Letter from the Principal - December 30th

 

December 30, 2021

Dear Great Falls Families,

I hope you and your family enjoyed the winter break. I hope you found time to enjoy the holidays, read, play games, take walks, and re-energize for 2022. May 2022 bring us good health, happiness, and joy in our hearts.

Sledding: Exciting news! We will be adding sledding to our recess rotation. This means that it will be more important than ever that your child bring appropriate winter clothing to wear during recess. Warm winter gear includes snow pants, boots, coats, hats, and gloves. It will also be equally important for your child to keep an extra change of clothes at school in their assigned cubby in case they get wet. While we want our students to remain warm, dry, & comfortable, we do not have the resources to provide extra clothing to all those who may get wet during each recess each day. 

Parent Connection Meetings: Beginning in the new year, we will be hosting Parent Connection meetings on campus. Our first meeting will be held on Monday, January 10th from 6 pm - 7 pm in the cafeteria. This first meeting will include a school tour and an opportunity to see all of the spaces that your children spend their days. Masks are required. 

Winter NWEA Testing: NWEA-MAPS Tests (Northwest Educational Association - Measures of Academic Progress) is our district’s universal screening tool and recently adopted state-level assessment. The NWEA assessments will be conducted throughout the month of January in grades K-5. It is necessary for us to gather this data point to inform Response to Intervention supports and classroom instruction. The assessments are aligned to Maine Standards and allow us to collect longitudinal data. As always, your child’s classroom teacher is the best resource to keep you informed about how your child is progressing during this academic year. 

Change in Close Contact Communication: Superintendent Perry will be reaching out soon with information regarding the change to the close contact quarantine rule. Beginning on January 3rd, communications of close contacts by the school will change. Instead of a personal phone call, the following will occur:

1. An email will be sent to the parent/guardians of each identified close contact.  This email will include all important information such as the date of exposure, dates of quarantine (if needed) and clear guidelines for how to return to school and contact information for who to contact with any questions parents may have.

2. A text message will be sent to the parent/guardians of each identified close contact as well to ask them to check their email for more information. 

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, January 10th  Parent Connection Meeting 6pm

• Wednesday, January 12th Early Release Day - students dismissed at 12pm

• Monday, January 17th  No School - Martin Luther King Day

• Wednesday, January 19th  Early Release Day - students dismissed at 12pm

• Wednesday, January 26th  Early Release Day - students dismissed at 12pm

• Wednesday, February 2nd Early Release Day - students dismissed at 12pm

• Monday, February 7th  Parent Connection Meeting 6pm

• Wednesday, February 16th Early Release Day - students dismissed at 12pm

• February 21-25  Winter Break 

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. Happy 2022!

Take care and be well,

Becky Fortier, Great Falls Principal

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Letter from the Principal - November 4th

 

November 4, 2021

Dear Great Falls Families,

We will be wrapping up the 1st trimester of our academic year in the coming weeks. Our staff is preparing to share your child’s first progress report. You obtained information regarding your child’s progress at the most recent Parent-Student-Teacher conference and will receive a more formalized report on Friday, December 3rd. 

Teachers will report out by trimester within our grading and reporting system called JumpRope.  This means that each trimester JumpRope will calculate only the grades given within that time frame.  The most recent scores will count more than scores given early in the trimester.  Students will be provided multiple opportunities to demonstrate proficiency throughout each trimester and across the school year. 

JumpRope report cards will be sent home via email unless a paper copy has been requested.  The report will be sent to the email address(s) provided to the school during opening days and is now listed in Infinite Campus.  Reach out to the main office if you need your contact information updated.

Skills for Life will be reported separately from academic knowledge and skills. This will help to create a grade report that can communicate a clearer picture of each student. 

After the year of hybrid learning, many students are presenting below where we would typically expect them to be both academically and socially. Our teachers are balancing addressing both social-emotional and achievement gaps along with teaching grade-level content to their students.  

It is possible that you may see 1’s (emergent) and 2’s (developing) vs. 3’s (proficient) and 4’s (distinguished) on your child’s report card as we continue to address the gaps in academic and social-emotional learning.  Understand that this is a work in progress and students will have multiple opportunities to demonstrate understanding of content throughout the school year. 

4	3.5	3	2.5	2	1
Distinguished	Exceeding Proficiency	Proficient	Approaching Proficiency	Developing	Emergent

 

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership.  Please be sure to check out the Great Falls News frequently for important information. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me at any time at becky.fortier@gorhamschools.org. 

