Garden Valley Elementary

K-5 Boys & Girls are invited to join Cub Scouts! Learn more at our open house Thursday, August 31 from 6:00-7:00pm in your school gym. Our family program is designed for making lifelong memories with your Scout while they learn values and important life skills. View Flyer: https://5il.co/23bnd

https://schools.mealviewer.com/school/GardenValleyES View daily menu

"Boys and girls in grades K-5 are invited to join Cub Scout this Thursday, at 6:00 PM, here at the school. Cub Scouts is full of fun activities like hiking, fishing, swimming, rockets, racing wooden cars, and more! Stop in with your parent or guardian, Thursday 31st, at 6:00 PM here at the Garden Valley!”

Drop off, Pick Up, and Parking Lot Procedures In an effort to streamline and simplify our drop off, pick up, and parking lot procedures for the first day of school and beyond, please review these procedures. Drop Off Procedure:       • Enter the parking lot to the EAST for drop off. • Stay on the inside of the cones, as outside of the cones is for bus traffic only. • Do not park in the bus lane at any time. • Stay in your car for drop off. A staff member will be there to help. Pick Up Procedure: • Have your car tag in your window. • Enter the parking lot to the EAST for pick up. • Loop around the inside of the cones and start filling in the parking lanes between the Legos. The front of your car will be facing south. • Stay in your car and a staff member will radio for your child/children. • A staff member will walk your child/children to your car. Parking Lot Procedure: • Need to come into the school? • Please use our "parking lot" in the graveled area on the east side of the school. • Please note that there is NO PARKING to the north of the roped area as that is for bus traffic and emergency vehicles only. Thank you for your patience during the first week of school while staff members learn all student names, families, and vehicles.

Happy First Day of School! Here at Garden Valley we had an AMAZING first day of school. Your Grizzlies started the day with an outside Grizzly Gathering and then made their way into their classroom for a day full of learning, getting to know their classmates and teachers, and learning our school procedures. The students were so well behaved all day! We would like to take this time to thank you for your patience with the pick-up procedure. We knew it would take longer so we wanted to make sure the students were safe from the hot sun. It will take us awhile to get to know students' names, family faces, and vehicles. We can't wait for Day 2! Rest up! Lyndee Heser

PTO will have Free Root beer Floats and a Petting Zoo. All money stays with Garden Valley. You can buy $1 cup of grain (or free will donation) to feed the animals.

Welcome, Garden Valley is going places!!

UPDATE for Middle School Central Campus & Garden Valley Elementary School parents and students (correspondence also sent via ParentSquare today) Principals are working diligently to assign students in PowerSchool. Over the last few weeks, two challenges have arisen that are impeding the scheduling of Williston Middle School Central Campus students in PowerSchool. The second of these issues has also had an impact on the scheduling of Garden Valley Elementary School students. 1. Due to a technical issue within the electronic scheduling system for middle school students, it became necessary for staff to manually enter all student schedules. 2. While awaiting the school board's acceptance of certain teachers' contracts on Monday evening (8/21/23), we are currently unable to input these teachers into PowerSchool until their employment is officially confirmed. In the interim, it is necessary for us to utilize placeholder teacher names in PowerSchool to facilitate student assignments. We invite you to join us at our Open House events on Monday, August 21. During these events, we will provide accurate printed schedule information for both you and your student(s). Students will meet their teachers and become familiar with their classrooms. OPEN HOUSE EVENTS: Williston Middle School Central Campus: 4:00 - 5:50 PM All Elementary Schools: 5:30 - 7:00 PM We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and stress that this situation may cause for you and your child(ren). Your patience and flexibility during this time are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Meet the 23-24 Garden Valley Elementary School Certified Staff Garden Valley is Going Places We are so excited to meet all of our Garden Valley Grizzlies on Monday night during the Back to School Open House, but in the meantime, we wanted to introduce you to our certified staff for the 23-24 school year. This summer, Mrs. Heser, the principal, spent a lot of time finding the perfect Grizzly staff! We know that these faces will help your child/children go so far this year as they travel on their educational journey. So, without further ado, meet your teachers... Kindergarten-Mrs. Haugen and Ms. Johnson 1st grade-Mrs. Ivy (Bolo) and Mrs. Rector 2nd grade-Mrs. Carvey and Mrs. Leda (Samontiza) 3rd grade-Mrs. Garrett and Mrs. Manzanas PE-Mr. Heise Music-Mrs. Gutknecht (Mrs. G) Library/Media-to be filled yet Strategist/Title-Ms. Thomas Instructional Coach-Ms. Cunningham Special Education-Ms. Wheat English Language-Mrs. Recicar (Mrs. T) Principal-Mrs. Heser

