Griffins Connect
February 15th #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
Ellie Heckman Receives Scholastic Art Award
Students Selected for Region Band
Congratulations to the following students who earned a chair in the 2021 South Carolina Band Director's Association Region Band:
- Charlotte Metcalf - 2nd Chair Oboe
- Aditya Harikumar- 14th Chair Clarinet
- Eli Wilson- Alternate Band - 3rd Chair Trombone
- Hannah Hendrix - Alternate Band -1st Chair Timpani
- Harper Bright - 3rd Chair Bassoon
- Caedmon Jiva - 5th Chair Alto Saxophone
- Brooke Gillen - 8th Chair French Horn
- Joel Kim - Alternate Band - 1st Chair Bass Clarinet
Students Selected for State Band
Congratulations to the following students who earned a chair in the 2021 South Carolina Band Director's Association All State Band. These two students competed with the top instrument chairs from South Carolina's six different Regions to earn chairs with this top band.
- Jeffrey Bao - 3rd Chair Clarinet
- Avanti Keskar - 14th Chair Clarinet
What's Ahead...
This Week...
- February 18th: Progress Reports (for your viewing on Parent Portal)
- February 18th: Monthly PTA Board Meeting
- February 18th: Virtual Middle School Curriculum Night (For current 5th, 6th, & 7th CTC families)
- February 20th: Butterfly Garden Workday
Looking Ahead...
- February 25th: Virtual Black History Program (to be viewed during related arts)
- March 4th: SIC Meeting @ 8:30am (CLICK HERE to register)
- March 9th: Spring Pictures
Safety First, Efficiency Second
- NO TEXTING while moving in the carline. Hands-Free only.
- Students are to Unload and Load all along the covered walkway. NOT in the visitor parking area or left lane. (Remember, our students have to walk to class, walk to lunch, walk to recess..... and they are capable of walking a few yards to get into the school.)
- Students should exit and enter cars from the passenger side right of the vehicle.
- The tardy bell rings and the instructional day begins at 7:45am.
MathCounts Qualifier
A big word of CONGRATULATIONS to the 5 students who qualified for the Chapter Invitational Round in MathCounts on Feb 25. The competition involved an initial round of testing last Friday and the top scorers at each school as well as the top 20% scorers in the chapter qualified for the Chapter competition. The rules were changed due to COVID so rather than all of the schools bringing their students for testing, an initial round was held to narrow the number of competitors. Brandon Xu, Eric Shi, Samuel Gospodarek, Grace Qin and Kai Tucker will be competing online on the 25th. Brandon scored a perfect score of 46 and our students are ranked 1, 2, 5, 6 and 9 for the competition. #SterlingSchoolWeGotThis
Current 5th, 6th, & 7th Grade CTC Families - TAKE NOTE!
Families of rising CTC middle School students, be sure to mark your calendar for the CTC Middle School Curriculum Information virtual event on Thursday, February 18th!
By 3:00pm on Thursday, February 18th, the CTC Middle School Curriculum Information One-Stop Shop document will be posted to Mrs. Noble's website for review at your convenience. The document will provide information about the registration process and contain links to information and videos from our core content and related arts teachers. Our teachers, administrators, and middle school counselor will provide information about life in middle school, the registration process for next year's classes, and what we hope you can expect from the 2021-22 school year. You'll also find lots of information about elective options and what to expect from next year's core subjects. It's a great opportunity to hear directly from the teachers and get answers to questions you might have! As always, should you have further questions regarding our middle school curriculum, registration, or anything else, feel free to call or email Ms. Noble, Mr. Murphy, or any of the middle school teachers.
2021-2022 CTC Virtual Option
Last Friday (Feb. 12th), we sent the following Backpack notification to all CTC families. In the event that you missed the email, we are placing it here in this week's eNewsletter. Should you have any questions, please reach out to any member of our school's administration. Thank you!
(If you're not signed up with GCS Backpack, this is a good reminder to do so. To access Parent Backpack, CLICK HERE and create an account. Access directions by clicking on "Creating a Parent Backpack Account.")
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Greetings Griffin Families,
Thank you all for your response to our recent virtual program interest survey. We appreciate the positive feedback so many of you have given. We have passed this encouragement along to our teachers who have worked so hard providing a quality instructional program in both face-to-face and virtual environments this year. It’s hard to believe all that has been accomplished in less than a year. Running the two programs simultaneously has been challenging, but we appreciate all of your support as we have worked together to overcome a year like no other.
Like other small, specialized programs in our district, our program was designed to meet the needs of a very small, select subset of students within our district. What we have discovered this year is that, while our teachers have done a phenomenal job with a seemingly impossible task, the mission and core values of our program cannot be actualized in a full virtual environment. Moreover, we do not have the ability to build and sustain a virtual program alongside our face-to-face program. The simultaneous offerings of in-person and virtual were made in grappling with how to respond to schooling in a global pandemic. As much research has shown over the past year, attempting to run the two programs with the same personnel is not best practice and eventually leads to reduced learning outcomes for students and increased stress and burnout for teachers.
We are fortunate to be part of a district that is able to provide a virtual program to those who choose to enroll. The district’s program will allow a team of dedicated, virtual teachers to provide instruction to those who select it, while allowing our faculty to focus on providing in-person instruction to those able to attend. Regrettably, we recognize this may mean that some CTC families will leave us. If so, we will miss them greatly while they are gone and look forward to the day we can welcome them back. However, we simply cannot continue to provide the level of support required to run a virtual program. While the official registration window for the district’s program closed February 9th, additional opportunities to register will be provided.
For those students and families who remain in person, we are committed to continuing to follow the best safety practices outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the School District of Greenville County. We urge our families to continue taking all necessary precautions and to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as they are able, with the hope that we can get back to more collaborative, experiential learning opportunities next year.
