 | |
|  | | A Note From the Principal...Dear Families, We have had an amazing start to the school year! A great deal of time has been devoted to practicing our routines and procedures as well as building relationships and catching up with your child so as to "set the table" for academic learning to occur! It has been an absolute joy hearing the moments that have stuck with your child over the summer as special times to them. Being strong partners with us a school team starts with staying informed, which is why I ask for a few minutes of your time to review these monthly newsletters so that you feel pride and confidence in all we do each day at this school to keep your child safe, feel connected, and help them grow. I know you are very busy, so I thank you for taking some time to do this on behalf of our staff team. I hope to see you at our first family event in a few weeks- "Fall Fest" Tuesday, September 30th! With warm regards, ~ Dr. Upton | | |  | A Special 1st Day | |
 | Rolling out the Red Carpet for PreSchool! | |
 | Flag Raising Ceremony: An Annual 1st Day Tradition | |
| | Grizzlies are Respectful, Responsible, and Safe!These are our three expectations for students, families, and staff. To the right you will see a visual that we use as we teach all of our expectations at school from arrival, classroom, hallway, bathroom, playground, and any area. These visuals are posted around the buildings and teachers use lesson plans to teach what these look like through role play, modeling, and practice. |  | Grizzly Greats | When students are going above and beyond at school staff give these out. A copy goes to classroom teacher, a copy goes to the Grizzly Great box in the hallway, and another goes home to you as parent. The copy that goes to the box is shared during weekly announcements, posted on the wall and then the student is entered into our monthly assembly wheel of names. We love celebrating the great things our students are doing!!! |
 | Grizzly Growth | Grizzly Growths are a reteach tool that allows staff to problem solve and practice with students how to handle tough emotions or situations. Our goal in working through this with your child is to problem solve and teach them the skills needed to be successful. A copy of these also comes home and you should receive communication from the teacher as well. We also have a building team that inputs data on this tool to determine students that might be in need of more scheduled skill building or it helps us identify areas of the building that we need to re-address expectations or make adjustments. |
| | | Did you know?At Grimsrud we believe it truly takes a village so no matter what we have a community of support around us. This year we would like to share more with you about those in our community that support our Grimsrud family. Each month we will share a new support with you to add a spotlight and thank you to them for their support. If you have a business or support in our community that you think would be a great support please reach out to Mrs. Schmidkunz, school social worker. |  | Joy Havelka | Works for the Police Youth Bureau and supports Grimsrud along with several other elementary schools in the district. She assists our team and families with attendance needs, provides presentations on different topics to students, families, and staff, along with other important support. |
 | Officer Preston McKay | Is Grimsrud's School Resource Officer. He supports our students, families, and staffs safety throughout the school year. You might find him joining us for events and greeting students at arrival or dismissal for the day. |
|  | Officer Naig | Is one of Grimsrud's Adopt a Cops. Officer Naig will be joining us throughout the year to build relationships with students and families. |
 | Officer Jackosky | Is one of Grimsrud's Adopt a Cops. Officer Jackosky will be joining us throughout the year to build relationships with students and families.
|
| | | What is it?Grimsrud Elementary is excited to announce the continuation of our volunteer program called Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads Of Great Students). Our goal is to get student's fathers (or father-figures) to take the time to volunteer one day a year in their child's school. Statistics show that by having father-figures more involved, children develop more fully socially, physically, academically, and emotionally. When you volunteer it shows your child that education is important to you!
We are asking that you make the commitment to volunteer for one full day (8:00-3:00). If this is not possible please reach out and we may be able to accommodate other schedules. When volunteering you will spend time in your child's classroom helping the students with an activity such as reading to students, helping with a math game, recess, an art project, etc. You will also spend time in other classrooms such as music, gym, library, other grades, and/or counselor so that more students can benefit from your presence as a role model. In addition, you will be able to have lunch with your child and your child may introduce you through the daily announcements. If you would like to learn more about the program, you can check out the official Watch D.O.G. website at www.dadsofgreatstudents.com. | Steps to Sign Up- Review the handbook by following this link Volunteer Handbook.
- Sign back page of handbook and return to classroom teacher.
- Background Check: Watch for email regarding next steps from school and follow the steps.
- Watch for email approval (approximately 30 days) then complete this Google Form to sign up.
***Background checks last one year. If you are current you can follow above google form to sign up. | | | Mrs. Westergren - School CounselorWelcome to a new school year! I am excited to serve as the school counselor at Grimsrud! It is going to be a great year of learning and growing. As the school counselor, I will be supporting students in their academic and social/emotional development. Here are some of the things your student may be learning in counselor this month: - Listening Skills
- School Success
- Friendship Skills
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 701.323.1135 or ramona_westergren@bismarckschools.org | | Mrs. Girodat - Title I Reading SpecialistHello, Grizzlies! My name is Mrs. Girodat and this is my 5th year as the Title I Reading Specialist at Grimsrud. If your child will be receiving Title I Reading intervention, I will be in contact with you soon!
