Garfield Elementary
Family Newsletter September 16, 2022
GRRR: Garfield Cheetahs are Responsible, Respectful and Ready
Hi Garfield Families,
Please see these updates for our school.
A Letter from our Family Liaison, Mo El-Sokkary:
Assalamoo Alikum ! ( Peace Be With You )
I hope you are all doing well and excited about our new school year. It is good to see our kids back and in an atmosphere that feels almost normal. I wanted to extend my appreciation of all that you are doing for your students and our Garfield community and especially your contribution to the Food and Clothes Pantry. This year, I have a new space! You will find me in Portable 2, right next to Mr. White's art room and the preschool playground - look for the colorful windsocks! I also have a new number 360 596-6913 and the same email address [email protected].
This new space provides a great opportunity for families in need of Food, Clothes and some household Items. Please come see me and visit the new space. We appreciate when families donate lightly used or brand new clothes for students, feel free to drop them off at Portable 2. I also have a Food Bin just outside my door to drop off food for families. Please respect that I ask for items that are not expired and clothes that are clean and can be worn by other kids.
You can also see me walking students to and from school. If you would like to join me in this walking program, we meet at 8:10am at 505 Division. We walk to Garfield and then we will walk back to the same location after school. If your kids are going to join me please have the conversation of safety and staying with me while walking so they are with the group.
I also can guide you to other community resources, if you need assistance. Please participate in our annual Panorama survey so we can learn from you what works best for our Garfield community.
I appreciate all of your support and look forward to seeing you in my new space.
School Board Position #2 Open:
We will have a vacancy in our school board and part of the region this person will represent is from the Garfield neighborhood. If you are interested or know someone who might represent the needs of our community well, please forward this link to them: district website. The deadline to apply is 5 pm Monday, September 26.
Volunteers, Visitors, student pick-up during the school day
This year we are excited to bring back opportunities for volunteers. Please look for future communications from our school and your teacher regarding opportunities. All volunteers must have proof of vaccination and complete a Background check prior to starting. Please stop by our office and we can make note of that. During the school day, parents can come to the front of the building and ring the bell for our office staff. We will retrieve students and bring them to the front for you. We can also set up appointments for meetings in the school. Please contact your child’s teacher or our main office to make those arrangements.
A Message from our PTA:
Save the date for the first PTA Member meeting of the 22/23 school year! Join us in person or via Zoom on October 19th at 6:30pm to learn about events, fundraising and volunteer opportunities. Stay tuned for more details coming soon via the PTA website. (www.olygarfieldpta.com) We can’t wait to see you there!
We’re also excited to announce that popcorn Fridays are back! Popcorn is free for every Garfield student but donations are appreciated to help us fund this program. You can also support popcorn Fridays by volunteering to pop and distribute popcorn. Email us at [email protected] to get started!
Thanks again!
-Karen
The Olympia School District will provide equal educational opportunity and treatment for all students in all aspects of the academic and activities program without discrimination based on race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, honorably-discharged veteran or military status, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, marital status, the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability. The district will provide equal access to school facilities to the Boy Scouts of America and all other designated youth groups listed in Title 36 of the United States Code as a patriotic society. District programs will be free from sexual harassment. Auxiliary aids and services will be provided upon request to individuals with disabilities.