Garden Valley Elementary

UPDATE for Middle School Central Campus & Garden Valley Elementary School parents and students (correspondence also sent via ParentSquare today) Principals are working diligently to assign students in PowerSchool. Over the last few weeks, two challenges have arisen that are impeding the scheduling of Williston Middle School Central Campus students in PowerSchool. The second of these issues has also had an impact on the scheduling of Garden Valley Elementary School students. 1. Due to a technical issue within the electronic scheduling system for middle school students, it became necessary for staff to manually enter all student schedules. 2. While awaiting the school board's acceptance of certain teachers' contracts on Monday evening (8/21/23), we are currently unable to input these teachers into PowerSchool until their employment is officially confirmed. In the interim, it is necessary for us to utilize placeholder teacher names in PowerSchool to facilitate student assignments. We invite you to join us at our Open House events on Monday, August 21. During these events, we will provide accurate printed schedule information for both you and your student(s). Students will meet their teachers and become familiar with their classrooms. OPEN HOUSE EVENTS: Williston Middle School Central Campus: 4:00 - 5:50 PM All Elementary Schools: 5:30 - 7:00 PM We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and stress that this situation may cause for you and your child(ren). Your patience and flexibility during this time are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Meet the 23-24 Garden Valley Elementary School Certified Staff Garden Valley is Going Places We are so excited to meet all of our Garden Valley Grizzlies on Monday night during the Back to School Open House, but in the meantime, we wanted to introduce you to our certified staff for the 23-24 school year. This summer, Mrs. Heser, the principal, spent a lot of time finding the perfect Grizzly staff! We know that these faces will help your child/children go so far this year as they travel on their educational journey. So, without further ado, meet your teachers... Kindergarten-Mrs. Haugen and Ms. Johnson 1st grade-Mrs. Ivy (Bolo) and Mrs. Rector 2nd grade-Mrs. Carvey and Mrs. Leda (Samontiza) 3rd grade-Mrs. Garrett and Mrs. Manzanas PE-Mr. Heise Music-Mrs. Gutknecht (Mrs. G) Library/Media-to be filled yet Strategist/Title-Ms. Thomas Instructional Coach-Ms. Cunningham Special Education-Ms. Wheat English Language-Mrs. Recicar (Mrs. T) Principal-Mrs. Heser

Meet our new Third Grade Teachers

Meet our Second Grade Teachers

Meet our First Grade Teachers

Meet the Kindergarten Teachers

School Bus Schedule If your child is in grades K-8 and you registered them for busing, your child is accepted to ride the bus. Your bus stop is the one nearest to your residence. Times are approximate and may be subject to change as the school year progresses and the number of students on the buses change. Bus routes with only one stop also accommodate children registered with McKinney Vento. These busses currently do not have capacity for additional group stops. However, this is subject to change and may be modified during the school year. McKinney Vento & Special Education Students: If you are a parent/guardian to a child that is registered with McKinney Vento or SPED, you will be receiving a phone call with the approximate pickup/drop off time for your children, if you haven’t already. Thank you for your patience during this transition period and we look forward to the 2023/2024 school year! ~ Harlow’s School Bus Transportation FAQ's: willistonschools.org/page/transportation Bus Schedule PDF Version: https://5il.co/22ipw

Back to School Open House UPDATE! This is a reminder that our Back-to-School Open House will take place on Monday, August 21st from 5:30-7pm. In addition to your "travels" through Garden Valley to meet your teacher, drop of school supplies, and visit various "countries" on the passport you will be given, you have a chance to learn more about our PTO. PTO will be sponsoring FREE root beer floats in the cafeteria. Also, be sure to bring some cash! They will be offering $10 PTO memberships/family as well as sponsoring a petting zoo. Enjoy the petting zoo and buy a bag of feed for only $1. All proceeds will go to the PTO to support projects at Garden Valley this year. Thank you for your support! We cannot wait to see you! Wishing you well, Lyndee Heser Principal

Williston Basin School District #7 is working diligently to address previously overcrowded classrooms in our schools and ensure that class sizes are equitable across the District. This is not an easy task. However, it is necessary to make sure that classrooms do not have 29-30 students while others in the same grade have significantly less. The District is faced with considerable space challenges in our elementary schools due to student enrollment growth. We are doing our best to utilize the space that we have available to provide equitable class sizes. This means that principals of our elementary schools must contact families to notify them of school assignment changes. All elementary schools in our District provide supportive, nurturing, high quality educational environments for students. On August 11, 2023 we sent a communication to all families whose students were not yet enrolled for the 2023-2024 school year. We outlined in this communication that we cannot guarantee that their child will be placed at the same school that they were placed in the previous school year. We thank you for your patience and understanding as the District team works together to provide equitable and balanced elementary class sizes throughout the District. If you have not yet completed your child's enrollment process, please go to: https://wbsd7.ps.state.nd.us/public/home.html NOTE: Returning Student Registration can only be completed through the PowerSchool Parent Portal via an internet browser. You cannot use the PowerSchool App to access the registration link. For Questions/Comments: tinyurl.com/D7inquiry Williston Basin School District #7 WillistonSchools.org

