We wanted to take a moment and thank you all for your support of the Green Gables PTA this year. There is definitely a renewed energy in our little school, and we could not do what we do without our volunteers, board members, and supporters. We are looking forward to an even more successful year for the 2018/2019 school year.

The PTA wanted to give you a brief recap of the year and receive your feedback for next year on  how together we can continue to support our kids, staff, and community.  Please take a moment to provide your feedback by completing our end of year survey. We need to hear from you!

Quick Recap:

• Fundraising
  • Read-A-Thon
  • Food Night outs : Chipolte|Magills | Bucks BBQ
  • Worlds Finest Chocolate
  • Run 4 Funds
  • Box Tops
  • Amazon Smile
  • Shutterfly
  • Business Sponsorships
  • Holiday shop
• Donations: A high level look
  • $4K – The library Revamp
  • $2450 – Teacher Support
  • $200 – Technology
  • $1000- Outdoor Lab
  • $2100- In Field Trips
  • $575- The Giving Tree
  • $100 – Bear Creek Scholarship (3 of our alum were recipients)
  • $100 – Playground equipment
  • $200 – Joy’s Kitchen
• Events
  • After School club program
  • Science Exploration Night
  • Grade Night gatherings
  • Talent Show
  • Neighborhood Night out
  • 50th Year celebration
  • Moms 4 Muffins/Dads for Donuts
  • Teacher Appreciation Week
  • Race To Read
  • St Patricks Day Parade
  • Jefferson County Library Summer Reading Program

How you can support our school thru the summer months:

•  Follow Henry the Reading Wonder Dog this summer on our blog and Facebook page. Register for the Jefferson County Library Summer Reading Program  June 1st – July 31st. Help us and Henry earn reading minutes and a chance to win $800.00 for our school and $500 for the Foothills Animal Shelter. This program  is free and there are prizes for the kids to earn thru their summer reading journey.

• Utilize our  shutterfly store page for all of your photos and memories
  
• Order your goods from our Amazon Smile page
  
• Save those box tops and use the Box Top app!  Don’t know how to use the app see this blog post where we actually tried it out! It was pretty easy and came with Coupons!
• Save those milk tops from Longmont Dairy. We will have a collection box in the fall in the main hallway next year. Information from the program can be found here .

Have a great summer!

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Henry the Reading Wonder Dog is getting geared up for the Jeffco Library Free Summer Reading Program “Rock the Books” beginning June 1st, 2018! He is encouraging all Green Gables Families to register to win prizes June 1- July 31st by clocking reading minutes for our school. If the school earns the most minutes for an elementary school we have a chance to win $800.00. If Jefferson County reads 40 million minutes the library will donate $500.00 to the Foothills Animal shelter!

What does Henry need you to do today?

1. Sign up today at Jeffcolibrary.org
2. Choose Green Gables as your school
3. Start logging your minutes as a family June 1st – July 31st !

Where did Henry come from?

Henry was found on an Indian Reservation in Gallop New Mexico wandering the streets alone. He was injured. The Gallop animal police received an anonymous call to pick up Henry.  They contacted Western Aussie Rescue to see if they had a foster home to help rehabilitate Henry.  A foster home was found for Henry in  Cheyenne Wyoming. Henry began his journey to becoming “Henry the Reading Wonder Dog”.

Henry is about 1.5 years old.  He is a ‘south paw’ because his left ear flops over.  So we think that Henry is left handed. When Henry was first brought to his foster home he could not climb stairs, he did not play with toys, he did not get along with other dogs, he did not trust people,  and he did not have good house manners. His foster parents in Cheyenne Wyoming worked very hard to improve Henry’s skills and manners so that he could find a forever home.  Through patience, consistency, love, support,  and hard work at his foster home in Wyoming Henry’s basic skills quickly came along. Henry found a forever home in the suburbs outside of Denver, Colorado.

Henry had many doctor appointments to mend his skin and injuries he sustained while out on the streets in Gallop New Mexico. In Wyoming Henry learned how to play with other dogs, trust the company of humans, and he had started to have good house manners. Shortly after arriving in his forever home his new parents decided it was time to send Henry to school. Henry was enrolled in a nearby school for dogs and started to work with a very special trainer named Erica.

