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