Principal's Letter
Hello Grant Families,
I would like to invite you to our next feeder pattern event, the Lewis and Clark High School Multicultural fair! This is a great way to come together as a feeder pattern and learn about the different cultures in our LC Zone and see your child’s future high school! Our very own Grant Drummers and Dancers will be performing at various times throughout the fair. We love having our families join us at these fun events. Please see the flier below for more information.
I can’t wait to see you all there!
Love,
Mrs. Searcy
Principal, Grant Elementary
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Community Feedback Survey
Dear SPS Community,
If you haven’t already, please help us to understand community thoughts about our recent bond initiative, which received 55.9% approval and was short of the 60% threshold to pass. We encourage you to participate in this brief, anonymous survey.
Please share this survey with any local friends and family who may also be interested in sharing their thoughts. The survey closes at the end of the day on Wednesday, March 13.
Responses will assist us as we look for ways to address the continuing needs of school facilities in a manner that aligns with public feedback.
If you have any questions, please contact us using Let's Talk.
Thank you.
-Spokane Public Schools
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Spring Ahead!
Sunday, March 10, is the start of Daylight Savings Time. Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour! It's also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke alarms!
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No School
There will be no school on Friday, March 15. This day was reserved in case we needed a weather makeup day. Enjoy your 3 day weekend, Huskies!
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Afterschool Activities
Grant offers many afterschool activities for students to be involved in. Most activities run from 3:00-4:15. There is an activity bus for students who are eligible to ride the bus and have registered to ride.
Mondays: Drummers & Dancers
Tuesdays: Choir, Homework Cub, Volleyball
Wednesdays: EWU Reading Club (last day: March 13), Ceramics (last day: March 13)
Thursdays: Indigenous Afterschool Club (for American Indian or Alaska Native students, 3rd Thursday of the month), Young Kids Club (last day: March 21), Homework Club, LGBTQ+ Book Club
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Parents, We Need Your Help!
We are seeing an increase in the number of toys being brought to school. These quickly become a distraction from the learning environment and we would love your help to keep these distractions to a minimum. Parents, please tell your students to keep all toys at home unless the classroom is having a special party where they are allowed.
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Congratulations!
A shout out to Ms. Kim's and Ms. Blalack's classrooms for earning 250 Yellow Paws! Classrooms are awarded yellow paws for their outstanding work in following Grant's ABC expectations. Way to go, 3rd and 4th graders!
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2024-2025 Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten registration is open now for next year! Please come by the office or register online. The following is a list of paperwork to bring in to the office to complete the registration process:
- Birth certificate (students must be 5 years old on or before August 31)
- Medically verified immunizations records
- Proof of residency (this can be a utility or phone bill)
Registering now helps in preparing for classrooms next year. Please help us in our planning efforts and register your child as soon as possible. Please encourage your neighbors to register their child.
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Doodle for Google
Students, families, and community members! We have the opportunity to participate in Google's "Doodle for Google" annual contest. Google has invited students in grades K-12 to express their creativity by drawing their very own Google Doodle. The winning doodle will be displayed on the Google homepage for 24 hours and be awarded a college scholarship!
The 2024 Doodle for Google prompt is: My wish for the next 25 years.
This year's contest was inspired by Google's recent 25th birthday, and to celebrate they're asking students to think about what the next 25 years might be like.
We want you to imagine the future like it's a giant blank playground, waiting for your awesome ideas to bring to life. What cool things could happen-in your neighborhoods, your schools, your whole world? Google is excited to see your ideas of the future, where no dream is too big or small!
Contest submissions are due by March 13, 2024 to the librarian, Mrs. Escobar.
55 students will be named winners from their state/territory. Four finalists will win a $5000 scholarship and one winning student will receive a $30,000 scholarship, a $50,000 Google for Education technology package for their school, their artwork will be placed on the Google homepage for a day, and more!
To participate, families, please fill out the Google for Doodle form and sign.
