REMINDER: BIPOC caregiver meeting will be held Thursday December 1st at 7:45pm via zoom. The zoom link can be accessed HERE.
Please email Jordan Samejima (jsamejima@greatriverschool.org) or Anu Dean (adean@greatriverschool.org) if you have any questions.
Wondering about Teacher Gift Ideas? We asked and got some great feedback from teachers about what they love!
Contribute to a Group $ Gift: At Great River we have 131 different staff members who all contribute to our community’s success. We are organizing a group gift for our dedicated guides and staff for those parents who wish to participate. We hope to make this a routine for holidays and teacher appreciation week at the end of the school year. We know the teachers will appreciate it, plus parents don’t have to put much thought into an amazing gift. Your contribution to the group gift is completely optional, and if you prefer to give your own gift, that is fine.
The group gift collection is for all GRS staff. We suggest an amount of $15-$150 that will be divided up equally. You can also choose to contribute whatever amount you’d like to.
Thank you!
Here is the link to Venmo and Paypal options. Please contribute now as we have a quick turnaround time to make this happen before winter break! Please note PEG in the description.
Venmo: @Heather-Thomas-190
PayPal: nathatddt@yahoo.com
If you prefer to make a cash donation, please deliver to the front desk in a sealed envelope with “PEG Holiday Gift” on the envelope.
Please participate as you like. Your gift amount is confidential.
Deadline for contribution will be December 6th.We’ll use our PEG meeting to stuff envelopes for each of our staff members, along with a thank you note.
Just to give you an idea........
We have about 800 in our student body and we know some families have more than one student at school.
If each family gave $5, we could give each staff member $25.
If each family gave $25, we could give each staff member $130.
If now is not a good time for your family, we can do another gifting time during teacher appreciation week. Teacher Appreciation Week: May 7-13
Gift Ideas from our Survey
If you want some other ideas to do on your own or as a classroom.
Bookstores: Moon Palace Books, Barnes and Nobles, Magers and Quinn, Black Garnet
Grocery Stores: Mississippi Market, Trader Joes
Pizza places: Pizza Luce, John’s Pizza, Red Savoy and Punch
Movie Theaters: Riverview, Alamo Drafthouse, AMC Rosedale
Cafes: So many—If you’d like to know a specific thing, ask your guide or email peg!
Favorite places, theaters and parks are also in our survey results, ask if you’d like more info:)
Contact your classroom ambassador or PEG if you’d like to know what your teacher loves and coordinate a special treat for them. We’ve listed some popular ideas for starters!
Please contact Heather or Mary Sage with questions at peg@greatriverschool.org
Last week for free school delivery
Order your GRS school spiritwear by Friday December 2 to receive free school delivery before winter break.
We have fresh new tee and sweatshirt designs from our logo contest as well as old and new favorite hats, flannels, sweats and more. Each purchase helps support Great River's programming and operations.
Good morning, known and hopeful baseball or softball players and families!
This is a reminder that for any students interested in enhancing their baseball or softball skills, we will be holding 10 Saturday winter training sessions at TCA on the following dates:
December 3 and 17
January 7, 21 and 28
Feb 4, 11 and 18
March 4 and 11 (These two dates are going to be at Nova Classical Academy).
All of the training sessions are FREE and will start at noon and end at 1:30. They will be led by current varsity players. Coaches can only supervise.
Batting practice, pitching practice and utilizing the TCA weight room will be the primary areas of focus this winter. Bring your baseball glove and some good athletic shoes and clothes. Feel free to bring a bat if you have one.
Please help recruit some new, young athletes for our programs.
Please reach out to Coach Lindholm or baseball captain Alex Ehlebracht with questions (slindholm@twincitiesacademy.org).
Scott Lindholm
6-12th grade Health & Physical Education and Sports Psychology
Varsity Head Baseball Head Coach (co-op w/ Nova Classical Academy)
Twin Cities Academy
https://twincitiesacademy.org/
690 Birmingham Street, St. Paul, MN 55106
Thank you to the many families that have contributed to Great River School during our Fall fundraising drive! Your contributions support the unique learning opportunities and life-changing experiences that define the Great River education.
