School Announcements

Attending events and staying updated on what's going on at Gulf Shores Elementary School are great ways for students and families to engage with each other and our community! Read our school announcements to view our highlighted upcoming activities  and connect with a specific event.

• Congratulations to our GSES first grade teacher, Mrs. Tiffanie Deese, for being named a WKRG Golden Apple Award Teacher!

• GULF SHORES ELEMENTARY IS A BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS OF EXCELLENCE LIGHTHOUSE SCHOOL!
  Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence is an organization that uses a comprehensive approach for school improvement. There are nine categories that the organization focuses on when they come to evaluate a school. To be named a Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Lighthouse School, a school has to score an 80% or higher in every category. The categories evaluated are listed below:
  Student Focus and Support
  Active Teaching and Learning
  Leadership and Educational Vitality
  School Organization and Culture
  Technology Integration
  School, Family, and Community Partnerships
  Challenging Standards and Curriculum
  Professional Community
  Indicators of Success

This process includes surveys taken by all faculty/staff, students who are in 3^rd grade and up, and parents. In addition, onsite interviews were conducted with a parent/community focus group, student focus group, and faculty/staff focus group. Two days were spent visiting classrooms, as well as evidence was shared with the evaluation team. This allowed reports and recommendations to be made to the Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Board regarding our status of being named a Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Lighthouse School. We are so proud for all our students, faculty and staff, parents and community!
Go Dolphins! MakeWaves!

• Gulf Shores Elementary School Coastal Connection: March News 2023

• Gulf Shores Elementary School Coastal Connection: February News 2023

If you have not purchased a yearbook for your child and would like to, please make sure to do so at some point between Monday, January 16 and Friday, February 3. The cost is $35 and they can be purchased online at https://gulfshorescityal.csiepay.com/Views/Payment/Pay.aspx.
There will be no extra yearbooks ordered this year.

• Gulf Shores Elementary School Coastal Connection: January News 2023

• Gulf Shores Elementary School Coastal Connection: December News 2022

Thank you so much for helping our first GSES Run-A-Thon be so successful so far. For those who may not have been aware, the number of laps your child ran that day was recorded and sent home so you would know how much money needed to be collected for any pledges made prior to the race. If you do not have that information, feel free to touch base with our front office at 251-968-7375, and we can help. In addition, there is still time to make straight donations if you would like by using the QR code on the pledge envelope. We are doing our best to collect all pledge funds and donations by the end of the week so prizes can be ordered and be delivered after Thanksgiving break for those who have earned them based on money collected.
Thank you again for your support of our school!

Today, students were able to participate in our kick-off pep rally for our first school-wide fundraiser…the GSES Run-A-Thon.
Students will be coming home today with a flyer and envelope to collect donations or pledges for laps ran.
We have lots of awesome individual prizes as well as class prizes such as OWA passes, volcano kits, and glow parties.
On the 14^th, each grade level will have a specific time to run the greatest number of laps they can run during that time. Times will be shared by your child’s teacher closer to that date.
We appreciate your support of us raising money for our school and getting some exercise while we do it! 

Gulf Shores Elementary Coastal Connection - November 2022

Scarecrow Slideshow: Here’s the link to the scarecrow slideshow so that parents can view all of the awesome creativity by all of our classes.
Slideshow LINK

We have a new Facebook page for Gulf Shores Elementary School. You can also view it on out GSES website!

Please follow and like our school:
GSES Facebook

Parents are always looking for ways to make learning fun and engaging for their children. Well, thanks to a new offering from our school library, they won’t need to look far! 
The multi-award winning iVOX Book App is now being offered for students to use at home and in school. 
iVOX is the latest in storytelling technology to delight and engage curious young minds. Children ages 3-8 can follow along with a story and read the text, while interacting with its characters and scenes—immersing them in the narrative like never before. 

To access on a desktop go here: 
https://gses.gsboe.org/student-life/online-learning (scroll down and look for iVOX) 

Or 

Go to the App store or Google play and download the free iVOX app. Then login with your student ID, which your child’s teacher should be able to provide to you, if needed. 

Happy Reading!

• Friday, September 23rd is Go Gold for Childhood Cancer Day. Students will wear gold/yellow and we will be collecting donations in the morning at carline and busses to benefit Jensen’s Heart of Gold.  Jensen’s Heart of Gold is an organization that supports families whose child is battling cancer.
• Counseling survey for all parents to complete. In order for the counseling department to better serve our students, we would appreciate you filling out this survey.  Thanks for helping us to help the kids at GSES.
  GSES Counseling Department Parent Needs Assessment
• Early dismissal at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 6th and No School on Friday, October 7th.

Gulf Shores Elementary Coastal Connection - September 2022

We have had a fantastic two weeks of school! It has been a pleasure for us to welcome all of you back and to see all the smiling faces ready to go each day. There will not be many email blast outs this year since we will be sharing a monthly newsletter at the start of each month and since important dates for the year have also been shared previously. If you ever need to find important information, it can generally be found on our school website and school Facebook page. Your child’s teacher will also share information with you that they need shared through their preferred means of communication.

We are working to build a school of leaders where each child knows their genius. With that, we would love to gain input from you so that we could know how we can better support your kiddo(s) and family. The survey link is below. Thank you for your input and for helping us grow in this area.

https://www.leaderinme.com/s/gulf-shores-elem-al/families

As we move into our 3^rd week of school, we have a few morning carline reminders for anyone who is new to our school or anyone who may need the reminders. They are listed below.

