Congratulations to Vivian Rojas Collins (GRS) of our Lady Tigers Soccer team for being selected to the Class A, All-State Team! Vivian is also 1 of only 5 players selected in the state for Class A to be a finalist for Ms. Soccer MN. This award is given to the top girls high school soccer player in the state of Minnesota. Congratulations, Viv!
Go Tigers!
Several GRS Students in Upper and Lower Adolescent are playing on the Tigers Girls Varsity Soccer team tomorrow, Saturday, October 15. For those unfamiliar with the team, it is a combined team with Math Science Academy, Twin Cities Academy and GRS. This is a Tournament Section Semi-final game leading up to State, so a win here means they advance and that is a big deal for the players! Come down to support!
Go Team!
Any and all fan support would be welcome.
When: Kickoff is 4pm, Saturday 10/15/22
Where:
Minnehaha Academy
3100 W River Parkway
Minneapolis MN
Admission : $7.00 and $10.00
Please bring your families outgrown or unwanted gear (clean!) to our gear swap and check out what might be there that could be useful to your family this year. Welcome coats, rainwear, hats, matching gloves, etc. Clean out those coat closets and up-cycle your stuff for the good of our community and our planet! Unclaimed items can be collected at the end of Harvest Fest or will be donated. As well, PLEASE check all LOST AND FOUND locations (Elementary, South Entrance and Adolescent) for your families lost things! Those will also be donated after conferences if not claimed!
Come join the GRS community for the beloved Harvest Fest from 2-5 this Saturday. There will be lots of good things to eat like stone soup cooked over a fire in a giant cauldron, caramel apples & more! The adolescents will be selling delicious food from the kitchen & wares they made. There will also be a bounce house, face painting, open mic entertainment & more! It’s not too late to volunteer or donate items like apples. We need help minding the soup & apple cider press, painting faces & more! Adolescent students can help, too! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d49a4a62babf94-20222
Dear Montessori Community,
Larry Schaefer passed away peacefully on September 29, 2022. He lived 91 years (was in his “92nd year” as he lovingly told his family), and words can’t fully describe his remarkable life and impact on others.
Larry’s professional accomplishments as an educator are far too numerous to catalog, but include founding Lake Country School with his wife of 62 years, Pat Schaefer, which is and will remain a model and influential Montessori learning environment for children ages 2-14, in South Minneapolis. He was one of the visionaries and founders of Great River School, a Montessori Elementary, Junior High and High School in Saint Paul. He earned a PhD and MA in history from Fordham University, as well as BA and MA in education from Fairfield University. He served in the US Navy as an officer from 1955-1958.
Larry became an influential global leader in Montessori education and devoted his professional life, which extended to the day he passed, to Montessori education and, in particular, the unique needs and potential of the adolescent. His reach and influence extends throughout the world, as he taught and lectured throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, New Zealand, and
Australia. His legacy in Montessori education will endure and live on in the hearts and minds of thousands of educators and students he taught, mentored, and inspired.
Visitation Thursday, October 20 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm at Roseville Memorial Chapel (2245 N. Hamline Ave, Roseville). Funeral Mass at 10 am on Friday, October 21 at the Basilica of St. Mary (88 N 17th St, Mpls), with additional visitation at 9 am. The family asks that all attending take appropriate COVID precautions, wear a mask, be vaccinated, test as needed, and join via the livestream, https://mary.online.church, if feeling unwell.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Lake Country Scholarship fund or the Lake Country Land School. Details at www.lakecountryschool.org.
Please join us for a Special GRS Board meeting to review the Equity Audit. Come see the results of several years of work that involved hundreds of people!
Tuesday, October 18th, 2022
6:30 - 8:00 pm
Equity Alliance will be presenting their Equity Audit findings, and that presentation will serve as the official kick off of our year-long strategic planning project.
This event will take place via webinar at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81527951759?pwd=UUhsNitObHVjUEV3a25GMEZ6V3B1QT09
Webinar ID: 815 2795 1759
For more information, please email Equity and Inclusion Facilitator, Jordan Samejima at jsamejima@greatriverschool.org.
