GFSD Express September 2022 | | |
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Dear Families and Community Members,
I recently received a letter from one of my former students, who is now a successful psychologist in her own practice. She took a moment to reflect on her path and reached out to those who had significantly influenced her. What made this special was the fact that she is not a recent high school graduate, but someone from the early 90s who then went on to earn her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate in psychology. In her letter, she shared that she had never had much interest in school until she took my high school psychology class. I was humbled and grateful, especially as I wrap up my career. As much as I dislike social media, some platforms have provided opportunities for me to stay connected with former students and staff and even some of my former teachers.
May 6-10 is Teacher Appreciation Week. I would encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher to express your thanks and appreciation, and if so moved, look up one or two of your own teachers from school. Drop him or her a line to let them know how they made a difference in your life. Your child’s teacher and your former teacher will appreciate your kind words and appreciation.
Dr. M | | | | |  | Congratulations Student Success in Education Winners!The District announces its 3rd quarter ‘Success in Education’ award winners! Congratulations to Mountain Way Elementary: Rheese Schrank, Lilly Dalman and Cooper Strong; Monte Cristo Elementary: Gabriel Sousa-McGuckin, Garrett Detmer and Omar Hernandez; Granite Falls Middle School: Santiago Jacobo, Aubree Aguilera and Josephine Garrett; Granite Falls High School: Madison, Addison Haverfield, Elodie Tait and Brayden Peterson; Crossroads High School: Simon Racutt and Blake Kusler.
The award represents students that show an understanding of the importance of education and provide a committed, excellent service to other students, staff members, or the community. Candidates were nominated by staff and selected by the school’s administrative team.
The winners were announced at the board meeting on March 27, 2024.
Congratulations everyone! | |  | The district announces its third quarter certificated and classified staff ‘Success in Education’ awards. The employee award recognizes staff members for creating a thoughtful and exemplary learning environment through committed, excellent service to our schools. The 3rd quarter certificated staff winner is: Anna McGarr, Granite Falls High School Teacher and Classified staff winners: Christopher McDonald, Hall Monitor at Granite Falls High School, and Brooke Claxton, Case Manager for Open Doors. All candidates were nominated by staff and selected by the district’s administrative team. The winners were announced at the board meeting on March 27, 2024.
Way to go! | |  | (Pictured from left to right: Wendy Beach, Kathy Silveira, Julie Dickson, and Katelyn Richter.) | In hockey the term "mucker" refers to those players who dig the puck out of the corners along the boards while being checked, elbowed, and speared. Their goal is to pass the puck to a teammate in front of the net for a possible score. It is taken from the mines and the muckers who shoveled rock into the trams. In any organization, there are those who go above and beyond, especially when the work is difficult but needs to get done.
Dr. Middleton awarded six Granite Falls Mucker Awards to Wendy Beach, Kathy Silveira, Julie Dickson, Katelyn Richter, Katie Yaskus, Adam Goldstein and Jeremy Rose.
Congratulations Winners! | | | | Upcoming EventsMay 2024
- May 1 80-Minute Early Release
- May 3 School Lunch Hero Day
- May 6-10 Teacher Appreciation Week
- May 8 80-Minute Early Release
- May 8 Regular School Board Meeting
- May 8 School Nurse Day
- May 10 School Communicators Day
- May 14 Voices of Youth
- May 15 80-Minute Early Release
- May 18 School Speech Pathologist Day
- May 21 Kindergarten Music Performance
- May 22 80-Minute Early Release
- May 22 Regular School Board Meeting - Success in Education Celebration
- May 23 Night of the Arts (5:00pm)
- May 27 No School, Memorial Day
- May 29 80-Minute Early Release
- May 30 Scholarships and Awards Night
** May is Physical Fitness and Sports Month, National Mental Health Awareness Month, Military Appreciation Month and Asian & Pacific-Island Heritage Month. | Check out the upcoming sporting events by visiting the Athletics Calendar!
|  | |  | School Nutrition Professionals are heroes in our book! That's why we celebrate them every spring with the annual School Lunch Hero Day! Don't forget to share your appreciation with your favorite lunch hero.
#LunchHeroDay #SchoolNutrition |  | |  | Today we celebrate you!The Granite Falls School District employs 5 nurses either directly or through an outside agency. School nurses help keep students healthy by providing direct healthcare to students, screening and referrals for health conditions, promote healthy school environment, serve as a liaison between school personnel, family, community and healthcare providers, facilitate positive students responses to normal development and so much more!
