The Parsons Happenings
February 19, 2021
In this edition...
Administrative Message
Dual Language Immersion Parent Information Zoom Meetings
Child Lures Prevention Information
Parent Survey
Security Process
Instructional Resource Review
Attendance Reminders and Updates
Spring Book Fair Information
Weekly Events
COVID Guidelines
Media Center Updates
PRYAA Youth Spring Baseball Registration
PTA News
Business Partners
Message from Your Proud Principal
I came across a post on Facebook by Christine Derengowski, mother of a 1st grade student, and I had to share it with you. I think you will agree after reading it...our kiddos are learning during a pandemic and they are truly Super Heroes. Let's be sure to let them know.
Post by Christine Derengowski:
I’ve lost a year with my kids battling over school and I’m done.
My seven year old and I were in the midst of our usual asynchronous day battle. I had his writing homework in my hand from school. He’d written several full, well-thought-out sentences.
But he won’t do the same for me, at least not without a fight.
I told him he didn’t have to write about his best day like his teacher asked, he could write about his worst. He could write about whatever he wanted as long as he wrote a few sentences.
He said he’d get in trouble. He said he was doing a bad job in first grade. He was on the brink of tears but didn’t know why.
And it hit me.
Instead of getting frustrated and pushing the assignment, I sat down with him at his desk in his superhero bedroom.
I said “you won’t get in trouble and you can’t fail first grade. In fact, you’re kind of a superhero yourself.”
He sat up in his chair just a little and looked at me with disbelief.
I said, “Do you know that no kids in the history of kids have ever had to do what you’re doing right now? No kids in the history of kids have ever had to do school at home, sitting in their bedroom, watching their teacher on a computer. You and your friends are making history.”
A visible weight lifted from his seven year old shoulders, “What does that mean?”
I told him it means I haven’t given him nearly enough credit for rolling with the punches. I told him how proud I am of him and his friends. That kids this year are doing the impossible and they’re doing a really great job.
I apologized for not saying it sooner and more often. A little tear fell down his cheek.
We’ve thanked everyone from healthcare workers to grocery store employees but we haven’t thanked the kids enough for bearing the burden of what we’ve put on their shoulders this year.
We’ve said kids are resilient, and they are. But they are the real superheroes in this whole scenario for having ZERO say in their lives but doing their best to adjust every day.
We closed his school-issued laptop and spent the rest of the day playing. This was supposed to be temporary and here we are a year later still trying to hold our head above water.
This is our home and I won’t turn it into a battle ground anymore over something we can’t control. Something that no longer makes sense.
Hug your little superheroes today and don’t forget to cut them the slack we’ve given everyone else.
Join me in the trenches at Christine Derengowski, Writer !!Facebook Post
"
Dual Language Immersion Parent Meetings
Child Lures Prevention
RBES Parent Survey
Security Process
Instructional Resource Review
Attendance Updates and Reminders
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17rrvfvlZb8jhD7vioGsN6E0KxEMOY3DclXCgez0CVU8/edit?usp=sharing
We've also had a few parents ask the following question about attendance, so we wanted to share with everyone just in case you had the same question...Why was my child, who is an in person student, marked absent from school even though they completed the work digitally on the day they stayed home? For students who are "in person" learners, their classroom teacher takes attendance based on if they are "in person" in the classroom. If the student is not present in the classroom, they will be marked as absent even if they complete the work from home digitally. Make up work is expected from all students when they miss a day.
Parsons Spring Book Fair
The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to Parsons Tuesday, February 16 - Monday, March 1! We have many shopping options for you including:
- Sidewalk Shopping in the Car Rider Lane on Wednesday, February 17th from 10AM - 6PM (except during Early Release dismissal) for all our parents, students, and digital learners.
- You can shop online from Scholastic and have the books delivered to your home
- You can shop using the flyer or Google Form and have books ready to pick up at our regular Curbside Checkout or delivered to your child's classroom
- Your child can shop in person if they are currently at school.
The following in-person classes will have the opportunity to shop at the Book Fair on the following days. Please either send in a check or load money using the Scholastic eWallet option if your child would like to purchase items from the Book Fair. Note: Any remaining funds on the Scholastic eWallet can be used at the Scholastic Online Store or at a future Scholastic Book Fair.
