Simonton ES Parent Newsletter
Friday, March 27, 2020
Every Student, Every Day, Deserves to Learn, Lead, and Excel!
Message from Ms. Perkins
Spring Break (March 30 - April 3)
School Closed
Message from GCPS:
Next week, March 30 through April 3, is Spring Break for Gwinnett County Public Schools. All schools and offices will be closed. We will take a recess from our Digital Learning Days and our schools will not provide student meals for pick up or delivery during spring break as our staff members will not be working. GCPS is currently working with the gwinnettcares.org team and the co-ops in the county. They have a food plan for serving Gwinnett families who need assistance during Spring Break. We will communicate additional information about those plans in the coming days.
Digital Learning Days will continue until Friday, April 24, 2020.
Message from our Mayor, David Still-
Simonton Jam Session with Mrs. George-
Grab a percussion instrument, pots, pans, pencils, shakers, and come jam with Mrs. George.
We will make music and hopefully have some fun too.
I will be hosting a Zoom session Friday mornings at 10:00 AM while we are participating in these Digital Learning Days. Our first meeting is this Friday, March 27th. We will learn about a composer and one of their pieces, do some silly movements, and add some percussion.
Head to Mrs. George's eCLASS page to access the Zoom link each Friday at 10:00am.
Hope to see you there!
On our eCLASS landing page, you will see links to the following:
Below are a few links of things that you may enjoy while learning from home during our Digital Learning Days...
Favorite Authors & Illustrators Share Resources
Home Safari Resources from the Cincinnati Zoo
Free Online Resources offered during school closures
Tynker Free Access- Coding for Kids
Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems
Story Time from Space
Georgia Aquarium Webcam
25 Amazing Virtual Field Trips for Kids—Spring 2020
26 Best Podcasts for Kids in Elementary, Middle, and High School
Free digital access to thousands of books for Georgia students:
Renaissance- Get Georgia Reading at Home
Digital Learning Day Parent Survey
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1UsB6_nnve4NaTO_rOWwvOKAXzprwHXqijA3AAAIiBks/edit?usp=sharing
Digital Citizenship
Please check out these resources covering the topic of DEVICE SAFETY ~
Apple Users: Apple Families
Android Users: Google Family Link
NetSmartz: Parents' Guide to Smart Phone Safety
First Grade and Kindergarten Field Trip
In light of the recent events the Kindergarten and First Grade field trips for April and May have been cancelled. Our bookkeeper, Ms. Fitzpatrick is processing refunds. When this process is complete, parents who made payments through MyPaymentsPlus will receive a refund in 3-7 days. It will show as a credit back to your account. If a student brought cash or a check to school the refund will be processed through the GCPS central office and will be mailed to your home.
Common Sense Media Website
Interested in reading reviews for what your kids want to watch (before they watch it)?
Common Sense Media gives you trusted ratings that are created with families in mind.
Click on the following link to access the Common Sense Media website: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
Weekly Family Engagement Tips:
Telling bedtime stories is a great way to connect with your child and promote responsible, caring behavior. For an endless source of new story ideas, try making the characters' names rhyme with family members' names. Then you can tell stories from your lives that teach the lessons you want. A character could realize the effect her behavior has on others, or model sharing without fighting, for example.
Sing songs about places…then find out more:
Many great songs mention real places. When you sing a song like "This Land is Your Land" with your child, talk about the places in it. Look them up on a map. "London Bridge is Falling Down" is about a real bridge in London, England (one version of which is now in Arizona). Help your child find out more about it. The next time you take a long trip, pass time by singing as many "geography" songs as you can.
Take a creative approach to problem-solving:
Children learn creativity by watching others. And when kids learn that there are often many ways to solve a problem, they learn to think creatively and become better problem solvers. So let your child see you tackle problems in different ways. Regularly create new solutions for old problems. He'll learn that fresh thinking can turn up new (and maybe better) approaches.
Try three ways to help your child relax:
If your child is under stress, help her manage it positively. Humor is a great way to help her forget her frustration. Together, try singing a few silly songs. You might also leave a funny cartoon at her place at the breakfast table. Exercise is another effective stress-reliever. And helping others can also make your child feel better by giving her perspective on her problems. Together, brainstorm ways she can lend a helping hand.
Practice spelling a tasty way:
Baking alphabet cookies is a sweet way to encourage your young reader to enjoy spelling. Any cookie dough that can be cut into shapes will work. If you don't have alphabet cookie cutters, let your child "write" letters on rolled-out dough. You can then cut around his marks with a knife. Help your child make enough cookies to spell out words. Try it with a few spelling words!
Chores help children learn to handle responsibility:
To help your child get the most out of doing chores, make sure she has the skills and supplies she needs. Next, consider her energy level; schedule chore time for a time when she isn't tired or busy. Then, let her choose a chore from your list. Expect your child to try hard and finish promptly, but don't require perfection. Just thank her for helping the family!
Help your child avoid plagiarism problems:
Plagiarism is copying information or original ideas directly from another source without giving credit. Explain to your child that copying word for word is cheating, and it often results in a failing grade. Remind him to read the information in his sources and put it into his own words. If he wants to use a sentence word for word, have him put it in quotation marks and give credit to the author.
Student Lunch/Breakfast
Simonton Elementary ~ What We Stand For:
Simonton is committed to dynamic high quality instruction resulting in a passion for learning, leading and excelling.
Core Belief
Every Student Every Day, Deserves to Learn, Lead, and Excel
Commitments
We commit to giving our students a fresh start every day.
We commit to preparing quality and engaging lessons that will prepare our students to be successful in school.
We commit to teaching, modeling and holding our students accountable for appropriate school behavior.
We commit to providing our students with a structured and safe learning environment.
We commit to a great year of learning, leading, and excelling.
Simonton Elementary School
Assistant Superintendent- Dr. Terry Watlington
Board Member- Mr. Steven B. Knudsen
Principal- Tamara G. Perkins
Assistant Principal- Daphne Miles
Assistant Principal- Nicole Tomlinson
Assistant Principal- Emily Young
Website: gcpsk12.org/SimontoES
Location: 275 Simonton Road Southeast, Lawrenceville, GA, USA
Phone: (770) 513- 6637