Griffins Connect
Week of December 12th #ReImagine #WholeChild
REMINDER: Early Dismissal FRIDAY - Elem @ 11:45; Middle @ 12:00
Sterling School's 2022-23 Teacher of the Year
Congratulations, Dr. Kylee Rucker! Sterling School’s 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year! Dr. Rucker, we are thankful for you and are appreciative of all your support, leadership, and dedication to our school!
This is Dr. Rucker’s twelfth year of teaching first grade and her eighth year as a first-grade teacher at Sterling School. Growing up in a small Oregon town, Dr. Rucker’s parents emphasized the importance of serving your country. After graduating high school early, she enlisted in the Marine Corps at 17 years old. Dr. Rucker spent nine years in the Marine Corps. While serving, she earned a bachelor’s in psychology at Oregon State University, graduated Officer Candidate School, and served two deployments overseas.
Following her time in the Marine Corps, Dr. Rucker searched for a career that emphasized service. She returned to school to earn her Master of Arts in teaching at Western Governors University. Her teaching career began in Bluffton, SC where she taught first grade for four years.
In 2014, Dr. Rucker’s family moved to Greenville where she joined the Sterling family. It was here that Dr. Rucker decided to pursue a deeper understanding of how children learn and how she could best meet their needs. Serving as a teacher by day, and a doctoral student at night, Dr. Rucker spent the next five years developing her understanding of the psychology of cognition and instruction through a doctoral program at Grand Canyon University. Dr. Rucker discovered the importance of prioritizing physical movement, student choice, flexible seating, and teaching students about how their brains learn and respond. (If interested, check out Dr. Rucker's recent DonorsChoose project!)
After the school day, Dr. Rucker continues her commitment to service and developing the whole child by coaching the elementary and middle school girls’ running programs, Girls on the Run and Heart and Sole. Outside of school, Dr. Rucker enjoys laughing with her family, propagating plants, and beekeeping. #ReImagine #WholeChild
What's Ahead...
December 13: String students to record winter performance (remember to wear concert black attire)
December 13-17: Middle School School Spirit Week
- Monday: Holiday Day: dress as your favorite holiday!
- Tuesday: Country vs Country Club: dress as either country or country club!
- Wednesday: Anything but a backpack day: bring anything to carry your books except a backpack
- Thursday: Better together: dress with a group of friends or a partner
- Friday: PJ day/ Griffin day: wear PJ's!!
December 13-17: Elementary Jr. Beta's Holiday School Spirit Week
- Monday: Elf Yourself (Take an Elfie)
- Tuesday: Tacky Sweater
- Wednesday: Do You Want to Build a Snowman?
- Thursday: Holiday/School Spirit
- Friday: Polar Express Day/Wear Your PJs
December 17: Dismissal for Elem Students @ 11:45am; Middle @ 12:00pm
December 17: Start of Winter Break Reading Challenge, @ Dismissal
January 3: Students Return from Winter Break
2021 Winter Break Reading Challenge
Join us for our Winter Break Reading Challenge! K4 through 8th Grade Participants who complete our challenge will enjoy PANCAKES WITH THE PRINCIPALS!
- Kindergartners (4K & 5K) are asked to complete the Penguin/Snowball page. (CLICK HERE!)
- Students in Grades 1-8 are asked to complete the Candy Cane page. (CLICK HERE!)
NOTE: For the form to count, it needs to be completed between December 17 & January 2. Just follow the directions including a parent’s signature. All forms are due to homeroom teachers by Friday, January 7, 2022.
We would also love for you to share pictures of your child as he or she participates in this year's Challenge. Use #SterlingReads2021 within your Facebook/Twitter posts and we'll share them on our school's page. You can also send a direct message or simply email Dr. Patterson. Happy Holidays & Happy Reading!
Upcoming "Webtalk" for Parents: Internet Safety
Winter break and holiday celebrations are right around the corner! Kids will be on their devices or asking for devices over the break. Join Rick Floyd and Julie Valentine Center as we discuss internet safety over the holidays, and some tips to think about if your child will be receiving a device this holiday. Whether it’s a phone, computer, tablet, or gaming system, Rick will provide valuable information for you and for you to share with your child about online safety! We look forward to talking with you on the 15th!
Zoom Link: CLICK HERE!
Facebook: CLICK HERE!
2021 6th Grade Winter Band Performance
2021 7th/8th Grade Winter Band Performance
2021 Middle School Winter Band Concerts
If you'd like to hear an additional song from our 6th Grade Band, CLICK HERE or HERE!
If you'd like to hear an additional song from our 7th & 8th Grade Band, CLICK HERE or HERE!
2nd Grade CogAT/Iowa Retest
In October, your student completed the CogAT and Iowa Assessments online. These assessments are used as screeners for qualifying students to participate in our South Carolina Gifted and Talented Program (Challenge). The test results are also used to determine placement in the Charles Townes Center (CTC) at Sterling School for Highly Gifted students. Although the primary purpose of these assessments is to identify students for the Gifted and Talented Programs, students’ results can be useful to teachers as they examine their instructional practices to help them identify teaching strategies for all students.
