Sawnee Elementary School News
November 2018
A Note from Dr. Nix
In connection with being a Leader in Me school, there have been a number of Win-Win happenings at Sawnee recently. Sawnee Elementary is celebrating being an elementary school for 50 years. Our theme for the year is Honoring the Past…Inspiring the Future! On the 50th day of school, the students participated in many activities around the number 50. Stay tuned for more information about a 50th year current and former parents, students, staff, and community members’ celebration event in the Spring.
Another Win-Win was our Text-n-Treat event. There was a tremendous turnout of students (many unrecognizable) and their parents. The teachers and staff’s hard work at deciding on a text theme for their team and on decorating for the event made this an absolutely fantastic event. Not only was this a win for the students and staff, but the money raised will go toward our fundraising efforts to benefit the American Cancer Society and cancer research to maybe someday find a cure for cancer. A total of $4,908.90 was raised.
The upcoming Veterans Day program on November 9th has always been a powerful tribute honoring relatives of students that are either actively serving or have served in the armed forces. This is just a small tribute but a wonderful lesson for our students.
Thank you to all parents that were able to participate in parent conferences! It truly takes a joint effort between school and home for the success of all our students.
Go Chiefs,
Dr. Nix
Dates to Know
November 1st - Book Fair (open 7:50am-3:00pm)
November 2nd - Book Fair last day (open 7:50am-12:00pm)
November 3rd - Girls on the Run 5K
November 5th - Sharpen the Saw clubs Session 2 begins; Sawnee Singers; Girls on the Run
November 6th - Sharpen the Saw clubs
November 7th - Battle of the Books, 7:30am; Girls on the Run
November 9th - Veterans' Day celebration (see article below for more information); Sharpen the Saw clubs meet
November 12th - Original Works art fundraiser begins; Sawnee Singers; Sharpen the Saw clubs; PTO General Meeting and Chief Leader recognition, 6:30pm Cafe 1
November 13th - Leader in Me Club; Sharpen the Saw clubs ; Impressions Gallery Night, 6:30pm Cafe 1
November 15th - Sharpen the Saw clubs
November 19th - 23rd - Thanksgiving break, NO SCHOOL
November 25th - Original Works art fundraiser deadline to place online orders
November 26th - Sawnee Singers; Sharpen the Saw clubs
November 27th - LSC meeting 3:30pm, Media Center 1; Leader in Me club; Sharpen the Saw clubs
November 29th - Sharpen the Saw clubs
December 3rd - Sawnee Singers; Sharpen the Saw clubs
December 4th - Sharpen the Saw clubs; Chorus fall concert, 6:30pm Cafe 1
December 6th - Sharpen the Saw clubs
Leader In Me
Sawnee Elementary is a Leader in Me school. This program is based on Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Habit 3: Put First Things First. This habit focuses on the idea that we must always do our work before we play! It also explains how important it is to follow directions or the order of how something needs to be done. We would love our students to practice this at home. Here is a list of ideas:
- Have your child make sure all homework is done before playing with friends.
- On the weekend, make a short list of chores for your child to do before they can play.
- Create a To Do list for your child or better yet, have them create their own list to check off items when they are finished.
- Have them help with a recipe in the kitchen.
- Work with your child to create a list of actions needed to be ready for school in the morning: clothes picked out, lunch made, snack packed, backpack packed, and homework done and returned to backpack.
- Have them help create a grocery list for the week and take them shopping so that they can help make sure everything is in the cart.
Veterans Day Celebration
Sawnee's annual Veterans Day Celebration will be Friday, November 9th in Cafe 1. The times are as follows:
KK and 1st celebration, 9:15am
2nd & 3rd celebration, 10:00am
Click the following link to RSVP if you or your veteran is attending: Veterans Day RSVP Link
- Students or families who wish to submit pictures of their veterans, please do so by November 5th to be included in the program.
- Students please wear RED, WHITE OR BLUE
Yearbook Ordering Information
ATTENTION PARENTS!
- This year, yearbooks may ONLY be ordered online.
