Suwanee Express
Week of December 9th
10 more days, Suwanee! This week our students begin their mid-year district assessments. Please be mindful in the hallways during testing. Remember to ensure your class arrives on time for testing and remind your students to do their very best. It's their time to shine!
I hope you are enjoying the 12 Days of Suwanee Sparkle! I can't wait to see the Ugly Sweaters on Monday and the Holiday Trolly is back on Tuesday with yummy snacks and drinks.
Spread a little SPARKLE everywhere you go!
Your BIGGEST Fan,
Mary Taylor
Calendar at a Glance
12/9 - Ugly Sweater Day
12/9 - The North Gwinnett Foundation may be stopping by at 3:00 today to present the check to our school's grant winners. They will let me know in the AM. Please stayed tuned. This will be held in the media center right after school. Thank you!
12/9 - The Mid-Year District Assessments Begin
12/9 - Suwanee Chorus Students are performing @ GJAC
12/10 - CLT
12/10 - Suwanee Holiday Treat Trolly :)
12/10- Holiday Feast 3rd, 4th, and 5th
12/11 - Holiday Feast K, 1st, and 2nd
12/10 & 12/11 - Students eat breakfast in their classrooms
12/11- Deck the Halls with your favorite holiday accessories
12/12 - Thankful Thursday
12/13 - NO MORNING HELP SESSIONS OR CLUBS ALLOWED TODAY
12/13- Students eat breakfast in their classrooms
12/13 - Suwanee Holiday Breakfast Suwanee Cafe 7:15-7:45
12/13- Gladiators Sing for Santa (Suwanee Students performing)
12/17 - CLT
12/18 - Winter CONCERTS @ 8:30AM 1st, 3rd, & 5th grade
12/18 - Winter Celebrations
12/19 - Winter CONCERTS @ 8:30AM K, 2nd, & 4th
12/19 - Winter Celebrations
12/19 - 3rd grade Camp Flintrock Field Trip on the Playground
12/19 - NO OUTDOOR RECESS TODAY DUE TO FIELD TRIP
12/20- Grades Finalized in gradebooks Friday before leaving for Winter Break.
Mid-Year District Assessments start Monday!
Make a note of the grade level change for December 9th and 10th, and the note about specials times. Print new schedule.
Support staff, please collaborate with grade level teams about any schedule changes.
Performance Based Awards
Gwinnett County is rolling out the teacher's performance-based awards. Within this system, 20% of teachers at each school will earn an award. Also, the top 10% of teachers at each level will earn an award. If you have questions, this video from the county will answer them. All teachers will be notified if they did/did not earn the award on December 13. You can also access the FAQ on the county's website. If you have questions after looking at these resources, please do come to see me.
Super Scoggins Important Deadlines about Grades
Current Grading Timeline:
- 12/20- Grades Finalized in gradebooks Friday before leaving for Winter Break.
- 1/3- LSTC Print Verification Sheets for teachers and place in mailboxes (teachers shred when done)- per GCPS we now have to roll to CH before printing report cards so cannot print actual report cards before like in past years.
- 1/7- Teachers make any changes to grades in gradebook and repost by the end of the school day- no more changes to grades for report cards after 1/7.
- 1/8 AM- LSTC Roll to Course History
- 1/9- Report Cards printed and in teacher mailboxes to go home on 1/10. Verification Checklist Guideline will also be in mailboxes for your convenience.
2. As you start entering DA grades, please choose District Mid Year/EOY for the category. We used District Interim for the tests in October and in December we are using District MidYr/EOY.
Professional Learning YOU don't want to miss!
- Kindergarten- # 37135
- First Grade- #37136
- Second Grade- #37137
- Third Grade- #37138
- Fourth Grade- #37139
- Fifth Grade- #37140
Reading Boot Camp- Quarter Three
In this four hour intensive workshop, participants will plan for reading instruction for quarter three. Teachers will study their instructional calendars and the AKS that will be taught and assessed in the third quarter. Participants will discuss vertical alignment of the AKS, misconceptions, assessment, student actions, and teaching points. In addition, participants will have opportunity to develop lessons and plan for implementation with their students.What: Reading Boot Camp
When: December 14, 2019 (8:00 AM-12:00PM)
Where: Peachtree Ridge High School
Participants should register in PD&E by December 9, 2019. Registration will close on the 9th so that we can ensure that all participants leave receive the planned texts and lessons. Participants should register using the following section numbers:
Every night over break our students can hear us read! My heart just melted. :)
We need YOU!
Suwanee Elementary School wants to send our students off with a Story-A-Night over the winter break. Choose a story and sign-up to come by the Broadcast Room to record yourself reading the book of your choice. Recording days begin on December 4th until December 12th. See you soon.
Details about Holiday Feast Days
-Normal scheduled grade level lunch time in the classroom
Do all students eat in the cafe during their grade level Suwanee Holiday Feast?
-Yes. We will have multiple tables for each class, so everyone can enjoy.
Do teachers have to stay and eat in the cafe on Suwanee Holiday Feast Days?
-No, it is not mandatory. However, I would take a few minutes to greet families and make sure your class gets seated. Maybe ensure the ones without family attending all sit together.
Holiday party guidelines
Please share this with your room parent. While room parents may plan the activity, you are responsible for making sure that the party follows these guidelines.
Thank you, parents, for helping plan the holiday party! We know that it is a lot of work and the kids will enjoy it immensely! Given the number of parties, we do try to keep things simple. The kiddo really will have fun with the most minimal of activities. They are excited to have free time without work! Please help us by following the guidelines below. And thank you, again!
- Plan activities such as simple games, crafts, and food.
- The party time is 1 hour (including clean-up).
- Be mindful of allergies in your class.
- Be mindful of students with special needs when selecting activities.
- We need to be mindful that students in other grade levels are learning during our party.
- Movies and video games are not permitted.
- Bounce Houses and other large structures are not permitted.
- Stick with water or clear drinks
WILL YOU VOLUNTEER? Readers Rally and/or Spelling Bee - County Level Competitions
Our school is taking a team to the Readers Rally Competition on Saturday, February 22nd at Peachtree Ridge High School. Every school must send one volunteer to be a moderator (person who reads the questions) or a console judge (scorekeeper). Would you be that person for our school? The event begins around 8 AM and ends around 1 PM. Breakfast is included for volunteers.
The County Spelling Bee is in need of volunteers. Please see the information below and if you want to help, email me and I will send your name on to the county coordinator. Volunteers will need to help with greeting, registration, monitoring students, judging the oral bee, and grading the written portion of the spelling bee. The competition is scheduled for the morning of January 11, 2020 in Discovery High School’s theater at 9:00 A.M. The timeline of events for the day of the County Spelling Bee are as follows: Registration- 8:00 until 9:00am Written Bee- Begins 9:15 Oral Bee- Approximately 30-40 minutes after the written Bee
Let Jennifer Duncan know if you can help at either of these events.