Griffins Connect
November 1st #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
Thurs. & Fri.'s Attendance
Elementary Students Return to Full-Time, In-Person Instruction
Beginning this week, 4th & 5th grade students will start a phased-in return to full-time, in-person school. Only students in the Blue and Green groups will attend on Monday, November 2. Tuesday is Election Day and a student holiday. On Wednesday and Thursday, November 4-5, all 4th and 5th graders will be back for in-person school. Friday will be an eLearning Day. Beginning Monday, November 9, ALL Elementary students 4k - 5th grade are back five-days a week for in-person learning. Students will need to wear masks whenever social distancing is not possible, which will include instructional time. Visit the GCS website to view or print these details in a graphic and remember, this change does NOT impact students in the GCS Virtual Program.
As a reminder, this week (November 2nd) ALL third grade students are back full time, though there is no school on Tuesday, November 3rd, due to Election Day. Students will need to wear masks whenever social distancing is not possible, which will include instructional time. Visit the GCS website to view or print these details in a graphic and remember, this change does NOT impact students in the GCS Virtual Program.
What's Ahead...
This Week...
- November 1st: Daylight Saving Times Ends (Set Clocks Back ONE Hour)
- November 2nd: GCS Magnet Application Window Opens (see info below)
- November 3rd: Election Day (No School for Students)
- November 4th & 5th: ALL 4th & 5th Grade Students Attend
- November 6th: Last Day to Submit Information for Veterans Day (see below)
- November 6th: Veterans Day Rehearsal/Performance; Band: 8:30-10:00, Strings: 10:30-Noon
Looking Ahead...
- November 13th: 4K students (only) attend 7:45-11:15am (breakfast/lunch will be served): District 4K Calendar
SEL At-Home Feel Good Plan
We all experience tough times and strong feelings. Like experts say, if we want to tame our strong feelings, we first need to name them. After identifying how our stress tends to show up, we can make a plan for practicing healthy ways to cope. Learning to identify and address stress is a powerful social-emotional skill that will serve students throughout their lives.
The At-Home Feel Good Plan, a resource from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, helps kids and teens reflect on how stress shows up in their lives, what they can do to feel more grounded, and who can support them in the process. #WholeChild
Band & Strings Veterans Day Recording
Last Friday's Veterans Band/Strings recording has been rescheduled to this Friday, November 6th. Band will rehearse/perform from 8:30-10:00am and Strings will rehearse/perform 10:30-12:00pm. Students should arrive in Concert Black and wear masks. If students arrive to school prior to 8:00am, please come through the front doors.
Students coming after 8:00am should use the back bus loop and come through the gym doors. Students should be picked up promptly in the back bus loop. If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Ledford or Mrs. Martin. Thank you for your understanding, support, and flexibility!
CogAT/IOWA Testing
GCS virtual students should arrive by 8:00am on the days of testing. It is important that they arrive on time so testing can begin on time. Please contact your child's teacher or Mrs. Harris with any questions.
Vote for Sterling School! Keep Us in First!
In February, our PTA applied for a grant with the Kiwanis Eastside Greenville and it was postponed due to Covid. Voting just opened for the grant and we have until November 20th to vote! Our grant application is titled Color Spreads Joy and what a fitting time to spread JOY!
Color has the potential to share so much joy, creative expression, and life to our entire school. We hope to gain funds so we can paint colorful murals in several locations around our school's campus. One part of the project directly affects student safety in carlines. The other focuses on enhancing several hallways to bring joy to the hundreds of students and teachers that pass it daily.
Go to this site to vote:
https://kiwaniseastside.org/schoolvote/
Here, you will be prompted for an email address. Please return to the site often for another chance to vote!
Election Day is Tuesday! #VOTE
First, we encourage you to vote. In addition to the significant national and state races, there are several candidates who are running for a position on our district's school board. The elected officials who serve on our district's board play a significant role in the education our students are provided. You can read about each candidate in Public Education Partner's GCS Board of Trustees Candidate Questionnaire (CLICK HERE!).
Second, you are encouraged, if possible, to take your student with you to the polls. As American citizens, it is important for our children to see us engage in the democratic process they will one day have the opportunity to participate. As always, thank you, Sterling School parents, for your continuous support of our school and public education!
Opt-Out, Online Enrollments in Backpack for GCS Virtual Students
Although our GCS Virtual Program is full-year commitment, “Parents whose children are enrolled in the virtual program may request for students to return to face-to-face school at the end of the semester. Requests will be granted based on space availability in brick and mortar schools.”
Our primary goal is to return our traditional (non-virtual) students to full-time, in-person instruction as soon as it is safe to do so. We are now in the process of phasing some of the current brick and mortar students back to full-time, from 2 days to 5 days per week. The physical space of each classroom limits the number of students who can attend while meeting DHEC guidelines.