- Go to the website www.balfour.com.
- Type in Sawnee to get to our 50th Anniversary Yearbook.
- Yearbooks are $30.00.
Last year we sold out and many were disappointed to be without a book at their end of year signing parties. So please order your 2018 – 2019 yearbooks now!!!!!!!!!!!
The online deadline for $30.00 is February 1st, 2019.
**After February 1st the book increases to $35.00.
The last day to order online is March 1st. We will offer any extra books at $35.00 (cash only) during the last month of school. This is a first come, first served policy.
BYOT 5K for Technology
Teachers and staff represented Sawnee at our iRun for BYOT 5k event to help raise money for Forsyth County families to have internet in their homes for students!
Congrats to our IRR department for having the highest percentage of participation among our staff.
Text and Treat - To Support Relay for Life
Thank you for all of your support for Text and Treat! We love our Sawnee family and appreciate you all so much in helping to make this event fun for everyone, while raising money for an awesome cause, Relay for Life!
- We collected 100,149 pieces of candy!
- We raised $4,908.90
Congratulations to the classroom pizza party winners!
Pre-K and Special Education: Wallace
Kindergarten: Amanda Rice/Trudy Liles
First: Lori Bolding
Second: Katty Kelly
Third: Haley Hamby
Fourth: Kelly Radaszewski
Fifth: Kyla Coram
Reminders
Fall Picture Day - Picture payments or unwanted picture packages were due on October 18th. If you haven't sent your child's in yet, please do so as soon as possible.
Picture retake packages will be sent home next week. Please send in your payment for retakes or the unwanted package by November 16th. Thank you.
Clubs & Activities
Sharpen the Saw After School Activities - The second session of clubs begins next Monday, November 5th. Click this link to see which clubs are on what days. If your child didn't get into this session's clubs, we will have more after the first of the year.
Counseling News
Holiday Toy Drive: Sawnee will be hosting a small toy and gift card drive to support The Place and the Holiday House. We will be collecting from November 26th-30th, right after Thanksgiving. Please click the following links for more information about the Toy Drive:
Canned Soup Collection Update: From the bottom of hearts, we wanted to say thank you for all of the cans of soup! We collected so many this year! Your generosity will be help so many people this year!
Free Tutoring: The Forsyth County Public Library offers FREE online tutoring to students who have a library card. It is available on demand daily from 4:00 p.m-11:00 p.m. and all subjects are offered. They have over 3,100 tutors! Families can access Tutor.com through http://www.forsythpl.org.
Clinic News
County Wide Flu Clinic: The county wide flu clinic was a huge success, there were a total of 718 students vaccinated. Thanks to all the county nurses who came out to support the flu clinic.
Clinic Needs: The clinic is in need of boys and girls elastic waistband pants and new packages of children's underwear in all sizes.
Cold, flu, and allergy seasons are in full swing. If medication is needed at school, please review the medication policy link below. ALL MEDICATION MUST BE BROUGHT INTO SCHOOL BY A PARENT.
Cafe News
Congrats to Cafe 2
Sawnee's cafeteria 2 staff was the recipient of the GaDOE’s “Shake it Up” award – Gold level as well as a Golden Plate Award winner. We are very proud of Phyllis Silvers and her staff for their dedicated efforts towards providing the students at Sawnee K-2 with nutritious, appealing and great tasting meals.
The Golden Plate Award requires cafeteria teams to come together to engage and educate students about healthy foods, good eating habits and wellness. The award criteria is rigorous and encourages the staff to thoughtfully participate each day as a member of the Sawnee K-2 faculty. Through the many activities and promotions conducted by the staff, we believe the cafeteria staff is an example of a highly successful team.
Congrats, Ms. Silvers and your staff!
- Sweet potatoes are not a yam or a potato.
- They are part of the Morning Glory family and are native to the Americas.
- Sweet potatoes have 440% of the daily recommendation of Vitamin A. They also have 30% of the daily recommendation of Vitamin C!
- They are fat and cholesterol free.
