Congratulations!

Clip Art by MyCuteGraphics

Congratulations to Round 1 and Round 2 Young Author's Fair winners! These talented young writers were chosen as the best from their grade levels. The final round winners will be announced at a school assembly on March 25, 2015.

Round 1 Winners

Round 2 Winners

Valentine's Dance 3rd-5th Grades

On Thursday, February 12, Gilbert Elementary will host a Valentine's Day Dance after school for grades 3, 4, and 5. Students will have a blast dancing, hanging out with friends, and enjoying an after school snack. The cost is $5 per person which goes to help our school. Pick up time is promptly at 4:30.

Notices were sent home on Thursday afternoon. If you didn't receive a form, parents can write a note stating that they give you permission to stay after school on Thursday for the dance!

2014-2015 Yearbooks on Sale NOW!

 

The 2014-2015 Yearbooks are on sale now. The yearbooks will arrive in the spring. Flyers were sent home earlier (about two weeks ago). This year, we are happy to offer both a soft cover and a hard cover option. The prices are listed below. To make things easier, we are offering online payments and the option to pay half now. Only a limited number of yearbooks will be printed. Be sure to reserve yours today!

Hardcover Gilbert Yearbook = $25

Softcover Gilbert Yearbook = $20

A Special Visitor!

We hope that you'll join us on Tuesday, December 2, 2014 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. for an evening of performances by grade level groups, chorus, and by the drama club. The main attraction of course will be a gentleman who wears a red coat, lives at the North Pole, and has the job of figuring out who's been bad or good! So, if you'd like to have your picture taken with this special man and share with him your Christmas list, please join us for a fun-filled night!

You'll have several cool opportunities! The School Store will be open so parents can get a glimpse of available items. The Pucker Powder station will be open and you can create your own treat. Mr. Harris will be on hand to share what's happening with STEM education. Mrs. Pickard will be here to share bus safety tips to keep our Gilbert Gators safe! You can create a holiday keepsake with your family.

The Santa photos are $5 for a 5x7 payable that night. For your convenience, credit/ debit cards will be accepted.

Please check back here for a more detailed schedule as we approach the event!

Standards Based Grading Information...

 Standards Based Grading Informational Workshop

Friday, October 31, 2014

9:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m.

 Standards based grading is new in Walker County this year. Gilbert Elementary recently sent home report cards. Did you understand your student's progress report? Are you confused about progress monitoring and standards mastery assessments? What about the rating scale of 1-4? If you have had these questions and more, we invite you to join us on October 31st at 9:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. for a Standards Based Grading Workshop. Choose the session that best fits your schedule.

Mrs. Kristi Caissie, our Academic Coach, will be facilitating this workshop or information session. She will give a brief overview of standards based grading and answer any questions you may have. Please don't hesitate to voice your questions and concerns, so that we may better our communication efforts.

If you need more information, please contact Ashley Owens, our Parent Involvement Coordinator at 706-638-2432 or ashleyowens@walkerschools.org.

Don't Miss the SPOOKtacular BOOk Party!

Gilbert Elementary BOOk Party

Thursday, October 30, 2014

2:30-4:00 p.m.

Please join us on Thursday after noon for our annual BOOk Party! Come to school dressed as your favorite BOOk character and stay after school for the party! The $5 admission includes snacks, dancing, pumpkin seed spitting contest, and story telling!

Please follow the school dress code when designing your character, it is a regular school day and we want you to be comfortable. You do not have to have the book but you at least need to know the title! You may wear make-up as part of your costume, but nothing scary or gory and no weapons of any kind. We have little ones attending this event as well.

Notes were sent home last week. However, if you've misplaced yours, did not receive one, or changed your mind about the BOOk party, just have mom or dad write a note stating the following:

My child _______ has permission to attend the BOOk party at Gilbert Elementary on Thursday, October 30 from 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. I will pick up my child promptly at 4:00 p.m.

Don't forget to have them sign it! See you there!