Students, please fill out the title of your Doodle and description of the Doodle. Below the dark line you will complete your Google Doodle. The forms will be scanned and submitted electronically by the librarian, Mrs. Escobar. If you have any questions, feel free to email cherie@spokaneschools.org.
*The word "Google" is lightly dotted. Please use that to guide your Doodle.
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Reading Challenges
We currently have 2 Reading Challenges for your student to participate in!
Grant Reading Challenge: March is National Reading Month! Let's celebrate by SPRINGING into a good book! March calendars are due Monday, April 8.
Grant is also participating in Silverwood Theme Park's Read 2 Ride challenge! If students read 600 minutes by Friday, March 22, they will earn a FREE ticket to Silverwood Theme Park to use this summer. Parents, please make sure to sign the reading log and mark whether you want your ticket emailed or printed.
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Hello Grant families,
As part of our district’s goal of helping students explore career and postsecondary opportunities for their futures, we are happy to announce that our 5th grade students have the opportunity to attend the 5th Grade Career Fair, on March 27. All 5th graders and students in 4/5 combo classes in Spokane School District will have the chance to go to the Spokane Fairgrounds, where they will meet with many amazing volunteers from our community to learn about different career and post high-school education opportunities! It is an exciting event that can lead students to explore different careers that they may not have considered previously. After the event students will be asked to create a thank you card for one of the community organizations they met during the event. If you have not already, you will be receiving a permission slip for this event. Please sign and return the permission slip with your student.
In the meantime, Mr. Pride and I will be meeting with 5th grade classrooms to help students learn about how their interest can help them identify careers that might be a good fit for them.
Human Growth and Development:
It’s that time of year again. Our teachers will be teaching the SPS Human Growth and Development curriculum to 4th and 5th grade students from March 18 through March 29. The intention is to provide accurate, timely and age-appropriate information for students and to support important conversations at home. A letter with additional information was sent home with 4th and 5th grade students. If you have questions about the curriculum, please reach out to your student’s teacher or one of the school counselors. If you wish to exclude your child from these lessons, please contact the Grant office for appropriate opt-out forms.
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Our Purposeful People Character Trait for the month of March is Cooperation. One way to think about Cooperation is “working together to reach shared goals.” As a family, talk about how this definition applies to how you work together at home. What are some goals you share? Cooperation is 1 of 3 traits we will focus on throughout the year that helps students Be Kind. Throughout the school, students will be developing skills like perspective-taking, conflict resolution, and leadership.
We look forward to celebrating our Citizens of the Month for Cooperation later this month!
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Proud to be a Husky!
Love,
Ms. Campbell & Mr. Pride
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Family Assistance Survey
If you haven’t already and would like to sign up for supports throughout the year, please take a moment to fill out the Family Assistance Survey to sign up for programs such as mentoring, food or clothing supports, mental health and parenting resources, and/or volunteer opportunities. 😊 There are several ways to sign up: Scan the QR code, follow this link, or come to the office to get a hard copy.
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Don't Forget: Wear your PE Shoes!
We are seeing an increase in the number of students who are forgetting to bring their PE shoes on PE days. Shoes with laces make for a fun time in PE! Please talk with your student about responsibility and putting those PE shoes on or putting them in their backpack before coming to school. Thank you for your support!
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Thank you to Wisconsinburger for selecting T.E.A.M. Grant as their "Charity of the Month" for March! T.E.A.M. Grant will receive $1.00 from every Grind of the Week purchased during the month. Wisconsinburger is located at 916 S Hatch St. Take your family and enjoy a delicious burger while supporting your favorite parent-teacher group!
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Our next T.E.A.M. Grant meeting is Tuesday, April 9, at 6:30 pm. There is free childcare available and we would love to have you join us!
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Attendance Line
Whenever your student will be absent from school, we ask that you call our Attendance Line to report the absence. Remember to include your name, your student's name, and the reason for the absence. You can save the number in your phone for quick and easy access! The number is 509-354-2818 and is available 24 hours a day.