- Melts, Lawson, Arrington, Simpson, Isom-Jones, Yoo --- February 22 & March 1
- Bradley, Pipe, Lee (1st), Davis, Perkerson, Kuny, Down, Vengurlekar, Russell --- February 16 & 23
- Na, Rogers, Cummings, Cline, Kim (2nd) --- February 24
- Wren, Sheppard, Vickers --- February 18 & 25
- Cisic, Bonds, Bell --- February 25
- Kim (KK), Gambrell, Lee (5th), Austin, Turk, Piper, Miller, Monaco, Park --- February 19 & 26
Monday, 2/22/21
- Book Fair Purchasing
- George Washington's Birthday
- 6:00 pm ~ DLI Virtual Parent Information Meeting
Tuesday, 2/23/21
- Book Fair Purchasing
Wednesday, 2/24/21
- Book Fair Purchasing
Thursday, 2/25/21
- Book Fair Purchasing
Friday, 2/26/21
- Book Fair Purchasing
- 10:00 am ~ Parsons Local School Council Meeting
Doing our part to stop the spread of Covid-19
Please use the COVID-19 Morning Checklist to help reduce the spread of Covid-19. Please continue to follow the guidelines each morning when sending your in person student to school. We have seen a slight increase of cases in Gwinnett and we want to make sure we are ALL doing our part.
Each school in our district has a trained Health Response Team (HRT). If a suspected case of Covid-19 is reported at our school, the team follows set guidelines and procedures. Please be assured that you will be contacted by an HRT member if your child has been identified as 'close contact' to someone in our school who has tested positive for COVID-19.
The most important thing we can do is continue to wear our masks, practice social distancing, and wash hands regularly. We are #STRONGERTOGETHER when we all do our part.
Media Center Information
All students can still get library books during digital days using curbside checkout. When ANY student is digital, curbside checkout is available. Curbside is not available for in-person students when they are actually in the school building. The Media Center staff always wears gloves and a mask when they handle books and also quarantine books based on GCPS guidelines. It is easy to check out books even if students are at home learning digitally. Here are some guidelines:
- Books must be placed on hold by midnight each Sunday night for pickup that week. They will go off hold if they are not picked up. All books are shelved each Friday and not held over to the following week. Students should only place books on hold if their parent/ neighbor/relative is able to pick up the books that particular week.
- Parents will receive an email on Monday morning letting them know the books are ready to pick up.
- Parents drive through the car rider lane on Wednesday or Thursday between 11:30 - 1:00 based on the first letter of their last name. A-M come on Wednesday & N-Z come on Thursday. Library books will be given through the window or placed in the trunk as requested. Parents will not exit their car.
- Students should place only one graphic novel and one book from a series on hold at a time so others can enjoy these books too.
Library books can be kept for 2 weeks before they need to be returned. When students are finished with a library book, they can return it either to curbside checkout or to the book return outside the front of the school. Books must be returned before new books are checked out. If students checked out books this week at school, those books need to be returned before getting new books.
- Students who are digital get to place one extra book on hold since they might not be able to get library books as often as in-person students. When students are learning from home, they are all considered digital learners for library curbside pickup.
- The Gwinnett County Public Library also offers curbside pickup with later hours and weekend pickup options. Students can login to the Public Library using their student number and 4-digit birthday as their pin just as they use for Beanstack to log reading minutes for the Parsons Schoolwide Reading Challenge.
- Visit Ms. Britt's eCLASS page for more information about curbside checkout along with videos to learn how to place a book on hold.
Peachtree Ridge Youth Spring Baseball Registration
PTA News
ATTENTION DIGITAL STUDENTS: We need your portrait pictures for the Parsons Yearbook.
Please use your cell phone to snap a photo of your student in front of a neutral colored wall and e-mail it to yearbook.parsons@gmail.com with the student's name and the teacher's name. Please send in pictures by February 20th.
Get Involved in PTA
It is time to nominate the PTA board members for Parsons Elementary for the 2021-2022 school year. If you are interested in being on the board or if you are interested in nominating someone for a position, please email Jenni Yoon jenni1234@gmail.com by February 17th, 2021.
We are also looking for people who want to get more involved by volunteering for Clean & Beautiful, the Fifth Grade Finale and Virtual PTA Event Planning. Let us know if you are interested in getting more involved by emailing parsonsespta@gmail.com
Parsons Business Partners 2020-2021
Proud Principal Laura Clark
Email: laura.j.clark@gcpsk12.org
Website: https://www.gcpsk12.org
Location: 1615 Old Peachtree Road Northwest, Suwanee, GA, USA
Phone: 678-957-3050