The Weekly Griffin
Week of March 24, 2019 - #BuildingABetterGriffin
A Word from Dr. P: Finish Strong
Tomorrow marks the end of the 3rd 9 weeks; on Tuesday, we start the final quarter of the current school year. With 3 weeks until Spring Break, we may find ourselves tired, unfocused, or complacent. You might feel tempted to check homework less frequently, allow your child to stay up later, or hold different expectations than you did in August or September. As a parent, I understand. We must resist these temptations and finish strong.
As we enter the final quarter of the school year, please know how much we appreciate you and your involvement! Remember to remain focused... read with and to your child, ensure they complete all homework, communicate with their teachers, and continue to be involved. If there is anything we can do to further support our home/school partnership, PLEASE do not hesitate to let us know! We are here to serve and partner with our Sterling School families. #BuildABetterGriffin #WholeChild
What's Ahead...
March 25 - End of 3rd Quarter Grading Period
March 28 - PTA Digital Family Night, 6:00-7:30pm (Dinner starts @ 5:30pm)
March 29 - Middle School Dance, 2:45-4:30pm
March 29 - Last Day to Register for April Arts Dinner
March 30 - Butterfly Garden Work Day, 9:00am-Noon
April 2 - Report Cards
April 5 - Spring Pictures
April 5 - April Arts, 5:30-7:30pm
*Please continue to be mindful of our drop-off and pick-up. Have students exit or load the full length of the awing and please keep this area/time "cell phone free!"
PTA Reflections Winners!
PTA will present awards to our school's Reflections winners at 5:15pm in the cafeteria just prior to April Arts! If your child is a school winner, please try to be present so they can be recognized. Winners will receive a unique award and a movie voucher! We are so proud of all of our school winners!
The Griffin Reflections team is proud to announce the following PTA Reflections Program winners at the School, District, and State levels!
= District & State Winners =
Elizabeth Barr
District Award of Excellence, Middle School Photography
Mary Hazel Hinson
District Award of Merit, Intermediate Film Production
Yashavini Ranganathan
District Award of Excellence, State Award of Excellence, Middle School Literature
Yashavini Ranganathan
District Award of Excellence, State Award of Merit, Middle School Dance Choreography
Yashavini Ranganathan
State Award of Merit, Middle School Film Production
= School Level Winners =
Literature Intermediate Division
1st: Lena Alioua - Robert
2nd: Darby Burdette - The Ones Who Care
3rd: Sashwath Sivaraman - Hound in Our Darkest Hour
Literature Middle School Division
1st: Yashasvini Ranganathan - Hero in My Heart
2nd: Stephanie Hu - My Hero Writing Homework
3rd: Tarika Desai - Poverty’s Silence Can Thou Be Heard?
Visual Arts Intermediate Division
1st: Lena Alioua - Heroes Around Me
2nd: Aditya Harikumar - Our Local Heroes
3rd: Sashwath Sivaraman - Prayers for Our Troops
Visual Arts Middle School Division
Yashasvini Ranganathan (2 entries tied) - A Hero’s DNA & Our Local Heroes
Photography Intermediate Division
1st: Mary Hazel - Hero Hugs
2nd: Sashwath Sivaraman - Guiding Light
Photography Middle School Division
1st: Elizabeth Barr - Our Planets Heroes
2nd: Yashasvini Ranganathan - Shining Hero
Music Composition
Darby Burdette - Heroes
Film Production Intermediate Division
Mary Hazel Hinson - Bear in There
Film Production Middle School Division
Yashasvini Ranganathan - What is a Hero?
Dance Choreography Middle School Division
Yashasvini Ranganathan - Vishnu The Protector & My Hero
April Arts 2019
Be sure to join us for April Arts on Friday, April 5th, from 5:30 until 7:30pm!!
April Arts is Sterling School's signature event! This night brings together our school community of parents, students, neighbors, and friends to celebrate all forms of the arts. Last year, over 800 people attended April Arts!
