THE NORCROSS ELEMENTARY EAGLE
February 2023 - Family Newsletter
Dear Families,
Can you believe we celebrated 100 days of school on Friday, January 20? A school year is 180 days and we have about 75 more days to some amazing work. Please continue to keep the expectations high for your child by hold them accountable for academics and behavior as WE (the staff and you) provide the necessary supports.
In supporting your child, please be sure to schedule a Spring Conference with your child's teacher. Early Release Conference Days are Wednesday, March 1 and Thursday, March 2. Information to sign-up for a conference will be sent home in the upcoming weeks.
Let's set some goals and make it happen!
Families, we thank you for your continued support. It is us working together that makes the difference.
Sincerely,
Kassia Sutton
Proud Principal of Norcross Elementary
Celebrating 100 Days of School
LEVEL UP READING PROGRAM
A thank you, to Dr. LaTonya Parker, Lamieshea Smith, and Andrea Eberhar for this initiative.
February Dates
January 31 - Supplemental Tutoring Programs begins for 3rd-5th students
February 1 - Community Skills Fieldtrip to Chic Fil A
February 3 - Digital Learning Day
February 8 - Severe Weather Drill at 9:00am
February 9 - NES STEM Literacy Night at 5:30pm
February 10 - Academich Challenge
February 14 - Valentine's Day
February 16-20 Fall Break
Februry 22 - Level Up Reading Program Parent Meeting at 9:15am
February 22 - Family Luncheon 3rd-5th
February 23 - Family Luncheon K-2nd
February 24 - Student of the Month
February 24 - 3rd Grade Field Trip (Arbor Day Celebration)
Friday, February 3 is a Digital Learning Day.
February 5-11 is National Counseling Week.
STEM Night: Thursday, February 9
It will be a night full of science.
We will have the Gwinnett Public Library here with their Cubelets. The robotics club will have our school robots out for students to use. We will again have the Van de Graaff generator out to give a hair-raising experience! The centers will explore Kinetic energy, make bouncy balls, investigate wind power using pinwheels and hover plates, building for an earthquake, creating foam roller coasters, making catapults, and creating electrical circuits.
February is Black History Month
Blach History Month Spirit Week is February 6-10
BLACK HISTORY MONTH LUNCHEON
Norcross Public Library - Message from Laura Dobbins
Norcross - Kids Heart Challenge is here! Register today!
Kids Heart Challenge is here!
Our goal is to have all students register online and complete Finn’s Mission. They’ll even earn a free wristband for registering!
The top class in each grade level will win a glow party for their class!
Here’s how you can help:
- Click Here to Register.
- Complete Finn’s Mission: Watch a 2-minute video to know Hands-Only CPR, spot the signs of a stroke and more!
- Share with friends and family through social media, text and/or email.
We need your help to accomplish our goal of having 100% of our families to know Hands-Only CPR, and you can help us by registering your child and spreading the word.
Here’s a message from our Heart Heroes!
Discover a Common Interest with Your Child
Discover a Common Interest With Your Child
It’s easy to find things to do with young children. Toddlers and preschoolers simply enjoy being with mom or dad—doing what they’re doing.
But as children grow, their interests change. So must parents' time with them. Families need to find new ways to talk, listen and just be together.
To continue to develop your relationship with your child, find something you both share an interest in. Maybe it’s making model rockets or riding bikes. Maybe it’s baking or playing a game or collecting something.
Whatever it is, make sure neither of you think of it as a “duty.” Communication will flow naturally when you both can spend time together talking about and sharing an enjoyable activity.
Descubra un interés común con su hijo
Es fácil encontrar cosas para hacer con los niños pequeños. Los niños en edad preescolar simplemente disfrutan de estar en compañía de mamá o papá haciendo lo que sea que hagan.
Pero a medida que los niños crecen, sus intereses cambian. Y también debe cambiar el tiempo que los padres pasan con ellos. Las familias deben encontrar nuevas maneras de hablar, escuchar y simplemente estar juntos.
Para continuar forjando la relación con su hijo, busque algo en lo que ambos se interesan. Quizás es hacer cohetes a escala o andar en bicicleta. Quizás es cocinar, jugar un juego o coleccionar algo.
Sea lo que fuere, asegúrese de no tomarlo como un "deber". La comunicación fluirá naturalmente si pasan tiempo juntos hablando y compartiendo una actividad que ambos disfrutan.
News from the Media Center
We have a team of 5th grade students preparing for the GCPS Readers Rally competition on February 25, 2023 at Parkview High School! They are working hard to read all the books and we hope they will have fun and do a great job at the competition!
What to do if your child is sick?
1. Keep your child at home if he/she is sick.
2. If your child has tested positive for COVID, please contact Contacia.Cross, assistant principal, at contacia.cross@gcpsk12.org. who will provide additional guidance.
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Clinic Updates
1. If your child has a medical alert/medical health management plan, please contact Kierra Flowers as soon as possible, and complete and return applicable forms to her in a timely manner.
2. We want our students to have a full day of learning, but sometimes illness(es) may interrupt their day. For the safety and health of your child and others, if your child gets ill at school and needs to go home, please do so promptly. If you’re unable to pick them up, please be sure that we have a current list of emergency contact(s) that we may reach out to.
Ready to learn with the GCPS Virtual Backpack!
