The Weekly Griffin
Week of June 3, 2018
Thanks for a Great Year!
As the 2017-2018 school year comes to a close, I am tremendously grateful... grateful to serve as your child's principal, grateful for the educators at Sterling School who work so hard to provide the very best, and grateful for the parents who support our efforts in preparing our "Griffins" for tomorrow's world!
This year has brought many changes. As mentioned in my start-of-year newsletter, being a principal in a new school certainly comes with change. For all the excitement, uncertainties, mistakes, and successes, thank you for all the grace, support, and understanding you have given. As a school community we must strive to see learning as a journey, not a destination. And so is our school, constantly evolving, constantly adapting to meet the needs of each child.
Over the weeks of summer, I will be working with colleagues to put into place a smooth opening to the new academic year and setting the priorities to build upon our successes. I would like to wish everyone the very best for the summer break and look forward to welcoming you back, refreshed, for what will be an exciting, new academic year.
Learning together,
Dr. P
What's Ahead...
- June 4 - Field Day for 5K-4th Grade
- June 4 - 5th Grade Day
- June 4 - CTC Shakespeare 5th Grade Play
- June 4 & 5 - 8th Grade Trip to Charlotte, NC
- June 5 - 5th, 6th/7th Grade Team Challenge and Mud Run
- June 6 - 8th Grade Day (Lunch provided)
- June 6 - Half Day for Students: 12:00 Elementary, 12:15 Middle (No early dismissals)
- June 6 - 2nd Annual Sterling School Summer Festival
- June 6 - Sweet Summer Reading Chances Begins (CLICK HERE!)
Sweet Summer Reading Chances #FightTheSummerSlide
Over the next several weeks, you will find Sterling School's Sweet Summer Reading Chances information with your child's mailed report card, on our school's webpage, Facebook page, and in forthcoming summer editions of the Weekly Griffin. The Sweet Summer Reading Chances will begin at dismissal on Wednesday, June 6th. With this summer learning experience, students will have the opportunity to win exciting prizes and participate in a start-of-year celebration! There are several ways to participate: READO, Camp Wonderopolis, and the Greenville Library Summer Reading Program. To learn more information, see the following flyer (CLICK HERE!).
- The READO Card (CLICK HERE!).
- Camp Wonderopolis begins June 11th (CLICK HERE!).
- Greenville Library Summer Reading Program begins June 1st (CLICK HERE!).
Team Challenge & Mud Run (5th & 6th/7th)
For 6th/7th grade, we need volunteers to be here by 9:00 am to allow time for pre-race instructions and plan to stay until approximately 11:00 am (possibly earlier depending on which station/obstacle you are working). If you can volunteer for the 6th/7th grade event, CLICK HERE!
For 5th grade, We need volunteers to be here by 11:30 am to allow time for pre-race instructions and plan to stay until approximately 1:30 pm (possibly earlier depending on which station/obstacle you are working). If you can volunteer for the 5th grade event, CLICK HERE!
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact Keneika Mosley at kmosley@greenville.k12.sc.us. Thank you in advance for your help and continued support!!
Sterling Shoutout: Summer Festival 2018
The Sterling School will host our 2nd Annual Sterling School Summer Festival on June 6th from 1-3 pm at the neighboring Heritage Apartments Common Space (The field area across from the Phyllis Wheatley parking lot.) The theme for the event is, "Come Build Your Brain at the Sterling School Summer Festival." We are currently in need of tents to provide shelter for Sterling teachers, participating staff members, and other attendees. If you are willing to support this event by donating your tent for use, please sign up via this link: CLICK HERE!
We also need volunteers to help with setting up tents, tables, and chairs to help with the short transition time between dismissal and the start of the event. Lastly, if you have access to any gently used children's books that need a new home, please drop them off at our school's front office. We would love to supply all attending students with free books to build their own library.
If you have any questions, please email Ebony Nye at enye@greenville.k12.sc.us or leave a voicemail at 355-7512. Thanks in advance!
Nominate a Teacher Hero
SC Governor's School for Science & Math Summer Camps
The SC Governor's School for Science and Mathematics is very excited to bring their statewide engineering summer camp, CREATEng, and our award winning camp, iTEAMS XTREME Next Generation, to Greenville! This year, iTEAMS is open to rising 6th, 7th and 8th graders and CREATEng is open to rising 8th and 9th graders in Greenville County. We look forward to our time at Hughes Academy June 18-21, 2018 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm daily. See the following informational flyers for more details: Greenville iTeams, Greenville CREATEng, and GoSciTech. The student application is available on their website and financial aid is available.
Feel free to contact Brigitte Barnett at any time with questions or requests to share more: brigitte@scgssm.org.
Carpools for Next Year
2018-19 Carpool Contact Info Form: CLICK HERE!
