Garden Valley Elementary

Help Our Schools Soar! 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 ✈️ Consider running for the WBSD7 School Board in the June election. 🗳 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟳 (at 4 PM)! 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝘂𝗻? ✅ U.S. Citizen & North Dakota Resident ✅ At least 18 years old on Election Day ✅ Resident of WBSD7 for at least 30 days before the election 📍 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 & 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆: WillistonSchools.org/Election #WBSD7 #SchoolBoardElection #LeadTheWay #HelpOurSchoolsSoar

Mark Your Calendars for Spring Concerts All Garden Valley concerts will be held in the spring this year. Mark your calendars for the Grades 1-2 and Grades 3-4 Spring Music Concerts on Thursday, May 1st. Both concerts will be held in the Missouri Ridge gym. The Grades 1-2 students will present Bunnies: A Hopping New Musical at 6:15 that evening. The Grades 3-4 students will present Let's All Set Sail at 7pm that evening. Note: Kindergarten will perform at their Kindergarten graduation with a date to be announced at a later date! See you there!

Read Across America Week Fun The week before spring break we celebrated Read Across America week which was planned by our long-term sub librarian, Ms. Caylin. We enjoyed a week of dress up days that went along with a different Dr. Seuss book. All week students participated in Dr. Seuss themed activities in reading, STEAM, and art. Check out some of the fun from the week!

On Friday, February 28th we held our February Grizzly Gathering. The students sang their SEL song, We Wish You Well, they viewed the artwork created in SEL classes with Mrs. Klein showing their representations of the SEL words of choices and empathy. We noticed students for the We Care for those that are good at caring for themselves and others. We also noticed students who show acceptance of themselves, others, and accept the moment as it is. We ended the Grizzly Gathering with launching the i-Ready March Madness. Each team got to introduce their team name, hear about the competition and the goals for this years contest. We are proud of our Grizzlies and the character they are showing!

We are holding our 3rd annual i-Ready March Madness on March 3-31. This is a three week competition where each class and grade level competes to pass the most i-Ready math and reading lessons. Last year our students passed 1,933 lessons in three weeks. We have a goal of passing 2,025 lessons in March and a stretch goal of passing 2,675 lessons. ​ Stay tuned as we will have our week 1 pep rally on Monday, March 17th to find out which classes and which students passed the most lessons in week 1.

Last Thursday we held our second family engagement night of the school year. The night combined many activities into one event that packed our Garden Valley gym which included our students' service- learning project fair, a taco bag supper, Book Bingo for the students and boundary-setting meeting. First our students in grades kindergarten, 1st grade, 3rd grade and 4th grade showcased their booths for our first ever student service-learning project fair. All grades are working on a service-learning project this year to learn important 21st century learning skills of collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication, while helping the community. The goal of their booth was to raise money to fund their projects. Kindergarten is raising money and let supplies for the humane society. They will be making pet Adopt Me bandanas, collecting pet supplies, and later going to deliver the items on a field trip to the humane society. They raised $183 in addition to a box of pet supplies. They are still taking donations of funds and pet supplies for those who are interested. 1st grade held a booth for their project titled, Pennies for Our Playground, where they are raising money for new playground equipment at Garden Valley. They worked together with 1st grade PTO moms who helped our 1st graders decorate cookies and dip pretzels for the 1st grade bake sale booth. They raised $208 the night of the event! They have other fundraisers planned, but in the meantime they are still collecting pennies (and larger change and bills) for their project. Mrs. Manzanas class is raising money for a Buddy Bench for our playground. They spent time in art creating beaded necklaces and bracelets for the service-learning project fair. They sold out of their inventory in a very short time and raised $121! They will be selling beaded necklaces and bracelets again on Wednesday, March 26th before school. They will still be taking donations or orders for necklaces and bracelets for their Buddy Bench project. Mrs. Smith's 4th grade class chose to raise money to help the Family Crisis Center. They worked to create fidgets to sell. They plan on using the funds to buy supplies for the Family Crisis Center and are hoping to shop for the items and deliver them. The night of the event they raised $140 and this Friday they held a Hat Day and raised another $103. They have two more Hat Days planned this spring. In addition, they will be partnering with Mrs. Manzanas' class on March 26 to sell more fidgets before school. ​In between the service-learning project fair the students played Book Bingo in the library where a ​Bingo earned them a free book. Meanwhile, ​Garden Valley parents took in the boundary-setting meeting. ​There were over 100 parents in attendance for the meeting. It was heart warming to hear the stories of how much the Garden Valley families appreciate ​having their child/children go to school hear. Many parents spoke out about ​how their child/children are thriving at Garden Valley and want them to remain at this ​school. Huge thank you to our Garden Valley families for putting your trust in us and being part of our school family! ​We are Garden Valley ​Grizzly ​proud! If you are interested in donating to any of the projects above feel free to use Venmo or Paypal to do so: Venmo: @GardenValleyPTO Paypal: PTOGardenValley@gamil.com Please note which project you are supporting so the funds get to the correct class! Thank you for your generosity! The students are learning so much!

