Simonton Parent Newsletter
Friday, January 14, 2022
Every Student, Every Day, Deserves to Learn, Lead, & Excel!
Message from Ms. Perkins
Monday, January 17, 2022 all schools will be closed to celebrate and remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We can't wait to welcome everyone back on Tuesday, January 18, 2022.
The weather is expected to be very cold and wet next week. Stay tuned to the local news if there is a delay or no school. In case of an inclement weather day, families will be notified via SchoolMessenger (text, email, phone) and it will be advertised on the GCPS website.
Stay warm and enjoy your weekend!
MLK, Jr. Day
Please enjoy this day with your loved ones! We will see students again on Tuesday, January 18th.
Ms. Pace's Class
4th Graders
Return to School Video from GCPS:
Student Devices:
Students who have been assigned devices for Digital Learning Days began bringing them home daily starting last Friday. These devices have been checked out to your student and are expected to be returned each day. This will allow your child to use their device at school and be prepared for any possible digital work at home. It is important that devices are taken care of and returned (with chargers, hotspots) every day.
As a reminder, upon check out of these devices, you signed an agreement to be responsible for lost or damaged devices. If your child no longer needs a school device, please let us know and we will not send it home. If you are new to Simonton ES and your child will be in need of a device visit the Simonton ES website and complete the Technology Access Survey.
Safety Measures:
Many safety precautions are in place to keep our school community safe. Students, staff, and visitors are doing a great job in coming to school wearing masks each day. In addition to wearing masks, the staff provides scheduled breaks during the day to allow students to wash their hands. Hand sanitizer and other resources to disinfect and sanitize high-touch surfaces are used to keep our students, staff, and visitors safe. Due to the rising number of positive cases in the community, we are temporarily limiting visitors into the school building for lunches, volunteering, meetings, etc. Communication will be shared once we are able to invite visitors back into the school building.
Congratulations to our PBIS Classes of the Month!!
These classes earned the most GOLD classroom shields for the months of November and December.
Kindergarten- Pace
1st Grade- Monroe
2nd Grade- Williams
3rd Grade- Taylor
4th Grade- Law
5th Grade- Colclough
Multilevel- Hicks
Our Character Word for the month of January:
SES Honor Ceremony
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Student Council
AKS at Home
The third round of live virtual AKS at Home K-5 sessions are scheduled for January 25, 2022 - February 3, 2022, to support learning in the 3rd nine weeks of the year.
AKS at Home provides math and language arts resources to support families of children in grades K-5. Through live grade-specific Zoom sessions and helpful tip sheets, families of students in grades K-5 can learn ways to help their children practice key foundational skills they are learning in language arts and math.
Who: Parents of all elementary school students
What: Live Zoom sessions and Tip Sheets to support student mastery of AKS foundational skills in Language Arts and Math.
Where: AKS at Home webpage
When: Unit 3 Zoom sessions will be offered from January 25, 2022, to February 3, 2022, in English, Spanish, Korean, and Vietnamese.
Please see the attached flyers and advertisements for grade level dates and times.
How: Register for Zoom sessions on the AKS at Home webpage
5th Grade Science Project
5th Grade Science Project
5th Grade Science Project
Mystery Science Videos
Family Engagement eTips
The way you use praise can affect the way your child will face challenges in school and in life. Look for reasons to compliment your student often, but make sure that the praise is deserved. You can lose your child's trust by overpraising. When offering praise, be specific about what your child did right. "I'm proud that you stuck with that tough math problem," is better than "You're so smart." https://tpitip.com/?12aJ18608
Boost thinking skills by reading with your child
When families read together, students become better readers and thinkers. Choose books you and your child will enjoy (they can be a little harder than your student could read alone). Then take turns reading sentences or paragraphs. To encourage deeper thinking about the text, pause often to ask about the story, the setting and the pictures, and whether the book reminds your child of anything. https://tpitip.com/?12aK18608
Provide practice in personal choices
Your child wants to wear a certain type of shirt because "everyone" else is. That's peer influence at work. Later on, peer pressure can make children try riskier behaviors. To build resistance to negative peer pressure, let your student practice making choices, such as what to wear, or what extracurricular activity to participate in. Just make sure all the options you offer are acceptable. Experience boosts children's confidence in their ability to make good decisions for themselves. https://tpitip.com/?12aL18608
Strive for balance in your child's schedule
Children need a balanced mix of schoolwork, outside activities, family time and free time. Don't worry about trying to cram everything your child has missed during the pandemic into this year. Instead, let your student explore one or two activities in depth. Children also need free time to play, read and explore ideas on their own, and family time to build supportive relationships. https://tpitip.com/?12aM18608
Set the standard for respectful behavior
Self-control and respectful behavior among students make school a pleasant and productive learning environment. To teach these behaviors at home, work with your child to set clear rules and consequences. Talk together about school rules, too, and let your student know that you support them. Then set a good example: Make sure that your behavior matches the behavior you want to see from your child. https://tpitip.com/?12aN18608
Turn history facts and figures into a game
When your child has to memorize historical names, dates and events, make it fun by playing a round or two of History Concentration. On one index card, write a date or a person's name. On another, write the event or thing the person is famous for. Make several pairs of cards and lay them face down. Take turns with your child turning over cards to see who can find more matches. https://tpitip.com/?12aO18608
Inspire your child's inner motivation to learn
Students who are motivated only by rewards rarely do more than the minimum needed to get by. But children who are motivated by their own desire to learn are more likely to stick with a task, retain what they learn and earn higher grades. To inspire inner motivation, ask what your child wants to learn from a project. Point out progress, and ask your child to share new knowledge with you. https://tpitip.com/?12aP18608
Simonton Elementary School ~ What We Stand For
Vision
Simonton is committed to dynamic high quality instruction resulting in a passion for learning, leading and excelling.
Core Belief
Every Student Every Day, Deserves to Learn, Lead, and Excel
Commitments
We commit to giving our students a fresh start every day.
We commit to preparing quality and engaging lessons that will prepare our students to be successful in school.
We commit to teaching, modeling and holding our students accountable for appropriate school behavior.
We commit to providing our students with a structured and safe learning environment.
We commit to a great year of learning, leading, and excelling
Simonton Elementary
Superintendent- Dr. Calvin J. Watts
Assistant Superintendent- Dr. Terry Watlington
Board Member- Mr. Steven B. Knudsen
Principal- Tamara G. Perkins
Assistant Principal- Tifferney Dodd
Assistant Principal- Daphne Miles
Assistant Principal- Emily Young
Website: gcpsk12.org/SimontonES
Location: 275 Simonton Road Southeast, Lawrenceville, GA, USA
Phone: (770) 513-6637