After School Program Registration
Health Room Info
Box Tops for Education
Please continue clipping Box Tops over the summer! We'll have another school-wide collection in the fall. If you have neighbors, friends or family members who don't have school-aged children, encourage them to save their Box Tops for you! It's such an easy way to earn free money for our school!
For more information, go to https://www.boxtops4education.com/
MakerSpace / STEM Supply Drive
Parents - In the midst of your spring cleaning, please consider donating to our "MakerSpace" supplies. These resources will be used for students to participate in STEM/STEAM activities in which they will design and/or build prototypes.
Collection Bins will be available in the main hallway.
- buttons
- hardware
- yarn
- nuts/bolts etc.
- rope
- Legos
- cardboard (various types & sizes)
- Lincoln Logs
- wood scraps
- shoe boxes
- scissors
- gardening tools
- ribbon
- large spoons
- CD's / DVD's (can be used or blank)
- glass jars
- old remote controls, etc. (don't have to be working)
- canisters
- aLL kinds of tape (especially duct tape)
- fabric, felt, etc.
- wall paper samples
- paint color chips/samples
- carpet samples
Attention Parents / Guardians of Rising 7th Grade Students
In accordance with SC State regulations, all students entering 7th grade are required to receive a TDAP vaccination. Parents/guardians must provide their child's school with one of the following prior to the first day of school (08/20/18). Students who do not have this record on file at their school will not be allowed to attend classes and we will not release their fall schedule.
Acceptable documentation includes:
· Certificate of Immunization listing TDAP
· Religious Exemption
· Medical Exemption
If your student has already received the TDAP vaccine, and you have not previously submitted documentation, please do so as soon as possible. You may fax records to 864-355-9477 or hand-deliver to the health room. Please contact Sterling's School Nurse @ 864-355-4687 if you have any questions
Sterling School STEM/MakerSpace Update
PTA Families and friends of Sterling..... We are grateful for your support in providing funds to support our school's STEM/MakerSpace efforts. Our teachers have been working hard to incorporate STEM design thinking and making when appropriate in an effort to enrich and extend our curriculum.
Thank you for sending in items for our STEM / Maker Space initiative. We have received a variety of things such as: carpet squares, various nuts and bolts, containers, ribbon, stickers, old remotes, cardboard in a variety of forms, wires and plugs. We appreciate your creativity in the items you have included. We look forward to seeing the creativity that students apply in using these resources.
Please keep putting things aside for us this summer. You can drop things off throughout the summer, or hold them until the fall.
Note: We currently have enough glass jars.
Calling All Experts! (Namely... YOU!)
[CLICK HERE to go directly to COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP DIRECTORY]
Marine biologist, conservationist, and writer Rachel Carson (1956) once stated, “If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.” Fortunately, the students at the Sterling School do not just have one adult who eagerly shares in the excitement of ongoing discovery and exploration—they have many. BUT we need more!
The faculty at Sterling School & Charles Townes Center are working to implement a schoolwide framework of inquiry-based learning. Through the use of inquiry, namely PBL (project-based learning), we seek to continuously innovate and transform our school’s approach of teaching and learning through student-centered, personalized instruction. PBL prepares students for academic, personal, and career success, readying them for the challenges they will inherit in our world.
While our teachers are super smart :-), they do not know everything! To further our students' learning, we need various experts with professional experiences to engage our students. As a district, our Graduation Plus emphasis strives to ensure that all students are career and college ready. Exposing our students to various careers and professions within the context of meaningful, hands-on learning will strengthen our school's instructional program.
As we look to next school year, we are creating a database of partners and parents who have various expertise. As a school, we will utilize the database when seeking experts to support various curriculum, PBL units. If you are willing to be added to our expert directory, please complete the following Google Form (CLICK HERE!). #VisionInAction #GriffinPride #WholeChild
ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
A Word from Mrs. Holmes
It is with mixed emotions that I write this letter to all of the parents and students of Sterling School. Recently, I was offered a principal position with the Cherokee County School District in Gaffney, SC. where I reside and have decided to accept it. As you can imagine, it has been a very emotional process for me in making this decision, but in the end, I feel that this is the right decision in my professional career.
I want to thank each and every one of you for all your support, and for entrusting me with your children for the past six years. I am honored and feel so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to be part of the Sterling family. I have so many wonderful memories of my time at Sterling and it's difficult to say goodbye. During my six years here, I have fostered relationships with many of you and I will cherish the memories and friendships I’ve made during my time. Sterling School has been a very special place for me and I will miss everyone.
Know that my dedication to my position as your assistant principal will continue throughout the last few days of school.
Although it’s hard to say goodbye to the parents and adults, the hardest part of leaving is saying goodbye to the children. I have grown so attached to them over the years. I have loved watching them grow up into amazing young people. Each of them in their own special way have touched my heart and life. I treasure my memories of them all.
Please accept my sincere thanks and appreciation as I enter into a new learning experience as a principal in Cherokee County.
Fondly,
Loretta Holmes
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