Principal's Rams Gram
January 2023
Dear Pharr Elementary School Community,
Welcome to the start of an amazing year!!! We are excited to embrace a new year with a fresh start after enjoying the holiday break. The month of January provided our teaching staff with several opportunities to engage students in celebrating math literacy during the Title I Math Workshop and Math Night. We had a great time learning math concepts, strategies, and playing various math games. It was great to see parents and grandparents attending these events.
Thank you to an incredible staff for planning the 100th Day Parade for our students to develop multiple ways to add up the sum of 100. The creative minds were on display during the 100th Day Parade. Students demonstrate a variety of ways to show 100. They had a fabulous time expressing their learning throughout the parade.
We are looking forward to the continued success at Pharr and engaging our students in various learning activities. 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.
Have a pleasant day on Purpose.
Cheers,
Shamarlas G. Allens, Ed.D.
Selfies with Dr. Allens😁
Collaboration is Key!
Establishing Partnership with TCC Photography
Building Partnership COYAD to come to Pharr Elementary as an after-school program for next school year.
Let's Look Back at Our Month
Welcome to our Newest RAMS!
Teacher Planning/ Staff Development
Math Night📐
100th Day of School🥳
2nd Grade Field Trip🎭
Lawrenceville Arts Center
Classic fairytale turned modern musical, Goldilocks and The Three Bears teaches us to keep our hands off others belongings or there will be consequences to “bear.”
Atlanta Opera House
Vestibule Updates
Bookroom Transformation
Recognizing our Students and Staff
Birthday Recognition
Student Artwork
Play2Learn
STEM Instruction
We have the Best Students at Pharr!
📖Important Reminders/ Resources 📓
Families, we invite you to take the Educational Effectiveness Survey!
A key pillar of our Blueprint for the Future is Effectiveness. To ensure that what we are doing is working, GCPS is using The Educational Effectiveness Survey (EES) All staff, and students in grades 4-12, have already had an opportunity to participate. The survey will be available to families from February 28 - March 10, 2023. Links will be sent via email and available on the Parent Portal.
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.
What's all the "Buzz" about Security Vestibules?
Throughout the 2022-23 school year, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) has been hard-at-work installing a new layer of security at its schools. The new feature is called a vestibule: a small room between the outer door to the building and the entrance to the interior of the building. Since 2015, all new school construction has included security vestibules as part of initial school design and construction. The work underway now involves retrofitting the remaining schools without vestibules, beginning with elementary schools, and completing middle and high schools before the end of the calendar year 2023.
Security vestibules make schools safer by creating a secured double-entry system. Visitors must first get “buzzed in” to the vestibule through a pair of locked doors via the school’s Visitor Management System. They will remain in the vestibule until they are “buzzed in” through a second set of doors which lead to the lobby of the school. Once inside the school, all visitors must proceed to the designated sign-in area.
This enhanced security measure and additional check-point increases the safety of students and staff in our schools, lengthens the amount of time required to enter schools from the outside, and enhances our ability to have safe, secure, successful schools.
Are you Ready for Severe Weather?
Last week was "Severe Weather Preparedness" week in Georgia. This came about as a result of the severe weather that plagued the state in 2022. As a result, the state now encourages communities to educate themselves on how to stay safe during severe weather conditions like tornados, freezing temperatures, thunderstorms and flooding. We encourage all of our families to take time to make a safety plan together. To view how GCPS’ amazing transportation department handles various severe weather scenarios, click here.
Here are some quick links that can guide you as you create a Ready Kit and build a preparedness plan:
- Family Preparedness – Purchase a life-saving NOAA Weather Radio and choose an out-of-state friend as a “check-in” contact to call if your family gets separated.
- Thunderstorm Safety – Learn the difference between a thunderstorm watch and a thunderstorm warning.
- Tornado Safety – Determine in advance where you will take shelter in case of a tornado warning. For more information on tornado drill procedures, visit gema.georgia.gov/tornado-drill-procedures.
- Lightning Safety – Learn the 30/30 rule. If after seeing lightning, you cannot count to 30 before hearing thunder, go indoors. Stay indoors for 30 minutes after hearing the last clap of thunder.
- Flash Flooding/Flood Safety – Copy important documents, seal them in a watertight container and add them to your Ready kit.
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