Griffins Connect
November 8th #CreatingConnections #WholeChild
Sterling School Celebrates Veterans Day
This Friday, November 11th, Sterling School will honor those who have fought for the many freedoms we, as American citizens, have today. We will have two programs; everyone from our school community is invited to attend.
Our K-3rd grade program will begin at 8:30am and the 4th-8th grade program will begin at 9:30am. Veterans, their guests, and student(s) are invited to attend a reception in Vegas immediately following each program. Everyone is encouraged to wear red, white, and blue! We look forward to this exciting day, as we pay tribute to those who have served our country.
The PTA needs assistance with refreshments to make the reception special for our honored guests. Please sign up to help!
What's Ahead...
November 7: Teacher Workday (No School for Students)
November 8: Election Day: Get Out & Vote...for Public Education! (No School)
November 9: LAST CHANCE Thanksgiving Lunch RSVP Envelopes Due
November 10: PTA Spirit Night @ Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar, 3-9pm (info below)
November 11: Veterans Day Program; K-3rd @ 8:30am, 4th-8th @ 9:30am (info below)
November 11: Wear Red, White, and Blue
November 11: National Art Honors Society Paint Night, 5:30pm (sign-up deadline has passed)
November 12: Garden Workday; 9am-12pm (info below)
November 14: GCS School Choice Window Opens; Closes December 2nd (info below)
November 14-18: Book Fair
November 14-18: ThankFULL Food Drive - To support: Loaves & Fishes (info below)
November 15: Aaron Reynolds Author Visit
November 16: Erin’s Law Lesson to 7th grade
November 16: Thanksgiving Families for Lunch
- K4 (10:00), 5th grade (11:05), 3rd grade (11:30), Middle School (12:30)
- K5 (10:00), 1st grade (10:20), 2nd grade (10:30), 4th grade (11:00)
November 17: Parent Café: 5:30-7:00pm
November 19: Single Parent Resource Fair; 10-12pm (info below)
November 23-25: Thanksgiving Student Holiday
Choose Sterling School! 23-24 School Choice Lottery Window Opens Nov. 14th
Did you know... Sterling School is Greenville County's only total choice school? This means every single family who attends Sterling School is here by choice. While students of our Charles Townes Center Program are here by invitation, many people do not realize that students of our Sterling Program are also here by choice. So, if you've enjoyed your experience at our school, share the good news (and this digital newsletter) and invite them to join our family!
Why Attend Sterling School?
- We are Nationally Recognized as a Top Performing School (Pep Rally Celebration)
- Unique Learning Experiences! (Such as Painting a Collaborative Mural)
- We Believe in Educating the WHOLE CHILD! (and are Award-Winning)
- We have a strong community partnerships (National PTA School of Excellence)
- And MUCH, MUCH more!
Greenville County Schools Change in Assignment School Choice (CIA) Lottery Window for the 2023-24 school year begins tomorrow, Monday, November 14, 2022, and remains open until Friday, December 2, 2022 (@ 4:00pm). All parents wishing to submit a CIA choice request should submit at their first choice school during this window. This does not apply to magnet schools. Contact for CIA Requests: Planning and Demographics office, 355-7266 or 355-7263.
Sterling School In the News!
Thanksgiving @ Sterling: LAST CHANCE to Purchase Tickets
This year's Thanksgiving Lunch will be served on Wednesday, November 16th and Thursday, November 17th. CLICK HERE for this year's menu. We hope you can join us! Here is this year's schedule:
- Wed 11/16: K4 (10:00), 5th grade (11:05), 3rd grade (11:30), Middle School (12:30)
- Thurs 11/17: K5 (10:00), 1st grade (10:20), 2nd grade (10:30), 4th grade (11:00)
Starbooks Book Fair
Our students are ready to Read a Latte at this year's Starbooks Book Fair Café! Online shopping and e-Wallet setup begins 11/8 and goes through 11/18. Scholastic will give back 25% in rewards for our school when you shop online: CLICK HERE!
- Family Night is 11/15 from 2:30-6:00pm!
- Starbooks Café will be in the media center from 11/14-11/18!
We need YOUR help to make the book fair a success! Added bonus, volunteers receive 20% off purchases. CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER!
From the Sterling School/Charles Townes Center PTA
PTA Spirit Night: This Thursday!
Join us on Thursday, November 10 from 3:00-9:00pm for some delicious and CRAZY treats at The Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar to raise money for our school! Mention Sterling when you order and 10% of all sales are donated back to our school!
The first 60 customers will receive a complimentary Crazy Mason jar with our Griffin emblem!
942 South Main Street in Downtown Greenville
Garden Workday: This Saturday!
