THE NORCROSS ELEMENTARY EAGLE
May 2023 - Family Newsletter
Dear Families,
Welcome to the beautiful month of May. I would say that May is a magical time for the students and staff. It is the final push of knowledge and skills for our students to ensure they are ready to move on to the next grade. Our staff is digging deep this month and truly giving their students everything they have left. We are all determined to dig a bit deeper to finish #NORCROSSSTRONG. The month of May is full of celebration opportunities. Pleae be sure to reach out to your child's teacher about any upcoming events.
The week of May 1st - May 5th is Teacher Appreciation Week. Our TEACHERS do an amazing job of meeting the needs of students. You have the opportunity to show them how much you appreciate them. Below are ideas on ways to show your appreciation.
Monday, May 1 - Bring a flower or a bouquet of flowers to your teacher
Tuesday, May 2 - Dress like your favorite teacher or staff
Wednesday, May 3 - Personalized notes from you and your child
Thursday, May 4 - Send our teachers something SWEET
Friday, May 5 - A treat or goodie that you personally choose
Finally, this is the final newsletter for this school year. I want to say thank you for your continued support as this year has been the best one yet. Please continue to check our school website and the GCPS website for updates regarding the 2023-2024 school year.
Sincerely,
Kassia Sutton
Proud Principal of Norcross Elementary
Amazing Work is Happening on our Campus
3rd-5th Grade GMAS Pep Rally with members of the Norcross High Basketball Team
Earth Day Clean Up On April 22
We Love Our Volunteers - Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast
Kindergarten Registration for the 2023-2024 School Year - Begins April 10, 2023
It’s an easy, process…
First— Starting April 10th, complete online registration on the GCPS website. (https://www.gcpsk12.org/Page/26080)
Then—Between April 10th and May 19th, schedule an appointment here at the school to verify information, pick up materials, complete activities, and learn about exciting summer enrichment opportunities for your child!
OR attend NES Kindergarten Registration Day in our media center on May 4th from 9:00 am-1:00pm.
Acknowledge Your Child’s Feelings and Perceptions
Acknowledge Your Child’s Feelings and Perceptions
Sometimes, when children have a problem, they really need their parents' help.
But other times, your child most needs understanding, and to hear you to say, “I can imagine how upset you must be.” In those few words, you acknowledge that your elementary schooler is feeling some real anger, sadness, or frustration.
Your understanding gives your child some choices. Now, instead of continuing to try to convey emotions, your child can tell you more about the problem. Your child can ask for your help or decide to look for a solution independently.
Reconozca los sentimientos y percepciones de su hijo
A veces, cuando los niños tienen un problema, realmente necesitan la ayuda de sus padres.
Pero otras veces, su hijo necesita más comprensión y escucharlo decir: “Me imagino lo molesto que debes estar”. En esas pocas palabras, usted reconoce que su hijo de primaria está sintiendo enojo, tristeza o frustración.
Su comprensión le da a su hijo algunas opciones. Ahora, en lugar de seguir tratando de transmitir emociones, su hijo puede contarle más sobre el problema. Su hijo puede pedir su ayuda o decidir buscar una solución de forma independiente.
Scholastic Book Fair
Dear Parents and Families:
Our Scholastic Buy 1, Get 1 FREE* Book Fair will connect your kids to fun books and inspiring characters — helping them become lifelong readers while doubling their reading fun! Not only will your child be able to choose from a wonderful selection of titles before summer vacation starts, they'll also get one free book for every book they buy!
Our spring Book Fair no doubt will be THE place for ultimate Bookjoy and a welcome event for our students. Here’s what you need to know about the Fair, which will take place from Monday, May 15-Friday May 19 at Norcross Elementary Media Center
Our Book Fair offers eWallet, a safe and secure alternative to cash. Simply create a free account to add funds and/or invite family and friends to contribute so your child can select their own books. Any unused funds can be spent at The Scholastic Store Online or to fund a future eWallet.
If you can’t make it to the Fair, then shop at our school’s Online Book Fair*. All orders ship directly to your home, and shipping is free for book orders over $25. Your online orders will also benefit our school.
