Griffins Connect
March 5th #CreatingConnections #WholeChild
Elementary District Art Show 2023
Fourth grader, Felix Arnold, won BEST IN SHOW Grades 3-5 at the Greenville County Elementary Art Show! Felix's Artwork showcasing a Pastel Drawn "National Park Desert" (pictured below) was chosen as BEST IN SHOW out of 52 Elementary schools across the county!
Kindergartener, K'Myah Carver, represented Sterling in the primary division for her "Lupines" painting (pictured right) and received HONORABLE MENTION. Charlie Burns, fourth grade, also received an HONORABLE MENTION. These students attended the awards reception Friday night at the Greenville Center for Creative Arts to receive their ribbons. We are so proud of them!
What's Ahead...
March 6: March MATHness for Sterling Program Students
March 6: 2023 S.C. Academy of Science, ONLINE CONTEST Grades 4 - 8 Deadline (info below)
March 9: 4th & 5th Greenville Symphony Ed Reach Program; 9:00-10:00am
March 10: School Spirit Day (Wear a Sterling/CTC Shirt or school colors of navy/gold/white
March 10: Half day for 4k only; dismissal at 11:30 am
March 10: 4K Application Window for 23-24 Year Closes (info below)
March 10: PTA Family Trivia Night (info below)
Sterling/CTC Math Counts has Strong Performance at State
This weekend, Vaishu Badveli, Ben Cowden, Jerry Gan, and Nicholas Hu represented Sterling School at State Competition. From State, the top four competitors advanced to National. With third place overall, Nicholas Hu has been invited to Florida to participate in the National MathCounts Competition. Congratulations to Nicholas and all of this year's state participates.
South Carolina Chess Competition
Sixth grade students Aadi Agnihotri, Jonathan Gao, & Ritika Sanghani participated in the South Carolina Scholastic Chess Championship this weekend. Jonathan Gao & Aadi Agnihotri both won 4 games out of 5 and in tie-break were placed 4th & 5th place from 50 Middle School participants from all over South Carolina. Congratulations!
2022-2023 PTA Reflections Winners
Congratulations to our 2022-2023 Reflections Winners. We had several school-level winners and three SCPTA State winners:
Music Composition (Intermediate)
Akshara Seshadri • Award of Excellence
Literature (Intermediate)
Shivani Arumugam • Award of Merit
Music Composition (Middle)
Jerry Gan • Award of Merit
We are so proud of the achievements of these students and for representing Sterling School!
Best of luck to Akshara Seshadri in the National PTA Reflections competition!
* District winners will be announced later this week
iMAGINE Upstate STEAM Festival 2023
We are happy to announce that once again, Sterling School will be at iMAGINE Upstate STEAM Festival 2023, on Saturday, April 1 from 11 am to 5 pm at Downtown Greenville.
The festival is FREE with over 70 booths featuring hands-on interactive activities, live demonstrations including drone races, robotics shows, explosive science experiments, 3D printing, arts and crafts, dance performances, and much more!
This year, we are collaborating with Ms. Beard, our Gateway to Technology Teacher for our Binary Code Bracelets activity and production of our ciphers. Come visit us at the Sterling Spy Agency booth to decipher your secret mission.
Middle School Jr. Beta Club members are invited to participate. Please contact Ms. Reynolds for more volunteer information.
Griffin News: 1st Grade Clean-Up Garden Documentary
PTA Family Trivia Night: Save the Date!
Join your friends and connect with other Griffins at FAMILY TRIVIA NIGHT on Friday, March 10th! Choose the session that fits your family or stay for both. Session 1 (5:30-6:30pm) will be geared for our elementary players. Session 2 (7:00-8:00pm) will have more difficult questions for our middle schoolers. Both sessions are free of charge and prizes will be awarded to top winners!
Doors open at 5:00pm with food available for purchase from Mac Attack and Sky Dreams food trucks until 8:00pm.
Nominate a Students for A.R.M.E.S.!
CLICK HERE to Nominate a Student!
The A.R.M.E.S PROGRAM (Arts Reaching Middle and Elementary Schools) is a tuition-free, rigorous, artistically gifted and talented program designed to meet the needs of identified 3rd - 8th grade Greenville County students. Students who are selected into the program attend class afterschool 2-3 times a week. Students must provide their own transportation. Participation in ARMES is part of the district’s Gifted & Talented program so regular attendance is required.
