Important Reminders_______________________________________________________________
~Henry the Therapy Dog
Gretna Public Schools is honored to work with the Sarpy County Sheriff's Department and has recently gotten the privilege of hosting Henry. Henry is a golden retriever whose owner is Chaplain Jeff with the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office. Henry completed his therapy dog training in June of 2021 and was sworn in by Sheriff Davis as a Deputy in July 2021. Therapy dogs are dogs who go with their owners to volunteer in settings such as schools, hospitals, and nursing homes. From working with a child who is learning to read to visiting a senior in assisted living, therapy dogs and their owners work together as a team to improve the lives of other people. Henry is going to be visiting Thomas Elementary every other week for a few hours and spending time with our students. Your child may not see Henry every time, but teachers are given the opportunity to sign up for a time for Henry to visit their whole class or just a few students. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to call the School Counselor, Shelli Wolverton, at 402-332-5578 or email swolverton@gpsne.org --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
~From the office of the school nurse
I would like to thank all the parents who have contributed clothes and shoes to the health office clothing closet. It is so nice to be able to provide a change of clothes to students when needed while they are here at school. To parents whose students have borrowed clothes and shoes at school, please wash and return them to the health office after borrowing Nurse Libby Leute, RN, BSN, CPN eleute@gpsne.org --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
~ Birthdays
Our FANS (Food and Nutrition Services) Department offers parents a way to order birthday treats that will be delivered to your child's classroom. If you are interested, please complete this form. Birthday treats will be available all year and 2 weeks prior notice is required. If you prefer to bring your own treats, they must be store bought and have a list of ingredients in order to avoid allergens for those students with allergies. To help your child's birthday celebration run smoothly, please send the treats with your child to school in the morning. No homemade treats please. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
~ Lunch Menus
Lunch menus can be found under the parent tab on the main page of the Thomas Elementary website or also in the quick links at the bottom of the page under the FANS label. Each day students are able to choose from the following options: yogurt & cheese, hot lunch entree of the day, or the daily sandwich. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
DATES TO REMEMBER
Sept. 27th - Family Circles 2:15 Sept. 27th - PTO Meeting 5:30 - 6:30 pm Oct. 3rd - National Custodian Day Oct. 5th - Drama Club 7:30 am Oct. 11th - Parent/Teacher Conferences 4-7:45 pm Oct. 13th - Parent/Teacher Conferences 4-7:45 pm Oct. 31st - Halloween parade & parties 
~Family Circles at Thomas Elementary
Family Circles is an experience we incorporated during the 2015-2016 school year and have continued each year. Most staff members in the building have a group of students assigned to them from kindergarten through 5th grade. Each group has approximately 10-11 students. The students in each group remain the same from year to year with the exception of 5th graders leaving and kindergarteners joining. Family circles meet once a month for about 30 minutes. During this time, each group does an activity or a lesson that will be appropriate for all students. Some lessons may focus on character traits, while other times we may work on creating a cohesive group. It is a great way to encourage caring relationships within our building, create a stronger sense of community and individuality, as well as increase knowledge of adults and students. When you are in the building for parent/teacher conferences, come check out our Family Circle Tree for all Thomas students and families to view their Family Circles. If you have any questions or concerns about Thomas Family Circles please call or email Mrs. Wolverton at 402-332-5578 or swolverton@gpsne.org. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
~TES Employment Opportunities:
We are still looking for support staff in the following areas for this school year and next: A. Pre-School Paraprofessionals (29.5 Hours-Mon.-Thurs.) B. K-5 Paraprofessionals (29.5 Hours-Mon.-Fri.) C. If you have any questions about the position, please contact Bret Basye at 402-332-5578 or email bbasye@gpsne.org. D. If interested, click the link below to apply: GPS Employment Application and please note that you are interested in working at Thomas Elementary School on your application. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~ GPS F.A.N.S. (Food and Nutrition Services)
Gretna Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services is hiring. Our kitchens provide a fast paced work environment that is perfect for accommodating a school calendar. Open positions are for elementary through high school 9:00am-2:00pm. No nights, no weekends... only work on school days! Applications can be completed online at the link HERE --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~Kids Connection is hiring for:
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~ From the Counselor
Need Help? Please contact your school counselor!
Sometimes there are moments in life we need some help. Mrs. Wolverton has a variety of agencies who contact her throughout the year to offer help with food, clothes, and other needs. It is confidential! You can call or email her for more information at swolverton@gpsne.org or 402-332-5578.
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Need Help? Please contact your school counselor!
Sometimes there are moments in life we need some help. Mrs. Wolverton has a variety of agencies who contact her throughout the year to offer help with food, clothes, and other needs. It is confidential! You can call or email her for more information at swolverton@gpsne.org or 402-332-5578.
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~ Lunchroom expectations and accountability
One of the most important times in a student's day is lunch. It is a time to refuel their bodies and socialize with their friends so they can stay focused for the remainder of the day and have fun. We want students to have an enjoyable experience in the lunchroom, so we have specific lunchroom expectations along with an accountability system. Below are the common expectations for the lunchroom:
* Stay seated and raise your hand if you need something
* Use good table manners (hands to self, chew with your mouth closed, use your silverware, etc.)
* Eat your food
* Clean up after yourself
* Listen when an adult is on the microphone
* Use appropriate voice volume
When students are displaying positive lunchroom expectations they will be earning Dragon Dollars from the lunch supervisors. They will take these back to their classroom where they will be counted and students will earn incentives that Mr. Basye puts in place to reinforce their positive behavior.
When a student is not meeting lunchroom expectations, they will earn a red practice card. The students will take the card, give it to their teacher and an in class consequence will be given; this consequence will depend on the motivation system used in the classroom, but will be small and match the severity of the behavior. The teacher will sign the red practice card after the consequence is finished and bring it back to the lunchroom supervisor.
When a student earns their 3rd red practice card it will come home with a note explaining the repeated problems in the lunchroom. The 3rd red practice card will need to be signed by an adult at home and returned to school. If there are significant problems in the lunchroom, or repeated issues we will reach out to you to discuss further consequences and strategies to help the student be successful in the lunchroom.
Thank you for your support and reinforcement at home for positive lunchroom expectations!
One of the most important times in a student's day is lunch. It is a time to refuel their bodies and socialize with their friends so they can stay focused for the remainder of the day and have fun. We want students to have an enjoyable experience in the lunchroom, so we have specific lunchroom expectations along with an accountability system. Below are the common expectations for the lunchroom:
* Stay seated and raise your hand if you need something
* Use good table manners (hands to self, chew with your mouth closed, use your silverware, etc.)
* Eat your food
* Clean up after yourself
* Listen when an adult is on the microphone
* Use appropriate voice volume
When students are displaying positive lunchroom expectations they will be earning Dragon Dollars from the lunch supervisors. They will take these back to their classroom where they will be counted and students will earn incentives that Mr. Basye puts in place to reinforce their positive behavior.
When a student is not meeting lunchroom expectations, they will earn a red practice card. The students will take the card, give it to their teacher and an in class consequence will be given; this consequence will depend on the motivation system used in the classroom, but will be small and match the severity of the behavior. The teacher will sign the red practice card after the consequence is finished and bring it back to the lunchroom supervisor.
When a student earns their 3rd red practice card it will come home with a note explaining the repeated problems in the lunchroom. The 3rd red practice card will need to be signed by an adult at home and returned to school. If there are significant problems in the lunchroom, or repeated issues we will reach out to you to discuss further consequences and strategies to help the student be successful in the lunchroom.
Thank you for your support and reinforcement at home for positive lunchroom expectations!
