December Letter from the Principal

December 13, 2019

Dear Parents/Guardians of Great Falls Students,

As we enter December, we would like to first take this opportunity to wish each of you and your families, a most happy, healthy holiday season! As always, we are 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 we 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 with 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 food, 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.

7th 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 Jessica Burton. 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 will be distributed at the Empty Bowl Project K-5 Art Showcase on December 13th. Great Falls will be donating all proceeds 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:
Friday, December 20th - Full day of school
December 23rd - January 1st - Holiday Break
Thursday, January 2nd - Return from the holiday break
Monday, January 6th - Grades 3-5 Chorus Begins
Tuesday, January 7th - Parent Connection Meeting with the SC 6pm
Thursday, January 9th - Gorham Elementary Night at the Red Claws
Friday, January 10th - 2nd Annual GF Variety Show Auditions
Wednesday, January 15th - Early Release Day
Friday, January 17th - Great Falls Variety Show 5:30-7:30pm

As always, please feel free to reach out to us at any time with questions and feedback. Please follow our Twitter pages, which can be found at https://twitter.com/GreatFallsElem and https://twitter.com/MrsBFortier and our school Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/great.falls.elementary.school/.

Kindly yours,

Becky Fortier
Great Falls Principal

Stacey Sawyer
Great Falls Assistant Principal