Knightly News
Friday, August 19, 2022
Every Student, Every Day, Deserves to Learn, Lead, & Excel!
Message from Ms. Perkins ~ Simonton ES Principal
We invite all parents to attend curriculum night next week. On Tuesday, August 23, 2022, we will welcome parents with students in Pre-K through 2nd grade. Parents with students in grades 3-5 are invited to visit teachers on Thursday, August 25, 2022. Curriculum night will begin at 5:30 pm for both grade levels.
Next week we will kick off our Book Blast fundraiser. This is sponsored by our media center. Students have an exciting opportunity to earn free books! Be on the lookout for a treasure map with more details. Thank you for encouraging your students to participate.
Have a safe and awesome weekend!
Simonton ES Local School Council
We invite parents to join us for our Simonton ES Local School Council meeting. Local School Council meetings will be held four times during the school year. Meetings will take place in person at the local school.
The purpose of the Council is three-fold:
I. To help the local board of education develop and nurture participation.
II. To bring parents and the community together with teachers and school administrators to create a better understanding of and mutual respect for each other's concerns.
III. To share ideas for school improvement.
Meeting Dates: September 2, 2022, December 2, 2022, March 3, 2023 and May 5, 2023
Meeting Time: 9:00 am
Location: Simonton ES
Our first meeting will take place on Friday, September 2, 2022 at 9:00 am.
Draft Agenda Items
Welcome/Introductions
Local School Council orientation
Election of Officers
- Early Intervention Program
- Simonton ES Strategic Goals
- Simonton ES Student Enrollment
- GCPS Blue Print
- Simonton ES Safety Plan
- Simonton ES Discipline Report
If you are interested in attending the Simonton ES Local School Council meetings please click on the link below.
Upcoming Event Dates
Monday, August 22
- Book Blast Kick-off
Tuesday, August 23
- ESOL Student Parent Meeting ~ 5:00 pm
- Curriculum Night (Pre-K - 2nd Grade) ~ 5:30-7:00 pm
Thursday, August 25
- Gifted Student Parent Meeting ~ 5:00 pm
- Curriculum Night (3rd - 5th Grade) ~ 5:30-7:00 pm
Friday, August 26
- PTA Movie & Snacks Membership Drive for any 3-5 students whose parents joined PTA this year
Thursday, September 1
- 5th Grade Pajama Day Fundraiser ($1.00)
Simonton ES Student/Parent Handbook Reminder ~ Changes in School Records
In order to keep our records current, please notify the school registrar, in the office, immediately of a change in any of the following: address, home/business phone number of each parent and person to call in an emergency or when the parent cannot be reached.
PTA Movie and Snack Event!
Book Blast Fundraiser
Our voyage starts next week when we’ll cast off in search of Book Blast treasure. Once you receive your Treasure Map next week, the treasure hunt begins! Be sure to complete it for a chance to win one of 4 Treasure Chests stuffed with cash and even an Apple iPad! But even better, you’ll be starting the journey to earning all 10 books on the Treasure Map book list. Heave ho, let’s go readers!
Possible books that you can earn:
GCPS Device 1:1 Initiative
Per the Handbook Information for Students and Families, if a GCPS technology resource is assigned to a student and taken home, it is the parent's responsibility to monitor the use of the device to ensure the student is following the Student Conduct Behavior Code and to ensure that the device is returned in the condition in which it was received. When using GCPS technology or network access, students are expected to follow the Student Conduct Behavior Code, including respecting others' privacy. Online student accounts to be used for legitimate educational purposes will be subject to monitoring and review, including review of text and attachments that are related to that student or students. At NO TIME should a student consider GCPS email, networked applications, or account or technology access private or confidential in any way.
While the school district does maintain Internet filters, there may be times when a student may accidentally or purposefully discover inappropriate materials online. Gwinnett County Public Schools DOES NOT CONDONE the use of such materials. Inappropriate use of any GCPS technology resource or network access is a violation of the Student Conduct Behavior Code.
- K-2 student devices will be kept at school and sent home on Digital Learning Days.
- Students in grades 3-5 will have the ability to take their devices home each day.
- Students are to care for devices and return them to school each day.
- Students will need devices to complete assessments and assignments in school.
- Students will need the devices to participate in small group instruction.
- Devices are to be kept in a protective sleeve as they are carried between home and school each day.
- A limited number of devices are available in the school. Your student may not have access to instruction or assessments if they leave their device at home.
PTA Movie and Snack Event!
Chromebooks Issued to Students Who are Transferring
As a reminder, any student transferring schools or withdrawing should return all items issued to the school they are leaving upon withdrawal. Any student transferring should return their GCPS issued technology. Once enrolled at a new GCPS school, the student should be issued a GCPS Chromebook and associated technology by the new school.
Title IX Notice
If you believe you are being mistreated by school employees on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin or handicap, please contact Joe Sanfalippo (Title IX Coordinator for Simonton ES) or Amy Steinberg (Title IX Investigator for Simonton ES) and inform them that you have a complaint about the manner in which you or your child were treated and why.
GEMS Oversight Committee Applications
Gwinnett County Public Schools is inviting parents and guardians, community members, and school district employees to apply for the GEMS Oversight Committee, a group of community and school system representatives charged with the annual review of the Academic Knowledge and Skills (AKS) curriculum standards. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 1, 2022. After the review, the committee recommends revisions and additions to the Superintendent for adoption by the Gwinnett County Board of Education. Committee members serve three-year terms.
