Notes from the Director

Dear Families,

We have officially survived our first nor’easter of the season, and it certainly feels like fall is here to stay. The leaves are changing, the temperatures are dropping, and our classroom is filled with lots of learning and excitement. 

We also had an incredible time at our Glow Dance on Friday! The students danced the night away, enjoyed spending time with their friends, and created some wonderful memories together. Thank you to everyone who helped make the evening so special!

Looking ahead to next week, we have several exciting things happening:

• Play Workshops: We will have a workshop on Tuesday the 29th as we continue preparing for our upcoming play auditions, October 1st. Both events will take place from 3-4:30pm.Parent meeting at 4:30pm on the 1st.
• i-Ready: We will begin our i-Ready work this week. Over the next month students will do their best to show us their skills. The results will be used as one tool to measure progress throughout the year.
• Fall Festival Planning Meeting: Come help plan the annual Fall Festival! This Tuesday, September 29, at 8:20am. We will also have a remote Zoom link available:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/79227030613?pwd=PLp5nrKiEkEf0h2d0UbbizpjOvI0bN.1 Meeting chat link: https://us04web.zoom.us/launch/jc/79227030613 Meeting ID: 792 2703 0613 Passcode: 6a1PmR

Elective Volunteers:

Our Elective Program offers a unique opportunity for our school community to provide various special interest learning options to our students. Electives can be considered as once weekly clubs or short-classes that run during a specific time in the school week. We love that students have a choice in what Elective they join, and that they get to try so many fun, exciting new things. Our staff provide a wide variety of options and themes from art to nature to sports to book writing to music, and so many more! What makes this program even more fabulous is bringing in our Community Members (like you!) to expand the options and let our students experience new ideas! We are currently seeking Volunteers (parents, guardians, grandparents, friends, etc.) who would be interested in volunteering to help with our elective program. We have several options for volunteers as assistants for an elective or to teach their own elective. We invite you for a volunteer opportunity! We are seeking volunteers for our Elective Program! Please complete this form if you are interested: https://forms.gle/tHT6CnvSZdKguBtF8

Illness Reminders: The germs are upon us! You can help prevent the spread of illness and help your child get better when ill by following a few simple steps: 

• If your child is sick and has a fever, keep him/her at home to prevent the spread of illness to others.Your child should be naturally fever free (temp below 100 degrees, without Tylenol or Motrin) for at least 24 hours before returning to school. This is very important! A good rule of thumb is to keep your child at home if he or she has a fever of 100 degrees or more. When temperature is present in the morning prior to school (99.0 or greater) it will only climb higher as the day progresses. Children returning before the 24 hours after being sent home with fevers will be sent home.
• If your child is ill, please do not give Tylenol or Motrin to cover the fever and send them to school. As soon as the medicine wears off, the fever will return and you will have exposed your child’s classmates and teachers to your child’s illness. Also, when your child has fever, they are even more at risk for other illnesses/ viral infections.
• If a child vomits, they should not return to school for 24 hours. Children returning before the 24 hours after being sent home for vomiting will be sent home.

 We will continue taking advantage of the changing season through our classroom activities, discussions, and learning experiences. This week kindergarten will be celebrating APPLES! 

Onward and upward and into FALL!

Jenn Blanchette

Director, GCCSA

Dear GCCSA Community!

It’s hard to believe that we are already beginning to feel the chill of fall! Time to bring along those sweatshirts and jackets for when it is cooler than expected. The mornings are getting colder, the leaves are beginning to change, and somehow we are already a few weeks into another school year.

Last week, we held our first Community Meeting of the year, and it was wonderful to have our whole school together. These moments are such an important part of who we are at Gate City. We are more than individual classrooms; we are a community. There is something special about bringing everyone together to learn, laugh, celebrate, and simply be together.

This Friday, we will take another big step in building that community with our first whole-school GLOW dance! I am so excited to see our students and families come together outside of the regular school day and just have fun. I hope it will be an evening filled with music, laughter, dancing, and lots of memories. 

🎵Music and Instrument Lessons begin TOMORROW, September 21st Students in grades 4–8 can participate in instrumental lessons during the school day, with a concert band available for experienced musicians. After-school piano and guitar lessons are also available this year. Lessons begin the week of September 21. Questions about musical offerings? Email masonj@gccs-nh.org.

📸Picture Day Thursday, September 24th with a rain date of Oct 1st.

All students will have their picture taken for school records and the yearbook (unless prohibited). We’re excited to be working with Heather Bates Photography this year! You can check out her beautiful work here.

