The Weekly Griffin
Week of March 17, 2019 - #BuildingABetterGriffin
3rd Grade CTC: Curiosity Project
During Curiosity Project, students are invited to choose a topic of great, personal interest. As they explore their topic, questions generated about the topic furthers their learning. After time is given to research, students take what they have learned and present their finding in a creative display or format.
When students are given ownership of their learning through investigation and discovery, they not only guide their own learning but also become the expert within their own unique community of learners. At its core, Curiosity Project, does not lead students to become passive consumers; rather, this unique instructional approach should encourage students to become passionate generators of information and knowledge. #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
** Ms. Emmel's class created a short video to commemorate this year's unit (see below).
What's Ahead...
March 19 - Best Practices in Gifted Education Series, 9:00-9:30am
March 19 - PTA Panera (Haywood Rd) Spirit Night, 4:00-8:00pm
March 20 - Families for Lunch & Birthday Book Club
March 21 - Strings Concert Performance Assessment (wear concert attire)
March 21 - Last Day to RSVP for Digital Families Night (3rd-8th grade: FREE DINNER!)
March 22 - B-I-N-G-O Night, 3:30-7:30pm
March 22 - Last Day to Fill Out SIC Middle School Survey
March 25 - End of 3rd Quarter Grading Period
March 28 - PTA Digital Family Night, 6:00-7:30pm
March 29 - Middle School Dance
March 29 - Last Day to Register for April Arts Dinner
March 30 - Butterfly Garden Work Day
April 2 - Report Cards
April 5 - Spring Pictures
April 5 - April Arts, 5:30-7:30pm
*Please continue to be mindful of our drop-off and pick-up. Have students exit or load the full length of the awing and please keep this area/time "cell phone free!"
Sterling School Featured in New Professional Learning Book
In this text, the authors help educators move beyond exposing students to diverse children’s literature by offering an instructional framework that is applicable to any topic and can be adapted to their own classroom or community. Each chapter highlights different classrooms in action (including video footage from Sterling) and concludes with a wealth of suggested resources, both picture books and chapter books, along with helpful guidelines on how to choose text sets that reflect the needs, interests, and backgrounds of students. #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
Middle School Student Improvement Council
Hear ye, Hear ye! Introducing the Middle School Student Improvement Council!
If your student is interested in becoming a grade level representative on the M.S.S.I.C., please encourage them to come to a meeting on Tuesday, March 19 in room 820 (Ms. Saunders’ room). There they will hear all about this new opportunity to serve their class and help to improve our CTC Middle school! The meeting will begin promptly at 2:55 and be finished by 3:15. #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
April Arts 2019
Be sure to join us for April Arts on Friday, April 5th, from 5:30 until 7:30pm!!
April Arts is Sterling School's signature event! This night brings together our school community of parents, students, neighbors, and friends to celebrate all forms of the arts. Last year, over 800 people attended April Arts!
Student artwork from the entire year is displayed in the hallways, students perform throughout the evening, and we offer hands-on art activities to all! We plan each year's event around a theme that connects the artwork, music, activities, and even dinner.
This year, our theme is Arte y Arquitectura: Build Your Creativity! We want to educate, inspire and provide opportunities to build, design, and create. All activities will focus on Spanish and Hispanic influence in art and architecture.
- RSVP for Tex-Mex dinner by Friday, March 29th: CLICK HERE!
- Volunteer at an activity station during April Arts, or help with set up before the event: CLICK HERE!
- Volunteer to serve dinner, sign-in guests, or clean-up: CLICK HERE!
- April Arts T-shirt Orders: CLICK HERE!
2018-19 Gifted Child Information Series
Mark your calendar so you can be sure to attend the March Best Practices in Gifted Education series at Sterling/CTC.
Tuesday, March 19th, 9:00-9:30am
Topic: Enrichment & Extension
(How is Spanish at CTC different?)
Jessica Goll & Liz VanDommelen
This session will be located in Sra. VanDommelen's room #706. Parents who arrive early are invited to explore the student work in the hallway area outside the Spanish classrooms.
Also, to access any of the previous session presentations, CLICK HERE!