Erica is a Professional Dog Trainer. She used positive training methods with Henry to help him master his social skills with both people and his fellow classmates at school. Erica never used the word ‘No’ with Henry. She used words like ‘Aa-Oh’ so that Henry would know when his behavior needed self correction. Erica was very patient with Henry. She rewarded Henry for good behavior with food and positive reinforcement.  Henry and Erica worked one on one. Henry needed the extra one on one attention to help him catch up to his fellow classmates at school. Consistency, positive reinforcement, care, and patience paid off for Henry.  Henry completed the Canine Good Citizen Certification (CGC) in February,  2017.  It was a great accomplishment for Henry.  Everyone was very proud of Henry and his CGC certificate. The CGC certificate was not just a piece of paper. It was a recognition of the hard work, patience, and support that everyone worked together   to help him achieve.  The once lone dog who walked the streets injured and by himself was now a “certified good citizen” surrounded by people who supported him and cared for him. Henry was now a part of an elite group of dogs that had earned the GOLD standard of behavior for dogs  awarded by  the Animal Kennel Club (AKC).

Henry’s forever parents worked directly with Erica in finding ways for Henry to share his story and his ‘zen’ energy with kids and other dogs. In January 2017 Henry was enrolled with HABIC (Human Animal Bond In Colorado).  The groups mission is to “improve the quality of life for people of all ages through the therapeutic use of companion animals.” Henry completed level 3 training in March of 2018.

Henry is now excited to share with our Green Gables students his love of reading and more of his story of perseverance to becoming Henry the Reading Wonder Dog!

He is challenging you all to register today for the Jefferson County Library Free Summer Reading program “Rock the Books” and also become a Reading Wonder.

Look for more information on Henry and his journey in an upcoming post soon!

More from Henry:

Henry| Introduction

Henry| Takes a summer class 

Henry Explains| Lexile reading levels and how they can be used

Henry| My First Book Review 

Henry| Checks out Audio Books

Henry| Visits the Denver Public Library

#readonleprechauns

 

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Who is Henry ?

Henry is a very a special dog. He helps children at school with reading, patience, and kindness. Henry is a recent graduate of the HABIC ( Human Animal Bond in Colorado) program.

We are very excited to have  Henry  help our Green Gables families participate this summer in the Jefferson County Library “Rock the Books” Summer Reading program. Henry wants our  Green Gables families to read lot’s of minutes this summer. That’s right the whole family can participate!

Henry loves to read! He especially likes to encourage people to read even if they struggle and to keep on trying! Henry has lot’s of tips and tricks to help you read! You see Henry had a hard time learning at first , but you should see him now! Thru hard work, support, and patience Henry is  a thriving mentor and teacher. He has a great story… which we will tell you ALL about  very very soon.

The Jefferson County Library summer reading program will award the schools with the highest reading minutes an $800 grant. If  we as a county  read 40 million minutes the library will donate $500.00 to the Foothills Animal shelter to help  dogs like Henry find their forever home, and make a difference!

Henry is giving the Jefferson County Library summer reading program two paws up and is encouraging you all to register today to Rock the Books!

What does Henry need you to do today?

1. Sign up today at Jeffcolibrary.org
2. Choose Green Gables as your school
3. Start logging your minutes as a family June 1st – July 31st !

 

Stay Tuned for Henry’s full story…

We know you will love to learn about Henry and how he became a therapy dog. His journey brought him all the way from a reservation in New Mexico to the suburbs of Colorado.

Henry  will be making appearances through out the summer on our GG PTA blog and Facebook page to encourage you to log those minutes this summer and ROCK THE BOOKS!

