The Parsons Happenings
September 3, 2021
In this edition...
Happy Labor Day - No School on Monday, September 6th
GCPS School's New Visitor Management System
Digital Learning Day - September 14th
Need help accessing your teacher's eCLASS page and assignments for Digital Learning?
Headphones for Computers
Important Safety Information for our Car Riders
Afternoon Transportation
Student Check Out
Georgia Milestone Testing Results
Update: Visitors During Lunch
Schoolwide Reading Program
GCPS 2021-2022 Approved Calendar
Masks are Required
GCPS is Hiring Bus Drivers
Parsons on Social Media
Calendar of Events
PTA Happenings
Business Partners
Parsons staff wishes a safe and happy Labor Day to all, and recognizes those who spend their days working to make America, and the world, a better place. School will be closed on Monday, September 6th, in observation of Labor Day.
GCPS Schools' New Visitor Management System
Gwinnett County Public Schools’ visitor management process will be strengthened this year as the district rolls out a new tool to promote safety in our schools. The visitor management system is used to verify the identity of a visitor, keep track of check-in and check-out times, and print custom visitor badges. This year, GCPS schools will begin using a new tool called Raptor that enables each school building to screen all visitors against the National Sex Offender Registry and establishes a consistent sign-in process across the district. The goal is to enhance the safety and security of both students and staff by preventing access by those who pose a potential threat. We will begin using the Raptor system on Tuesday, September 7, 2021 at Parsons.
Please click on the link below for more information about the Raptor Visitor Management System and how it will be used. https://www.gcpsk12.org/Page/30476
As seen below, identification will be scanned using the Raptor System.
Digital Learning Day on September 14th
As a reminder, GCPS will hold its first Digital Learning Day (DLD) on Sept. 14th. GCPS has a total of six DLDs in the 2021-22 calendar: Sept. 14, Oct. 20, Nov. 9, Jan. 25, March 2, and March 22. Lunches will be distributed by bus routes on all digital learning days. Parents may also choose to pick up their child's lunch in curbside pick up at the front of the school between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM.
Students will log on to their teacher's eClass page for asynchronous lessons. If your child does not have access to a device or needs a hotspot to participate digitally on September 14th, please complete the form attached by September 10th. Mr. Berry, our local school TST, will notify parents via email when their device or hotspot is ready for pick up.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdVoG2Hs1TOT_HQQihKHyi6Jk9EBTeA4teL-EhY9vmdfy-MQA/viewform?usp=sf_link
Need help accessing your teacher's eCLASS page and assignments for Digital Learning?
Watch the video below for more information.
Headphones for computers
Please make sure that your child has headphones. Many of the programs that students use at school require headphones to hear the audio. You may send in your own wired headphones from home or you may purchase them on
MyPaymentsPlus. If you purchase your own headphones and send them in, please label them with your child's first and last name. Thank you for helping our teachers by making sure that your child has a pair of headphones for the computer.
Important Safety Information for our Car Riders
Afternoon Transportation
All transportation changes must be made in writing. Whenever you need to make a change to your child's afternoon transportation plan, please complete an Afternoon Transportation Change Form in the front office no later than 12:00 PM the day of the change. We will utilize this form to create the appropriate afternoon transportation pass. Please remember the GCPS Bus Rule: no passes will be issued for play dates, birthdays, weekend sleepovers, etc. For security reasons, we DO NOT accept transportation changes through phone calls or emails.
Student Check Out
Anyone checking out a child must present photo identification and be listed in our system as someone able to have access to the student. If you need to make changes to your list of approved emergency contacts, you may make changes on the Parent Portal or stop by the office to update this information.
As a reminder, students may NOT be checked out after 3:00 PM. For assistance in updating contact information on the parent portal, please visit
https://www.gcpsk12.org/Page/11430.
Georgia Milestones testing results
Parents of 4th and 5th grade students:
If your child took the Georgia Milestones last year, you may now view the Individual Student Report through your GCPS ParentVUE under the "Documents" tab. Your child's results are listed as "A-Milestones - EOG - Spring 2021 PDF".
Update: Suspending Visitors During Lunch
Due to the recent rise in Covid cases across our state and the role we play to minimize the risk of spread in our school, we will no longer allow visitors for lunch. It is our hope the numbers will decrease and we will be able to open our cafeteria for visitors in the near future. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to ensure our students' safety.
Schoolwide Reading Program
We are so excited that our Schoolwide Reading Program began on September 1st and will continue through March 31st. Please see the attached parent letter for more details. Your student can also visit the Parsons ES Media Center eCLASS page for a how-to video. Students will access Biblionasium through their student portal via the Media Catalog. We hope all our students will participate, complete the program, and receive the reading reward in May!
Reading is COOL! Mrs. Britt and Mrs. Ripley, from the Media Center, had a Kona Ice Party this week for all of our students to kick off the Schoolwide Reading Program. We enjoyed an icy treat and had a blast! We hope you will all participate this year by reading and logging your minutes in Biblionasium, because it’s Cool to Read! Let's go, Parsons!
GCPS 2021-22 Approved Calendar
Follow Parsons Elementary on Facebook and Instagram!
Monday, September 6, 2021
- Systemwide Holiday ~ Labor Day
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
- 3:30 pm ~ Korean Language/Homework Help After School Club (Registration required)
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
- International Literacy Day
Thursday, September 9, 2021
- Tzom Gedaliah (Jewish)
- 10:00 am ~ Book Donation of the Asian American Action Fund
- 3:30 pm ~ Korean Language/Homework Help After School Club (Registration required)
Friday, September 10, 2021
PTA Happenings
PTA kicked off our Annual Fundraiser this week! This is a check writing campaign to fund so many great free programs for ALL children at Parsons. Please donate today on www.mypaymentsplus.com or look for donation envelopes in your student's backpack. Send any questions or comments to ParsonsesPTA@gmail.com.
Proud Principal Laura Clark