Haven’t donated yet? It’s not too late! Join the community in supporting Great River students.
Don’t forget to check if your employer provides matching gifts. Please share with family and friends!
Congratulations to our Logo Contest winners!
We received many beautiful and fun logo submissions in our contest. In the end, we couldn't choose just one winning design, so in true Montessori fashion, we are going to offer two choices!
Nicholas Pearson's (10th grade) river and heron design stood out for being simple, bold, and very true to Great River's traditions.
Lucius Xiong's (12th grade) goat design captures Great River's playful, silly and sweet side in a fun rainbow color scheme.
Honorable mention goes to Rowann Coburn (7th grade), who helped with design of the final selections, and GRS parent and graphic designer Melissa Hickman, who edited and formatted the winning selections for printing.
We hope to feature other logo contest submissions in GRS publications throughout the year, and give a big thanks to all who submitted entries.
Both of the winning designs will be available in our spiritwear store, found on our website at this link. Please note that the Black Friday Weekend Sale features 15% off all orders. The code shoppers will use at checkout is: BFW15OFF22 and it is valid ONLY on new orders placed from 11/24/22 - 11/28/22.
Part of what makes the GRS community so special are all our amazing faculty and staff. They guide our students through daily classroom life, and accompany them on Key Experiences.
We love our faculty and staff and and want to provide them with fair compensation. Your donations help make this possible.
We love being part of the Great River community with you! If you are able, please consider becoming a monthly donor: greatriverschool.org/give
Our GRS Theater Production of “Clue” is opening next week and we need help finishing the set! Stop by anytime this Saturday from 11am - 6pm to support the Theater department and our students. We'll be painting, sewing, drilling and cutting, so come in clothes you can get messy.
Message Nick Lane at nlane@greatriverschool.org if you can make it.
BIPOC caregiver meeting TONIGHT, Thursday Oct 6th at 7:45pm via zoom. Any caregiver/s who have students who identify as BIPOC, please come to the meeting. Jordan Samejima, Equity and Inclusion Facilitator, will be leading the group tonight. Email adean@greativerschool.org if you need the link to the meeting.
Agenda Items:
Elementary/Adolescent BIPOC Events
Equity Action Plan Committee
Family Community Opportunity
You need volunteer hours…the GRS Foundation needs volunteers! Learn more about volunteering for the GRS Foundation at a short info session Tonight, Wednesday, November 9, at 7:00 pm: https://tinyurl.com/yc5skjfv
There are so many ways to get involved: from short one-time jobs to long-term standing committees, there’s a place for everyone!
The GRS Foundation is a volunteer group of parents and community members who spearhead fundraising efforts for our tuition-free public school. Because charter schools, like GRS, receive less money than district public schools, we need our community to help make up the gap so we can keep offering all the unique experiences our school provides.
You need volunteer hours…the GRS Foundation needs volunteers! Learn more about volunteering for the GRS Foundation at a short info session on Wednesday, November 9, at 7:00 pm: https://tinyurl.com/yc5skjfv
There are so many ways to get involved: from short one-time jobs to long-term standing committees, there’s a place for everyone!
The GRS Foundation is a volunteer group of parents and community members who spearhead fundraising efforts for our tuition-free public school. Because charter schools, like GRS, receive less money than district public schools, we need our community to help make up the gap so we can keep offering all the unique experiences our school provides.
Montessori materials in our elementary classrooms are one of the things that set GRS apart from other schools. The moveable alphabet, maps, equation cards, bead bars, work rugs, plants, and classroom pets all provide a beautifully prepared environment for students.
Donations from families help provide enriching Montessori materials for the classrooms. If you are able, now is a great time to give. Click to donate.
No amount is too big or too small!
