Griffins Connect
November 13th #CreatingConnections #WholeChild
A Thankful Word from Dr. P.
Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on those things that are most important to us: our family, our friends, our faith, and the many blessings that surround each and every one of us. I am particularly thankful for our Sterling School community. Whether you volunteer your time, provide tangible items and supplies, or reinforce at home what is taught at school, on behalf of the faculty, staff, and administration at Sterling School, we thank you! Our families are not taken for granted. Each day, we are blessed through simple interactions in the car line, encouraging notes and emails, and your strong presence at school events. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to serve you and your family. I pray that every Sterling School family has an enjoyable and memorable Thanksgiving. #CreatingConnections #WholeChild
*The Griffins Connect eNewsletter will resume the week of November 27th.
What's Ahead...
November 14: GCS School Choice Window Opens; Closes December 2nd (info below)
November 14-18: Book Fair
November 14-18: Relay for Life USC vs Clemson Challenge (info below)
November 14-18: ThankFULL Food Drive - To support: Loaves & Fishes (info below)
November 15: Aaron Reynolds Author Visit (to be rescheduled)
November 15: Middle School Extracurricular Photos Due (info below)
November 16: Erin’s Law Lesson to 7th grade
November 16: Thanksgiving Families for Lunch
- K4 (10:00), 5th grade (11:05), 3rd grade (11:30), Middle School (12:30)
- K5 (10:00), 1st grade (10:20), 2nd grade (10:30), 4th grade (11:00)
November 17: Parent Café: 5:30-7:00pm
November 17: "Think Like A..." Middle School Career Speaker Series (sign-up & info below)
November 18: Jr. Beta Bake Sale @ Lunch (info below)
November 19: Single Parent Resource Fair; 10-12pm (info below)
November 23-25: Thanksgiving Student Holiday
November 28: SIC Parent Information Survey Due (info below)
December 2: PTA Reflections Submissions Due (info below)
December 2: GCS School Choice Window Closes
Choose Sterling School! 23-24 School Choice Lottery Window Opens Nov. 14th
Did you know... Sterling School is Greenville County's only total choice school? This means every single family who attends Sterling School is here by choice. While students of our Charles Townes Center Program are here by invitation, many people do not realize that students of our Sterling Program are also here by choice. So, if you've enjoyed your experience at our school, share the good news (and this digital newsletter) and invite them to join our family!
Why Attend Sterling School?
- We are Nationally Recognized as a Top Performing School (Pep Rally Celebration)
- Unique Learning Experiences! (Such as Painting a Collaborative Mural)
- We Believe in Educating the WHOLE CHILD! (and are Award-Winning)
- We have strong community partnerships (National PTA School of Excellence)
- And MUCH, MUCH more!
Greenville County Schools Change in Assignment School Choice (CIA) Lottery Window for the 2023-24 school year begins tomorrow, Monday, November 14, 2022, and remains open until Friday, December 2, 2022 (@ 4:00pm). All parents wishing to submit a CIA choice request should submit at their first choice school during this window. This does not apply to magnet schools. Contact for CIA Requests: Planning and Demographics office, 355-7266 or 355-7263.
Starbooks Book Fair
Our students are ready to Read a Latte at this year's Starbooks Book Fair Café! Online shopping and e-Wallet setup begins 11/8 and goes through 11/18. Scholastic will give back 25% in rewards for our school when you shop online: CLICK HERE!
- Family Night is 11/15 from 2:30-6:00pm!
- Stop by when you come for Thanksgiving Lunch on 11/16 or 11/17!
- Starbooks Café will be in the media center from 11/14-11/18!
We need YOUR help to make the book fair a success! Added bonus, volunteers receive 20% off purchases. CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER!
Please consider making a donation to Sterling School's eWallet to help fund books for students who may not be able to afford one. To support, CLICK HERE! Contact Mrs. Matthews with any questions.
USC vs Clemson Relay for Life Challenge
From the SIC
The Sterling School SIC is seeking to engage families within our school community. Providing support to families through parent information sessions or lunch and learns is one idea we are considering. However, to provide meaningful, relevant sessions, we want your input.