Nominations for the 2023-2024 school year open today, February 1, 2023 and close April 3, 2023. Rising 3rd through 8th grade students may be nominated by a teacher, parent, adult, or self. All interested students must have an online nomination form completed by the deadline of April 3, 2023. Late nominations cannot be accepted. Required auditions for the ARMES program will be held May 1-12, 2023.
The 2023-2024 school year will usher in Year 2 of the 5 year expansion project of the ARMES program. New ARMES sites have been established at Greer Middle and Hillcrest Middle to make attending more accessible for students and parents. The expansion project includes adding one arts subject per year to the new sites until all three sites are up and running with full offerings. The list below shows what will be offered at each site for next school year. If a subject is not yet offered at a site closest to your school the student is still welcome to apply to the Central site. Students are welcome to apply to any of the three sites.
2023-2024 Arts Offerings at the Central Site - League Academy
Music (Rising 3rd-4th Grade Only)
Strings (Rising 3rd-8th Grade)
Visual Art (Rising 3rd-8th Grade)
Creative Writing (Rising 3rd-8th Grade)
Theatre (Rising 3rd-8th Grade)
Dance (Rising 3rd-8th Grade)
2023-2024 Arts Offerings at the Northern Site - Greer Middle
Music (Rising 3rd-4th Grade Only)
Visual Art (Rising 3rd-8th Grade)
2023-2024 Arts Offerings at the Southern Site - Hillcrest Middle
Music (Rising 3rd-4th Grade Only)
Visual Art (Rising 3rd-8th Grade)
Support a Griffin! Become a Mentor!
Support a Griffin & Become a Mentor! Sterling School has a partnership with Mentor Upstate, a nonprofit organization that seeks to support children with one-on-one positive relationships. We are looking for committed adults who are willing to support and encourage ONE student for the year. If you or someone you know from our school community are willing to volunteer 30 minutes of your time weekly, we need you!
If you are interested in serving as a mentor, please complete the interest survey found HERE! We will follow-up with training information and other pertinent details. For any questions, email Mrs. Lindsay Berry (school counselor).
Can You Serve as a Substitute?
At Sterling School, we have amazing substitute teachers. These dedicated individuals help ensure that our school operates smoothly when a classroom teacher is absent. However, as a result of the pandemic, like most schools our list of active subs is short.
If you are able to help serve as a substitute for Sterling School and Greenville County Schools, please follow this link to get started and be sure to let us know (email Dr. Patterson!). We will be happy to help facilitate the process or connect you with current substitutes who can answer any of your questions. You may choose to work at any school or you can select Sterling exclusively. Work only on the days that fit your schedule. We appreciate your consideration to help the school by serving as a substitute!
We Need YOU! Volunteer Training
Thinking of chaperoning a field trip, becoming a room parent, or mentoring a student? Parents at Sterling School may now participate in volunteer training either in person or online.
Upon completion of the online training module, you will be asked to take a short quiz which will be submitted to Mr. Murphy for scoring. All volunteers must answer each question correctly. Failure to do so will result in potential volunteers being asked to review the training module again or attend a face-to-face training. If you have questions about the process or anything related to volunteering at Sterling, or if you prefer a face-to-face training, contact Mr. Murphy via email or (864) 355-4480.
Sterling/CTC Math Counts Team Advances to State
Our school team won first place at Chapter this weekend and will advance to State. Congratulations to Ben Cowden, Jerry Gan, Nicholas Hu, and Chloe Tan for representing our school in the Team Round.
Additionally, congratulations to Isabella Agnew, Vaishu Badveli, Ben Cowden, Jerry Gan, Nicholas Hu, and Chloe Tan for placing in the Top 16 as individuals. Chloe Tan placed 4th overall and Nicholas Hu 1st placed overall.
All members of the MathCounts team did an amazing job and represented our school well. Also, we thank Mr. Whittaker and Mrs. Tan for their support and leadership of this wonderful group. #CreatingConnections #WholeChild
Nicholas Hu, 1st Place Individual
1st Place Team Round
Chloe Tan, 4th Place Individual
Griffin News: Subscribe to the Channel
Read-A-Thon 2023: That's a Wrap!
