Justus Gage Elementary

GSRP Rocks at Justus Gage! Congratulations to our Great Start Readiness Program Staff: Lead Teachers : Brooke Ward and Debra Luthringer and their Associate Teachers: Angela Mosier and Emily Mead. This Team is led by the Lewis Cass Early Childhood Director, Christine Whitmire and the team/program received Blue Ribbon status w/ a 5-Star Quality Rating for Continuous Improvement. Keep up the superb work GSRP Staff! Please follow the link that follows to learn more about the accreditation process and the GSRP Program that was aired on WSBT news. https://wsbt.com/life/moms-first/moms-first-blue-ribbon-and-prestigious-grant-awarded-to-lewis-cass-isd

Reminders for our Justus Gage Families. 1) 1/2 Day Thursday, November 12th. Dismissal 11:50 2) Parent Teacher Conferences also tomorrow from 1-4. Please sign up for a virtual conference if you haven't done so. 3) Don't forget about our Virtual Book Fair! Please follow the link if you would like to purchase a book: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/justusgageelementaryschool1 4)TOYS for TOTS SIGN UP We’ve been asked to announce that the sign up for Toys for Tots this year will be done ONLY at the following places. The Toys for Tots organization will NOT be sending home sign up forms like in past years. Saturday, November 14th are sign ups at: Cass District Library 9:00 - 1:00 p.m. Edwardsburg Library 9:00 - 1:00 p.m. Marcellus Library 10:30 - 1:00 p.m. MASKS MUST be worn and please practice social distancing. You MUST bring the following documents to the library on the day of sign up: Michigan identification (must show Cass County residence) Birth Certificate or proof of guardianship for each child (social security cards will not be accepted) Please stay warm and safe! Respectfully, Mr. Henry

Thrill Share Message # (Parent Teacher Virtual Conferences) Good afternoon Justus Gage Families, As a reminder we have virtual conferences coming up next week, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday November 10th-12th. Your child’s teacher will be reaching out to you via email or class DOJO. They will be inviting you to sign up for a virtual conference by using Calendly. Please click on the Calendly link to sign up for your preferred conference time if you haven’t already done so. It’s highly recommended that you have an email account and you share this email with the Justus Gage office staff if you haven’t already done so. We use parents’ emails for multiple reasons for both mass emailing and emailing to specific families. If you do not have an email account, here is a link on how to set up a gmail account. https://accounts.google.com/signup/v2/webcreateaccount?flowName=GlifWebSignIn&flowEntry=SignUp Please follow the link below to set up your virtual conference time slot: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YhqafwrWk8eVVDKcYyUvC5KsROhK5HrUro1qpTjRUNw/edit?usp=sharing Please contact your child's teacher or the Justus Gage office at 782-4460 if you have any questions. Enjoy the weather! Mr. Henry

Please visit the DUS Covid Page to read the memo from Superintendent Whan on a case at Justus Gage. http://bit.ly/duscovid

Thrill Share # Good afternoon Justus Gage Families Starting today, we will be sending home Chromebooks and chargers each Friday. It’s very important that you have your child bring back both the Chromebook and charger Monday morning. Please make sure that these devices have also been cleaned before they are returned Monday morning. We are doing this incase we ever have to shut down our elementary school over the weekend. All elementary schools are doing this! If your family chooses to Trick or Treat, have a safe and Happy Halloween. Here’s also a link to a Saturday morning community Halloween activity: https://5il.co/mnjs Reminder, don’t forget to change your clocks on Saturday before you go to bed… (fall back an hour) As a reminder, conferences have been pushed back one week. Parent teacher conferences will be virtual and will be held on November 10th - 12th. Half days will be on Wednesday, November 11th and Thursday, November 12th. Please anticipate an email and more information midweek. Have a wonderful weekend! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone Monday morning with a clean Chromebook, charger and smile on their face! Stay Safe and Go Chieftains! Respectfully, Bryan Henry Principal, Justus Gage Elementary

Thrill Share Message # Good evening Justus Gage Families, I hope this message finds everyone doing well! As a reminder, costumes and Halloween treats are not allowed to be brought in to school. Once again, we are being very cautious to prevent the spread of Covi-19 for all students, staff and Justus Gage families. Please stay tuned for more information on Halloween community events coming up this weekend. Time Change: Don’t forget to “FALL BACK” and turn your clocks back one hour Saturday night. Sunrise and sunset will be about 1 hour earlier on Nov 1, 2020 than the day before. There will be more light in the morning. Calendly: Please anticipate an email towards the middle of next week in regards to virtual conferences. Orange and Black Day Friday: This Friday, October 30th we will have “orange and black” day. Please have your student(s) show their Chieftain Spirit and wear their orange and black. Go Chieftains! Stay Safe and Mask up! Respectfully, Bryan Henry, Principal of Justus Gage Elementary

