The GES Star Bank presents an opportunity for all students to invest their savings in an actual bank account each Friday of the school year. The fourth and fifth graders, guided by parent volunteers, are in charge of the bank from start to finish. They have a marketing group who lets the student body know when to make deposits and what kinds of promotions we are offering as incentives to deposit; they are tellers on Friday mornings, making the actual deposits and withdrawals (which happen on the last Friday of the month); they are the security officers who double check to make sure all transactions have been done properly; they are the supervisors who help oversee all operations. Slyly done, there is MUCH learning going on with making the Bank happen--from math and budgeting lessons, to multi-step instruction processes, creative arts to customer service, there are many lessons learned.

The GES Star Bank is open from 7:15-7:45am in the halls and cafeteria of the school on Friday mornings from October through May. This is an EXCELLENT means of saving for a student’s 4th grade class trip!  Our students’ deposits are held within Bank of America, and are earning 2.5% interest on their savings.  A huge thank you goes out to Bank of America for all their support of our program!

Bank is not possible without the help of parent volunteers! Parents of all students (not just those who have students in the bank program) are asked to help! As a volunteer, you act as a reassurance to tellers when questions arise, as well as to the students making deposits. You assist tellers with closing their windows when the bell rings (simple math skills are the only requirement you need!) Volunteers are asked to arrive at 7:05am, and your supervising role is complete around 8:00am, before the day even starts!

Two issues have been brought to our attention by our parent bank that we wanted to pass along to you...

First, we can no longer accept checks made out to your student. In the past we have been able to have your student endorse the check over to us, but this is no longer the case. Please make sure that any check sent with your child for deposit is made out to GES Bank. If a check is brought in made out to your child, we will make sure that it is safely returned back home with a reminder note to have it made out to GES Bank for next week's deposit.

Second, we have been very blessed this year with so many students bringing in bags full of change! Our parent bank has requested that change comes in for deposit on Fridays to our account rolled. Due to the extended length of time it is taking volunteers to roll change, if you have a large amount to deposit please bring your change into bank pre-rolled for us. This will also help our tellers make sure that we deposit your change correctly. Do not hesitate to contact Lezleigh Kleibrink (lezleigh_k@yahoo.com) during the week to get wrappers for change, the GES Bank does have them on hand.

Thank you so much for the support that you have given this year to the GES Star Bank. We know that it is tough to find the extra to put away in savings right now, and we want you to know how much we appreciate all of you!

If you are interested in making a BIG difference in the lives of our students, please contact me using the contact section on the right.