Garden Road Family Newsletter #7

September 15, 2024

📆 Important Upcoming Dates

September 15 - October 15 Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Awareness Month

September 16 VAPA Vision

September 23 APEX starts

September 26 Disability Awareness Assemblies

September 27 Sports T-Shirt Day - wear a shirt from your favorite team!

September 30 No School for Students - Professional Growth Day

October 1 First full day of kindergarten

October 2 APEX Fun Run

October 8 Minimum Day - Students are dismissed at 11:45 am

Principal's Message

Dear Garden Road Families,

The Country Fair was a huge success! Families had fun playing games and eating wonderful food. The children enjoyed the games and the prizes. Many enjoyed the blow up obstacle course and slide. Mrs. Maguire made an appearance, kicking off the dunk buckets by sitting in the hot seat (or wet seat) for an hour! Thanks to the teachers who also volunteered to sit and get wet! I rounded out the evening with the final hour in the dunk bucket seat. Watching the thrill on the students' faces as they made that bucket dump water was so fun! The cake walk was in action the entire evening. Thank you to our PTA and all of our volunteers who donated cakes, donated time and energy to make this evening a fun time for our students and families!

Specials and VAPA Vision

Specials started this past week. Students are receiving art and music every third week. Your donations and the fundraising efforts of our Garden Road School Foundation are responsible for having these enrichment opportunities on our campus.

VAPA Vision will be on Monday, September 16. The focus for this VAPA Vision lesson is music. Primary students will be learning about beat and rhythm, learning how a metronome is used to follow the beat. They will also explore different dynamics in music, such as soft and loud sounds, as well as high and low pitch. Upper grade students will be learning more about the elements of music, while learning the basics of reading music. They will also create their own simple RAP to convey a particular message to their audience.

School Site Council (SSC) Elections

SSC is a committee of teachers, staff, principal and parents whole are responsible for developing, monitoring and revising the schoolwide program through the Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA). Our SSC also serves to enhance two-way communication between our school, families and the district. We currently have 3 open spots on our School Site Council. This week, elections will be held. I will send out a Google Form for parents to vote for other parents who have submitted their names to be considered for the School Site Council. The form should be out by Tuesday, 9/17/24. Please cast your vote for parent representation on the School Site Council.

TK/Kinder Parent Workshops This Month - September 19, and 26

Thank you, to those parents who came to our first workshop on September 5! Coffee was served and friendships were made! Our Counselor, Katie MacLeod, in partnership with Terri Gosen, retired TK teacher, is hosting another parent workshop this coming Thursday, September 12. Although these workshops will be somewhat tailored to TK and kindergarten students, all parents are encouraged to attend. Parents are welcome to come to one, two or all of the workshops and there is no need to RSVP. Classes begin at 8:00am but doors open at 7:45. Please come in, have a cup of coffee and relax!

Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month September 15 - October 15

This month we are celebrating Hispanic and Latinx Heritage! We will celebrate the contributions that Hispanic Americans have made to our country. These famous Americans include Sonya Sotomayor, Supreme Court Justice; Lin Manuel-Miranda, Broadway Actor (Best known for his work in Hamilton) and Cesar Chavez, who was instrumental in changing working conditions for migrant farm workers.

Sue Melnick

Principal