While this may not be the news some of you were hoping for, we hope that by making this decision now, our families will have the time they need to assess their options and make plans for next school year. As always, we appreciate your continued support. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact any member of our school’s administrative team.
Josh Patterson, PhD
Principal
Butterfly Garden Workday This Saturday
Our next butterfly garden workday will now be on Saturday, February 20, from 10:00 - 12:00. Weather permitting, we need volunteers to help spread mulch. Jr. Beta Club members and high school siblings can receive service hours, so bring your weeding tools and pitchforks if you have them, and let's get our garden ready for spring!
Mark your calendars for the future butterfly garden workdays scheduled for March 13, and April 17!
Black History Month 2021
While the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly created some challenges to the school year, there are some events that are always worth celebrating! With the arrival of February, we are excited to celebrate Black History Month and there's a lot in store for the entire month. Here’s a sneak peek:
- Each morning, the announcements will feature a historical black college/university and an African American that attended (famous or faculty and staff).
- The announcement will also highlight common African American trivia. Students will be encouraged to submit answers daily to their teacher and placed in the trivia box by 8am. A student’s name with the correct answer will be randomly pulled and announced the following morning. The student will then pick up their prize from the main office.
- There will be hall décor to highlight HBCUs and answers to Trivia questions.
- Black History Program – February 25, 2021 (35 Minutes during Related Arts)
#BlackHistoryIsOurHistory #SterlingSchoolWeGotThis #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
GCS 4K Application Window Opens for 2021-2022 School 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 begins tomorrow, January 11, 2021. If you know of anyone in our community with a four-year-old or soon to be four-year-old, spread the word! #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
How to Apply:
Dates: January 11-March 10, 2021.
- The online application is posted here on the GCS website.
- A child’s primary custodial parent/legal guardian can submit the online application.
- For parents who do not have internet access, they can call 864-452-0437 to apply.
- Completing the application does not guarantee that the child will be enrolled. Notification of acceptance will be sent to parents via email by April 1, 2021.
- We will not hold the face-to-face screening scheduled for March 24-26, 2021. The screening process is now part of the 4K Application.
About the At-Risk 4K Program:
- 4K programs for children at risk for school success are offered at various elementary schools and six child development centers.
- Children who will be four years old on or before September 1, 2021 may be eligible for this free program.
- Eligibility for 4K is based on academic and developmental needs, low family income, and low parent education level. However, everyone is encouraged to apply.
- The GCS Virtual Program is not available for the At-Risk 4K program.
2021 A.R.M.E.S. Nomination Information
It is once again almost time to begin nominating rising 3rd - 8th graders for the GCS ARMES (Art Reaching Middle and Elementary Students) program. These students are identified as Artistic Gifted and Talented and served through an after school program at the Fine Arts Center.
- WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT AREAS? Strings, Art, Dance, Creative Writing and Drama. Students may be nominated and audition for as many areas as they have interest but once accepted into the program, can only participate in one area per year. A separate nomination form for each discipline is required.
- WHO IS ELIGIBLE? Rising 3rd – 8th graders for the 2021 - 2022 school year.
- HOW DOES THE PROCESS WORK? Anyone can nominate a student, including teachers, parents, other adults, or self. Go to http://www.armesprogram.com and click on the link, “ARMES NOMINATION” and complete the online nomination.
Nominations will be open from February 1, 2021 through April 1, 2021. Information will be shared with your related arts teachers, guidance departments and through district social media.
ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
Students Selected for All County Band
Congratulations to the following students for earning a chair in the 2021 Greenville All County Band!
FUN FACT: This year, Sterling School students achieved a record number of 1st chair distinctions! Congratulations!
James Hahn- 4th Chair Flute
Charlotte Metcalf- 3rd Chair Oboe
Harper Bright- 1st Chair Bassoon
Jeffrey Bao- 1st Chair Clarinet
Avanti Keskar- 2nd Chair Clarinet
Aditya Harikumar- 10th Chair Clarinet
Joel Kim - 2nd Chair Bass Clarinet
Caedmon Jiva - 4th Chair Alto Saxophone
Brooke Gillen - 8th Chair French Horn
Eli Wilson - 6th Chair Trombone
Hannah Hendrix- 1st Chair Timpani
#WholeChild Leadership: Sterling School Counselor Receives Advanced Training
Recently, primary grades counselor, Chameka Duncan, achieved advanced training by certifying as a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) instructor. This certification puts Ms. Duncan on the frontline of the program, training educators and others in our community in MHFA. MHFA is a course that teaches others how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses. The training gives the skills needed to reach out and provide initial help and support to someone who may be developing a mental health problem or experiencing a crisis. Thank you, Ms. Duncan, for your continued support and advocacy of our students and profession.
COVID-19 Levels of Protection
A new document, entitled Levels of Protection (CLICK HERE!), serves to remind our community of the way we use multiple protocols to layer protection against the transmission of COVID-19. As a new variant of COVID-19 may bring increased worry, maintaining our protocols will work to keep our students, faculty, and staff safe.
As a reminder, here are some ways you can help to support our efforts to keep everyone safe:
- Please keep your student at home if they display any of the following symptoms: cough or shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing; fever (of 100.4 or higher) or chills; muscle or body aches; vomiting or diarrhea; or, new loss of taste or smell.
- Report any known positive COVID-19 exposures and positive cases immediately to Dr. Patterson.
- Model and communicate COVID protocols so our students are more likely to follow your example: wear a mask when in public, avoid large gatherings, frequently wash or sanitize hands and high-touch surfaces, stay home and away from others when sick,
Thank you, again, for your continued support of our school. #SterlingSchoolWeGotThis
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