📢 We are seeking your input on the proposed 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗽 (𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗙𝗧) and key transition details and considerations as we work to shape the future of our school district. www.WillistonSchools.org/boundaries-survey 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 We’ve launched a new Boundary Setting landing page where you can find all the details. Visit the page at www.WillistonSchools.org/boundary-setting. 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 Your voice matters! Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts on the draft boundary map and transition plans by completing the Revised Boundary Map (DRAFT) Survey. www.willistonschools.org/boundaries-survey 🔸Survey Open through February 26, 2025 Your feedback will help us create a boundary plan that reflects the needs and priorities of our district and community.

𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥! Boundary-Setting Community Meeting Join us on 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟵 at 𝟲:𝟬𝟬 𝗣𝗠 in Williston High School Commons (Doors 𝟭 & 𝟵)! *NOTE: This meeting was initially promoted as the "final community meeting" for boundary-setting. However, district administration changed this plan, and additional community meetings on this topic will be scheduled at the elementary schools in the coming months. 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝘆: District Administration 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿: RSP & Associates Visit our 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 for: 🔸More 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 🔸𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 to related documents 🔸Details on submitting 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 www.WillistonSchools.org/community-meetings #wbsd7 #boundarysetting

𝗩𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗗𝗔𝗬 - 𝗗𝗘𝗖 𝟭𝟵 Due to the current winter weather conditions and the "No Travel Advised" road status from the DOT, today, Thursday, December 19, will be a Virtual Learning Day. ❄️No in-person school for students and staff today. ❄️All practices, games, and other school-related activities are canceled for today. ❄️No after-school childcare will be available. Teachers will utilize either ParentSquare or Google Classroom to communicate student assignments and expectations. Williston High School 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 - Friday, December 20 If an in-person final is required, the schedule will be as follows: 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱 𝟱: 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱 𝟲: 9:05 AM - 10:05 AM 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱 𝟳: 10:10 AM - 11:10 AM 𝗤: How will students know if they have an in-person final? 𝗔: Look for an email with instructions from your teacher. 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘: Students should only report to school during their scheduled final exam times on Friday. If a student does not have a final, they do not need to attend. ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗖𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆; staff will work remotely. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗔𝗤𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿-𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆, 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗹, 𝗼𝗿 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁: www.WillistonSchools.org/winter-weather Questions? communications@willistonschools.org 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 & 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: weather.gov travel.dot.nd.gov

Due to weather conditions, 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟮 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄, 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟵𝘁𝗵. ❄️ 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗞 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝟭𝟬:𝟯𝟬 𝗔𝗠 ❄️ Buses will run 2 hours later than usual ❄️ Earliest time students can be dropped off at schools is 2 hours later than the usual time (e.g., if usually 7:30, then it is 9:30) ❄️ No breakfast will be served 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗮𝘆. Stay Safe, WBSD7 Administration For more information and FAQs on Weather-Related School Delay, Early Dismissal, or Virtual Learning, please visit: www.WillistonSchools.org/winter-weather Questions? communications@willistonschools.org 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁: weather.gov

𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟴 - 𝟮:𝟬𝟬 𝗣𝗠 Due to forecasted hazardous winter weather expected from this afternoon through Thursday, all students will be dismissed at 2:00 PM today. 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Buses will run their usual routes. Please use the StopFinder app to monitor the timing of buses arriving at your child’s usual bus stop. ❄️𝗡𝗼 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿-𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝘁𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 ❄️𝗡𝗼 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿-𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 At this time, Thursday, December 19, is most likely to be a virtual learning day due to expected weather and road conditions. A final decision will be made, and families and staff will receive a message this evening with confirmation. 𝗪𝗛𝗦 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 - if Thursday is a virtual learning day, ​Thursday's finals will be moved to Friday (check your email from WHS yesterday for more info). We encourage families to stay alert for updates through ParentSquare. For more information on how WBSD7 handles weather-related schedule changes, visit our Winter Weather Notifications webpage. www.WillistonSchools.org/winter-weather If you have questions, please contact your student’s school or email communications@willistonschools.org. Thank you for your flexibility and patience as we navigate this weather event. Our top priority is to keep students and staff safe while minimizing disruptions to learning. Stay safe and warm, Williston Basin School District #7

