Principal's Rams Gram
December 2022
Dear Pharr Elementary School Community,
Happy Holidays to each and every one of you. Wishing you the very best of best during the holiday season.
As we bring the first semester to an end and count the final days of 2022, I have said this privately to my Pharr family and now I am saying it publicly to our school community. I would like to thank our teachers and staff for their dedication and attention to detail for supporting each other, but more importantly for the great pride they take with our precious children each day. Thank you for being kind to our students and to each other. Thank you for being considerate, understanding, and patient throughout this semester. Thank you for caring for others even when nobody's watching. Thank you for exemplifying empathy especially in those difficult moments. Thank you for being transparent and authentic. Thank you for loving and respecting yourself, each other, and our children. Most importantly, thank you for being exactly who you are while trying to get better at being great at Pharr Elementary School.
It is with great pleasure to have the opportunity to serve as the proud principal at Pharr. Leading a school with such a great group of talented teachers and staff members is very rewarding. It sparks my energy to continue my quest as a servant leader to encourage, motivate and inspire them to be their very best each and every day. I embrace this challenge as a good steward to work alongside them to support, guide, and lead.
To all of our parents, please join me in thanking our teachers and staff members for the excellence work they do each day with a kind affirming message. I challenge you to send them an email, write a note, or send them a kind. Let’s celebrate them! If you have not already done so, let them know how much you care for them and the remarkable things that they do to help your child’s dream become a reality at Pharr Elementary School.
At Pharr, we are committed to the dedication of excellence in education where we have one door, and behind that door is the absolute value of successful children and teachers making magical things happen inside the classrooms. We are grateful to have such a wonderful partnership with our PTA and community members who support the learning that takes place at our school.
The Principal’s Rams Gram is my monthly newsletter. It is my hope that you can feel the joy of what the staff and I get to witness each day trying our very best to help our students accomplish and surpass their goal academically and to continue developing into individuals with strong character, self-confidence and high self-esteem.
In the Pursuit of Excellence,
Shamarlas G. Allens, Ed. D.
Happy Holiday from our Family to yours!
Selfies with Dr. Allens
GCPS District Leadership Training
Grayson Cluster meeting at Pharr Elementary School
Important Dates to Remember🗓️
January 5th: Begin 2nd Semester
January 16th: MLK Jr. Day (Systemwide Holiday)
January 20th: 100th Day of School
Let's Look Back at Our Month
Welcome to our Newest RAMS!
Welcoming our new students to Pharr! Each new student is introduced on our morning news show. Our students love being on the morning news and it is a great way to ensure our students know that they belong at Pharr and feel welcome.
Local School Council Meeting
Lunching meeting with students advocating for a soccer goal and fence around the field.
Magic Moment Photography presents Pharr with $2000
Multicultural Night
Fabulous Multicultural Night at Pharr
Science, Engineering + Innovation Fair
Science Fair at Pharr A huge thank you to Grayson High students for supporting students during our Science Fair.
Spelling Bee
Spelling Bee At Pharr. Congratulations to all of the participants.
Media Center Creative Corner
Thank you to our PTA for sponsoring our Creative Corner in the library.
Bus Driver Appreciation
Thanking our school bus drivers for bringing our students to and from school safely.
Culver's Night
Culver visits Pharr to greet students during arrival.
PTA sponsored event at Culvers
Pharr Rambotic Competes in GCPS Robotic Competition
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Winter Holiday Countdown with our Staff
Ugly Tacky Sweater
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School Board Elect, Adrienne Simmons, visits Pharr Elementary.
Cluster Superintendent, Dr. Keith Thompson, interacting with our students.
Praise Community Church
Feeding our teachers is one of many ways we show them how much we APPRECIATE them each and everyday day. Thank you for helping us celebrate our teachers with your sponsored Holiday luncheon.
Recognizing our Students and Staff
Congratulations Retirees!
Christiane Lapierre (School Nutrition Staff)
13 years at Pharr
Jyl Johnson (Paraprofessional)
13 years at Pharr
Jennifer Stone (Teacher)
19 years at Pharr
Congratulations
Ms. Dunham and Ms. Perry, we wish you the very best in your new position.