A few tips on how to support your child/children in the beginning of the school year:
- 1. Read aloud - Read to your child every day, even if it's only for 10 minutes. You can read their favorite books repeatedly, or read books with rhyming words and lines that repeat.
- 2. Point to words - Point to each word as your child reads along with you.
- 3. Let your child choose books - Let your child choose which books they want to read.
- 4. Talk about the pictures - Ask your child questions about the pictures or what they read.
- 5. Play with sounds - Sing songs, read rhyming books, and say tongue twisters to help your child become sensitive to the sounds in words.
- 6. Read in front of your child - Read the newspaper, magazines, or books in front of your child so they can see that reading is something you enjoy.
Looking forward to another GRRRRRREAT year! Find out more about me HERE!
If you have questions, you can reach me by email: rachael_girodat@bismarckschools.org | | Ms. O'Dell- Title I Interventionist (math emphasis)Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! My name is Jen O'Dell, and I am thrilled to be your child’s math intervention teacher this year. I hope you and your family had a wonderful summer and are as excited as I am for the new school year.
In our classroom, we will focus on meeting each student where they are and guiding them toward their grade level expectations. My goal is to create a positive and inclusive atmosphere where students feel confident to explore, ask questions, and challenge themselves.
Here are 3 tips specifically for helping younger kids with math at home: Play Math Games: Use board games, card games, or online games that focus on math skills. Games like "Uno" and "Monopoly" are fun and teach math. Use Everyday Objects for Hands-On Learning: Incorporate everyday items like toys, food, or household objects to practice math concepts. For example, you can use blocks to teach addition and subtraction, or measure ingredients with measuring cups to explore fractions. Incorporate Math in Creative Activities: Engage in activities that involve math concepts, such as drawing shapes and patterns, building structures with LEGO bricks, or creating simple graphs with stickers.
These tips help make math learning enjoyable and integrated into your child’s daily life, reinforcing their skills through play and everyday experiences.
I am looking forward to a fantastic year with your child and working together to make this a successful and enjoyable learning experience. Thank you for your support and partnership. Let’s make this year an exceptional one! | | |  | | | | | SEPTEMBER September 16th- Dine to Donate at Space Aliens September 20th- School Picture Day September 23rd- NO SCHOOL (Staff Development Day) September 27th- Last Day of PTO Chocolate Fundraiser September 30th- FALL FEST Family EVENT! | | | | OCTOBER Oct 8th- PTO meeting at 6pm Oct 14th &15th Parent Teacher Conferences from 4:00-8:00pm Oct 9th-11th Library Book Fair -open 8:00-8:30am, 3:05-3:30pm Oct 14th-15th Library Book Fair -open 8:00-8:30am, 3:05pm-7:40pm Oct 16th Last Day of Library Book fair -open 8:00-8:30am October 17th-18th- NO SCHOOL |
| | | The PTO is so thankful to all of you who have been selling chocolate so enthusiastically! You’ve done a fantastic job, keep up the good work! The last official day of chocolate sales is coming up and we are so close to selling it all. It was so nice to see all of you at the first meeting. Thank you for all of your ideas and help. If you missed the first one and have opinions, want to help, or just want to see what’s happening around school, don’t miss the October meeting on Tuesday the 8th. If you are looking for other ways to participate, be sure to join our Facebook group Grimsrud PTO https://tinyurl.com/ypu4mbeb. It’s a great place to get information on what’s happening and ask questions. If you haven’t signed up for boxtops yet, it’s an easy way to earn money for the school. Just download the app and take pictures of your grocery receipts. Money is automatically added to the Grimsrud account. We are already up to $50 this year, let’s see how much we can get! https://btfe.smart.link/c2jjdifkw?referral_code=KRCK8KBX What are we doing with the money we earn? So far this year we have funded a rules sign for the GaGa Ball pit, recess balls for all grades, and extra snacks for children who forget. Field trips, extended learning opportunities and more are in the works. Thank you again for all of your support. We couldn’t do it without you. Kodi Auch PTO President | PTO Chocolate FundraiserPTO will be available from 8:00-8:30am each day of the fundraiser in the gym. Please stop by to see them if you have money to drop off or chocolate to pick up. More information about the fundraiser is available HERE. | |  | Birthday CelebrationEach day we announce student's birthdays on our video announcements. This year we wanted to do some extra celebrating! BPS received a large donation of birthday cake kits from a local group of girls called BioGirls. This great group of ladies wanted to give back to our community and boy did they. Each month we will take our list of our birthdays celebrated, place them in a name wheel, and randomly select a winner! Today we celebrate our summer birthdays!
| | Questions? Needs? Contact the Office |  | Smore Beautiful class updates in a snap |
| |
|
|
|
|
