Hilltop Happenings
April 26, 2021
Abbotts Hill Elementary School
Website: https://www.fultonschools.org/abbottshilles
Location: 5575 Abbotts Bridge Road, Johns Creek, GA, United States
Phone: 470-254-2860
Mark Your Calendar
4/26-5/7 Georgia Milestones Testing for Grades 3, 4 and 5 (see schedule below)
4/29 PTA Virtual Board Meeting 6:00 pm (see below for link to join meeting)
5/3-5/16 Spring Virtual Book Fair
5/26 Last Day of School
5/28 School Supply Kit Orders (online) for 2021-2022 are due - see below for details
PTA Virtual Board Meeting April 29th, Open Board Positions and Nominations
PTA Virtual General Meeting on April 29th at 6:00. See below for meeting link.
We will hold an open election for positions on the PTA Executive Committee Board Members listed below. We will take nominations and vote at the meeting. Please plan to attend and help support PTA. Email liz.lehnertz@gmail.com for questions or more information.
Open PTA Board Positions:
PTA co-president
VP of Family Engagement
VP Teacher Support and Educational Enrichment
VP of School Events
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/74593798259?pwd=cUZoZW5DMzdnT0JZNlpQTUNLOHBpdz09
Meeting ID: 745 9379 8259
Passcode: Jaguars
Updates From Dr. Stabler
2021-2022 School Year
At the April 22 FCS Board Meeting, it was announced that all students would be returning to face-to-face instruction in August. There are some virtual options available for students in grades 3-12. Please click here for additional details regarding virtual learning opportunities for the 2021-2022 school year.
FCS Mask Update
As Fulton County continues to move forward with caution under the guidance and direction of the CDC and the Fulton County Board of Health, at the elementary level, effective Monday, May 17, masks will be highly recommended, but not required for students and staff when outside. All other safety protocols will remain in effect for the duration of the school year. Teachers and staff will no longer be enforcing the wearing of masks while outside beginning May 17. Please make sure your child knows and understands your desires as a family. If you would like for them to continue to wear a mask while outside, please review this family expectation with them. Please click here for additional information.
Increased Carpool Traffic and Safety Reminders
This week and next week, we will be welcoming back several of our 3rd – 5th grade remote learners in the morning for the Georgia Milestones assessment. Please plan to leave early as we anticipate increased traffic each morning of testing. The remote learners who will be joining us for testing are welcome to ride the bus TO school as well. Parents of our remote learners will be required to pick students up at the end of each testing session. Please see below for additional testing reminders. Please help us keep everyone safe by following these important carpool reminders:
· While we prefer for students to be in their classrooms when the bell rings at 7:40 a.m., students are marked tardy if they are not in the building when the bell rings.
· Students should not be dropped off prior to 7:10 a.m.
· All parents/guardians must remain in the carpool line and stay in your cars. Do not walk students to the crosswalk.
· Drive slowly, be attentive, and refrain from using your cell phone while driving through the carpool lane.
· Please do not go around to pass other vehicles.
· Children are only permitted to exit from car doors on the right passenger side. If needed, staff monitors will assist your child from the car. Parents/guardians and pets need to stay inside the vehicle at all times.
· To prevent accidents, please do not double-park and always park in a marked parking spot.
Georgia Milestones Reminders for Students in Grades 3-5
Georgia Milestones is upon us! Those 3rd – 5th grade students who are participating will begin testing next week on Tuesday, April 27. Students are to report to their homeroom teachers. Remote and face-to-face students who are not participating in testing will be provided asynchronous activities that they will be required to complete each day during the testing sessions.
Throughout the testing window, please make sure your child is present and arrives no later than 7:40 a.m. each day! We encourage all students participating in Georgia Milestones to get a good night’s sleep and eat a healthy breakfast each morning. It is imperative that all students bring their FULLY CHARGED Fulton County device and charging cord to school. Aside from the FCS device, students should not bring any additional electronic devices (cell phones, smart watches, etc.) into the classroom on testing days. Students participating in Georgia Milestones can review and familiarize themselves with the test format by clicking here to use the Experience Online Testing Georgia platform. We also invite you to explore the resources below:
EOG Parent Informational Video
For your reference, please see below for our assessment schedule.
We are so excited that our 3rd – 5th grade Jaguars will have the opportunity to show us what they know and do their very best on the Georgia Milestones! We are so proud of all of their hard work this year! If you have any questions regarding Georgia Milestones, please feel free to reach out to our Testing Coordinator, Michele Consolo, at consolom@fultonschools.org.
20th Year Anniversary Celebration
We want to thank everyone for a wonderful 20th Year Anniversary Celebration! We especially enjoyed the beautiful videos made by our staff. Students and staff wore their Abbotts Hill 20th Anniversary shirt on Thursday, played virtual games, and enjoyed some tasty treats to cool off with during the celebrations. Each day was so much fun and we could not have done it without our wonderful staff and community!
