Gallman Elementary School

🎉Help us Celebrate our Teachers and Staff🎉 This week is American Education Week. American Education Week presents everyone with an opportunity to celebrate public education and honor individuals who are making a difference in ensuring that every student receives a quality education. We would LOVE for you (parents and families, students, community members) to help us celebrate our GATORIFFIC teachers and staff! Take a moment to go to https://bit.ly/GatorShoutOuts and send a Shout Out to one or more of our staff members! These will be compiled and shared with staff members in the coming weeks. Please submit Shout Outs by Friday, December 4th!

🐊Attention Parents and Families🐊 In case you missed tonight's phone call, here's all the information. 🐊Hybrid parents, please make sure your child is completing assignments during their virtual days—days they are not in school. It affects their attendance. 🐊There is an SIC Meeting on Monday, November 16th at 5:00 pm. It is a virtual meeting. Please email Mrs. Hunter (nhunter@newberry.k12.sc.us) if you would like the link to join us. 🐊The change instructional model survey ended at 3:00 pm on Friday. There will be no additional changes for the remainder of the year. 🐊Thank you for all your support of your children and Gallman Elementary School. You are appreciated. We hope you all have a chomp, chomp, chomp Gatoriffic Week!

TODAY is the LAST day to request a change in Instructional Model for your students. If you want to change the instructional model (hybrid to virtual OR virtual to 4 days in-person) beginning in January, you MUST complete the form (by clicking the link below) by 3:00pm TODAY! ‼️ If you want to change your child from virtual to 4 days in person, you MUST complete this survey that was sent out last week- http://bit.ly/InstSet ONLY complete the survey if you want to change the learning model your child is in. If you have more than one child and want to change their instructional model, please complete the form for EACH child. Once you indicate you want a change, there will be no more changes for the remainder of the year. The deadline for completing the survey is TOMORROW, Friday, November 13th at 3:00 pm. ‼

‼️ If you want to change your child from virtual to 4 days in-person, you MUST complete this survey that was sent out last week- http://bit.ly/InstSet ONLY complete the survey if you want to change the learning model your child is in. If you have more than one child and want to change their instructional model, please complete the form for EACH child. Once you indicate you want a change, there will be no more changes for the remainder of the year. The deadline for completing the survey is TOMORROW, Friday, November 13th at 3:00 pm. ‼

Thank you, Veterans! Today is Veterans Day and the faculty, staff, and students at GES would like to thank all those who serve and have served our country! We made a short video to thank Veterans for their service! https://youtu.be/FwJy2ynGqcU

🐊🐊Gallman Gator Parents and Families🐊🐊 In case you missed tonight's phone call, here's all the information. 🐊Our students and teachers enjoyed our Pumpkin Day! It was a day of fun-filled games, learning about pumpkins, and a great meal from Sonic. 🐊If you want to change your child from virtual to hybrid, you MUST complete this survey that was sent out last week- http://bit.ly/InstSet ONLY complete the survey if you want to change the learning model your child is in. Once you indicate you want a change, there will be no more changes for the remainder of the year. The deadline for completing the survey is this Friday, November 13th at 3:00 pm. 🐊Parents, there is a program on your child’s computer that filters their searches. If they search anything inappropriate, I receive an email of the student’s name, user name, and device serial number. Please talk with them about acceptable use and monitor what they are doing on their devices. 🐊Veterans Day is Wednesday, which is our virtual day. Check out our Facebook page for a Gallman Gator Tribute to our veterans. 🐊Thank you parents for all that you have done to ensure your kids are prepared, doing their work at home, logging in for classes, and making sure they are coming to school wearing their masks. We could not survive this year without your support. Our Gallman Gator Family—learning and growing together. 🐊We hope you have a chomp, chomp, chomp Gatoriffic week!

Today is Election Day and there is No School!

No School Today! Today is Parent- Teacher Conference Day. All conferences will take place by phone or virtually between 12:00 and 7:30pm.

