Justus Gage Elementary

VIRTUAL CONFERENCES NEXT WEEK If you have not made an appointment for your student's conference please do so as soon as possible. Your teacher sent you an email with a link to sign up for a virtual/phone conference. Please email your child’s teacher or contact the office at 782-4460 if you need additional help to make an appointment. CONFERENCES are Monday - Wednesday! 1/2 Day Reminders: We have a 1/2 day on Wednesday, March 31 and Thursday April 1. Half day dismissal times are 11:50. Sack lunches will be provided on the 1/2 days. The Justus Gage Staff is looking forward to discussing your child's progress next week either virtually or over the phone. Have a great weekend and stay Safe. Respectfully, Bryan Henry

Good afternoon parents and Guardians of Justus Gage Elementary, The weather forecast for tonight, 2/15/21, is describing some possible challenging weather coming our way. Because of this, students will be bringing home their tech/Chromebooks and learning materials. If the weather is severe enough, we will announce, as early as possible, that tomorrow will be a distance learning day. If we have a distance learning day, we will follow the same schedules used earlier in the year. This idea is based on maximizing as much instructional time this year as possible. Thank you

Good afternoon Justus Gage Families, Staring today, we will not be sending home Chromebook devices unless we are notified of a potential "Virtual Learning" snow day that would be forecasted for the upcoming Monday. Stay warm and safe! Happy Valentine's Day!

Good morning Justus Gage Families. We will be outside for lunch recess as the temp/wind chill will be above 10 degrees. Please remember to have you child bring hat, gloves and boots. Snow pants definitely help keep the little ones warm as well. Go Chieftains!

Thrill Share # 4th Grade Report Cards Good Afternoon 4th Grade families. This is the principal of Justus Gage, Bryan Henry I wanted to inform everyone that we are having a few glitches with Standards attaching and generating onto the 4th grade report cards. We expected to have this glitch completed by the first part of the week. We want to make sure the report truly reflects your child’s performance and also shows all the standards that have been covered this first semester. We will be notifying you once these cards are ready and when they will be sent home. Sorry for any inconvenience and have a safe and warm weekend.

Good Evening Justus Gage Families, This is Bryan Henry, Principal of Justus Gage Elementary School. There is potential for inclement weather and that is why Chromebooks were sent home this afternoon. If we have a snow day, please have your child login in the morning and follow their Justus Gage Distance Learning schedule from home. If we do not have a snow day, we will see you in the morning for Face to Face Instruction. Stay Tuned and Stay Warm.

Good evening Justus Gage Families, I'm sending you a gentle reminder that we will be returning to Face to Face(In person) instruction tomorrow morning, (Monday, January 11th). As a reminder, morning drop off begins at 8:30 and school begins at 8:40. Please remember to return your Chromebooks fully charged and clean. Our entire JGage staff is looking forward to greeting our students tomorrow morning. Respectfully, Mr. Henry

Justus Gage Families, The Dowagiac Union Schools announces the sponsorship of the Extended Summer Food Service Program for children. Free meals will be made available to children 18 years of age and under or persons up to age 26 who are enrolled in an educational program for the mentally or physically disabled that is recognized by a State or local public educational agency. The meals will be provided without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. Meals will be provided at the site(s) listed below: The buses will be running on the following days!! January 4-8, 2021. We will be delivering daily breakfast and lunch bags. Please follow the link for the delivery schedule. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VUbu9-SOQz74881DV2j2WU5emjKBHRtN/view?usp=sharing

Justus Gage Families, Enjoy your holiday break. Stay warm and safe. Please click on the link for our staff Christmas Card! https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vSuALQ4bzsjwGg7ghKC7abCXiu-IvexENtoqW3dDHoNYx1I-6xNZU26DLxvVQMRBQn8LRiB9ucySvAd/pub?start=true&loop=false&delayms=3000 Season Greetings, Justus Gage Staff

Justus Gage Families, Students are welcome to wear their favorite Santa Hat to school tomorrow. Staff will also be showing their Christmas Spirit as many staff members will be supporting their favorite "Ugly Sweater"! FYI and Happy Holidays!

Picture Retakes Reminder PICTURE RETAKES, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020 FROM 9:00 - 1:00 P.M. Picture retakes for Justus Gage students will take place at Justus Gage Elementary on Thursday, December 17th from 9:00 - 1:00. All virtual students are welcome to have their picture taken as well as those who were absent or needed a re-do. Please come to the front office and we will sign you and your student in and walk you down to have the picture taken.