Visit our Book Fair homepage to learn more and get started with eWallet and online shopping:
https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/norcrosselementaryschool2
The countdown to a day your kids won't soon forget is on! Catch you at the Fair!
Happy reading,
Tahnya Sherwood, Media Specialist
Norcross Elementary School
5th Grade Sponshorship
Our fabulous 5th graders have their end of year ceremony and activities coming up soon, and we are in need of families to sponsor a child for their end of year dues. The dues are $25 and will cover materials for the end of year ceremony, graduation gifts, refreshments and more. If you can help sponsor a child, please reach out to Eduardina_Checo@gcpsk12.org
-Fifth grade team
Cafeteria Update
Charging of meals will not be allowed after April 30th for students, faculty or staff. Students will still receive meals using our Alternate Meal procedure already in place.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Have a super remainder of the School Year!!!
Teri St. Germain
Manager - School Nutrition
Norcross ES
770-417-2496
Autism Awarennes Month Spirit Dress Up Days (Each Friday in April)
World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) aims to put a spotlight on the hurdles that people with autism and others living with autism face every day. As a growing global health issue owing to its increasing exposure in the press and common knowledge, autism is an issue that is only gaining more understanding and WAAD activities are planned every year to further increase and develop world knowledge of children and adults who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). What’s more, World Autism Awareness Day goes one step further to celebrate the unique talents of those with autism, while putting a huge focus on the warm embrace and welcome that these skills https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/world-autism-awareness-day-2023/deserve through community events around the globe.
4/14 - Wear blue-celebration of people on the spectrum
4/21- Tie-dye-blend together for Autism
4/28- Crazy sock day- be an individual and show your flair
April Dates and Events
April 27 - Norcross Cluster Innovation (see flyer below)
April 28 - Student of the Month
May Dates and Events
May 12 Kindergarten Completion Ceremony 9am-11:00am
May 19 Student of the Month program
May 22 5th Grade End of the Year Award Ceremony at Paul Duke HS
May 23 End of the Year Class Parties
May 24 Last Day of School
Summer Enrichment and Acceleration
This summer GCPS will offer summer learning opportunities at Norcross Elementary School. Students were invited to participate in this program based on a pre-determined criterion. If your child meets the requirement, you will receive an invitation from the school. If your child was not invited to participate in SEA, they will have an opportunity to complete a self-paced online program. This digital option is on the Digital Summer Support eClass page. It will be available from June 5th-July 7th.
Summer Gifted Opportunities Outside of GCPS
Please the link, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1biPEErgA7jIVlKty21iNJhq3oKJAo_gi/view?usp=sharing, to preview summer enrichment opportunities and activities for gifted and high ability students. Students can benefit greatly by participating in summer enrichment opportunities and activities. Examples of academic, social, and personal benefits may include:
Academic
• Studying topics of interest at an in-depth level.
• Exploring potential college majors, fields of study, and careers.
• Continuing the learning momentum from the academic school year.
• Learning about topics that extend beyond the school curriculum.
• Increasing academic motivation and goals.
• Participating in hands-on and practical academic activities.
• Becoming familiar with a new learning environment.
Social
• Engaging in high-level discourse with other motivated students.
• Meeting students from different schools, regions, states, and countries.
• Developing lasting friendships with peers who share similar interests.
• Discussing areas of interest in an in-depth manner with other participants.
• Learning in a collaborative and cooperative environment.
Personal
• Enhancing self-confidence through accomplishing goals.
• Gaining new perspectives and ideas about society.
• Enhancing intrapersonal skills.
• Discovering personal characteristics and qualities.
• Developing an increased sense of self.
The GCPS Bookmobile came to our school on March 3rd and every child that was here that day got a free book to keep! In the summertime, the bookmobile drives around to areas in our cluster for the students to check out books, your support & donations help keep us going! Thank you in advance!
The Book Mobile 5K is just 2 months away. The 5K is our only fundraiser of the year to put new books into kids' hands!
Let’s top last year’s number of 766 registrations and make this an even greater day to support literacy!
The Book Mobile 5K will be held on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at the ISC.
