Gant

This month, we invite all families to share their holiday traditions with us. Which holiday(s) do you celebrate? Do you celebrate a holiday in a unique way than others? We look forward to seeing and sharing your videos via your room parent emails on how the Gant Community celebrates. You can find more information by clicking here.

As we are planning for our APEX event on Thursday, I wanted to take a minute to explain where the fundraising money goes. 

Since Gant is a non title 1 school, we are limited on funds we receive from the state. This year we received $17,000 and most of that will go toward release days for our amazing teachers to unpack the new science materials, analyze data, and plan together. 

We rely heavily on fundraising to cover the many activities that make our school so wonderful. Here are just a few items that are covered. 

• Recreation aides 
• Assemblies 
• Classroom instructional enrichment 
• Green team 
• Programs such as Red Ribbon Week, Reflections, Spelling Bee, Run Club 

In addition to all of the items PTA funds through fundraisers, a big-ticket item is also added each year. This year the electronic marquee is what Gant needs. We already have a portion of it paid for, so the rest will be funded through the fundraiser. 

Again, thank you all for supporting Gant!  As we finish out this week, and then head into Thanksgiving break, I am constantly reminded of how grateful I am for all of you :)

Cassie Fanton, Principal

Thank you all for your patience with our spirit wear this year. Most of the orders were passed out. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. We do have inventory now and we are working on finding a time to sell the spirit wear. If you would like to buy some in the meantime please email spiritwear@gant-pta.com and we can work out a way to get your Gant Gator some spirit wear. 

The PTA is looking for an Auditor. The Auditor audits the PTA financial data generated by the Treasurer and Financial Secretary every three months (moderate time commitment). If you are interested or have any questions please email President@gant-pta.com

Our Halloween festivities were a huge success!

Students and staff had so much fun dressing up. We started the morning with our Student of the Month assembly, and Trunk or Treat was a blast! Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of the event!

Looking for diverse books to purchase for your kids?  Check out the Minnie Gant page on bookshop.org.

AND

If you have any suggestions of titles, please email dei@gant-pta.com with the Title and author and we will add it to this growing resource.

Visit Gant's PTA Membership page for more details.

The ribbon cutting ceremony for Gant's Teacher Retirement Garden was a success! Retired teachers Mrs. Arakawa, Mrs. Muha, Mrs. Ball, Mrs. Mueller, and Mrs. Cantor were honored at the October 13 event.

The garden, originally started by Mrs. Ball's 2008 class, was refurbished under the leadership of Jamie K., a Gant alumni and current Ambassador Girl Scout working on her Gold Award Project.

"I ... decided for my project to give back to my elementary school and refurbish it into an outdoor learning environment that honored retired teachers," reports Jamie. "The garden's design contains grade-level plants that meet their science standards along with curriculum and books for the teachers to use with their lessons. A garden club, with students, was created that would help with the project. Now it is sustainable, so that future Gant students can learn while enjoying, managing and caring for the garden."

The LBUSD Office of Child Development Centers is now enrolling for our full-day, fee-based preschool program. Please visit our web site here for specific details regarding locations and contact information. For enrollment assistance, call 562-429-8636.

It's a hard time to be a kid right now. It's a hard time to be a parent and guardian right now. Minnie Gant students and families deserve all the support we can give them. Here are some resources we hope can help.

Gant Staff and Resources

This pandemic has brought unprecedented change and uncertainty into all of our lives. If you are in a difficult position, we encourage you to PLEASE ask for help!  You can reach out to our counselor, Laurie Wheels (lwheels@lbschools.net), or our principal Cassie Fanton (cfanton@lbschools.net) with any needs you may have. Your privacy is paramount and any discussions will be completely confidential.

LBUSD Family Resource Centers

LBUSD Family Resource Centers are available to support students' and families in so many ways  – from student mental/behavioral/emotional health to parent workshops to food/clothing resources, referrals, health care, and more. Please reach out! 

Website –  https://linktr.ee/LBUSDFRC

Instagram – @lbusdfrc

LBUSD Special Education Community Advisory Committee

The LBUSD Special Education CAC is open to everyone who wants to help students with exceptional needs obtain an appropriate, high-quality education, including parents, teachers, persons with disabilities, service providers and other concerned community members. A calendar of meetings and topics, including distance learning and sibling support, can be found here.

California State PTA Resources 

"Discussing Difficult Situations With Your Children"

Emotional Health Resources List