Griffins Connect
Week of January 2nd #ReImagine #WholeChild
Happy New Year, Sterling School!
We hope everyone had a wonderful winter break. While 2021 brought unique challenges and difficulties (much due to the continued COVID-19 pandemic), we look forward to a brighter 2022! Continued good work — just as necessary, important, and difficult — lies ahead for us all as we move into the new year. As always, we are grateful for your constant encouragement and support.
In the chance of an increased number of COVID-19 cases in the coming days (as often observed after longer breaks from school), we ask for everyone's support to ensure the health and safety of all within our school community.
- Please keep your student at home if they display any of the following symptoms: cough or shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing; fever (of 100.4 or higher) or chills; muscle or body aches; vomiting or diarrhea; or, new loss of taste or smell.
- Report any known positive COVID-19 exposures and positive cases immediately to Dr. Patterson.
- Review the new DHEC COVID-19 Guidelines for Isoltation/Quarantines (info below).
- If you are able and willing, consider serving as a substitute at our school. Without the needed personnel, we cannot operate our school.
Thank you, again, for your continued support of our school.
Dr. P.
What's Ahead...
January 3: Students Return from Winter Break
January 7: Winter Break Reading Logs Due to Homeroom Teacher
***Running Club is not scheduled for January 3rd or at any time during the months of January and February. This club will resume in March.
Looking Ahead...
January 11: Nick Bruel author visit with 2nd-5th grades (info below)
January 13: End of 2nd Quarter
January 17: MLK Jr. Holiday (No School)
January 20: 2nd Quarter Report Cards
New DHEC COVID-19 Guideline for Isolations/Quarantines
Greenville County Schools is required by law to follow DHEC’s direction on quarantine and isolations, and we are updating our processes to reflect the changes outlined below. These updates will further reduce the time that students and employees are excluded from school and work while still keeping everyone’s safety and health a top priority. Please familiarize yourself with the following updates, which go into effect immediately.
Isolations:
The isolation period for employees or students who test positive for COVID-19 has been reduced from 10 days to 5 days, if there are no symptoms or symptoms have improved*.
If you test positive for Covid-19:
- Isolate for 5 days after symptoms started (if asymptomatic, isolate for 5 days after test date)
- Wear a mask days 6-10.
- If you have no symptoms after Day 5 or symptoms have improved*, you may return to school/work but must wear a mask days 6-10.
- DHEC requires that students must provide a parent note that symptoms have improved* and no fever in the past 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication. Students must bring the parent note to the school’s front office for approval before returning to class.
*Improved symptoms is defined as symptoms are significantly improving AND there has been no fever in the past 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication.
Quarantines:
All close-contact exposures must wear a mask through the 10th day after exposure.
For those who are not vaccinated**, the minimum quarantine period has been reduced to 5 days after a close-contact exposure.
If you have a close-contact exposure to someone with COVID-19:
- If you are vaccinated**, you do not have to quarantine.
- If you are not vaccinated**, you must quarantine for a minimum of 5 days.
- Quarantine can end after Day 5 if a viral test is negative AND if no symptoms were present during the quarantine period. The viral test (PCR or antigen; home tests will not be accepted) must be collected no sooner than Day 4, and quarantine cannot be discontinued earlier than completion of Day 5.
- DHEC requires anyone who has had a close-contact exposure to someone positive with COVID-19 to wear a mask through Day 10 and recommends you get tested on Day 5, regardless of vaccination status.
**To avoid quarantine, DHEC requires that the person exposed has received all of the vaccine doses for which they are eligible:
- Individuals ages 16 and up who are 14 days after the last dose of the initial vaccine series are considered vaccinated; however, if 6 months have elapsed since receiving the second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or 2 months have elapsed after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, a booster dose is required to avoid quarantine.
- Individuals ages 15 and younger are not eligible for boosters at this time, and are considered vaccinated 14 days following the final dose of the two-dose initial series.
Cubing Club: Now Accepting New Members
Have you ever tried to solve a Rubik’s cube, but didn’t know how to? The Sterling/CTC Cubing club is here! This FREE, one semester long club will give you all the resources you need to solve the Rubik’s cube, and more! All 4th-8th graders are welcome to join, via a Google Form. Try out a new experience, and meet new friends.
