Abbotts Hill Hilltop Happenings
January 11, 2021
Abbotts Hill Elementary
Website: https://www.fultonschools.org/abbottshilles
Location: 5575 Abbotts Bridge Road, Johns Creek, GA, United States
Phone: 470-254-2860
Mark Your Calendar
1/11 - 1/15 - All learners are remote
1/18 MLK Jr. Holiday (School Closed)
1/20 Remote Students Fall Picture Pick Up - 8:30-9:30 am in the carpool lane
1/20 School Governance Council Meeting 3:00 pm
1/29 Picture Retakes (New Date - see information below)
A Message From Dr. Stabler
Breaking News
Due to recent developments, all students and teachers will remain in remote learning with our intent to resume face-to-face instruction on Tuesday, January 19, following the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. All ACCESS Testing will be rescheduled. Picture Retakes will be rescheduled as noted below. The Extended Learning Program will continue via remote learning.
Welcome Back Jaguars!
We hope everyone had an amazing break and a very Happy New Year! We are looking forward to a wonderful second semester. In addition to the breaking news above, below, you will find a few updates for this semester. Several of these items were finalized at the last board meeting in December.
Learning Model Selections: All learning model selections for third quarter were “locked” on December 14. Now that the quarter has begun, model changes will only be granted for extreme hardships and must be approved by the District. Should your family encounter a hardship, please reach out to Alice Lan, lan@fultonschools.org, for a Learning Environment Hardship approval form.
Attendance: Just a friendly reminder for our remote students…Please make sure you join your live lessons in TEAMs on time. Your teachers love to see you! Please turn your cameras on, and unmute your mic, when appropriate, to participate. This will help teachers with student attendance and engagement.
Supporting your child during remote learning: We cannot thank you enough for partnering with us to ensure your child’s educational journey continues. Part of the learning process includes students engaging in a productive struggle. Productive struggle is the process of effortful learning that develops grit and creative problem solving. When students face problems, they do not immediately know how to solve (like on new assessments), we do not want them to give up. We want them to engage in making connections to things they already know, think creatively, and try different avenues towards solutions. (stmath.com)
Picture Retakes Rescheduled to January 29
Pictures have arrived! Due to recent developments, we are changing the picture retake day to January 29. We will be offering Picture Retakes on Friday, January 29 for those students wanting or needing to have their pictures retaken.
Face-to-face Students: If your child attends school face-to-face, they will receive their pictures when they return to the classroom. If you would like to retake the picture, please send in a note and the pictures with your child on Friday, January 29.
Remote Students: If your child is a remote learner, you will have an opportunity to come to the school to pick up your pictures during a drive-through on Wednesday, January 20 from 8:30-9:30 AM in the carpool lane (in front of the school). Once you pick up your pictures, you will have the opportunity to view them. If you decide that your child needs to have their picture retaken, you can join us on January 29 between 8:00-9:00 AM. We will follow the same procedures that we did for our initial Picture Day in December. Simply drive through the bus lane and a team member will greet your child and bring them to the room to have his or her picture retaken. Please bring the original pictures with you when you come.
Report Cards
Report Cards will be posted on January 15. You can log into Infinite Campus to view report cards. Paper copies are not being sent home. To view your child’s report card, please log into Infinite Campus through the Parent Portal. For help with accessing or signing up for the Portal, please click here. To find directions for accessing the report card, please click here.
Current Events
The events that occurred in Washington, D.C. created a wide range of feelings, emotions, and concerns for many across our country. Many of our children may have seen or heard about these current events and have questions. Please click here for a resource from the National Association of School Psychologists that provides guidance for talking to children about violence.
Fulton County Schools COVID-19 Information Site
The FCS COVID-19 site provides updates regarding resources, cases, positive trend rates, and pediatric reports. For the latest information on COVID-19 in Fulton County, please click here to access the site.
FCBOH Student COVID-19 Reporting System
The Fulton County Board of Health and Fulton County Schools have developed an on-line portal for FCS parents/guardians to report student COVID-19 related cases. Please make a report to the FCBOH when your student is COVID-19 positive, has a pending COVID-19 test result, or has been in direct contact with a COVID-19 positive person. Also, please use this resource for official reporting rather than alerting the school and/or teacher. If you must engage the school/teacher, please do so after you have made an official report to the FCBOH. Lastly, to ensure the protection of our school community, please do not allow your child to attend school or school-sponsored events when he/she is ill and/or has any of the above COVID-19 concerns. Please click here for more details and consider posting this document in a visible location, i.e. the refrigerator, for easy access.
Curriculum Corner by Mrs. Truesdale
Student Success Skills
Parent Resource:
Being kind demonstrates respect. Respect provides us with a sense of belonging. We show and are shown respect through the way we talk and act toward others and how they talk and act toward us.
Here are some ways we show respect to others:
Talk with your child about what respect feels like to him or her. Help him or her understand that the way to treat others with respect and kindness is to do the things that he or she likes.
Set a good example for your child. Model respect when you interact with your child, other family members, and other people. Remember to treat others the way you want to be treated.
TAG Update
TAG Update January 11, 2021
If you have any TAG questions or concerns, please email Steven Geddes directly at: geddes@fultonschools.org.
I am the TAG contact for Abbotts Hill ES.
The TAG Testing schedule has not been finalized at this point.
Face 2 Face students will be pulled from their regular classes for testing.
Virtual students will be scheduled to come in and test.
If your student has never been tested or the tests are over two years old, then your student will have to take 6 different tests.
News From The Clinic - Is My Child Too Sick For School?
