Get your Passport to Reading February 3rd

The GSES teachers and students are hosting a fun family event to kick off I Love to Read month!

Join your student from 5:00-7:00 PM on Thursday, Febraury 3rd for an evening of celebration with desserts, great authors, story tellers and student acheivements.

Follow your student to their class to check out your child's writing journal and to see how much they've progressed since the start of the year. The teachers would love to share tips and techniques on what can help your child's writing continue to grow.

Come hear Avi, author of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, which the 4th and 5th graders recently studied in their lit block. He'll be selling and signing some of his books from 5:15-6:00 PM, including

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
The first Poppy
The Book Without Words
The Secret School

Avi will also be giving presentation in the gym at 6:00 PM. His presentation is most suited for readers in 3rd-5th grades.

GSES is also hosting Kelly Griller, a local auther of Every Road Leads to School. She'll be signing books from 5:15-6:00 PM, followed by a presentation in the library at 6:00 PM. Kelly's presentation is best suited for young readers from kindergarten through 2nd grade.

There will also be an amazing storyteller in the music room from 6:30-7:00 PM

See you there!



Exciting news from our fundraising team!

After much deliberation, our fundraising team has decided to postpone the Grizzly Grape & Grain until fall 2011. Instead, we're going to hold a huge family-oriented event. Mark your calendars for this don't miss event!

Pasta La Vista - Grizzly Spaghetti Dinner & Silent Auction FUNdraiser!

Set for Saturday, April 16 from 4-8 p.m. at the GSES Dining Den

We're so excited for a chance to bring a great social fundraiser focused around our kids. This will also give us an opportunity to provide full and focused planning for the fall Grizzly Grape & Grain.

We're always looking for people who can help in any way. Please contact one of our fundraising chairs to see how you can contribute:

Class Baskets (for silent auction):

Allison Balis - allison@dgconst.com

Silent Auction Coordinator:

Katie Winder - ktwinder@hotmail.com

Marketing & Tickets:

Jessica Stott - jasafras98@yahoo.com

Food & Beverage:

Michelle Like - mlike@neil-garing.com

Set Up & Take Down:

Jennifer Holmgren - holmgrebkpg@comcast.net

Or, join us for our next meeting:

Tuesday, February 15th at 5:30 p.m. - GSES Library

Child Care Provided

Tonight's the big night!

Join us this evening (Wednesday, January 19th) at 6 p.m. in the GSES Library for our planning meeting for the big Grizzly Grape & Grain fundraiser, which is only three months away!

We need parent volunteers to help make this a success for our school and our children. No assistance is too little to make a big impact!

Can't make it tonight? Please call one of our fundraising coordinators and see how you can help make a difference:

 

Alison Balis, PIE Volunteer Coordinator: allison@dgconst.com

Jessica Stott, Co-PIE President: jasafras98@yahoo.com

Katie winder, Fundraising Sponsorship Coordinator: ktwinder@hotmail.com

Woohoo for a quick fundraiser!

Thanks to all of you who came out to support GSES at our first Chili's Give Back Night! Our school raised nearly $100 on short notice to go towards our Grizzly Wish List - we appreciate your support!!!

Our next Chili's Give Back Night is going to be held on Wednesday, January 26 from 5-10 p.m.

Be sure to mention GSES when you place your dine in or take out order at Chili's in the Glenwood Meadows, and our school will receive 10% of your total check.

Grizzly Give Back Night @ Chili's

Tell your friends, neighbors & co-workers! Tonight is the first Grizzly Give Back Night at Chili's in Glenwood Meadows!

No need to worry about what to make for dinner tonight (January 12th) - just join us tonight from 5-close at the Chili's restaurant in Glenwood Meadows (across the parking lot from Target) and mention Glenwood Springs Elementary School / "GSES" and our school will receive 10% back from your dinner check. A super easy way to give back to our school without having to worry about our kiddos going door-to-door.

