The Blue Heron Bash School Fundraiser needs your help tomorrow morning at pick-up!
Volunteers will be curbside at drop off on Energy Lane on Monday morning to collect bottles of wine to be used in the wine pull at the event. Our goal is to get 100 bottles. This service will be offered a couple more times before the event on March 23.
If you are unable to drop off at this time you can always make your donation to Holly at the front desk. Thanks for your support & we hope to see you at the Bash!
Great River will be hosting camps again this summer! Expect the first round of camps to be announced 3/8, with registration opening on 3/15
The March menu is live on our website and EZLunch. Due to changes with the school calendar, we are extending the pre-order deadline for February 27th through March 1st to Monday, February 25th at 8am. Also note that March 1st is a half day, and we will only have sandwiches "to-go" available.
If it is easier for your family to order on paper instead of in EZ Lunch, there are paper copies of the menu available at the Front Desk and in the Café. Please fill out one form for each student in your family.
Forgotten Lunch Protocol
If a student forgets a lunch and needs the school to provide them one, they can ask the Nutrition Team member at the point of sale. Families will be charged for forgotten lunches in EZ Lunch. Supplies for extra lunches may be limited, and will most likely include some kind of sandwich and fruit or vegetable.
If you have any questions about the lunch program, please feel free to email lunch@greatriverschool.org.
More information about using EZ Lunch below:
EZ Lunch is the system Great River uses for pre-ordering and purchasing school meals.
Here’s an easy 5-min video tutorial for you to see how to use our system!
If you prefer to read, more walkthroughs for EZ School Lunch can be found here:
How To Set Up Your EZ School Lunch Account
How to Add Another Student to a Parent Account
The Blue Heron Bash School Fundraiser needs your help!
Volunteers will be curbside at drop off on Energy Lane on Monday morning to collect bottles of wine to be used in the wine pull at the event. Our goal is to get 100 bottles. This service will be offered a couple more times before the event on March 23.
If you are unable to drop off at this time you can always make your donation to Holly at the front desk. Thanks for your support & we hope to see you at the Bash!
Attention 7/ 8 Parents and Students!
This Friday, Feb 22nd, 7/8 is having a dance!
It is from 6-8pm and will be in the Gym.
The fee is $4--due to safety reasons, once you exit the dance, you are not allowed back in. Please make sure your ride is here and you have all of your belongings!
Snacks will be available and there is no dress code, although it is preferred you wear something formal casual, rather than just showing up, in baggy clothing, a stained t-shirt, or sweatpants. If you do show up in what was described, you will still be able to attend the dance.
All students must be picked up by 8:10. This is to ensure that all student and chaperones arrive home safely and at a decent time. The entertainment will be Sev, Theo, and Daniel's Band and the DJ is Elise DB.
*please note* the dance is for 7/8 GRS students ONLY
Our school lunches are flying out of our commercial kitchen! Want to make an order? Go to our website. Want to help our nutrition team? We’re looking for volunteers!
For: Students grades 4-12 of any ability level
Practice: Mondays March 4-April 29
Grades 4-6 will practice from 4-5 pm and work on building skills
Grades 7-12 will practice from 5-6 pm and work on building skills with the option of team competition
Before practice students in grades 4-6 may join Big Canoe for supervised play time; students grades 7 and up may quietly work on homework in the central block of the school..
Coaches: Seth Wait and Mike Rauch, assisted by Sam O'Brien
Cost: $125 (includes T-shirt; scholarships are available; please Email bigcanoe@greatriverschool.org for more information)
Sign up: please fill out this form.
Today is the first day delicious food is coming out of our commercial kitchen and into hungry student’s bellies! Want to make an order? Go to our website. Want to help our nutrition team? We’re looking for volunteers!
The Parent Engagement Group (PEG) would like to know your thoughts about biking and walking to school! Please fill out this short survey and be entered to win a $25 gift card for Now Bikes & Fitness: https://tinyurl.com/GRSbikewalk. Survey will close Friday, Feb. 22.
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Does it feel like a struggle communicating with your teen or preteen (or anyone actually)?
Would you enjoy some evenings with other parents, exploring together how "nonviolent communication" might help your quest for stability, trust, and compassion in your family?
Nonviolent Communication is translating and transforming criticism, anger, and fear, into compassion, patience, and acceptance, for ourselves, and for others.
Come learn and practice with us!
We'll meet at Great River School 7pm Thursdays starting in March. During all four Thursdays in March, Pam Winthrop Lauer will give us an overview of Nonviolent Communication, with ample time for practice exercises. Starting in April, we’ll meet on the second & fourth Thursday and Greg Mott will facilitate. Activities will include viewing NVC videos, making time for sharing our experiences, practicing exercises, role plays, and supporting each other.
