The Cub Corner
Expect Excellence In Everything
September 25, 2020
A Note from Mr. Bender
Dear Families,
We are pleased to announce that Mrs. Laura Philmon has been named the Woodward Mill Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Philmon teaches Resource and supports the 4th grade team. Additionally, she is involved in many clubs and community activities including Running Club and Student Council. We are very proud to call Mrs. Philmon a WMES Cub!
PTA has announced their annual Reflections competition, and the 2020-2021 theme is “I matter because...”. Reflections is an arts competition. We encourage all of our students to participate! Please find more information including the entry forms below.
Progress Reports were sent home to all students on Friday. If you have any questions regarding your child’s academic progress, please reach out to your child’s teacher.
Save the date! Fall Break is right around the corner. There will not be any school October 8-12. Enjoy your time off!
Have a great weekend!
Mike Bender
Principal
Important Dates
9/25: Progress Reports Go Home
9/28-9/29: IOWA Testing (2nd Grade)
10/8-10/9: Fall Break (No School!)
10/12: Teacher Work Day (No School!)
10/21-10/22: Early Release Days
10/29: Picture Day!
11/3: Election Day (No School!)
Teacher of the Year Finalists
Iowa Testing
Students in grade 2 will take the IOWA test on Tuesday, September 29 and Wednesday, September 30. Please ensure your child gets a good night’s rest and eats a healthy breakfast before testing.
Early Release & Parent Conferences
Please be on the lookout for conference information coming soon!
Picture Day
Election Day
Transportation Updates
Car rider families, please enter and exit the car rider lane from Azalea Drive. Having all traffic enter and exit from Azalea Drive helps to keep the car rider lane moving.
For the safety of our children, families need to use the car rider lane as the primary way of dropping off students in the morning. Students are not permitted to be dropped off in the front parking lot. Students are also not permitted to walk through the parking lot unattended.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Mountain View School Store
Click on the link below to see the great products we are offering to you for September. All orders must be placed by September 25th.
Orders will be shipped in approximately 10 business days after orders are placed to Mountain View HS.
All customers will be contacted to let them know the product is ready for pick up at the front desk at Mountain View HS.
https://patriciasspiritwear.tuosystems.com/stores/mountainview
Building Babies' Brains
Join the Building Babies’ Brains Awareness Campaign!
For over two years, a group of Gwinnett community members, businesses, non-profits and educators have been developing a plan to attack the impending Kindergarten readiness crisis in Gwinnett. Last year, 52% of our children entered Kindergarten not ready. We have students in every elementary school not ready with some schools having 80% entering school unprepared. These children are from all demographics, but poverty seems to be the common thread. The main message we are trying to get out to the community is around the importance of early brain development. Did you know that a baby’s brain is 90% developed by age five? Did you know that learning starts at birth? Too many times the answer is, “No, I didn’t know that!” Answering these questions, along with providing other brain development resources, has been the driving force around our two-year process. We have over 60,000 children birth to age five throughout the county and we need them all to be ready to thrive in Kindergarten and beyond!
We need your help! We are attempting to reach parents of birth to five children and influencers of parents of birth to five children with an awareness campaign around this issue. One central solution is a comprehensive website with local resources and content that can give parents the tools they need to help grow their child’s brain, but we need help spreading the word.
What Can You Do?
- Follow Us on Facebook and Instagram. These social media platforms will be vital in increasing awareness and beginning to build engagement with our audiences throughout the county. Please use the hashtags: #BuildingBabiesBrains, #Gwinnett, #EarlyLearning101, #EarlyBrainDevelopment. Suggested caption: Gwinnett Building Babies’ Brains was born out of a community need to improve Kindergarten Readiness for our children. This website provides parents and caregivers information on brain development and practical resources so that parents can be their child’s first and best teacher. Visit often and share with everyone you know!
- Share, post, and email the website link: www.buildingbabiesbrains.com to your constituencies. Help us spread the word that this site is meant to help everyone that interacts with a young child. This support would go a long way in affecting change in our kindergarten readiness numbers.
- Promote your support for this initiative on launch day! Attached below you will find two graphics we’ve created for Facebook and Instagram to introduce our website and encourage users to view the available resources. It would be impactful to have you post this graphic along with a caption speaking to why you support early learning in Gwinnett. We’ve also included a sample caption below to get you started! Don’t forget to tag BuildingBabiesBrains.Gwinnett on your post!
Please check out the Woodward Mill Counseling Department’s eclass page for resources and opportunities for you or your child to meet with us virtually. You can find us through your child’s eclass page under “My Courses.” Digital students can have one on one sessions via zoom with their counselor during office hours and by appointment.
Character Trait and Mindfulness Activity of the Month
The character trait for the month of September is Responsibility. We define responsibility as doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. As a reminder, teachers will be choosing one student this month who has exhibited responsibility the most to represent his/her class as the Cub of the Month.
Each month, we will feature a mindfulness activity on the announcements, during class meetings, and on our eclass page. You can watch Mrs. Woodworth do a demonstration of each month’s activity on the counseling eclass page. This month is “Mindful Listening”.
Attendance Awareness Month
September is Attendance Awareness Month! Data from the Georgia DOE indicates, "Missing more than five days of school each year, regardless of the cause, begins to impact student academic performance and starts shaping attitudes about school." Children chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade. By 6th grade, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign for students at risk for dropping out of school and by 9th grade, good attendance can predict graduation rates even better than 8th grade test scores.
