We are in need of volunteers for our Thanksgiving lunch on Tuesday, November 14th in the Grady cafeteria. Please click Read More for the link to sign up.
We have some exciting events coming up! Please click on the links for additional information.
- 11/10 – Non-student day (Veteran’s Day Observance)
- 11/14 – Thanksgiving Luncheon at Grady
- 11/16 – Great American Teach-in
- 11/17 – Tiger Trek Walk-a-thon This PTA fundraiser was moved to replace the traditional fall fundraiser –100% of the proceeds will go directly to Grady to benefit your children and our school. It's a great way for your child to have fun while they exercise! We are in need of volunteers during the event. Please click on the links to see the full schedule, volunteer or donate on behalf of a student. Thanks to our wonderful sponsors, we have amazing prizes for all of our donors, as well as the top 4 students and top classes.
- 11/20-24 – Thanksgiving Break – No school
- 12/07 – Grady Winter Concert
- 3/3 – Grady’s adult only Auction Night at Christ the King. Click here to purchase tickets. To donate items for the auction, please contact Julie Alexander at [email protected].
Thank you to all of the parents who joined us for our volunteer meeting yesterday! It was great seeing how many parents are willing to sign up to help our upcoming events and insure that they are a success! If you were unable to attend, but would like more information on volunteering, please contact Norma Maiz at [email protected]
We still need volunteers for the following events: Thanksgiving Luncheon on Nov 14th; Tiger Trek on Nov 16th (sorting t-shirts) and Nov 17th (distributing bracelets and waters and cheering on our students); Winter Concert on Dec 7th (chair setup/breakdown); and Barnes & Noble Book Fair on Dec 15th(run the craft table for 30 minute shifts). Please click on the links above to sign up or contact Norma.
The Grady Chorus, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade, will continue rehearsals after Thanksgiving Break. As we return to "Early Release Mondays," on November 27th, our chorus time will return back to 1:30-2:30 in the afternoon, with pick up at 2:30 in the front of the school. We will have rehearsals on November 27th and December 4th, in preparation for the Winter Concert on December 7th.
The Reflections Art Contest winners are being announced today, November 8th. We will post a list of the winners and the art submitted next week. Thanks to all of our students that participated!
Parents, if you chaperone a field trip or participate in a classroom or grade level event, please send pictures to our Yearbook Coordinator, Norma Maiz at [email protected], so that they can be included in our Grady Yearbook. You can also send photos from outside events that feature teachers and students.
Thanks to all of the families that submitted Box Tops. We raised approximately $600!!
In October, the PTA approved $1,018.34 in teacher mini grants including privacy partitions, math journals and kits, reading journals, 6 student stools and the 4th grade classroom library grant to create a library of low, mid and high level books for 90 students. So far this year, over $5,000.00 in teacher mini grants have been approved this school year.
Guidance Counselor, Ms. Nancy Barra, asks us to read the November Home & School Connection.
Click Read More to read the November 2017 Home & School Connection.
It is time to get involved! Grady is having a Volunteer Meeting on Tuesday, November 7, at 8 AM in the Teachers’ Lounge for parents and grandparents who would like to be more involved with our school. Please click Read More for additional information.
We have some exciting events coming up! Please click on the links for additional information.
- 10/23-10/28 – Red Ribbon week at Grady. Click Red Ribbon for the full list of Red Ribbon Week Activities. As a reminder, Wednesday is “Turn your back on drugs” – wear your clothes backwards and Thursday is our Red Ribbon Poster Contest.
- 10/31 - Storybook Parade at Grady at 8:30am. The PTA will provide a free cup of coffee for parents while we wait for the parade to start. There will also be a donation-only donut sale, which benefits the fifth grade end of year activities. Please click on the link for more information. We will have a PTA membership table set up at the Storybook Parade to help us reach our goal of 100% membership.
- 11/5 – Tampa Bay Food Truck Rally and Silent Auction in support of End 68 Hours of Hunger. Click End 68 Hours of Hunger for more information.