They currently have a great dinner special that includes an appetizer and two full dinner entrees from a selected menu for just $20. The meals are plenty big enough to share between two people (especially if one of them is a child) - so it's a great option for many budgets.

We hope to see you there!

GSES Grizzly Give Back Nights @ Chili's will be held from 5-close on the second and fourth Wednesday nights through April:

January 12

January 26

February 9

February 23

March 9

March 23

April 6

April 20

Did you know?

Glenwood Springs Elementary School is nearly 100 years old!

GSES has been serving our community since 1921. Today, our historic building and surrounding campus provides public education for nearly 600 preschool through fifth grade children from the Glenwood Springs area. Though we have great students and a wonderful, dedicated group of teachers and administrators, our facilities are in need of improvements and our kids are in need of up-to-date technology.

This year, we're trying a different approach to fundraising. Instead of sending our kids out door to door selling gift wrap, candy or asking for Math-a-Thon pledges, we're hosting Kid's Night Out events, Chili's Give Back Nights, and our biggest fundraiser yet - the Grizzly Grape & Grain fundraiser that will be held in April.

We've set lofty goals - more than $25,000 - in order to help bring the following Grizzly Wish List items to our kiddos and our school:

* New flooring in the dining den

* New playground equipment

* Books for the book room

* ELMO Document Readers

* LCD Projectors

* Smart Boards

* iPod Touches

* iPads

* Field Trip Funds

It sounds crazy, but with the support of you, our awesome parents and our incredible community, this is an attainable number to reach!

We're currently looking for corporate sponsors and silent auction donations  - if you or someone you know would be willing to support a good cause, we'd love to hear from you!

Please join us in helping our kids succeed!

 Our next fundraising meeting will be held on

Wednesday, January 19th at 6 p.m. in the GSES Library

Can't make the meeting, but still want to help?

Please email one of our fundraising coordinators:

Alison Balis at allison@dgconst.com

Jessica Stott at jasafras98@yahoo.com

Katie Winder at ktwinder@hotmail.com

We hope to hear from you soon!

Mark your calendars!

Our January PIE meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, January 10th in the GSES library. Free childcare is available - we hope to see yout here!

Please join us for our next fundraiser committee meeting on Wendesday, January 19th at 6 p.m. in the GSES library. We're just a few months away from our big Grape & Grain fundraiser - which is officially set for April 16th at the Hotel Colorado, and we need as much help as we can get! 

  

If you (or other parents you know) cannot make this meeting, but still want to help, please let us know! You'll see a flier come home this week with contact info and more details on the event - or, check out the sidebar to the right for the fundraiser contacts. We have tons to do in just three short months, so every helping hand we can get is huge!

  

Do you have the mid-week dinner blahs? Heading out for a quick snack, dinner or a night out with your friends? Then join us Wednesday, January 12th and/or Wednesday, January 26th - Chili's Give Back Night, 5-10 p.m. Mention GSES and our school gets 10% back on your order. (These are set for the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month through the end of April. It's a great chance to help us reach our $20K fundraising goal for infrastructure & technology improvements).

Friday, February 11th - our next Kid's Night Out event in the GSES Dining Den! We served nearly 200 kiddos at the first two - this one is sure to be another hit!
  

Thank you for all of your hard work & support of our school! We hope to see you soon!

Huge thanks!

Hi there -

Welcome back from winter break!

Have you been in the GSES Dining Den since your kiddos have returned to school? If you have, you might have noticed how awesome the floor looks... all thanks to ServiceMaster.

They donated their time over the winter break to clean the carpets in there. They did an outstanding job, and we are so grateful for their service!

We also wanted to send our huge appreciation to Kid's Night Out sponsors:
Thanks to Domino's Pizza, for all the hot, gooey pizzas they delivered (and the kids devoured in minutes!), and to City Market and Target, for donating the drinks for our thirsty kiddos.

We are so lucky to live in a community that is willing to support our children and GSES! Next time you're in one of these locations, make sure you tell them thanks!