Community Engagement
Join us for the Community Engagement Group, meeting every first Wednesday of the month from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM. Connect with us in person at Gardiner School or join via Zoom as we come together to make a difference. Want to sign up and help? Click the links below.
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Annual Activities we plan:
Parent-Teacher Conference support
12 Days of Bruin Cheer
Teacher Wish Tree
After School Movies
Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week
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To learn more join our email list or call Laura at 928-679-0204
Gardiner School's Community
Garden
Last summer, NYEF and Gardiner School, in partnership with Farm to School and through a Whole Kids Grant, expanded our garden.
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This is an extremely valuable program for our students and we can't do it without your help!
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We have six community beds to offer if you can help us keep the school garden weeded throughout the summer. You will get an assigned planting area for your garden items in exchange for 1 - 2 hours of weeding the school's beds. You will also have access to strawberries and herbs.
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​If you are interested in helping out, please complete this Google form.
If you have questions, contact Laura Chastain at 928-679-0204. Thank you!
Early Release Days
The Community Engagement Group has a few more early release day activities scheduled for 2026.
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March 26th - Rock Painting and Horton Hears a Who
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April 9th - NPS Beth Taylor plans to play Native Games with the kids.
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May 14th - Farmer Avery will be working with the kids in the school garden
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If you need support, please complete the form here.
If your organization offers services that can help our families, we would love you to join us at Gardiner School's Parent-Teacher Conferences on April 7th and 8th at the Gardiner School Cafeteria. The Community Engagement Group will be providing a light meal.
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Click here to register your organization
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If you can only make one of the evenings, that is ok too. Additionally, if you can't make the event, but have informational handouts or slides, please contact Laura to coordinate. 928-679-0204
Summer Camp Survey
Are you still on the lookout for an exciting summer camp experience for your child in grades K-6? The North Yellowstone Education Foundation (NYEF) is dedicated to helping families in our community coordinate the best available camp options. To better assist you, we invite you to share your specific needs and preferences by completing our brief questionnaire. This information will guide us in identifying the options to suit your child care needs. You will also be invited to join us for a meeting later in April, where we will share a variety of summer camp opportunities, making it easier for you to choose the perfect option for your family.
Parent Support Group
NYEF has partnered with Park County Early Childhood Coalition to bring Parent Support classes to Gardiner School. We are still working out this year's logistics and want your input. Please complete our survey to help us decide on times and topics. We generally meet once a month for 1 hour. This can be either in person at Gardiner School or via Zoom. Please join us for this valuable support. As we know, raising kids isn't easy, but there are tools we can learn that will make a difference.
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Click here to take our survey and get information on when, where, and what the topic will be.
Sorry we missed you. Click here to get access to recorded workshop and notes.
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This workshop is intended to provide a quick and dirty overview of everything involved with writing grants. By taking a “a birds eye view” approach — touching on everything from dreaming up your big project to clicking “submit” on your final report — our goal is to demystify the grant writing process. By the end of this short workshop, Nico will empower you to speak passionately about your organization, compile meticulous attachments, and craft persuasive arguments for your projects such that funders will have no choice but to say yes.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Nico Wood Kos is a self-taught grant writer with more than 50 successful applications to her credit. Nico has written grants to proposals for universities, nonprofit groups, philanthropic organizations, and government agencies. Nico is the previous Director of North Yellowstone Education Foundation. When she is not fundraising or volunteering, she is a wife and mom of two young girls.