Student artwork from the entire year is displayed in the hallways, students perform throughout the evening, and we offer hands-on art activities to all! We plan each year's event around a theme that connects the artwork, music, activities, and even dinner.
This year, our theme is Arte y Arquitectura: Build Your Creativity! We want to educate, inspire and provide opportunities to build, design, and create. All activities will focus on Spanish and Hispanic influence in art and architecture.
- RSVP for Tex-Mex dinner by Friday, March 29th: CLICK HERE!
- Volunteer at an activity station during April Arts, or help with set up before the event: CLICK HERE!
- Volunteer to serve dinner, sign-in guests, or clean-up: CLICK HERE!
- April Arts T-shirt Orders: CLICK HERE!
Middle School Dance: This Friday!
The Middle School Dance will be this Friday, March 29th from 2:45 until 4:30pm. The theme is Tacky Prom and costumes are encouraged! Gather your '80's attire or crazy, mismatched outfits!! Wear regular clothes to school and bring an outfit to change into right before the dance. Admission is $3. Snacks and bottled water will be sold for $1.
Parents, please help out by sending in snacks, setting up, volunteering during the dance, or cleaning up. Click HERE to volunteer!
Items Needed for MakerSpace
Our MakerSpace is up and running, but we still need items to complete the space and keep it stocked!
Small Legos & Lego mini-figures
Puzzles
Packing tape
Glue Sticks
Scissors
Construction Paper
Colored Paper
Duct Tape... Lots of Duct Tape!
PLA 3D Printer Filament
PLA 3D Pen Filament
K-Nex
Lincoln Logs
Mega Blocks
Polly Pocket Figures
Little People Figures
Looney Labs Educational Games
These items would help make the Sterling School MakerSpace an even more amazing place for our children to create, inspire and be inspired! Bring donations to the Media Center or leave them in the Front Office with a note that says “For Media Center.”
DownTOWNES is Coming!
Our CTC middle school students will be participating in DownTOWNES from May 1-3, 2019. DownTOWNES is a three-day learning experience where all CTC students will use the city of Greenville as their classroom. Parents of students in grades 6-8 are asked to keep an eye out for an email from Ms. Reynolds and the grade-level teachers on Wednesday explaining the event.
Butterfly Garden Workday
Mark your calendar, so your family can volunteer at school together! We'll start at 9:00am and continue until noon, but feel free to come or go as your schedule allows. All ages are welcome! Middle school and high school students can earn service hours for volunteering! Rain make-up day will be Saturday, April 6th. If you can help, sign up here! (CLICK HERE!)
Questions? Email Heather Jiva.
From the Sterling SIC: Volunteer Flyer
Local service organizations, businesses, and churches are always looking for ways to give back to their communities. What better way that volunteering at Sterling School! Our School Improvement Council has put together a helpful flyer for our families to share with their networks that describes all the opportunities available and provides helpful contact information. CLICK HERE for Sterling Volunteer Flyer.
Elementary Yearbook
Digital Families Event, Sponsored by our PTA
PTA is excited to host our Digital Families Community Event this week! You'll go through interactive sessions together to explore how your family responds to real-life online interactions and how you can protect one another online.
If you RSVP'd, join us for a FREE DINNER, DOOR PRIZES, and a great opportunity to connect with your children!! Together, let's help our kids learn more about topics such as creating secure passwords, what information is appropriate to share online, how our online behaviors can shape our privacy, and what it means to be an "upstander" and not just a bystander. Join us this Thursday, March 28th, from 6:00-7:30pm. We'll begin serving dinner at 5:30pm.
Thurs, April 25th - Family STEM Night (Grades 3rd-5th): Families can participate in fun, hands-on STEM activities! Great enrichment opportunity! (See flyer below for more information.)
GSSM Summer Camp is Coming to Sterling School!
iTeams Xtreme for current 5th-7th grade students
June 24 - 27, 8:30am - 4:00pm
(Micro)control Your World!
