The Principal's Desk At Sycamore ES
Parent Engagement Day is on Thursday!
Principal's Desk: Week Ending November 16, 2015
Parents and Guardians,
It is amazing how fast this year is "flying" by! We are already shopping for Thanksgiving dinner and planning holiday events. It is my favorite time of the year!
Parent Engagement Day: Thursday, November 19, 2015
We are eagerly awaiting your presence on Thursday, November 19, 2015 for our Annual Parent Engagement Day. Please check our calendar on our web page for our special lunch times and activities. This is a day for you to engage with your children in their classroom environment and also have a special Thanksgiving lunch at school. We are very excited for you to visit our teachers in their classrooms.
Redistricting to Sycamore: 2016-2017
Next year, we are anticipating 135 students from Sugar Hill Elementary School due to redistricting. We are extremely excited about these new students joining our family. If there are any parents who have questions about our school, please make sure that they give us a call at 678-714-5770. Sycamore Elementary School is growing, it's exciting, and we cannot be happier.
Thank You!
Thank you to all of our parents who joined us this past week for our United Way Zumba Night! We couldn't have done it without Ms. Jacobs, one of our parents, (as well as) our bus manager, Ms. Martinez, and their friends for their presence and support. We had over 75 participants in attendance. The funds which were raised will go to United Way although half of all of our proceeds will be returned to our school later this year. "Way To Go, Sycamore!"
Cafeteria Rules:
When you come to visit your children for lunch, you may sit with them and enjoy our school lunch. Fast food and/or outside food (not provided by Sycamore) is not allowed. Thank you, in advance, for following these rules.
Signing In:
We are still finding that after lunch, some parents are attempting to visit the classrooms. Please allow your child to get in line with your child's teacher and proceed to class. If you are interested in visiting the class, you will have to get permission and a new sticker, if applicable, for that day. Additionally, please always have the proper identification with you when signing children "in" and/or "out." Thank you for your cooperation.
Reminders:
Check Out Is Before 2:55 PM Daily
We do not check students out of school after 2:55 PM. I have noticed that some are stretching this safety rule. I would appreciate it if you would honor it instead. Also, be mindful that you want to come early enough for us to bring your child to the front office from various locations in the school. Please have your ID at all times and be willing to show it to our staff in a positive manner when "checking in" even though you are a frequent visitor. Both, your cooperation and understanding, are appreciated.
Calendar
Our calendar is posted on our web site and is updated electronically. We no longer send a paper copy of the calendar, so please keep that in mind as you make arrangements for upcoming events. When you click on monthly view, you can see the weekly calendar for the month. We continue to update the calendar for upcoming months and the week before the month begins is usually the most up to date calendar. There are changes that occur so it is important to check with your child's teacher if you have specific questions.
Cafeteria Visitation:
All cafeteria passes are only for admission to the cafeteria. Please allow all students to walk to and from their classrooms without an escort. If you would like to visit the classroom, you must come to the front office, receive entrance/permission, and retrieve a visitor's pass. If you are unclear about what to do, please, give your grade level AP a call. Thank you for helping us to improve in this area. If we are having a school wide event like Field Day or parties, we will have "sack lunches. As always, stay in touch with your child's teacher for updates as the year progresses.
PTA Spotlight:
Hello, Everyone, I hope you've had a great week! we just kicked off our Box Tops classroom competition this past week, so dig through your pantry and cut some Box Tops! The class who turns in the most each week will win our coveted "Cookie Trophy". We will also have a monthly contest, and winning classrooms, will win "A Popcorn Party". As always, we sincerely appreciate all of your help and support. By the way, if you get a minute, please Like our Facebook page, Facebook.com/sycamore.pta for more updates.
Have a great upcoming week!
Mrs. Crystal Cooper Thompson
Principal
Sycamore Elementary School
Sycamore Elementary School
Please go to the links below for essential updates and exciting news!
Email: crystal_cooper_thompson@gwinnett.k12.ga.us
Website: http://sycamorees.org
Location: 5695 Sycamore Road, Sugar Hill, GA, United States
Phone: (678) 714-5770
Facebook: facebook.com/sycamorees
Twitter: @sycamorees
Congratulations to Ms. Wallace, our 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year!
Georgia Milestones
Dear Gwinnett County Public Schools Parents and Guardians,
We anticipate the state will soon release system and school results from last year’s
administration of the Georgia Milestones Assessment which was taken in April of 2015. Asyou may remember, last spring was the first time our students took this new state assessment which took the place of the old Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) and HighSchool End of Course Tests (EOCT). Here are a few things to know about these results…
- Previously, with the CRCT and EOCT, student achievement was reported in three
categories of achievement (Does Not Meet, Meets, or Exceeds). The Milestones
results will be reported using four categories of achievement (Beginning Learner,
Developing Learner, Proficient Learner, and Distinguished Learner).
- Because the CRCT, EOCT, and Georgia Milestones are totally different tests, with
different expectations and different scoring, you cannot compare scores between
the tests.
- As the Georgia Milestones set higher expectations for student achievement, it is
likely that fewer students will achieve scores in the top achievement categories. This
does not mean that our students know less; it is simply a reflection that the
achievement bar has been raised.
- As with any new assessment, we anticipate that scores will initially be lower than
they will be in future years as students and teachers become more accustomed to
the new test and its format.
- While system and school scores will be available initially, the school system has
not received individual student reports. As soon as the district receives the
individual student reports (possibly as late as the end of the semester) we will place
this information in the Parent Portal. At that time, you will be able to go to your
Parent Portal account to see your student(s) results.
Gwinnett County Public Schools is committed to providing students a quality education that helps them to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in college and careers. Ensuring that parents and the public are informed about how well our students are doing is a key piece to that success. As a district, we are looking forward to reviewing last year’s Milestones results, digging into what they tell us about our students, their achievement, and what we can do to help students achieve at higher levels. Thank you for your continued support of our students, our schools, and GCPS.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Patterson
Associate Superintendent for Curriculum and Instructional Support