THE NORCROSS ELEMENTARY EAGLE
February 2023 - Family Newsletter
Dear Families,
We begin the month of March with Parent Teacher Conferences on March 1 and March 2. The conferences are the time to learn more about your child's growth, and how you can support the continued growth. If you have not done so, please reach out to your child's teacher to schedule a conference.
On the conferences days, students will be released from school at 12:40pm.
Families, we thank you for your continued support. It is us working together that makes the difference.
Sincerely,
Kassia Sutton
Proud Principal of Norcross Elementary
Amazing Work is Happening on our Campus
Family Luncheon
Collaborative Learning: Pollinators
Level Up Reading Parent Session
March Dates and Events
March 1 - Early Release at 12:40 and Parent Teacher Conferences
March 2 - Early Release at 12:40 and Parent Teacher Conferences
March 3 - Academic Challenge
March 3 - 5th Grade to Dr. King Center
March 7 - Kindergarten to Georgia Aquarium
March 9 - After school tutoring begins (through April 20)
March 10 - Local School Council Meeting
March 10 - Glow Party
March 17 - DLD #4 /St. Patrick's Day
March 21 -PBIS Incentive Party
March 24 - Acacdemic Challenge
March 27 - Montage
March 28 - Hard Lockdown Drill at 9am
March 28 - 1st Grade 100 Book Club Celebration
March 29 - Title 1 Planning Meeting
March 31 - Student of the Month
Read Across America
Friday, March 17 is a Digital Learning Day.
The Book Fair is Coming!
March is Youth Art Month
March is Youth Art Month and our school does a great deal to celebrate the artistic gifts of our students and advocate for arts education. We have SO MUCH TO CELEBRATE! Below are dates that you may want to add to our communication with parents and/or colleagues.
3/10/23 - Gwinnett County Public Schools Tapestry Exhibit Opening Night - Friday, March 10, from 5-7 at the Instructional Support Center. 25 of our AMAZING artists will have work on display and will receive certificates of recognition. Tapestry is the LARGEST student art exhibit in Georgia.
3/21/23 - 2 NES artists will represent Norcross Elementary School at the Capitol Art Exhibit. Students will meet State Representatives and Senators as we celebrate their accomplishments. Our artists will be among the most accomplished young artists and students in grades k-12 from around the entire State.
3/27/23 - Montage will be on Monday, February 27th, at 5:30 in the gym. The SEL theme, Cover Me In Sunshine', is all about feelings and expression. All of the students in our school will have artwork on display and there will be incredible musical and PE performances from all grade levels. We will also hold our first Empty Bowls sale since COVID. Art Club creates and sells empty ceramic bowls to help buy food to fill the bowls of our neighbors!
SAVE THE DATES:
April 15 & 16 - Mitchell Wall Community Project Weekend.
April 27 - Norcross Cluster Art Show, Norcross High School
Norcross Public Library - Message from Laura Dobbins
Attending Class is Part of Being a Good Student
Attending Class is Part of Being a Good Student
Classwork and participation are key parts of your teen's education. Some teachers even place higher value on these than on tests. Helping your teen maintain regular attendance is an important way you can support academic achievement.
It's true that school is a student's job, but parents can be held accountable for unexcused absences. Having your teen in school is the right decision for the whole family.
To promote regular attendance:
- Make it clear that your teen must be in every class, every day. Illness and family emergencies, such as a death, should be the only exceptions.
- Avoid making appointments for your teen during school hours. Sometimes it is tempting for students to skip the whole day just because of a one-hour doctor's appointment.
- Ask other adults in your teen's life to reinforce the need to be in school.
- Avoid having your teen babysit younger children during school hours.
- Don't allow your teen to skip even an hour of school for errands such as shopping trips or haircuts.
If your teen skips school without your permission:
- Cooperate with teachers' plans for dealing with the absence.
- Make it clear that your teen has broken an important rule, both at home and at school.
- Require your teen to make up all missed work.
Asistir a clase es parte de ser un buen estudiante
El trabajo en clase y la participación son elementos clave en la educación de su joven. Algunos maestros incluso les dan mayor importancia a estas áreas que a los exámenes. Ayudar a su joven a tener una buena asistencia es una manera importante de apoyar su éxito académico.
Es cierto que la escuela es responsabilidad de los estudiantes. Pero los padres pueden ser considerados responsables por las faltas no justificadas. Mandar a su hijo a la escuela es la decisión correcta para toda la familia.
Para promover la asistencia regular:
- Diga claramente que su hijo debe asistir a todas las clases, todos los días. Las enfermedades y las emergencias familiares, tal como un fallecimiento, deberían ser las únicas excepciones.
- Evite programar citas para su hijo durante el horario escolar. A los estudiantes suele resultarles tentador faltar todo el día solo porque tienen una cita médica de una hora.
- Pídales a otros adultos con los que su hijo tenga contacto y confianza que le reafirmen la necesidad de ir a la escuela.
- Evite que su hijo cuide niños más pequeños durante el horario escolar.
- No permita que su hijo pierda ni siquiera una hora de clase para hacer mandados, como hacer las compras o cortarse el cabello.
Si su hijo falta a la escuela sin su permiso:
- Coopere con los planes de los maestros para abordar el asunto.
- Dígale claramente a su hijo que ha roto una regla importante, tanto en casa como en la escuela.
- Exija que su hijo recupere todo el trabajo que perdió.
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.
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Clinic Updates
1. If your child has a medical alert/medical health management plan, please contact Kierra Flowers 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.
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.
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
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