Read-A-Thon has ended! Thank you to everyone who participated! Together students read 61,572 minutes and raised $7,400 for the library! #ReadersAreLeaders
Our winners are:
- Most minutes read: Cali Sellner with 3,600 minutes
- Most donations collected: Levi Darnell with $700
- Top classes: Ms. Guth’s class with 7,960 minutes read and Ms. Richardson’s class with $1,085 raised!
April Arts is April 21st: Save the Date!
April Arts is our school community's biggest event and you don't want to miss. This year's event will feature student art show, hands-on art activities, community visitors, and so much more!
If you'd like to help, consider contributing to the wish list of items needed for this year's hands-on activities. Please send all items to our school's art dept. Thank you!
Wish List
Embroidery Floss (Not Tangled - Any Color)
1/2 inch nails
Baby Food Jars
Cotton
Black Sharpies
Small Smooth Stones about 1"-2"
Clothes pin
Paint Markers (especially White and Yellow)
2023 South Carolina Academy of Science, ONLINE CONTEST Grades 4 - 8
The 2023 ONLINE contest for the Middle/Elementary School Academy of Science (MESAS) is now available to interested students in grades 4-8. Last year, Sterling School had 10 winners!
- Direct Link to the South Carolina 2023 online e-contest (Grades 4-6): CLICK HERE!
- Direct Link to the South Carolina 2023 online e-contest (Grades 6-8): CLICK HERE!
This is an optional contest. Each student who participates will be recognized and each school that participates will have at least one winner. Winners will be announced in the South Carolina Academy of Science (SCAS) newsletters and the SCAS Bulletin. The online contest is available and must be completed on or before 11:59 PM Monday, March 6, 2023.
Students are encouraged to use reference resources of all types, including the internet. However, parent assistance is strongly discouraged in finding the answers. This is a competitive contest meant to teach students new methods of learning and exploring. Questions are prepared with respect to the standards for SC. Participating students may indicate Ms. Deborah Foulkes, instructional coach, as our school's sponsor (dfoulkes@greenville.k12.sc.us).
CTC Middle School: Announcing DownTOWNES 2023!
We are so excited to announce our DownTOWNES event for 2023!
DownTOWNES is our middle school event where teachers create educational experiences so that our students make connections in the real-world environments around them.
Each grade level will experience DownTOWNES on a different day and have activities tailored especially for them. The classroom teachers and the related arts team are working to provide a fun-filled day for the students.
The dates for DownTOWNES 2022 are:
April 21 - 6th grade
May 5 - 7th grade
May 12 - 8th grade
We will be sending out emails to parents in each grade level with the field trip permission form and to explain the grade-specific activities for the students. The cost for each grade level is the same - $15.00 - and is posted on the MySchoolBucks link. Or, you may send in the payment (cash or check payable to Sterling School) when you return your child’s permission form.
Note: 6th and 7th graders may order shirts here . (Many have already ordered. Contact Ms. Reynolds if you're not sure.) The cost is part of the $15 DT Field trip fee for grades 6 & 7. Deadline to place order is February 24th. 8th graders will wear their class shirt (to be ordered later).
4K Application Window for 2023-24 Year
In order for our Griffins to start their education on the right foot, we encourage participation in our high quality, full day 4K program! 4K Pre-Registration began January 9, 2023. If you know of anyone in our community who will be four years old on or before September 1, 2023, spread the word! #CreatingConnections #WholeChild
How to Apply:
Dates: January 9-March 10, 2023.
There are two ways parents can complete the application for their child. You can visit the Parent section of this website and set up a Backpack account. Once it’s set up, open the Backpack account, look for “Enroll A Student,” and follow the instructions.
For families that do not have internet access, the application can be completed at each school. Parents are urged to bring all the required documents when they visit the school. Children do not have to live in the school attendance area to apply at that location.
About the At-Risk 4K Program:
The GCS 4K program provides high quality, rigorous instruction in early reading, early math, and social-emotional skills using the SC Early Learning Standards. Students attend 7:45-2:15. The GCS Virtual Program is not available to 4K students. Children must be four years old on or before September 1, 2023 to be considered for this free program, beginning August 2023.
For more information, please email 4K@greenville.k12.sc.us or call 864-452-0437.
Sterling School
Email: jpatterson@greenville.k12.sc.us
Website: www.greenville.k12.sc.us/sterling
Location: Sterling School, John McCarroll Way, Greenville, SC, United States
Phone: 864-355-4480
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theSterlingSchool
Twitter: @SterlingSchool