Meet our new Third Grade Teachers

Meet our Second Grade Teachers

Meet our First Grade Teachers

Meet the Kindergarten Teachers

School Bus Schedule If your child is in grades K-8 and you registered them for busing, your child is accepted to ride the bus. Your bus stop is the one nearest to your residence. Times are approximate and may be subject to change as the school year progresses and the number of students on the buses change. Bus routes with only one stop also accommodate children registered with McKinney Vento. These busses currently do not have capacity for additional group stops. However, this is subject to change and may be modified during the school year. McKinney Vento & Special Education Students: If you are a parent/guardian to a child that is registered with McKinney Vento or SPED, you will be receiving a phone call with the approximate pickup/drop off time for your children, if you haven’t already. Thank you for your patience during this transition period and we look forward to the 2023/2024 school year! ~ Harlow’s School Bus Transportation FAQ's: willistonschools.org/page/transportation Bus Schedule PDF Version: https://5il.co/22ipw

Back to School Open House UPDATE! This is a reminder that our Back-to-School Open House will take place on Monday, August 21st from 5:30-7pm. In addition to your "travels" through Garden Valley to meet your teacher, drop of school supplies, and visit various "countries" on the passport you will be given, you have a chance to learn more about our PTO. PTO will be sponsoring FREE root beer floats in the cafeteria. Also, be sure to bring some cash! They will be offering $10 PTO memberships/family as well as sponsoring a petting zoo. Enjoy the petting zoo and buy a bag of feed for only $1. All proceeds will go to the PTO to support projects at Garden Valley this year. Thank you for your support! We cannot wait to see you! Wishing you well, Lyndee Heser Principal

Williston Basin School District #7 is working diligently to address previously overcrowded classrooms in our schools and ensure that class sizes are equitable across the District. This is not an easy task. However, it is necessary to make sure that classrooms do not have 29-30 students while others in the same grade have significantly less. The District is faced with considerable space challenges in our elementary schools due to student enrollment growth. We are doing our best to utilize the space that we have available to provide equitable class sizes. This means that principals of our elementary schools must contact families to notify them of school assignment changes. All elementary schools in our District provide supportive, nurturing, high quality educational environments for students. On August 11, 2023 we sent a communication to all families whose students were not yet enrolled for the 2023-2024 school year. We outlined in this communication that we cannot guarantee that their child will be placed at the same school that they were placed in the previous school year. We thank you for your patience and understanding as the District team works together to provide equitable and balanced elementary class sizes throughout the District. If you have not yet completed your child's enrollment process, please go to: https://wbsd7.ps.state.nd.us/public/home.html NOTE: Returning Student Registration can only be completed through the PowerSchool Parent Portal via an internet browser. You cannot use the PowerSchool App to access the registration link. For Questions/Comments: tinyurl.com/D7inquiry Williston Basin School District #7 WillistonSchools.org

Welcome back! Garden Valley is Going Places! We can't wait to travel through this school year with you and your family! Please see this link for a welcome back letter and important information from Mrs. Heser, the principal of Garden Valley. See you soon! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F2_TcptumoHnzC9E3xegOyBWJXZAIuEOP6moqoGxA54/edit?usp=sharing

Tomorrow is the Final Day for: Kindergarten Screening August 14 and August 15 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Lutheran Brethern Church 213 26th St E Williston, ND 58801 All incoming kindergarten students need to be screened for kindergarten readiness before school starts. No appointment necessary, first come, first serve. You will need to plan on staying with your student the entire time, which should take approximately 30 minutes. If your student was already screened this past screen, they do not need to do it again. If you have questions, please reach out to Dr. Begay at sheeresa.begay@willistonschools.org

‼ UPDATE ‼ We gave away ALL the Backpacks we had today! BACKPACK GIVEAWAY 🎒🖍 Free Backpacks with Supplies Available at the District Office 1201 9th Ave NW *Limited Supplies Available

Garden Valley Back to School Open House Monday, August 21st 5:30-7pm Garden Valley is going places in 23-24! Join us for the Back-to-School Open House where you can meet your teacher, drop off your school supplies, and get your passport stamped in different "countries." Watch for more information to be shared about our staff, plans for the year, and the Back-to-School Open House in the coming days! See you soon!