The Weekly Griffin
Week of February 10, 2019 - #BuildingABetterGriffin
Sterling School has Strong Showing at MathCounts
On Saturday, the Sterling School MathCounts participants competed in the Piedmont Chapter Competition at Fisher Middle School. The school team of Emma Bao, Emily Zhang, Noah Brooks & Aedan Honohan placed 2nd. Atharva Shah placed 3rd in the written competition and 2nd in the countdown round. Emma Bao placed 7th in the written competition and 4th in the countdown round. Jonathon Clanton also placed in the top ten competitors with an 8th place finish in the written round.
The other students competing in this year's team included Tarika Desai, Sohini Kulkarni, Stephanie Hu & David Ropp.
The team and Atharva have qualified to represent Sterling School at the state competition to be held in Aiken, SC on March 2. Congratulations to all of them! #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
Black History Bowl Champions
Did you know Dingle Gadson was one of nine students to desegregate the College of Charleston in 1966 or that Edward Sawyer Cooper was the former president of the American Heart Association?
Congratulations to Sterling School for winning this year's Black History Quiz Bowl. This is the second year in a row our school has won. The competition is sponsored by Long Branch Baptist Church. Student participants of this year's team included Will Howard, Gabriel Wood, Kamille Brooks & Alana Maldonado. We also thank Mrs. Nye for coaching this year's team. #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
What's Ahead...
February 11-15 - Box Tops Collection Week
February 11 - Greenville Drive Reading Challenge Begins
February 12 - Middle School Curriculum Night (5:00-7:30pm)
February 14 - Gifted Child Parent Information Session; 10:00-11:00am in Vegas
February 14 - Last Day for Lost & Found Collection
February 15 - Class Pictures
February 15 - Jr. Beta Club will sell Chick-Fil-A biscuits before school for $3.00
February 20 - Families for Lunch
February 20 - Middle School Fundraiser Celebration
February 28 - 2nd Annual Black History Month Program, 6:00pm
*MathCounts 5/6 is not meeting until further notice.
*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!"
Save the Date: 2nd Annual Black History Month Celebration Feb. 28th @ 6:00pm
Greenville Drive Reading Challenge
Your child's ability to read well is a critical predictor of educational and lifelong success. This Spring, the Greenville Drive proudly presents the 12th Annual Reading All-Stars Program. The Reading All-Stars Program is a reading incentive program for any Kindergarten - 8th grade student aimed at promoting reading and academic success across the Upstate. We're looking for 100% participation from our Griffins!
The Requirements: Students are challenged to read 5 reading-level appropriate books (Elementary level) or 500 pages (Middle School level) in a 5-week time period to qualify as a Reading All-Star.
Key 2019 Dates: Monday, February 11-Friday, March 15 with a celebration on Monday, May 6
To Do: Send your child's completed reading log to your child's homeroom teacher by March 18th. Logs were distributed to students last week. If you need another reading log, CLICK HERE!
How Students Win: Students who complete the reading program will receive a ticket voucher to the Celebration Game. At the game, they will receive Reading All-Stars merchandise, a book for their personal library, and participation in the pre-game parade (Elementary level) or Meet-the-Player event (Middle School level).
#ReadersAreLeaders #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
Middle School Curriculum Night
Parents of 5th, 6th & 7th Grade CTC Students - Middle School Curriculum Night is this Tuesday, February 12th from 6:00-7:30pm!
Here's the 411: The night will provide you with lots of information regarding the middle school experience at Sterling/CTC. You'll make your way around the gym to learn about middle school classes, clubs, and registration. Throughout the night, CTC alumni movies will be playing in Mrs. Harrington's Art Room...so be sure to drop in and grab some popcorn!
You don't want to miss the Q & A panels! Rising middle school students will head to the Band Room at 7:00pm to have their questions answered by alumni who walked the halls before them. At the same time, parents will go to Vegas for the unique opportunity to hear from a panel of CTC alumni and parents.
Schedule:
- 4:30 - 6:15: Dinner will be served in the cafeteria (RSVPs were due last week)
- 6:00 - 6:15: Administration & school counselor will speak in the cafeteria about middle school policies & expectations
- 6:15 - 7:00: Information Fair in the Gym. Art room open for alumni movies & popcorn
- 7:00 - 7:30: Q & A panels. Parents in Vegas. Rising middle school students in Band Room.
2018-19 Gifted Child Parent Information Series
Save the Date for the February Best Practices in Gifted Education Series!
