G.C. Hartman Elementary

Today, 4th grade and Kindergarten teamed up for a fun Thanksgiving activity! 🦃 Students made colorful bracelets to go along with the story of the First Thanksgiving.🍂

The Southern Columbia High School Student Council will be hosting its 12th Annual Blanket and Squishmallow Drive during the holiday season to benefit patients at the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital and other local charities. All blankets and Squishmallows, whether purchased or handmade, must be brand new. To help protect the recipients, please place your donation in a plastic bag and keep it free from dust and debris.

Donations can be dropped off in Miss Jen Stine’s classroom or in the High School Office beginning Tuesday, November 25th. The drive will conclude on Tuesday, December 16th, and donations will be delivered on the 17th. This timeline allows the Student Council to sort, organize, and prepare all items for delivery.

This marks the 12th year of our drive, and thanks to the generosity of our school community, we have donated over 1,500 blankets to date. Our Student Council hopes you will support this year’s effort and help brighten the holidays for those in need. If you would like to participate but are not local or cannot drop off a donation, please consider contributing through our Amazon Wishlist:

https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/2DX8OVO1CMTO5?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_ggr-subnav-share_EFX3B76YKFEDQ5DACRQQ_1
Thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity!

✏️G.C. Hartman Elementary School’s November Students of the Month posed with Bryan J. Snyder of State Farm Insurance. These students were recognized by staff for consistently demonstrating qualities such as kindness, compassion, and respect throughout the month of November. Mr. Snyder congratulated the students and presented them with a special certificate and treat.

🐯Elementary students also participated in a friendly competition called “Tigers Tackle Hunger” to see which grade level could donate the most items to support local community food banks. Together, they collected over 1,500 items!

On American Enterprise Day, the FBLA students embarked on a special mission to visit the Kindergarten classes, eager to share the wonders of entrepreneurship. They brought along a colorful book that illustrated the exciting world of entrepreneurship, capturing the young children's imaginations. As they read, the room was filled with curiosity and enthusiasm, inspiring discussions about future dreams careers and possibilities.

🐅 Congratulations to our November Citizen of the Month, Callie Chesney! 🐅

Callie exemplifies kindness, leadership, and a positive attitude every day. We’re proud to recognize her for making our school a better place!

Thank you, Callie, for being such a wonderful person, an outstanding student, and a true role model for your peers. 👏

🦃 Thanksgiving Spirit Week Starts Wednesday! 🦃

Get ready to show your Tiger pride and celebrate the season of gratitude! Our district-wide Spirit Week kicks off this Wednesday with fun themes each day leading up to Thanksgiving break. Check out the graphic for all the details and start planning your outfits. Let’s make this week festive and full of school spirit!

Today, our 3rd graders had the incredible opportunity to hear from four guest speakers in honor of Veterans Day. Each speaker shared their experiences and insights about serving in different branches of the U.S. military:

Cpl. David Noblit – United States Marine Corps
Josh Maciejewski – United States Navy
Dr. Crystal Gajkowski – United States Air Force
MSgt Andrew Gajkowski – United States Air Force

Thank you to these amazing veterans for inspiring our students and helping them understand the importance of service and sacrifice! ❤️💙

First grader Avery Mowery started her week by reading to Mrs. Sharrow's Kindergarten class. This was a special reward she chose for her positive behavior.

What an inspiring way to kick off the day. Way to go, Avery! 🐾💛

🍦Sweet Success in Miss Haines' Class! 🍦

Big smiles all around! Miss Haines' kindergartners filled their Smiley Jar (whole class behavior incentive) by showing kindness, teamwork, and awesome classroom behavior. They earned a super fun ice cream party to celebrate!

These kiddos have been working hard, making great choices, and spreading positivity every day. Miss Haines is so proud of them for showing what it means to be respectful, responsible, and ready to learn! Way to go, kindergarten! 🐯👏

Mrs. Hower’s 3rd Grade class made new friends with Mrs. Ziegert’s 1st Grade class during a heartwarming collaboration yesterday. Together, the students created “Hands of Friendship,” a colorful symbol of connection and kindness, and took turns reading stories to one another. It was a joyful celebration of creativity, literacy, and new friendships! 📚

Yesterday, 5th Grade students visited the elementary building to pair up with 2nd Grade students for a fun afternoon of Pumpkinology. Working in groups, students completed a variety of pumpkin-related predictions and experiments. These included testing whether pumpkins of different sizes would sink or float, using their senses to smell, touch, and taste pumpkin, and measuring the height and circumference of their pumpkins. All students, big and small, had a great time working together with their pumpkins. 🎃

Kindness Across Campuses

A big thank you to Chase Compton, Grady Garcia, Braylin Smith, and Jacob Gehret from Mr. Rarig's High School Woodshop class. These talented students crafted beautiful wooden blocks for the kindergarteners in Mrs. Ivey's class, and the younger students are absolutely loving them.

The surprise brought smiles and excitement to the classroom. It's inspiring to see such a meaningful connection between our high school and elementary students. Your creativity and kindness have made a lasting impact.

Students participated in a fun, whole-group speech activity for Halloween with Mrs. Huntington and Mrs. Deljanovan today. They selected their own pumpkins, communicated their color choices, and painted them. Students also worked together to decorate additional pumpkins, which are now proudly displayed outside the elementary building to show support for our sports teams as they head into the playoffs! 🎃

❄️ Snowball Dance Location Update! ❄️

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Snowball Dance will now be held in the High School Cafeteria instead of the Old Gym. The date and time remain the same—just a new spot for all the winter fun! Please use the Old Gym Lobby doors to enter and exit. We can’t wait to see everyone there, dressed to impress and ready to dance the night away! Please remember to hand your permission forms in by November 12th.

Each day this week during Morning Meeting, Kindergarten classes explored the emotion of JOY using our new SEL resource, Schoolbeat! Students had a blast creating lists of things that bring them joy, and now it’s your turn!

💛 Take a moment to think of three things that bring you joy.🖤

Share them in the comments below. We’d love to hear what makes you smile! 😊

Mrs. Madden’s First Grade class had a blast visiting the bookmobile! The students were full of smiles as they explored new stories and discovered exciting adventures waiting to be read. 📚🚐

Congratulations to Kaylee Henninger, our Citizen of the Month! Kaylee was nominated by Ms. Sharrow for being a model student, consistently following school rules, and always showing kindness to others. We’re proud to celebrate her positive impact in our school community! 🌟