ATTENTION 4TH AND 5TH GRADERS WHO LOVE LEGO AND ROBOTS!
It is time to apply for our First LEGO League Challenge competition team! Students who are chosen for this team learn how to research real-world problems and design solutions. They use teamwork to build and code robots that complete missions and solve problems. Only 10 students can be chosen for this team, so make sure you do your best work on the application! Applications are due Monday, August 22nd and students will be notified by Wednesday, August 24th. Our first meeting will be on Friday, August 26th from 7:00am - 8:00am. The family of each student is asked to contribute $20.00 to cover the cost of a student shirt and supplies.
Simonton Spirit Wear
2022-2023 School Supply List
Clinic Card
Simonton ES Afternoon Transportation Form
*This form should be used each time a student has a change in transportation.
MyPaymentsPlus
We encourage all families to create a MPP account. No purchase is necessary to have a MPP account. You will be able to read and digitally sign documents and/or make necessary payments. It is a great way for you to manage and keep track of all of your student payments and forms in one place throughout the school year.
MyPaymentsPlus is linked directly to your school’s student information system (SIS), enabling us to show real-time balances and invoices, and eliminating the need to call or visit your school in search of information.
Whether you’re viewing what your 2nd grader ate for lunch, renting a locker for your middle schooler, or purchasing a parking permit for that new driver in your family, MyPaymentsPlus ensures you never miss a beat, from Pre-K to graduation day.
Simply create a free MyPaymentsPlus account to get started today: https://www.mypaymentsplus.com/welcome
Free and Reduced Lunch Application
The application for free and reduced lunch is now available. There will be no waiver in place to offer free lunch for all students. Please complete the application if you feel this is a service your family will need. All students who have not been approved for free or reduced lunch service will be charged the full price each day.
Free and Reduced Lunch Application
https://www.nlappscloud.com/Welcome.aspx?api=78f8fee54716f21218e523747d37a13c
Frequently Asked Questions about free and reduced lunch
Parent Portal
SES Handbook Highlights ~ Check in/out procedures
Students are checked in and out through the school office ONLY. Students arriving after 8:15 am are considered tardy and must be accompanied by an adult into the office to check in. Children will not be released from school at any unscheduled time without written explanation from parents and a signed “release register” on file in the office. For security reasons, anyone checking out a student must show a picture ID (i.e. Driver’s License) prior to having a child released. CHILDREN ARE RELEASED ONLY TO PERSONS DESIGNATED BY PARENTS ON THE EMERGENCY CONTACT LIST. This is a safeguard for all children. Early checkouts should be reserved for special circumstances and not used on a regular basis. There will be no student check outs after 2:15 p.m. In order to provide a safe and timely dismissal for all students. Telephone, fax notes through Class Dojo or email requests for check-outs will not be honored.
SchoolMessenger
In addition to verifying that your cell phone number is accurate in the system, you also will need to subscribe to the text message service if you wish to receive emergency texts from the school system. You can do so by texting the word “SUBSCRIBE” to the number 67587. You will receive an immediate response by text. If you do not, please contact your wireless provider, as some providers do not accept texts that use short code (SMS) messages. (Note: If you subscribed to receive text messages last year, there is no need to resubscribe unless your number changed.)
SchoolMessenger messages from Gwinnett County Public Schools will come from the number 1-844-248-6644. Please add this phone number to your contacts so you can easily identify the call as coming from Gwinnett County Public Schools. If you miss a phone message, you can call this number back to retrieve and replay phone notifications.
Please note that an individual can opt out of receiving SchoolMessenger messages at any time. Press “5” on your phone while listening to a phone message broadcast through SchoolMessenger to initiate the opt-out process. Parents also can go to go.schoolmessenger.com, logging in with the email address they provided to the school, and select “Preferences” to make changes regarding the various types of messages that may be sent.
Simonton ES PTA
*Movie and snack celebration (Parents must be members)
*Fall Festival
*Halloween Hair Day
*Winter Holiday Shop
*Sprit nights
Print the attached membership form and return it to the Simonton ES PTA. Sign up for a membership and volunteer to support an event! Contact the Simonton ES PTA at Simontonespta@gmail.com for more information.
GCPS Blueprint for the Future
Blueprint for the Future: Building the Bridge from Empathy to Excellence is our district plan, outlining the transformational work of Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) over the next five years.
Open the attached document to read more.
SIMONTON ELEMENTARY- 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's Assistant Principals
Mr. Nicholas Gilmore
Assistant Principal ~ 2nd Grade, 5th Grade, ESOL, Gifted and Testing
Dr. Joe Sanfilippo
Mrs. Amy Steinberg
Assistant Principal ~ 1st Grade, 4th Grade, Title I, EIP and Title IX Investigator
Simonton Elementary School
Deputy Superintendent ~ Dr. T. Nakia Towns
Board Member ~ Mr. Steven B. Knudsen
Principal ~ Ms. Tamara G. Perkins
Assistant Principal ~ Mr. Nicholas Gilmore
Assistant Principal ~ Dr. Joe Sanfilippo
Assistant Principal ~ Mrs. Amy Steinberg
Website: https://www.gcpsk12.org/SimontonES
Location: 275 Simonton Road Southeast, Lawrenceville, GA, USA
Phone: 770-513-6637
Twitter: @SimontonPride