Mark your calendar now so you can be sure to attend the February Best Practices in Gifted Education series at Sterling / CTC.
Tuesday, February 14th, 10:00-11:00am (in Vegas)
Topic: Perfectionism
This session will provide parents with practical strategies on managing perfectionism. The session speaker will be Mrs. Johnston.
Box Tops Collection Contest: Feb. 11-15
Lost & Found
PTA has uploaded new photos from our Lost & Found that you can view HERE. The items pictured will remain in Lost and Found through Thursday, February 14th. Remind your student to collect missing items from the cart in the cafeteria, or contact PTA to make arrangements to have an item sent to the front office for pick-up. Post a note on PTA's Facebook page or email sterlingctcpta@gmail.com. As soon as you locate your missing item, write your student's first and last name on it. We've seen "repeat visitors" lately! Unclaimed items in this batch will be donated on Fri, Feb 15th.
Sterling School's Relay for Life Team
We are making a difference by teaming up to participate in the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life. Saving lives from cancer starts one team, one participant, and one dollar at a time. Please join our team or make a donation. The impact we can make together is much greater than what any of us could do alone!
Greenville’s Relay for Life is Saturday, May 18th, 2019 at Conestee Park.
Relay Club meetings began last Wednesday. We'll meet each Wednesday until May 15th in the Media Center. Any 3rd-8th graders interested may come to these meetings.
April Arts 2019 is Coming!
Be sure to join us for April Arts on Friday, April 5th, from 5:30-7:30pm! April Arts is Sterling School's huge, annual arts night! This night brings together our school community of parents, students, neighbors, and friends to celebrate all forms of the arts. Last year we had over 800 people come through our school during April Arts.
Student artwork from the entire school year is displayed in the hallways, students perform at different times during the evening, and we offer hands-on art making 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 Española: Build Your Creativity. We want to educate, inspire and provide opportunities to build, design, and create. All activities will focus on Spanish influence in art and architecture. We welcome families, artists, and community members who would like to collaborate with us in sharing the arts with our community!
Email Niki Peters to get involved!
MyEnergyKit.org
Join the other 86 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?
Readcycle
Drop off gently loved books bundled with student’s name, grade and home room teacher’s through Tuesday Feb 12th and receive tickets for up to 5 books to choose new-to-you books during the Swap on Thursday, Feb 14th through Monday, Feb 18th. Tickets will be handed out in homeroom.
Thank you, and let’s help all grade levels find a new love this Valentine’s. You may donate as many books as you’d like, but you can only earn a maximum of 5 tickets to choose new books. Book drop boxes will be located in the front entryway and at the door to the Media Center.
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.
#BuildingABetterGriffin Requires ALL of US!
Albert Pine, an English author who wrote in the early 19th century said, “What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains unchanged and is immortal.” What you possibly didn't notice this week were the people who were "behind-the-scenes" to make these special events occur... our PTA executive board, PTA general board, SIC, parent volunteers, classroom teachers, school counselors, CTC program facilitator, media specialist, custodial crew, and others. We are extremely grateful for these willing souls.
As we find ourselves at the mid-way point of the current year, I encourage you to get involved. The "lifting" to provide our students the many opportunities we seek to provide cannot be achieved by a few select individuals; it requires each of us! Our amazing teachers and students can always use a few extra hands! There are many, many ways to get involved. Involvement can be achieved through mentoring, tutoring, serving with the PTA, the W.O.K.E. after school program, by contacting your child's teacher, completing the Community Partnership Directory, or reaching out to Mrs. Reynolds (Program Facilitator). Some of us can do more than others, but we can all do our part to ensure that Sterling School truly provides our students with all they need to be successful in tomorrow's world! #WholeChild #TakesAVillage #BetterTogether
2019 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for 2018 were announced last week for the Southeast Region, and two of our 8th graders received recognition! Congratulations to these students for their strong performance! #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
Julia Pascoe was recognized for her poem, "Black Berry Day"
Rishita Tikkala was recognized for her critical essay, "Religious Conflict in Our World Today"
All State Orchestra
Congratulations to the following students who made it into the SC All State Orchestra:
- Nathan Collot
- Jaimie Park
All State Band
- Emma Bao
- Stephanie Hu
Region Band
- Lydia Edney
- Emily Li
- Ford Love
- Elliot Turner
- Renee Wang
- Danika Yang
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