🐊Attention GES Families🐊 In case you missed tonight's phone call, here's all the info! 🐊Option to Change Instructional Model- Beginning January 7th, we are going to have the option of 4-day face-to-face classes for students. If you want to change your child(ren) from hybrid to virtual or from virtual to hybrid, you must complete this survey (http://bit.ly/InstSet). You should only complete the survey if you want to change the learning model your child is currently in and you should complete it for each child. DO NOT complete the survey if you are happy with your current learning model. The survey must be completed by 3pm on November 13th. Absolutely no changes will be made after November 13th, so please complete the survey IF you want to change. 🐊Parent Teacher Conferences- There will be NO SCHOOL for students on Monday, November 2nd because we will be having virtual and phone Parent Teacher Conferences. There is no need for parents to come to the school. All conferences will be done by phone or virtually. 🐊Election Day- There will be NO SCHOOL on Tuesday, November 3rd because of Election Day. 🐊Wednesday is an eLearning Day- No students will come to school on Wednesday, November 4th because it is an eLearning Day for all students. Students will have assignments posted in Schoology as they normally do on Wednesday. 🐊Cohort 1 will return to school on Thursday, November 5th. We will have our Pumpkin Day that was rescheduled from last week. 🐊Cohort 2 will return to school on Friday, November 6th. We will have our Pumpkin Day that was rescheduled from last week. 🐊Reminder for Virtual Students- Please be sure to submit assignments by their due dates and in a timely manner. Attendance in live meetings and completing assignments is crucial for students to be successful. 🐊Reminder for Hybrid Students- Work during virtual/eLearning days needs to be completed when you are not in school. This affects attendance. 🐊Virtual Student Report Cards- Report cards and other pertinent information will be mailed to virtual students. 🐊Thank you for all you do to support our students and our school. We hope you have a chomp, chomp, chomp Gatoriffic week!

🚨🛑 Parents, please complete this survey ONLY IF you want to change the instructional setting for your child(ren) beginning in January. For example, if they are virtual now and you want them to be face-to-face in January OR they are on the hybrid model now and you want them to be virtual in January. The survey closes on November 13th at 3pm and changes cannot be requested after that. Please complete it once for each child IF you want their instructional setting to change. 🚨🛑 http://bit.ly/InstSet

Attention Parents and Families- Due to the weather this morning, we are experiencing periodic power and Internet outages. This may cause brief disruptions in virtual instruction.

🐊GES Parents- In case you missed tonight's phone call, here's the information🐊 🐊Monday is the last day of the first nine weeks. Any work that needs to be made up or completed should be done ASAP. The 2nd nine weeks begins on Tuesday. 🐊Parent Teacher Conferences- Be sure to sign up for a conference. Hybrid students would have brought home a form. Virtual students should have gotten a digital form through email or the teacher may have called you. Parent Teacher Conferences are on Monday, November 2nd from 12:00-7:30 pm. There will be no school for students- hybrid or virtual- on that day. All conferences will be virtual- no conferences will be held at the school. 🐊2nd Grade Virtual Students- CogAT and ITBS Testing will continue this Wednesday, 10/28, from 8:00-12:00. Please be sure to drop off and pick up your students on time. 🐊Fall Read Alouds by Mr. Dukes- If your children want to listen to some good books being read by a very animated reader, click this link https://sites.google.com/newberry.k12.sc.us/gator-videos/fall-books Mr. Dukes is reading these books with great excitement, animation, and using good voice- modeling what good readers should sound like! 🐊Pumpkin Day- Parents of hybrid students in PreK-3rd grades and Mrs. Summers' and Mrs. Coleman's classes, our Pumpkin Day is Thursday, October 29 for Cohort 1 and Friday, October 30 for Cohort 2. Please send $5 by Tuesday so students can get a pumpkin from Lever Farms and get lunch from Sonic. 🐊Thank you for all you do to ensure your children have what they need and for making sure they do what they are supposed to do. We cannot do this alone. The Gallman Gator Family is working and learning together! We hope you have a chomp, chomp, chomp Gatoriffic week!

❗️❗️Attention Parents! Make your voice heard!❗️❗️ Today is the last day to complete this survey! Please complete it once for each child (if you have 2 children, complete it 2 times). The School District of Newberry County (SDNC) is considering a transition from a hybrid schedule to a 4-day in-person instructional schedule. The transition will occur in multiple phases, beginning with students in elementary grades and students with special learning needs. Please click the link below to respond to the Phased in Return Survey – https://forms.gle/fuS4iFjgrZ9fKb1c9 This survey will close on October 16, 2020. Please complete one survey per student.

Today's the last day to nominate for SIC! We are still accepting nominations of GES Parents to be on the School Improvement Council (SIC)! Please nominate yourself or another GES Parent to serve on this committee! Nominations are due by Thursday, October 15th. https://forms.gle/sLjXPFtH2w96eKLQ8