More from Henry:

Henry| His story 

Henry| Takes a summer class 

Henry Explains| Lexile reading levels and how they can be used

Henry| My First Book Review 

Henry| Checks out Audio Books

Henry| Visits the Denver Public Library

REGISTER TODAY

#readonleprechauns

 

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The Green Gabbles PTA is excited to announce our Buy| Sell | Trade Facebook Market Place. This is a forum provided to our Green Gables Families and staff to buy sell and trade items with our community. This is a free service and is a closed Facebook  group. To participate you must request membership.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/GGPTABUYSELLTRADE

Please take a moment to read about the group :

This page is to assist Green Gables Elementary families and staff to buy sell and trade only. No spam, no venting, no public shaming, and no bullying. Absolutely no pet sales.

Please ensure that all posts are priced and do not include “PM for info.” All relevant info should be included in the post including price method of trade and delivery. Green Gables Elementary PTA is not responsible and will not assist in disputes between parties. This is a forum only created for you to post items to our community. You must be a current Green Gables Elementary family to participate in the group. We will review your profile and have the right to remove any posts.

This is a closed group and membership must be requested by joining the group. Feel free to report any inappropriate posts. If you are a business owner we ask that you evaluate the appropriateness of your business to the school community. Green Gables PTA does accept business sponsorship as a membership and will market your business or service there and thru newsletters. You are welcome to price items here for sale or trade. To view our business sponsorship opportunities please see http://ptagreengables.com/membership/.

 

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Our Science Fair Committee coordinated the 2^nd year of fun and interactive exhibitors for our budding student scientists! In addition to a lot of great exhibitors, we also had a selfie photo booth, pizza and lots of great science-themed prizes for students.

A special thanks to our group of volunteers and exhibitors:

• Audubon Society – Beavers and the tools they use to swim and live in and around the water. Students even got to try out all the gear they would need to swim like a beaver!
• Bear Creek High School – These students love science and loved sharing it with Green Gables. Slime and marshmallows in a vacuum were a big hit!
• Carmody Middle School – 7th 8th grade science with Air Cannons
• CU Student Academy of Audiology – A great model with pink hair and some graduate students helped us ALL understand how loud is too loud on those headphones!
• Environmental Protection Agency  – Testing our recycling knowledge and exploring where our waste goes.
• Fish and Wildlife Service – They brought in Animal pelts and bones and taught us about tracks.
• Green Gables PTA – spraying vinegar and watching gold or shamrocks turn to mush. A chemical reaction!
• Intuitive Machines– Straw rockets, powered by kids. Those things shot everywhere!
• Lakewood Parks and Recreation – close your eyes, tilt your head, does it feel differently to walk or stand when one of your senses is off?
• Morrison Natural History Museum – Touching allowed! Dino bones from millions of years ago to creatures of today, kids loved to touch everything on the table!
• National Renewable Energy Lab– Who could not have had fun trying to get the light bulb to light or to measure wind?
• Play-Well Teknologies – gears and pulleys plus Legos – hours of entertainment!
• Sustainable Southern Gables– We learned all about the plant cycle. There is for sure some really cool stuff going to happen in our garden this year! Don’t forget to come to the Grand Opening 4/22
• Water for People – Here we learned all about water conversation and how to keep our waters clean.

 

And our success was recognized on the Jeffco Public Schools Facebook Page!

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School Funding at Risk Right Now

Dear Jeffco Families and Staff,

I want to let you know of an important opportunity to make your voice heard at the Colorado Capitol.

An ad hoc coalition of school districts from across the state has come together to launch the Kids Matter Too Coalition. This statewide coalition is calling on lawmakers to ensure Colorado’s growth benefits families by increasing funding for schools.

Colorado school districts are coping with a teacher shortage crisis, shrinking funds for special education, and inadequate mental health services. Next week, the state budget projections will be released, and many expect a surplus. Lawmakers will be making decisions about what to do with this additional funding, and the Kids Matter Too Coalition is asking Coloradoans from every corner of the state to call for additional funding to benefit students.

Consider:

• Colorado currently ranks 42nd in the nation in per pupil funding and 50th in the nation in teacher salary competitiveness. Next year, Colorado public schools will need to fill 3,000 vacant positions. This will be difficult with low teacher salaries.

• Funding additional mental health services is more than just a resource to help students succeed; it’s a student safety issue as well. Years of budget cuts have decimated the ranks of school counselors and mental health professionals. Our students and families need more mental health support in our schools.

