Garfield Elementary School

We are hiring! #Celebrate379

about 12 hours ago, USD379 Communications

USD 379 is hiring a special education teacher at Garfield Elementary. Contact Erica Bammes at ericabammes@usd379.org or 785 632-3176

USD 379 is hiring a speech para. Contact Erica Bammes at ericabammes@usd379.org or 785 632-3176

USD 379 2026-2027 Enrollment is Now Open!

Enrollment for the 2026-2027 school year is now open!

Returning Students: Please use the Snapcode that was emailed to you to finish enrollment. If you did not get your Snapcode, please contact your child's school building starting July 22 for help.
New Students to USD 379: Please complete the New Student Enrollment form. A Snapcode is not needed for new student enrollment. Head to our enrollment page to enroll.

Visit www.usd379.org/enroll for everything you need to get ready for the new school year, including:

Enrollment information
School supply lists
Physical forms
Free and Reduced-Price Meal applications
After-school program registration
And much more!

District staff will be available on August 4-5 to help families with enrollment questions and offer in-person enrollment support.

Be sure to follow our social media pages! We will keep sharing important updates, reminders, and back-to-school information all summer until the first day of school. We can't wait to see you!

1 day ago, Clay County USD 379

Enrollment poster with dates for enrollment: August 4th and 5th

USD 379 Families,

Last night’s rain has compromised the basement area at Garfield Elementary, which is also a shelter in the event of inclement weather. We don’t normally close school based on forecasts, as we feel our students and staff are very safe in all of our buildings. However, in this case, we would need to transport students to other buildings, which is impractical and unsafe. We also utilize the same buses within multiple buildings for after-school transportation, which makes dismissing just Garfield impractical.

Because of this, USD 379 will have a 1 pm dismissal today.

Lunch will be served as usual. All after-school sports practices and evening activities, including Project LEAD, have also been canceled. No afternoon preschool. Please call the school with any changes to your child’s after-school schedule.

about 2 months ago, USD379 Communications

Garfield had a great time hosting Lincoln 3rd graders last week at Movin' On Up Day! Students learned about Garfield School, met the staff, and took a tour of the building. A big shout-out to our 4th grade Movin' On Up Day leaders! They did a fantastic job! #Celebrate379

2 months ago, USD379 Communications

Lincoln 3rd graders learn about Garfield Elementary from 4th grade leaders during Movin' On Up Day.

4th grade leaders at Movin' On Up Day are pictured.

For her last unit of the year, Ms. Bott is conducting a "My Pretend Life" unit in her math classes. Similar to the high school's Financial Literacy simulation, students are "given" a family and a salary, and then have to navigate grocery shopping, purchasing a house (and a mortgage), and even whether they can afford a vacation! #Celebrate379

2 months ago, USD379 Communications

Ms. Bott gives instructions on how much students can spend on a house based on their current income.

Ms. Bott checks over student work during their "My Pretend Life" simulation.

This is one sheet from the "My Pretend Life" simulation that talks about monthly income vs. expenses.

A student works on her "My Pretend Life" simulation.

Students work on their "My Pretend Life" simulation while. Mrs. Baumann looks on.

Thanks to the CCCHS Student Council, select Garfield students who met their independent reading goals got to compete in a basketball game against StuCo members today! This game had it all: Intense fans, outgoing cheerleaders, demanding coaches, and even some technical fouls against the seniors! #Celebrate379

2 months ago, USD379 Communications

Students are introduced and run through a human tunnel at the Garfield vs. CCCHS Student Council basketball game.

CCCHS Student Council members introduce themselves at the Garfield vs. CCCHS Student Council basketball game.

An announcer introduces students at the Garfield vs. CCCHS Student Council basketball game.

A jump ball occurs at the start of the Garfield vs. CCCHS Student Council basketball game.

A high school student guards a Garfield student the Garfield vs. CCCHS Student Council basketball game.

Students cheer at the Garfield vs. CCCHS Student Council basketball game.

Garfield cheerleaders perform at the Garfield vs. CCCHS Student Council basketball game.

Every afternoon, GES 4th graders are divided into reading groups and head to different classrooms to improve specific reading goals. Mr. Wichman's group is focusing on reading comprehension. Today, they were finishing a "Scoot" in which they read different passages on the classroom walls and answered comprehension questions. #Celebrate379

2 months ago, USD379 Communications

Mr. Wichman checks the progress of students who have answered comprehension questions.

Students read a passage and answer comprehension questions about that passage.

It's getting down to the wire for the 5th grader's first band concert of their careers! The 5-12 spring band concert will take place on Monday, May 18, at 7 pm. #Celebrate379

3 months ago, USD379 Communications

5th grade band students prepare for the upcoming 5-12 spring band concert.

One of the Bengal Innovators that students get to participate in, if they choose, is a drama club taught by Mrs. Pfizenmaier. Today, they performed the play "Blame it on the Wolf", complete with actors, directors, set designers, and more! The entire school and parents/community members got to see a great show! #Celebrate379

3 months ago, USD379 Communications

A student serves as the judge during the play, "Blame it on the Wolf".