ARMES Program at the Fine Arts Center!
Classes are held two days per week after regular school hours, for a total of 3 hours of instruction each week. Sterling School has quite a few students who participate in the ARMES program each year! A student must be nominated by a parent, teacher or him or herself. Students will be scheduled for an audition in the spring.
For more details, please visit the ARMES website HERE.
DownTOWNES is Coming!
Our CTC middle school students will be participating in DownTOWNES from May 1-3, 2019. DownTOWNES is a three-day learning experience where all CTC students will use the city of Greenville as their classroom. Parents of students in grades 6-8 are asked to keep an eye out for an email from Ms. Reynolds and the grade-level teachers on Wednesday explaining the event.
From the Sterling SIC: Middle School Survey
The Sterling SIC wants your opinion and is asking for feedback from our CTC Middle School families! Please share your input by March 22nd. CLICK HERE!
From the Sterling SIC: Volunteer Flyer
Local service organizations, businesses, and churches are always looking for ways to give back to their communities. What better way that volunteering at Sterling School! Our School Improvement Council has put together a helpful flyer for our families to share with their networks that describes all the opportunities available and provides helpful contact information. CLICK HERE for Sterling Volunteer Flyer.
Elementary Yearbook
Digital Families Event, Sponsored by our PTA
Thurs, March 28th - Digital Families Event (Grades 3rd-8th): PTA is excited to invite all 3rd-8th grade students and their parents to attend Digital Families Night on Thursday, March 28th, from 6:00-7:30pm. We’ll start serving dinner at 5:15. Parents will connect with their kids to understand what it’s like for them growing up online. You'll go through interactive sessions together to explore how your family responds to real-life online interactions and how you can protect one another online.
Have you started talking with your kids about online safety and digital citizenship? Now’s the time! We want to include as many families as possible, and we hope you'll RSVP to join us. Please register by Thursday, March 21st!
Join us for a FREE DINNER, drawings for DOOR PRIZES, and a great opportunity to connect with your children!! Together, let's help our kids learn about topics such as how to create secure passwords, deciding what information is appropriate to share online, how our online behaviors can shape our privacy, and what it means to be an "upstander" and not just a bystander.
Connect with your children to understand what it’s like for them growing up online. Go through interactive sessions to explore how your family responds to real life online interactions and how you can protect one another online.
- RSVP for free dinner by Thurs, March 21st: CLICK HERE!
- Volunteer Sign Up Genius: CLICK HERE!
Thurs, April 25th - Family STEM Night (Grades 3rd-5th): Families can participate in fun, hands-on STEM activities! Great enrichment opportunity! (See flyer below for more information.)
BINGO Night is Back!
Excitement is building for the return of our annual Bingo Night! We have gotten in some fabulous prizes from generous donors. Now we need players to win those prizes! You're invited to a fun, fabulous night of BINGO!
When: Friday, March 22nd
Session Times:
First Session: 3:30-5:00pm
Dinner break from 5:00-6:00pm
Chick-Fil-A and pizza will be available to purchase
Second Session: 6:00-7:30pm
Families may attend either session
Price: None, Nada, Zip! It’s FREE to participate! We are asking for a voluntary contribution at the door to our backpack buddies program. Suggested donations can be found HERE.
- Volunteer Sign Up Genius: CLICK HERE!
- No RSVP required for dinner - Order & pay at the event (Chick-Fil-A and pizza)
Doors will open for the first round at 3:15. Car riders should be picked up as usual after school. Parking will be available in all school lots. You may not park in the fire lane or in the parking lot behind Tanners. Starting at 3:30, you may line the outside of the driveway. Do not park on both sides of the drive or block the flow of traffic. If you are parked inappropriately you will be called out to move your car. Carpooling is recommended. We are looking forward to a really fun event. We hope to see you all there!
GSSM Summer Camp is Coming to Sterling School!
iTeams Xtreme for current 5th-7th grade students
June 24 - 27, 8:30am - 4:00pm
(Micro)control Your World!