Enrollment Intent for the 2021-2022 School Year
As we begin to plan for the 2021-2022 school year, having an accurate student count is very important. We are asking parents/guardians to help us now, in order to ensure we know who will be in our building next year. If your child will NOT be returning to Abbotts Hill next school year, please contact Alice Lan at lan@fultonschools.org for information regarding the withdrawal process. If you have a child that will be NEW to Abbotts Hill next year, please visit our website by clicking here to register your child. Spring registration began on March 31. We are asking parents to register sooner rather than later! Thank you for your help as we prepare for the 2021-2022 school year.
Georgia Milestones Testing
Georgia Milestones is designed to provide students with critical information about their own achievement and their readiness for their next level of learning – be it the next grade, the next course, or endeavor. The Milestones schedule is as follows:
FCS Facility Plan Community Meetings Announced
FCS staff and other community stakeholders are invited to learn more about the school district’s development of a Facility Plan and to provide feedback. During the week of April 26, four community meetings will give participants an opportunity to be involved at their comfort level, either in-person or completely online. Dates, times and other background information can be viewed on the Facility Plan website, www.fultonschools.org/facilityplan. A special Facility Plan survey also will go live that week to collect input on planning priorities.
Every child is different, but the best way to tell if your child is
getting enough sleep is to consider how hard it is for your child to
wake up and if they are feeling sleepy during the day. Elementary
aged children typically need between 9 to 12 hours of sleep per
night.
Here are just a few benefits of good sleep habits. It can improve
your health; It can make you stronger; It can help with school
performance! It can boost your mood!
One of our roles as parents is to ensure our children get enough
sleep. Here are three tips to help your kids sleep better:
- Turn off all screens (TV, phones, handheld devices, etc.)
one hour before bedtime. Not only will this help kids begin to
settle down for bed, it’ll also help limit screen time for the day
(which is one of Strong4Life’s 4 Healthy Habits).
- Make sleep a routine. Set a schedule so kids get used to
going to bed and getting up at around the same time every
day (especially in the summer, when schedules aren’t as
regular).
- At bedtime, ban hand-held devices from the bedroom. The
burst of light from a phone (even if it’s just to check the time)
can break a sleep cycle. A regular alarm clock is best. (plus,
getting devices out of the bedroom means kids can’t text,
call or play at all hours of the night.)
Good sleep habits also have an extra benefit for busy parent. In
addition to improving the health of your children, they provide you
with additional downtime to take care of the million things you
have to do a day!
Excerpted from CHOA Strong4Life Georgia
PTA Updates
School Supply Kits:
The Abbotts Hill PTA has once again partnered with Schoolkidz for teacher tailored supply kits. The kits were created from grade level supply lists requested by each grade level or special area. The purchasing of the kits is optional and is offered as a convenience to the parents. For parents who prefer to do their own school supply shopping the supply lists are below.
The deadline for ordering the supply kit is May 28. The kits will be delivered to the school for distribution in the fall.
The kit and supply list link is below.
https://www.fultonschools.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=18387
Virtual Public Comment for Abbotts Hill SGC
The Abbotts Hill Elementary School Governance Council would love to hear your thoughts. Please click on our new virtual Public Comment Link if you would like to provide feedback related to student achievement, people and culture, community collaboration or fiscal responsibility. We will communicate all public comments to the council representatives at our scheduled SGC meetings. Together, we make a difference!
AHE Student Council News - Jaguar Jungle
The AHES student council is revitalizing the Jaguar Jungle and we’re in need of lots of soil. If you have any soil that you would like to donate please send it to the school to be placed in the Jaguar Jungle donation box located in the front atrium. Please contact Tiffany Poke at PokeT@fultonschools.org if you have any questions.
Year End TAG News
May 2021
TAG Parents
Wow, it is hard to believe that 2020 - 2021 is nearly over.
Despite everything, we had a great year of TAG.
We all improved our computer tech skills and learned so many things we will use in the future.
The students were excited and enthusiastic in developing their projects.
They were using their TAG strategies and learned so much.
It was an honor for us to work with such outstanding students.
If your child’s TAG teacher has any concerns and needs a conference, they will contact you.
If you have any concerns, please contact your child’s TAG teacher to schedule a conference.
Otherwise, know that your child was very successful this year.
All conferences will have to be done through emails, phone calls, or Teams. We cannot meet face to face at this time.
We look forward to next year and wish all our 5th graders much success in middle school.
Have a great summer and be safe.
Mr. Geddes
Ms. Gonzalez
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.
Fulton County Board of Health COVID-19 Reporting Site
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. The portal has been updated to include Spanish, Korean, and Chinese language options. FCS parent/guardians will find a dropdown at the top right for translations. 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. www.fultonschools.org/ReportCOVID.