Griffins Connect
May 23rd #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
Support a Griffin! Sign-Up to Mentor a Student Next School Year!
The Sterling School has a partnership with Mentor Upstate, a nonprofit organization that seeks to support children with one-on-one positive relationships. We are looking for committed adults who are willing to support and encourage ONE student for the year. If you or someone you know from our school community are willing to volunteer 30 minutes of your time weekly, we need you!
If you are interested in serving as a mentor, please complete the interest survey found HERE! Near the start of the 2021-2022 school year, we will follow-up with training information and other pertinent details.
What's Ahead...
This Week...
- May 26th: Algebra I EOC (Includes both In-Person and Virtual Students)
- Testing will run approximately 7:45-10:00 am. See note below for more info.
- May 27th: Celebrate The Class, 8th Grade Awards; 7:00pm
- May 31st: Memorial Day Holiday
Looking Ahead...
- June 1st: 5th Grade Sterling Program Awards Program; 4:00pm
- June 2nd: 4th/5th Field Day; 8:30-10:30am **Unfortunately, parents cannot attend.
- June 2nd: 2nd/3rd Field Day; 12:00-2:00pm **Unfortunately, parents cannot attend.
- June 2nd: 5th Grade Day (after field day)
- June 3rd: 5K/1st Field Day; 8:30-10:30am **Unfortunately, parents cannot attend.
- June 3rd: Half Day: Elem Dismissal @ 11:45am; Middle Dismissal @ Noon
- June 4th: Half Day: Elem Dismissal @ 11:45am; Middle Dismissal @ Noon
- Last Day of School for Students/Start of Summer Reading. Have a Great Summer!
Algebra 1 EOC: This Wednesday
All students enrolled in Algebra I, whether virtual or in-person, must take the South Carolina End of Course Exam for Algebra I this Wednesday, May 26th! This exam will count 10% of a student’s final grade. Please be sure your child gets plenty of rest, eats a nutritious breakfast, and is at school by 7:35 am on Wednesday so that they can put forth their best effort on this exam. They have worked hard all year and we want them to finish strong. If you have any questions about the EOC, please contact Mr. Murphy.
South Carolina Department of Education Seeks Public Input
Middle School Cold War Simulation
The 6th and 8th graders have been hard at work running their countries at the height of the Cold War last week and this week through a Cold War Simulation. They have been leaders - both political and military, ambassadors, and news/propaganda writers. All of the countries have been responsible for budgets of which they could spend on items such as infrastructure, military, weapons, or technology. The budgets increased or decreased depending on the items purchased. They were also negotiating with other countries via diplomatic dispatches to form alliances. If you ask your student, he/she will tell you a lot about the world during this time period, such as the unreasonable leader from the competitive country, the low budget of the underdeveloped nations, or the real fear of nuclear holocaust with nation after nation being nuclear.
This has brought about some real high-level thinking in the students. For example one student, Nicholas Arzt, on his own time, wrote a non-nuclear proliferation treaty, arranged for an international summit (on google classroom meet on their own time 3:30 - 4:30) and persuaded a lot of major countries to sign the treaty to stop nuclear war worldwide. Our own little SALT agreement! I think we will have to give our own Nobel Peace Prize to Nicky!
Be a Summer Reading Olympian! #FightTheSummerSlide
Here, you will find Sterling School's Summer Olympic Reading Challenge information. You can also find this information in your child's Thursday folder, on our school's webpage, and in forthcoming summer editions of the Weekly Griffin. The Summer Olympic Reading Challenge will begin at dismissal on Friday, June 4th. 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: Greenville Drive Summer Reading All Stars, Camp Wonderopolis, and the Greenville Library Summer Reading Program. To learn more information, see the following flyer (CLICK HERE!).
End-of-Year Chromebook Collection
As the end of the year draws closer, please be mindful of this year's Chromebook collection dates:
- Monday, May 24: K4 & K5
- Tuesday, May 25: 1st-2nd grade
- Wednesday, May 26: 3rd-4th grade
- Thursday, May 27: 5th grade
- Friday, May 28: 6th & 7th grades
- Tuesday, June 1: 8th ALL in person & virtual
- Wednesday, June 2: Make-Up
- Thursday, June 3: 6th-7th Virtual & any mixed grades siblings via carline 1-3pm
- Friday, June 4: 4K-5th Virtual via carline 1-3pm
Additional Reminders:
- Chromebooks and chargers must be returned together
- Chromebooks should be charged to at least 80% when returned
- Lost chargers will incur a fee of $31
- Lost Chromebooks will incur a fee of $301
Final Student Report Cards
As a reminder, all grades can be accessed via GCS Backpack. If you are not registered with Parent Backpack, CLICK HERE and create an account. Please access directions by clicking on Creating a Parent Backpack Account. (English Directions; Direcciones en español)
If you would like a hard copy of your child's end-of-year report card, please make this request by emailing Carly Tan: ctan@greenville.k12.sc.us. For grades 4K-1st, teachers will send home a paper copy of the report card with the student on the last day of school.
Register for 21-22 Extended Day Program
Our After School program is now accepting registration for 2021-2022. All registrations by the end of May are guaranteed a spot.
If you have any other questions please see the after school website (CLICK HERE!) or email Maxi Henry at mhenry@greenville.k12.sc.us or Candi Coffman at ccoffman@greenville.k12.sc.us. Thank you so much and we look forward to seeing you in August!