Red Ribbon Week Celebration

We will be observing our annual “Red Ribbon Week” celebration during the week of
October 27th – October 31st, 2014. In observance of Red Ribbon Week, we will have
dress up theme days Monday – Friday of that week. These theme days are as follows:

• Monday, October 27 = “Too Smart To Do Drugs” – dress in your best nerd outfit
• Tuesday, October 28 = “Be A Hero, Not A Zero: Don’t Do Drugs” – dress as your favorite super-hero
• Wednesday, October 29= “Don’t Let Drugs Ruin Your Dreams” - wear your pajamas to school
• Thursday, October 30 = “Say Boo To Drugs” – dress as your favorite book character
• Friday, October 31 = “Wear Red Day”

What is Red Ribbon Week?
The Red Ribbon Week Celebration is a drug and alcohol abuse awareness campaign observed annually throughout the nation during the last full week in October each year. It is meant to promote awareness of and, hopefully, reduce illegal drug/substance use and abuse in our country. Red Ribbon Week is also a week that honors the life of DEA Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena who spent his adult life fighting the war on drugs and the Mexican drug cartel. Unfortunately, he lost his life in the line of duty and Red Ribbon Week originally began in his community as a remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice he made for this cause.

This Year’s Red Ribbon Week Theme: “Love Yourself, Be Drug Free!”

The Red Ribbon Pledge: “ No use of illegal drugs, no illegal use of legal drugs!”

Family Fun Night this FRIDAY!

Family Fun Night

Don’t miss the fun!

Friday, September 19, 2014

5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

 Fall is in the air! You know what that means; Family Fun Night is here! We hope you, your family, and friends will make plans to join us for a fun-filled night. Activities for the event include games, karaoke, Cake Walk, Plant Walk, inflatables, popcorn, cotton candy, slushies, and much more!

This year, we will sell wristbands for students. These bands allow students unlimited access to games and activities. They will be $5 if you pre-order by Thursday, September 18 using the order form below.  The bands will be $7 the night of the event. These costs include a meal of hot dog, chips, drink, and a Moon Pie. Parents cost for the meal is $3.

You may want to bring some extra spending money for slushies, cotton candy, and popcorn. There’s also a silent auction! Don’t miss it! This year, we’ve added PUCKER POWDER, a make your own pixie stix activity!

Welcome back to school!

Welcome back to school!

 

We're off to a wonderful start! Thank you parents and students for attending Open House! Everyone seems to be adjusting well and getting back in a routine. Staff and students are pretty excited about our new Gator Zone & Chompy Cash incentives.

Here are a couple of things to remember:

• Please turn in Emergency Cards, lunch forms, and other paperwork as soon as possible. 
• The bell rings at 7:45 each morning. We are dismissed at 2:15.
• Be sure to wear tennis shoes for P.E. classes.
• Please schedule doctors/ dentist appointments for after school if possible. Students miss out on valuable class instruction when they are not present. 

The PBIS team will be selling slushies beginning next week. The slushies will be sold after lunch and students are limited to one per day. The cost is $1. Due to the large number of students in our school, we will have to stick to the following schedule for purchasing slushies.

• Monday - Pre-K and 4th Grade
• Tuesday - 1st Grade & 5th Grade
• Wednesday - Kindergarten & 2nd Grade
• Thursday - **Thirsty Thursday** (all students, staff, and parents)
• Friday - 3rd Grade, Ms. Sallie, Mrs. Burnette, and Mrs. Blaylock's classes

**Thirsty Thursday is on a first come, first served basis while supplies last. Parents may purchase in the car rider line. We'll take orders in line and deliver them to you. Due to safety concerns, walk ups are NOT permitted.

All proceeds will go towards behavior incentives and improvement projects at Gilbert.