We invite you the attend our next 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟵! Thursday, January 9, 2025 6:00 PM Williston High School Commons Door 1 or 9 4200 32nd St W 𝗧𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗖: Establishing Elementary School Boundaries *𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 community meeting on this topic before boundaries are determined 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝘆: District Administration 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: RSP & Associates and Dr. Jeff Schatz 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿: 🔸More information 🔸Access to related documents 🔸Details on submitting questions WillistonSchools.org/community-meetings #wbsd7 #boundarysetting

𝐃𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰, 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝐭𝐡. More information: www.willistonschools.org/winter-weather

In the spring of 2024 Garden Valley Elementary held a meeting to transition from a Target Title 1 school to a Schoolwide Title 1 school. All staff in attendance supported this endeavor and staff watched a Schoolwide Title 1 presentation. The WBSD7 school board voted on this changed and it was submitted to the state in June 2024. See below our Schoolwide Plan Public Notification. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ujZO9qUOtS_k8ALww1Fau1a91JxcRVN0omv-kPo_Wqo/edit?usp=sharing

One of the best ways to be involved in your child's/children's education is by partnering with the teacher. One way to do this is though parent-teacher conferences. Tonight, Thursday, November 7th is our second of two parent-teacher conferences from 4-7pm. Your child's teacher should have reach out to you through ParentSquare to set up a time to meet. If you have not scheduled your time yet, please see that post to do so.We look forward to seeing you tonight! Tonight at parent -teacher you can do the following: 1. Meet with your child's/children's classroom teacher at your assigned time (please sign in) 2. Attend the ongoing Schoolwide Title 1 Annual Meeting to Inform in Building 1, Room 3. 3. Check out the lost and found in the entry way of building 1 (after parent-teacher conferences these items will be donated to goodwill)4. Attend the book fair in the library 4. Scan the QR code with your cell phone to take the 24-25 family survey 5. Write a thank you note to your child's teachers (they will receive these during the week of Thanksgiving) Thank you for being involved in our Garden Valley School Family!

We want to bring to your attention some recent concerns raised by members of our school community. The district has received several reports about unsafe driving practices during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up times. These concerns include speeding in school zones, distracted driving, and double parking, all of which create potentially dangerous situations for our students, staff, and families. To help address these issues and ensure everyone’s safety, we ask for your cooperation with the following safety guidelines during drop-off and pick-up. Please visit our School Safety webpage at www.WillistonSchools.org/school-safety for more information.

Book Fair starts tomorrow! Load those e-Wallets now! Garden Valley will be holding our first Book Fair of the year on November 6-13th. The book fair will be open at Parent Teacher Conferences on Thursday, November 7th ONLY due to a scheduling conflict. However, you are able to visit the library after school on the other days of the book fair (November 6, 7, 12, and 13. You can also shop by adding money to your child's/children's e-wallet. This way you do not need to send cash to school with your student. Thank you for supporting our book fair and helping us earn books for our library.

One of the best ways to be involved in your child's/children's education is by partnering with the teacher. One way to do this is though parent-teacher conferences. Tonight, Tuesday, November 5th is our first of two parent-teacher conferences from 4-7pm. Your child's teacher should have reach out to you through ParentSquare to set up a time to meet. If you have not scheduled your time yet, please see that post to do so.We look forward to seeing you tonight! Please note that the book fair WILL NOT be open tonight, but will open on November 6th-13th.Tonight at parent -teacher you can do the following: 1. Meet with your child's/children's classroom teacher at your assigned time (please sign in) 2. Attend the ongoing Schoolwide Title 1 Annual Meeting to Inform in Building 1, Room 3. 3. Check out the lost and found in the entry way of building 1 (after parent-teacher conferences these items will be donated to goodwill) 4. Scan the QR code with your cell phone to take the 24-25 family survey 5. Write a thank you note to your child's teachers (they will receive these during the week of Thanksgiving) Thank you for being involved in our Garden Valley School Family!

We will be holding our annual Schoolwide Title 1 Meeting to Inform at fall parent-teacher conference nights on Tuesday, November 5th and Thursday, November 7th from 4-7pm at Garden Valley Elementary ​School. Since we are schoolwide Title 1 school we serve all students, not just targeted students, so all families are welcome to join in and stop by Room 3 in Building 1 to ​visit with Mrs. Vickery about our Schoolwide Title 1 program and plans for the school year. See agenda here : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PvV2szvT58JFO19EHe5FHAgkD5MyVi6LLnsK84ivqgk/edit?usp=sharing

As a ​Schoolwide Title 1 school we need to share our school-family compact that outlines how Garden Valley Elementary School will share the responsibility with families of improving student academic achievement and how the school and families will develop a partnership to help students achieve the state's high standards. See our school-family compact with the link below or by ​viewing the images. https://docs.google.com/document/d/11KxyedLL5-FhnJycosZKn112fbkM96BH9TTUvNqLYHQ/edit?usp=sharing