Please complete the following survey (CLICK HERE!) by Monday, November 28th to inform our planning at next month's SIC meeting. Then, if you are able, please join us for our next meeting on Thursday, December 1st @ 8:30am. Thank you for your feedback!
American Education Week: Great Faculty/Staff Shout Out
This week we celebrate American Education Week (AEW). AEW presents all Americans with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate public education and honor individuals who are making a difference in ensuring that every child receives a quality education.
In this season of Thanksgiving and AEW, we'd like to highlight some of the many reasons we are thankful for our wonderful faculty and staff. We invite you to submit your own "Shout Out" to one or more members of the faculty/staff at the Sterling School! CLICK HERE!
The deadline to submit your shout out is by Tuesday, Nov. 22nd. These short, encouraging messages will uplift and inspire our faculty/staff in the important work they do!
PTA Reflections Show Your Voice!
Use the arts to share your personal Reflections on this year’s theme: Show Your Voice! All K4-8th grade Sterling/CTC students are encouraged to submit original works of art in one or more of the following categories: Dance Choreography, Music Composition, Film Production, Literature, Photography, and Visual Arts.
Winners will be chosen for our school in each art category for K4-2nd grade, 3rd-5th grade, and 6th-8th grade. Our school's winning entries will advance to the district, state, and national level.
All entries must be submitted by December 2nd!
Please contact Heidi Dannelly for additional information or help with entry submissions. CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT AN ENTRY!
ThankFULL Food Drive
Over 45,000 of our neighbors are unsure where one or more of their meals will come from today. Did you know some of these neighbors are part of our very own Sterling family? Unfortunately, almost every emergency food assistance organization has seen a significant decline in financial support. These agencies are relying more heavily than ever on donated food to help those who come to them for assistance.
Sterling School is excited to partner with Loaves & Fishes for our 2nd Annual ThankFULL Food Drive, November 14-18. Loaves & Fishes is a local food rescue non-profit that delivers fresh, shelf-stable, and prepared food to more than 107 agencies for distribution to our neighbors in need.
Students are encouraged to donate canned and shelf-stable goods. Collection bins will be set up outside of elementary homerooms and Mrs. Reynolds' office on the Middle School hallway. Volunteers will gather and count donations each day.
The top K4-2nd homeroom and the top two 3rd-5th homerooms that donate the most food will be awarded special prizes by Dr. Patterson and Mrs. Harris. Middle School is challenged to collect 1,000 items for a special prize awarded by Mr. Murphy. Stay tuned for more details!
Loaves & Fishes will pick up all donations from our school on Friday, November 18th.
LET'S FILL THE TRUCK!
Middle School Career Speaker Series
Our Career Speaker series for middle school students continues this month on Thursday, November 17 during recess (and into lunch) with "Think Like a Broadcast Journalist."
We are excited to welcome Diane Lee, an Emmy nominated anchor and two time Emmy Award winning reporter with more than 20 years experience as a broadcast journalist.
Diane is currently the 7NEWS consumer anchor. Her stories focus on scam alerts, discounts and deals, and money saving tips.
Diane began in the Upstate as a weekday morning anchor before moving into a nightside anchor position for 7NEWS. Prior to that she was a weekday morning anchor for FOX23 News in Albany, N.Y. and an evening anchor at WYOU, the CBS affiliate in Scranton, Pa.
In addition to her work in TV news, Diane loves to sing. She performs frequently with the Spartanburg Jazz Ensemble and Spartanburg Community Band. Diane graduated from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She lives in Greenville and has two children. She is also an avid jogger and hiker.
The form to attend the session has been posted on Ms. Treloar's Google Classroom.
Jr. Beta Bake Sale - November 18
Erin's Law: Parent Notification
All families are encouraged to review the following letter: CLICK HERE. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's designated school counselor or PE teacher.
SUPPORT A GRIFFIN & BECOME A MENTOR!
Sterling School has a 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 for the year. 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! We will follow-up with training information and other pertinent details. For any questions, email Mrs. Lindsay Berry (school counselor).
Donors Choose
CLICK HERE to check out our school's classroom projects! We currently have TWO projects from Dr. Rucker & Dr. Tchouros to fund.
