| Employees of the Month for elementary schools selected by principals
Anne Street: Tamika Blackmon and Lisa Manolis did an awesome job of preparing packets and registering students for Open House. Mrs. Blackmon and Mrs. Manolis greeted and welcomed all new students and their parents to our school. Thank you, ladies, for a smooth Open House. Atkinson: Beverly Smith and Frances Wyche were able to expedite the registration process by being organized and ready to assist parents as they walked through the door.
We appreciate the time and effort they spent ensuring all students were properly placed in the classrooms.
Beaverbrook: Sherry Warwick. Sherry is organizing and supervising our buses in the morning and afternoon. She has taken on of very important task and is making it run smoothly. Thank you, Mrs. Warwick, for all your planning and hard work!
Cowan Road: Tonya Jones, school counselor.
Mrs. Jones created PBIS rotations and expectations for the school. This allowed all students and staff members to become more familiar with the Cowan's Expectations! Great job, Mrs. Jones!
Crescent: Darlene Jones, Secretary. Darlene has worked diligently this summer to get ready for the opening of the school year. She is conscientious about her work, and she goes above and beyond to make sure everything is done correctly and efficiently. Darlene brings sunshine to our front office each and every day. We appreciate all she does. Thanks, Darlene!!!!
Futral Road: Leslie Benefield for her dedication and excellent work as third grade teacher and parent liaison. She is a leader and role model for others in our school and sets the example of one who is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure student success and positive relationships between the school and its stakeholders.
Jackson Road: Laurie Griffith, School Secretary, for doing so much to get ready for the opening of school. Ms. Griffith goes above and beyond every day, and has readily taken to a new administration with kindness, tact, and a sense of humor. She is more than an employee, she is the heart of Jackson Road!
Jordan Hill: Dixie Johnston, Media Specialist. She has done a great job with staff and student orientation; she is enthusiastic and willing to share her expertise; she is a team player who is rapidly becoming an integral part of the Jordan Hill family!
Moore: Our custodians, Vanessa Fletcher, Joseph Berry, and Sonny Williams did an outstanding job getting our school ready. They are "Committed to the Core."
Moreland Road: Christy Whitson
Orrs: I would like to nominate the Orrs Elementary School faculty and staff. I am thankful for the high quality of education which the staff consistently carries out and their dedication a and professionalism. We will work to be more dedicated in all that we do. We will also work harder to put our students first in our lives, realizing that it is not all about ourselves but about our students.
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 You rocked! a message from Superintendent Dr. Curtis Jones
Well, the first week of school is behind us. My observation is that all of you earned well-deserved congratulations. This has been one of the smoothest openings of school we have had in recent memory.
Congratulations to our transportation department and our bus drivers for getting students to school on time. I know many of you had new routes and new students. It was challenging throughout this first week. But you responded, you worked as a team, and students arrived at school safely because of you. You continued to improve as the week went by.
Congratulations to the nutrition department for having breakfast and lunch ready for our students as well. I know you will continue that same service having snacks for after-school programs as the year continues. You rose to the occasion and helped us be a reliable organization so that school and classes could continue.
Congratulations to the secretaries and clerks in the front office for providing outstanding customer support. While I received a few phone calls from parents who said they thought office staff was rude or not understanding, for the vast majority there was nothing but good things being said for what you were able to do. When you think about students coming to enroll and all the phone calls and the interruptions that happen to get your day off track, you were amazing. Across the board front offices did an excellent job.
I also noticed that schools were clean and ready for students and teachers to come back. Teachers were appreciative of the support that custodial staff gave and the support from the maintenance department as work orders were turned in. It was an entire team effort. In some instances we had hot hallways and classrooms, and temperatures seemed to be higher than we would have liked, but we worked together to resolve those issues. Congratulations to you.
Congratulations to our teachers. You were able to bring students into your classrooms, teach them your expectations, show and model for them the rules and procedures and begin the process of giving them homework and class assignments to review what they knew but also get ready for the new curriculum they are about to learn.
And congratulations to the administrators and the counselors for bringing together the class rosters and helping organize the school day and this first week.
