Dolphin Splash Family Newsletter

Monthly Update #4 | Friday, November 4, 2022

Our school newsletter will be sent on the first Friday of each month.

This newsletter will contain important information for families. We will use Class Dojo school-wide to communicate with our families so please connect with your child's teacher and the school there.

Important Dates to Note

Tuesday, November 8: Teacher Work Day | No School for Students


Thursday, November 10: Reading Fair & Family Literacy Night (FSES students in attendance will receive a ticket to receive two FREE books)


Monday, November 21-Friday, November 25: Thanksgiving Break | No School for All


Monday, December 19, 2022-Tuesday, January 3, 2023: Holiday Break | No School for All; Students return on Wednesday, January 4, 2023

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Thanksgiving Lunch

Factory Shoals will host our Thanksgiving meal on Wednesday, November 9, 2022. Please refer to the lunch schedule below. We are not able to call students out of class if it is not their lunch time, so please plan accordingly. School Nutrition will be serving sliced turkey with gravy, cornbread stuffing, carrot souffle, green beans, dessert and a drink.


We do ask that each guest RSVP and pre-pay in advance. This will help us prepare the appropriate amount of food and it will speed up the lunch line. Students do not need to pre-pay. Complete the form, cut on the dotted line, and return to school by Monday, November 7th with payment to confirm your reservation. Please know that if a family does not RSVP for this event, additional meals may not be available. Lunch for adults is $4.00. The cafeteria will return your RSVP slip to your child’s teacher. Teachers will meet guests in the cafeteria on November 9th to give you the paid RSVP slip. You will present the slip to the cashier as you go through the line. There is a maximum of two guests per student due to limited space. There is no outside food or drinks permitted on this day.


Thanksgiving Lunch Order Form
FSES Lunch Schedule

Parent Post #1

The Parent Post newsletter is published four times per year for students and families of the Douglas County School System. Click on the links below for English and Spanish versions.

2022-2023 FSES Student Council

Congratulations to our students who were voted by their peers to represent our school for the 2022-2023 Student Council. Student Council will be responsible for working with school leadership and provide a voice for our student body. These students will work with our school counselor, Mrs. Lee, to plan events, build school community, and promote school pride.
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Student Celebrations

We recently honored 100 students with perfect attendance for the first nine weeks and 67 students in first through fifth grades who earned All As for the first nine weeks of school. Congratulations to these students! We are so very proud of them!

November 17th is National Parent Involvement Day

We will celebrate National Parent Involvement Day on Thursday, November 17th from 8:00 AM until 9:00 AM. Parents will check in at the office, grab coffee/donut from the atrium and then be welcomed to your child's classroom. The purpose of this day is to allow parents a peek into your child's day and to show you how much of an impact parental involvement plays on the success of their child. Please RSVP via the Google Form so we can plan accordingly. We hope you can make it!

https://forms.gle/XB9VQK3HyuBMoxCSA
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DCSS Announces PLAY Card: Digital Library Card

The West Georgia Regional Library System is partnering with Douglas County School System to introduce the PLAY Card to our students. The PLAY (PINES Library Access for Youth) Card is a digital library card that offers Douglas County School System students free access to public library materials and online resources to support their educational success. PINES (Public Information Network for Electronic Services) is the statewide network of public library systems serving 300 public libraries across the state of Georgia. Public school students will use their student number, the same one used for school lunches and other services, as their library card account number.


How Does It Work?

Douglas County School System students will use their student ID number to access their PLAY Card account just like they would use a library card. The PLAY Card is free and access to public library resources and services is free. There are no overdue fines for materials checked out through a student’s PLAY Card. Fees apply only for lost or damaged materials. If your student already has a library card, the student may use both the PLAY account and their original library card. The PLAY account will be an entirely separate account.


What Are the Benefits?

Students with a digital PLAY Card can check out up to 5 physical items at a time, including books, DVDs, CDs, free passes to state parks, and more. The PLAY Card will also give your student free access to digital resources such as e-books through Cloud Library and eRead Kids, language learning through Mango Languages, practice tests for SAT, ACT, nursing entrance exams, and more.


What If I Don’t Want to Participate?

If you would prefer your student not to have a PLAY Card, you may opt out of this program by notifying the school.

