GCCSD News and Updates - Aug. 2024

Dear Gates Chili School Community,

Hello and happy summer! I hope this special edition of our district e-newsletter finds you well. We are just about a month away from the first day of school for students and we have some exciting updates to share!

First, I’m proud to share that Gates Chili will again be offering free meals in the 2024-25 school year! That means students can eat breakfast and lunch for free every day in every Gates Chili cafeteria. See more information about free meals further down in this newsletter and remember that our free summer meals are available every weekday through Aug. 9!

Next, I want to talk about a big change coming to the way we communicate with families in Gates Chili. One of our goals last year was to foster belonging through equitable access to culturally responsive and restorative practices. This goal of equitable access will continue into the 2024-25 school year as we launch ParentSquare for all school-to-home communication.

ParentSquare is a powerful tool that will streamline communication with families across the district for students in grades K-12.

What’s more, it gives families the freedom to receive communication in a way that works for them. This change is the direct result of family input, which has been essential in shaping our efforts to improve communication. This e-newsletter is packed with information about ParentSquare and how to activate your account before the first day of school. In the meantime, enjoy the remainder of your summer and we look forward to seeing you this fall!

Go Spartans!

Christopher J. Dailey
Superintendent of Schools

ParentSquare is a powerful and user-friendly communication platform where families will be able to keep track of news, activities and events from all their students’ schools in one place.

That means you don’t have to use different apps or tools for different schools or grades—everyone will be using the same platform!

By moving all school-to-home communication to one centralized tool, several tools will no longer be in use--well, sort of. While platforms like SchoolTool, Schoology, SeeSaw and others will continue to be used, they won't be used for communication.

SchoolTool still houses all student information, so families can still access attendance information, grades and more by using the SchoolTool Parent Portal. However, items like progress reports, report cards and will be shared via ParentSquare moving forward. Automated attendance calls will also be generated in ParentSquare.

Families can still access student coursework in Schoology or SeeSaw, however messaging capabilities will no longer be available. Communication about clubs and activities will also move to ParentSquare. Finally, the Gates Chili mobile app will begin to be phased out this school year.

With ParentSquare’s mobile app and web-based platform, Gates Chili families will be able to choose how and how often they receive information from the district.

For each message modality (email, text message/SMS, app notification), families can choose how they want to be notified. These choices can also be customized by school building!

• Instant: receive Posts as soon as they are shared
• Digest: receive a summary of any Posts from the day in one message at 6 p.m.
• Off: receive only alerts and urgent messages

Families can also choose the language in which they would prefer to receive messages. The district has pre-populated these language choices for families based on our records, but families can adjust this at any time. Click here for details on how to change notification and language settings.

We’re focusing a lot on “activating” your ParentSquare account, and that’s intentional.

Activating your account will allow you to interact with many features available in ParentSquare, including RSVPs and conference sign-ups, as well as secure documents. Later this month, that includes teacher placements, class schedules and bus assignments.

Please take note of the anticipated dates for information to be shared via ParentSquare Secure Documents:

• Monday, Aug. 12: Teacher assignments for elementary students (grades K-5)
• Wednesday, Aug. 26 (updated): Class schedules for secondary students (grades 6-12)
• Wednesday, Aug. 21: Bus assignments for all students (grades K-12)

Even if you don’t activate your parent/guardian account, you’ll never miss important messages from the district. However, we strongly encourage you to activate your account, which opens up many more opportunities to stay in the know and engage with your student’s school.

Click on one of the links below for step-by-step directions on activating your ParentSquare account today!

• Getting Started Guide (English)
• Getting Started Guide (Arabic)
• Getting Started Guide (Nepali)
• Getting Started Guide (Spanish)
• Getting Started Guide (Ukrainian)
• Getting Started Guide (Vietnamese)

Look for an email invitation from ParentSquare or begin by clicking the button below to register with the email or phone number you have on file with the district.

Join us for a virtual ParentSquare demo for families on Thursday, Aug. 15 at 1 p.m. During this 30-minute session, we’ll walk you through the steps to activate your parent/guardian account and review some of the ways families can use ParentSquare this fall. To join the live virtual event on Microsoft Teams, go to gateschili.org/PSQdemo. Please note you will not be able to join the event until it begins.

