December News & Updates

December 16, 2022

A Message from Dr. Christine Trujillo, Superintendent

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas Gilbert Families!

What an incredible first semester we have had across the district! I hope you are keeping up with our updates on social media where we are celebrating our students and staff! I even started a Twitter account and I try to give timely updates on events in the district. I will share snow day updates there too, if and when we ever have a snow day! Follow me: @Gilbert_DrT.

I truly love the holidays and the magic they bring to families, especially kids. I know we all have our own traditions that we carry on year to year to make this time extra special!

Traditions matter and they ground us in our family history. Gilbert Schools has its own rich traditions, and they add to the love I feel for this district. It’s the winter concerts, door decorating, staff parties, mega sports nights, cookie exchanges, and reading our favorite holiday stories with our kids. Embrace those traditions with your families throughout this holiday season.

I have warm memories as an elementary-aged student of going to school at night in our pajamas to sing our Christmas songs for parents. We found this to be so exciting and special! Then you have children and you carry on those traditions and, sometimes, make new ones. When my son, Alexander, was about 4, as we put out the cookies and milk for Santa, he turned to me and said, "Mom, we need carrots for the reindeer!" Uh-oh! I knew I didn't have carrots and as a busy working mom, I had forgotten them! So I looked in the fridge only to find asparagus. Darrell and I shared how asparagus would give the reindeer extra power to help the reindeer make it through the night, and so we put out the asparagus! Every year after, Alexander would remind me to get the asparagus to help the reindeer. I have always believed someday he will discuss putting out asparagus for reindeer in his adult life and others around him will look strangely at him and say, "You mean carrots, right?" P.S. – Please don't bring this up if you see him now! This still makes me chuckle!

The holidays can also be a difficult time and sometimes a lonely time for people. I think it’s important to remember those that have passed and to see how you can reach out to those that have lost a loved one. My dad passed away just over two years ago and he loved Christmas. He was the guy who would drive around with a wreath on the front of his car! He has been on my mind so much this holiday season.

Someone asked me why this newsletter is called Gilbert Buzz. Well, I will let you in on a little secret: My dad had nicknames for all three of us kids and mine was Buzz. It had something to do with how much I love to talk if you can believe that! So when I was thinking of a name for the newsletter I decided on Gilbert Buzz. It was a quiet shoutout to my dad and for my nickname. I miss hearing his bellowing laughter and his voice calling me and saying, "Buzz, it's dad, what is going on at school today?"

Just to be clear: My dad, and ONLY MY DAD, called me Buzz. So don’t get any ideas! :)

Anyway, if you get the chance this holiday season, hug someone who is thinking of someone who has passed, invite an extra person to dinner if they are alone, or stop by with a plate of cookies if you know that person may be a little lonely this year. Giving back to others doesn't have to involve a big gesture; sending a text or picking up the phone and calling someone is often enough.

Have a wonderful holiday season! Enjoy all the wonderful times you have with your families and friends! Thank you for your ongoing support of the Gilbert School District. We are led by an amazing school board that truly puts students and staff first. Our teachers and staff go above and beyond and embrace Every Student, Every Day. I am so grateful to our community for sending your children to us and for supporting the work we do. The Gilbert Community School District is a special place and it is the word community that makes it so!

Enjoy the holiday season and don’t forget to get the carrots! The reindeer will thank you!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Sincerely,

Dr. Trujillo

This picture of my dad and I was taken at my brother’s wedding in Cleveland, Ohio. My dad always had a way of making you feel so special and this moment was no different! He had just walked up to me to dance and someone snapped this picture. Great memories!

Stay Connected with Gilbert

The latest news and highlights around the Gilbert Community School District.

Game On - Winter 2022-23

Game On, our preseason sports media guide, is back for a second time. After the publication launched in the fall, now it's time to feature our winter activities - girls' and boys' basketball, wrestling, and bowling. Preview stories, team photos, group photos, schedules, and so much more are inside the 41-page Gilbert CSD publication.

Read Story

Just Dance

Three days. More than 250 teams. More than 600 routines. And more than 5,000 competitors.