Students portray a pic and a wolf and talk with microphones during the play, 'Blame it on the Wolf."

Three students dressed as pigs act out a scene behind a brick prop during the play, 'Blame it on the Wolf."

A group of students serve as jurors during the play, 'Blame it on the Wolf."

Garfield students sit on the floor and watch the play, 'Blame it on the Wolf."

Students act as Hanzel and Gretel during the play, 'Blame it on the Wolf."

A student speaks into the microphone during the play, 'Blame it on the Wolf."

Students speak into the microphone during the play, 'Blame it on the Wolf."

Students speak into the microphone and act out a scene during the play, 'Blame it on the Wolf."

Over the past four weeks, Mrs. Schurle's 5th grade class had the opportunity to attend five different STARBASE sessions. They’ve learned about Newton’s laws of motion, how to use a CAD program, how to code robots, and many other science concepts.

Today was the cherry on top, as students toured an aviation hangar at Fort Riley. They learned how STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) supports soldiers in performing their duties on Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, and they even got to sit inside a Black Hawk.

Thanks to some generous donors, ALL Garfield 5th graders were able to experience this incredible Department of Defense program. #Celebrate379

3 months ago, USD379 Communications

Various 5th graders attend the STARBASE sessions, learning about Newton's laws of motion, how to use a CAD program, how to code robots, and many other science concepts.

Various 5th graders tour the aviation hangar at Fort Riley and get to sit in a Black Hawk helicopter.

Did you know that scientific data show that intensive cursive instruction improves both writing AND reading-related skills? Mrs. Galindo, who is trained in Alphabetic Phonics, teaches cursive with every 4th and 5th grade class. But she doesn't just focus on pencil to paper, she also homes in on the physical movement of each letter and how they connect to each other. #celebrate379

3 months ago, USD379 Communications

Bengal Innovators is a time for students to choose a topic of interest to them. There are many options, including Jr. Bengal News, run by Mrs. Chestnut. During this time, students create their own newspaper. Everyone has jobs, such as news writer, editor-in-chief, headline writer, design team, etc. Their first edition is out, and you can see it exclusively here! #celebrate379

4 months ago, USD379 Communications

Members of CCCHS YLinK and Student Council are partnering with GES to host a weekly panel discussion on topics such as friendships, cultivating self-confidence, and navigating stress and anxiety. These discussions take place at the beginning of lunch and are optional for students. Talk to your student tonight to see if they attended or want to attend in the upcoming weeks. Thank you to the CCCHS students who are taking time out of their day to mentor our kids! #celebrate379

4 months ago, USD379 Communications

Ms. Bott's 5th graders are in the middle of the story, "Elisa's Diary" in ELA. They were learning what it means to make inferences in a text that doesn't always tell you everything going on in a story. #celebrate379

4 months ago, USD379 Communications

Save the date! #celebrate379

4 months ago, USD379 Communications

What an amazing turnout last night for the "Screenagers; Elementary Age Edition" documentary viewing! More than 120 parents, kids, and community members attended the event. In fact, so many came that we had to spill over to the library!

Thank you to the Clay Counts Coalition for purchasing the movie and to the Garfield P.E.P. and GES staff and students for providing the meal and helping serve. It was a great night of learning and conversation! #celebrate379

4 months ago, USD379 Communications

Mrs. Wohler's science classes researched what happens to rocks as they erode over time in a unique way today. They shook sugar cubes into containers and recorded data on their appearance after each shake. A whole lot of shakin' was going on! #celebrate379

5 months ago, USD379 Communications

Mrs. Wohler's science classes researched what happens when rocks erode over time in a unique way today. They shook sugar cubes in containers and entered data after each time. A whole lot of shakin' was going on! #celebrate379

Two Garfield students have been working very hard on life and job skills this school year. They are currently working with a local dentist, Dr. Ferguson, to build the dental bags that are given out at appointments.
Chase starts the process by identifying and sorting the items (toothbrush, floss, and toothpaste) and putting them in bins. Morrison then uses the bins, along with a template, to build the set of items needed for each bag. The finished bags will be taken to the dental office for their staff to give to patients.
Thank you to Dr. Ferguson's office for supplying the materials for the students to use. It is teaching them important work and life skills! #celebrate379

5 months ago, USD379 Communications

This week, Tech Time (7th Grade 3D printing) went to Garfield and assisted Mrs. Schurle's 5th graders in creating a 3D model to print using a CAD program. The 7th graders will print the objects back at the middle school for them and bring them back later in the year. It was a great time for collaboration between the schools! #celebrate379

5 months ago, USD379 Communications

This week, Tech Time (7th Grade 3D printing) went to Garfield and assisted Mrs. Schurle's 5th graders to create something to print using a CAD program. The 7th graders will print the objects back at the middle school for them and bring them back later in the year. #celebrate379

Mrs. Schurle's ELA class was "voyaging into the deep" today! They read and researched a story about Jacques Piccard. He and Lieutenant Don Walsh of the United States Navy were the first people to explore the deepest known part of the world's ocean. #celebrate379

5 months ago, USD379 Communications