Skyland Peek at the Week
Week of September 9-13 (B WEEK)
Another wonderful week!
I hope you all had another great week! It was fun being able to see students engaged in some great activities as I walked around the building. Y'all are just amazing.
Make sure you read through the SMORE closely. There is a TON of information that is very important.
Also, Jimmy will have the building open on Sunday from 8 - 10 am if anyone is interested in coming up to work in their classrooms.
Sept. Dates Stafford will be out of the building:
9/17 - Principal/IC Meeting
9/20 - New Principal Meeting
9/25 - New Principal Meeting
Your Daily Cry for the Week (Really worth watching for a little inspiration!)
Reminders
Important! Fall Goal Conference 9/13
Hat Day - Friday, 9/13
Lunch on Monday, 9/9
Speaking of lunch...
Required Start Time
Teachers, you are required to be here at least until 2:45 pm. Classified staff, you need to make sure you are getting your 37.5 hours, which may change your ending time based on the time you arrived in the morning. Again, if you have situations that come up that would change these times, just make sure to let me know!
IMPORTANT! Update on Measles Vaccine proof!
If you are like me and have absolutely NO idea who your childhood doctor even was and are fairly certain that there is no way they are still practicing medicine, we are working on having some MMR shots available at the flu clinic on Monday. We can't guarantee these at this time, but we are very hopefully that we will have them available! Plus they are free and won't hurt you if you've already had one (well, the shot my hurt, but the medicine won't do any damage). It might be worth it to consider getting one of these shots just in case.
After you receive the email on Monday and read the letter, if you have any questions and I will try to find the answer! I can't encourage you enough to try your best to get these records now or go ahead and get the additional shot on Monday if they are available.
Good News Club @ SES
You may want to consider adding information about GNC to your classroom newsletter and website.
Language Line - Translation Services
Greenville County Schools uses LanguageLine Telephone Interpreters as a solution to assist with meeting Title III and OCR requirements. The tool is used for communicating with parents of English Language Learners (ELL). The use of an interpreter paid for by Greenville County Schools is strictly for educational purposes only. These include parent/teacher conferences, registration/enrollment, health, and safety.
The district also has an approved list of interpreters. Administrators may still use these services for scheduled meetings as they have been in the past. These services are billed based on the district-approved rate of $30 per hour. Our LanguageLine contract fee if $1.00 per minute. If you anticipate the call will last more than 30 minutes, it is more cost-efficient to use the pre-approved list of interpreters. Please use bilingual parent liaisons to the extent practicable, making schedules flexible during peak parent conference season.
The LanguageLine team of nearly 9,000 professional interpreters are selected and trained in industry-standard interpretation services. All interpreters have passed a Language Proficiency Test, Interpreter Skills Assessment (ISA), and background check. Specialized training in public education terminology or procedures is not required, as interpreters should always translate directly the information provided by the school and the families. Explanations and additional information should not be provided. Questions asked by the families should be interpreted for the schools to answer, not the interpreter.
See the resources below for more information!
Time to update your personal information!
Update Personal Information - Please remind all employees to log in to Lawson Employee Space via the Employee Portal to update any pertinent information such as address and emergency contacts. Go to the Employee Portal/Lawson Employee Space/My Profile/Personal Information tab and make any needed updates. Please list at least one Emergency Contact and contact telephone number in your profile in case you experience an emergency at work and the District needs to reach someone on your behalf. Contact: George Ward, 355-3977, Employee Relations Representative.
Construction (Repeated Information)
1. They didn't start the big part of the construction the first or second week of school.
2. I taught the project manager's daughter in 2nd grade at Heritage, so we now have a direct line to the "man in charge!"
Not so good news on the Hwy 14 construction project:
1. They are getting ready to start the big part of the project right after labor day. They will be shutting down 1.5-2 miles at a time to a single lane. There will be long delays on Hwy 14. They promised to monitor the traffic around the school and adjust as needed. No idea what exactly that means, but we will see...
2. For sure it can only be for a couple of weeks, right? Sadly, no. It is going to be the best Christmas present ever if it is done by then. Yep. You read that right. We are looking at it being finished by Christmas.
3. He warned me there will be a lot of dust in the air. Like a lot. And (here's the kicker) he warned me to tell y'all NOT to wash the dust off with water because it is cement dust. So if cement dust gets wet, it turns into...you guessed it...cement. You need to wipe it or blow it off your vehicle. Jimmy already asked what we do if it rains. I am still working on a smart and clever answer for that question, so I will get back with you. Right now all I can say is that I have a number to file damage claims if we need it.
I know this is far from a perfect situation, but we are going to make the best out of it! I will inform the parents with a messenger phone call later this week, but I wanted you to also have the details. I mean, how amazing is the road going to be when it is done?!?! :)
Help for our favorite people! (Repeated Information)
Grade Level Copy Parents (Repeated Information)
Educators Who Make a Difference
Educators Who Make a Difference - Upstate Parent magazine is seeking nominations for their annual “Educators Who Make a Difference” edition. Nominations must be made using the online form found here. Please submit your nominations by October 18. You may nominate more than one person, but may not nominate the same person more than once.
District Testing Calendar
Academics Assessments Calendar
ELA Assessment Guidelines
Reminders from Mase
If you're interested in Mr. Garrett holding a grade level behavior/discipline assembly to go over rules and expectations, please send him an email to work out a date and time.
Reminders from Kenna
Please see the updated GCS Weightings and Assessment guidelines. Note the changes in red for Reading and Language Arts requirements for grades 2-5.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a3koWSTUNK1nBoLuphbh1am3nLhE3nb-ABnl-KZvv2s/edit
If you have a completed Donor's Choose project, please post it in the workroom!
Reminders from Katelin
Check this out! A User’s Guide for Making the Most of Independent Reading
Click here for information on how to create a Donor's Choose project for a new easel!
Counselor's Corner - Reminders from Caitlyn and Chelsea
Please join Mrs. Grigg & Ms. Shepherd's Google Classroom using the code qhlqoo6. Once you've joined, you will be able to refer students for individual & small-group counseling. All small-group referrals must be received by Friday, September 6th.
Upcoming Dates
September
9/9 - Flu Shot Clinic (starting at 7:15 am) --- MMR shots may be available!
9/9 - PTA Meeting/Open House 6-7:30
9/10 - PTA Skate Night (Jeans Pass for all teacher who attend!)
9/11 - Faculty Meeting/PD - On track Training/Discipline Expectations
9/13 - $1.00 Hat Day befitting local students with cancer
9/13 - Fall Goals Conference with Ms. Lewis - 10:45 am
9/13 - Bus Evacuation Drills starting at 1:30 pm
9/16 - Fall PTA Fundraiser Kick Off Pep Rally (Cafeteria)
K4-2: 1:15 pm
3-5: 1:45 pm
9/18 - Committee Meetings
9/23 - Volunteer Orientation 9 am
9/25 - No Faculty Meeting! Enjoy your Wednesday afternoon!
9/27 - Causal Friday (Jeans Day!)
10/1 - Free cinnamon rolls!! Thank you FANS!
The below meeting schedule will start in October!
Important Documents
Happy Birthday
September
8- Ginnifer Jones, Office
13- Chandra Cisson, K5
15- Laurie Staples, Speech
21- Amanda Boone, 4th
21- Caitlyn Grigg, Guidance
23- Angie Lewis, 3rd
25- Eric Clark, Maintenance
26- Heidi Sever, 1st
27-Jill Parker, K5
Mrs. Stafford's Contact Information
Email: lstafford@greenville.k12.sc.us
Website: https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/skyland/
Phone: 8643557210
Twitter: @leahcstafford