Star News
March 1, 2022
Happy March Superstars!
Black History Month (BHM) 2022 has been AMAZING! Thank you to all of our staff members and students so very much for helping me celebrate Black History Month. It has been full of instructional learning opportunities mixed with excitement and fun! To recap, we had weekly morning announcements of historical African Americans who made contributions to society, in-person guest speakers like former NBA Player, Mr. Shelden Williams, Second-graders participated in an interactive mobile civil rights museum, African American Cultural Art Lessons during connections, bulletin board presentations throughout the school, virtual author visit with Dr. Autumn Dodson, BHM Spirit Dress-Up Week, and virtual Historical Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) Presentation with Howard University Student, Ms. Serenity Owens. Thank you all for making this year's BHM a memorable and joyous occasion for all to enjoy!
Just as a gentle reminder, Early Release Conferences are just around the corner on Wednesday, March 2nd will be a Digital Learning Day for Parent-Teacher Conferences and student lunches will still be provided via curbside pick-up between 11-12 PM. Then on Thursday, March 3rd will be an Early Release Day for Parent-Teacher Conferences with student dismissal at 12:50 PM. As always, please do not hesitate to contact the main office if you have any questions.
Proud to be your principal,
Dr. Taffeta Connery
March Calendar Dates
March 1: Read Across America-Dr. Seuss Day
March 2: Digital Learning Day-Conference Day
March 3: Early Release Day-12:50pm Release-Conference Day
March 7-11: Exceptional Children's Week
March 16-17: Individual and Class Pictures
March 22: Digital Learning Day
Congratulations to our Readers Rally Team!
Simpson Elementary won their semi-finals round at the district Readers Rally Competition and now moving on to the finals in March 8th!
Please join me in congratulating our superstars on the rise! Special shout out to our Readers Rally Team, Alice V., Ivy S., Sharada S., Arianna H., Finn S., Frances V., Garrison F., Xun L., and Jeremy L. A special thank you for the time and dedication in supporting our students goes out to our coaches, Ms. Dingler, Ms. Cook, Mr. Stern, and Ms. Nakano. We are beyond PROUD of you all!
Free Floating Library Coming Soon at Simpson!
Parent Input for Class Placement 2022-23
It is that time of year again to ask parents for their input in the class placement selection process for the 2022-23 school year. Starting March 1st - 15th you will have an opportunity to share your desires for your student's class placement.
This year, the form includes opportunities for you to choose personality traits of your child's teacher next year, friendships building requests and a small section for you to add follow up comments. Please understand that we will do our best to honor your input in the class selection process. However, we cannot guarantee every request will be honored. Our goals is to provide the most positive school year experience for all students for the 2022-2023 school year.
A Day of Engineering for 4th and 5th Grade Girls!
I Scream You Scream
We All Scream for Ice Cream
Students have the opportunity to purchase ice cream from a variety of selections during lunch. Ice cream is $1.00 and is sold Monday through Friday for all grade levels. Class Parties for ice creams sales are also available. Please email your child’s homeroom teacher for details.
Norcross Cluster Surveillance Testing Pilot
The Norcross Cluster schools began COVID testing for students in January. This is another layered mitigation strategy being used to support safe, in-person instruction. This is COMPLETLY VOLUNTARY/OPTIONAL and is being offered ONLY to those that wish to be tested. Use the appropriate link below to sign up. For more information, please reference the resources below:
- https://www.gcpsk12.org/Page/31827
- Norcross Flyer attached.
CDC Updates Guidance-School Masking
On Friday, 2/25/22, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its guidance and the prevention steps that should be taken based on the spread of COVID-19 in communities. As part of the changes announced today, the CDC is dropping its recommendation for universal school masking and instead will recommend masking only in communities at a high level of risk.
According to the CDC, Gwinnett County is currently in a “Low” level of community spread. At this level, individuals are encouraged to stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and to get tested if they have symptoms.
In light of this updated guidance and Gwinnett County’s designation in the “Low” level of community spread, Gwinnett County Public Schools will transition from requiring masks to strongly recommending the use of masks in its facilities.
In the coming days, school district leaders will be reviewing and updating quarantine and isolation procedures to account for these changes.
Please Update Your Child's Preferred Name in ParentVue
Families of students who wish for their child to be called by a “Preferred Name” other than their legal name will need to go into ParentVUE (in the GCPS Parent Portal) to provide that information. (Please note that if you had provided a Nickname previously, you will need to enter that name as your child’s Preferred Name.) Please see the attached flyer for more information.
Georgia Platinum Award 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016 and 2019!
2010 Georgia School of Excellence!
2012 and 2018 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence!
ATTENTION 5th GRADE PARENTS!! T-SHIRT ORDERING OPENING SOON!
The 5th Grade t-shirt will be available for purchase online beginning March 4th and will run through March 18th. The "Shine On" Design contest winners will be announced ahead of the online store opening. The t-shirt will feature the winning design on the front and all 5th grade student's names on the back. Look for more information about the winning design and t-shirt cost in your student's Friday folder.
Please visit https://simpsonspirit.itemorder.com/ to purchase your son or daughter a t-shirt between March 4th and March 18th!
Join the PTA Simpson Elementary Facebook Page
EARN CASH FOR OUR SCHOOL WITH BOX TOPS!
With the Box Tops for Education app, you can turn your everyday receipts into cash for Simpson. Please go to the PTA website for detailed instructions.