Simonton Parent Newsletter
Friday, January 15, 2021
Every Student, Every Day, Deserves to Learn, Lead, & Excel!
Message from Ms. Perkins
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16Y4D9CWbykfJQC84FQLEp15iHD0BCxA9/view?usp=sharing
Digital Learning for all Students next week!
Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) announced Wednesday, January 13, that it will temporarily transition all in-person learners to digital instruction beginning Tuesday, January 19. (Monday, January 18, is a school holiday.) District leaders will monitor the COVID situation and its effects on staffing to determine its ability to resume in-person instruction on Monday, January 25.
Students will be expected to complete their lessons digitally each day and attendance will be documented. Teachers will report to their schools to deliver their digital lessons. As was done last spring, teachers who have school-aged children will be allowed to bring them to school.
GCPS will offer meal service during this transition to digital learning (Jan. 19-22). Meals will be available for curbside pick-up at schools, and, the district will deliver meals along all bus routes countywide during this time. Families should expect buses to run their routes from approximately 10:45 a.m. to noon, beginning at the first stops on the route.
Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday
STEAM Night
Virtual Author Visit
Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan. 18, 2021, is the 26th anniversary of the day of service that celebrates the Civil Rights leader’s life and legacy. Observed each year on the third Monday in January as “a day on, not a day off,” MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities.
Semester 2 Calendar Updates
This semester, we will see the addition of four digital learning days:
January 26, March 2, March 16, and April 20.
These will be asynchronous learning days where ALL students (both digital & in-person) will learn from home, providing teachers additional days for planning during the semester.
January's Character Word of the Month
January’s character word is Motivated. You can show that you are motivated by staying positive, doing things before being asked, setting goals and rewarding yourself.
You can also show motivation by being willing to learn new things, encouraging yourself, accepting challenges, and trying your best.
We look forward to recognizing all of our motivated students at the end of the month.
ACCESS testing form for our Digital, ESOL students..
GCPS will be administering the ACCESS for ELL's 2.0 assessment in-person to students at their school. ESOL Students who have elected to continue all-digital instruction are encouraged to participate in this assessment. Please complete this form so that your child's school has an accurate count of students wishing to take this assessment. Digital learners are NOT required to take the ACCESS for ELL's 2.0 Assessment, but do have the option to come to school and participate in this test.
***Please complete the following form whether you are sending your digital learner in for ESOL testing or not.
We need to keep track of each parent's choice.
Kindergarten students must make an appointment.
1st, 2nd, 3rd grade students MUST attend both dates below.
4th and 5th grade students ONLY choose ONE day below.
Testing Dates:
Kindergarten: Please call to make an appointment (February dates available)
First Grade: February 1st and 2nd
Second and Third Grade: February 3rd and February 4th
Fourth and Fifth: (Choose 1 day-Testing Dates February 8th, 9th, or 10th)
Please fill out the form below as soon as possible so we can adequately prepare for testing.
This form is for the ESOL, digital students attending our school.
Next Week's ACCESS testing for 1st & 2nd grades will be rescheduled!
Imagine Learning Middle of the Year (MOY) Benchmark
They will see an owl, Professor Hoot, pop-up on their screen who will let them know that they will be taking a test and to do their best.
If you have a digital student, please make sure that they are taking time throughout the week to log-on to both Imagine Learning & Imagine Math. These are housed on our eCLASS landing page, as well as their teacher's page.
5th Grade T-shirt
***Digital Learners will be notified when t-shirts are available for pick-up.
*** The Deadline to place your order is March 1, 2021.
Please see the order form attached below.
Let's all do our part to stay healthy!!
Wear a mask
it's required!
Please make sure your child wears his/her mask over both their mouth & nose.
Wash your hands
frequently!
Use both hand sanitizer & soap to wash away germs.
Maintain social distance
at least 6 feet apart!
Keeping your distance is essential.
Return to Learning Hub
No matter if you are learning digitally or plan to transition to in-person... this is your go-to source.
Click on the link below for more information.
United Ebony Society 21st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Celebration
This year to Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the United Ebony Society of Gwinnett County will hold a Drive-Thru Donation.