Are you looking for a way to help support students across the building? Here are some of our current Donors Choose projects! When placing your donation, you can also choose what percentage of your donation goes to the project and what percentage of your donation goes to support DonorsChoose by clicking the “edit” button on the checkout page where it says “includes an optional 15% donation to support DonorsChoose”.
Can You Serve as a Substitute?
At Sterling School, we have amazing substitute teachers. These dedicated individuals help ensure that our school operates smoothly when a classroom teacher is absent. However, as a result of the pandemic, like most schools our list of active subs is short.
If you are able to help serve as a substitute for Sterling School and Greenville County Schools, please follow this link to get started and be sure to let us know (email Dr. Patterson!). We will be happy to help facilitate the process or connect you with current substitutes who can answer any of your questions. You may choose to work at any school or you can select Sterling exclusively. Work only on the days that fit your schedule. We appreciate your consideration to help the school by serving as a substitute!
We Need YOU! Volunteer Training
Thinking of chaperoning a field trip, becoming a room parent, or mentoring a student? Parents at Sterling School may now participate in volunteer training either in person or online.
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 via email or (864) 355-4480.
Sterling School In the News!
Daylight Savings: The Importance of Sleep
As part of our school's #WholeChild mission, our school works to advocate and support the importance of a physically healthy child. This weekend, families across America will turn their clocks back one hour. This shift can make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep for the recommended 8 or more hours each night, leading to fatigue, distraction and stress. Check out these science-backed tips for a good night's sleep as the seasons change.
- Preschoolers (ages 3–5): 10–13 hours (including naps)
- School age children (ages 6–12): 9–12 hours
- Teenagers (ages 13–18): 8–10 hours
Insufficient sleep can impact students’ concentration and ability to retain information. Sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle and supports success in school.
They'll 'Bee' Back!
Update on the Sterling Beehive - Sterling's beehive recently experienced a major change in population size and our onsite bee advocates decided to intervene on their behalf by relocating the hive to the home of our Bee Mentor for inspection.
Unfortunately, as is the case with many bee colonies today, it appears our bees may have been exposed to pesticide, succumbed to pest pressure, and/or experienced a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder - and were unable to recover.
Although we are saddened by the loss of our initial bee colony, we knew from the start that beekeeping carries these types of realities. As such, we kicked off the Sterling Beehive Project with a contingency plan in place. A secondary bee colony, split from our original hive, has been in the care of our Bee Mentor, April Boyer, at her home since May. This colony is currently in good health and undergoing preventative treatment for varroa mites until the week of Thanksgiving.
Weather permitting, we hope to re-implement our Sterling Bee Project at the school by the end of November with this 2nd bee installment, which is currently led by the daughter of our original Queen Bee. She and her hivemates will receive the names chosen by the Sterling Bee Naming Contests, and by applying the lessons and knowledge we learned while caring for her mother's colony, this hive will help us continue our beekeeping adventures at Sterling School/CTC.
Stay tuned for additional updates on the status of the replacement beehive coming soon and thank you for your continued support of the Sterling Beehive Project!
Garden Adoption Program (G.A.P.)
Single Parent Resource Fair
A Single Parent Resource Fair will take place at Front Porch Housing in Greenville (1433 Cleveland Street). This event is open to all single parents and families in the community. Over 35 organizations will be on hand to interact and connect with families.
Childcare and food will be provided. Parents are asked to sign-up beforehand. (CLICK HERE!)
Middle School Yearbook Information
Middle School Yearbook
It's yearbook time! The middle school yearbook is on sale and is currently $35. Click the image or LINK to order. Contact Ms. Baiden with questions.
PLEASE NOTE: The yearbook price will increase on January 1st.
8TH GRADE ADS
8th grade parents: Time is ticking for ordering 8th Grade Ads! Honor your 8th grader with a personalized ad in the middle school yearbook. Ads are due by 12/15 and can be ordered at this LINK. If you are uncertain about what an 8th Grade Ad is, check out this information sheet. Contact Ms. Baiden with questions.
Call for Photos: Extracurriculars
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