• Only Oklahoma and Arizona spend less than Colorado on services for students with special needs. The federal and state government together only cover about 30% of the costs of these expensive services, which leaves individual school districts responsible to cover the remaining 70% with the dwindling funding they have.

We often hear in the news about the strength of the state’s economy, but our schools are still reeling from drastic cuts during the recession. Jeffco Public Schools alone has been shortchanged $642 million since 2009. Our students deserve better, and now the Legislature may be in a position to return some of this funding to our public schools.

I urge you to contact your legislators now to tell them how important it is to increase funding for K-12 education in Colorado. Kids Matter Too provides valuable resources to help you connect with elected officials.

The 2018 Legislative Session is moving quickly, so please stay connected to these important issues.

• Visit the Kids Matter Too website
• Like Kids Matter Too on Facebook
• Follow @kids_mattertoo on Twitter

Help us secure critical funding for our students here in Jeffco and across Colorado. Your voice matters! Thank you for your continued partnership and support.

Kind regards,

Dr. Jason E. Glass
Superintendent & Chief Learner
Jeffco Public Schools

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Welcome back to school!  PTA is excited to get started on the rest of the school year.  We are writing to let you know about a variety of ways to get involved in our school this winter and spring.  We know everyone is busy and it is hard to add another commitment to your list of “to-do’s” but we have lots of ways to make a difference– whether you have a minute, an hour, or a day to commit (or even want to help organize a whole initiative or event)!

 

Moms and Muffins (Jan 17 at 7:45 a.m.), Dad’s and Donuts (Jan 31 at 7:45 a.m.) 

An annual student favorite– they get to bring you to school for a quick breakfast before starting the school day.  If you’re coming, would you be willing to bring a dozen muffins or donuts or some juice along with you?  Please sign up here:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b4aaea72ea1f85-moms

 

Meals for Teachers on Conference Nights

Sign up to bring food for teachers working late for Parent/Teacher Conferences on February 13 and 15.  Sign up here:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f45aea622a6ff2-dinner1

 

World’s Finest Chocolate Fundraiser
– If you have one minute– order some chocolate, sales start February 6^th and forms are due back to school by February 20^th.

– If you have one hour– help your student contact neighbors, friends, and family to sell chocolate to benefit student resources and family events at school.

– If you have one hour—we need about 5 adults to help sort chocolate once it arrives at the school on Monday, March 12^th at 2 p.m. in the cafeteria.  Sign up here:  www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0B4AAEA72EA1F85-worlds

 

Run For Funds Fundraiser

– If you have one minute– make a financial pledge to support your student’s run, pledges start April 26th.

– If you have one hour– help your student contact neighbors, friends, and family to get pledges to benefit student resources and family events at school.

– If you have one hour– come help out at the event on Thursday, May 3rd and cheer the kids on as they run and run!  Watch for information coming soon about signing up to help.

– If you have one day– help coordinate logistics for the event. One of the most fun days of the year at school!  Contact ptagreengables@gmail.com to help!

 

2^nd Annual Family Science Night, Wednesday, March 14

– We need at least 30 volunteers for one of the most fun evenings at school all year; we have shifts available for everything from setup to cleanup to helping exhibitors and much more.  Sign up here:  www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0B4AAEA72EA1F85-family.
After School Clubs

– This year PTA is starting a new program of after-school clubs and our pilot program is starting in January.  If you have a skill that you’d like to teach students you can sign up to lead an after school club in the spring trimester!  Watch for more details and a leader application in Friday Folders in February.

 

Teacher Appreciation Week, May 7-11

– Help show our teachers how much we all appreciate them!  Watch for information coming soon about a Teacher Appreciation Week planning meeting, and in the meantime, contact Jan (janclyde2542@gmail.com) to let her know you’re interested in participating.

 

Attend a PTA Meeting the 2nd Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Free pizza and free childcare provided at all meetings!

• February 12
• March 12
• April 9
• May 14

 

Other Ideas!

