The Weekly Griffin
Week of March 4, 2018
What's Ahead...
- March 7 - Internet Safety Lunch & Learn; 11:30-12:30 in Vegas Room
- March 10 - Butterfly Garden Work Day (Sign-up HERE!)
- March 13 - Volunteer 2 Training
- March 16 - School Spirit Day (Wear a Sterling shirt or school colors)
- March 21 - Families for Lunch (Click HERE for Lunch Schedule)
- March 23 - Middle School Dance
CTC Spotlight: One Word Resolutions
Our middle school advisory groups have been working on important social and emotional skills this year to help our students develop character and live more meaningful lives. As the beginning of a new year rolls around, many people set complex and complicated New Year’s Resolutions, which often fail shortly after. “My One Word” is an experiment designed to provide clarity in goal setting and narrow down intentions into a single focus. The one word defines your values and creates vision for your future. All of our middle school students chose their one word resolution, and you can now see them displayed on their lockers as a reminder of what they are working to accomplish in 2018! #GriffinPride #WholeChild
General Notes & Reminders
- Morning Drop Off: Please do not unload your child(ren) in the teacher parking lot beside the Phillis Wheatley building. Your child may continue to walk from the parking lot in front of Phillis Wheatley, but for the safety of our student walkers and the faculty/staff do not enter into the teacher parking lot.
- Snow Make-Up Days: Students have missed six days this school year due to inclement weather. As per the calendar, students will make up the first three days on Monday, March 19, Friday, March 30, and Friday, April 27. The GCS Board of Trustees recently waived the make-up of three additional days missed on January 17, 18 and 19 for students.
- March-May Lunch Menu: Here is the lunch menu for the remainder of the 2017-2018 school year. (Click HERE for menu)
- Attendance: For any student who is absent from school, all notes (parent or medical) must be provided within 2 days of the student's return to be excused.
Sterling Servathon & Golden Rule Rally a HUGE SUCCESS!
Thank you to all of our families, teachers, and staff for making our first Sterling Servathon a huge success! For two weeks, our students were encouraged to make the kind choice while raising more than $19,000 to support the work of our PTA and our school. We are also grateful to our partners with Boosterthon for everything that they did to create such positive energy in the school and help our PTA make this new event a success.
PLEASE COLLECT YOUR PLEDGES BY MARCH 8!
All students have received a pledge collection envelope, and email reminders will be going out over the next weeks. Our first collection deadline is March 8.
Thank you for the generosity and the support for this new program, and for making sure everyone who made a pledge sends in their donations!
Also, if you would like to help the PTA enter payments and process collections, please sign-up HERE. We could use all the help we can get!
Servathon Business Partner
THANK YOU to Palmetto Family Orthodontics and Drs. Caldwell and Watson for their support as this year’s Sterling Servathon Business Partners! Their generosity provided the funding for this year’s Boosterthon t-shirts.
Check out the highlight video from Sterling Servathon!
Lunch & Learn: Internet Safety - March 7th
The increasing number of youth using the Internet has caused a significant threat to the health and safety of young people and has become a difficult challenge for law enforcement and educators. The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office is committed to helping our youth stay safe and knowledgeable in this every-changing world of technology.
Please join us on Wednesday, March 7th from 11:30-12:30pm as Joe Ryan, Education Coordinator of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, teaches parents how to guide children through the process of effective, safe Internet use. This presentation will offer parents practical strategies and serves as a great follow-up to our recent viewing of Screenagers. It also serve as a valuable introduction to our one-to-one technology implementation for the 2018-2019 school year.
Attention 8th Grade Parents
DownTOWNES: We need help from 8th grade parents to coordinate volunteer opportunities for our students during DownTOWNES on Friday, May 4th. If you can help on a committee to find locations and create student groups, or if you are able to help supervise a student group on May 4th, please contact Linda Reynolds at lreynold@greenville.k12.sc.us
CTC Letters: Please look for an email from Ms. Reynolds this week about the 8th grade CTC letters.
2018 Annual Report Card Survey
Sterling Butterfly Garden - Work Day March 10
Our next Butterfly Garden Work Day will be on Saturday, March 10th at 9:30am. All parents, students, teachers, and community members are invited to help get the Butterfly Garden ready for spring! We will have water available, but please bring gloves, small and large shovels, and small and large pruners, wheelbarrows and pitchforks.
If you can help, let us know by signing up HERE.
Middle School Volunteers Needed
We NEED lots and lots of volunteers for an upcoming event on our Griffin Day, Friday, 3/23. The ELA team is hosting a “Reality of Money” simulation. We will need about 50 adults to help us run the sessions – you don’t need to have any prior knowledge of the simulation to help out.
There are four 6-minute sessions, and we’d love to have you for one or multiple sessions! Volunteers must be Level I trained. For more information or to sign up, please visit the following link: (CLICK HERE!).
My Energy Kit Update
So far, Sterling School has reached 54 Energy Kits and has saved 10,800 kWh of energy. If we reach 100 kits, our school will receive a $250 check. Sterling School families and staff can request their FREE Energy Kit and credit your school by going online to MyEnergyKit.org or by calling our hotline at 1-855-386-9548.
Thank you, in advance, for requesting your kits and making a difference for our planet. When you request and use your kits, energy is saved. It’s as simple as that. And we’re hoping that by the end of the school year, we will have saved 10 million kWh of energy together. Can we make it?
Families for Lunch: Wed., March 21st! (Date Change)
Ways to Get Involved & Serve!
Mentor Upstate
According to Harvard University's Center on Developing Child, "Every child who ends up doing well has had at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive adult." This year, the Sterling School is partnering with Mentor Upstate, a nonprofit organization that seeks to support children with one-on-one positive relationships. As we launch this exciting program, 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 can give 30 minutes a week, we need you!
If you have any questions, you are invited to email Jennifer Medlock, director of Mentor Greenville. If you are ready to dive in, you may begin by completing the mentor application (CLICK HERE!).
Become a Tutor!
Are you willing to make a difference in a child's life? One way you can do this is through tutoring. Tutoring has been shown to not only increase a student's academic performance, it also increases their chance of success in life!
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer tutor, Sterling School needs YOU! We have many students who could use your time, help, and knowledge in a small group and/or partner setting. Teachers will provide needed lessons and materials.
If interested or know someone who may be interested, contact Kim Marchbanks @ krmarchbanks@greenville.k12.sc.us .
DonorsChoose
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.
The mission of DonorsChoose is simple...to help students in every community have the tools and experiences they need for a great education.
ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
2017-2018 Sterling School Spelling Bee
Recently, the Sterling School held our annual Spelling Bee. The 4th grade spelling bee winner was Kevin Antani. The middle school spelling bee winner was Isabella Lopez. Isabella will be representing our school at the Scripps Regional Spelling Bee on March 3rd. Congratulations to all of this year's finalists!
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