Husky Hotline
Sycamore Elementary School Has the IT Factor!
Aesop Reminders
When you submit a request in Aesop:
- Please remember to post In/Service-Staff Development when requesting for a staff development day off. Assure that you have gotten clearance to attend from Crystal first so that payment for subs can come from the proper line item.
- Click “save” and the Aesop system will locate a sub for you.
- Click “save and assign” when you have already spoken to the sub and you know for certain that he/she will be in your class.
Please remember to update the time in Aesop. A full day is 7:45-3:45, half day is either 7:45-11:45 or 11:45-3:45.
In This Issue
Calendar
Birthdays
School Affairs
Come Get It
Crystal's Corner
Bookeeper Notes
Kudos
Teacher Spotlight of the Week!
Report Card Timeline
Tech Tidbits
Online Testing
Birthdays
Belkis Puga 10/1
Larry Smith 10/5
Kelli Reifler 10/8
Sharon Pardue 10/12
Jill Moore 10/12
Naisha Lyons 10/16
Rochelle Spurlock 10/22
Terri Stokes 10/23
Janet Rivera 10/24
Shannon Davis 10/27
Mandy Squires 10/31
Selena Ruth 10/31
School Affairs
Communiqué
Please share links to the new online Communiqué in your local school e-Newsletter and your website. New items are added each week. The latest posts to the online Communiqué include a celebration of TOTY semifinalists, an opportunity for feedback on proposed computer science courses, a chance for employers to "connect" with their future employees, plus bulletin board items on literacy tips and healthy habits.
Story ideas? Great photos? Feedback? Let us know at communique@gwinnett.k12.ga.us.
School Reminders:
1. Please lock up all devices at night and lock your classroom doors when leaving for specials, lunch and recess. Students need to bring everything with them and not come to the classrooms unattended as much as possible. 2 barriers are suggested, however 1 barrier will suffice.
2. Please have students assist with putting chairs on desks when leaving each day.With us eating breakfast and snacks in the classrooms, it causes for more attention to vacuuming. Please help us get your rooms as clean as possible.
October 2015 “Come and GET It” Guiding Educators Today
Hello Sycamore Staff!
Below you will find professional development opportunities offered to you by some great colleagues! We plan to offer some “GET It” sessions every month! If you are interested in leading a session, please contact Jill Moore to discuss your ideas! We hope that you will take the opportunity to learn from each other to help our students achieve!
Music and Literacy
Calling all Kindergarten through Second Grade teachers! Come and see how music can correlate with literacy. I hope to see you here. :)
Sign up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F044AACA92FA2F94-music
Presenter: Mandy Gunter
Date: October 26th from 7:45 AM-8:20 AM
Location: Music Room
Grade Levels: PreK-2
eCLASS: Navigation, Themes, Home Pages, Appearance, Creating Widgets
Learn how to navigate your home pages, change appearance and themes, create widgets in eCLASS. Bring your laptop and be ready to take your knowledge of eCLASS to another level! J
Sign up at www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F044AACA92FA2F94-eclass
Presenter: Cyndi Bennett
Date: October 26th from 3:45 PM-4:30 PM
Location: Leadership Lab
Grade Levels: all
eCLASS: Embedding Content from Sample Core Classes
Learn how to embed content from your grade level “Sample Core” pages with ease! Differentiation at its best! Lessons have already been planned for YOU….take advantage of this great resource! Bring your laptop and be ready to take your knowledge of eCLASS to another level! J
Sign up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F044AACA92FA2F94-eclass1
Presenter: Jill Wallace
Date: October 28th from 7:45 AM -8:20 AM
Location: Wallace’s Room
Grade Levels: all
Instructionally Speaking….
Do you need assistance in your classroom? Go to https://jillmoore.youcanbook.me so that you can book me! I look forward to helping!
Letters for Our Men and Women in Uniform
Remember to have students write letters to the men and women in uniform. The Bert Show is delivering letters to our troops for Thanksgiving. Deadline to submit to Jill Moore is October 26th. Thank you to teachers that have already submitted letters!
Upcoming Come and GET It Sessions
Music and Literacy
Calling all Kindergarten through Second Grade teachers! Come and see how music can correlate with literacy. I hope to see you here. :) (FROM JILL: I have met with Mandy and she has FABULOUS ways to improve student fluency through music. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ATTENDING this session, I plan to be there!)