Please visit the website below to access important Back to School Information.
https://www.gcpsk12.org/Page/33374
Also, acknowledgement of required documents must be signed off through My Payments Plus. Parents must sign off on the required documents. Below is the website address to create an account and access the forms:
https://www.mypaymentsplus.com/welcome
If you need help with signing off on important documents, please contact eduardina.checo@gcpsk12.org, our part liasion.
My Payments Plus Instructions for Set-Up
Free/Reduced Lunch Applications
Potrait of a Gradute
Local School Plan for Improvement (LSPI Goals)
Empathy:
- Goal 1.B—Staff and student wellbeing. Promote student and staff wellbeing through prioritizing self-care, physical and mental health, and social emotional learning.
Equity:
- Goal 2.A—Multi-tiered system of supports. Implement a comprehensive framework to fully operationalize a multi-tiered system of supports to address academic and non-academic student needs and remove barriers to success.
- Goal 2.B—Opportunity and access. Expand student opportunities to engage in and access high-quality, rigorous, and culturally relevant curriculum, advanced coursework (e.g., Advanced Placement and dual enrollment), and enrichment activities (e.g., the arts, gifted, STEM, career technical education).
Effectiveness:
- Goal 3.A—Results-Based Evaluation System. Redefine the inputs, behaviors, and outcomes that determine the standards for student success as measured by the Results-Based Evaluation System (RBES) to support school improvement and student growth.
Excellence:
- Goal 4.C—World-class communication and engagement. Demonstrate world-class communication and engagement through modeling the value GCPS leadership places on transparent, two-way communication to build stakeholder trust and confidence.
Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Supporting the Whole Child
We will continue our focus on the Whole Child through MTSS by using Supportive Community and Academic Press (see picture below). An example of Supportive Community is our Positive Behaviors Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Program and an example of Academic Press is the implementation of the EL Education literacy pilot for Language Arts.
Implementation of MTSS is one of our LSPI goals.
Early Check-out Procedures
A student who leaves school before the official ending time must be signed out in the office by his/her parent or guardian. Parents must report to the receptionist, not the classroom. The receptionist will call the room for the child after a photo ID (government issued) has been shown. Please remember that each time a child checks out early, we must call the classroom and disrupt instruction for everyone. Children will be called to the Front Office where they will be released to the parent/guardian. The office will not check out students after 2:30 P.M. (11:30 A.M. on early release days). Please do not ask school personnel to make exceptions.
A child will not be permitted to leave the school in the custody of any person other than the child's parent unless that person is listed as a parent/guardian or emergency contact in the school’s database. As telephone numbers and situations change, please make sure you report this information to the school so we have the most accurate information.
School Hours
- Doors open at 8:20am
- Classes begin at 8:50am
Dismissal
- The Day ends at 3:20pm
Parent Center Updates
Check out our Parent Page in our School Website to find more information regarding Title 1 and what happens at Norcross Elementary. It’s important to stay informed about your child’s education. The Powerpoint Presentation of the Title 1 Annual Meeting is posted there for your review. https://www.gcpsk12.org/domain/1603
We are looking for volunteers to participate in our Local School Council and Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Reach out to our Parent Center team, Robert Fortenbery Robert.fortenbery@gcpsk12.org or Eduardina Checo Eduardina.checo@gcpsk12.org for more information.
Ways for you to Get Involved
The purpose of the LSC is:
- To help the local board of education develop and nurture participation
- To bring parents and the community together with teachers and school administrators to create a better understanding of and mutual respect for each other’s concerns
- To share ideas for school improvement
If you are interested in being a member of our Local School council, please contact Robert Fortenbery (robert.fortenbery@gcpsk12.org).
The tentative meeting dates are as follows:
September 23, November 11, January 27, and March 10 at 7:30amj.
PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA)
We are in need of a PTA board to support our school, our students, and our faculty. The board consists of a president/co-president, vice president, treasurer and secretary. Please contact me at kassia.morris.sutton@gcpsk12.org if you are interested.
https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/Mission-Values
Volunteer
Please partner with us and commit to volunteering at our school. Volunteer activites may include: working in the media center, laminating materials, counting out documents, cutting, and filing. Please contact Robert Fortenbery (robert.fortenbery@gcpsk12.org) or Eduardina Checon (eduardina.checo@gcpsk12.org) for volunteer opportunities.
Previous Newsletters
October 2022 https://www.smore.com/y04uh
November 2022 https://www.smore.com/xphy8
December 2022 https://www.smore.com/q5ys4
How to Stay Connected
Principal – Kassia Sutton (kassia.morris.sutton@gcpsk12.org)
Assistant Principal - Gr. K, 1, 2 – Jamie Elsey (jamie.elsey@gcpsk12.org)
Assistant Principal – Gr. 3, 4, 5 – Contacia Cross (contacia.cross@gcpsk12.org)
Assistan Principal - Special Education - Alicia Lapinsky (alicia.lapinsky@gcpsk12.org)
Counselor - Gr. K, 1 - Kortnie Smith (kortnie.smith@gcpsk12.org)
Counselor Gr. 2, 3 - Amy Crapo (amy.crapo.@gcps12.org)
Counselor Gr. 4, 5 - Matt Ho (matt.ho@gcpsk12.org)
Website: https://www.gcpsk12.org/NorcrossES
Location: 150 Hunt Street, Norcross, GA, USA
Phone: 770-448-2188
Facebook: facebook.com/NorcrossElementarySchool-GCPS