During severe health scares such as COVID, school nurses are a vital part of the team in making sure that the school community and healthcare community are following the correct guidelines to keep our students, staff and community healthy and safe.
Thank you to all of our school nurses. We appreciate everything you do! | |  | National Teacher Day is May 7, 2024, and National Teacher Week is May 6-10, 2024.
Since 1984, National PTA has designated one week in May as a special time to honor the individuals who lend their passion and skills to educating our children.
We have amazing, dedicated, caring teachers who work hard every day to guide, nurture, and support the students of Granite Falls. Please take a moment to send a quick email or card to a teacher that you know and thank them for the positive impact they have on our students, on our schools, on our community, and on our future!
Don't forget to share of photo of your favorite teacher on social media and a brief description about the impact they have had on you, your child or family.
#GoTigersGo #WeAreGranite #TeachersRock | | |  | Granite Falls High School student qualifies for the State Family, Career, Community, Leaders of America (FCCLA) competition.Granite Falls High School students will attend nationals in Seattle from June 29 – July 3 in Seattle, WA. Gabe Ritchey was elected as the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) State Vice-President of Region 5. He will represent Region 5 at all State and District meetings and organize the Regional Competition in January. Gabe, joined by Advisor Stephanie Vento, will compete against several other schools at state.
FCCLA attended the Regional Competition on February 2-4, 2024, at Lake Stevens High School. The Food Innovations Team Roxx Dubuc and Ayden Kern took Silver and Samantha Hagman in Baking and Pastry, Gabe Ritchey in Culinary, and Izak Daily in Culinary all took bronze. All students qualified and progressed to the State Competition, which was held on March 5- 8.
On March 5-8th, after qualifying at the regional competition in February, Ayden Kern, Makayla Dubuc, Gabe Ritchey, Izak Daily, and Samantha Hagman attended the FCCLA State Competition in Spokane, WA. Students had the opportunity to network with students from around the state. Samantha Hagman placed second in Baking and Pastry. Mykayla Dubuc and Ayden Kern placed third in Food Innovation, and Gabe Ritchey and Izak Dailey placed bronze in Culinary.
Nice job Tigers!
#GoTigersGo #WeAreGranite |  | | | |  | | Mountain Way Elementary hosted Kindergarten Round-Up on Tuesday, April 23, 2024. This is an annual event where incoming Kindergarteners meet with teachers, participate in fun activity centers, and receive several other goodies while parents/guardians visit classrooms and learn more about the kindergarten program. This year there were approximately 90 participants for next years Kindergarten program that showed up for the event.
Did you miss it?
Don't worry! You can contact the Mountain Way Elementary to see how you can learn more about the Kindergarten program and what they have to offer.
Mountain Way Elementary 702 N. Granite Ave. Granite Falls, WA 98252 360-691-7719 | | | | | | | | Would you like to be involved in scheduling and planning events in your child's school? Get involved in a parent group by contacting the school group below! | | | | Medication at SchoolThe Granite Falls School District encourages parents to give their children medications at home whenever possible. Giving medication at school should be reserved for chronic or acute health situations. Medications can be administered at school ONLY with signed doctor’s orders and must be delivered to the school in the original prescription bottle. Over-the-counter medications such as cough drops and pain relievers also require authorization and should not be sent to school with your child without completing a medication release form. All medication needs to be handled through the school nurse’s office. Any child who brings medication to school should be sent to the office immediately for proper procedures to be completed.
It's important for parents/guardians to have a conversation with their child about bringing medication to school, sharing medication with other students, and receiving anything from other students, even if the student says it’s candy, not to put it into their mouth and report it to an adult at the school.
For further clarification, please refer to policy 3416, Medication at School (procedures).
