Comet Connection

Greetings,

September promises to be an exciting month! I am glad that you will be sharing it with us! I hope you can attend our Title I Annual Parent Meeting, Skate Night, and our Play 2 Learn or Little Learners Academy for our upcoming Kindergarten students. These fun things and more can be found in this newsletter, on Parent Square, on our social media pages, school calendar, school website, or in your child's Friday Folder.

Speaking of attendance, I want to stress the importance of having good school attendance! Missing a school day here and there may seem small at the moment, but those absences do add up. If a child misses two days of school a month, they will miss a month of school in a school year. That time adds up to 30 hours of math and 60 hours of reading and writing instruction. Over the course of a child's school career, that equals a year of school, which is a lot of missed instruction.

We want students at school every day! To help you with this effort, starting in September, you will receive an attendance notification from GCPS through ParentSquare during the day if your child is absent from school. If your child is absent, please send in a note (doctor, dental, etc.) with your child or use the electronic form found on the homepage of our school website (also in this newsletter below) to explain the reason for this absence. You will have ten days after the absence to complete this process. Students can have a total of ten parent-excused absences yearly. If you have any questions about our attendance policy, please get in touch with your child's grade-level AP or counselor.

Again, I am so glad your child attends Britt Elementary!

Let's go Comets! Let's soar and shine! 🚀⭐

Warmest regards,

Melissa Madsen

Student Arrival 8:20-8:50 and Dismissal 3:20-3:45

School Hours: 8:50 a.m. - 3:20 p.m.

Office Hours: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

Arrival is from 8:20 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. The tardy bell rings at 8:50 a.m. Parents must come inside to check in their student(s) after this time. Dismissal begins at 3:20 p.m. Car rider dismissal ends at 3:45 p.m. After this time, you must come inside for student pickup.

Early Checkouts are allowed until 3 pm. After that time, check outs will be delayed until dismissal is completed.

Will your scholar be absent from school? Has he or she already been absent? No worries! Use this QR code, click on this link, or click on the blue link above to access and complete an Excused Absence Form for your little one.

• September 4 - Labor Day (NO SCHOOL FOR GCPS STUDENTS & STAFF)
• September 7 & 8 - Grandparents Day Luncheons
• September 8 - Progress Report #1 (Sent Home Digitally; Available in ParentVue for Parents/Guardians)
• September 8 - Britt School Council Election Day (Electronic Ballots)
• September 5 - 13 - Britt Elementary Running Club Registration Week (4th and 5th Grades ONLY!; See below for more information)
• September 11-15 - South Gwinnett High School's Homecoming Week (Spirit Week for Britt Elementary School)
• September 12 - Annual Title 1 Parent Meeting at 6:30 PM in Britt Cafeteria
• September 15 - GCPS Digital Learning Day #1
• September 19 - Skate Night at Sparkles Grayson Hwy from 5:00 PM-8:00 PM
• September 22 - Fall Picture Day
• September 29 - PBIS CELEBRATION #2 (Movie Day!)

SEE THE NEXT SECTION FOR YOUR CHILD'S LUNCH TIME

Come eat with your Comet for lunch!

Adult lunch is $4.00.

🍽️

We kindly ask that no fast food be brought to lunch. Thank you!

Britt Elementary is proud to partner with the Atlanta Track Club’s Kilometer Kids program once again this fall. This program is a free, 10-week, game-based running program for kids that teaches them about goal setting, healthy habits, respect, and community building, all through exposing them to the sport of running. As a non-competitive program, being a Kilometer Kid is not about running the fastest or winning the race. Instead, it’s all about working hard, being kind, and having fun while becoming more physically active, being a part of a team, and finding joy in the process!

There is no fee to participate, and the program is available to only 4th and 5th-grade students regardless of running ability or experience. Registration must be completed by September 13th. Please note that space is limited to the first 30 participants registered in the online system, and all participants must register online and with the paper form to receive incentives and to participate.