Photo prints and packages will be available for purchase after Picture Day, with a link sent to families once photos are ready. A retake date will be set after picture day is complete, we will send that info as it is set.

🪩 Glow Dance: Friday, September 25th, 5:30-7:30pm  

🆓 FREE ENTRY FAMILY DANCE! Get ready to GLOW! Bring the ENTIRE family! Concessions for sale: Pizza -Snacks- Drinks!                          

🙏 We need your help! Please sign up to volunteer or donate to make this event a success! Offer help here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054AA5A62BAAF8C25-65843919-glow#/     

💻 I-Ready will begin September 28th and will extend throughout October. i-Ready is an online diagnostic program in math and English that will help your student’s teacher(s) determine your student’s needs, personalize their learning, and monitor progress throughout the school year. At Gate City our students participate in i-Ready three times during the year. Next week will mark the start of the first round of the diagnostic. Class diagnostic schedules will vary depending on grade level, academic schedules, and technology distribution. You can learn more about i-Ready by visiting here: https://i-readycentral.com/familycenter/what-is-i-ready/

Families, please help your students show us what they know by ensuring that they

• Are well-rested 
• Bring water and plenty of healthy snacks to school 
• Understand that this assessment is designed to give students challenging questions that they are expected to get incorrect
• That all we ask is that they do their best and that will always be enough!

🎭Drama Audition Workshops September 24th and 29th, 3-4:30pm: 

Audition workshops for the spring production of The Little Mermaid Jr. 🧜‍♀️begin this week. Attendance at both workshops is required to prepare for auditions! Students in grades 5-8 are able to participate. Interested students should sign up on the sheet posted around the school. Auditions will be held after school on October 1st. Any questions? Email masonj@gccs-nh.org

✋Elective Volunteers Needed: Interested in helping with our student electives? Electives are starting soon and we are once again asking for volunteers to teach or assist electives. Electives give K-8 students choice in their education and are an integral part of GCCSA culture. Perhaps you have a skill, hobby, foreign language, or other kind of expertise that you can share with students. The more volunteers we have, the more robust our offerings. Bring your passion and knowledge, and we will organize the rest. We need helpers and teachers on Thursday afternoons. Please email the Dean of Students, Jen Linatsas,  at linatsasj@gccs-nh.org.

💰 ALMA Fees:Thank you for patience in navigating this new system. Lunch and Extended Care invoices coming your way this week! Questions or issues? Please email Mr. Brendon at jalbertb@gccs-nh.org. 

📋 Forms: Please return ALL beginning-of-the-year form to the school no later than Wednesday, September 23rd. 

And I have to say, our students are being AMAZING. I continue to be impressed by the kindness, creativity, enthusiasm, and willingness to help that I see happening throughout the school. There is always room to grow, of course, but I am seeing so many little moments that remind me why this community is so special.

As we settle into our routines, my hope is that we continue to create a school where students feel known, valued, challenged, and loved, and where they know they have a place here.

We have a lot of exciting things ahead this year. We are just getting started, and I can’t wait to see what we create together.

Here’s to a wonderful fall at Gate City!

Onward and upward,

Jenn Blanchette                        

Director, GCCSA

Happy Sunday, Gate City Families!

As we head into another week together, our classrooms are settling into their rhythms, our community is growing stronger, and the creativity that makes Gate City Gate City is beginning to show up everywhere. One especially exciting example is the launch of our very first Artist of the Month for the 2026–27 school year!

We are beginning with Artemisia Gentileschi, an extraordinary Baroque painter who broke barriers to become one of the most successful artists of the 17th century. Artemisia was known for powerful storytelling, dramatic light and shadow, and for painting herself in different roles, from a musician and queen to the personification of Art itself.

Over the next six weeks, every student from kindergarten through eighth grade will draw inspiration from Artemisia as they explore identity through self-portraiture. Using oil pastels on black paper, students will portray themselves as a symbol of who they are or who they hope to become, perhaps an athlete, performer, artist, leader, loyal friend, or something completely their own.

This is one of my favorite examples of the magic of arts integration. Our students aren’t simply learning about an artist or practicing an artistic technique. They are connecting history, art, storytelling, symbolism, and self-reflection—and using all of it to say, “This is who I am. This is who I might become.”

What a wonderful message to carry with us as we continue building the foundation for the year ahead one creative, courageous, colorful piece at a time.

