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Dear GBE Families,
This has been a difficult week. We miss seeing the smiling faces of our Roadrunners each day. I especially miss greeting our students in the front lobby every morning. Our GBE community will face many new challenges ahead. I believe with all my heart that we will grow stronger during these unprecedented times. Our staff began using #GBEStrong in our emails. We are focused on meeting the challenges ahead and creating solutions to best serve our students in these circumstances.
Our administrative team began evaluating our communication tools in making sure we are being proactive in connecting with our community. We will continue to use Blackboard to post information. In Blackboard, you will be able to find links with additional resources for students and families. We also plan to communicate through social media. We created new GBE Facebook and GBE Instagram pages in addition to our Twitter page. We are excited to share those links below!
We designated March 30- April 3 as Inclusion Week before the school closure. We decided that the school closure won't stop us from celebrating our inclusive community! We will continue our plan to celebrate inclusion in a virtual space. Our theme for Inclusion Week is “One Community”. This will be our first ever GBE Virtual Spirit Week. You’ll find more information below about each day. If you choose to post your student participating next week, please use #OneGBE. We plan to create and share a slideshow video showing our inclusive community on April 3rd. We will start Morning Announcements this Monday! You’ll receive a link to the Morning Announcements each morning for our students to view to start their day.
We held a virtual staff meeting today and our teachers are collaborating to find solutions to the hurdles we face. These challenges will provide opportunities for innovation and growth for us all. The distance learning plan will begin on April 14th. FCPS will be providing more details soon. I can’t wait to see how we come together as One Community!
#GBEStrong
Estimadas familias de GBE,
Esta ha sido una semana dificil para todos. Yo todavia estoy tratando de procesar la noticia de que las escuelas van a estar cerradas el resto del año escolar. Nuestra comunidad está enfrentando muchos retos. Yo estoy convencido que nosotros trabajando juntos saldremos adelante. Ahora verán en todos nuestros email #GBESTRONG or #GBEFUERTE. Estamos enfocados en enfrentar todos los retos y crear soluciones para ayudar a nuestros estudiantes.
Esta semana, el equipo administrativo empezó a desarrollar un plan de comunicación. Usaremos Blackboard para enviarles información. En Blackboard encontrarán enlances para recursos adicionales para los estudiantes y sus familias. Ahora nos pueden encontrar en Facebook, Instagram y Twitter. Abajo encontrarán los enlaces!
Antes que se cerraran las escuelas, GBE habia designado la semana antes de Spring Break - March 30 a April 3, como la semana de integración de la comunidad. Nosotros seguiremos con esos planes, pero ahora lo haremos digitalmente. Esta va a ser la primera semana virtual de GBE.
También planeamos mandar anuncios todos las mañanas para nuestros estudiantes. El primer anuncio se enviará el proximo Lunes. Ud recibirá un enlace para el anuncio todas las mañanas.
Nuestros profesores están trabajando duro para encontrar maneras de solucionar esta situación. Estos retos que afrontamos, nos dan la oportunidad para crecer y mejorar. El plan de aprendizaje a distancia empezará el 14 the Abril. FCPS nos dará más información pronto.
Gracias por su colaboración.
#GBEStrong
David Pietzman, NBCT
Interim Principal
Virtual Spirit Week at GBE!
MONDAY: Be a HERO for Inclusion! Dress up as someone you look up to or a superhero you admire. Create a short video sharing who you look up to. Send the video to that person so they know how much they mean to you!
TUESDAY: EXERCISE your right to be different! Take a picture of you and your family being active together! Try something new like wacky jacks or dancing like nobody is watching.
WEDNESDAY: We are all UNIQUE! Dress to show what makes you unique! Example: clothing that represents your heritage, culture, a team your play for or belong too, a shirt from a place you have traveled, wear your favorite wacky socks, etc. Post your picture with a caption and share what makes you unique!
THURSDAY: Let’s “LIGHT IT UP BLUE” for World Autism Awareness Day! Wear something blue and tag your photos with #LightItUpBlue!
FRIDAY: Unity Day! We are all INCLUDED in the GBE Community! Let’s wear our GBE Colors/Spirit Wear to show how we are #OneGBE!
Hannah Miller
1.Tell us a little bit about the students you teach at GBE.
I teach a non-categorical elementary (NCE) class. This means that all of the students in my class have different abilities, and need extra supports in order to learn. My students also have incredible strengths. They are all resilient, smart, creative, funny and kind.
2. How did your career path lead to teaching?
I give my mom a lot of credit for me actually becoming a teacher. She was a teacher, and although I was sure being a teacher was what I wanted to do when I was little, I needed a bit of encouragement to actually pursue teaching as a career when I got older. Two experiences in high school, however, lead me to work with the population of students that I do now.
I started teaching an adapted aquatics class when I was a sophomore. While I was teaching these kids how to swim, they were teaching me about life. That was when I realized that no matter what I did with my life I was going to work with children with disabilities. I was also a member of Best Buddies in high school. This is a club that pairs up special education students with a typical peer, and helps to facilitate the social interactions that come along with high school. This was another experience that changed how I view the world, and shaped me as a person. I became the vice president of the club my Junior year of high school and the president my Senior year. It was my job to educate the members of the club on people with disabilities, and that was when I realized that I was going to be an advocate for children with disabilities for the rest of my life.
I did an internship in college at a preschool that specialized in inclusion. That internship gave me a lot of hands on experiences in a classroom working with special education students, and gave me a lot of insight into how amazing inclusion can be, and how seamlessly it can be implemented. Every summer during college I worked at an adapted recreation camp for individuals 2-22 with a variety of disabilities. This job helped me realize that while I preferred working with younger kids, I was going to be an advocate and friend of people with disabilities no matter their age.
3. You are a swimming coach during the summer. How does that experience inform your job at school?
I coach the Greenbriar swim team. One thing that has really benefitted my teaching is that coaching this team has really strengthened my connection with the school community. I swam competitively for 14 years (club, high school and college) and the sport taught me a lot about self-discipline, being a team player and the importance of self-advocacy. These are all skills that help me to be a better teacher and are skills that I try to instill in my swimmers and students on a daily basis.
4. What do you wish people knew about your students?
I wish everybody knew how capable my students are. Their path to success may look a little different or take a little longer, but they will succeed.
Roadrunners Connect
Social Media Post of the Week
Week of March 16 - 20
The trio of dedicated Physical Education teachers at Greenbriar East want to keep kids healthy, active, and happy. They shared some great resources to get everyone moving while at home. View their Tweet of the week below and follow them @pe_gbe for more great ideas. Also follow, @gbefcps for important school information.
GBE Social Media Accounts
 
Websites - Parent and Community Resources
Academics/Schooling
Health & Wellness
Social Services
Parenting
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