Dear Great Falls Families,
What a great start to the school year! Happy kids and happy staff can be found throughout our halls. We look forward to opportunities to build our partnership between home and school! We are grateful to welcome volunteers back into our building and have some fun ideas for school-wide family events for the year! If you are interested in volunteering at Great Falls, please complete this form. The most important information regarding our school community can also be found in the Great Falls News from the Office which will be emailed to families every Thursday.
All students are eligible for free breakfast and lunch for the 2023-2024 school year. However, we still need ALL FAMILIES to complete the Student Services Benefit Application. Filling out this school meal benefit form helps our district access federal and state funds. Students also have access to the BackPack Program which provides school-age students experiencing food insecurity enrolled in the Gorham School Department with healthy snacks and staple meal items helpful to your family for the weekend. Food bags will be distributed TO STUDENTS while they are in school once a week. In addition, participants will receive 1 snack per day while they are present at school. We aim to provide food that is child-friendly, non-perishable, and easily consumed; and to distribute the weekly bag discreetly, with the help of school staff.
Book Fair: It's time again for our Great Falls Scholastic Fall Book Fair! This year our fair will be held both in-person and online. Students will be able to shop in-person during their regularly scheduled library time as well as at arrival and dismissal times. The book fair will be available to parents and guardians shopping with their students at the times listed below:
Wednesday, October 18 between 1:00-3:30 PM
Thursday, October 19 between 3:30-6:00 PM (Parent Teacher Conferences)
Friday, October 20 between 8:00 AM-12:00 PM (Parent Teacher Conferences)
Conferences:Parent/Teacher/Student conferences will be held on October 19th and 20th. Additional day/time options may also be provided by your child’s teacher. Please be expecting to receive a conference sign up link from your child’s teacher on the morning of October 4th. We look forward to seeing everyone and sharing the great things your students are doing in their classes!
NWEA Testing: The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) MAP Growth Assessment (link) in Math and Reading will once again be administered to our students. Great Falls students in grades 1-5 will take the assessment in the Fall, Winter, and Spring. Kindergarten will take the assessment in the Winter and Spring. The fall assessment will take place throughout the month of October. If you have any questions about the assessments, please reach out to your child's teacher.
Conflict Resolution: Over the past couple of years at Great Falls, we have really strengthened our handling of conflict resolution - in and around the school, and on the bus! We primarily use restorative practices when there is conflict between students or an incident occurs that violates the Code of Conduct. Restorative practices focus on clear expectations, fair consequences, and restorative conversations. This process helps to build a positive school climate and healthy relationships between students and staff. We are working hard to keep our focus on positive connections, repairing harm, and restoring relationships! Join us for our first Parent Connection meeting to learn even more about this topic!
Thursday, October 12th, Fall Family Picnic: Great Falls is looking forward to joining together as a community for a casual family picnic including food trucks, face painting, DJ Music and more! Bring a blanket and your family - we can’t wait to see you on Thursday, October 12th from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 26th, Parent Connection Meeting: Join the Great Falls Administrators and our School Social Worker for an informative presentation on how we resolve and address student conflict. We will be meeting from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Great Falls Cafeteria.
School Calendar: 2023 - 2024 Calendar
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.
Kindly,
Becky Fortier and Deanna Etienne
Great Falls Administrators
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