Early bird registration is only $25 until April 1, 2023.
Remember: the school with the most 5K registrations wins a visit from the GCPS Book Mobile!
Register at bookmobile5k.com and get the awesome shirt below!
Our Mitchell Wall Community Project is Complete! For now... :)
There are so many people to thank for their work on this community mural, but I specifically want to thank those staff members that were able to help work on the wall this weekend. First, we could not have finished without the hours of help from Mrs. Faz, her brother Angel, and Isaac (our former NES student). They power washed, swept, painted and recruited volunteers. Thank you is not big enough!
Also, HUGE THANKS to Ms. Desai, Mrs. Petree, Mrs. Obimpeh, Mrs. Burns (and husband), Ms. Parks, Ms. Johnson, Ms. Sherwood, Ms. Mehra, Mrs. Hays (and husband) Ms. Lilly (and her two beautiful helpers) and our amazing parent who went above and beyond, Ms. Diana. Thank you for making the world a better place! A short video of our weekend is below:
It takes a village and we are an AMAZING one!
Bobbie Adamczyk, Ed.S.
Honored Mom & Gigi
GCPS ES Visual Art Lead Teacher
Georgia Art Education Association Secretary
Georgia Special Needs Scholarships: SB10 and SB47
What: Under state laws passed by the Georgia State Legislature, parents of students who receive special education services or accommodations under a Section 504 Individual Accommodation Plan may request to transfer their child to another public or private school in Georgia.
Who: Any student who receives special education services, grades PK-11th and any returning 12th grader, and students eligible for a Section 504 Plan and in grades Kindergarten-11th.
When: By April 28, 2023, share information regarding the Georgia Special Needs Scholarships. This information, forms, as well as parent letters are accessible on the GCPS website: https://www.gcpsk12.org/Page/23585
Norcross Public Library - Message from Laura Dobbins
What to do if your child is sick?
1. Keep your child at home if he/she is sick.
2. If your child has tested positive for COVID, please contact Contacia.Cross, assistant principal, at contacia.cross@gcpsk12.org. who will provide additional guidance.
·
Clinic Updates
1. If your child has a medical alert/medical health management plan, please contact Sergio Castro as soon as possible, and complete and return applicable forms to her in a timely manner.
2. We want our students to have a full day of learning, but sometimes illness(es) may interrupt their day. For the safety and health of your child and others, if your child gets ill at school and needs to go home, please do so promptly. If you’re unable to pick them up, please be sure that we have a current list of emergency contact(s) that we may reach out to.
Bus Safety
Ready to learn with the GCPS Virtual Backpack!
Please visit the website below to access important Back to School Information.
https://www.gcpsk12.org/Page/33374
Also, acknowledgement of required documents must be signed off through My Payments Plus. Parents must sign off on the required documents. Below is the website address to create an account and access the forms:
https://www.mypaymentsplus.com/welcome
If you need help with signing off on important documents, please contact eduardina.checo@gcpsk12.org, our part liasion.
The 2023-2024 School Year
2023-2024 Save the Dates
Thursday, July 17 - Meet Your Teacher Day (MYTD)
Wednesday, August 2 - First Day of School
Thursday, August 24 - Curriculum Night
My Payments Plus Instructions for Set-Up
Free/Reduced Lunch Applications
Local School Plan for Improvement (LSPI Goals)
Empathy:
- Goal 1.B—Staff and student wellbeing. Promote student and staff wellbeing through prioritizing self-care, physical and mental health, and social emotional learning.
Equity:
- Goal 2.A—Multi-tiered system of supports. Implement a comprehensive framework to fully operationalize a multi-tiered system of supports to address academic and non-academic student needs and remove barriers to success.
- Goal 2.B—Opportunity and access. Expand student opportunities to engage in and access high-quality, rigorous, and culturally relevant curriculum, advanced coursework (e.g., Advanced Placement and dual enrollment), and enrichment activities (e.g., the arts, gifted, STEM, career technical education).
Effectiveness:
- Goal 3.A—Results-Based Evaluation System. Redefine the inputs, behaviors, and outcomes that determine the standards for student success as measured by the Results-Based Evaluation System (RBES) to support school improvement and student growth.