Due to the internet outage in the county, as a result of AT&T cutting a line, the district is also experiencing internet issues. However, classes will be held for all N1 students. We are aware that many of our students are experiencing outages and will adjust attendance accordingly. We will continue to monitor the situation throughout the day and provide updates. This outage also affects the phone lines at GES. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Parents, please take some time to review the most recent changes to the Parent/Guardian Toolkit for Reopening. The changes are on Page 12 English ; Page 13 Spanish, pages 42 & 43 and are listed below. Plexiglass Use in Schools - Per DHEC Consistent with its existing policy, DHEC is providing further information regarding use of plexiglass barriers between students. As noted in the COVID-19: Frequently Asked Questions for School Officials from August 14, 2020, appropriate plexiglass use, combined with other measures, allows for shorter distances for social distancing. In scenarios in which students are seated closer apart than six feet, the students would not be considered close contacts when: 1. appropriate plexiglass is utilized, and 2. distance between students is at least three feet apart, and 3. the students are wearing cloth face coverings or face masks that cover the nose and mouth (the plexiglass does not serve as a substitute to mask-wearing). Plexiglass is considered appropriately sized and utilized if it surrounds three sides (the front and two sides) of the edges of the student’s desk and extends at least a foot above each child’s head when seated at the desk and at least a foot beyond the end of the desk on either side. There may be acceptable other configurations, as determined on an individual basis by DHEC. If the above requirements are not met when using plexiglass to allow for shorter distances for social distancing, then those within 6 feet for a cumulative of 15 minutes would be considered a close contact and would have to be quarantined. Page 33 Note:Those who test positive by a PCR (mouth or throat swab) test or similar viral test but do not have symptoms will be required to stay out of school until ten (10) days* after the specimen was collected. *Note: some people who test positive may be required to extend the isolation period to twenty (20) days. Their doctor will need to determine if this is necessary. Page 23 Either a negative PCR or Antigen test (mouth or nose swab) *If your provider does a follow up send off PCR test, your child must stay out of school until those results are received. OR Medical evaluation determines that symptoms were likely due to another cause (e.g. sore throat due to strep throat) In this case, your student can return when they meet criteria for that condition. Statement to return to school should say that symptoms not due to COVID-19 and were likely due to another cause. The alternate diagnosis must be listed. Page 42 and 43 *The above italicized note regarding time on day 1 of quarantine does not apply. Day 14 is considered a full day of quarantine regardless of time of contact on day 1. English: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dn6ukwp47Myf843ZSetDDBUKPugPtIVP/view?usp=sharing Spanish: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ynfBEAZAkbAzBq_aqEQxvomMvlmlaFRN/view?usp=sharing

🐊Attention GES Families🐊 In case you missed tonight's phone call- here's all the information! 🐊Mrs. Hunter apologizes for not calling the past two weeks. She had surgery and has been out recovering. She is excited to be back in the Swamp this week! 🐊Self-Screen for COVID-19 Symptoms- Remember to self-screen your children each morning before sending them to school. If they have been a close contact to a positive case of COVID-19 or are have symptoms, please do not send them to school and contact Nurse Fran immediately at 803-321-2655. 🐊Please be sure your child is turning in work each day. Hybrid students should be completing and turning in assignments for the days they are not in school. Virtual students should be submitting assignments daily. This directly affects their attendance. Please contact your child's teacher if you have questions. 🐊School Improvement Council- We need to nominate SIC (School Improvement Council) members. You may nominate yourself or another GES parent that you think would help us improve GES. Visit this link to nominate someone by Thursday, October 15th: https://forms.gle/KE3Z6MfeowftX3Mk6 🐊The School District of Newberry County is considering a transition from a hybrid schedule to a 4-day in-person schedule. The transition will occur in multiple phases, beginning with students in elementary grades and students with special learning needs. Please complete one survey per student (if you have 2 students, you will complete it 2 times) by Friday, October 16th. The link to the survey is: https://forms.gle/fuS4iFjgrZ9fKb1c9 🐊Please make sure you complete both of these surveys to ensure your voice is heard! Be sure to read the surveys carefully to make sure you understand what you are agreeing to. 🐊Thank you for all you have done to support your children at Gallman during these uncertain times. We appreciate you! We hope you have a chomp, chomp, chomp Gatoriffic week!

We are still accepting nominations of GES Parents to be on the School Improvement Council (SIC)! Please nominate yourself or another GES Parent to serve on this committee! Nominations are due by Thursday, October 15th. https://forms.gle/sLjXPFtH2w96eKLQ8

The School District of Newberry County (SDNC) is considering a transition from a hybrid schedule to a 4-day in-person instructional schedule. The transition will occur in multiple phases, beginning with students in elementary grades and students with special learning needs. Please click the link below to respond to the Phased in Return Survey – https://forms.gle/fuS4iFjgrZ9fKb1c9 This survey will close on October 16, 2020. Please complete one survey per student.

The Office of Child Nutrition has released some changes to the Meal Program for eLearning and Virtual days. Hybrid Students will continue to receive meals on Monday/Tuesday for their eLearning Days for FREE. Virtual Students no longer have to sign up to pick up meals on Wednesdays. These will be available to students without signing up and they are FREE. Meal pick-up is on Wednesdays from 10am-12pm at the back of the cafeteria. Students (and children under 18) should be in the car when picking up meals. For more information: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iNGmSFveFpM40dXk0ECCpSmwNzusEDJ2/view?usp=sharing