As many of you who have pre-purchased one know, the 2020-21 and 2021-22 yearbooks have not been printed yet. The pandemic really put a damper on our ability to produce yearbooks and both require quite a bit of work before they are ready to print. I want the students to be able to focus on working on the current year's book, so I am requesting some parent volunteers to help finish our old books. Once we are caught up, I hope to get on our pre-pandemic yearbook schedule.
We use a cloud-based program, so after a little orientation, folks can work independently on it. Please reach out to me at skreger@greatriverschool.org if you are interested.
Grades 6-8 basketball open gym
Any interested 6,7 and 8th graders are invited to an open gym to meet coach Brent Cummins and see if basketball is for you! Open gyms will be held at GRS after school on Thursday 11/10 and Tuesday 11/15. Drop in and give it a go!
Cost is $150 (T-shirt, league and coach fee)
Sign up here to indicate your interest, and you'll be contacted about officially registering when we have the final team details.
LIST basketball will run from December-February this winter. We anticipate offering at least one team, or two if there is enough interest.
Practices will be at Great River School Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30-5 pm, with games on Fridays. We'll start with some open gym practices November 10 and 15, and first practice will be November 16.
Key Experiences are a hallmark of the Great River education—and they are provided free of charge for all students. An important student bonding and learning experience during the school year, students embark on trips where they learn to work together as a community, develop trust in each other, try new experiences, and gain independence.
Donations from families help provide the unique learning opportunities and life-changing experiences that define the Great River education. No amount is too big or too small—give at a level that is comfortable for your family. greatriverschool.org/give
Based on the iconic 1985 Paramount movie which was inspired by the classic Hasbro board
game, Clue is a hilarious farce-meets-murder mystery. The tale begins at a remote mansion,
where six mysterious guests assemble for an unusual dinner party where murder and blackmail are on the menu. When their host turns up dead, they all become suspects. Led by Wadsworth – the butler, Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock and Colonel Mustard race to find the killer as the body count stacks up. Clue is the comedy whodunit that will leave both cult-fans and newcomers in stitches as they try to figure out…WHO did it, WHERE, and with WHAT!
Tickets on sale now on the GRS website and at the following link: https://www.greatriverschool.org/clue.
Synopsis from the Broadway Licensing.com
Greetings!
With the change of weather from cold to warm, and further still beautiful weather, coupled with the everyday comings and goings, we seem to have accumulated a lot of student items in the Lost and Found. Students often lose articles of clothing as the weather changes, backpacks, lunch bags, hats and gloves, etc.
There are an abundance of Lost and Found items in the entryway of the lower doors, nearest the cafe, so please stop by during conferences to search through the items to see if any of the items belong to your child.
Due to Teacher Professional Development and Fall Conferences, there will be no classes for students Wednesday, November 2nd through Friday, November 4th.
While Big Canoe childcare is being offered during conferences, unfortunately there are no more spots available.
Please feel free to contact bigcanoe@greatriverschool.org with questions.
It's time for Great River School conferences and our tradition of nutritional support!
We are doing things a little differently this round in order to better connect the staff to food, more effectively use the generous donations from families, AND build community making meals. Some meals will be a combination of ready-to-eat contributions, AND cooking food with other families at the November PEG (Parent Engagement Group) Meeting. Please note the expected drop off times for the food for different meals including the after school pick up line on Tuesday.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d49a4a62babf94-conferences7
Across the top of this sign-up are tabs for:
In Person Support - Help setting up meals, replenishing snacks & keeping things tidy throughout conferences, including the chance to prep food for meals at the PEG Meeting with other community members.
Donate Items - Staff really appreciate donated items like snacks, drinks & ingredients for meals.
These two days provide an important opportunity for families and guides to check in about our children's experiences at GRS so far this year. To accomplish this, the teachers will be putting in long days engaging in focused conversations with all of us.
The time and food that families contribute not only keeps everyone nourished, but serves as an important show of support for all that the guides and staff do for our kids. Please consider putting in some family volunteer time for this effort... it takes a village to feed everyone!