Character Trait Words for November

Week of November 7, 2022 | Patriotism & Citizenship: Respect and devotion to one’s country, working together as a teamwork


Week of November 14, 2022 | Judicious: Having, showing, or done with good judgement or sense of empathy


Week of November 21-25, 2022 | No School - HOLIDAY BREAK


Week of November 28, 2022 | Resilience: An individual's ability to properly adapt to stress and adversity

November is National Native American Heritage Month

November is National Native American Heritage Month. We celebrate with the Nation in recognizing the rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories of American Indians and Alaskan Natives. Today, there are 574 federally recognized tribes. This month we will share various readings and facts about our Native Americans.
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story (Literally Cultured Read Aloud)

Go Guardian

GoGuardian is a Chromebook monitoring and teacher facilitator application that helps students learn safely, stay focused, and get engaged. Administrators and teachers can see everything your child does on their school issued device and when they are logged into their DCSS portal. Administrators get alerts when students search inappropriate or explicit content on their device. Students will lose device privileges if their account is flagged for inappropriate content.

School Nutrition: Breakfast and Lunch

Parents are required to complete a Free and Reduced Meal Application in order to qualify for free or reduced meals. Meals will no longer be free. Parents will be required to send money for breakfast and lunch until the free/reduced meal application is approved. You can use schoolcafe.com to load money to your child's account or send cash for meals.


If your child has a negative lunch balance, they will not be accepted into any FSES extracurricular activities until that balance is cleared.

Lunch with your Dolphin

Parents are welcome to join their scholar for lunch at any time. Please check into the office to get a visitors pass. Enjoy your lunch and say your good-byes at the cafeteria as many of our students get right back to instructional time after lunch is over. Please check with your child's teacher if you are not sure of their class lunch time.

Join PTA

Everyone is welcome to join our Parent Teacher Association (PTA), including parents, relatives, teachers, and staff. The PTA works to support our school and our students by raising money for classroom supplies, family nights, educational assemblies, scholarships, and more.


The main goal of the PTA is to benefit our children and our school. If you are interested in joining the Factory Shoals PTA, now is your chance! Click the link here to join!


This year, membership will be $10.00 per family.

Pulse Surveys for Parents

As school we want to get better at improving our school culture and get a pulse on the issues that matter to you. We have a service that will send you regular, short, anonymous surveys making it quick and easy to get your voice heard.


Please click the link below to sign up https://app.satchelpulse.com/parents?country=us

Please use the school ID 659223 when prompted to join the school. Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Infinite Campus Parent Portal

Here is the link for directions on signing up for the Parent Portal for our Student Information System, Infinite Campus. We use Infinite Campus school for student's grades, attendance and other important data.

Class Dojo

Make sure you're connected with Factory Shoals Elementary School (2375 Mt. Vernon Rd, Lithia Springs, GA) and your child's teacher. We will use this as our school-wide communication tool. Once you join our school, you can join your child's classroom via a code or you can request to join.

Absences and Tardies

Please do not send sick students to school. Students who are absent must submit a valid excuse for their absence within 3 days of the absence. Please only send a parent note or doctor's note. Attendance Notes should contain the student's full name, grade, date(s) of absence(s), parent's signature and contact number. Absences that are 3 consecutive days or longer require a doctor's note in order to be considered excused.

Student & Family Handbook

Please take some time to read over our FSES Student & Family Handbook which is on our website and can also be found here.

Transportation Changes

All afternoon dismissal and transportation changes must be made in writing. Please send notes in with students in the morning. If you need to send an email, those need to be made prior to 1:00 PM to your child's teacher.

Here Comes the Bus & Bus Expectations

Here Comes the Bus is available for parents and students to download now. To sign up, visit the Apple or Android store, or visit www.herecomesthebus.com.


Students are still encouraged to arrive at their stop five to ten minutes early and to follow any additional instructions given by drivers. Please sign up for Here Comes the Bus. You can use code.


As your children board the bus each morning, please help us and remind them of our bus rules. Students should stay seated in assigned seat, there is to be no eating or drinking on the bus and students should use their inside voices. Students should also keep their hands and other objects to themselves while riding the bus.


School bus transportation is a privilege afforded pupils by the Board of Education. It is not a right. To protect the safety and well-being of all involved, pupils must adhere to established bus conduct rules. Bus transportation privilege may be revoked if the pupil does not observe bus conduct expectations.

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Late Bus Information

There are some days that your child's bus may be late due to busses being combined or a substitute bus driver driving a new route. If you would like to know if your child's bus will be late, you may locate that information here. Our school is abbreviated as FSES. This information is updated each morning and each afternoon.

Afternoon Office Pick-up Times

As instruction and student safety are our top priorities, we hope to limit the reduction of instructional time disruptions and the decrease in office chaos in the afternoons. We respectfully ask that all families refrain from office check-outs after 1:45 PM each day. We can no longer pull children off the bus once they load as this becomes a safety issue for students. Of course we understand that emergencies happen but we do ask that you work with us as we ensure all students get home safely in the afternoon.

