News from the Great Falls Principal

The big day is about a month away! We look forward to meeting you and your child and want to provide some information regarding what Monday, August 29th’s Kindergarten screening will entail.

Please arrive at the Great Falls campus 10 minutes prior to your Kindergarten screening appointment.

Enter through the front door and enter our cafeteria that is located directly to your left. (It is preferred that only one adult accompany their child into the building.)

You and your child will be seated at an open table.

Mrs. Murray will go over your students transportation plan and you will also fill out a few additional forms while you wait for your child to return from their screening.

A staff member will greet you and your child at the entrance of the cafeteria.

The adult that will be conducting the Kindergarten screening assessment may not necessarily be your child’s kindergarten teacher. The internal placement process will then transpire once all of the screenings are complete and notification of your child’s teacher will occur by the evening of Tuesday, August 30th via email correspondence.

Your child will be escorted to one of our kindergarten classrooms for their assessment while you remain seated in our cafeteria or you may choose to wait outside of the school building.

The Kindergarten screening assessment will take approximately 20 minutes.

During the screening, your child will be asked to complete a series of activities that examines visual and motor abilities, language, cognition, and gross motor skills.

The teacher that assesses your child will escort them back to the cafeteria. Your child will be reunited with you at the conclusion of the screening.

A school bus will be parked on campus for parents and students to board to examine what the interior of the school bus will be like for your child.

To help your child feel more comfortable with this process, we will be sending out a “Meet the Great Falls Kindergarten Teachers” video on Friday, August 26th. Stay tuned!

Kindergarten Timeline 2022

At this time, 73 Great Falls Kindergarten students are registered to start Kindergarten in the fall, which is 5 classrooms of approximately 14-15 students.

Thursday, August 4th

Optional school tours with Great falls administrative staff. Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F4CAFAB2CA3F58-incoming

Monday, August 29th

Kindergarten screening by appointment will take place at Great Falls.

Tuesday, August 30th

The placement process will take place and families will be informed of their kindergarten teacher by the end of the day. Letters from Kindergarten teachers will be emailed to incoming families.

Wednesday, August 31st

Kindergarten Meet and Greet will be held at Great Falls from 5:30-6:30pm.

Thursday, September 1st

First Day of Kindergarten - “Get to Know K Day!”

Friday, September 2nd

No School

Monday, September 5th

No School - Labor Day

Tuesday, September 6th

Back to School for Kindergarten - Day 2

We can’t wait to see you on the 29th! If you have any questions or concerns not addressed in this communication, please reach out at any time at becky.fortier@gorhamschools.org.

Kindly,

Becky Fortier and Deanna Etienne

Great Falls Administrators

Monday, June 6, 2022

Letter from the Principal - June 6th

June 6, 2022

Dear Great Falls Families,

I hope your child enjoyed their fabulous field day at the Gorham Sports Complex. The K-5 Physical Education teachers outdid themselves by creating an amazing and memorable day for all to enjoy. It was a perfect way to celebrate the end of the school year together! We are preparing for a busy last week ahead and look forward to closing out this year in a positive way.

5th Grade Step Up Day: Today, our 5th graders participated in Step Up Day at Gorham Middle School. They were able to tour their new school, meet their team, and receive information about their exciting year ahead as 6th graders. We will miss them dearly as they leave Great Falls but we know that they are more than ready for their next adventure at GMS and we wish them the best!

Grades K-4 Step Up Day: On Friday, our grades K-4 students will participate in their Step Up Day by visiting their new classroom and meeting their new teacher. We are happy to resume our in-person tradition of inviting our students to walk to their classroom as they “step up” to the next grade level. During this quick visit, students will participate in a welcome activity and meet their teacher and classmates. Following the visit, you can expect to receive an email from your child’s new teacher.

End of Year Celebrations: Teachers in grades 1-4 will be recognizing their students and their accomplishments through various school-based activities during the week. Grade 5 students will participate in a celebratory walk through the halls, a picnic lunch, and an afternoon of activities on Friday, June 10th while Kindergarten students will be recognized for their achievements through a parade on Thursday, June 9th.

