New to Jackson County? Register by July 15 to ensure your student(s) are ready for the first day of school on July 30! Register online by visiting our enrollment page or visit Central Registration in-person by visiting 1600 Winder Highway, Jefferson, GA 30549. Central Registration hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday thru Thursday! Please note, the office will be closed Monday, July 6 in observance of Independence Day.
Welcome back for another great year at GSES! I am looking forward to working with all of our students, staff, and parents. I am so glad to see all of our friends back in the building!
We had a great first full week back at school. All traffic lanes are moving well. We appreciate how cooperative everyone has been. The first few days of school can be hectic, so we always keep car rider and golf cart lanes open a little later to allow time for families to get used to the routines and procedures. Just as we have done in year's past, beginning on Monday, August 11th we will close the golf cart and car rider line at 7:35. As a reminder, please be mindful that our instruction begins at 7:40. That means the staff opening car doors and assisting with golf carts have to be in their classrooms by 7:40. Closing the golf cart and car rider lines at 7:35 allows time for staff to transition to their classrooms. This means anyone pulling in to the car rider or golf cart lines after 7:35 will need to park and walk their student in to the front office. We are not attempting to be rude, but we want to be safe as well as prioritize starting instruction on time. Thank you for your understanding!
We have some great things planned this year and we look forward to sharing some of them with you at our Back to School Night on August 26th. We will share more about this event in next week’s newsletter, but we hope to see you there.
Thank you all so much for your support of our school. We have the best staff, the best students, and the best community! I look forward to serving you this year!
Joshua Todd
Principal, GSES
News & Updates
Reminders
Our instructional day begins at 7:40am. All students should be in the building by 7:35am in order to get to class on time for instruction to begin. If our morning staff is no longer at the front entrance when you arrive, students will need to be escorted to the office by a parent. We will begin issuing tardies on Monday, August 11th. Both the car rider line and golf cart line are moving at a nice pace, and we are thankful to be able to easily get all students into the building on time to begin our instructional day this year! Afternoon bus rider families: please remember that all children age 8 and under must have an adult visible at the stop for the driver to let your child off the bus. Thank you for helping keep our students safe!
Afternoon car riders: please have numbered tags visible when you enter the parking lot and leave your tag visible until your child is in the vehicle. We will no longer be able to accept pictures of your car tag. If you do not have your tag, you will be asked to park and show your ID at the front office. If you need additional tags, please let our front office staff know, and they can assist you.
Volunteer at GSES: We are looking to grow our GSES Volunteer Team! If you didn't have a chance to sign up at Open House, please visit THIS LINK to complete the short form, and we will reach out to you as school volunteer needs arise throughout the year.
Copy Crew: Our parent Copy Crew volunteers every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to support our teachers. If you can commit a few hours on any of these days during the year, our staff would be very appreciative! Please sign up at using THIS LINK in ParentSquare.
August 13th: Claw Reveal Day during Specials! If you are a former GSES student, please wear your Claw shirt or colors. If you are new to GSES, you will find out which Claw you will be joining during specials today. Claw shirts will be on sale through School Window soon!
August 14th: PTO Open Meeting 6:30pm
August 15th: JCHS vs. Madison County at Panther Stadium at 7:00pm
Back to School Night!
We will be hosting a Back-to-School Night for families on Tuesday, August 26th at 6:00 P.M. This will be a chance for teachers to share important class information with families. Make plans now to attend!
Calling All 4th & 5th Grade Students
Join the Gum Springs Gizmos LEGO Team!
Do you love building, coding, researching, writing, speaking, and collaborating with friends? The Gizmos are looking for creative and dedicated 4th or 5th graders to compete in the 2025 FIRST® LEGO® League Robotics Competition! Find more information at this link.
Key Dates & Requirements:
Interest Form Deadline: Submit by Monday, August 18, 2025. Use this link.
Try‑Outs: Thursday, August 21st — stay after school until 5:00 PM
Required Practices: Starting Monday, September 8, 2025, every Monday until 4:30 PM, possibly Tuesday practices added later in the season.
Competitions: At least one Saturday in December 2025, possibly another one in January
Our team works hard AND has fun—exploring new ideas, solving problems together, and enjoying team time. We’re excited to form the 2025 Gum Springs Gizmos team of up to 8 selected students!
We kicked off the school year last week with creativity, teamwork, and a champion mindset! After reading "The Most Magnificent Thing", our students were inspired to think like engineers—and CHAMPIONS—as they took on their very first STEM challenge of the year.
Their mission? Work together to design and build a zipline that could safely carry Gus (a paper cutout taped to a heavy marble) from one side to the other. With collaboration, problem-solving, and a lot of cheering, our young inventors embraced every part of the design process—even the flops!
This exciting activity ties perfectly into our 2025 theme: “Find the Champion in You.” Our students didn’t just build ziplines—they built confidence, perseverance, and pride in their ideas.
ParentSquare is the new communication tool used by all JCSS schools, staff, and students. Any guardian or parent who wishes to connect to their child's teacher in ParentSquare must first have an Infinite Campus Parent Portal account. If you need assistance in setting up a Parent Portal account, please contact Monica Gassman, our Media Specialist, to set one up. You can email her at monica.gassman@jcss.us.
Looking to learn more about ParentSquare? Watch the video below for an overview of ParentSquare. Additional information and tips will be included in the coming weekly newsletters.
Gum Springs Elementary is looking to partner with businesses to build our Partners in Education program. One way we offer this is through our GSES LED Sign Sponsorship. Attached is the form to complete. If you have any questions, please reach out to Hannah Freyre at Hannah.freyre@jcss.us
