Monroe County School System MESSAGES

January 23, 2012

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Welcome to another edition of Monroe Messages, a publication of Monroe County School System....

A Message from the Superintendent...

Parents, Teachers, and Community Stakeholders:

Below is an article related to school bus transportation. �The issue is not a new one but one that is getting worse instead of better. �A vehicle passing a bus stopped to pick up students is a dangerous matter. �If the student is crossing the road to board the bus and someone passes the stopped bus, the child could be critically injured.

Please talk with your friends and neighbors about this matter. �If you have teenage drivers, discuss this issue with them as well. �If you see someone pass a bus and can take down the tag number of the vehicle, please contact Mr. John Courson, Transportation Director for MCS, at [email protected]. �If you cannot get the tag number of the car or truck, the bus number and location where the incident occurred will be of great help to Mr. Courson. �We will work with local law enforcement to monitor the area.

Respectfully submitted,

Anthony Pack

Superintendent

Monroe County School System

A Message from Transportation...

FLASHING YELLOW LIGHTS MEAN STOP!

Every day across Georgia, motorists are risking the safety of children - as well as the drivers' own well-being - by passing stopped school buses.

Monroe County is no exception as bus drivers report frequently that motorists pass their buses - even though the bus's flashing yellow warning lights and stop sign are activated.

Monroe County�School System is�currently working with local law enforcement, Monroe County Sheriff's Office and the City of Forsyth Police Department, to increase awareness of the need for safety. Additionally, law enforcement is prepared to stop and ticket those drivers who pass a school bus.

Georgia law (OCGA 40-6-163) sets the following fines for violations of the school bus traffic controls: $300 for a first offense; $ 750 for a second offense; and $1,000 for each subsequent offense.

A new addition to the law in 2011 provides that video images of an offense (taken from a school bus camera) can be used to determine a violation. Motorists are required to obey school bus traffic controls whether they are following a bus, meeting a bus, or - on a multiple lane road - travelling alongside a bus.

A survey conducted by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) found that across the nation, more than 76,000 vehicles illegally pass school buses on any given day.

A Message from Teaching and Learning...

Monroe County School System PreK Enrollment

Day: � Thursday - March 8, 2012

Time: �8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m

Location: �Monroe County Board of Education Auditorium 25 Brooklyn Avenue Forsyth, GA 31029.�

For: �Children four years of age on or before September 1, 2012 are eligible to enroll. Placement is made on a first come, first served basis with COMPLETED enrollment.� School assignments will be determined at enrollment.

Parents/Guardians need to provide the following at enrollment:

Proof of Residency -�Required at the time of enrollment in order to obtain placement

a. �Any utility bill with the parent/guardian's name, street address, and current date (within 60 days)�specifically listed on the bill. Tax and cell phone bills are unacceptable. OR

b. �Lease or rental agreement is acceptable only with a utility bill that has the parent/guardian's name, street address, and current date (within 60 days) specifically listed on the bill. Lease or rental agreement will not be accepted without a utility bill.

Tax and cell phone bills are unacceptable. OR If the utility bills are not in the parent/guardian's name, the person paying the utility bills must sign an affidavit and provide a utility bill with his/her name, street address, and current date (within 60 days)�specifically listed on the bill for the resident with whom the parent/guardian is living. Please bring a completed and notarized Monroe County Schools affidavit form the day of enrollment. Affidavit forms may be obtained from any Monroe County School or the Board Office. Affidavits will be verified by Monroe County Schools. Without the affidavit and utility bill from the person paying the bills for the resident with whom the parent/guardian is living, enrollment will be considered incomplete.

If you have proof of residency concerns, please call Angie Dillon at 478-994-2031 prior to Pre-K�enrollment.

Also needed are:

Proof of Age - your child's certified birth certificate(Required at the time of enrollment in order to obtain placement);

Your child's Social Security card (required by the first day of school);

Your child's immunization record (Georgia Form 3231);

Your child's ear, eye, and dental record (Georgia Form 3300)

A Message from MCS Nurses...