Some good resources for parents regarding medicine are here below:
Medication Safety Tips (Safe Kids Worldwide)
Administering Medication at School: Tips for Parents (Healthy Children)
WAC 110-301-0215 Medication |  | |  | | Digital SafetyCell phones/computer usage can make communciaton a lot easier and can be very helpful in emergencies. However, as cell phones/social media become more and more sophisticated, it is very hard to keep up and maintain control of children's access. Today's cell phones have also become a sub-culture with its own language. The lack of adult supervision can lead to harassment, bullying and even legal charges that can result in felony convictions. Read more about safety tips for parents and students. | | | | | Hello, We are asking for your support to learn more about the barriers children face in walking or biking to school in your district. The information we collect through this survey can help SCHD connect with relevant stakeholders (e.g., infrastructure planners, NGOs, partner government agencies), to reduce the barriers reported by families, teachers, and school staff in our county. You can assist Snohomish County Health by completing the survey at the following link: https://forms.office.com/g/DGZ9qC31NF |  | SCHD Walking and biking survey flyer.pdf |
| Download 1.6 MB |
| | | | | Get Involved - Granite is Growing!Granite Falls Chamber of Commerce - Contact the City to find out more information via email or by phone. Granite Falls Alumni Foundation - For more information you can contact the Alumni Foundation via email at GFAlumni@outlook.com. Granite Falls Education Foundation - For more information contact Marshall Kruse. | | | | Dealing with Dangerous WildlifeIt is always a good time to review safety tips with your children if they should encounter wildlife in the area:
• Stop, don’t run. Pick up small children so they will not run. Stay calm and avoid direct eye contact. • Never approach the animal but do not take your eyes off the animal or turn your back. • If you cannot safely move away, try to appear larger than the animal. Do not crouch down or try to hide. • If the animal displays aggressive behavior, shout, clap your hands, wave your arms or throw rocks. • If the animal attacks, fight back and try to stay on your feet, do NOT play dead, do NOT run and climb a tree. • If a bear attack continues, as a last resort, protect yourself by curling into a ball or lying on your stomach and playing dead.
Please tell your child to be alert for any wildlife while waiting for the bus or walking home from bus stops or out in the backyard playing. It is always best to have children walk in pairs or as a group, regardless of wildlife. It is also important to discourage students from walking or cutting through wooded areas to get to school or home for overall safety, not just due to the wildlife issue. Please review these safety tips with your children. The Department of Fish and Wildlife has developed information specific to dangerous wildlife and what to do, and not do, if you encounter wildlife.
Report wildlife encounters to the Department of Fish and Wildlife during regular business hours call 425.775.1311 or after hours call 911. | Report to the CommunityGranite Falls School District Policy 3232 outlines information related to parent/student rights in administration of surveys, analysis or evaluations in accordance with the Federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), formerly Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) legislation, requires school districts to annually report on progress outlining specific information and include state assessment results. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has compiled all the data from all schools in the State of Washington. The reports include:
- State Assessment Test Scores (Smarter Balanced, MSP/HSPE, EOC, WA-AIM & WaKIDS)
- Student Demographic Information
- Staff Information
The Granite Falls School District reports may be viewed on OSPI’s website at Washington State Report Card. The School’s Performance Reports and Improvement Plans are posted on the website. | HARASSMENT, INTIMIDATION, & BULLYING (HIB)The Granite Falls School District recognizes that bullying is a widespread and persistent problem that can happen anywhere despite education and prevention efforts. We ask you to partner with us to address this problem and to ensure that our schools are safe and positive places for growing and learning.
It is the policy of the Granite Falls School District to be committed to maintaining a safe and civil educational environment for all students, staff or others involved in School District programs or activities free from harassment, intimidation, and bullying. Individuals will not be harassed because of their race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, including gender expression or identity, mental or physical disability, or other distinguishing characteristics. This means any image or message (written or electronically transmitted), verbal or physical act that is intended to harm or intimidate and has the effect to physically harm a student or substantially interfere with a student’s education or create an intimidating or threatening educational environment, or substantially disrupts the orderly operation of the school. Harassment, intimidation, and bullying in any form are unacceptable and are against District policy and state and federal law. Students who engage in such activity on school grounds or off campus, and disrupts school operations or the learning environment, shall be subject to school disciplinary action and possible criminal prosecution. Any student who believes he or she has been the target of harassment, intimidation, or bullying is strongly encouraged to report incidents verbally or in writing to a parent, guardian, staff member or a trusted adult. The student, parent, or other adult, should notify school officials as soon as possible and complete an incident report form- these forms can be found on the District website. The District’s Compliance Officer, Elizabeth Mills or designee, can be reached at 360.691.7717 or emills@gfalls.wednet.edu.
Report It! See Something, Say Something!
You can report safety concerns in four different ways:
Phone: 855.742.6957
Text: 855.742.6957, then follow instructions
Email: 1433@alert1.us
Web: http://1433.alert1.us | |  | Granite Falls School District We Expect Success! |
| | 205 North Alder Ave. Granite Falls, WA 98252 Phone: 360-691-7717 |
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