Welcome back! Garden Valley is Going Places! We can't wait to travel through this school year with you and your family! Please see this link for a welcome back letter and important information from Mrs. Heser, the principal of Garden Valley. See you soon! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F2_TcptumoHnzC9E3xegOyBWJXZAIuEOP6moqoGxA54/edit?usp=sharing

Tomorrow is the Final Day for: Kindergarten Screening August 14 and August 15 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Lutheran Brethern Church 213 26th St E Williston, ND 58801 All incoming kindergarten students need to be screened for kindergarten readiness before school starts. No appointment necessary, first come, first serve. You will need to plan on staying with your student the entire time, which should take approximately 30 minutes. If your student was already screened this past screen, they do not need to do it again. If you have questions, please reach out to Dr. Begay at sheeresa.begay@willistonschools.org

‼ UPDATE ‼ We gave away ALL the Backpacks we had today! BACKPACK GIVEAWAY 🎒🖍 Free Backpacks with Supplies Available at the District Office 1201 9th Ave NW *Limited Supplies Available

Garden Valley Back to School Open House Monday, August 21st 5:30-7pm Garden Valley is going places in 23-24! Join us for the Back-to-School Open House where you can meet your teacher, drop off your school supplies, and get your passport stamped in different "countries." Watch for more information to be shared about our staff, plans for the year, and the Back-to-School Open House in the coming days! See you soon!

📢Don't forget Kindergarten Registration is TODAY! Thursday, August 3rd 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. District Office 1201 9th Ave NW Upper Missouri District Health Unit will be available on these dates to provide immunizations to students. Student must be 5 years old by July 31, 2023 Must have: ▪Student's birth certificate ▪Student's immunization record ▪Parent/Guardian's photo identification ▪Proof of residency

Williston Parks & Recreation District Campus Club After School Program Campus Club locations will be at Hagan, Rickard, McVay, Lewis & Clark, Wilkinson, and Missouri Ridge Elementary Schools. ▪Hours are after school to 6:00 p.m. ▪An after school snack will be provided. ▪All Garden Valley students who are in Campus Club will be bussed to Missouri Ridge. ▪You must sign your student up by August 4th to reserve your spot. To register, go to: https://www.willistonparks.com/campus-club Questions? Please email Kirsten at kirsten@wprd.us

Kindergarten Screening August 14 and August 15 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Lutheran Brethern Church 213 26th St E Williston, ND 58801 All incoming kindergarten students need to be screened for kindergarten readiness before school starts. No appointment necessary, first come, first serve. You will need to plan on staying with your student the entire time, which should take approximately 30 minutes. If your student was already screened this past screen, they do not need to do it again. If you have any questions, please reach out to Dr. Arneson at victoria.arneson@willistonschools.org

Parent Teacher Conferences We need parent feedback! We are looking into changing our Parent/Teacher conference schedules to be more aligned with both teacher and parent needs. Please take a moment to fill out the survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdti8yRt0r8G3_ml-AOI1ZnlRQ1N-D4r6iDtIwkyNr8bpeRFQ/viewform

Congrats to our very own Josh Bauska who was named the K-4 teacher of the year as voted on by the WEA membership. We are lucky to have Mr. Bauska aka Coach as part of our school family.

For the last day of school May, 25th there will be an early out. Students will be dismissed at 11am. 

Williston Basin School District Boundary Community Discussion will be held on April 26th and April 27th starting at 5:30 PM at Hagan Elementary School. What Will this discussion look like? WBSD#7 is utilizing RSP & Associates consulting firm to guide us through a boundary discussion and decision-making process. We will host two community forums in April where RSP will gather input and feedback from all stakeholders in the community on this topic. RSP will then provide this information for the District and the Board to use to make the best decisions they can for our students and community. Boundary Discussion Timeline Phase 1 (Spring 2023) Create attendance area for only Missouri Ridge K-5 Enrollment. Utilize elementary facility capacity efficiently to relieve over-capacity challenges at Hagan Elementary. Tentative Timeline March 2023: RSP completes 2022/23 Enrollment Analysis. March to April 2023: RSP begins drafting boundary concept(s) for Missouri Ridge Elementary (to serve K-5) April 2023: Administration provides feedback on Missouri Ridge boundary concept(s) April 26-27: Public input opportunities for feedback on Missouri Ridge boundary concept(s) May 2023: BOE approves Missouri Ridge boundary for implementation in 2023/24 school year.