Afternoon Dismissal

School ends at 2:25 PM. Buses will depart our campus at that time. We will begin calling car riders at 2:25 PM. Please have your car rider tag in your rearview mirror. Students are to be picked up for the car rider lane by 2:40 PM. If you arrive after 2:40 PM, please pick your student(s) up from the front office and be prepared to show ID.

Morning & Afternoon Car Rider Procedures

Morning Arrival to FSES

  • Car riders may only be dropped off and picked up within the designated car rider zone.

  • Morning student drop-off begins at 7:00 AM. Afternoon dismissal of car riders begins at 2:25 PM.

  • As the car approaches the drop-off location, students should unbuckle themselves, have their bookbag on, and place any materials being carried in their hands.

  • Please move forward until directed to stop. Once stopped, please remember to unlock doors. In the morning, we typically unload three to four cars at a time.

  • Students MUST wait until FSES School Staff opens the car door in order to proceed from vehicles. Students should not get out of the car by themselves. This is for the safety of all students.

  • If possible, all students should be loaded and unloaded through passenger side doors- Curb Side.

  • Do not drive around or pass cars that are still unloading. Vehicles will wait until all children have exited their vehicle before proceeding to the exit. Like school bus loading and unloading zones, violators will have license plates turned over to the DCSS Police Department.

  • Vehicles NOT in line when the clock turns 7:40 AM will be directed to sign the child in through the front office.

  • Students coming in through the front office must be escorted into the building by a parent or guardian.


Afternoon Dismissal from FSES

  • The afternoon car rider line begins at 2:00 pm.

  • Afternoon dismissal of car riders begins at 2:25 pm.

  • Please do not use cell phones once the car pick-up line begins to move.

  • The school-issued car rider tag is required for pick-up. (Even if we know who you are. You must have a car rider tag to pick up a child.) If you do not have a tag, you will be directed to the front office to get one. Additional tags are $2.

  • A staff member is responsible for radioing your child's car rider number. Please wait until they have done so before moving on in the line.

  • Move all the way forward until directed to stop.

  • Vehicles should be placed in park.

  • Normally, three students are loaded into cars at a time.

  • Children will enter the car on the right-hand side.

  • Parents or Guardians should remain in the vehicle at all times.

  • Once the child is loaded, you may proceed to the exit.

  • If a child needs assistance with getting buckled in, your vehicle should move forward towards the exit. Do not assist while in the line.

  • Vehicles need to be in line by 2:40 pm. After 2:40 pm you will need to pick your child up from the front office.

  • Students waiting after the car rider line ends will be placed in the After School Program and a fee will be assessed.


If you or the person who is picking up your child in the afternoon does not have the hanging FSES 2022-2023 Car Rider Identification card, they will have to pick up the child from the front office and have their ID available for our front office staff to check. This is for the safety of your child. Thank you for your understanding.


We thank you in advance for adhering to our rules as they all help keep your students safe around moving vehicles.


Wednesdays are AVID Spirit Days

We are an AVID School. AVID's mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society. Wednesdays are AVID College Spirit Days. Please dress your scholar in college gear! FSES Dolphins are future college students!!

FSES is a No Cell Phone Zone

We recognize that electronic devices are an important part of our everyday world and are increasingly being used in teaching and learning. However, we want to be sure that any devices at school are being used as an appropriate instructional tool, and their use does not interfere with our students’ learning environment.


Factory Shoals is proud to provide student access to Chrome Books in all of our classrooms. Students should only use electronic devices under the direct supervision of their teacher, so there is absolutely no need for students to bring their own devices from home. This includes cell phones, smart watches, iPads, and tablets. We believe that elementary school students are not equipped to deal with the responsibilities of having unsupervised access to technology, and their brains are not quite ready to handle such distractions at school.


If your child must bring a device to school in order to communicate with you after school hours, then please remind them of the following:


Electronic devices brought from home will be kept in the backpack turned off during the school day and will not ring or cause disruption to the instruction in the classroom.


Thank you for helping us to make Factory Shoals an amazing place where students value their education!

Birthdays

We do not allow whole birthday cakes or any birthday treats that are not individually wrapped.


We enjoy honoring our students on their birthday. We announce the birthday child’s name on the morning announcements and allow families to bring in treats within the guidelines below.


Cupcakes/snacks must be store bought AND prepackaged/individually wrapped.


Also, you may want to think about non-food items. The items listed below will still make your child feel special and they will last a lot longer than a food item.

  • A game for the classroom
  • A classroom book (A nice touch would be having your child pick it out, sign it, and date it.)
  • A classroom set of items for each child to keep such as pencils, pens, erasers, markers, etc.

Bilingual Liaison

Ms. Lizzy Kilgore is our District Bilingual Liaison. Please contact her if you need help with translating or interpreting.

Phone: 770.651.2223

Email: lizzy.kilgore@dcssga.org