Griffins Connect
eLearning Edition, No. 3 #LoveWhereYouLearn
Teacher Appreciation Week 2020
- Mon, May 11th: Inbox of Gratitude: Send an email to your teacher, thanking them for all they do.
- Tues, May 12th: Teacher Appreciation Playlist: Help us create a playlist of songs that best describe your teacher. Be on the lookout for a special, featured post from our PTA.
- Wed, May 13th: eLearning Classroom Picture: Post a picture of our Griffins in their @ home eLearning classroom, with their new (parent) teachers.
- Thurs, May 14th: Dress Like Your Teacher: Take the challenge and be a look-alike, double, or doppelgänger of your teacher! Once you've met the challenge, take a picture and post to our Facebook page. #SterlingTAW2020
- Fri, May 15th: Post Your Praise: Upload a picture or a video telling the world the best thing about your teacher(s). CLICK HERE to share anytime this week or include #SterlingTAW2020 in your own social media post.
What's Ahead...
May 15: Deadline to Purchase a (elementary) Yearbook: CLICK HERE to Order
May 20: Deadline for Parent Request of Mailed Report Cards (See note for detail)
May 25: Memorial Day Holiday (No school)
May 28: 8th Grade CTC Virtual Awards Program; 6:00pm
June 1 & 2: Student Materials Pick-Up & Return (See note for details)
June 1: 5th Grade Sterling Virtual Awards Program; 6:00pm
June 3: 5th Grade Sterling Griffin Walk/Car Parade @ 4:00pm (See note for details)
June 3: 8th Grade CTC Griffin Walk/Car Parade @ 5:30pm (See note for details)
June 5: Sweet Summer Reading Chances Begins: Rising 5K-5th Students (Read, Read, Read!!!)
June 1st & 2nd Student Materials Pick-Up & Return:
Student materials pickups and returns will occur on June 1st and 2nd. It is important that all families come at their assigned time. Please read the following and make note of all the specific directions and details. Thank you, in advance, for your assistance and understanding with this process.
Student Materials Pickups & Textbook/Chromebook Returns will occur on the following:
Monday, June 1st
8th Grade/Gym: 8:00-10:00
7th Grade/Gym: 10:30-12:30
6th Grade/Gym: 1:30-3:30
Tuesday, June 2nd
4K & 5K/Front Drive: 8:00-10:00
1st & 2nd/Front Drive: 10:30-12:30
5th Grade/Gym: 8:00-10:00
4th Grade/Gym: 10:30-12:30
3rd Grade/Gym: 1:30-3:30
Wednesday, June 3rd: Make-Up
All Grades/Gym: 9:00-11:00
Bring Back
Chromebook
Charger
Non consumable Text books
Library Books
Pay fees for:
Yearbook purchases, lost library books, lost textbooks, etc.
School-owned instruments (MS)
Pick Up
RX from NURSE
Personal belongings
Awards
Yearbooks (if ordered)
T-Shirts (for certain groups/clubs)
Academic Locker contents (M.S)
Instruments (M.S.)
All 3rd-8th grade families should access the school via the back parking lot. Once parking your car in a designated spot, only one adult should accompany their student to a marked exterior gym door. Please be respectful and watchful of faculty and staff who will be assisting with this process. If needed, our faculty/staff will direct you to where you should go. Pay attention to any directional signs, arrows, or markings that are displayed.
All 4K-2nd grade families will be able to utilize the front carline to pick up any materials left behind in the classroom. Please be respectful and watchful of faculty and staff who will be assisting with this process.
Every effort will be made to expedite your visit to the school while minimizing the number of people in the building. Any persons picking up/returning materials must be symptom free, without a fever, cough, or shortness of breath (fever is a temperature of 100.4 or greater). All persons (employee and visitors) must remain a minimum 6 feet apart at all times.
FYI...Classroom Pack-Up
As we prepare for the closeout of the year, which includes accounting for all GCS property and safely returning to you student items that have been left in our possession during this closure, it is necessary for every teacher to spend a day in their physical classrooms itemizing materials and grouping and labeling student possessions. To protect the safety of our employees, a multi-day staggered schedule is being developed to ensure social distancing while teachers are in the building. As a result, beginning this week your child’s teacher will not be available one regular school day. As a result, any questions you ask may not be answered until the next day. Your child’s teacher(s) will notify you of the date they will not be available. We apologize for the added inconvenience of this during eLearning, but we believe the safe and efficient exchange of items is important enough to necessitate teacher participation.
Save the Date: Virtual Field Day
During the week of June 1-4, Sterling School will be partnering with Oakview Elementary for our first edition of Virtual Field Day! In the coming weeks, you will receive information on the various activities that we will be completing this year. To add a competitive twist to this event, Sterling and Oakview students will be competing to see who gets the most participation in Virtual Field Day! Virtual Field Day is open to all students K4-8th grade. While we hope for 100% participation, this event is optional. We look forward to bringing the 2019-2020 school year to a close with this exciting event!