Come join the GRS community for the beloved Harvest Fest from 2-5 this Saturday. There will be lots of good things to eat like stone soup cooked over a fire in a giant cauldron, caramel apples & more! The adolescents will be selling delicious food from the kitchen & wares they made. There will also be a bounce house, face painting, open mic entertainment & more! It’s not too late to volunteer or donate items like apples. We need help minding the soup & apple cider press, painting faces & more! Adolescent students can help, too! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d49a4a62babf94-20222
BIPOC caregiver meeting TONIGHT, Thursday Oct 6th at 7:45pm via zoom. Any caregiver/s who have students who identify as BIPOC, please come. Email adean@greativerschool.org if you need the link to the meeting.
For future BIPOC caregiver meetings, please email adean@greattiverschool.org if you would like to attend.
Join us for the first official Parent Engagement Group meeting this Tuesday, October 4 from 6-7:30pm. All are welcome to come and learn about PEG, meet ambassadors and other free range volunteers and talk about what fun things we want to plan for the year including Harvest Fest coming up in 2 weeks! We hope to see you there! Any questions please email peg@greatriverschool.org.
Dear GRS students, families, and faculty,
Welcome to the 22-23 school year! Great River knows that some of the most equity-focused work we can do is ensure that our community feels well-informed about happenings at the school.
We will regularly communicate using the following channels:
Our Announcements Blog is hosted on our website at www.greatriverschool.org/announcements. We will regularly update this page with non-urgent school announcements (upcoming events & activities, volunteer opportunities, etc).
This year, we will use an email service to send new announcements daily (you are currently reading this!). All families will be opted into these level-specific announcements and will receive a daily email digest of any announcements.
If you don’t want to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of the daily digest.
You can always check what is being posted by going straight to www.greatriverschool.org/announcements or by checking the level-specific links below:
If you are not receiving these updates, email office@greatriverschool.org to troubleshoot. It’s possible we don’t have the correct contact information for you in Powerschool!
In case of urgent communication, you will receive an email directly from David Núñez, Stacey Kreger, or Great River School with more information.
GRS sends a monthly community newsletter, usually on the first Monday of the month (with some exceptions, depending on the school calendar). These newsletters are to feature student accomplishments and events at the school. The first newsletter of the year will come on October 3. If you do not receive these messages, reach out to office@greatriverschool.org to make sure your contact information is updated!
GRS maintains our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages.
We do not maintain or supervise the GRS family Facebook pages listed below, although they are good resources for connecting with fellow families.
We’re looking forward to a great school year together!
Who: Any current GRS student
What: Design a fresh logo for Great River School that reflects community themes such as the heron, goats, chickens, water/rivers, our spaces and/or our experiences
Why: To use on limited-edition spiritwear to raise funds for Great River
How: To enter, please send a photo or scan of your design to: kanway@greatriverschool.org by October 24, 2022
Winner will receive a special prize from Holly Bell’s tote AND a free T-shirt with YOUR LOGO!
Hello GRS community,
Over the past month, many of you have added books to the BIPOC reading list below. Thank you so much for your contributions. The BIPOC caregiver group would like to invite you to take some time over the summer to read and explore the stories on this list. You may also continue to contribute to the list, as you read over the summer and desire to share a book that touched your heart, mind, and soul. Below is the book list itself and also a link to add more books to the list. Hope you have a wonderful summer.
Again the purpose of this book list is for the GRS community to share books that they have read about the BIPOC experience.
The parent-led Great River School Foundation wishes all your family a fun and restful summer. As we close out the school year, we want to give a warm thank you to our donors.
Donors—both one-time givers and sustainers—provide essential funding to support the unique learning opportunities and life-changing experiences that define the Great River education.
Thank you for supporting our school. Have a great break!
The Great River School Foundation
Have a wonderful and safe summer, we’ll see you in September!
THANKS to all who are scanning your receipts for products that are hosted by Box Tops for Education! Here's our summary from May. Please continue to scan your receipts over the summer. Enjoy your time away. -Holly
Next Friday is our last day of school! Students will be dismissed at 11:45am. Families are welcome to observe our ending gratitude ceremony or last day ice cream social. See more details here or sign up here to volunteer.
Have a wonderful summer!
We look forward to your feedback regarding this past school year through our 2022 Caregiver Satisfaction Survey. Your feedback here creates and informs the decisions we will make as a school community. Please be direct, honest, and critical where appropriate. Also let us know where you find joy and strength in our learning community.
Please fill out this form by June 10th. We appreciate every shared experience and perspective!
The BIPOC Caregiver Group is doing one more push towards the end of the school year, to gather summer book reading suggestions for all ages, on books that represent the BIPOC experience. If you have not already done so, please add a book suggestion that you would like to share.