The starting date will be Tuesday, January 18. Club meets every school Tuesday from 2:30 to 3:30. Please bring a cube and computer.
- *The Sterling/CTC Cubing club will not provide cubes; it is the member’s responsibility to buy and bring them to school.
- *Space is very limited, as there is a 16 member limit per semester, max 4 per grade.
Support a Griffin! Sign-Up to Mentor a Student!
Imagine a world where young people feel empowered, encouraged, and understood. Mentors can make that world a reality by helping young people find and follow their passions, excel in school, and thrive wherever they are. Did you know that January is National Mentoring Month? #WholeChild
Join Sterling School's ongoing partnership 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. If you or someone you know from our school community are willing to volunteer 30 minutes of your time weekly, we need you!
If you are interested in serving as a mentor, please complete the interest survey found HERE! Mrs. Berry, Sterling School counselor, will soon follow-up with training information and other pertinent details.
Career Talks for Middle School: Parents Needed!
We are looking for speakers each day during the weeks of January 18-24 and January 27-31. We have two classes, so you can pick the time that works best for you. For Ms. Bohnenberger's class, the time is 2nd period (8:38-9:25). Ms. Porterfield's class meets 7th period (1:43-2:30).
If you're interested, please contact Ms. Linda Reynolds at (864) 355-7514 or lreynold@greenville.k23.sc.us
2nd Grade CogAT/Iowa Retest
In October, your student completed the CogAT and Iowa Assessments online. These assessments are used as screeners for qualifying students to participate in our South Carolina Gifted and Talented Program (Challenge). The test results are also used to determine placement in the Charles Townes Center (CTC) at Sterling School for Highly Gifted students. Although the primary purpose of these assessments is to identify students for the Gifted and Talented Programs, students’ results can be useful to teachers as they examine their instructional practices to help them identify teaching strategies for all students.
During October’s CogAT and Iowa test window, some students at some schools experienced technical issues (e.g., freezing screens, audio issues, omitted software functionality) during the online administration. While school staff resolved many technical issues, allowing students to complete their tests, the testing vendor and the district have deemed some issues to have created disruptions, distractions, or experiences which could compromise the validity of some students’ scores. Thus, due to the technical issues some students experienced while completing the tests, we are offering all students the opportunity to retake both the CogAT and Iowa tests during the January testing window, January 4-13.
CogAT/Iowa Testing Schedule
Day 1 - Jan. 4, 2022
- CogAT Verbal Analogies, Sentence Completion, Picture Classification, Quantitative Number
- Analogies and Number Puzzles
Day 2 - Jan. 5, 2022
- CogAT Quantitative Number Series and Nonverbal Figure Matrices, Paper Folding, and Figure Classification
Day 3 - Jan. 6, 2022
Iowa Reading
Day 4 - Jan. 7, 2022
Iowa Mathematics
Note: If your student is absent or you choose not to have your student participate, no other test opportunities will be offered.
During all retesting/make-up testing opportunities in January, students will test via paper and not online. When determining eligibility for Gifted and Talented programs, including CTC, students’ highest scores from either the October or January administrations will be considered. If your child is absent during the January testing window, scores from the October administration will be used to determine Gifted and Talented eligibility. Scores from the October administrations are not available at this time.
If you have questions regarding your child’s retesting, please contact Ms. Harris.
ACE Awards Accepting Nominations
If you would like to nominate a Greenville County 8th or 12th grader, please submit a nomination - CLICK HERE!
All nominations must be submitted by January 31, 2022. An ACE Awards Advisory Committee at each school will choose finalists from among those nominated. One male and one female will be chosen from each middle and high school in Greenville County. All ACE award recipients will be recognized at a live stream ACE Awards ceremony in the spring.
To Learn More visit: Coaches For Character Video
The Griffin Guard
Attention Dads, Daddys, Fathers, Papas, Grampas, Granddads, Uncles, and other male role models for our students: We need your help!
In January, our school will begin a new program called "The Griffin Guard" and we want you to be a part of it! The Griffin Guard will assist during our Friday morning front carline from 7:10-7:45am to help kids get out of cars and into school efficiently and safely.