📣 Announcements/Events

📚Curriculum Night :

Parents and guardians, join us THIS Wednesday, September 16th from 6-7pm to explore classrooms, learn more about curriculum, and discover ways to help your student succeed. Sessions in classrooms will run for 30 minutes. 6-6:30pm and 6:30pm-7pm. This is a night for parents and guardians only. Information about instrumental rentals, music lessons, band, drama, and other activities will also be available.

🎵 Instrumental Music is Back!
Students in grades 4–8 can participate in instrumental lessons during the school day, with a concert band available for experienced musicians. An Instrument Information Session will be held Tuesday, September 15 during lunch for students to explore instrument choices, rentals, and lesson expectations. 

• At Curriculum Night on Wednesday, Sept. 16th, Mrs. Mason, our music, band, and chorus teacher, will be available to answer any questions you may have about instrument lessons and rentals. 
• 🎹 After-school piano and guitar lessons are also available this year. Lessons begin the week of September 21. Questions about musical offerings? Email masonj@gccs-nh.org.

📷 School Photo Day

September 24th will be PHOTO DAY! More information on the way this week!

🚨Safety Drills

In the upcoming weeks we will be taking part in fire and other safety drills. While we review procedural steps for these drills, we treat them as commonplace and do all that we can to prevent heightening students or discussing unlikely eventualities or events of a fearful or violent nature with students. Of course, we are available to students at any time if they are bothered or worried about their safety. However, we do not discuss it in a whole-class forum, as many students find it confusing and/or alarming.

🤔 Reminders

📵 Cell Phones/Devices:

In accordance with State law, we have a no phone/personal device policy at Gate City. Personal devices include but are not limited to phones, gaming devices, laptops, iPads/tablets, Airpods/wireless headphones, and Smart Watches.

• Phones/devices must be turned off and stored and are not to be used during any part of the school day to include all recess/recreational times.
• Use of personal devices in accordance with a student’s 504 Plan/IEP is permitted. 
• Phones/devices may not be carried on a student’s person. 
• Guardians and students who need to contact each other for matters of urgency may only do so through the GCCSA Main Office, including dismissal arrangements.
• Devices should not be at all visible. Students found using their devices or with their phones not set in provided storage will be subject to the following actions:
  • Immediate Confiscation  
  • Guardian Contact
  • Required guardian pick up of the device for repeated confiscation

🚫 Energy Drinks: 

To support student health, wellness, and learning, Gate City Charter School for the Arts prohibits student possession, consumption, or distribution of highly-caffeinated energy drinks on school grounds, on field trips, or at any school-sponsored event. This includes, but is not limited to, brands such as Alani Nu, Bang, Prime Energy, Celsius, Redline, Reign, Rockstar, 5-Hour Energy, Monster, and Red Bull.

🍎🥤Snacks/Waters: All students should bring at least one hearty snack or more and a water bottle to school. Learning, growing, and creating is hard work!

👕 Extra Clothing: We have found that it is always a good idea to send in an entire extra change of clothes no matter the age of your student. They can be kept in lockers, cubbies, or classrooms and should be labeled for younger students. We make a big, glorious mess often at GCCSA!

💲ALMA Fees: Gate City Charter School for the Arts will now be using Alma Fees, a feature within our Alma Student Information System (SIS), to help families easily view and manage school-related fees and payments in one convenient place. Please see yesterday’s email for further details. Questions? Email info@gccs-nh.org 

🆕 New Families: Make sure the Front Office has a copy of your student’s:

• Birth Certificate
• Immunizations
• Latest Physical

💯 All Families: 

• PLEASE return the back-to-school forms provided the first week of school! These forms require annual updates. Have you misplaced your packet? Come grab one at Curriculum Night or stop by the Front Office.
• NEW THIS YEAR: Free and Reduced Lunch forms are requested from every family, even those who may not qualify for the program. Returned forms directly influence our ability to access funding that supports us in providing meals for our students who benefit from this resource.

♥️ GCCSA Extended Day Before & After Care Program

We are also excited to share that registration is still open for our new GCCSA Extended Day Before & After Care Program for the 2026–2027 school year.                                

              NOTE: There is still a Wednesday ONLY “drop-in” option.  

We are thrilled to expand opportunities for our students and families through a safe, affordable, creative, and mission-driven program led by the Gate City team. We cannot wait to see this new extension of our community begin to grow!  Questions? Email Danielle Johnson, Program Director, at johnsond@gccs-nh.org

Register HERE: GCCSA Extended Day 2026–2027 Registration Form

Thank you for all of the questions, donations, and kind hellos. Hope to see you Wednesday! Gathering together always makes us stronger!

Onward and upward,

Jenn Blanchette

Director, GCCSA

Happy Tuesday Gate City Families!