5th (Sterling) & 8th (CTC) Griffin Walk/Car Parade
This year, we will hold 2 installments of our celebratory "Griffin Walk" tradition. The 5th Grade Sterling car parade will start at 4:00 pm while the 8th grade parade will begin at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, June 3rd. Parents are instructed to drive their students around our car line while faculty and staff cheer and dance to send them off. Parents are instructed to keep all passengers in their vehicles--No high-fives, hugs, or any other contact will be permitted.
All families will enter the front carline as space allows the same way you would for drop off or pick up. Please stop at the orange cones. When the carline is full, there will be spill-over space at Phillis Wheatley Community Center. Please ensure that all participating students arrive by and remain a vehicle for the full duration of the parade.
8th (CTC) & 5th (Sterling) Grade Virtual Award Programs
In the coming days, 5th Sterling and 8th CTC families will be invited to participate in a Zoom Video Award Night Viewing Celebration. Teachers will pre-record the announcement of student names. All certificates and other award items will be included as part of the Materials Pickup and Return Day. The 8th Grade CTC Award Program viewing will occur Thursday, May 28th @ 6:00pm and the 5th Grade Sterling Award Program viewing will occur Monday, June 1st @ 6:00pm. After the viewing celebration, the video link will be emailed to all families.
Library Books
Artsonia
PARENTS – Our school is offering a way for students to submit their artwork to their Artsonia portfolio from home. Your child can use iPads or similar devices (or even a browser) to photograph their own artwork, make edits and enter artist statements - all on their own! The artwork will be reviewed by the art teacher prior to being published.
Download the Artsonia 6.0 app in the Apple or Android app store, select the "Students" option, then scan the Access Code below (or manually type in the code). You can also go to Artsonia.com on a browser if you don't have a compatible device. Access Code: TMJH-HXYD
You can view a short tutorial video and if you have any questions, please contact Artsonia at 800-869-9974 or
Mailed Report Card Request
Final grades will be available through backpack no later than June 8, 2020 will not be mailed to families except by request. If you need a hard copy of the report card mailed to you, please fill out the form located HERE. Please be sure to include your mailing address on the form.
Summer Learning Challenge! #FightTheSummerSlide
Over the next several weeks, you will find Sterling School's Sweet Summer Reading Chances information with your child's mailed report card, on our school's webpage, Facebook page, and in forthcoming summer editions of the Weekly Griffin. The Sweet Summer Reading Chances will begin at dismissal on Thursday, 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: READO, Camp Wonderopolis, and the Greenville Library Summer Reading Program. To learn more information, see the following flyer (CLICK HERE!).
- The READO Card (CLICK HERE!).
- Camp Wonderopolis (CLICK HERE!).
- Greenville Library Summer Reading Program (CLICK HERE!).
Virtual Summer Story Time
Elementary Students are Invited to Sterling School to Escape with Books this Summer!
Registration for 20-21 Extended Day Program
If you're interested in enrolling your child in our after school program, before the end of May, you must email the after school directors at mhenry@greenville.k12.sc.us. Tell us your child's name and grade and we will hold your spot for the fall. Since we are currently facing an unknown as to when we will return to school, we ask that you wait until August to turn in your registration form and fee. To keep your child's spot, the registration form and fee must be submitted by the first day of school.
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!
5K & 1st Grade Registration
19-20 Student Yearbooks
Elementary Yearbook Sales: Online sales for the elementary yearbook will end May 15th. Any purchases after this date will be on a “first-come, first-served” basis during our school’s Materials Pickups and Return Day. The cost of the Elementary yearbook will be: $25.00.
Middle School Yearbook Sales: Any purchases will be on a “first-come, first-served” basis during our school’s Materials Pickup and Return Day. The cost of the middle school yearbook will be $35.00.
Join a Carpool for Next Year
= Check Out These eLearning & Curriculum Highlights =
Teachers & Students Publish Article
Congratulations to nine members of our school community who were recently published in the National Association of Gifted Children's (NAGC) peer-reviewed publication, "Teaching for High Potential." The article, "Empowering Student Autonomy Through Inquiry and Reflection" was co-authored by teachers Sara Newell and Cara Nyvall along with the following middle school students: Harper Bright, Leran Fu, Ellie Kate Grant, Hannah Izumi, Sierra Kremenliev, Natalia Lopez, and David Ropp.
The idea for the article came after students researched the efficacy of PBL units for a class Harkness discussion and found that none of the articles they read contained student opinions or feedback. Mrs. Newell and Mrs. Nyvall worked very hard to teach their students to consider multiple perspectives when they approached an issue; however, the group was surprised that no one had considered student input in the research about teaching methods. The teachers brainstormed ways to address this omission, including voices of willing students who contributed their own perspectives in an attempt to make up for the missing voices.