Kindly,

Becky Fortier 

Great Falls Principal

Letter from the Principal - October 21st

 

October 21, 2021

Dear Great Falls Families,

Thank you for participating in our virtual parent/teacher/student conferences. It is always a pleasure for our staff and students to share their progress, set goals, and continue to foster a positive home and school connection.

 

Wednesday, October 27th: Flu Clinic at Great Falls

Great Falls will be having an optional influenza vaccination clinic for staff and students on Wednesday, October 27, 2021.  We will be partnering with Northern Light Home Care & Hospice to provide this clinic to our students. Although the vaccine is provided at no charge, there is a cost to administer the vaccine. We appreciate it if you include accurate insurance information. Children presenting with an incomplete form will not receive their vaccine. There is no out-of-pocket cost and those without insurance will be vaccinated with the appropriate form completed. Gorham Schools Influenza Consent Please let us know if you would prefer a paper copy of the consent form. We can send one home with your child. Flu Vaccine Info

 

Tuesday, November 2nd: Voting Day at Great Falls 

Tuesday, November 2nd is considered a school day. Given that the town is using the Great Falls campus as a polling location, we will be providing students with remote learning on this day. Staff may be on campus during this time. Grades K-5 teachers will communicate the November 2nd student schedule and learning expectations to their families no later than Monday, November 1st. All materials needed for at-home learning, including devices, will be sent home ahead of time. 

The November 2nd learning plan may include a virtual morning meeting with the teacher. Following that, students will follow the learning plan that may include the completion of work tasks through packets, SeeSaw, and/or Google Classroom. There may be additional virtual opportunities provided throughout the day. Students receiving special education services and RTI supports will participate in the remote learning plan communicated by their case manager. Tuesday, November 2nd is an Orange Day. Grades 1-5 students will be invited to participate in an abbreviated 30-minute virtual creative arts session. The virtual link will be included in the learning plan for the day. Kindergarten will utilize the Creative Arts Bitmoji page given appropriateness and their lack of iPad use this early in the school year. 

Students needing lunch for November 2nd will be sent home with a bagged lunch on Monday, November 1st. Please complete the lunch survey to ensure your child is provided with a bagged lunch for their remote learning day at home on Tuesday, November 2nd. 

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership.  Please be sure to check out the Great Falls News frequently for important information. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me at any time at becky.fortier@gorhamschools.org. 

Kindly,

Becky Fortier 

Great Falls Principal

October 1st Letter from the Principal

 

October 1st, 2021

Dear Great Falls Families,

It has been a busy yet productive week on the campus of Great Falls. Thank you for developing homework schedules, packing snacks, arranging after-school activities, signing forms, checking school emails, and everything else you do to help create a positive school experience for your child. The Great Falls staff appreciates you very much! School and home are a partnership that we tremendously value!

Here is some important information to note: 

 

Socktober: Oct. 4th - 15th

We're happy to announce our first big school project of the year... Socktober! We will begin collecting new socks of any size on Monday, October 4th through Friday, October 15th. Students may bring their donations to the main lobby beginning on Monday and drop into the Sock-o-Meter! All donations will be distributed to agencies supporting individuals impacted by homelessness. We will end and celebrate on Friday, October 15th with Silly Sock Day!

 

NWEA Testing Grades 1-5: Oct. 4th - 29th

Students will be participating in the Fall NWEA Math and Language Arts assessments. These assessments provide our teachers valuable information about the current ability level of students and they help them plan future instruction to best support their needs.

 

Wednesday, October 6th: Virtual Parent/Teacher/Student Conference Sign Ups 

You will be able to register for your child’s conference beginning on Wednesday, October 6th using PTCfast.com. The PTCfast online program is used for scheduling conferences unless teachers know that there is a family who does not have Internet access at home.  Teachers will be sending out notices and passwords for parents to use to set up conferences. The procedure is user-friendly and quite efficient, especially when a family has more than one child in our school.  This program allows you a maximum choice in dates and times, choosing the one that works best for your schedule. When you pick a day and time, you will receive a confirmation and a reminder prior to the conference. If you need to change the date and/or time, you simply return to the site and do so, unless it is beyond the cutoff time selected by the classroom teacher. Please make sure to contact us if you run into any difficulty with this process.  We don’t anticipate that you will, but we are, of course, happy to help. Great Falls takes pride in having a very high participation rate in Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences.  Although we would prefer to have you on campus, we appreciate your flexibility and know the experience for you and your child will be a great one! 