Good Evening Justus Gage Families, As all of us anxiously await our 1st day of Face to Face (F2F) school tomorrow morning, I wanted to remind all of our families about a few things. 1) Please refer to this link for important documents issued by the district: Parent letter, Wellness Checklist and the DUS Wellness Agreement. Link: https://www.dowagiacschools.org/article/322411?org=district 2) It's very important that all students return their DUS issued Chromebook and charger tomorrow morning. Please make sure that it's been cleaned. All returned Chromebooks will then be sanitized tomorrow by JGage staff. Please have your child transport their Chromebook in their backpack to avoid damage. 3) Please refer to this link for important morning arrival information: Follow Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l7yp0l-w2NfmEPUpeXWPS2h8AnrXbeUe7gDvM4eeUN4/edit?usp=sharing First - Fifth Grade students will be dismissed out of their assigned doors. This is the same door that they use for arrival. Kindergarten families have received specific information for arrival and dismissal on the first day. 4) Please remember to have your child bring a clean mask to school . Masks must we warn both in the building and at recess. 5) Students may bring a disposable bottled water or a water bottle to school. Water bottles must be taken home nightly for cleaning. Have a good night and Go Chieftains! Mr. Henry

Good evening Justus Gage families, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every family member who has helped their child during the 5 week distance learning period. Each and every family member has contributed in so many ways. Your student has developed and learned many new technology skills. Most importantly, they have been introduced to grade level specific curriculum. Once we return F2F(Face to Face) Monday, our awesome teaching staff will continue to provide your student with grade level specific learning opportunities. The entire Justus Gage teaching staff/support staff has worked very hard during the Distance Learning Phase. As we shift to F2F, the entire staff has been committed to provide the best learning opportunity for each and every child, while also practicing social distancing. All of our Justus Gage students will grow academically and socially while maintaining "social distancing". We are excited to have student inside the brick and mortar of Justus Gage Monday morning. Please continue to refer to the district website and Facebook page for important updates. Links to important documents pertaining to social distancing and mask sharing requirements will be shared on Sunday to all Justus Gage Families. Please have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the weather. Go Chieftains. Respectfully, Mr. Henry

Kindergarten Families, Please follow the link below that explains the delayed drop off/early dismissal times and procedures for our kindergarten students. As a reminder, this is only for Monday, October 12th. :https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T_imRT94doZ3smSKmdOaV9e_eqDbFm37Ax6ZN7o5Tu4/edit?usp=sharing

Welcome Back Justs Gage Families: Message Home #2 Morning drop off will begin at 8:30. School will begin at 8:40 similar to last year’s start time. Please click on the link for important drop off procedures: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l7yp0l-w2NfmEPUpeXWPS2h8AnrXbeUe7gDvM4eeUN4/edit?usp=sharing Students will not be allowed to enter the building until 8:30 Students will eat breakfast in their classrooms starting at 8:40. We have changed our drop off procedures to both improve safety and maintain social distancing. Go Chieftains!

Welcome Back Justus Gage Families. As a friendly reminder, we will be returning to school on Monday, October 12, 2020. We are so excited to begin our sixth week of school with our first day of (F2F) Face - to - Face instruction. Throughout the week, I will be sharing important information in regards to the first day of school and other specifics on Chromebook return, social distance procedures and processes for breakfast, classroom instruction, lunch/recess and dismissal. To Kick things off, we will begin with our Visitors’ Policy which will be in place to begin the school year. Please follow the link for this policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g6W5ARb568ZjWhB8q_eKgPGCCL-LTiYYT01L_YQ63nw/edit?usp=sharing

Good evening Justus Gage Families, Please follow the link below about important reminders for Virtual Learning Meetings. Keep up the great work students and families. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l5dAHa8LCJ2PqRyyc2hp8ueCsq_EGjtptgFqTsp4ywY/edit?usp=sharing Respectfully, Bryan Henry, Justus Gage Principal

Good evening, I hope this message finds everyone doing well. As a reminder school starts on Tuesday, September 8th. If you haven't picked up your child's Chromebook, please do so from nine to noon tomorrow. For help on logging in to Distance Learning, please follow this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tp1WbDUdyXsRyikDEhAIa0QpXK9PfhQ1/view?usp=sharing Respectfully, Mr. Henry

Good afternoon Justus Gage Familes, Please follow the link below for important information regarding next week's Chromebook distribution schedule. https://drive.google.com/file/d/18xsb66Z1Dii5G-3sGoYGGEFJmZgEGe2-/view?usp=sharing Have a great weekend, Justus Gage Staff

Dowagiac Community: Due to a recent resignation on the Board of Education, the Dowagiac Union Schools is seeking interested applicants to fill a vacant seat on the Board of Education. Applicants must submit a letter of interest to the attention of the Board President (mailed or delivered to Administration Office.) Letters must be received by 4 pm., on Wednesday, August 12th. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in serving on the Board of Education, please submit your letter of interest to the Board by August 12th. Thank you!

Justus Gage Elementary School Staff has a very special message for Students and Families. **Disclaimer** I Do Not Own the rights to this music being played in this video. Please follow this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GBJ0Z4QiIHMI1akrGfqjNIQg19qR5-i0/view?usp=sharing

For our Justus Gage teachers and staff 🧡🖤 🧡🖤 Here's a link to a video prepared by our students and JGage PTO: https://www.facebook.com/234429883271833/posts/2917168488331279/?vh=e&d=n

Like Justus Gage on Twitter! @JustusGage1 https://twitter.com/justusgage1