Good Afternoon GB Community,

Our first week of school was a wonderful success! It felt good to have the vibration of students on campus again and to hear their happy little voices. There was a lot of pride fluttering in my chest as I walked around and saw the students engaged and enjoying all the preparation leading up to the first day of school. This staff put their hearts and muscle into making sure we were ready to receive our students and I am full of gratitude. Thank you also to the PTA for hosting our Back to School Coffee. The multi was buzzing with new and returning families Wednesday morning. There was a lot of information on how to get involved, after school programs, community PTA-sponsored events, and even how to get involved in our “Give-Back” program. If you were unable to attend, please keep an eye on our website and Bear Tracks for important information.

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

This week, I went into each classroom and read The Color Monster...a story about emotions, by Anna Llenas and talked about social-emotional learning. For the upper grades, I also shared the 5 competencies of SEL: Self-awareness, Self-management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision-Making. My goal was to connect the many dots our school does around SEL and give students the “why” behind what we do. Some examples of our SEL-focus are:

• Zen Den/Mindfulness

• Project Cornerstone/Character Traits

• Classroom Morning Meetings

• Conflict Resolution/Peace Path

• Growth Mindset

• Positive Behavior Matrix

As always, we will continue our good work on this very important part of the “whole child” and at the Principal Coffees meetings I will share that with you.

Parking Lot

Safety is my number one goal when it comes to the parking lot and the student drop-off/pick-up area. For efficiency, we have two lanes entering the parking lot as you pull in to the right. Two lanes may enter the parking lot but must merge into one lane at the yellow curb (student area). Students may not be picked up at a red curb or from the inside lane of waiting traffic. Please have your student wait to be picked up at the yellow curb and drop them off at the yellow curb. I appreciate your cooperation and understanding in this safety protocol.

Back to School

Please join us for Kindergarten Morning on August 29th at 8:30 am and Back to School Night for 1st-6th grade on September 5th at 6:00 pm. It is at this time that you will get to know your child’s teacher and learn more about the classroom and what is to be expected throughout the school year. You will also hear from our PTA and LAEF representatives. This is always a very exciting event and we look forward to seeing you all here.

Enjoy the last week of August...if you can believe that!

Nadia Oskolkoff

https://www.gardnerbullis.org/

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