Fulton County Schools Illness Policy:
Please remember that sending a sick child may cause them to spread the virus to other students and staff members. Additionally, we want your child to feel well enough to be at school and learn. Students who are sick, contagious (potential or actual) and/or have a fever greater than 100.4 F MUST NOT be sent to school. In order to return to school, a student should be fever free for at least 24 hours and not require medication to reduce fever; and in some cases must be cleared to return to school by a health care provider. When a student becomes ill at school, runs a fever, has a potential contagious illness or has a more serious health problem while at school, the parent/guardian MUST ARRANGE for the student to be taken home. Again, a note from a doctor may be requested by the school before your child can return to school. In order for us to be able to contact you quickly, in case your child is sick or has an emergency, please be sure all your emergency phone numbers and contacts are updated in our computer system.
Here are some additional things you can do to help prevent the spread of flu and other infectious illnesses:
- It is not too late to get a flu vaccine. The CDC recommends getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Flu vaccination is especially important for people who are at risk from flu; many of whom are also at risk for COVID-19 or serious outcomes.
- Stay home if you are sick especially during the first days of illness when symptoms are most severe and the infection is most contagious. Return to school only when symptoms are improving and when you’ve had no fever(without the use of fever reducer- e.g.,Tylenol) for at least 24 hours.
Have you explored the VIRTUAL Learning Commons Yet? It is filled with book resources, information, and many surprises! Check it out on the Learning Commons website at www.abbottshillmc.weebly.com
MORNING BROADCAST
Our fifth grade Jamming with the Jaguars Broadcast Team has been astounding viewers and working hard to start everyone’s day off with a smile! Have you missed a broadcast? Just visit the Learning Commons website at www.abbottshillmc.weebly.com and select “Morning Broadcasts” to watch the episodes. Each one is infused with fun, important information, and Jaguar spirit! All of our first semester’s broadcasts can be found here!
If your child would like to submit a Pet Parade video, we’d love to share it with the school on a future broadcast! Just take a short video (30 seconds or so) introducing everyone to your pet and email it to Mrs. Dickinson at Dickinson@fultonschools.org.
BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
The arrival of January means that all BoB participants should have read their fourth BoB book and submitted their questions, answers, and evidence by 8:00pm the night before their meeting.
3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are really enjoying their monthly meetings and are developing useful organizational skills in the process!
Students may borrow a book from the Learning Commons, read it online through MackinVia, check it out from the public library, or buy it. Please note that only ONE Battle of the Books book may be checked out at a time.
Advance notice must be provided if students are unable to attend a meeting for any reason. Students should also have posted their FlipGrid introductions and responded to others’ by now.
All meeting schedules are available within the BoB Teams. General information is available on the Learning Commons website under “Battle of the Books”.
PTA News
Order Your 2020-2021 Yearbooks Before It's Too Late: You MUST pre-order your yearbook through the Balfour website: https://www.balfour.com/georgia/johns-creek/abbotts-hill-elementary-school. PTA memberships did not include a yearbook this year. Deadline to order is January 31st.
Helping Hands:
Thank you for all the contributions that helped make the event a success. The sister school was incredibly appreciative and shared this note:
"Please pass along my sincere appreciation to the entire Abbotts Hill ES community for donating SO MANY wonderful gifts for our children.
My heart is full today (as I returned to school) to see the outpouring of support for our families. Your community is amazing and many of our children
benefit from your generosity every year. "Thank you" just doesn't seem like enough, but please let everyone know that our community
appreciates how you all exemplify the true meaning of the holidays. Thank you for your generosity, your time, and for choosing us."
2019-2020 Yearbook Distribution: Several yearbooks from last year have not been picked up. If you have NOT picked up your pre-ordered yearbook from 2019-2020, please reach out to AHEyearbook@gmail.com to arrange a pick up in the Hillbrooke neighborhood.
5th Grade Yearbook Congratulatory Message and Baby Photo
Every year, 5th grade parents can submit a congratulatory message and baby photo for their 5th grader to be included in the yearbook. Please see flyer here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UoaIlzuhDcLpNCfJqWCPolgI8jEmGZVl/view?usp=sharing for details on how to submit your message and/or photo. If you have any questions, please reach out to AHEpridelines@gmail.com. Entries are due by January 11th.
Call for Virtual Learning Photos for the Yearbook!
Submit photos of your child during virtual learning (August through present) to the appropriate class link (see https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hCXZcKE09m4nLW6Cavb-Z38rwBWVm7x9/view?usp=sharing). Any questions, please reach out to AHEyearbook@gmail.com.
5th Grade Volunteer Opportunities:
Planning for 5th grade week is underway. Please email AHEpridelines@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering.
Thank You Jaguars!
K-2 ELA Textbook Adoption
The public review period for the K-2 Textbook Adoption is available now through January 22. Teachers, parents, and stakeholders can review the following resources and provide feedback: (1) Benchmark Workshop (Benchmark), (2) Into Reading (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and (3) Wonders (McGraw Hill). Digital resources are posted here. Stakeholders can review displays with print and digital resources at the Administration building, the NLC, or the SLC. Fulton County is offering virtual vendor presentations via TEAMS on Thursday, January 7 from 5:00-6:45 PM and Saturday, January 9 from 9:30 -10:45 AM. Click here for more information.
Hardship Transfer Deadline is March 1, 2021
Hardship Transfer Deadline: March 1, 2021
Hardship Transfer applications are available beginning Jan. 1 for parents who wish to apply for a 2021-22 hardship transfer or to renew a current hardship to another Fulton elementary, middle or high school. Parents will use an online form to enter and submit their information. Get more info and access the application here.