PTA 2021-2022 Carpool List
Are you interested in carpooling next year? CLICK HERE to join PTA’s 2021-2022 Carpool List! Families who submit their information by April 27 will receive a link to the carpool spreadsheet on April 29. Starting in May, we’ll update the spreadsheet each week as new families join through the summer and fall.
CTC Student Newspaper: Latest Edition
Extra, Extra, Read All About It! The latest edition of the CTC Student Newspaper, our school's student newspaper, is out! (CLICK HERE!)
A student newspaper teaches and reinforces a lot of skills that will benefit students today and tomorrow. Students who participate in a student newspaper learn a lot of workplace skills such as management, meeting deadlines, and communicating with others. School newspapers also enforce a need for teamwork.
ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
2021 Sterling School ACE Award Winners
This year's Sterling School ACE Award goes to... Caedmon Jiva & Sierra Kremenliev! CLICK HERE to read why they were selected as this year's recipients! Caedmon and Sierra will be formally recognized this summer and all are invited. The virtual event will occur on Tuesday, June 22nd @ 7:00pm. Brent Venables, Defensive Coordinator for the Clemson Tigers, will be the honorary speaker. If you'd like to participate, the Zoom link and password are below:
Zoom ID: 987 3013 1827
Password: C4C
Congratulations to Caedmon and Sierra! #SterlingSchoolWeGotThis #WholeChild
2021-2022 Faculty/Staff Changes
As we look to the end of the current school year, we are announcing some changes to our faculty/staff for the coming year. If you haven't already heard... Ms. Fran Emmel (3rd CTC) will be retiring this year. We congratulate her on her commitment and dedication to our school and to the profession. Additionally, for reasons related to their families, Mrs. Rosaruth Palmer (4th Sterling) and Mrs. Kristin Farrar (5th Sterling) will be leaving Sterling School. Ms. Chameka Duncan (K-2 Counselor) and Mrs. Casey Noble (Middle School Counselor) will also be leaving Sterling School. Ms. Duncan will be pursuing her own practice and Mrs. Noble will transfer to Riverside High School to further her professional experience at the high school level. We will certainly miss each one of them.
Effective next school year…
- Mrs. Christy Guth (3rd CTC) will transition to 4th Grade CTC
- Mrs. Lisa Helsel (3rd Sterling) will transition to 3rd Grade CTC
- Mrs. Salem Hinnant (4th Sterling) will transition to 2nd Grade Sterling
- Ms. Jennifer Hoover (4th CTC) will transition to support academic intervention
- Mrs. Kimberly Lane (4th CTC) will transition to 3rd Grade CTC
Dr. Mary Tchouros: 4K-2nd Grade Counselor
Hello! My name is Mary Tchouros and I am excited to join Sterling as one of your School Counselors! I know Tchouros (pronounced Chur-Ris) is a hard name to say so Mrs. T or Dr. T works fine also. 😊
I have served as an elementary school counselor in North Carolina and more recently at Berea Elementary here in Greenville County for the past 8 years. I also serve as an adjunct professor at Clemson University. My goal each day is to make sure each student feels safe, supported, and challenged at school. I believe every student has the ability to achieve greatness!
I am originally from the beaches of North Carolina but landed in the upstate after my sister moved here. Now my whole family is here! My husband and I have one daughter who just turned a year old and two dogs. I love taking pictures of little family, traveling and, in the Fall, you can find us watching Clemson Football!
I am excited to join the Sterling family. I look forward to meeting everyone and helping each student reach their fullest potential.
Mrs. Michelle Bennett: Middle School Counselor
Hello, my name is Michele Bennett, and I am so excited to be joining the Sterling School team. I grew up for most of my life along the coast, Surfside Beach, to be exact. After High School, I went to The University of SC, in Columbia, and received my Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology. I also met my husband there. So, yes, we are both Carolina fans! After undergraduate school, I moved to Charleston. There, I pursued and completed my Masters of Secondary School Counseling from The Citadel.
While living in Charleston, I completed my practicum and internship at Wanda High School. I also worked for several years in the mental health field. However, my husband’s job changed and it moved us to the Greenville area. Since living in Greenville, I have worked at Roper Mountain Science Center, teaching science lessons. I have also worked as an adjunct instructor at two post secondary schools (teaching Psychology), as a guidance director at the high school level, and as a school counselor in the middle school setting. I have had a wonderful experience teaching and counseling for almost 18 years or more. I have always stayed in the adolescent age group for the most part of my experience. So far, I have found middle schoolers to be the most gratifying.
I am very excited to have the opportunity to become a part of the Sterling School, as the middle school counselor. I love this school for a good reason. My oldest daughter attended the CTC program from 3rd through 8th grade. She had an extremely rewarding experience at Sterling and continues to have wonderful memories and friendships with fellow classmates to this day. I, too, made lasting friendships with the mothers who had their children at the school...as well as some of the teachers. My oldest daughter is currently at USC Honors College. She will graduate next year. I also have a younger daughter who will be graduating from Mauldin High School. She plans to attend USC in the fall.
Having this opportunity to work at Sterling is a privilege that I am so happy and excited for. I look forward to meeting all the wonderful students this coming school year.
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