School Supply Bags

Hey Gilbert Gator Families,


Just wanted everyone to know that the PTO has supply packs ready to go for the school year. They are available by grade level and include everything on the school supply list. This year they come with a special Gilbert Gators cinch back pack. The cost for grades K through 3 is $15 and Grades 4 and 5 are $20. You can stop by the office at any time to pick one up or may purchase one at Open House (August 12th 4-6 p.m.)

Walker County School Kindergarten Registration

Walker County Schools will hold Kindergarten Registration on April 18, 2014. Schools will need the following documentation:

• Birth Certificate
• Vision, Hearing, Dental Form 3300 (Available from the Health Dept.)
• Immunization Form 3231 (Available from the Health Dept.)
• Social Security Number

For more information, please contact Gilbert Elementary School @ 706-638-2432.

RAK Week February 10-17, 2014

International Random Acts of Kindness Week is February 10-16, 2014.

Take this week to step out of your normal routine or comfort zone and attempt a new random act of kindness each day of the celebratory week. The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation defines kindness as an intrinsic quality of the heart expressed through an act of benevolence reflecting care and good will for self and others.

Gilbert's Honor Society will focus our week to commit random acts of kindness within our school community. We challenge you to do the same. Try to do one random act each day!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Sarah Ray and Selah Hill! Both recently competed in our county's Spelling Bee against other 4th through 8th grade students. We are very proud of our girls! Sarah placed 2nd overall and Selah placed 4th! Both will advance to the district competition at UTC.

Give with Target!

Your vote make a big difference to our school!

 Visit GiveWith.Target.com to vote for our school

This year, Target will give money to schools all over the country for one simple act: a vote. Our school needs just 25 votes to earn a $25 donation from Target. But that's only the beginning. For each additional vote, our school will get $1 more. So please remember that, although the gesture is small, the rewards are potentially huge. Go to GiveWith.Target.com to vote for Gilbert Elementary School once a week through September 21 or until Target has given away all $5 million. And please share this with your relatives and friends!

Thanks,
Mrs. Richardson :)

All Aboard!

Mrs. Cherry's Pre-K class will have a field trip on Friday, April 19th. They will travel to Chattanooga  to board the Southern Belle Riverboat for a ride along the Tennessee River. We wish them well and hope they have "boat" loads of fun!

Comming Soon...

Mrs. Massey has created a pretty cool website to showcase our upcoming book fair. This is an awesome opportunity to add to your book collection! The book fair will begin on Friday, May 3rd with classes visiting to preview the offerings and making wish lists. Students may begin to purchase books on Monday, May 6. The fair will be open each day May 6-9 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. There's a special event to celebrate Mother's Day on May 10th. On Friday May 10, the book fair will be open until 12:00.

For all the girls who love the Pinkalicious books by Victoria Kann, there's a new one out! It's called Emeraldalicious! In this story, Pinkalicious and her brother take a trip to the park only to find it not as clean as they remember.

    

Boys, don't worry! There are plenty of books just right for you, too! I know my third grade boys are loving the Geronimo Stilton series, Goosebumps series, and the new series called, Stick Dog by Tom Watson.

Of course, everyone loves the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books! The newest one, The Third Wheel, will also be available. Have you read it yet? Love is in the air in this book! So, check in with Greg and Rowley as they figure out what to do for the Valentine's Dance at school!

What have you read lately?

I hope to see you at the book fair! Until then, be sure to check out the webpage for Gilbert's Book Fair.  You can click here to visit the site!

March Movie Matinee

Hey Gilbert Gators! It’s movie time again! On Thursday, March 21st, we’re going to watch Disney’s Brave.  The cost is $5, which includes your intermission snack and drink. The money raised goes to help our school. We are working to replace broken or worn out projectors. Pick up time is promptly at 4:30.

Camouflage Day!

Friday, March 15 is Camouflage Day at Gilbert! We hope you'll join us in wearing your favorite camouflage shirts, pants, etc. We're promoting our new t-shirt design! Shirts are on sale now for $15 each. Order forms were sent home on Friday. If you didn't receive one, you may download one in the School Pride post below.