During October’s CogAT and Iowa test window, some students at some schools experienced technical issues (e.g., freezing screens, audio issues, omitted software functionality) during the online administration. While school staff resolved many technical issues, allowing students to complete their tests, the testing vendor and the district have deemed some issues to have created disruptions, distractions, or experiences which could compromise the validity of some students’ scores. Thus, due to the technical issues some students experienced while completing the tests, we are offering all students the opportunity to retake both the CogAT and Iowa tests during the January testing window, January 4-13.
CogAT/Iowa Testing Schedule
Day 1 - Jan. 4, 2022
- CogAT Verbal Analogies, Sentence Completion, Picture Classification, Quantitative Number
- Analogies and Number Puzzles
Day 2 - Jan. 5, 2022
- CogAT Quantitative Number Series and Nonverbal Figure Matrices, Paper Folding, and Figure Classification
Day 3 - Jan. 6, 2022
Iowa Reading
Day 4 - Jan. 7, 2022
Iowa Mathematics
Note: If your student is absent or you choose not to have your student participate, no other test opportunities will be offered.
During all retesting/make-up testing opportunities in January, students will test via paper and not online. When determining eligibility for Gifted and Talented programs, including CTC, students’ highest scores from either the October or January administrations will be considered. If your child is absent during the January testing window, scores from the October administration will be used to determine Gifted and Talented eligibility. Scores from the October administrations are not available at this time.
If you have questions regarding your child’s retesting, please contact Ms. Harris.
A Very, Merry Nicholtown CommUNITY Carol
All are invited to join the Nicholtown Neighborhood Association on Friday, December 17th, beginning at 4pm to carol together through the neighborhood, or meet at the Phillis Wheatley Community Center or the Nicholtown Community Center for soul stirring selections from Bonnie Franks and the Nicholtown Community Choir!
Details are found in the flyer (CLICK HERE!). Please email aleciaebrewster@gmail.com or call 843-442-1555 if you'd like to sing, serve hot cocoa or share another gift with the community. #WholeCommunity
ACE Awards Accepting Nominations
If you would like to nominate a Greenville County 8th or 12th grader, please submit a nomination - CLICK HERE!
All nominations must be submitted by January 31, 2022. An ACE Awards Advisory Committee at each school will choose finalists from among those nominated. One male and one female will be chosen from each middle and high school in Greenville County. All ACE award recipients will be recognized at a live stream ACE Awards ceremony in the spring.
To Learn More visit: Coaches For Character Video
The Griffin Guard
Attention Dads, Daddys, Fathers, Papas, Grampas, Granddads, Uncles, and other male role models for our students: We need your help!
In January, our school will begin a new program called "The Griffin Guard" and we want you to be a part of it! The Griffin Guard will assist during our Friday morning front carline from 7:10-7:45am to help kids get out of cars and into school efficiently and safely.
Can you spare 35 minutes on an occasional Friday? You will make a positive impact on our students, help our carline run smoothly, and get to know other male role models at our school.
If you can help or are interested in learning more, please complete this google form and we will email you with additional details closer to our kickoff.
Elementary Yearbooks
Don't forget to order your Sterling Elementary School yearbook before the year ends for only $20! Starting January 1st the yearbook will increase to $25. Thanks for your support!
Author Nick Bruel to Visit Sterling School
New York Times bestselling children’s author Nick Bruel will be doing a virtual visit with 2nd-5th grades at Sterling School on Tuesday, January 11th, 2022, to discuss his Bad Kitty chapter book series, including the new book, Bad Kitty Gets a Phone.
If you would like to pre-order books (including a signed bookplate), please send in your payment with the form below (make checks payable to Sterling School) and return it to your child’s teacher by Wednesday, January 12th.
New Project is Up!
CLICK HERE to check out our school's classroom projects!
Supporting a DonorsChoose project is super easy...
1) Find a classroom project that inspires you and give as little as $1. We're a public charity, so your donation is tax-deductible.
2) When a project is fully funded, DonorsChoose will purchase all the requested items and ship them directly to the school.
3) When funded, every donor gets a thank-you letter from the teacher, photos from the classroom, and a report of how each dollar was spent.
Creativity Takes Courage Mural Project
Through a generous grant from Kiwanis Greenville Eastside, Mrs. Spitler and her students have been working to bring more color, creativity, and joy to our school campus! Famous writer, Oscar Wilde said, "Mere color can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways." Students recently completed a mural in the related arts hallway that used color to speak to our entire school community. The theme of the mural was "Creativity Takes Courage" and students drew images that inspire creativity and courage. Students tried to include all of the areas of art as well as other parts of life that require courage. Students of all ages (k4-8th grade) helped with the mural. Already, this mural has brought more joy, creativity, and inspiration to the hundreds of students who see it each day!
Next, Mrs. Spitler and students will be spreading color and joy to our crosswalks! Keep an eye out for the colorful and creative crosswalks that are taking shape in our car lines! 5th grade students designed the images that you will see! #WholeChild #ReImagine
Izumi Places First in Foreign Language Declamation Contest
1st & 2nd Grade Holiday Performance
While last week's 70 degree weather may not have seemed wintry or seasonal, it was absolutely perfect for our 1st & 2nd grade Winter Outdoor Concert! Our students sounded great! If you'd like to hear a few selections of their performance, check out the video below. Additional videos of last week's performance can be found HERE, HERE, and HERE. 🙂
Thank you to Dr. Robertson and Mrs. Ledford for all their leadership and flexibility in making this year’s event happen! #ReImagine #WholeChild
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