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When to Keep A Child Home From School
It is important for the health of all students, staff and families that your child not attend school when they are sick. The following guidelines are appropriate reasons to keep your child home from school:
- A fever of 100 degrees F or higher in the last 24 hours. Your child should be fever free (without the use of fever reducing medicines) for 24 hours before returning to school.
- A consistently goopy, runny nose.
- Drainage from the eye and/or redness of the eyelid or skin around the eye.
- A bad cough-one that you wouldn't want your well child to be around.
- A sore throat, especially with fever or swollen glands in the neck.
- Shortness of breath or other problems with normal breathing.
- A child that seems ill-unusually tired, pale, or difficult to awaken, headache or body aches; seems confused or irritable, and/or lacks normal appetite.
- A rash that is associated with fever or severe itching.
- Vomiting with/without diarrhea within the last 24 hours. Your child should be free of vomiting or diarrhea for 24 hours before returning to school. NOTE: A child who has one episode of bloody diarrhea or two episodes of diarrhea at school must be sent home and cannot return until the diarrhea has resolved. Some diarrhea may be associated with bacteria or virus. If your child has severe diarrhea you should contact your health care provider.
- Your child needs to remain at home 24 hours after starting an antibiotic.
- Any contagious disease such as chicken pox, influenza, whooping cough or gastroenteritis.
- As directed by your health care provider.
If you have any questions, please contact Nurse Heidi Hash at 509-354-2785.
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Bussing Reminders
Zum is the new transportation company for Spokane Public Schools. Zum is committed to safe, reliable student transportation.
Students who qualify to ride the bus must be registered. Once registered, students will receive a bus pass to scan when they get on and off the bus. If a student loses their bus pass, parents can call the school office to order a new one. Register to ride the bus here. You must know your student's ID number and birthdate to register.
Parents are encouraged to download the Zum app on their phones which provides the following benefits:
- view your student's upcoming rides
- track your student's rides in real time and receive alerts when the bus is arriving
- get notifications when your student gets on and off the bus
- cancel your student's same-day and upcoming rides
- view driver and vehicle information for your ride
- chat with a live support agent
- rate your ride and provide Zum feedback
For more information, please visit ridezum.com/getstarted.
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Free Preschool Available at Grant
We have a few openings left in our preschool program for both morning and afternoon sessions. If you have a 3 or 4 year old and are interested in learning more, please contact our Family Support Specialist at 509-354-2774 or email her at CelinaH@spokaneschools.org.
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We had a great week celebrating Read Across America with our "Celebrating Diversity" theme. We started the spirit week with staff dressing like students and students dressing like staff. Tuesday, we celebrated all of the countries around the world wearing the flag colors of your choice. On Wednesday, we celebrated the community of Grant Elementary and were decked out in green and yellow. Then on Thursday, we celebrated the LC Feeder Pattern Zone by wearing the colors of Sacajawea Middle School and Lewis and Clark High School. We saw lots of red, orange, and black. Finally on Friday, we looked forward to the weekend and wore our pajamas, along with Karaoke Fridays, and had a school wide read-in to finish the fun-filled week! | |
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Congratulations to February's Citizens of the Month! They were selected for displaying the Purposefull People character trait of honesty. Way to go, Huskies!
Kindergarten: Serenity, Emilia, Maycie, Jory
1st Grade: Goretti, Zachary, Amar, Mike, Adai
2nd Grade: Yasir, Zieayla, Hser Law Eh, Lawson
3rd Grade: Beverly Rose, Kayara, Winrose, Ona, Scarlet, DaNessa
4th Grade: Rehanno, Milah, Evie, Emily, Emeri
5th Grade: Vincent, Suzy, Rae, Alice, Ryan
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Ms. Blalack's class recently enjoyed pizza, cinnamon sticks, and ice cream sandwiches for being the Class of the Month. They have won that honor three months in a row by earning the most Yellow Paws among all the intermediate classrooms! | |
Our preschool students have been practicing their gross motor and social emotional skills on the playground this week by sharing their new balls. | | | | |
