Home of the Gators
Gant Parents,
I am excited to share our plans as we move forward with our March 29th date!
I recognize that this is a lot of information at one time, but I know that you’ll want to read this as soon as possible.
Throughout the month of March, I will provide multiple opportunities for you and I to further explore all of the information in this document. The table below shows the topics that will be addressed in more depth each week.
| Week of | Topics Covered |
| March 1-5 | This document (overview) |
| March 8-12 | Video with information for in-person learning |
| March 15-19 |
Parent Meeting Thursday, March 18, 6pm (zoom) |
| March 22-26 |
Public Access and Health & Safety Protocols Practice Walkthrough 8:00am for AM class Grades 4, 5, Tuesday |
In the meantime, please take some time to review the linked documents that will provide more details about our plans to reopen Gant for in-person instruction on March 29.
1. Classroom Instruction and Materials
2. Cleaning, Disinfecting and Sanitizing
3. Entrance/Arrival and Exit/Dismissal
4. Public Access to School Offices and Campus
5. Student Assignment and Placements
Sincerely,
Cassie Fanton, Principal
The Bethune Supply Drive will be held from Tuesday, February 16, through Friday, March 5. Please see the above flier for additional information, including the Amazon Smile Charity List link. Additionally, we will have a bin outside the front of the school for drop-off donations.
If you have any questions, PLEASE DO NOT contact the front office! Email Liz Gillies at recsec@gant-pta.com, and she will be more than happy to help!
Who Was Mary McLeod Bethune?
As Gant is currently collecting supplies for LBUSD’s Bethune Transitional Center, we wanted to highlight the champion behind the name. A child of former slaves, Mary McLeod Bethune set out to receive a proper education but also strove to help others from disadvantaged groups become properly educated as well. She was a true champion of racial and gender equality.
Due to her lifelong effort to help even the most vulnerable populations of children receive an education, the Long Beach Unified School District named their center for unhoused children in her honor. At the center, children receive access to health care, counseling, personal and school supplies and more.
“The world around us really belongs to youth for youth will take over its future management. Our children must never lose their zeal for building a better world. They must not be discouraged from aspiring toward greatness, for they are to be the leaders of tomorrow.”- Mary McLeod Bethune
Gant Families, are you excited to put together a fabulous year of fun, educational, and IN-PERSON programs for our kids in the 2021-2022 school year? Then join the PTA Board as an elected member! Serving on the PTA provides a great opportunity to give back to your school and community and helps provide students with many opportunities to enhance their school experience. If you might be interested, click to see the roles and responsibilities for all positions. Nominations can still be submitted to Genn Billish at VP@gant-pta.com.
We are proud to announce that Sydney R.-N., after taking first place in the visual arts intermediate category at Minnie Gant, also took first place at the council level, and then first place at the district level.
Her artwork, All The Possibility, now moves on to the state level. Sydney will represent Minnie Gant and our entire district in the State of California.
We are all proud of Sydney and hope you join us in wishing her luck as she competes at the state level.
More about past Gant student achievements and events here.
The LBUSD Office of Child Development Centers is now enrolling for our full-day and part-day state subsidized preschool program, our full-day, fee-based preschool program and our school-age care programs. Please visit our web site here for specific details regarding locations and contact information. For enrollment assistance, call 562-429-8636.
Hello, Gant Gators! My name is Jennifer Barragan, and I am lucky enough to have been teaching at Gant for four years. During my 18 years with Long Beach Unified, I have also taught kinder, third, and fourth at Bret Harte Elementary.
Born and raised in Long Beach, I am a product of LBUSD. I attended Cubberley, Newcomb, and Millikan High School. My college years were spent at CSULB, where I graduated with a BA in Family and Consumer Sciences (specialization in Child Development) and earned my teaching credential.
My husband, Jared, and four kids, Emily, 24, Luke, 16, Connor, 10, and Brooklyn, 9, keep me laughing and very busy.
I love teaching because there is no greater reward than working with students who are curious and enthusiastic, and share my love of learning.
- Favorite book: Blood on the River. I love historical fiction!
- Favorite hobbies: Hiking and gardening
- Favorite sports team: Angels
- Favorite subject to teach: I seriously enjoy teaching all subjects.
- Favorite subject to learn: American history
- Favorite dessert: Strawberry shortcake
- Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all facets of community life, as well as awareness of the barriers that people with disabilities still sometimes face in connecting to the communities in which they live.
- Women’s History Month. Commemorate and encourage the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.
- Holi - March 28. Hindu Festival of Colors
- Nowruz - March 21. Iranian New Day (New Year). It is the day of the spring equinox, when the amount of light and dark is the same during the day.
- Passover - March 27- April 4. On this important holiday, Jews around the world commemorate the Israelites' liberation from enslavement in ancient Egypt, and celebrate the “passing over” of the forces of destruction.
- Cesar Chavez Day - March 31. Latino American Civil Rights Activist
- Read Across America Day. Create and celebrate a nation of diverse readers.
- National Deaf History Month. March 13-April 15. National Deaf History Month commemorates the achievements of people who are deaf and hard of hearing.
LBUSD Resources
Voices of LBUSD will have resources for Women’s History Month and Disabilities Awareness Month. Please visit their site and find interactive learning rooms and check out the calendar of virtual events.
Bookshop
Read Across America is a great time to celebrate our diverse readers. Visit the National Education Association website for resources, lesson plans, and book ideas for Read Across America and Women’s History Month.
Please visit Gant’s Bookshop for Diverse and Inclusive Book recommendations. https://bookshop.org/shop/MinnieGant
Share Your Story
Gant Gators, what are you celebrating and reading this month? How will you and your family be celebrating Holi, Nowruz or Passover? We'd love to hear about it. Have a parent or guardian post on our PTA Facebook Page or tag us on Instagram @gantelementary. Or please send photos and stories of how your family is celebrating this year to dei@gant-pta.com so that we can share your story and pictures.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
Join Gant PTA's DEI Committee! We will be meeting virtually on Monday, March 8, at 8:30pm. Please email for more information: dei@gant-pta.com
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
Click the Peachjar icon above for current after-school and community flyers of interest to Gant families:
- Free Parent Webinar - Understanding Anger
- You Matter! Weekly Newsletter
- School News Roll Call - February/March 2021
- Walk and Roll Long Beach
Other flyers:
Shop at Amazon Smile
Download the BoxTops app; scan receipts when you buy BoxTops products.
Bullying defined:
"A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending themselves."
(D. Olweus)
Click to Report a Bully
Please share any photos you have of students in school activities with our PTA Historian to be used for promoting school activities. Any student in a photo must have turned in a permission slip.
View school events in your Google calendar by subscribing to the Minnie Gant Elementary calendar.
The SchoolMessenger app delivers communications from the school district and Gant all in one place.
Chromebook and Hotspot Tech Support
562-315-8083
