Next Week’s Calendar

The week begins with Day 1 Sunday 11/6 Daylight Saving Time Ends—Move clocks back 1 hour Tuesday 11/8 Third Grade Music Concert Friday 11/11 Early Dismissal 2:15 Saturday 11/12 Run Club Turkey Trot

Volume 3, Issue 8 November 4, 2016

All Students are Ready, Responsible and Respectful

Inside This Issue

Counselor's Corner 2

Parent/Teacher

Thank You 2

LEGO League Competition 2

Upcoming Dates 3

Virtual Backpack 3

AEA Online Resources 4

Lost and Found Notice 4

Vision Screening 4

Gibson Gazette

The Viola Gibson Running Club is a 9-week program that culminates with the Turkey Trot in Marion. This year the Turkey Trot is on November 12 and it is a 4k run. We have 110 students participating in the running club. Each Monday we have a speaker talk about a running related topic and complete a running workout. The students participate in a run

Consumable materials fee due If you have not paid your 2016-17 consumable materials fee which were due the first week of school, please remit your payment as soon as possible. Payment may be made on line at: cedarrapids.schoolcashonline.com or by check or cash in the main office. Make checks payable to: Cedar Rapids Community Schools The 2016-2017 consumable materials fee at the elementary level is $28.00 for Early Learning through 5th grade. These fees cover the materials that can not be used again i.e., workbooks, for academic purposes. Payments may be made by cash, check (made payable to the Cedar Rapids Community School District) or online-https://cedarrapids.schoolcashonline.com In the event your check is returned it will be represented electronically along with the state fee. If your student would qualify for the free or reduced lunch program, you may apply to have the consumable materials fee waived. Any questions regarding the fees should be directed to the Viola Gibson office at 558-2920.

Viola Gibson Elementary Run Club Prepares for Weekend Turkey Trot

every Monday and are required to repeat that run workout two more times during the week. Every week the runs get a bit more challenging. If the students attend all 9 weeks and complete their runs, they receive a Gibson Running Club shirt. In addition they receive a medal if they run in the Turkey Trot. It costs about $1,500 dollars a year to do the running club. I would like to thank all my

sponsors: Berthel and Fisher, CMI3, Modern Companies, Running Wild, Flecks, Bankers Trust, Gibson PTA, Cedar Rapids Family Dental Center, Ryan Bimson, Jennifer Walton, and Brian & Deb White. The running program would not be able to function without these great sponsors.

Connect Click to

Page 2 Page 2 Volume 3, Issue 8

Our book study for mindfulness is in full swing and we are focusing our attention not only at the progress of our students and their journey with centered thinking and breathing, but ourselves as well. We are tracking the students’ feelings as they engage in mindful activities in the classroom. We are also tracking our own emotions as we practice what we preach. We know that research shows that “practicing mindfulness regularly supports immune function, cognitive development, attention skills, emotional regulation; promotes happiness; and even makes us more empathic.” pg. 4 The Way of Mind-ful Education: Cultivating Well-Being in Teachers and Stu-dents. As we approach the holiday season, we know that it brings happiness and joy, but also stress and anxiety. Our goal for students is to be able to use mindful strategies to not only center themselves on their learning and social interactions, but to help calm themselves down during stressful moments. I am including some website articles that also focus on mind-

fulness for everyone. A Simple Mindful Cellphone Prac-

tice and 5 Science-Backed Strategies for More Happiness.

Check out our display case upstairs

with information about the brain

Counselor’s Corner…

From the desk of Chris Nelson, Viola Gibson Counselor

Parent Teacher Conference

Thank You

Thank you for attending our recent parent-teacher

conference. All the teachers at VGE appreciate your

taking the time to meet with them, and we hope that

your conference was able to provide you with some

valuable insight into your child’s progress in school.

We look forward to our continued partnership

throughout the remainder of the school year.

Children do better in school when parents are involved

in their academic lives. Attending parent–teacher

conferences is a way to be involved and help your child

succeed. A parent–teacher conference is a great

opportunity to start or continue ongoing conversations

with your child's teacher, to learn how to help your kids

do their best in school, and to let your child know that

what goes on in school will be shared at home

Viola Gibson Lego League Team to

Compete in Regional Competition

On Saturday, November 12, the Viola Gibson Lego League

team will defend their title when they participate in the

regional competition at Prairie Schools.

FIRST LEGO League challenges kids, ages 9-16, in over 80

countries to think like scientists and engineers. During the

ANIMAL ALLIES season, teams will choose and solve a

real-world problem in the Project. They will also build, test,

and program an autonomous robot using

LEGOMINDSTORMS® technology to solve a set of

missions in the Robot Game.

The 2016-2017 Team members are:

Brandon Beaver Brandon Paynter Jayse Contreras Jackson Burkert Isabelle Miller

Jessica Radke Julia Radke Andrew Belz Logan Deiters Olivia Casey

Page 3 Volume 3, Issue 8

Looking Ahead

Important Upcoming Dates

November

Sunday, 11/6—Daylight Saving Time Ends—Move clocks back one hour.