- 11/14 – Thanksgiving Luncheon at Grady
- 11/16 – Great American Teach-in
- 11/17 – Tiger Trek Walk-a-thon This PTA fundraiser was moved to replace the traditional fall fundraiser – there is no food to buy, magazines to order or catalogs to look through. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to Grady to benefit your children and our school. It's a great way for your child to have fun while they exercise!
Packages are being sent home today, October 24th with all of the details. Students can ask family members, friends and neighbors to support Grady by pledging money towards their participation.
For your convenience, per-lap pledges have been replaced by flat donations. However, your walker will still enjoy competing for prizes on the number of laps completed.
October 30th is the last day to turn in money to guarantee a Tiger Trek t-shirt, which can be worn as a spirit shirt during the week. You can turn in money collected through the envelope provided or online donations are accepted here.
- 3/3 – Grady’s adult only Auction Night at Christ the King. Click here to purchase tickets. To donate items for the auction, please contact Julie Alexander at [email protected].
Parents, if you chaperone a field trip or participate in a classroom or grade level event, please send pictures to our Yearbook Coordinator, Norma Maiz at [email protected], so that they can be included in our Grady Yearbook.
Thank you again to everyone who volunteered at the Fall Festival. The event was fantastic and we really appreciate the help from our parents and teachers. Also, thank you to all of our families that attended the Fall Festival! To see some pictures of the Fall Festival, please click here. If anyone has a video of Mr. Tsourakis being slimed, please email it to [email protected] so that we can post it on the website.
As a reminder, due to Hurricane Irma, the following Mondays are going to be regular school days, not early release days: October 30, November 6 and November 13th. During those dates, school will be released at 2:15pm and clubs and chorus practice will run one hour later. Clubs and Chorus will take place from 2:30-3:30pm, with the exception of the Robotics team, which will dismiss at 4:30pm.
Dear Parents,
Grady's Annual Storybook Parade will be on Tuesday, October 31st. Teachers, staff and students are invited to dress in a costume depicting a favorite storybook character. Students are encouraged to carry the book that depicts the character they are wearing.
The parade will begin at 8:30 a.m. After the parade, school work will resume and teachers have planned literature based activities related to
the storybook characters. If your child's costume would be uncomfortable to wear all day, he or she may change back into a school uniform.
If your child needs help planning something to wear, just send a note to his/her homeroom teacher and assistance will be given. In planning your child's outfit, remember that according to school board policy, toy guns, toy swords or weapons of any kind cannot be brought to school. Also, please be aware that very scary costumes are not permitted.
Parents are invited to view the parade in the front of the school and may walk through the office after the morning parade. Paparazzi are welcomed.
Boo to you!
Kristine Dosal
Principal
Coming soon! TigerTrek student Walk-a-thon on November 17th
WHAT: The annual Grady Walkathon will take place on November 17th. Your child will have an opportunity to raise money in a fun way!
WHY: This PTA fundraiser will have no food to buy, magazines to order or catalogs to look through. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to Grady to benefit your children and our school. It's a great way for your child to have fun while they exercise.
HOW: Students can ask family members, friends and neighbors to support Grady by pledging money towards their participation. Parents may also take this form to work to ask co-workers to support their child at Grady. You can also donate online here: Donate online.
For your convenience, per-lap pledges have been replaced by flat donations. However, your walker will still enjoy competing for prizes on the number of laps completed.
GOALS AND INCENTIVES:
- We encourage every walker to raise at least $35 in donations.
- The PTA has worked hard to win sponsorship from local businesses. There will be hundreds of prizes from Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Xtreme Juice, Yogurtology, Pinarama Lanes and more! Others have graciously donated money and you’ll see their logos on the event T-shirt.
- The event T-shirt will be award to walkers who raise a minimum of $35. Your child is welcome to wear their Tiger Trek t-shirt on Spirit Day… so expect their excitement.
IMPORTANT DATES:
- Tuesday, October 24th- Donation Envelope will go home with your child. The outside of the envelope will be used to record and collect donations.
- Monday, October 30th- deadline to return the Donation Envelope by to guarantee your child has their t-shirt for the Walk-a-thon. Envelopes turned in after that, which meet the $35 threshold will still receive the t-shirt, it just may not be in time for Tiger Trek.