Welcome to the Iowa State Dance and Drill Team Association (ISDTA) State Dance Championships, the largest of its kind in the nation. It all kicks off Wednesday at Wells Fargo Arena and Hy-Vee Hall in Des Moines and concludes on Friday.

Read Story

Holiday Giving Program Exemplifies Gilbert’s Generosity, Community Pride

Sam McDaniel-Rold knows how lucky she is, even as she sits slumped in a chair inside the Gilbert High School conference room Tuesday morning. The senior basketball player is only three days removed from suffering an injury during a game at Mason City on Saturday and yet she’s smiling.

Teammate and classmate Carolyn Koenig has a grin on her face too as she sits to the left of Sam. Both girls enjoy the holiday season, but it’s as much about giving back as it is receiving. Maybe even more.

'Tis the season here at Gilbert.

Read Story

Staff Development Day benefits students

With students enjoying a three-day weekend, Gilbert’s teachers were in their buildings and hard at work during Monday’s Staff Development Day.

Collaboration. Reflection. Brainstorming. Creativity. More than 100 teachers had the day to do all of the above and so much more in an effort to enhance the educational opportunities for our students.

“Professional development days are important for us to remember what our ‘why’ is, and our why is our students,” Carrie Clark, Gilbert’s Director of Teaching, Learning, and Leadership, said.

Read Story

Videos, Videos, and more Videos

Gilbert High School performed the musical Little Women during the month of November.

Little Women: The Musical

Gilbert High School performed the musical Little Women over two evenings in the month of November. Congratulations to the students, as well as directors Zack Hackbarth and Tanner Stutzman on a wonderful production!

Staff of Stars: Tanner Stutzman

A feature on Gilbert High School choir director Tanner Stutzman for our Staff of Stars series.

Staff of Stars: Hannah Schmidt

A feature on Gilbert Middle School 7th grade science teacher Hannah Schmidt for our Staff of Stars series.

Staff of Stars: Kiley Sanduka

A feature on Gilbert Intermediate 4th grade teacher Kiley Sanduka for our Staff of Stars series.

Mega Night!

The first Mega Night of the 2022-23 basketball season at Gilbert High School occurred on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. Here are the sights and sounds from the varsity games.

Gilbert Connect Podcast

Welcome To Gilbert Connect

On the inaugural episode of the Gilbert Connect podcast, Superintendent Dr. Christine Trujillo joins to discuss her career and Gilbert CSD.

An Interview with Activities Director Ian Smith

An Interview with AD Ian Smith

Gilbert Activities Director Ian Smith stops by to talk about the fall, and looks ahead to what should be an exciting winter of events.

Leader In Me

Gilbert Intermediate Principal Amy Griffin joins the podcast to talk about the Leader In Me program.

Gilbert Tradition: Coming Home

Gilbert staff members and mother and daughter Carrie Clark and DeeDee Haselhoff talk about growing up in Gilbert and returning to the school as educators.

Families: Be sure to check our DIGITAL BACKPACK

Social Media Posts of the Month

FACEBOOK

Today is National Special Education Day and it recognizes changes in federal legislation that led to the nation's first federal special education law.

At Gilbert Schools, today we celebrate our amazing group of special education staff members, who go above and beyond each and every day to make sure our students get the help and care they need. This group is passionate and dedicated, and we cannot thank them enough for all that they do! #GilbertPride #TigersTogether

TWITTER

Fun to get a chance to see our bowlers put in the work at practice yesterday. Plenty of info on them and our other winter sports teams in GAME ON, our sports media guide now available on our website. #GilbertPride #TigersTogether

INSTAGRAM

Media Day for most of our winter sports teams (bowling still to go early in the week) took place yesterday and it went great. Team photos, group photos, individual photos, etc. Thank you to the coaches and athletes for making it a smooth process.

Here’s a sample of the day — Mike and Raney Kruse together for a photo to commemorate her final season of basketball.