 

Tuesday, October 12th: Great Falls Picture Day! 

The Great Falls picture day is scheduled! More information is forthcoming and order forms will be sent home this week.

 

Wednesday, October 20th and Friday, October 22nd: Virtual Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences

 The general purpose of our virtual conferences is to connect with your child’s teacher, as well as obtain an update on academic progress and “skills for life.” These progress checks may include student sharing of their work products, goal setting, and the presentation of other assessments and work by the student or teacher. 

 

Wednesday, October 27th: Flu Clinic at Great Falls

Great Falls will be having an optional influenza vaccination clinic for staff and students on Wednesday, October 27, 2021.  We will be partnering with Northern Light Home Care & Hospice to provide this clinic to our students. Please click on the link below and complete the consent form by Wednesday, October 20, 2021.  You must type something into all highlighted fields, so please use NA if it doesn’t apply. Although the vaccine is provided at no charge, there is a cost to administer the vaccine. We appreciate it if you include accurate insurance information. Children presenting with an incomplete form will not receive their vaccine. There is no out-of-pocket cost and those without insurance will be vaccinated with the appropriate form completed. Gorham Schools Influenza Consent Please let us know if you would prefer a paper copy of the consent form. We can send one home with your child. Flu Vaccine Info

 

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at any time at becky.fortier@gorhamschools.org. 

Kindly,

Becky Fortier 

Great Falls Principal

September Letter from the Principal

 

September 7, 2021

Dear Great Falls Families,

We are so pleased with the opening of school. We can tell that our students are happy to be back… even under their masks! Our staff could not be more excited to have our students on campus 5 days a week. We are hopeful for a positive & productive school year.

 

Great Falls Google Family Calendar: 2021-2022 Great Falls Google Family Calendar

If you add this calendar to your device, you will stay up to date with all of the Great Falls events. I will continually be adding events to this calendar so families can plan for the year. Another way to stay connected is to check out the upcoming events on the Great Falls website at https://greatfalls.gorhamschools.org/.

 

Creative Arts Calendar:2021-2022 K-5 Creative Arts Colored Calendar

We operate our creative arts rotation on a colored calendar (red through blue). This calendar provides equitable opportunities for all students to attend physical education, art, music, library, media, and social skills. The calendar is pre-set so holidays, vacations, and other interruptions are considered. This has been a great way to make sure our students don’t miss out on any special creative arts experiences. It is helpful to post the calendar on the fridge so you know when your child has PE and must wear sneakers or Art and probably shouldn’t wear their fancy clothes. 

 

News from the Office: Found here!

The Great Falls News from the Office is a quick reference to what is happening at Great Falls as well as in the community. You can often find the sign-up links for extra-curricular activities and an archive of past communication from the principals. 

 

Social Media: 

I love to take photos and keep families informed of the amazing things happening at Great Falls. I will reference the ‘do no post’  student list and honor families that prefer for the children to not appear in the social media photos. Please be sure to complete the ‘permission to post’ survey found at: https://forms.gle/8e3C7oMb9rpNF6vS6. 

 

Please be sure to follow our social media sites for posts and pictures! Great Falls is on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/great.falls.elementary.school/, Twitter at https://twitter.com/MrsBFortier, as well as Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greatfallsparentconnection/.

 

Transportation Update: Dismissal Process

The Great Falls school day officially ends at 3:10 pm. Our students are working in their classrooms right up until the point of dismissal. Staff report to dismissal duty at 2:50 pm and we begin dismissing parent pick-ups to help with the traffic flow around 3:00 pm. The buses typically arrive on campus between 3:00-3:10 pm but have most recently been delayed due to the dismissal traffic at the high school. There is a plan to improve the dismissal process beginning on September 13th. Until then, afternoon buses will be delayed. I also want to mention that bus #41 is the first bus to arrive on campus as it has two bus trips due to its current capacity. During trip #1, the daycare students are transported and when bus #41 returns back to campus, it transports the neighborhood students home. As the schedule becomes consistent, all students will depart campus by 3:15 pm, our typical dismissal time frame. For further questions or concerns regarding transportation, please contact them directly at 207-893-2547. 

