Dear Families,

Welcome to the 2023-24 school year! As a staff, we are excited for the upcoming school year and are eagerly looking forward to building memories and relationships, as well as developing the skills and knowledge to be critical thinkers and change agents in our community.

School doors will open at 8:37, and school will begin at 8:45, dismissing at 3:00 pm. Students in grades 1-2 will enter through the doors near the library.  Students in grades 3-5 will enter the doors near the gym.  Fifth grade students will go directly to the classroom on the first day of school.  Following that, they will drop off items in the classroom, and proceed to their 1st period specials class.

The school day begins with a community circle, and we are making it our goal to start the school day when the bell rings at 8:45.  Please try to arrive in time for students to get to class and put away belongings, so they are ready to join the community circle at 8:45.

Again this year, both 4th and 5th grades will be departmentalizing, with one teacher focusing on the math, science and health portions of the content and the other teacher focusing on reading, writing and social studies. This change allows teachers to strengthen their expertise by narrowing the content bands they are required to teach. It will also allow students diversity in their teachers and begin preparing them for middle school.  

We have had a few shifts in positions; staffing for the 2023-24 school year is as follows:

I am extremely excited for the upcoming year and look forward to continuing to build community, advance social justice issues and improve learning.

Sincerely,

Amber Gerber

Principal, Chief Joseph Elementary School

agerber@pps.net

971.284.7108