Join us on Saturday, November 12th at 9:00am to help spread mulch, pull up any pesky weeds, and generally have a great time outdoors with our school community. Siblings welcome, service hours provided!
Garden Sign Up
We look forward to seeing you there!
PTA Reflections Show Your Voice!
Use the arts to share your personal Reflections on this year’s theme: Show Your Voice! All K4-8th grade Sterling/CTC students are encouraged to submit original works of art in one or more of the following categories: Dance Choreography, Music Composition, Film Production, Literature, Photography, and Visual Arts.
Winners will be chosen for our school in each art category for K4-2nd grade, 3rd-5th grade, and 6th-8th grade. Our school's winning entries will advance to the district, state, and national level.
All entries must be submitted by December 2nd!
Please contact Heidi Dannelly for additional information or help with entry submissions. CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT AN ENTRY!
ThankFULL Food Drive
Over 45,000 of our neighbors are unsure where one or more of their meals will come from today. Did you know some of these neighbors are part of our very own Sterling family? Unfortunately, almost every emergency food assistance organization has seen a significant decline in financial support. These agencies are relying more heavily than ever on donated food to help those who come to them for assistance.
Sterling School is excited to partner with Loaves & Fishes for our 2nd Annual ThankFULL Food Drive, November 14-18. Loaves & Fishes is a local food rescue non-profit that delivers fresh, shelf-stable, and prepared food to more than 107 agencies for distribution to our neighbors in need.
Students are encouraged to donate canned and shelf-stable goods. Collection bins will be set up outside of elementary homerooms and Mrs. Reynolds' office on the Middle School hallway. Volunteers will gather and count donations each day.
The top K4-2nd homeroom and the top two 3rd-5th homerooms that donate the most food will be awarded special prizes by Dr. Patterson and Mrs. Harris. Middle School is challenged to collect 1,000 items for a special prize awarded by Mr. Murphy. Stay tuned for more details!
Loaves & Fishes will pick up all donations from our school on Friday, November 18th.
LET'S FILL THE TRUCK!
Garden Adoption Program (G.A.P.)
They'll 'Bee' Back!
Update on the Sterling Beehive - Sterling's beehive recently experienced a major change in population size and our onsite bee advocates decided to intervene on their behalf by relocating the hive to the home of our Bee Mentor for inspection.
Unfortunately, as is the case with many bee colonies today, it appears our bees may have been exposed to pesticide, succumbed to pest pressure, and/or experienced a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder - and were unable to recover.
Although we are saddened by the loss of our initial bee colony, we knew from the start that beekeeping carries these types of realities. As such, we kicked off the Sterling Beehive Project with a contingency plan in place. A secondary bee colony, split from our original hive, has been in the care of our Bee Mentor, April Boyer, at her home since May. This colony is currently in good health and undergoing preventative treatment for varroa mites until the week of Thanksgiving.
Weather permitting, we hope to re-implement our Sterling Bee Project at the school by the end of November with this 2nd bee installment, which is currently led by the daughter of our original Queen Bee. She and her hivemates will receive the names chosen by the Sterling Bee Naming Contests, and by applying the lessons and knowledge we learned while caring for her mother's colony, this hive will help us continue our beekeeping adventures at Sterling School/CTC.
Stay tuned for additional updates on the status of the replacement beehive coming soon and thank you for your continued support of the Sterling Beehive Project!
Daylight Savings: The Importance of Sleep
As part of our school's #WholeChild mission, our school works to advocate and support the importance of a physically healthy child. This weekend, families across America will turn their clocks back one hour. This shift can make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep for the recommended 8 or more hours each night, leading to fatigue, distraction and stress. Check out these science-backed tips for a good night's sleep as the seasons change.
- Preschoolers (ages 3–5): 10–13 hours (including naps)
- School age children (ages 6–12): 9–12 hours
- Teenagers (ages 13–18): 8–10 hours
Insufficient sleep can impact students’ concentration and ability to retain information. Sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle and supports success in school.
Art Honor Society Paint Night: This Friday!
Reservations are closed to attend in person, but you are still able to purchase kits and follow along at home virtually. Please contact Mrs. Harrington for more details.
Middle School Career Speaker Series: "Think Like a..."
The next session is "Think Like a Broadcast Journalist" on November 17th, and we will welcome Diane Lee. Diane is an Emmy nominated anchor and two time Emmy Award winning reporter with more than 20 years experience as a broadcast journalist who currently works as the 7NEWS consumer anchor.
CLICK HERE for more information on the session and how students can sign up.
Erin's Law: Parent Notification
All families are encouraged to review the following letter: CLICK HERE. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's designated school counselor or PE teacher.