Hand Sanitizer or Hand Soap, which is better?

Researchers agree that soap and water is still the best way of cleaning your hands. Sanitizers work well, but should be used only when soap and running water are not available.

How Soap Works

When soap is mixed with water, a reaction occurs that allows dirt to be lifted off of the surface of the skin. When rubbing the hands together is combined with soap and running water, dirt and bacteria are washed away.

There are three parts to good hand washing:

  • Soap - breaks down skin oils that tend to hold dirt and other particles
  • Friction - used to assist in removing dirt, dead skin and other particles
  • Warm running water - to remove the loosened soil��

How hand sanitizers work

Alcohol sanitizers work by removing the outer layer of oil on the skin. Removal of the oil causes the destruction of germs that are on the hands.

Clearing up some confusion

In 2002 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said that alcohol hand sanitizers could be used as an alternative to hand washing for health-care workers.� They found that the use of alcohol gels by healthcare staff improved the number of times staff actually cleaned their hands because of the time it saved over regular hand washing. The recommendation was not meant to stop the use of soap and water.� The CDC still recommends use of soap and water as a first and best way to clean your hands and the use of hand sanitizers, only when soap and water are not available.

References: This document is FCS8788, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida. Original publication date April 2005. Reviewed March 2011. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/

powerschool student and parent apps

A Message from Technology...

PowerSchool,�the software that Monroe County School System uses�to house student data,�has introduced a new way for students and parents to access their information.� With the introduction of the PowerSchool for Students App and the PowerSchool for Parents App, students and parents can now use their iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to access grades and information regarding the student's attendance and progress. These apps are free through the Apple App Store.

Because these new apps have created new ways for parents to access data, Pearson, the maker of PowerSchool, has "upgraded" the way that parents access their child's information, and even if you do not use either app, you'll need to use the following information to get to your child's information in PowerSchool.� Parents with multiple children in the system will no longer have to remember multiple userids and passwords for each of their students.

Parents, you'll need to travel to https://monroe.powerschool.com/public/home.html�to�create a "single signin" account.� Here is the information�required to enter when creating the single sign-on account:

��������������� Parent's First Name
����������������Parent's Last Name
����������������Parent's Email Address
����������������A new personal username
����������������A new password
����������������The name of each student
����������������The username and password previously used to access student information in the Parent Portal
����������������The relationship to the student

Monroe County Schools did not develop the app, and a recent PowerSchool upgrade enabled functionality in PowerSchool to allow parents to utilize the tool.� PowerSchool for Students App�and PowerSchool for Parents App�are products of Pearson.� Pearson's developers have indicated that a PowerSchool for Students App�and PowerSchool for Teachers App for Android are in development.
PowerSchool for Student App

POWERSCHOOL FOR STUDENT APP FOR YOUR IPOD TOUCH, IPHONE, OR IPAD

PowerSchool for Parent App

��

POWERSCHOOL FOR PARENT APP FOR YOUR IPOD TOUCH, IPHONE, OR IPAD

The Monroe County School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, or sex in its employment practices, student programs and dealings with the public.

It is the policy of the Board of Education to comply fully with the requirements of Title VI, Title IX, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act and all accompanying regulations. As a result, the following people have been appointed to oversee specific areas.

Title II, Adult 504, Adult Title IX  Dr. Mike Hickman 25 Brooklyn Avenue, Forsyth, GA 31029 478-994-2031
Student and Athletic Title IX Tommie Walker 25 Brooklyn Avenue, Forsyth, GA 31029 478-994-2031
Student 504 Lisa Allred 433 Highway 41 South, Forsyth, GA 31029 478-994-2031

Any employee, student, applicant for employment, parent or other person who believes he or she has been discriminated against or harassed in violation of the above areas must make a complaint in accordance with the procedures outlined in Board Policy GAAA.