"I'm so proud of these students for adding their voices to the research on PBL units," Mrs. Newell said. "They worked diligently on their writing and revising to be sure they had writing that was publication-worthy. I am also grateful to "Teaching for High Potential" for working so graciously with us and publishing this fairly unorthodox article. I would love to see more student voices included in future research and publications!" Mrs. Nyvall stated, "What a wonderful opportunity to give kids the tools and knowledge to assess their own thinking and learning so that they could then articulate ideas about their own education!"
As a school, we seek to provide every student with a personalized, student-centered education. We are very proud of their work and this prestigious accomplishment. #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
6th Grade: Flying Lessons CultureGrams
Since the shutdown, 6th graders have read a collection of short stories by diverse authors in an anthology titled Flying Lessons. A class set of books was purchased through a combination of school and PTA funds, so each student was able to check out a copy of the book. Each story in the book highlights an author and/or setting from a different cultural background, and the cover of the book features a paper airplane that sparked the idea for our culminating, virtual project. Students chose their favorite story, researched its cultural setting using CultureGrams, and then created their own paper airplane featuring cultural elements from the country of origin. CLICK HERE to view their uniquely creative designs!
ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
2020 SIC Report to Parents
Greenville County Soil & Water Essay Contest
Three cheers for 8th grader, Cort McGowan, and 5th graders, Fiorella Hernandez-Montero and Jeremiah Eller, who recently received recognition as this year's winners in the Greenville County Soil and Water Conservation District’s 77th Annual Conservation Essay Contest! Their essays on the topic “Where Would We Bee Without Pollinators” were selected as the best of over 100 submissions.
The grocery stores would be rather empty without the hard work of bees, birds, butterflies, bats and other pollinators. More than 80 percent of the world’s plants need pollinators to survive, including many that provide the food we eat. But today, many pollinators are in trouble and in decline. When pollinators shrink in number, many plants either produce less seed or no seed at all. That was the critical issue Cort, Fiorella, and Jeremiah unpacked in their winning essays.
State PTA Reflection Award Winner
State PTA Reflections Winners were announced earlier this week and 6th Grader Charlotte Metcalf was honored with an "Award of Merit" in the category of middle school music composition. Charlotte wrote the music and lyrics to the piece she entitled Planet B. When asked to provide a description of her work Charlotte stated, "This piece is about remembering that everything that we do has an impact on the earth, and that the earth is a gift that cannot be replaced."
If you'd like to hear Charlotte perform her award-winning piece, CLICK HERE!
2020 Sterling School ACE Award Winners
This year's Sterling School ACE Award goes to...Anna Louise Panhorst & Cortland "Cort" McGowan! #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
Service Learners - Read Alouds
You are invited and encouraged to use this wonderful resource with your family as part of our school's eLearning plan. CLICK HERE! here to access the shared folder. Some of the texts featured are... The Kissing Hand, The Wonky Donkey, and Green Eggs & Ham. #BuildingABetterGriffin
GCS Feeding & Wi-Fi Sites
Use the interactive map to locate meal distribution sites and free Wi-Fi access. Red pins indicate meals and Wi-Fi access available. Blue pins indicate Wi-Fi access only.
Meals are served from our front car line from 10am to noon each day for all children under 18. Additionally, our school buses are equipped with Wi-Fi. Students can visit any of the 81 community meal delivery sites to access Wi-Fi between the hours of 10 a.m. and noon, Monday through Friday.
Additionally, students can access Wi-Fi at Dollar General Stores, QuikTrips, and other community locations. Buses will be parked at these sites from 7 AM – 7 PM, Monday through Friday. Students can also connect to GCS Wi-Fi from the parking lot of ANY school between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
GCS eLearning Resources
Playwright Damon Galgut said, "Things happen once only and are never repeated, never return. Except in memory.” The abrupt challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic presents an incredible opportunity to shift our collective paradigm, strengthening our teaching-learning continuum. As a school community, we seek to challenge the status quo; we are therefore thankful for the lessons we will glean from this unique experience. No doubt, we will come out stronger.
For all your GCS eLearning information and resources: CLICK HERE!
For additional information on the current school closure: CLICK HERE!
MyEnergyKit.org
Join the other 93 Sterling School families who have signed on for a FREE Energy Kit! As part of the Sterling School community, we are working to conserve energy and protect our environment. If we reach 100 kits, our school will receive a $250 check. Sterling School families and staff can request their FREE Energy Kit and credit your school by going online to MyEnergyKit.org or by calling our hotline at 1-855-386-9548.
Thank you, in advance, for requesting your kits and making a difference for our planet. When you request and use your kits, energy is saved. It’s as simple as that. And we’re hoping that by the end of the school year, we will have saved 10 million kWh of energy together. Can we make it?
Greenville Drive Reading All-Stars Update
Congratulations to our 162 Sterling School All-Star Readers! This is the greatest participation we have ever had in this program, and we are proud of each of our students who joined our reading! Due to the coronavirus and its impact on the Drive and our community, the Greenville Drive has rescheduled this year's celebration to Sunday, August 9th.
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