Summer Learning: Once again, the district will be providing the personalized learning platform, IXL, throughout the summer to reinforce learning in the areas of reading and mathematics. Your child’s teacher will provide the username and password. More information about this platform can be found here: IXL Summer Family Information. Baxter Memorial Library is also offering a fantastic summer reading and discovery program for our students. More information can be found here: Summer Reading and Discovery Program https://baxterlibrary.org/youth-services/

iPads and Chromebook: Students will be asked to keep their devices at school this week. The devices will be brought with them to their new classroom on June 10th and remain at school throughout the summer so the iPads and Chromebooks may be serviced and prepared for the next school year.

Transportation Survey: Please take a moment to complete the transportation survey for the next school year if your students require transportation to an alternative site or daycare. Pick-up and drop-off locations must be selected by June 14th to assist us in the development of bus routes for the 2022-23 School Year. The locations selected will remain in place for the entire school year. Survey: https://forms.gle/nPPFieQXqjeMNxpo8

Last Day of School and Report Cards - Monday, June 13th: The last day of school is on Monday, June 13th. This day is a half-day of school with students being dismissed at noon. The last report card will be shared through email during the afternoon of June 13th.

School Culture Survey: With the year coming to a close, we want to know if you feel positive about our school and district culture? Please take a moment to complete this very brief survey: School Culture Survey.

Thank you for your support throughout the school year. I am honored to be your principal and wish you and your family a fantastic summer with family and friends. I look forward to welcoming you and your children back to Great Falls in the fall. 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.

Kind regards,

Becky Fortier

Great Falls Principal

Friday, May 27, 2022

Letter from the Principal - School Safety

May 27, 2022

Dear Great Falls School Families,

It has been an emotional week but your children continue to be loved, supported, and happy here at school. Thank you so much for joining us at our 10-year (belated) birthday celebration. The joy, smiles, and genuine happiness displayed by our students were just what we all needed during this difficult time. It felt like a true Great Falls community event that we have been missing. Thank you!

Despite the recent happiness and celebration, it is hard to deny our feeling of immense heartbreak about the Texas school shooting. I want to extend a reminder that we take safety procedures and protocols very seriously at Great Falls and we work diligently to ensure that our staff and students are well prepared in case of an emergency.

The District’s emergency management plan includes a safety program called ALICE. ALICE is a research-based, proactive, options-based, empowering program for responding to a dangerous incident. ALICE is an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. With regard to classroom messaging to K-5 students, as in years past, we continue to keep this information developmentally appropriate and simple. Students know that we regularly conduct emergency lessons for everyone’s safety including evacuations during a Fire Alarm.

ALICE calls for our children to focus on the teacher and other school adults for specific directions depending on the situation. Our staff is trained to respond in a variety of ways, making the decision that will best ensure the safety of the students in their care. In order for these actions to be met with success, our students are coached to stop, look, listen and follow directions without questions in these variable situations.

Our emergency lessons using ALICE protocols occurred early in the school year. In the first lesson, the teacher facilitated a discussion on what it means to be safe at school, read the book I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared: I Know About ALICE to the class, and highlighted the procedures to use during an emergency: stop, look, listen and follow teacher directions without question. In the second lesson, the teacher introduced an age-appropriate scenario to practice how to respond if there is an emergency in our building. Examples of emergencies shared include a burst water pipe in the hallway or an animal in the building. These were practice scenarios only to demonstrate the need to “STOP, LOOK and LISTEN”, which is revisited throughout the school year. We will continue to regularly review all of our safety procedures and make modifications as needed to keep our school community safe.

Thank you for your compassion towards our school community as we work together to cope and support one another. Please enjoy the holiday weekend with your family and friends. As always, please feel free to call if you have any concerns or questions regarding your child. I am available through email at becky.fortier@gorhamschools.org and by phone at 222-1050. Take care and be well!