Please consider participating in the United Ebony Society Dr. Martin Luther King Drive-Thru Donation on Saturday, January 16th starting at 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Moore Middle School located at 1221 Lawrenceville Highway, Lawrenceville, GA 30046.
This event will be a service project to help senior nursing facilities and homeless outreach organizations.
Please note precautions will be implemented as per CDC Guidelines during this event. Please review the listing of requested items. Please NO CASH donations. Thank you for your donations!
Videos from Mystery Science...
Family Engagement Tips for the week
- Share a strategy for success on matching tests Tests in elementary school often have a matching section. To help your child score well on this type of question, remind him to read all the directions carefully. Tell him to look to see whether one column is longer than the other. If so, some answers may not get used. Your child should match the easiest items first, and then cross out answers he's already used. That will narrow his choices for the tougher matches. http://niswc.com/17aKC326428
- Ask questions to encourage thinking Not every problem your child will face will have an easy solution. So it's important to teach her to ask questions and think things through. To promote this kind of thought, say things like, "I wonder why that happened" or "I wonder what might happen if …?" Encourage your child to ask questions about the world around her. And when she expresses an opinion, teach her how to find facts to support it.
- Send your child off to sleep with positive thoughts The last words you say to your child at bedtime will be the words he hears in his head all night. Make a daily habit of remembering the best thing your child did that day. Tell him at bedtime.
- A failing grade is feedback for the future Your child didn't pass a test. What should you do? Think of F as standing for "feedback." First, notice anything your child got right. Then help her learn from the rest by asking questions such as: What kinds of questions did you miss? Did you miss them because of something you didn't read or remember from your notes or the book? What does this test tell you about how you should prepare for the next one?
- This trick looks like magic, but it's science Try this science experiment with your child: Place a penny on a sheet of paper. Set a clear glass of water on top of the penny. Can your child see the penny? Next, cover the top of the glass with a saucer. The penny disappears! Explain that we see objects when light rays reflect off them into our eyes. But the light reflecting off the penny has to pass through air, water and glass, which makes it bend. The saucer blocks the bent light ray from reaching your child's eye, and the penny seems to disappear.
- When helping with schoolwork, think ABC Helping your child with schoolwork can be as simple as ABC (and D and E)! A is for Attitude. Model a positive attitude about learning for your child. B is for Breaks. Let him take short breaks during study sessions. C is for Choice. Let him choose what to work on first. D is for Directions. He should read them carefully, then restate them. E is for Encouragement. Find positive things to say about your child's efforts.
- Encourage scientific thinking with a 'laundry lab' Doing laundry can be more than just a chore. It can also teach your child science skills, such as observing and classifying. Scientists notice details. Ask your child, "Does this towel feel different from that one? Why could that be?" Scientists also put things in groups. Help your child sort the laundry by color, size or family member. Challenge her to come up with a new way to "classify" clothes.
AKS at Home ~ 3rd Quarter
The AKS at Home webpage has been updated with the dates and times of the Zoom sessions and is located at https://www.gcpsk12.org/Page/26993. All Zoom sessions will have a Spanish Interpreter. To enhance a secure online environment for our families, each session will require registration using the Zoom meeting link.
(Please see the attachments below.)
Simonton Elementary ~ What We Stand For
Vision
Simonton is committed to dynamic high quality instruction resulting in a passion for learning, leading and excelling.
Core Belief
Every Student Every Day, Deserves to Learn, Lead, and Excel
Commitments
We commit to giving our students a fresh start every day.
We commit to preparing quality and engaging lessons that will prepare our students to be successful in school.
We commit to teaching, modeling and holding our students accountable for appropriate school behavior.
We commit to providing our students with a structured and safe learning environment.
We commit to a great year of learning, leading, and excelling
Simonton Elementary School
Superintendent- Mr. J. Alvin Wilbanks
Assistant Superintendent- Dr. Terry Watlington
Board Member- Mr. Steven B. Knudsen
Principal- Tamara G. Perkins
Assistant Principal- Daphne Miles
Assistant Principal- Emily Young
Website: gcpsk12.org/SimontonES
Location: 275 Simonton Road Southeast, Lawrenceville, GA, USA
Phone: (770) 513-6637