 

Tuesday, September 21st, 5:30-6:30 pm: Great Falls Back to School Family Picnic and Concert

Join the Great Falls staff for a back-to-school family picnic and concert on the lawn behind the gym from 5:30-6:30 pm. This is a bring your own picnic event. Music will be provided by Justin Carver, who will entertain us with acoustic covers of pop radio hits from every decade. We are looking forward to celebrating the new school year with you! 

Tuesday, October 12th: Great Falls Picture Day! 

The Great Falls picture day is scheduled! More information is forthcoming and order forms will be sent home in a few weeks!  

 

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at any time at becky.fortier@gorhamschools.org. 

Enjoy the beautiful September weather! 🍎

Kindly,

Becky Fortier 

Great Falls Principal

Welcome Back!

 

August 24, 2021

Dear Great Falls Families,

Our Great Falls staff are working hard for the opening of a fabulous school year. We started our formal staff trainings and preparations to create the best learning environment for our students. We can’t wait to see them on campus next week!

 

Tonight, August 24th, 5:30-6:30 pm: Popsicles with the Principals Night (Incoming K Families Only)

During this event, Mrs. Fortier and Mrs. Etienne will be hanging out on the Great Falls playground ready to greet our Kindergarten families and hand out some yummy frozen treats. This is the perfect time to meet other families and have our new kindergarten students enjoy time together on the playground before the start of the year. We will also have live sing-along music by Tyler Stanley! 

 

School Calendars:

• 2021-2022 Gorham School Calendar

• 2021-2022 K-5 Creative Arts Colored Calendar

• 2021-2022 Great Falls Google Family Calendar

Monday, August 30th, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm: Kindergarten Screening Day 

At the time of your child’s scheduled screening, please enter through the main entrance of Great Falls and head into our cafeteria. Masking will be required for all while inside the building. A staff member will greet you and your child. We will welcome your child to join one of our Kindergarten teachers for their screening. Parents will be asked to remain seated in our cafeteria during the screening process.  Your child will be reunited with you in the cafeteria at the conclusion of the screening. 

Monday, August 30th, 5:30 - 6:30 pm: Grades 1-5 Open House 

We are very excited to conduct an in-person Open House for our grades 1-5 families. Masking will be required for all while inside the building. Families with last names A-M are invited to attend from 5:30-6:00 pm while families with last names N-Z are invited to attend from 6:00-6:30 pm. This is to help minimize the crowding that may happen through the building and allow for additional parking options. Teachers may offer a scavenger hunt type visit to encourage students to visit important spaces and spread out through the building. 

 

Tuesday, August 31st: 1st Day of School for Grades 1-5

 

Thursday, September 2nd: First Day of School for Kindergarten 

 

Friday, September 3rd: No School

 

Monday, September 6th: No School - Labor Day

 

Tuesday, September 7th: School Resumes for K-5

 

COVID Information

The Gorham School Committee voted to require that all students and staff wear face masks in school.  Students and staff do not need to wear a mask outside. School staff will still need to conduct contact tracing for any individual who tests positive for COVID-19 and has been at school or during a school function during their infectious period, but there are new rules for who needs to quarantine:

• Anyone within six feet of a person who tests positive for COVID-19 will be considered a close contact.

• Anyone with direct physical contact with a person who tests positive for COVID-19 will be considered a close contact.

• Vaccinated individuals will not need to quarantine if they are identified as a close contact. They will need to monitor for symptoms, however, and they will need to quarantine if they develop symptoms. 

• In the classroom setting, all classmates of the positive Covid-19 case are considered close contacts.  Unvaccinated individuals who are within three feet of or had direct physical contact with a person who tests positive for COVID-19 will need to quarantine for ten days.  In the classroom setting, unvaccinated individuals who are greater than three feet but within six feet of a person who tests positive for COVID-19 will not need to quarantine from the academic school day.  They WILL need to quarantine from ALL other school-based and community activities.  All identified close contacts will need to monitor for symptoms, however, and they will need to be isolated if they develop symptoms. 

• Beyond the classroom setting (e.g. school bus, lunch, after-school activities), unvaccinated individuals who are within six feet of a person who tests positive for COVID-19 will need to quarantine for ten days.  

• Unvaccinated individuals who are close contacts will not be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at any time at becky.fortier@gorhamschools.org or deanna.etienne@gorhamschools.org. Looking forward to seeing everyone back on campus!

Kindly,

Becky Fortier and Deanna Etienne

Great Falls Administrators