Our school's 2022-23 theme is “Sara Collins Scouts ~ We Are Better Together!” We have enjoyed having our amazing volunteers back in our school! Thank you so much to our parents, community members, and staff for supporting our students and staff through all of the many efforts, time, energy and contributions! Our school is such a success with your continued support for our students, staff, and school community!

Sincerely,

Melissa Burns, Ed. D.

Principal

It's been a few years since we have been able to have our Parent/Staff Party! We are excited to let you know we are bringing it back!

Please Save the Date for May 16th 5:30-7:30.

Location: The Dunlap's Home

128 Rockingham Road

Greenville, SC 29607

Literacy Day…Game On!!!

WHEN is Literacy Day?

Friday, May 26th-during the regular school day

WHAT is Literacy Day?

Literacy Day is a celebration of literacy learning (math, science, social studies, writing, and reading). Students and teachers are engrossed in fun, literacy activities throughout the entire school day. Some of the activities include:

• Book Swap-We are collecting books so that all students can participate in a school-wide Book Swap. The goal is for every student to come home from school on Literacy Day with a “new” book.

• Book Character/Sportswear Dress Up Day-Students can dress up as their favorite book character or in sportswear. Please adhere to the school dress code.

• Author visit from Langston Moore and Preston Thorne (authors of Just a Chicken) -(See attached book order form.) Order forms and money can be sent inPlease pay with exact change or make checks payable to Justachicken LLC.

• Literacy (STEM) activities…and more!

HOW can parents help?

• We will need volunteers to set up on Thursday afternoon 5/25, run stations during the school day on Friday 5/26, and clean up Friday afternoon. Please be on the lookout for a Sign Up Genius coming soon.

• Book Swap-Clean out your bookshelves and send gently used or new books to Sara Collins! Donated books should be appropriate for ages Kindergarten through 5th grade and in excellent condition. You can send in as many books as you would like-the more the merrier!

• Donate newspapers to be used in our STEM rooms.

• Please send in newspapers and books to the school by Wednesday, May 24th.

Scan this QR code to volunteer or visit https://www.signupgenius.com/index.cfm?go=w.manageSignUp

Students will start and end the year one week earlier as proposed. GCS is sharing two years of draft calendars and seeking your input on the proposed 2023-24 and 2024-25 student calendars.

The reason for this one-week shift is to allow the academic semester to end prior to winter break. Midterms, finals and state testing will be completed before students leave for winter break, rather than in January when they return to school after an extended break. This adjustment will be academically beneficial to students.

You can view proposed calendars for the next two years along with Frequently Asked Questions on the GCS website.

Students are expected to dress and be groomed in such a way as to not distract or cause disruption in the educational program or orderly operation of the school. Personal appearance of students should promote health and safety, contribute to a climate conducive to teaching and learning and project a positive image of the District to the community. Students should dress for the educational setting and not the recreational one. The principal may create further guidelines regarding student dress which are consistent with the guidelines below.

· Clothing and/or hair should not be so extreme or inappropriate to the school setting as to disrupt the education process. Therefore, clothing deemed distracting, revealing, overly suggestive or otherwise disruptive will not be permitted.

· Wearing accessories or clothing that could pose a safety threat to oneself or others is not allowed.

· Hats and sunglasses may not be worn in the building.

· Attire must not evidence membership or affiliation with a "gang" in any negative sense of the term.

· Proper shoes must be worn at all times.

· Attire must not be immodest, obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, indecent or offensive.

· Clothing that inappropriately exposes body parts is not permitted. Students shall not expose undergarments.

· Pants must be worn at the natural waistline and undergarments are not to be visible. Pants and slacks must not bag, sag, or drag.

· No clothing, jewelry, or tattoos are permitted that display profanity, suggestive phrases, or advertisements for, or messages or pictures depicting or suggesting alcohol, tobacco, drugs, or sex.

In the event the administration determines a student’s dress is inappropriate for school in accordance with this policy, the administration will either require the student to change or will inform the student not to wear the garment to school again. Repeated violations of the dress code will be treated as disruptive behavior in violation of the District's Behavior Code.

The District is committed to fostering an environment that both promotes learning and prevents disruptions in the educational process. Accordingly, the District prohibits all forms of bullying, discrimination, harassment or intimidation. As provided in Board Policy and Administrative Rule JCDAG, students and parents may file a report of bullying, discrimination, harassment or intimidation by other students, employees of the District, or third parties involved in the school setting. This is the link for reporting.

Greenville County Schools (GCS), in an effort to ensure the safety of all of our students, is implementing additional security checks for school volunteers. Effective immediately, all volunteers must submit an application to the school and receive clearance from the district before interacting with children in the school or chaperoning any school field trip. Volunteers are now identified by two different categories: Level I or Level II. Please click here to review the details and find applications on the GCS website.

Thank you to our many community school sponsors!

We appreciate the many ways you help to support our school!

Please join School Counselor, Sarah Payne, Mental Health Counselor, Sara Mendez and School Social Worker, Tiffany Whitney, for The POWER of POSITIVE PARENTING! This live, virtual seminar for parents/guardians is being held on different dates during lunch time.

Contact Sarah Payne to register.

Triple P is for ALL parents/guardians with children up to age 12. It provides you with a toolbox of strategies that you can use, while allowing for adaptability to suit individual families. Triple P helps parents/guardians to:

*Raise happy, confident children

*Manage misbehavior

*Set rules and routines that everyone respects and follows

*Encourage behaviors you like

*Take care of yourself as a parent

*Feel confident you’re doing the right thing

"Triple P is the only research-based parenting program that provides the flexibility to adapt to the needs of families and to a variety of service settings. It is highly appealing to me as a pediatrician because it provides a set of tools that allow me to address common concerns of parents efficiently and effectively." -John C. Duby, M.D., Director, Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Akron Children's Hospital, Ohio.

We are proud to be named for Mrs. Sara Collins, an exemplary volunteer and PTA mom! Enjoy this interview with her son, Mr. Eddie Collins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf8YwLTn4ns&feature=youtu.be

Thank you so much for your continued support for our students and staff!

Educating together,

Melissa Burns, Ed.D.