• Carline starts each morning at 7:20
• Please make sure your kiddo is ready to exit the car as soon as the car comes to a complete stop. Backpacks should be on or ready to easily grab. Breakfast put up, as well as devices. Hugs and kisses given before the door opens.
• If your child has a hard time exiting the car in the morning, please practice with them at home so they are able to exit the car without an adult needing to lift them out of the vehicle.
• When possible, please have students exit on the passenger side of the car.
• We have given some grace the last two weeks, in part because of the unpredictable weather and to help folks get adjusted, but the carline will be shut down at 7:50 starting on Monday. If you arrive after that time, you will need to park and come inside the building to sign your child in.
• Thank you for staying off of your cell phones at all times while in the carline. That is for everyone’s safety, especially the children.

Lastly, now that we are preparing to move into the 3^rd week of school, transportation changes can start happening as needed. Please be sure to send a note with your child when a transportation change is needed so that we ensure each child goes home the correct way.

Gulf Shores Elementary Coastal Connection - August 2022

Postcards have been mailed! As a reminder, if your child does not receive one by Monday, July 25th sharing who their teacher will be for this upcoming school year, please contact the front office at 251-968-7375 so we can work with you on getting the problem fixed and teacher assigned prior to Meet the Teacher.

2022-2023 SCHOOL CALENDAR

August 3 PreK Orientation at 5:30
August 3 -8 PD/Teacher Workdays
August 4 Meet the Teacher-2:30-5:30
August 9 First Day of School for Students
August 16 Spirit Night (LuLu’s)
August 26 Pizza Day
September 5 Labor Day (No School)
September 13 7 Habits with Admin 8-30-10
September 14 Fall Pictures
September 20 Spirit Night (Chicken Salad Chick)
September 30 Pizza Day
October 6 Early Dismissal/End of 1st Quarter
October 7 Holiday
October 11 7 Habits with Admin 8-30-10
October 14 Report Cards Go Home
October 18 Spirit Night (Happy Pappy)
October 20-21 No PreK Classes (Required State Conference for ALL PreK Teachers)
October 24-28 Red Ribbon Week
October 28 Pizza Day
November 8 7 Habits with Admin 8-30-10
November 11 Veteran’s Day Holiday (No School)
November 15 Spirit Night (Tacky Jack’s)
November 16 Holiday/Fall Make-Up Pictures (Prepay Only)
November 18 Pizza Day
November 21-25 Fall Break/Thanksgiving Holidays (No School)
December 6 7 Habits with Admin 8-30-10
December 13 Spirit Night (TBD)
December 15 Pizza Day
December 16 Early Dismissal/End of 2nd Quarter
December 19-January 3 Winter Break (No School)
January 3 PD/Teacher Workday
January 4 Students Return
January 6 Report Cards Go Home and Notice of Academic Status
January 10 7 Habits with Admin 8-30-10
January 11 Class Pictures
January 16 MLK Holiday (No School)
January 17 Spirit Night (Hog Wild BBQ)
January 27 Pizza Day
February 7 Spirit Night (Location TBD)
February 14 7 Habits with Admin 8-30-10
February 20-21 Mardi Gras Holidays (No School)
February 24 Pizza Day
March 8 Spring Pictures
March 10 Early Dismissal/End of 3rd Quarter
March 14 7 Habits with Admin 8-30-10
March 16 NEHS Induction
March 17 Report Cards; Retention Letters
March 21 Spirit Night (Location TBD)
March 24 Pizza Day
March 27-31 Spring Break Holiday (No School)
April TBD 7 Habits with Admin 8-30-10 - Pending as we don’t know testing schedule yet
April 7 Good Friday (No School)
April 18 Spirit Night (Location TBD)
April 28 Pizza Day
May 3 Kindergarten Cap/Gown Pictures (Prepay Only)
May 12 Field Day
May 23 1st Grade Come See My Genius at 10; 3rd Grade Come See My Genius at 1:15
May 24 4th Grade Come See My Genius at 10; 2nd Grade Come See My Genius at 1:15
May 25 Kinder Celebration/Graduation at 8:30; 5th Grade Come See My Genius at 10
May 26 Early Dismissal/Last Day for Students; Report Cards; End of 4th Quarter

*This list does not include Testing Dates.*

All online payments are ready!
Items available for purchase are:

1. School Donation
2. Pizza for the Year
3. Yearbook
4. School T-shirts (2 designs attached, including long sleeve)
5. Birthday Ice Cream
6. Field Day Package

The link to access all online payments is ePayment.

We hope everyone had a wonderful 4^th of July holiday and is enjoying summer break! Wanted to let everyone know that post cards will be mailed the week of July 18^th that will let each child know who their teacher is for the upcoming school year. That means if you have not registered your child for this upcoming school year, you need to make sure you have done so ASAP. If there are any pending issues such as immunizations, proving residency, etc., please make sure they are taken care of so that you receive your child’s post cards. If you have not received a post card by Monday, July 25^th, please contact the office at 251-968-7375 in order to inquire what noted issue may be causing the delay.

In addition, we will be sending out information soon of all the items that can be purchased prior to Meet the Teacher and how to do that. Those items will be things like the school t-shirt, field day pack, school donation, and more. Please just watch the website and school Facebook page for more information.

Lastly, Meet the Teacher will be Thursday, August 4^th from 2:30-5:30. We look forward to welcoming everyone back at some point during that time frame on the 4^th!