Students who attend school regularly feel more connected to their community, develop important social skills and friendships, and are significantly more likely to graduate from high school, setting them up for a strong future. During this unprecedented time of digital/in person learning, it is important to make routines and goals for education. We do not want our students to fall behind in school and get discouraged. If a student is struggling with health, social, or emotional issues that are affecting attendance or academics, reach out to Ms. O’Rear and Ms. Woodworth for additional support today!
Curbside Book Checkout
Our digital learner curbside checkout is being offered each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Parents must receive an email hold notification from our media center before coming to pick up books. If you are not receiving timely emails, particularly if you use a yahoo email account, please notify the media staff.
If you are unable to pick up your child’s books during the curbside hours, you are welcome to stop by during school hours to pick up your books. Only digital learners will be placing holds on books. In-person students will have access to the media center with their class during the week.
Please review these links to get started with reserving books if you are a digital learner. All digital holds automatically expire after 21 days, so please be prompt about picking up your books after receiving the email notification. Contact Jennifer.Alden@gcpsk12.org if you have any questions.
Using the Destiny Discover for Digital Learners
Reading Rewards
We are excited about beginning our school-wide Reading Rewards incentive program in October! Again this year, our students will be asked to read at least 20 minutes for 20 days of the month. Our in-person students will be provided with paper logs and our digital students will be able to download and electronically complete a log that can be returned to their homeroom teacher in eCLASS.
The goal of the Reading Rewards program is to encourage students to develop a consistent habit of daily reading. More details in next week’s cub corner newsletter. Thanks for your support of independent reading.
Hi Cubs! Welcome back! Don’t forget to join PTA on My Payments Plus by paying a $5 membership fee per adult member. Membership is open to any and all adult family members. (You do not need to pay for students.) While we’re facing a unique school year, we’re committed in our efforts to support our school and our Cub families. We would love to hear ideas from you for virtual events to hold this school year. Please join our Facebook page for continuous updates- Woodward Mill PTA.
Teacher Spotlight
This week's PTA Teacher Spotlights are...
Mrs. Sabau
Mrs. Jones
Mrs. Momin
Testimonies from the parents:
“Ms. Sabau and Ms. Jones! My son loves them both and I love their communication. Digital learning is so difficult for me, I DEFINITELY did NOT miss a calling, but they are in the right profession!!! Thank you for your dedication to these kids during this pandemic!”
“Ms. Momin is so wonderful!!! My son ADORES her so much. She has managed to increase his love for learning, which I was worried about being 100% virtual. She is kind, patient, and communicates so well. Our family is so blessed this year!!! Well actually, Woodward Mill as a whole has some amazing teachers. We are truly blessed with a great school and a Principal who cares!”
For more teacher spotlights, or to submit a spotlight for your teacher, please check Woodard Mill PTA Facebook page!
National PTA’s Reflections Art Contest is underway! Deadline for entry submission is Friday, October 7th. Both in-person and digital students are eligible to participate. Entries need to be turned in to Mrs. Elliott in the front lobby.
A student may submit an entry in any of six arts areas. Only original works of art are accepted. The six art areas are: Visual Arts Photography, Literature, Music Composition, Dance Choreography, and Film Production.
The Reflections Program provides an excellent opportunity for students of all ages to:
- Unleash their creative talents and be inspired
- Express themselves imaginatively in their artwork
- Experience the joy and fun of making art
- Tap into critical thinking skills to create art inspired by the annual theme
- Receive positive recognition for their original works of art.
Rules/guidelines here: https://www.georgiapta.org/reflections/reflections-submission-info#80-rules-and-forms
We are excited to announce that WMES has been designated as a “No Place for Hate School”! No Place for Hate helps schools foster a culture of respect and create a safe, bully-free learning environment for all students. During the 2019-20 school year, we completed activities as a school to work toward building a brave and equitable school. This year, all students and staff signed the No Place for Hate pledge on a banner outside of our cafeteria. We also completed three activities to encourage kindness, respect, and inclusion in our building: the addition of the Buddy Bench to our playground, Kindness Week in November, and “Mix it Up” day in February. Thank you to student council who served as our student group in planning activities for this initiative!
"The Promise of Gwinnett” campaign is a means of focusing attention on the importance of public education, the role it plays in our nation, and the outstanding schools found right here in Gwinnett County. In addition, the campaign focuses on the accomplishments of our students and the promise they hold for a bright future. Click here to visit the Promise of Gwinnett.
In5ive is a fast-paced, fact-filled informative program that gives you a quick five-minute update on the latest good news in education from Gwinnett County Public Schools.
Help our school everytime you shop! Enroll in the Publix Partners program to earn money for Woodward Mill every time you go grocery shopping.
Woodward Mill just received our quarterly check from the Publix Partners program for $122 dollars. Please help us raise more money for our school by registering for a Publix Partners account and entering your phone number every time you grocery shop at Publix. Every dollar counts!
Business Partners
Woodward Mill would like to take this opportunity to thank the numerous business partners that support the students and teachers at our school. Our business partners support our school in various ways such as sponsoring after-school clubs, providing teacher appreciation gifts, donating supplies, and mentoring students. Please check out our wonderful business partners below:
Woodward Mill proudly thanks our business partners! Please support these businesses that support our school!
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About Us
Website: http://www.woodwardmilles.com
Location: 2020 Buford Drive Northeast, Lawrenceville, GA, United States
Phone: 678-407-7590