Excellence:
- Goal 4.C—World-class communication and engagement. Demonstrate world-class communication and engagement through modeling the value GCPS leadership places on transparent, two-way communication to build stakeholder trust and confidence.
Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Supporting the Whole Child
We will continue our focus on the Whole Child through MTSS by using Supportive Community and Academic Press (see picture below). An example of Supportive Community is our Positive Behaviors Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Program and an example of Academic Press is the implementation of the EL Education literacy pilot for Language Arts.
Implementation of MTSS is one of our LSPI goals.
Early Check-out Procedures
A student who leaves school before the official ending time must be signed out in the office by his/her parent or guardian. Parents must report to the receptionist, not the classroom. The receptionist will call the room for the child after a photo ID (government issued) has been shown. Please remember that each time a child checks out early, we must call the classroom and disrupt instruction for everyone. Children will be called to the Front Office where they will be released to the parent/guardian. The office will not check out students after 2:30 P.M. (11:30 A.M. on early release days). Please do not ask school personnel to make exceptions.
A child will not be permitted to leave the school in the custody of any person other than the child's parent unless that person is listed as a parent/guardian or emergency contact in the school’s database. As telephone numbers and situations change, please make sure you report this information to the school so we have the most accurate information.
School Hours
- Doors open at 8:20am
- Classes begin at 8:50am
Dismissal
- The Day ends at 3:20pm
Parent Center Updates
Check out our Parent Page in our School Website to find more information regarding Title 1 and what happens at Norcross Elementary. It’s important to stay informed about your child’s education. The Powerpoint Presentation of the Title 1 Annual Meeting is posted there for your review. https://www.gcpsk12.org/domain/1603
We are looking for volunteers to participate in our Local School Council and Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Reach out to our Parent Center team, Robert Fortenbery Robert.fortenbery@gcpsk12.org or Eduardina Checo Eduardina.checo@gcpsk12.org for more information.
Ways for you to Get Involved
The purpose of the LSC is:
- To help the local board of education develop and nurture participation
- To bring parents and the community together with teachers and school administrators to create a better understanding of and mutual respect for each other’s concerns
- To share ideas for school improvement
If you are interested in being a member of our Local School council, please contact Robert Fortenbery (robert.fortenbery@gcpsk12.org).
The tentative meeting dates are as follows:
September 23, November 11, January 27, and March 10 at 7:30amj.
PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA)
We are in need of a PTA board to support our school, our students, and our faculty. The board consists of a president/co-president, vice president, treasurer and secretary. Please contact me at kassia.morris.sutton@gcpsk12.org if you are interested.
https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/Mission-Values
Volunteer
Please partner with us and commit to volunteering at our school. Volunteer activites may include: working in the media center, laminating materials, counting out documents, cutting, and filing. Please contact Robert Fortenbery (robert.fortenbery@gcpsk12.org) or Eduardina Checon (eduardina.checo@gcpsk12.org) for volunteer opportunities.
Previous Newsletters
March 2023 - https://www.smore.com/vkg0z
April 2023 - https://www.smore.com/8b4vc
How to Stay Connected
Principal – Kassia Sutton (kassia.morris.sutton@gcpsk12.org)
Assistant Principal - Gr. K, 1, 2 – Jamie Elsey (jamie.elsey@gcpsk12.org)
Assistant Principal – Gr. 3, 4, 5 – Contacia Cross (contacia.cross@gcpsk12.org)
Assistan Principal - Special Education - Alicia Lapinsky (alicia.lapinsky@gcpsk12.org)
Counselor - Gr. K, 1 - Kortnie Smith (kortnie.smith@gcpsk12.org)
Counselor Gr. 2, 3 - Amy Crapo (amy.crapo.@gcps12.org)
Counselor Gr. 4, 5 - Matt Ho (matt.ho@gcpsk12.org)
Website: https://www.gcpsk12.org/NorcrossES
Location: 150 Hunt Street, Norcross, GA, USA
Phone: 770-448-2188
Facebook: facebook.com/NorcrossElementarySchool-GCPS