- Friday, November 17th- date of Tiger Trek Walk-a-thon
Monday - wear red (school will hand out red ribbons)
Tuesday - crazy socks day
Wednesday - "turn your back on drugs day" by wearing your clothes backwards
Thursday - turn in posters for poster contest. Posters must be 8.5" x 11" and in landscape position. Posters must relate to the theme "Drug Free Me" and drawn with markers, paints and/or crayons
Friday - School Spirt Day - wear spirit shirts
The Fall Festival was a great time for families to mingle and have fun! I think it was our biggest year ever and we saw many students who have moved on to middle school return to enjoy the festivities or work some of the stations.
We would like to thank all of our parent and teacher volunteers - the Fall Festival would not be possible without your time and dedication. A special thanks to the dads and Mrs. Doremus for keeping the food tent running so smoothly! Thank you also to Mr. Tsourakis for being such a good sport about being slimed!
We hope everyone enjoyed the Fall Festival as much as we did!
To see some pictures of the Fall Festival, please click here. We are working on getting a video of Mr. Tsourakis being slimed.
We have some exciting events coming up! Please click on the links for additional information.
· 10/13-20 - Grady "Wild West Book Fair" in the Kathryn Hance Media Center. Please click on Volunteer at the Book Fair to see the volunteer schedule and sign up. The Book Fair is also online from October 8-21. Click on this link to see learn more: Online Book Fair. If we reach the Book Fair sales goal of $11,000, Media Specialist Nick Tsourakis will be SLIMED during the Fall Festival!
· 10/20 – Grady Fall Festival from 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm at Grady. It’s a very fun family night with lots of games, two inflatable play areas and plenty of food. Please click on Fall Festival for more information and click on the Order Form to order your wristbands – they are $20 for 1st Wristband and $15 for each additional Wristband. Today is the final day to pre-order Wristbands.
To make the fall festival successful, we depend on parent volunteers to help run the games and booths. To volunteer for a PTA booth, please sign-up on our volunteer form, or contact the homeroom parent for your child's classroom, or your child’s teacher. Thank you to all of the parents that have already signed up to volunteer.
· 10/31 - Storybook Parade at Grady
· 11/5 – Tampa Bay Food Truck Rally and Silent Auction in support of End 68 Hours of Hunger. Click End 68 Hours of Hunger for more information.
· 11/17 – Tiger Trek Walk-a-thon
· 3/3 – Grady’s adult only Auction Night at Christ the King. Click here to purchase tickets. To donate items for the auction, please contact Julie Alexander at [email protected].
Please keep collecting Box Tops for Grady and turn them in to your teachers by October 23rd. If you have any questions regarding Box Tops, please contact Kat Cowley at [email protected].
Yearbooks are on sale! To buy a yearbook for your child go to http://www.strawbridge.net/order-online/ and use online code: 112045. You can also purchase yearbook ads for 5th graders only. To purchase an ad for your 5th grader, go to https://gradytigers.org/fifth-grade-yearbook-ads. Contact Norma Maiz with any questions about yearbooks at [email protected].
Pasta for Pennies benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is beginning on Thursday, October 19 and running through November 3. Pasta for Pennies is the student series fundraising program that helps local cancer patients by raising funds needed to support blood cancer research. Students will receive a flyer and a small box to collect their change (as well as any bills or checks) on Thursday. The classroom with the highest amount collected will receive a pasta lunch from Olive Garden.
To see pictures of Art & Family Night, please click here: Art & Family Night at Chick-fil-A.
Congratulations to Melinda Dickens, Debonique Grigsby and Kim Young, who are being awarded for their commitment to excellence in education!
Melinda Dickens, fourth grade teacher, has been named Grady Teacher of the Year. Debonique Grigsby, Art Specialist, has been named Ida S. Baker Diversity Educator of the Year. And, Kim Young has been named Instructional Support Person of the Year. Each winner has brought their best efforts and utilized their talents to serve the students at Grady.
Guidance Counselor, Ms. Nancy Barra, asks us to read the October Home & School Connection.