– Do you have other ideas– things you’ve seen at other schools, things you remember from when you were in school, things you’ve always looked forward to doing when you had kids in elementary school– please come to a PTA meeting and let us know!!! We are open to your new ideas and we are always looking for ways to enrich our students’ experiences at Green Gables.  Join us in making a difference!

 

Become a Member

– You can join the PTA or give a gift membership anytime!  Contact our Membership Coordinator, Tiffany Cuneo (tiffanycuneo@gmail.com) for membership information!

 

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Green Gables PTA

 

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We are pleased to announce the second annual Science Fair happening on March 14th from 5:30- 7:00pm We are looking for exhibitors interested in hosting hands-on experiments or informational booths to highlight during this extremely fun and well attended event. Applications accepted until Feb 21, 2018. Complete the form below to be a part of exposing our leprechauns to the excitement of science! https://drive.google.com/…/1A-xYTMOyXC_LVohpAyO2hweS9…/view…

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Did you know that Lucky Tweets?

He does! Under the handle of @teamGGES.  Do you  know who else tweets?  Our superintendent and a  whole bunch of educational resources tweet! Stay up to date on what’s happening right now in under 140 characters. Yes, 140 characters. It’s like a busy person’s oasis!

It’s not all bad out there on twitter! You get to build your own Personal Learning network filled with twitters and tweets that you care about.  October is twitter month and the Jeffco Ed Tech has engaged in a three week challenge to help people get tweeting.

Here are some resources we gathered for you about tweeting.

http://edtechjeffco.weebly.com/jeffco-ed-tech-blog/jeffco-ed-tech-twitter-challenge –

https://support.twitter.com/articles/215585#

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Is it worth it to Clip and Click your Box Tops?

The answer is YES! Last week a couple of Parents came together to gather up all of the Box Tops you have been clipping and saving and submitted $500.00 worth of Box Tops for the Fall Submission. Our goal for the year is to submit $1,000.00 !

How can you help?

• Keep Clipping and saving those Box Tops for the Spring
• Take advantage of the Box Top App to double our and your earnings
• Check the Box Tops for expired ones and only submit those that are still valid
• Turn in your Box Tops to the school front desk or containers through out the school
• Ask your family and friends to save them up for our kiddos
• Volunteer in the spring to help us prepare the Spring submission.

Did you know the Box Top App has coupons?

They have both digital coupons and printed coupons. See more information here https://www.boxtops4education.com/coupons

Have you used the Box Top App?

Here is how it works:

• You download the app from the apple store or google play.
• You review the items on the list and go shopping.
• Once you have received your receipt you select the items from the app -> scan your receipt -> select process

What did I think:

• It’s pretty easy once you understand what they need to see in the scan of your receipt.  It took me three tries to get my receipt accepted, but it was pretty painless. Make sure that your date of sale, line items, receipt total and store are clearly identified in the picture you took  of your receipt.
• The app provides clear feedback on why your receipt was not processed. For example: Items not found or total missing. It also sends you an email to your Box Top account.
• I purchased three items  on the app (35 items were eligible). Green Gables earned $1.00 on three items my family purchased.  I can quickly see that  money in the school account.  That was probably easier then cutting, saving, and gluing.

Why Box Tops:

Green Gables has been participating in the Box Top program since 2013. We have earned $7,257.13 over the last 4 years. That’s ALOT of box tops!  Now, some would say it’s not worth the effort. I say I eat the products anyhow I might as well help out the school.

During our experiment I only purchased 3 out of the 35 eligible app products on the list. It took me three tries to get the receipt to process ….but we have a dollar in our Green Gables account. Noone had to clip.. and I have 3 box tops to turn in on a collection sheet in January . So my vote is give it a try.

 

Here is some more info on the program:

• Participating Products
• Collection Sheets
  • Turn Clipping into a Math or Art exercise:
    • Estimate the number that you have stored.
    • Organize in 10’s
    • Use a chart or graph
    • Guess how much we will collect this year.  (When was our highest year, what is our average, how can we improve)
    • Calculate your savings when you combine the app, coupons, and store coupons.
    • Design your own collection sheet
• Coupons

 

Keep on Clipping Leprechauns! Keep on Clipping and Clicking!

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