Sign up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F044AACA92FA2F94-music
Presenter: Mandy Gunter
Date: October 26th from 7:45 AM-8:20 AM
Location: Music Room
Grade Levels: PreK-2
eCLASS: Navigation, Themes, Home Pages, Appearance, Creating Widgets
Learn how to navigate your home pages, change appearance and themes, create widgets in eCLASS. Bring your laptop and be ready to take your knowledge of eCLASS to another level! J
Sign up at www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F044AACA92FA2F94-eclass
Presenter: Cyndi Bennett
Date: October 26th from 3:45 PM-4:30 PM
Location: Leadership Lab
Grade Levels: all
eCLASS: Embedding Content from Sample Core Classes
Learn how to embed content from your grade level “Sample Core” pages with ease! Differentiation at its best! Lessons have already been planned for YOU….take advantage of this great resource! Bring your laptop and be ready to take your knowledge of eCLASS to another level! J
Sign up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F044AACA92FA2F94-eclass1
Presenter: Jill Wallace
Date: October 28th from 7:45 AM -8:20 AM
Location: Wallace’s Room
Grade Levels: all
Crystal's Corner
Staff,
Kudos to you for a fabulous week! I can't thank you enough for showing team spirit all week and being a fun and joyous staff. I had a chance to chat with many of and I enjoyed every minute. Continue to lead from your seat.
A special shout out goes to Mandy Gunter, Chelstyn, Talethea and Kristan for being our observational classes on Thursday. Dr. Anderson is always impressed with our school and she always moves us to think and explore more about where we are as a school. The A Team will provide feedback at a convenient time in the following weeks. Overall, rigor is at the top of our list of conversation and how DOK looks in our classroom workshops. Be thinking of this for conversation soon.
Thank you again to our eCLASS presenters,organizers Larry and Jill and all of you for being engaged and "plugged in" on Monday. I had a chance to read your survey responses and was enlightened and proud of your openness to your personal journey with eCLASS.
Next week will be another challenging week with Iowa testing, DAs and community service events. Thank you for being patient through glitches, portal issues and scheduling conflicts. Please continue to keep the A team informed about challenges you see ahead of time so that we can remedy them sooner.
- All students should have their agenda books in the hallways and also sign out. We have vandalism happening in bathrooms and we must be vigilant about improving this in our beautiful school.
- If you see any friendly...slithering... creepy crawlies in the building, please inform us immediately. We have been in touch with the district office and need to be able to remedy this situation quickly.
- Checkouts are becoming excessive daily between 2:00 and 2:55. Please encourage your students to stay the whole day of school and win the day! We also need to be informed of any class events so that we can be prepared at the front desk. After conferring with your grade level AP , email Sycamore Front Office with all of these events.
- Gradebooks need to be checked and updated for grading purposes. We will have our very first Award Ceremony of the year in November. Please make sure that all award information is given to Sheree in a timely manner now that the database is up.
- RBES is due for all certified staff at the end of the day on October 19th.
- Retrofit is underway! Thank you for your patience. It looks like everyone is excited about their new lighter laptops! Continue to let Jerry and Larry know what you need as time moves forward. We should be complete by January with the entire retrofit process.
- Don't forget to give your input on eCLASS in Crystal's Corner for School Affairs.
Monies Collected Tips from Jenifer our Bookkeeper
As you begin planning Field Trips, Club activities, etc., and start collecting money for these activities, I thought it would be helpful to send out some reminders and tips regarding money collections. I’ve included the most common errors that come across my desk, therefore I hope this will be helpful in saving everyone the precious commodity of time.
Forms of Payment
We accept cash, checks made payable to Sycamore Elementary, and credit/debit card payments through MyPaymentsPlus.
If you choose to use MyPaymentsPlus as a method, please let me know ahead of time to set up an “Activity” in MyPaymentsPlus in order for you to collect payments through this resource. I recommend this, because it is less paperwork for the both of us. I can set it up so that you receive an email when someone has paid, and also send you a list of who has paid on a weekly basis when I receive my deposit information. This will keep you informed as to who has paid.
Report of Monies Collected Forms
If you receive cash and/or checks for payments please use the Report of Monies Collected Standard Form found on the shared drive. The path is Sycamore > Teacher Information > Monies Collected Forms > RMC Form Standard. I strongly recommend saving the form to your computer once you fill it out, in case any corrections need to be made later, they can be fixed quickly. However, please use handwritten ink to sign and date the bottom of the form.