Justus Gage Families, I wanted to remind everyone that all Dowagiac elementary and DMS students will be returning to school tomorrow for Face to Face instruction. Please remind your child to bring their Chromebook back cleaned and to also wear a clean mask. Respectfully, Bryan Henry

Good afternoon Justus Gage Families, Please enjoy our k-2 Virtual Winter Music Program. Mrs. Eckman and our kindergarten, first and second grade students were able to highlight their many talents. Have a great weekend and stay warm and safe! Please follow the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar5QeCUuSBQ

Good evening Justus Gage Families, As a reminder, all of our AM ECSE and K-5 students will begin Distance Learning tomorrow morning @ 9:00 AM virtually unless they have been notified by their teacher for a different start time. Please make sure your student(s) is set up and ready to go with their QR login codes, Chromebook and all other necessary materials needed. It's also very important to have your student login during their Special Time(PE, Music, Art, Library and Keyboarding). As we move to Distance Learning from home, we want to continue to do our best to educate the whole child. We will also have semester grades for specials. Good Luck and get an appropriate amount of sleep as we have lots of meaningful and beneficial lessons planned for our students the next 2 1/2 days before Thanksgiving break! Mr. Henry

Parents, as we prepare for virtual learning next week, teachers will be sending home at least one QR code that will serve as a login badge for kindergarten-5th grade students to get into Chromebooks. This will help in the login process for the devices. Teachers will be practicing this with students to ensure they are ready. If you have questions, please contact your building office. The following link will give you video instructions: https://www.loom.com/share/ac1244e1259c48189eb6e5a45cebde52?sharedAppSource=personal_library

Parents, as we prepare for virtual learning next week, teachers will be sending home at least one QR code that will serve as a login badge for kindergarten-5th grade students to get into Chromebooks. This will help in the login process for the devices. Teachers will be practicing this with students to ensure they are ready. If you have questions, please contact your building office. The following link will give you video instructions: https://www.loom.com/share/ac1244e1259c48189eb6e5a45cebde52

Good evening Justus Gage Families, Incase you did not receive the following message via email yesterday, here is the link to the following letter addressing the HS mandate to distance learning effective today and the BOE's decision Monday night regarding K-8 going to distance learning effective on Monday, November 23. Justus Gage teachers will be sending home all necessary text, materials, logins and Chromebooks that will be needed for distance learning this Friday. Please reach out if you have any questions. Be Safe! Mr. Henry https://drive.google.com/file/d/10e7z7sD7gczvt2Wqz1jg8l-pbjqcGNgq/view?usp=sharing

The Dowagiac Union Schools announces the sponsorship of the Extended Summer Food Service Program for children. Free meals will be made available to children 18 years of age and under or persons up to age 26 who are enrolled in an educational program for the mentally or physically disabled that is recognized by a State or local public educational agency. The meals will be provided without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. Meals will be provided at the site(s) listed below: The buses will be running on the following days!! November 23-24 (the 24th will be a 2 day bag), November 30-December 9th. We will be delivering daily breakfast and lunch bags. Please follow the link for detailed sites, info. and time: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wJs0t9EF150kyXa_rSa2htJj26r37syLSD6m6bN2NPM/edit?usp=sharing

Here's a picture of our 5th Grade October Student of the Month, Lily Lebeda. She's posing with her certificate, SOM t-shirt and teacher, Mrs. Hannapel! Congrats once again and well deserved!

Education is a team effort. It takes the leadership of the district, the support of the family, the guidance of the teacher and the effort of the student. When looking for a student of the month if one of these team members is not doing it’s job you will be hard pressed to find a successful student. My student of the month is fortunate to have all the components for her to be a successful student. I truly am one of the luckiest teachers in Dowagiac to have the honor to work with Lily Lebeda and her family. Lily is the child of April Steward and Brandon Lebeda. Liam is her third grade brother and also attends Justus Gage. Lily is one of my fifth graders at Justus Gage Elementary. However, I have had the pleasure of knowing her for much longer than just the 2020-2021 school year. When I think about this inspiring young person, the words that come to mind are: hard working, focused, cooperative, honest, kind and appreciative. She is a model student. As a teacher, I truly appreciate the fact that even when concepts are difficult, she will ask questions and work on assignments at home. She does not quit until she has an adequate understanding of the material. It also makes me feel so good to know she loves to read. It is so fun to have conversions with Lily about the books she is reading. Any of us in education know that reading is the one true predictor of future success. It is great to know she is on the right road. Lily has impressed me with her dedication to her education. Whether face to face or while working from home, she is quick to ask for more clarification if something doesn’t make sense. Lily is always respectful and understanding. Lily shows incredible kindness toward her classmates as well. I often see her checking on a person who is alone on the playground or inviting someone to join her on the swings. She shows excellent citizenship too! She is willing to pick up trash around her desk and wipe up messes she makes in her work areas. She waits patiently if others have needs that outweigh her own, and offers help to those who are struggling. I am comforted to know that no matter what, Lily is going to make her community proud!