- Sweet potatoes are a popular Thanksgiving side dish :)
Cafe 1 Celebrates Sawnee's 50th Anniversary
Cafe 2 Celebrates Sawnee's 50th Anniversary
Admin Serves up Lunch on our 50th Anniversary
Grateful & Thankful
Text and Treat Committee: We truly appreciate all the extra time and energy that this committee put into our annual Text and Treat event! It's one of the highlights of the school year not only for the students and staff but for what we are able to contribute to Relay for Life. You ladies did a phenomenal job!
Volunteer Opportunity
Swanee started a new program this year called "Ready Readers". Our kindergarten teachers are so excited to welcome you to their classrooms to read to their eager group of students.
We’ve created a sign up page for you to sign up for days/time slots that work best for you to help with this initiative. You are welcome to sign up as often as you’re willing and able. J You’ll notice that there are various time frames to choose from; you are welcome to stay for that full time, but you do not have to. Any amount of time that you’re willing to give is appreciated.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0849A9A628A4F49-ready1
When you sign in at the front desk, our secretary will assign you to a classroom to visit. We will be using a rotating schedule to ensure that each classroom has an equal balance of volunteers.
Sawnee PTO
Meet your 2018-2019 PTO VP of Education - Emily Nelson is one of the VPs of Education. She is the mom of four boys, so she’s super excited about the Father Daughter dance to get her pinks, purples, ruffles, and ribbons out of her system. She was crowned Mrs. Utah in 2008 and totally still wears her tiara and sash…. wouldn’t you? In all her free time she loves to bake cakes. So, when you see her let her know what your favorite cake flavor is.
Sawnee PTO Officers:
Gina Harper - President
Rebecca Frank - VP of Volunteers
Emily Nelson - VP of Education
Erin Amott - VP of Education
Jen Scribner - VP of Hospitality
Melissa Newman - Treasurer
Sara Biggs - Secretary
Email PTO at sawneeptoboard@gmail.com
Check out the PTO Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sawneepto/
5th Grade Text and Treat
3rd Grade Text and Treat
Ms. Akers' Class Gives Back
Ms. Honea and Ms. Akers’ classes collected notebooks and pens to send to children in Haiti. This idea was born after they read the book Seraphina’s Promise by Ann L. Burg. They sent 75 notebooks to Haiti! Thank you parents for helping them exceed their goal.
Spreading Kindness
Spreading Kindness
Fire Safety
Ms. Colli's 4th Graders
Ms. Crump has fun at Text and Treat
Ms. Colli's 2nd Graders
Mrs. Colli’s second grade group had to create a Jack-O-Lantern and the only requirement was they could not use any pumpkins.
Ms. Hester's Creativity Club
Ms. Hamilton's Kitchen Kids
Ms. DuHamel's Lego Club
Ms. Coram's 5th Grade Speech Presenters
Ms. Forbes Kindergarten
Ms. Forbes Fall Centers
Ms. Hertik's 2nd Grade Class
Ms. Hertik's class working together to brainstorm 50 ways to Be Responsible, Be Respectful and Be Safe on the 50th day of school!
Ms. Howell's 3rd Grade Class
Ms. Howell's Fall Centers
Ms. Isinghood's 1st Grade Class
Every penny counts! Students paid to wear pajamas to school in order to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Ms. Kuhn's 4th Grade Class
Mr. Whitaker Gets Many Pies in the Face
Ms. Gerhard's 3rd Grade
New Touch Panels
Ms. Posey's Media Special K-2nd
Using our imagination in Media Center 2 specials.
Ms. Rad's 4th Grade
Students did 50 ways to make 50 for the 50th day and Sawnee's 50th Anniversary!
Ms. Smith and Ms. Honea's 4th Grade
Specials Teacher at Text and Treat
Contact Sawnee Elementary
Email: shamilton@forsyth.k12.ga.us
Website: https://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/sawneeelementary
Location: 1616 Canton Highway, Cumming, GA, USA
Phone: (770)887-6161
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=sawnee%20elementary
Twitter: @SawneeElem