Please leave the “Account to Credit Line” BLANK. This is for Bookkeeper and Auditor’s purposes only. You will enter Grade Level and Purpose on the “Reason for Collecting Money Line”.
There must not be more than 1 week between the Date Collections Begin (at the top), and the Date of Your Signature (at the bottom, the date you turn your form into me).
Click here to view an Example Report of Moneys Collected Standard Form.
Receipts
If you collected cash from a student, and it is $10.01 or more, you must issue them a receipt. You may check out a receipt book from me.
No receipts have to be issued for checks received for any amount, because the check itself acts as their receipt. If however, a person requests a receipt for a check, you may do so upon their request.
Thank you for your help with all of the paperwork. As always, please come see me for any questions. I will be more than glad to help!
Jenifer Reese
Bookkeeper
Kudos
Thank you Katie for covering the student council speeches in my absence today. Crystal
Thank you Cindy and Katie for covering the school this week while Kim and I were out. Crystal
Thank you Larry for helping us get out our voting for student council today. Kim, you are appreciated for getting the Quia ready to go as well! Crystal
Thank you Amy for helping us figure out our District Assessment Testing to finish as many as possible before PBIS! ~Ashley
Thank you Deb for being a great teammate and friend! ~Ashley
Thank you Naisha for your great participation during the Study Island "Come and Get it!" ~Ashley
Thanks to Martha Bailey for everything you do! ~ Lee Goodwin
Thanks to Lauren Dean and DeAnne Daniel for being so welcoming to my students. ~ Lee Goodwin
Kudos to Coach D for helping the PBIS recognition be a success! ~Nicole Moody and the PBIS Committee
Kudos to the 1st grade team for working together to get our first field trip in
Kudos to Kristan for being such a great team leader! ~ T.Love
Kudos to Margaux for making math so much fun this week! ~ T. Love
Kudos to Chelsea for being such a great neighbor! ~T.Love
Kudos to Julie for making 1st grade's homework! It is awesome! ~T.Love
Kudos to Mrs. Alverson for helping with our field trip plans! ~1st Grade
Kudos to Emma Moses and Michelle Hardy for being so generous with your laptops!
~ Squires
Kudos to Turner, Brewer, and Bennett for making Sycamore such a fun place to work! I look forward to seeing you ladies each day! xoxo ~ Squires
Thank you so much to everyone who made my first week back a little easier. Kindergarten team: You have made it so much easier to come back with your support on paperwork and lessons. Everyone else: Thank you for the hugs and encouraging words while I miss my little angels.
~ Sarah Dovin
To my Entire Sycamore Family- Words do not express the amount of love and support you have shown me over the past several weeks during this difficult time. Thank you for all of the cards, texts, messages, hugs, and listening ears you have provided for me. I am blessed to have such wonderful co-workers. -Jenifer
To Larry- for the super, quick, and awesome installation of the copier/scanner! ~ Jenifer
Paula Stewart, thank you for sharing your room with me this week. I really appreciate you being so flexible. ~ Michelle Hardy
Bonita Wilkerson, thank you, thank you, thank you. I don't know what I would do without your generosity. ~ Michelle Hardy
Melanie Mayer, thank you so much for being so flexible. ~ Michelle Hardy
Jill Moore, Larry Smith, Cindy Bennett, Jill Wallace, Frank Torres and Angie Laugherty, thank you for sharing your eClass expertise with us. I learned a lot. ~ Michelle Hardy
Thank you, Special Area Teachers for all your help and words of wisdom. ~ Michelle Hardy
Kudos to Ms. Acevedo for all the one on one help with eclass and classworks.~ Deepa
Kudos to Ms. Rosenthal, Ms. Davis and Ms. Miller for the great sessions on eclass this teacher workday. ~ Deepa
A BIG thank you goes out to Deborah Walston, Ashley Miller, Amy Haser, and Naisha Lyons for being patient with me and helping with everything the past few weeks! You guys are AWESOME!