Go be great in all that you do.
Congratulations to Ms. Lulie Dunham with her promotion to Special Education Coordinator.
Inchy Coins
We are so proud of our students at Pharr. In one day we recognized twenty students on our morning news show for exhibiting Ramtastic behavior.
Birthday Recognition
đź“–Important Reminders/ Resources đź““
Holiday Resources for Gwinnett Families
Adopted 2023-2024 Calendar now available online
The 2023-24 school year calendar is now available on the school district's website
https://www.gcpsk12.org/Page/24152#calendar111423/20221215/month
Handbook Information for Students and Families
The 2022-23 Handbook Information for Students & Families is being provided virtually this year due to supply chain issues. These web pages contain critical information to support student and family success throughout the school year.
Special Education parent toolkit
This Special Education parent toolkit is designed to help caregivers and guardians of children with special needs navigate the services and resources available to them in our district. For a detailed video with additional help navigating the toolkit, click here.
Georgia's largest and best school system is looking for Special Education stars to join its award-winning team!
Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) will host a Special Education Teacher Career Fair (in person) on Saturday, January 28, 2023 from 9 a.m. - noon at the J. Alvin Wilbanks Instructional Support Center, Room 3.101, 437 Old Peachtree Road NW, Suwanee, GA 30024. Contracts for the 2023-2024 school year will be offered.
Interested in attending the Career Fair? Follow these steps:
1. Complete the Online Application and receive an Applicant ID Number (i.e. 420029)
2. Using your Applicant ID Number, register to attend!
Creating effective “I Messages”
"I Messages" are a great SEL tool for conveying our emotional needs. However, they can sometimes be used to make accusations. We can prevent that from happening with this simple tweak in the I Message format.
Which is a more effective way for you (or your students) to communicate your frustration with someone?
A. “You’re always interrupting me! You think your opinion is more important than everyone else’s.”
B. “I feel frustrated when I am interrupted because I really want you to hear what I have to say.”
If you said B, you chose the “I Message.” I Messages are a basic tool of social and emotional learning. They encourage us to speak from our own experience rather than attributing negative behaviors or intentions to others. In doing so, we can powerfully and peacefully convey our emotional needs. Many of us are familiar with the basic form of an I Message:
I feel ( describe feeling) when ( describe situation) because I ( explain the impact of the behavior.)
To learn more about I Messages and how to use them in the classroom, click here.
Inclement Weather Procedures
As we enter the winter season, it is important to know what to expect from GCPS in case of inclement weather. If weather conditions pose a potential safety concern, the decision to cancel school or delay opening might be made.
It is more likely for school to be canceled in the early morning — due to dangerous road conditions that formed overnight — than for school to let out early because bad weather is moving in.
If bad weather causes school to be canceled or dismissed early, public announcements will be made on GCPS TV, on the school system’s website (www.gcpsk12.org), on Twitter and Facebook, through SchoolMessenger calls and optional texts, and via metro-Atlanta radio and television stations. Full-day cancellations usually are announced by 6 a.m.
GCPS TV can be found on the following Gwinnett County cable channels:
Charter - Channel 180
Comcast - Channel 24 or 26 (depending on location)
Visit us on our GCPS TV app on Apple, Android, Amazon Fire, and Roku devices or view the live stream at GCPSTV.org
You can access current or potential weather hazards for north and central Georgia here.
Share your Ram-Tastic Stories!🎉
Pharr Administrators love to hear about the great teaching and learning our staff is providing. Feel free to share the wonderful things happening in your child's classroom.
Dr. Shamarlas Allens, Principal
Ms. Uma Gangwal, Assistant Principal
- Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, Play2Learn, Title 1; Early Intervention Program, Gifted, ESOL
Ms. Charlotte Taylor-Martin, Assistant Principal
- 3rd, 4th, 5th, and Special Education; 504 Coordinator; Multi-tiered system of supports
- charlotte.taylor.martin@gcpsk12.org