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IN THIS ISSUE:
message from the head / enrollment deadline / construction project / health update / pto news / scholastic orders / valentine's day / snapshots / events
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From the Head of School
Dear Gardner community,
It's that time of year when we truly see the growth in our students, and their intelligences shine in a variety of ways. Learning to communicate with one another is an important aspect of school, and every day I witness the ways our school allows children the space to practice, make mistakes, learn, and enjoy friendships with a wide range of people. While conflict arises at any school, our teachers do a phenomenal job of helping students learn conflict resolution skills. Here at the Gardner School, we focus on social, emotional, and academic growth, and view all three of these areas as an important part of a child's learning experience at school. In the upcoming weeks, parents will have the opportunity to meet with their child's teacher to communicate about their child in all these areas during conferences. Your child's homeroom teacher will send out a sign up form in their weekly newsletters.
Thank you to the many families that have re-enrolled their children for next year! This early communication helps us plan ahead for our budget, as well as make decisions around financial aid and new applications. We are still accepting applications for new students, and we encourage you to spread the word. Our best referrals come from word of mouth from our current community, and we appreciate you writing positive online reviews, liking and sharing our posts on social media, and talking to your friends, families, and neighbors about us.
I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to lead our vibrant and joyful school. Our positive parents dedicate an abundance of time towards building and supporting our school community, our caring and professional teaching staff inspire our learners daily, and our curious and creative students bring joy to our campus every single day. School leadership, no surprise, has been a challenging field to work in during the pandemic, but I continue to be inspired by what we accomplish every day for children, and what we are working towards in the future.
With gratitude,
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Re-Enrollment Reminders
February 1st Deadline
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1. Re-enrollment Commitment Letters and 22-23 School Year Deposit due tomorrow! After February 1st, visitations begin for newly applying families. Contact Sheila FitzPatrick at sfitzpatrick@gardnerschool.org with questions.
2. Financial Aid applications due tomorrow! Availability of aid after February 1st may be limited. Re-enrollment letters and non-refundable deposit are required before applications for tuition assistance can be considered.
3. Sibling Priority Enrollment applications are due, too. Visitations are being scheduled now!
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Construction News
Big Changes to Drop Off and Pick Up for Next Week
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Construction work on a water line will take place on the shared driveway easement next week, starting on Monday, February 7th. Our entryway will not be useable, so we will be flexible and adjust! Our admin team has been planning for this, and we are ready to modify drop off and pick up routines for the week of February 7th-11th.
More information and detailed directions to come in a newsletter on Friday, but here is an overview:
- Our entrance driveway will be closed from February 7th-11th.
- Our EC families will be asked to use the Gardner School exit driveway to come in, park, and walk their children to and from the Imagination Playground for check-in. Older siblings of EC children will also be dropped off and picked up at the Imagination Playground.
- Our next door neighbors at Smith Root have welcomed us to use their long driveway for K-6 drop off and pick up! We will have volunteers and staff to lead students from cars to their classrooms from the Smith Root entrance on 16603 NE 50th Ave.
- K-6 Before Care will be offered for free between 7:30- 8:00 for early drop off to minimize congestion at regular drop off times.
- We need volunteers! To support the flow of traffic and to direct families, we need several volunteers for the morning and the afternoon times. You can find the sign up link at the button below.
- More details will be shared in an email on Friday. Please alert others that drop off or pick up your children to the changes.
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Our monthly PTO Virtual Meeting is this Wednesday, February 2nd at 9:30 am on Zoom. Email PTO Chair Susan Melton for the link!
Topics on our agenda-
- Welcoming our new PTO Secretary, Meg Pennington!
- Volunteer planning for our Gardner School service project for the Blanchet House
- Rolling out Scholastic Book Club plans (see below)
- Teacher appreciation treat delivery
- Upcoming campus volunteer opportunities
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Our community loved the Scholastic Book Fair this September, and asked for more! We've set up a school account for Scholastic Book Club orders for any families interested. You can shop our school's page here, and all purchases help earn free books for our classes. This month's deal is a FREE $5 book of your choice with purchases over $25 (use code: READS).
The order deadline for this month is next Friday, February 11th. Contact the PTO with any questions, and Happy Reading!
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COVID-19 Updates
Activity in Clark County remains high, and our staff and students will be impacted by the increase in cases. We are continuing to develop our sub pool, and you can expect to see some new faces around campus as they support our staffing needs.
Monitoring and reporting of symptoms from our Remini app to health@gardnerschool.org is critical to minimize exposure and disruptions to in-person learning as we navigate the latest wave. We are thankful for our community working together to keep our students and staff healthy and minimizing exposure in classrooms.
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Classroom Celebrations
Valentine's Day Activities
Our teachers are planning thoughtful and fun activities to celebrate Valentine's Day with their classrooms. Stay tuned to their newsletters for specifics, and please avoid sending items or gifts in outside of the classroom requests. Thank you!
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Missing something?
Don't forget to check the Online Lost and Found page!
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Campus snapshots
Our classroom communities are full of kindness, learning, and connection.
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Upcoming Events
Tuesday, 2/1
Re-Enrollment Letters Due
Please turn in the re-enrollment commitment letters and the $1,000 nonrefundable deposit to our office. We're looking forward to your family continuing with us next year!
Tuesday, 2/1
Tuition Assistance Applications for 22-23 Year Due
All families currently receiving tuition assistance, or those interested in applying, need to complete the application by Tuesday, February 1st. Any questions about this process can be directed to Director of Business Operations, Sheila FitzPatrick. Sibling applications are also due by today.
Wednesday, 2/2
PTO Meeting on Zoom, 9:30 am
Interested in helping with upcoming events and teacher appreciation plans? Email PTO Chair Susan Melton at ptochair@gardnerschool.org to get the link to our monthly Zoom meeting.
Monday, 2/7- Friday, 2/11
Alternative Drop Off and Pick Up Plan
This week, we will modify our drop off and pick up routines to account for construction on our easement drive. See above for more information, and check future emails and flyers sent home.
Thursday, 2/10
100th Day of School!
Teachers have various ways of celebrating the 100th Day of School! Classes will do some different math games and activities to highlight this milestone.
Monday 2/14- Friday 2/25
Parent Conferences
Our homeroom teachers will reach out to families soon to set up invidual conferences to share your child's progress since returning from Winter Break. Stay tuned to the classroom newsletters for more information.
Friday 2/18
No School, Teacher In-Service Day for Conferences
Monday 2/21
No School, President's Day
Tuesday 2/22
Tutu Tuesday 2022!
Join staff and students in celebrating 2/22/22 by wearing a tutu on Tuesday! All are welcome to participate, and we look forward to seeing our community express themselves and share a fun day together!
To see and subscribe to our calendar of events, click below!
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