~ Stephanie Arkema
Kudos to Mrs. Thompson for leading a wonderful Leadership Academy presentation with Sloan Roach on Wednesday! It was powerful and enlightening! ~ Melanie B
Thank you Marjorie M for being there to make parent phone calls for the SPED department! We love you! ~ Melanie B
Thank you to Erin Kilpatrick for always having coffee to share with me! Love, Melanie B
A special thank you to my second grade team for stepping in and helping while Emma has been out-You are all Treats! ~ Beth
Michelle for helping my class with their PBIL ~ Beth
Beverly for assisting with our STEM day ~ Beth
To all the people who have duty in the cafe-THANK YOU!! We appreciate it more than you realize ~ Beth
Jill and Larry for your constant support! ~ Beth
Jerry for always having service with a smile ~ Beth
Kudos to Stacey Thrasher for coming to the rescue for Donuts for Dad. She provided juice, coffee, and cups for the unexpected overflow while preparing sack lunches for the 1st grade field trip! Thanks for always lending a helping hand! ~ Kristi
Kudos to Mrs Chiasson, for always thinking of us "support" folks, and bringing us unexpected treats! ~ Kim Wyble
Thank you to all the eCLASS Presenters on Monday: Angie Laugherty, Frank Torres, Laurel Rosenthal, Shannon Davis, Larry Smith, Kristan Gamel, Ashley Miller, Jill Wallace, Amy Haser, Cyndi Bennett, Michelle Hardy. Each of you were PHENOMENAL! ~ Jill Moore
Thank you Sycamore Teachers for being so optimistic about our eCLASS Learning on Monday! I can't wait to see how your kiddos respond to the technology! ~ Jill Moore
A huge thank you to everyone for the birthday cake, wishes, treats, cards, and gifts....it made turning another year older better! :-) ~ Jill Moore
Office Ladies: Thank you for always being a breathe of fresh air! :-) I love working with each of you! ~ Jill Moore
T.Love, Thanks for helping me out with the oils...you always help me feel better! ~ Jill Moore
Larry Smith, thank you for collaborating with me on our RBES....I appreciate it! ~ Jill Moore
Jerry Watts, thank you for always being patient with me! You are a pleasure to work with! ~ Jill Moore
Thank you to everyone for contributing to making the first grade field trip successful: First Grade Teachers, Stacy Thrasher, cafeteria staff for lunches, Carolann, and Sheree Bailey. You are team work personified! ~ Cindy Alverson
Thank you to our Melanie Brewer and Mandy Squires for continuing to offer training on STORI for our special education department! ~ Cindy Alverson
Counselor's Corner
PAWS for Attendance
Look who earned PAWS for Attendance for the Month of September:
Top Grade Level- 3rd Grade with 63.2% of the grade level with perfect attendance
Top Class- Mrs. Daniel with 80.7% of the class with perfect attendance
Keep up the good work!
We had over 460 students who had perfect attendance during the month of September, which was 60% of our school.
Is your student earning PAWS for attendance?
Great Days of Service
This week Sycamore will be participating in the "Great Days of Service" Canned Food Drive, consider donating in any non-perishable food items to help stock the Gwinnett Co-Op. Lets see if we can reach a goal of 500 items donated.
Red Ribbon Week
Red Ribbon Week, where we Pledge to Be Drug Free, is October 23-30. To help us prepare and have Drug Free message around our school, we are having a Red Ribbon Week poster contest. Students can create a poster that shows how you can "Respect Yourself and be Drug Free" and turn it in to Ms. Moody by Thursday afternoon. Winners from each grade level will me announced the Monday of Red Ribbon Week! Look for more information about Red Ribbon Week in next week's newsletter!
News from GCPS
Tech Tidbits
Please submit a ticket for any issues you may be having with your new laptops or printers as soon as you notice them. There will be a support person on site from EMTEC next week to resolve these.
Online Testing
Link >>> 2015 Interim Online Schedule
Sycamore Elementary School
Email: crystal_cooper_thompson@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Website: sycamorees.org
Location: 5695 Sycamore Road, Sugar Hill, GA, United States
Phone: 678-714-5770
Facebook: facebook.com/sycamorees
Twitter: @sycamorees
Superhero Field Days!
Begin thinking of how or if you will have your students dressed for our Superhero Field Day at the end of October. Students are allowed to dress in their own costumes however, you are also allowed to make it unique to your class by designing shirts, capes,headbands, etc. The district is interested in filming our days, so I will keep you posted as the request is confirmed. There are tons of ideas online, and we are excited to hear from you. Begin gathering parent support on your websites or course pages.