Dive into microcontrollers and their applications through one of two tracks:
Arduino & Robotics
Explore the world of computational thinking and microcontrollers using Arduino technology and robotics. Learn how to program your very own microcontrolled robot and pit it against other students' robots in camp-wide competitions such as Maze Runner and Robot Wars.
Arduino & the Internet of Things
Explore the world of programming with Arduino technology. Increase your programming skills while learning about digital communication, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things.
Register for iTeams Xtreme HERE.
CREATEng for current 7th and 8th grade students
June 17 -20, 8:30am - 4:00pm
Innovate. Design. Create.
CREATEng is GSSM’s one-of-a-kind engineering and design thinking day camp for rising 8th and 9th graders. Students take on the role of NASA engineers charged with developing a sustainable colony on Mars. Working through project-based, hands-on team challenges, students learn what engineering is and what engineers do. With a focus on civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering students work through a series of mini challenges from building windproof structures and protecting transportation with impenetrable wheels for the Rover, to using Arduino technology for greenhouse automation.
CREATEng students will interact with guest speakers and go on a field trip to a local company to see engineering in action.
Register for CREATEng HERE.
Get Involved...Our Students Need YOU!
Become a Mentor!
According to Harvard University's Center on Developing Child, "Every child who ends up doing well has had at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive adult." The Sterling School has partnered 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 can give 30 minutes a week, we need you!
If you have any questions, you are invited to email Jennifer Medlock, director of Mentor Greenville. If you are ready to jump in, you may begin by completing the mentor application CLICK HERE.
Become a Tutor!
Are you willing to make a difference in a child's life? One way you can do this is through tutoring. Tutoring has been shown to not only increase a student's academic performance, it also increases their chance of success in life!
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer tutor, Sterling School needs YOU! We have many students who could use your time, help, and knowledge in a small group and/or partner setting. Teachers will provide needed lessons and materials.
If interested or know someone who may be interested, contact Kim Marchbanks @ krmarchbanks@greenville.k12.sc.us .
Volunteer Training
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 at jmurphy@greenville.k12.sc.us or (864) 355-4480.
"Making" a Way to Success!
The work or "tinkering" that is done in MakerSpaces is a powerful tool for learning at all grade levels. In fact, according to Curiosity Commons, "MakerSpaces were recently identified as one of six important developments in educational technology for K-12 education by the New Media Consortium (NMC) Horizon Report for 2015, which states, 'Makerspaces are increasingly being looked to as a method for engaging learners in creative, higher-order problem-solving through hands-on design, construction, and iteration' (p. 38). According to the NMC (2015), MakerSpaces have the potential to effectively support the necessary skillset for students in the 21st Century (p. 38)."
At Sterling, we want our students to become empowered, creative, resilient leaders who can solve problems, advocate for others and themselves, and empathize with others. Such soft skills do not develop in a vacuum; like cognitive strategies, they must be taught, modeled, and encouraged through an intentional process. When students learn in a safe environment where they are encouraged to explore, they will become lifelong learners who not only investigate but influence the world around them. #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
***If you'd like to support our school's MakerSpace, we are currently in need of the following supplies: LEGO's, duct tape, glue, packing tape, puzzles, scissors, and markers! All donations can be delivered to the front office or to our media center. Thank you!
Sterling/CTC Student Places 3rd in Regional Science Fair
Congratulations to 8th grade student Rishita Tikkala! Rishita placed third in the middle school Biology and Health Division of the South Carolina Regional Science Fair, sponsored by Southern Wesleyan University. Rishita’s project was “Resistance of Bacteria to the ordinary kitchen cleaning materials and best ways to disinfect.”
Briefly, Rishita's research included culturing bacteria on agar plates from the kitchen sink using a home made incubator (card board box and a desk lamp) and checking for their growth pattern while using different disinfectant solutions. #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
2019 Sterling School Spelling Bee
Last week, we held the annual Sterling School Spelling Bee. With the word “frippery,” Aditya Harikumar (5th grade) became our elementary champion, and with the word “ricotta,” Maggie Austin (8th grade) won at the middle school level. CONGRATULATIONS to Maggie, Aditya, and to all of this year’s spellers! #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
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