I hope everyone has enjoyed this little long-weekend pause after the whirlwind and excitement of our first few days of school! Those opening days gave us a chance to reconnect, welcome new faces, begin learning new routines, and start laying the foundation for the year ahead.

Today we are back at it, and, in many ways, this is where we really begin to find our groove! The backpacks are a little less new, the hallways are a little more familiar, and we’ve gotten those all-important first-day jitters out of the way. Now we get to keep building.

Our theme this year is Brick by Brick: Laying the Foundation for Success, Creating the Future We Envision, and these early weeks are where so many of those first bricks are placed: relationships, routines, expectations, belonging, curiosity, and joy. We are off to a wonderful start, and we can’t wait to see what we build together.

Announcements & Reminders & FYI

Start-of-Year Paperwork Packet: Please return your back-to-school paperwork ASAP (includes medication, walking, contact, F&R lunch and more)! Lost it in the back-to-school craziness? Stop by the Front Office or send word to your student’s teacher. We will make sure that you get one.

Alert: We ask that each family return a F & R lunch form regardless of need. The number of forms returned influences our funding directly. 

Lunches: Catered lunch starts today. If you ordered lunches but haven’t been able to pay, no worries! You will be invoiced later this week when we have ALMA Fees moving and grooving. Students that did not order lunches will need lunches from home. Students in homes that qualify for free and reduced lunch and have contacted us and completed the F&R lunch form or provided means of other approved documentation, will be offered lunch. All other families desiring access to the program, please complete the F&R Lunch form and return it. Questions? Please reach out directly. 

ALMA: Loading….Please be patient…We are reconfiguring ALMA to improve the accuracy, capability, and convenience of the student information system. This task is monumental but worthwhile. Look for more information this week including information about using ALMA Fees.  

ALMA Fees: a new way to pay for STEAM Fees, lunches, extended care and so much more using our online platform. No more desperately looking for that checkbook you only use once a month for Gate City. Pay using your fee account!

GCCSA Extended Day & Wednesday Care: What was once “aftercare” on Wednesdays is now part of the GCCSA Extended Day Program. Not interested in signing up for more than Wednesdays or just want drop-in care? No worries. Complete the registration form at the link provided and pay the one-time registration fee and you are “all good”.  Once registered, depending on their program selections, students are able to attend every Wednesday or on a drop-in basis. BONUS: registered students will have first access to no-school-care and school vacation programs.

NOTE: For drop-in attendance at extended day, students must be registered and notify the Extended Care Director, Danielle Johnson, at Johnsond@gccs-nh.org by Wednesdays at 8:30am. 

More great news! We are still registering students for extended care! Reach out to our Program Director for more info.

Register HERE:Extended Day Registration

On-Time Arrivals/ Early Dismissal: A brief reminder that children are everywhere in our parking lot during drop-off and pick-up. 

• *Attendance is taken promptly at 8:35.
   
• *Please do not speed or pass cars unloading students.
   
• *Have students ready to go and exit the vehicle on the school side with their belongings.
   
• *Please park in the AM or pull to the side in the PM if students need help that
   
• will require exiting your vehicle.
   
• *Please do your best not to adjust pick-up plans or to dismiss from the Office after 2:30pm.
   
• *Please take deep breaths and be patient. Nothing is worth the cost if it sacrifices safety. It will get better and smoother.
   

Medications: Don’t forget doctor prescription notes and medication forms are required to take medications at school. Doctors will often provide notes through the office portal for prescriptions. NOTE: A medication form/guardian consent is needed for over-the-counter medications like Tylenol as well as prescriptions. 

Picture Day: You haven’t missed it! Photo Day will take place September 24th. Details are on the way shortly.

Upcoming Dates

• September 8th Lunches start
   
• September 9th Wednesday Dismissal Begins
   
• September 10th Community-Staff Organization meeting! 3pm  
   
• September 16th Fall Curriculum Night 6pm-7pm
   
• September 24th Picture Day
   
• September 25 K-8 Family Dance 5:30pm-7:30pm
   

So find the backpacks, locate the water bottles, and get ready: we’ll see you in a few hours!!

Thank you for the patience, flexibility, enthusiasm, and trust you have already shown as we begin this new year together. Starting a school year takes all of us, and we are so grateful to have families who are willing to build alongside us.

Today we add another brick, and then another, and another. Before we know it, those little moments will have become something pretty extraordinary.

Brick by brick. Day by day. Together.

Onward & Upward, 

Jenn Blanchette

Director, GCCSA