Can you spare 35 minutes on an occasional Friday? You will make a positive impact on our students, help our carline run smoothly, and get to know other male role models at our school.
If you can help or are interested in learning more, please complete this google form and we will email you with additional details closer to our kickoff.
Support Your Young Readers: Dolly Parton Imagination Library
Author Nick Bruel to Visit Sterling School
New York Times bestselling children’s author Nick Bruel will be doing a virtual visit with 2nd-5th grades at Sterling School on Tuesday, January 11th, 2022, to discuss his Bad Kitty chapter book series, including the new book, Bad Kitty Gets a Phone.
If you would like to pre-order books (including a signed bookplate), please send in your payment with the form below (make checks payable to Sterling School) and return it to your child’s teacher by Wednesday, January 12th.
DonorsChoose: Support a Sterling Classroom
CLICK HERE to check out our school's classroom projects!
Supporting a DonorsChoose project is super easy...
1) Find a classroom project that inspires you and give as little as $1. We're a public charity, so your donation is tax-deductible.
2) When a project is fully funded, DonorsChoose will purchase all the requested items and ship them directly to the school.
3) When funded, every donor gets a thank-you letter from the teacher, photos from the classroom, and a report of how each dollar was spent.
2021 Winter Break Reading Challenge
Join us for our Winter Break Reading Challenge! K4 through 8th Grade Participants who complete our challenge will enjoy PANCAKES WITH THE PRINCIPALS!
- Kindergartners (4K & 5K) are asked to complete the Penguin/Snowball page. (CLICK HERE!)
- Students in Grades 1-8 are asked to complete the Candy Cane page. (CLICK HERE!)
NOTE: For the form to count, it needs to be completed between December 17 & January 2. Just follow the directions including a parent’s signature. All forms are due to homeroom teachers by Friday, January 7, 2022.
We would also love for you to share pictures of your child as he or she participates in this year's Challenge. Use #SterlingReads2021 within your Facebook/Twitter posts and we'll share them on our school's page. You can also send a direct message or simply email Dr. Patterson. Happy Holidays & Happy Reading!
Sterling School's 2022-23 Teacher of the Year
Congratulations, Dr. Kylee Rucker! Sterling School’s 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year! Dr. Rucker, we are thankful for you and are appreciative of all your support, leadership, and dedication to our school!
This is Dr. Rucker’s twelfth year of teaching first grade and her eighth year as a first-grade teacher at Sterling School. Growing up in a small Oregon town, Dr. Rucker’s parents emphasized the importance of serving your country. After graduating high school early, she enlisted in the Marine Corps at 17 years old. Dr. Rucker spent nine years in the Marine Corps. While serving, she earned a bachelor’s in psychology at Oregon State University, graduated Officer Candidate School, and served two deployments overseas.
Following her time in the Marine Corps, Dr. Rucker searched for a career that emphasized service. She returned to school to earn her Master of Arts in teaching at Western Governors University. Her teaching career began in Bluffton, SC where she taught first grade for four years.
In 2014, Dr. Rucker’s family moved to Greenville where she joined the Sterling family. It was here that Dr. Rucker decided to pursue a deeper understanding of how children learn and how she could best meet their needs. Serving as a teacher by day, and a doctoral student at night, Dr. Rucker spent the next five years developing her understanding of the psychology of cognition and instruction through a doctoral program at Grand Canyon University. Dr. Rucker discovered the importance of prioritizing physical movement, student choice, flexible seating, and teaching students about how their brains learn and respond. (If interested, check out Dr. Rucker's recent DonorsChoose project!)
After the school day, Dr. Rucker continues her commitment to service and developing the whole child by coaching the elementary and middle school girls’ running programs, Girls on the Run and Heart and Sole. Outside of school, Dr. Rucker enjoys laughing with her family, propagating plants, and beekeeping. #ReImagine #WholeChild
2021 6th Grade Winter Band Performance
2021 7th/8th Grade Winter Band Performance
2021 Middle School Winter Band Concerts
If you'd like to hear an additional song from our 6th Grade Band, CLICK HERE or HERE!
If you'd like to hear an additional song from our 7th & 8th Grade Band, CLICK HERE or HERE!
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