Because of space limitations, there are no seats open for virtual students to return to brick and mortar schools at this time. However, we would still like to know if you are interested in a return next semester.
We are asking all Virtual Program parents to login to GCS Parent Backpack between October 13-November 30th, 2020 (extended from the previous October 31st date).
- Login to the Parent Backpack (https://parents.gcsbackpack.com/signin.aspx).
- Select Programs from the bar on the left.
- Select, Apply to a Program/School.
- Click on Full-Time Virtual Program, and select one of the two answers.
- You must apply separately for each child. If you do not complete the process by November 30th, we will assume that you wish to remain in the program.
Select one of the following preferences:
- REMAIN - My child will remain in the GCS Virtual Program for the remainder of the school year.
- RETURN - I would like my child to be considered for return to his/her assigned school building for the second semester, if space becomes available. I understand that there are no seats open for students to return to brick and mortar at this time.
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If you have not registered for Parent BackPack, please click here for directions (https://youtu.be/0XLF3QBeGk0).
Veterans Day 2020
On Wednesday, November 11th, the Sterling School will honor those who have fought for the many freedoms we, as American citizens, have today. While we are unable to hold our usual in-person program, we are working to create a virtual program to share with our students, families, and school community.
- To honor and recognize a member of your family or special friend, we ask that you complete the following Google Form by Friday, November 6th: CLICK HERE! To bring greater awareness of this day for our students, you are encouraged to email a picture of your family member or friend (preferably in uniform) to Dr. Patterson. Be sure to include the name of the veteran and the relationship to our Sterling/CTC student, as well as the name of the military branch in which he or she served. (These questions will also be asked of you when accessing the aforementioned Google Form.)
- We invite all students to wear red, white, and blue on Wednesday, Nov. 11th.
As always, we look forward to this exciting day, as we pay tribute to those who have served our country. Thank you, in advance, for your willingness to support our school in honoring our veterans!
ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
Check Out the Latest Edition of the CTC Student Newspaper
Extra, Extra, Read All About It! The FOURTH edition of the CTC Student Newspaper, our school's student newspaper, is out! (CLICK HERE!)
A student newspaper teaches and reinforces a lot of skills that will benefit students today and tomorrow. Students who participate in a student newspaper learn a lot of workplace skills such as management, meeting deadlines, and communicating with others. School newspapers also enforce a need for teamwork.
Thank you, in advance, for supporting our students by taking a few minutes to read and admire their work! #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
District Magnet Academies
Save the Date: The Gifted Guru
On Tuesday, January 26, 2021 at 7:00pm, we invite all Sterling School/CTC families to a special virtual workshop with Lisa Van Gemert. Lisa, "The Gifted Guru" is an educator, speaker, author, and mom. She is also the author of the book Perfectionism: A Practical Guide to Managing “Never Good Enough.
More information, including registration, will come in the coming weeks.
Students/COVID Steps to Return to School
We encourage all families to become aware of the steps they should take in the event of COVID-19 concerns. These concerns include COVID-19 symptoms, exposure (within six feet of a positive case for more than 15 minutes), positive test, etc. The following graphic should help provide possible next steps. To be safe, we ask families to notify Dr. Patterson anytime there is a concern related to COVID-19 so we can provide guidance based on DHEC regulations. Keep students at home if they present with any of the following symptoms:
- cough or shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing;
- fever (of 100.4 or higher) or chills;
- muscle or body aches;
- vomiting or diarrhea; or,
- new loss of taste or smell.
We also ask families who have traveled internationally to follow all quarantine directives they receive when re-entering the country. Anyone who has been directed to quarantine when re-entering the country should not attend school for the period of the quarantine – usually 14 days. Additionally, we encourage you to test your knowledge by taking the following quiz (no worries, it's annoymous) to help your understanding around school exclusions, quarantines, isolation, etc.
COVID Exclusions and Notifications Quiz: CLICK HERE!
GCS will follow DHEC guidelines regarding the notification of families when COVID-19 cases are present in schools. Under current guidelines, anytime a student or staff member in any GCS school receives a positive test for COVID-19, a notice will be placed on the GCS website, alerting the school and community. Additionally, parents will receive a personal phone call if the positive case was in their child’s classroom or part of another school group to which their child is connected. Please note the importance of social distancing.
Per DHEC regulations, any staff or student identified as having spent 15 minutes or more within six feet of a positive case are considered close contacts and will be excluded from school for a minimum of 14 days. Absences due to documented COVID-19 infection will be an excused absence and will not count against a student’s required seat time/attendance. Students and staff who were not close contacts will be allowed to remain at school. We will be sure and let you know if these notification requirements change. Additional information is available on the GCS Parent Resource webpage.
Thank you for all your support in helping us keep our faculty, staff, students, and families safe!
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