Donors Choose
CLICK HERE to check out our school's classroom projects! We currently have TWO projects from Dr. Rucker & Dr. Tchouros to fund.
Are you looking for a way to help support students across the building? Here are some of our current Donors Choose projects! When placing your donation, you can also choose what percentage of your donation goes to the project and what percentage of your donation goes to support DonorsChoose by clicking the “edit” button on the checkout page where it says “includes an optional 15% donation to support DonorsChoose”.
Can You Serve as a Substitute?
At Sterling School, we have amazing substitute teachers. These dedicated individuals help ensure that our school operates smoothly when a classroom teacher is absent. However, as a result of the pandemic, like most schools our list of active subs is short.
If you are able to help serve as a substitute for Sterling School and Greenville County Schools, please follow this link to get started and be sure to let us know (email Dr. Patterson!). We will be happy to help facilitate the process or connect you with current substitutes who can answer any of your questions. You may choose to work at any school or you can select Sterling exclusively. Work only on the days that fit your schedule. We appreciate your consideration to help the school by serving as a substitute!
We Need YOU! Volunteer Training
Thinking of chaperoning a field trip, becoming a room parent, or mentoring a student? Parents at Sterling School may now participate in volunteer training either in person or online.
Upon completion of the online training module, you will be asked to take a short quiz which will be submitted to Mr. Murphy for scoring. All volunteers must answer each question correctly. Failure to do so will result in potential volunteers being asked to review the training module again or attend a face-to-face training. If you have questions about the process or anything related to volunteering at Sterling, or if you prefer a face-to-face training, contact Mr. Murphy via email or (864) 355-4480.
22-23 Region Orchestra
Congratulations to the following students who auditioned for and were accepted into the 2022-2023 SCMEA Region Orchestra! More students than ever auditioned. We are proud of all students who auditioned.
- 1st Violins: Jerry Gan, Caroline Yi, & Amy Ding
- 2nd Violins: Ian Hamberis & Skylar Nutzman
- Viola: Kamille Brooks
- Cello: Antony Manavalan, Coco Shum, Paul Manavalan & Chloe Tan
- Bass: Marc Baker (principal) & Julie Smith
October Faculty/Staff of the Month
This month we had a tie for both faculty AND staff member of the month! Congratulations to Mrs. Ebony Nye and Mrs. Hope Howard for being recognized as our faculty and Coach Niece and Nurse Heather as our staff members of the month! Our school community is thankful for all four of them!
Here are some comments by our faculty/staff:
- Mrs. Nye (2nd Grade): She goes above and beyond to meet the needs of all students. She works with everyone in our school to ensure that she is meeting the needs of the Whole Child.
- Mrs. Howard (Academic Interventionist): She not only brings joy to her students but to her coworkers daily. She works to find strategies to teach our students who need the extra support. She makes Sterling a happy place to be!
- Coach Niece (Behavior Specialist): She has jumped right in at Sterling. Her eagerness and support to our students has definitely not gone unnoticed. She is a true asset to our faculty, staff, students, and community. We are blessed to have her as part of our school!
- Nurse Heather: In spite of everything she is juggling, she remains positive and committed to her job at Sterling School! She's truly the best. She works so hard to care for every single human in the building and faces moments of insanity with complete grace and composure.
Single Parent Resource Fair
A Single Parent Resource Fair will take place at Front Porch Housing in Greenville (1433 Cleveland Street). This event is open to all single parents and families in the community. Over 35 organizations will be on hand to interact and connect with families.
Childcare and food will be provided. Parents are asked to sign-up beforehand. (CLICK HERE!)
Middle School Yearbook Information
Call for Photos: Extracurriculars
The yearbook staff would like this year's yearbook to include pictures of the awesome extracurricular activities our middle schoolers are involved in. It would be appreciated if pictures of our students participating in activities outside of school (sports, arts, Scouts, volunteer work, etc.) could be sent in; please email them by November 15th to Ms. Baiden at dbaiden@greenville.k12.sc.us.
Middle School Yearbook
It's yearbook time! The middle school yearbook is on sale and is currently $35. Click the image or LINK to order. Contact Ms. Baiden with questions.
8TH GRADE ADS
8th grade parents: honor your 8th grader with a personalized ad in the middle school yearbook! Ads are due by 12/15, but it's never too early to start thinking about what you want to write and what pictures you want to use. Click the image or LINK for pricing options. Contact Ms. Baiden with questions.
8TH GRADE BABY PICTURES
8th grade parents, please send in a baby picture of your 8th grader for the portrait page of the yearbook. Email a digital image of the baby picture such as a JPG or GIF; the image will be of the student's face/head, so close-ups are best. Baby pictures are due by 10/28. Email pictures to Ms. Baiden.
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