Gatewood Elementary School

Very special shoutout and gratitude to our amazing Gatewood Nutrition Staff and Hopkins School Meals for dedicating their time and energy to the Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Program. Every week this school year, our scholars were able to try two different fruits and vegetables. In total, 45 new fruits and vegetables were offered to our Gators!

What an amazing opportunity for our students to learn about these foods and get a chance to try them. A few of the cool, fresh produce we taste tested: yellow tomatoes, candy heart grapes, candy cane beets, pink pineapple, roasted jicama, HunnyZ apples, kumquats, edible flowers, plus so many more. Thank you Hopkins School Meals for bringing us all of these tasty fruits and vegetables!

Part of our outdoor education pillar at Gatewood is to react to the environment around us and turn it into a learning opportunity! What a better way than to learn about poison ivy found on our grounds. We (CAREFULLY) identify it and mark it off, so Buildings & Grounds can safely remove it from our property. We love taking these moments to learn about the nature we explore.

Being a RISK TAKER means being brave and trying new things. As part of our International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, our monthly learner profile trait is RISK TAKER. And no better way than to try a new food. Gatewood students got to try edible flowers last week! 🌺

What did they think? It was pretty good! Kind of like sweet spinach.

Minnetonka Police Department Thank you for joining us at our Spring Family Fun Night! Our students loved your visit!

Always here to lend a helping hand 💙

In honor of Memorial Day, Gator Academy made poppies today! The poppies are a symbol of hope and remembrance. Wishing everyone a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

It was the perfect day last Friday to have a Garden Club meet-up with students from Hopkins High School. They came to learn about how we are growing and building our gardens and outdoor spaces at Gatewood. They LOVED the goats and chickens, and helped us haul some dirt to our new wild flower garden on top of South Hill. Thank you high schoolers for all your help and bringing some love to Gatewood! 🌻

Last Friday, our Gatewood students participated in a book giveaway, where they got to choose a couple of books to take home to practice reading over the summer. Over 2,000 high-quality books were donated from local bookstores and educational organizations to make this a free and accessible event for all students. Thanks to all who made this happen!

TACO ‘bout appreciation! 🌮 Our PTO and Gatewood families love our teachers and staff, and showed us today with a taco bar. It was a feast, and helped us feel special. 🫶🏻

We are so thankful for the support of the Hopkins Education Foundation!

SPARK GRANT SPOTLIGHT
🔍🌱 Gatewood Elementary School Outdoor Kindergarten is creating young detectives by turning the school grounds into a living lab with microscopes and trail cameras with the help of teacher Katie Schmidt. Students will observe plants, insects, and wildlife, building curiosity, scientific thinking, and storytelling through discovery. 🐾

Thank you to our Lunch Super Heroes—Ms. Casey, Ms. Lori, and Ms. Asha! They fuel our day, show us kindness, and go above and beyond every single day. We appreciate you and all you do for our students. 🫶🏻

Students were encouraged to dress as superheroes today, just like our school lunch staff!