Dive into microcontrollers and their applications through one of two tracks:
Arduino & Robotics
Explore the world of computational thinking and microcontrollers using Arduino technology and robotics. Learn how to program your very own microcontrolled robot and pit it against other students' robots in camp-wide competitions such as Maze Runner and Robot Wars.
Arduino & the Internet of Things
Explore the world of programming with Arduino technology. Increase your programming skills while learning about digital communication, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things.
Register for iTeams Xtreme HERE.
CREATEng for current 7th and 8th grade students
June 17 -20, 8:30am - 4:00pm
Innovate. Design. Create.
CREATEng is GSSM’s one-of-a-kind engineering and design thinking day camp for rising 8th and 9th graders. Students take on the role of NASA engineers charged with developing a sustainable colony on Mars. Working through project-based, hands-on team challenges, students learn what engineering is and what engineers do. With a focus on civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering students work through a series of mini challenges from building windproof structures and protecting transportation with impenetrable wheels for the Rover, to using Arduino technology for greenhouse automation.
CREATEng students will interact with guest speakers and go on a field trip to a local company to see engineering in action.
Register for CREATEng HERE.
Get Involved...Our Students Need YOU!
Become a Mentor!
According to Harvard University's Center on Developing Child, "Every child who ends up doing well has had at least one stable and committed relationship with a supportive adult." The Sterling School has partnered with Mentor Upstate, a nonprofit organization that seeks to support children with one-on-one positive relationships. We are looking for committed adults who are willing to support and encourage ONE student for the year. If you or someone you know from our school community can give 30 minutes a week, we need you!
If you have any questions, you are invited to email Jennifer Medlock, director of Mentor Greenville. If you are ready to jump in, you may begin by completing the mentor application CLICK HERE.
Become a Tutor!
Are you willing to make a difference in a child's life? One way you can do this is through tutoring. Tutoring has been shown to not only increase a student's academic performance, it also increases their chance of success in life!
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer tutor, Sterling School needs YOU! We have many students who could use your time, help, and knowledge in a small group and/or partner setting. Teachers will provide needed lessons and materials.
If interested or know someone who may be interested, contact Kim Marchbanks @ krmarchbanks@greenville.k12.sc.us .
Volunteer Training
Upon completion of the online training module, you will be asked to take a short quiz which will be submitted to Mr. Murphy for scoring. All volunteers must answer each question correctly. Failure to do so will result in potential volunteers being asked to review the training module again or attend a face-to-face training. If you have questions about the process or anything related to volunteering at Sterling, or if you prefer a face-to-face training, contact Mr. Murphy at jmurphy@greenville.k12.sc.us or (864) 355-4480.
3rd Grade CTC: Curiosity Project
During Curiosity Project, students are invited to choose a topic of great, personal interest. As they explore their topic, questions generated about the topic furthers their learning. After time is given to research, students take what they have learned and present their finding in a creative display or format.
When students are given ownership of their learning through investigation and discovery, they not only guide their own learning but also become the expert within their own unique community of learners. At its core, Curiosity Project, does not lead students to become passive consumers; rather, this unique instructional approach should encourage students to become passionate generators of information and knowledge. #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
** Ms. Emmel's class created a short video to commemorate this year's unit (see below).
Sterling School Featured in New Professional Learning Book
In this text, the authors help educators move beyond exposing students to diverse children’s literature by offering an instructional framework that is applicable to any topic and can be adapted to their own classroom or community. Each chapter highlights different classrooms in action (including video footage from Sterling) and concludes with a wealth of suggested resources, both picture books and chapter books, along with helpful guidelines on how to choose text sets that reflect the needs, interests, and backgrounds of students. #BuildingABetterGriffin #WholeChild
Sterling School
Email: jpatterson@greenville.k12.sc.us
Website: www.greenville.k12.sc.us/sterling
Location: Sterling School, John McCarroll Way, Greenville, SC, United States
Phone: 864-355-4480
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theSterlingSchool
Twitter: @SterlingSchool