Highly recommended: Marshall Rosenberg's books on Nonviolent Communication. Here's just a couple other quick resources:
Pathways to Liberation Self-Assessment : Matrix
The Heart of Parenting: Nonviolent Communication in Action
Pam's flyer is attached. For further information email greg@whitleymott.net
Reminder that Great River School will be closed on February 18th in observance of President’s Day. Have a great day off!
As our school nutrition program rolls out, we’re finding ourselves in need of parent volunteers to support us as we grow! We’re asking parent volunteers to commit to a weekly shift through the end of the year and are offering different scheduled shifts to work with all schedules. This is a great opportunity to get involved in the GRS community!
Current Volunteer Needs:
Elementary Meal Maestro
Help organize the elementary meal carts and deliver meals to classrooms daily. Tasks would include - sanitizing bins and bags, portioning utensils and dishware, assembling sandwich orders, loading up carts, and delivering to classrooms.
Dish Director
Help dishwashing the trays, silverware, plates, and kitchen equipment used for school lunches.
Point of Sale Powerhouse
Help get students through the lunch line. Tasks would include utilizing our POS system EZSchool to enter in student information as they receive lunch.
Waste Management Wizard
At the end of lunch periods help students, parents, faculty, staff, and visitors put waste in the appropriate receptacle and inform them about what can be recycled, composted, or what needs to be sent to the landfill. Help with other tasks in between.
End of Day Zero-Waste Wizard Spend time outside near the dumpsters for recycling, compost, and landfill near the north main entrance on Energy Park Drive. Your job is to help GRS staff supervise and divert items to appropriate waste stream containers based on whether it’s recycling, compost, or landfill.
Click here to sign up for kitchen shifts and here to volunteer to help our zero-waste initiative!
Email any questions to lunch@greatriverschool.org.
ANNOUNCEMENT Grades 7-12
Great River School will host the first-ever TCA/GR Tigers Boy's Volleyball team March 13th-Early May. Practices will be held Wednesdays and Thursdays 4:00-5:30/6pm at GRS. Competitions will be held at Twin Cities Academy. Now in its 2nd season state-wide, boy's volleyball is growing fast (StarTrib article here) with over 50 schools competing! Since the sport is new to Minnesota, everyone is a beginner and everyone is welcome! Read more and sign-up here. Registration deadline Wednesday, March 6th.
Does Your Employer Offer Matching Donations?
Many employers will match any charitable donations you make dollar for dollar. This is great for us and great for you, and your employer gets a write-off too! Will you take two minutes to find out if you could double your donations to Great River School Foundation?
1. If you know your employer matches charitable donations, fill out their matching form and submit to HR. You will likely need to update with an end of year total for a final match, but it’s good to start the process early
2. If you aren't sure if your employer matches donations, see sample email below that you can cut and paste into an email to your company HR department.
Thank you for taking the time to help our school!
Great River School Foundation
___________________________________________________________
Sample email to your HR Department:
Hello {HR PERSON}-
I am wondering if we offer matching charitable contributions for employees? If yes, I would like to find out how to put that into effect for 2019 for a matching donation to my child's non-profit public school: Great River School Foundation, a 501c3. Is there a matching form I can fill out? If not, perhaps we can consider this for future years as I've heard many companies match donations.
Thank you!
{Your name}
About:
Great River School (GRS) Foundation is a 501c3 created to support the long-term financial needs of Great River School’s mission: to prepare students for their unique roles as responsible and engaged citizens of the world. By building relationships with individuals, corporations and foundations, the GRS Foundation creates enduring support for students, faculty and the school’s urban Montessori learning environment. The Capital Campaign is a current focus for the GRS Foundation, with a goal of raising $250,000 by March 2020 to enhance our learning environment.
We've extended the order deadline for the week of February 25-28th to this Wednesday at 3pm. Order now at https://www.ezparentcenter.com!
Practice begins Tuesday February 26!
Please contact voyageurs@greatriverschool.org if you have any questions.
Details:
Coach: Kayla Kronfeld
Cost: $120 (team fee and T-shirt), scholarships are available; please inquire
Practices: Tuesdays from 4-5:30 pm at Great River School
Games: Wednesday afternoons/evenings at participating schools
Sign up: Please fill out this form to register for volleyball.
The first practice will be held on Tuesday, February 26. The first game is March 6. LIST league sports are co-ed sports experiences designed for all abilities. Beginners are welcome!
Due to unexpected weather closures, Great River School will hold a half-day of school on February 15th, 2019, for grades 1-6(B) & 9-12. This is a proactive step to ensure GRS is meeting all instructional hour requirements. Students will be released at 11:45am. No classes will be held for 7/8th graders!
Our new commercial kitchen (under Chef Leah) will start producing delicious, sustainably-sourced hot meals this month. We’re still taking lunch orders through Monday at 9am!