Tuesday, 11/8—Third Grade Music Concert

Saturday, 11/12—Run Club Turkey Trot

Saturday, 11/12—Lego League Competition

Tuesday, 11/15—PTA Meeting 6:00pm

Tuesday, 11/15—Picture Retake Day

Friday, 11/18— Hat Day

Wednesday—Friday, 11/23-11/25—Thanksgiving Break

December

Monday, 12/3—Third Grade CRFD Holiday Safety

Tuesday, 12/13—PTA Meeting 6:30pm

Friday, 12/16—Pajama Day

Thursday, 12/22—Staff Progress Reporting NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

Friday, 12/23—Holiday Break Begins. Classes resume Tuesday, 1/3/2017

Virtual Backpack Links

Here are this week’s additions to the Virtual Backpack*. Missed something?

Access earlier “VB” posts by clicking the link below.

To visit the CRCSD Virtual Backpack, click here

*The posting of this flyer in no way suggests endorsement of the program by the

Cedar Rapids Community School District.

4th Annual Toys for Tots Christmas Vendor Show

Kennedy Cougar Den Holiday Open House and Online Order

EIAA's Arts Alive! Showcase

October Green Team Newsletter

UIHC Teddy Bear Clinic

Fairytale Breakfast

UI Children's Hospital Grand Opening Community Event

Volunteer for FIRST LEGO League in Cedar Rapids

Page 4 Volume 3, Issue 8 Viola Gibson Elementary

6101 Gibson Dr. NE

Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52411

Phone numbers

Main Office 319-558-2920

Attendance 319-558-2565

Counselor 319-558-1694

FAX 319-393-0412

http://gibson.cr.k12.ia.us/

The Gibson Gazette is a

weekly school eNewsletter

sponsored by your PTA for

the students, parents, staff

and supporters of Viola

Gibson Elementary.

All submittals are welcome

and will be used at staff’s

discretion and as space

allows. All submittals and

questions should be

directed to the following

email address:

Gator Pride!

Non-Discrimination Policy

It is the policy of the Cedar Rapids

Community School District not to

illegally discriminate on the basis of

race, color, national origin, sex,

disability, religion, creed, age

(employment only), marital status,

sexual orientation, gender identity, and

socioeconomic status (students/

program only) in its educational

programs and its employment

practices.

There is a grievance procedure for

processing complaints of

discrimination. District employees with

questions or a grievance related to this

policy should contact Rodrick Dooley,

Executive Director of Human

Resources, rdooley@cr.k12.ia.us 319-

558- 2000. Students and others should

contact Ken Morris, Jr., Manager of

Student Equity/Title IX Coordinator,

kmorris@cr.k12.ia.us or Paul Hayes,

Director of Learning Supports/504

Compliance Officer

Mount Mercy University Nursing Students will

be completing vision screenings on all 3rd grad-

ers between November 1st—December 6th. If

your child has already been screened, they will

not be screened on that day.

Third grade vision screenings are required no

earlier than one year before the first day of

school and no later than 6 months after the first

day of school. Even though your child was

screened before Kindergarten, a second

screening must be done entering 3rd grade.

The state of Iowa requires by law that all children entering Kindergarten and 3rd grade have vision screenings completed.

Nearly 80% of learning is visual, so it is important to help prevent any future problems.

Children frequently do not complain of vision problems because they have grown used to seeing things a certain way and do not realize there is a problem.

WHY?

Students of Viola Gibson Elementary have access to many online services provided by Grant Wood AEA. The offerings range from clipart to foreign language. You are encouraged to check it out.

AEA Online Resources is a service provided through our Grant Wood AEA which services East Central Iowa. These are digital resources available to GWAEA families and schools at no cost. You do need a username and password that is specific to your individual school. These resources are not to be shared with others living outside our geographic area.

The online resources are accessible on the Grant Wood web site at http://www.aea10.k12.ia.us/media/onlineResources.html. The user name for Viola Gibson School: 1053gibs The password for Viola Gibson School: aea10 (case sensitive)

Several of the resources are used extensively in elementary school. Those would include: True Flix (non fiction resources for social studies and science Tumblebooks (Stories that are read to you) Culturegrams (Resource for country and state research) Britannica (Online encyclopedia for all ages.) iClipart (royalty free clipart) Atomic Learning (Used by staff to learn how to use various computer programs.)

Educational Online Services available through Grant Wood AEA

Please check the lost and found table Unclaimed items taken to Goodwill Tomorrow, November 4, is the last day to stop by the lost and found table during conferences to claim any items that may be yours. All unclaimed items will be bagged and taken to Goodwill. From the Viola Gibson Handbook: PROPER MARKING OF CHILDREN’S CLOTHING AND OTHER ARTICLES IS ESSENTIAL. Lost and found articles are placed in a tub lo-cated by the office. Parents/ guardians are urged to check the tub often for lost items. Once a trimester the lost and found items will be place on a table in the foyer and left for 1 week (notification will go out on School Messenger). After the week is up, all remaining articles will be taken to Good-will.