District offering free breakfast this year to all students! If your child chooses to eat breakfast, please have them arrive at school around 8:00 to allow them adequate time to eat before the bell rings at 8:10. Thanks for your support, everyone! We are very fortunate we can provide this for our students.

Our arrival/drop-off procedures are going smoothly this year! Thank you to all the parents saying their good-byes at the doors. Your children are doing a great job independently getting to their classrooms. If they need a bit more support - don't worry! We have multiple staff members stationed strategically at the entrance to help out if and when needed. A safe, positive start to the school day is our mission and we will ensure this goal is achieved every day.

Below is an image of our route when using the drop-off/pick-up lane. Please remember there are no right turns from Russell Street. Parents using the drop off lane need to access the entrance from Cedar Street. Thank you for your help in keeping our walking students and families safe on school grounds. Please let me know if you have any questions.

After School Change of Plans:

If you have a change of after School plans, please make it your first priority to contact the office to notify us of these changes. If you message your classroom teacher, expect to be asked to notify the office. Our goal is to prevent miscommunication or lack of follow-through regarding after school plan changes.

Leaving Early/Meeting Parents:

If your child needs to leave school early for any reason, please notify our office for this change. We will have your child waiting for you in the office when you arrive. Students will only be dismissed to parents/guardians or authorized caregivers through the office. This is for your child's safety and the safety of the students in our school.

Waiting for Dismissal:

Like previous years, parents are expected to wait outside the building for student dismissal. Thank you for your support with this so far this year! If you need help or to enter the building - please ask a staff member standing outside for this assistance. We have many adults outside to assist with the dismissal process and to ensure the safety of every student.

There will be supervision available at school for your child during the hours of:

Monday 7:50-1:30

Tuesday-Friday 7:50-3:30

Before or after hours we will not have staff available to supervise. Please make necessary arrangements for appropriate drop off and pick up.

We strongly suggest your child be symptom free from sickness, fever, or symptoms for 24 hours before returning to school. We appreciate your help keeping everyone else at school safe and healthy!

• 8.23 First day of 2024-25 School Year for Kindergarten-12th Grade
  
• 8.27 First day for PK3 & PK4
• 9.2 No School - Labor Day
• 9.9-13 MAP Testing
• 9.16-20 Homecoming
• 9.19 Off-Site Evacuation Drill
• 9.20 2-Hour Early Release ~ HOMECOMING
• 9.23 Monday PK4 Has Class - 2 hour early dismissal
• 9.25 School Pictures
• 9.26 1st Grade Field Trip to Blank Park Zoo
• 9.27 No School - Teacher Professional Development
• 10.4 Family Tailgate - see invitation below
• 10.21-24 Fall Scholastic Book Fair
• 10.22 Parent-Teacher Conferences (end of 1st Quarter)
• 10.24 Parent-Teacher Conferences (end of 1st Quarter)

Title Reading services have begun this year. All our students are eligible for support from Title Reading teachers if they fall below the benchmark in Reading.

In May of 2024

We gave all families a survey about our Title Reading services.

We had 64 responses - thank you for your input!

Here are some of the results from our survey:

1. 50% of parents responding were unsure of the purpose of Title Reading
2. 40% of parents responding were unsure if their child receives or was receiving Title Reading services
   

Our Title Teachers had created a graphic for you about Title Reading.

Principal, Greene County Elementary

Email: hinotea@greenecountycsd.net
Website: https://www.gccsd.k12.ia.us/o/gcel
Location: 401 East Russell Street, Jefferson, IA, USA
Phone: 515-386-3178

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreeneCountyES