December 19, 2017
Dear Parents/Guardians of Great Falls Students,
As we approach the Winter Break, I would like to first take this opportunity to wish each of you and your families a most happy, healthy holiday season! I hope that you will have a chance to relax and enjoy some special times with your children. As always, I am pleased with not only how hard they have been working each and every day, but that they are kind. They strive to be “Citizens of the Code” and I could not be more proud!
One of our school goals is to help our students understand the important characteristics that make up ethical, responsible, and involved citizens. Our staff model and teach our students not only how to take responsibility for his/her own behavior, but how to demonstrate responsible behavior that is consistent to our core values, The Code of Conduct.
Responsibility
Respect
Honesty
Courage
Compassion
Over the past few months, our school community has embarked on numerous campaigns that exemplify the Code of Conduct. Here are a few highlights to share:
Holiday Giving: As in past years, we have received many wonderful donations from local churches, businesses, Great Falls staff members and Gorham residents. These generous donations have made it possible for our school community to provide warm winter gear and holiday giving to families in need.
Backpack Program: We are continually accepting new enrollees into the Backpack Program for families experiencing food insecurity. This may be in the form of short-term support for families experiencing a challenging circumstance or extended support for the school year for those families in chronic need of food support. We are grateful for the many donations that allow us to provide food for our students.
5th Annual Empty Bowl Project: The Empty Plate Project is an international grassroots effort to fight hunger. The basic premise is simple: students create handcrafted bowls and then are asked to keep a bowl as a reminder of all the empty bowls in the world. All K-5 students created a pottery bowl during their art classes with art teachers, Allie Rimkunas and Patricia Kaczmarek. We asked parents to support our act of kindness by making a donation in any amount to purchase their child’s bowl made during art class. The bowls were distributed at the Family Movie Night. Great Falls will be donating all proceeds to the Gorham Food Pantry.
King Arthur’s Bread: On Thursday, December 7th, our 4th and 5th graders learned to make bread from scratch. They discovered that math, science, reading, and baking know-how add up to delicious bread! Our students were given all the ingredients to take home and used their newly acquired skills to bake two loaves; one to keep and enjoy and one that was donated to the Gorham Food Pantry.
Please remember to check our school website on a regular basis for updates and information. The website may be accessed by logging onto The Great Falls Website.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
- Thursday, December 21st - Full day of school
- December 22nd - January 1st - Holiday Break
- Tuesday, January 2nd - Students return to school
- Tuesday, January 9th - Grades 3-5 Winter Chorus Concert at 6pm
- Tuesday, January 9th - Round #2 of Kids’ Clubs begins
- Monday, January 15th - No School - MLK Day
- Tuesday, January 16th - Meet the School Committee Parent Meeting 7-8pm
- Wednesday, January 24th - Early Release Day
As always, please feel free to reach out to me at any time with questions and feedback. I am available through email at becky.fortier@gorhamschools.org and by phone at 222-1050. Please follow my Twitter page & blog, which can be found at https://twitter.com/MrsBFortier and http://greatfallsprincipal.blogspot.com/ .
Kindly yours,
Becky Fortier
Great Falls Principal
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