We hope to have your scholar run for Britt this year! Please reach out to Coach Robertson at 770-972-4500 or by email at Shannon.Robertson@gcpsk12.org if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you and let's go Comets!

In order to participate in this year's Running Club, you must complete the following registration steps below for your child:

1. Go to http://bit.ly/3Pa6Brm or scan the QR code above to access the online registration form.

2. Follow the prompts to complete the online registration for your child.

3. Download and send in with your child to school the completed paper registration form to Coach Robertson. The form is attached below in a PDF format.

SOUTH GWINNETT

Homecoming Parade

Sept. 14th @ 4:30 PM

Homecoming Game

Sept. 15th @ 7:30 PM

Early childhood experiences are so important to lifelong learning. If you have a child between the ages of one month and five years old and are looking for ways to encourage him/her to play, learn, and grow, consider joining our FREE Play 2 Learn and Little Learners Academy programs here at Britt Elementary for the 2023-2024 school year. For more information, please contact Dr. Luann Hammami at (770) 972-4500, visit the school, email Luann.Hammami@gcpsk12.org, or click the links below for more details and resources.

GCPS is partnering with the Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE) to administer the Educational Effectiveness Survey (EES) Student Wellness Screener for students in grades 3 through 12.

The screener will provide our school and district staff with valuable data about the academic, social, and emotional needs of students. The results will be used to identify students needing additional support in the areas of Academic Behaviors, Social Behaviors, and Emotional Behaviors. The 22-item screener should take students less than 10 minutes to complete.

The Wellness Screener will be available to Gwinnett County Public Schools students from September 5 through September 15, 2023; students will complete the screener at school.

As part of our process, school district leaders want to make parents and caregivers aware of this screener, familiarize them with the questions students will be asked, and offer the opportunity for them to opt their child out of taking the screener.

Please click the links below for more information about this effort.

Parents and guardians, during the month of September, you can now log into your ParentVue account and view your scholar's Beginning of the Year iReady Diagnostic Results in both Reading and Math. Please take a moment to look over these results with your scholars, as they can help provide valuable discussions and insight into the academic successes we want our Comets to continue to achieve!

We are already tapping into creativity and learning skills in art class!

Kindergarten and 1st-grade students are learning how to draw using shapes! Second and third-grade students are learning to construct a simple artwork with moving wheels! Fourth and Fifth graders are learning about symmetry and creating some amazing bugs, creatures, or aliens!

Wouldn’t it be great to see this artwork up around the school?

If you would like to volunteer to hang art up around the school, please contact me at pilar.hernandez@gcpsk12.org at any time during the school day.

I am also asking for the following donations:

• Bulky Yarn (#6 super bulky)
• Baby Food Jars With Lids
• Large Size Muffin Pans
• Brown Paper Grocery Bags
• Baby Wipes

If you are able to donate any of these, just bring them to the front of the school and leave them with our wonderful receptionist, or send them with your child.

Thank you for all you do to support the art classes at Britt Elementary.

-Ms. Pilar Hernandez (Art Teacher)

All Snacks Must Be Paid For Through Your Child's My Payment Plus Account. No Cash Will Be Taken At School For Snacks!

About ParentSquare

ParentSquare is a unified communication platform that offers a whole host of tools that allows district leaders, school administrators, and teachers to communicate and engage with families and students more effectively.

Some features include:

• Mass Notifications and Urgent Alerts with two-way communication
• Mobile application for administrators and parents (iOS and Android)
• Attendance notifications (district-managed)
• Teacher and classroom communication
• Direct Messaging with two-way translation
• Social Media (Facebook and Twitter) and website share
• StudentSquare (high school students)
• And so much more!

👉 GCPS Job Opportunities Are Waiting Just For You! 👈

Principal: Mrs. Melissa Madsen

Website: https://www.gcpsk12.org/BrittES
Location: 2503 Skyland Drive Southwest, Snellville, GA, USA
Phone: 770-972-4500
Facebook: facebook.com/brittelementary

Instagram: @britt_elementary
Twitter: @twitter_Brittelementary