Knightly News
Friday, August 5, 2022
Our Parent Newsletter for 2022-2023
Message from Ms. Perkins ~ Simonton ES Principal
Happy Friday everyone! We have finished our first 3 days of school. It has been a great start to the new school year. For our families that are new to Simonton ES, we welcome you. Each Friday a parent newsletter will be sent out. It will feature news from the school and the district. We also have a new name for our newsletter. Look out for the Knightly News each week.
It will be another hot week next week. Be sure to send water bottles with your students to school. There are water fountains and a water bottle filling station for them to use. It is very important that we all stay hydrated throughout the day.
Mark your calendars for Simonton ES Curriculum nights. Our first curriculum night will be held on Tuesday, August 23, 2022, from 5:30 - 7:00 pm for families with students in grades Pre-K - 2nd grade. Curriculum night for families with students in grades 3-5 will take place on Thursday, August 25, 2022, from 5:30 - 7:00 pm. This will be a great opportunity for you to get to know your child's teacher better and to learn about the classroom routines and curriculum.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Welcome Back to School Simonton Black Knights!!
Thank you parents for coming out during Open House!
2nd- 5th grade Parents...
If your child received a Chromebook and participated in digital learning for our staggered start this year, please remind them to bring both the Chromebook and the charger back to school on Monday, August 8, 2022.
A member of the tech team will be collecting these and placing them in a charging cart so they can be used in the classrooms.
Upcoming Event Dates
Friday, August 19
- PTA Movie & Snacks Membership Drive for any K-2 students whose parents joined PTA this year
Monday, August 22
- Book Blast Kick-off
Tuesday, August 23
- Curriculum Night (Pre-K - 2nd Grade) ~ 5:30-7:00 pm
Thursday, August 25
- 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
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. Those interested in serving should complete the online application no later than Aug. 12.
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
School Nutrition
In all, 135 school cafeterias will offer breakfast and lunch daily. Students and parents can check out menus using an app—search for “NutriSlice” on Google Play or the App Store—or they can find menus online at www.gwinnett.nutrislice.com.
Breakfast
- Title 1 schools – all students will receive breakfast at no charge
- Non-Title 1 schools – Free and Reduced-Price students will receive breakfast at no charge. Students with Full Pay eligibility will be charged $1.50
Lunch
- All students will be charged for lunch based on their current eligibility status (Free, Reduced, Full Pay)
- There have been no changes to meal prices. Meal Prices for lunch are as follows: Reduced - $.40 cents; ES Lunch - $2.25; MS/HS Lunch - $2.50
Change in lunch choices
Children are now allowed to have 2 fruits at lunch. With this being said, only half of that fruit can be a juice type [i.e. veggie juice, frozen fruit cups, gel fruit]. As always, students do not have to get milk if they do not want it.
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
Simonton Spirit Wear
All orders are due Friday, September 2, 2022
Parent Portal
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!
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.
Department of Community Services Special Events
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 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