Greetings Gust Community,

May at Gust Elementary is an exciting month!  The first day of May kicks off with the Gust Talent Show at 6:00 p.m.  Additionally, performances will also be scheduled for classes to enjoy during the school day on May 1 at 9:45 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Gust teachers, Carrie Hartman (ESL) and Julie Padilla (grades 4/5 Split), will be honored as Mile High Teachers the evening of May 2 in a citywide recognition ceremony hosted by Mayor Michael Hancock.  Congratulations to both Ms Hartman and Ms Padilla!

On Friday, May 4, the Denver Public Schools has scheduled as Assessment Day – No School for students.  The Gust staff will spend the day scoring student April Interim III tests.  Students will return to school on Monday, May 7, 2012.

The Gust Family and Teacher Association (GFTA) is hosting a Family Movie Event on May 8 with a private showing of the movie, Rio.  Food (hotdogs, pizza, and nachos) will be sold in the cafeteria beginning at 3:30 p.m.   The movie will follow the snack sale, and begin at 4:30 p.m. in the auditorium.  Come join us for a wonderful community event and enjoy the show!

The month of May at Gust also brings a favorite event – Field Day!  On May 16, Grades 3-5 will have field day from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.  The afternoon of May 16 will be Field Day for ECE and Kindergarten from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.  On May 17 the 1^st and 2^nd Grade will have their Field Day from 1:15 – 3:15 p.m.

May 18 will be the last Early Release Day (11:30 a.m.) for ECE students.

The 5^th Grade graduation ceremony is scheduled for May 24, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. in the auditorium.  This is always such a wonderful celebration of the successful experiences 5^th Grade students have had at Gust.  Congratulations 5^th Grade – the Gust Community is proud of you!

The last day for students is on May 25, 2012.  Summer will begin for students at 3:30 p.m. on May 25!

For continuing families, the Gust Registration will be held as an Open House on August 8 from 8:00 – 3:00 p.m. and August 9 from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m.  Please plan on attending one of the registration sessions in order to receive important information and to secure your student’s assignment at Gust.  The first day for students will be on August 27, 2012.  All students previously registered will be assigned a homeroom and have a teacher looking for their smiling face on the first day, so make sure to come in and get all of the paperwork completed prior to the official first day of school!  With that, I leave you all with best wishes for a safe and fun-filled summer, and look forward to greeting all of you again in August!

You all would have been proud of the Gust students who participated in the Northwest Denver Optimists Chess Challenge.  Of the five kids who participated (David Porras, Narrah, Carlos P., Daniel Sanchez, and Diego Marquez), three finished in the top three in their respective divisions and were awarded trophies (David Porras- 1st Place  and  Carlos P. – 3rd Place in the 4/5 division and Narrah 1st Place in the 1/2/3 division).

ECE will have an early release day on Friday April 20, 2012.  Please pick up your ECE students at 11:30.  Thank you!

Greetings Gust community,

Now that we’ve returned from Spring Break we’re ready to monopolize on all of the foundational skill work and high expectations established throughout the year.  Historically, April is an exciting month for teachers and students because it is the time of the school year when solid connections to new academic concepts and a high level of overall growth is being demonstrated by students.  As you continue to read each evening with your student, I am confident that you will witness this exciting academic leap first-hand!

The month of April brings the Denver Mayor’s Mile High Scholars Award Ceremony on the evening of April 5, 2012 at Boettcher Hall.  Gust is very proud of this year’s student recipients:  John Garcia-Moreno (3^rd Grade), Gabriella Palafox-Garcia (4^th Grade), Gabriella Ayala (5^th Grade).  Congratulations, 2012 Gust Mile High Scholars!

Please plan on joining us for our monthly GFTA (Gust Family and Teacher Association) Meeting on April 12 at 3:30 p.m. in the library.  Childcare will be provided.  After the GFTA Meeting, stay for another Gust Family Night.  Mark your calendar and reserve the date to join us for dinner in the cafeteria, and after dinner stay to enjoy an entertaining performance by DCPA “Stories on Stage.”  Look for an invitation to be brought home by your student soon to attend this wonderful community night!

The last week in April Gust will be administering the final district assessment, the Spring Interim.  These district Interim Assessments are administered several times a year and used to monitor the progress of students throughout the school year in Reading, Writing, and Math.

April ends with one of Gust’s favorite annuals events … the Talent Show on April 24 at 6:00 p.m. in the Auditorium.  Plan on joining us in celebrating all of the wonderful talents of Gust students and staff!

Finally, for parents dropping-off and picking-up students before and after school, please be sensitive to Gust neighbors.  There have been concerns shared from the community that parked cars are blocking driveways and prohibiting access and traffic flow to surrounding streets.  As we finish out the last two months of the school year, let us be aware that the school’s drop-off zones are also the front yards of our neighbors.

With that, I want to thank you for all you do to support your student’s academic focus and growth at Gust!  As always, I look forward to seeing you and your student(s)soon here at Gust.

Sincerely,

Jamie Roybal, Principal