A lot of the photos will be featured in GAME ON, our winter media guide that will be out by the end of the month. They will all eventually be on our photo website as well and available for download. #GilbertPride

#TigersTogether

GHS Sophomore Abigail Randall Takes Sugar Cookies And Makes Art

There’s a story out there that says the first sugar cookie was made in the Middle East … 1,300 years ago! As for when the delicious treat reached our borders in North America, that dates back three centuries to the Pennsylvania area.

And today it’s how Gilbert High School sophomore Abigail Randall is making a little bit of spending money as she heads into the holiday season.

Sounds fun and pretty easy, right? It is fun, Abigail says, but her finished products are anything but easy. In actuality, they’re really works of art, and art takes time.

As someone who enjoys art and has a knack for detail, decorating sugar cookies comes naturally to Abigail. And as it turns out, there’s a nice-sized market for impeccably frosted sugar cookies during the holidays.

“I’ve seen cute cookies on my Pinterest feed and I thought, I could do that,” Abigail says. “I’m not in any art classes right now, but this kind of thing has always come naturally to me. Paying attention to detail is part of my personality.”

Knowing her daughter needed some money to help pay for her car, LeeAnn Randall came up with the idea of selling sugar cookies to those with a sweet tooth. With a clever post on Facebook, a small business was in place and the orders began to flood in.

“I’ve always liked (making) sugar cookies and frosting them with my family, and some friends of my mom had some and said, ‘Oh my gosh, these are so amazing!’ Really? Are you sure they are? That’s what I said, but my mom said this would be a great way to earn money. So that’s where we’re at.”

A few cookies here and there has quickly turned into a little more work than Abigail originally envisioned. Early in the venture, she says it took upwards of 10 minutes to frost each cookie, but as the orders have increased — when she sat down to talk, she had the stress of getting 60 cookies ready for a client in a few days — so has her productivity. She’s since switched to an assembly line type system that takes less time. Now she can handle 20 cookies in two hours.

“I’m getting a lot of requests, which is very unexpected,” Abigail says. “I told my mom she has to say no to some of this because I don’t have enough time. But I’m grateful for my family, specifically my mom for helping me so much.”

And if you think Abigail is handing off her frosting duties to family members to save time, well, think again. Her cookies are unique to her artistic abilities.

“I can’t give away cookies that I’m not proud of,” she says with a chuckle.

So what is it about Abigail’s cookies that makes them so popular? Well, just look at them! Her Christmas tree design is flawless, and she can make a cookie look better than even a professional’s perfectly-wrapped present. Her talent is obvious through the various designs.

Taking a hobby and making it lucrative shows ingenuity, but that’s what it is — a hobby.

“It’s a nice way to earn some money and you can get a lot of money off sugar cookies apparently,” Abigail says.

Abigail sells her cookies through her mom’s Facebook page. The cost is six cookies for $15, or $25 for a dozen cookies. So if you’re looking for something to brighten up your holiday display …

Put Others Before Yourself

Generosity in the Gilbert Community School District knows no bounds, and during this holiday season the chance to give back will reach every single student inside our buildings.

The initiative focus is to Put Others Before Yourself.

Through an anonymous donation by a district family, every student — kindergarten through 12th grade — will be given $1 to pay it forward to someone else.

What they choose to do with the $1 is completely up to the individual students. Some students may purchase a gift for a family member or friend, some may collect more money to give to those in need, or friends may pool their money together and donate it to a good cause.

"We want students to realize the impact they can make with a kind gesture," Gilbert Intermediate Principal Amy Griffin said. "Providing $1 for all kids to have this experience is really special. We're always wanting to instill in our kids how they can think of others and put others before themselves, so this is a great opportunity for our kids, especially during the holiday season."

Students at Gilbert Intermediate will travel to the district’s other three buildings in the coming days to bring the message to the other students. The challenge stems from Habit No. 3: Put First Things First.

Students will be encouraged to take a selfie of themselves as they complete their challenge and email those images to growgreatleaders@gilbert.k12.ia.us.

This is just another example of the uniqueness that lives inside our district. Thank you to our oh-so generous anonymous donor, and hopefully our students will do all they can to give back in the intended way.