Can’t make it to this session? Don’t worry! There will be a recording available at the same link, plus there will be several in-person opportunities to learn to use ParentSquare this fall.

Thank you to the families of incoming kindergarten students, summer program students and football athletes, who were among the first to try ParentSquare during our soft launch this summer!

Still have more questions about ParentSquare?

We have many more resources on our website at gateschili.org/ParentSquare, including frequently asked questions, app store links and more resources for families to learn to use the tool.

Gates Chili is proud to announce a second year of free meals for all students in the 2024-25 school year!

The district has once again been approved for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a program that provides free breakfast and lunch to students every day in the 2024-25 school year.

Providing free meals for all students—regardless of income—is a proven strategy to reduce food insecurity, improve mental and physical health, support students’ ability to thrive academically, and bolster educational, health, and economic equity. That’s why we encourage all students to take advantage of this benefit by getting a free breakfast or lunch at school every day.

Families don’t have to fill out any forms for their student(s) to receive free meals at school. However, it is imperative that families still complete an Income Eligibility Form, formerly known as the Free and Reduced Meal Application. This form is tied to other important benefits for students such as fee waivers for advanced placement exams, dual-credit tuition assistance, state funding and more. Historically, this application has also been tied to P-EBT benefits. To complete that secure application, families should still go to gateschili.org/IncomeForm.

And don’t forget our summer meals are still going on through Friday, Aug. 9. Stop by for breakfast between 8-9 a.m. or lunch from 12-1 p.m. at Gates Chili Middle School.

The first day of school is less than a month away! Calendars for the 2024-25 school year are now available online. Click here to see the at-a-glance calendar and pattern day calendars for elementary and secondary students. The printed district calendar is in production and will be mailed to district families at the end of the month.

Aug. 13: BOE Mtg., 6 p.m., Admin. Bldg.
Aug. 15: ParentSquare Virtual Demo, 1 p.m. on Teams
Aug. 21: Secondary class schedules sent via ParentSquare

Aug. 21: Bus assignments sent via ParentSquare

Aug. 21: FB Slices with Mrs. Smith, 2-4 p.m., Brasser

Aug. 21: WD Pizza with the Principals, 3-5 p.m., Disney Door #1
Aug. 22: PR Popsicles with the Principals, 2-4 p.m., Paul Road playground
Aug. 22: NA Pizza on the Playground, 3-5 p.m., Armstrong playground

Aug. 26: MS Gr. 6 and New-to-District Orientation
Aug. 26: MS Locker Setup, 1-4 p.m.
Aug. 27: First day of school for 10-month staff
Aug. 27: BOE Mtg., 6 p.m., Admin. Bldg.
Aug. 28: FB and PR Kindergarten Bus Orientation, 2-3:15 p.m., Main campus
Aug. 28: Kindergarten Orientation, Elementary schools, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Aug. 28: NA and WD Kindergarten Bus Orientation, 4:45-6 p.m., Main campus
Aug. 28: HS Gr. 9 Orientation, 6-7:30 p.m., GCPAC
Aug. 29: MS Locker Setup, 3-7 p.m.

Always be sure to check the district website for the
most up-to-date dates, times and locations for all events.

The summer months were anything but quiet at Gates Chili with many students taking part in summer programming and enjoying free summer meals! Check out these scenes from summer!

Gates Chili is seeking qualified candidates for the following positions. Click the button below to apply or share the opportunity with someone you know!

Job ID 703: Technology Teacher

Job ID 984: School Psychologist Intern

Job ID 1069: Teacher Aide

Job ID 1076: Secondary School Teaching/Special Education - Per Diem

Job ID 1080: School Psychologist LTS

Job ID 1070: Substitute Support Staff

Job ID 1071: Substitute Teacher*

Job ID 1052: Winter - Girls Varsity Basketball Assistant Coach

Job ID 1078: Winter - Boys Varsity Basketball Head Coach

Job ID 1077: Fall - Varsity Flag Football Head Coach

Job ID 1079: Spring - Boys Varsity Lacrosse Head Coach

Job ID 985: Microcomputer Maintenance Technician

Job ID 990: Registered Nurse/Licensed Practical Nurse

Job ID 1065: Cleaner

Job ID 1066: Food Service Helper

Job ID 1067: Bus Attendant

Job ID 1068: Bus Driver

*The Gates Chili Board of Education approved new,