Kind regards,

Becky Fortier

Great Falls Principal

Thursday, May 5, 2022

Letter from the Principal - May

May 5, 2022

Dear Great Falls Families,

Happy May! Great Falls loves this time of year as we begin to spend more time outdoors. Our tent and outdoor classroom benches are back and ready for lots of spring use!

“Step-Up” Presentations

I hope you had a chance to review the “Step-Up” presentation describing what the next grade for our students will be like. These grade-level presentations will highlight the academic and social aspects of next year.

Monday, May 9th at 6pm: Parent Connection Meeting

A teacher representative from each grade level will be present at our Parent Connection meeting to answer any specific parent questions regarding next year. We will be meeting from 6:00-7:00pm in the Great Falls Library.

Music Fun!

During the week of May 16-May 20, Ms. Doak’s talented son, Lincoln Gray, will be at the school as an Artist in Residence! (Thanks to an Aspire grant!) He will work with each class during their music time. After singing 2 songs to get them in the groove he will lead them in composing lyrics for their own class song. If the weather is good- on Friday, May 20 from 2:15-2:45, he will perform a full school concert in the garden area behind the school for a final hoorah!

May 2nd - May 27th: Spring NWEA Testing

Wednesday, May 25th: Great Falls 10 Year Birthday Celebration 4-7pm

Join the Great Falls staff and students as we celebrate the 10-year "belated" birthday celebration IN PERSON on the Great Falls campus. We hope everyone can join in the fun!

Monday, May 30th

Memorial Day - No School

Great Falls Field Days - May 26 - June 3rd

We are very excited to bring a field day opportunity back to our students again this year! We will be hosting the events at the Gorham Sports Center. This event will encourage team building and fun as students celebrate the end of the year with their friends and teachers!

Monday, June 6th - Grade 5 Step-Up Day

On Monday, June 6th at 9:00am, an in-person step-up experience will take place for our current 5th graders with advisors at Gorham Middle School. The middle school will share materials and information with our students regarding classrooms, teachers, and what to expect from the middle school experience!

Friday, June 10th - Grades K-4 Student Step-Up Day

On June 10th, grades K-4 students will also participate in an in-person Step-Up Day. Students will meet their new teacher here at Great Falls and have a chance to become familiar with their classroom community for the 2022-2023 school year.

Monday, June 13th - Last Student Day of School

Students will be dismissed at 12:00pm. Report cards will be emailed home on this day.

2022-2023 School Calendar: 2022-2023 School Calendar

End of Year Events:

NWEA Testing Schedule: May 2nd - May 27th
Grade 5 Science MEAs Testing Schedule: May 2nd - May 27th
Parent Connection Meeting with Grade Level Team Leaders- May 9th at 6pm
Great Falls 10 Year Celebration - May 25th from 4pm-7pm
Grade 5 Field Day - May 26th
Grade 4 Field Day - May 27th
Grade 3 Field Day - May 31st
Grade 2 Field Day - June 1st
Grade 1 Field Day - June 2nd
Grade 5 Parent Step-Up Night at GMS - June 2nd from 6-7pm
Kindergarten Field Day - June 3rd
GMS Visit to GF Grade 5 - Friday, June 3rd
5th Grade Step-Up to GMS - June 6th from 12:00 - 1:30 pm
2nd Grade Ferry Beach - June 7th
3rd Grade Gorham History Tour -June 7 & 9
Kindergarten EOY Celebration - June 9- Parade 1:30-2pm
GHS Senior Walk and 5th Grade Walk - Wear Future Story T-Shirts - June 10 - 9am-ish
K-4 Step-Up Day - June 10 from 10:00-10:30 am
5th Grade EOY Celebration - June 10 - Student Subway picnic 1:00-2:30pm
Report Cards Go Home - June 13th
Last Day of School - June 13th, Early Release at noon

As always, please feel free to reach out to me at any time with questions and feedback. 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/. I am available through email at becky.fortier@gorhamschools.org and by phone at 222-1050.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Becky Fortier

Great Falls Principal