I know other groups also had great things happen this week. No disrespect to any of you, and congratulations for your successes!
Across the board all of you did an excellent job. It was very satisfying. Griffin -Spalding is lucky to have each and every one of you working in our school system. Thank you.
Let's move forward and dare to make next week even better.
Have a great week-end.
COLDR
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Board briefs: Highlights of the August 7, 2012 board of education meeting
At its regular meeting the board of education
* Approved a one-year extension of the contract for Dr. Curtis Jones to continue as superintendent based on his successful evaluation for the past year. This maintains his contract for a three-year period.
* In the consent agenda, approved tribunal panel members, expenditures for a new phone system, cafeteria and computer furniture for Griffin High School, federal grants budgets, and personnel actions.
In other business the board members heard information about the College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI) that Deputy Superintendent Denise Burrell presented.
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Jackson Road Elementary celebrates fitness award
August 16, 2012 ---The Georgia Governor's Office Health Policy Advisor Katie Roger has notified Jackson Road Elementary that the school has met the necessary requirements to be awarded Gold Level Status on the SHAPE Honor Roll for the state.
The SHAPE website says, "Georgia SHAPE is a network of partners, agencies and athletic teams-including the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta Braves, the Georgia Department of Public Health, and the Georgia Department of Education-committed to improving the health of our young people by offering assistance and opportunity to achieve a greater level of overall fitness.
"Georgia SHAPE is an exciting initiative to improve Georgia's future, beginning with our state's most vital and important asset: our young people. We know all children can benefit from knowledge of their current health-related fitness levels, along with a capacity to develop and implement strategies for personal improvement."
Andrea Woodroof, Jackson Road Elementary School's 2012-13 Teacher of the Year, has led the school's health initiative through her PE classes. Her name was drawn to be awarded two tickets to either the Atlanta Braves game on September 25th at 7:10pm or the Atlanta Falcons game on September 30th at 1:00pm.
The Governor and Commissioner Fitzgerald will recognize Coach Woodroof and five other teachers' hard work at a pregame ceremony on the field.
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State School Superintendent Dr. Barge on the Constitutional Amendment on charter schools
Aug. 14, 2012 - State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge released the following statement today about the constitutional amendment on charter schools: "I fully support the continued creation of high quality charter schools for Georgia's students, but after careful consideration of what is best for all of Georgia's students, I have decided to take a position in opposition to the constitutional amendment that will be on the Nov. 6 ballot. Until all of our public school students are in school for a full 180-day school year, until essential services like student transportation and student support can return to effective levels, and until teachers regain jobs with full pay for a full school year, we should not redirect one more dollar away from Georgia's local school districts - much less an additional $430 million in state funds, which is what it would cost to add seven new state charter schools per year over the next five years (the annual average of the Charter Commission that would be revived if the amendment passes). I cannot support the creation of a new and costly state bureaucracy that takes away local control of schools and unnecessarily duplicates the good work already being done by local districts, the Georgia Department of Education, and the state Board of Education. What's more, this constitutional amendment would direct taxpayer dollars into the pockets of out-of-state, for-profit charter school companies whose schools perform no better than traditional public schools and locally approved charter schools (and worse, in some cases). I trust our local school districts will continue to approve only high quality charter schools for Georgia's students, and I am committed to working with all of our school districts to ensure that high quality applicants are not denied locally - including mediating between high quality charter school applicants and any local districts that are reluctant to approve them, as provided by existing Georgia law."
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NEW! Backpack Food for Kids Program: message from the Spalding Collaborative
Spalding Collaborative is teaming up with the local school system and UGA-Griffin to kick off a Backpack Food for Kids program at the beginning of the 2012-13 school year in an effort to address hunger and security issues for children in the community.
According to Spalding Collaborative Executive Director Joseph Walker, about 73 percent of Spalding County students receive food assistance through the school system. For a number of those students it is not unusual to not eat at all between the time they leave school Friday afternoon and the time they return to school Monday morning.
The backpack program, which will be run entirely by volunteers, will buy non-perishable food items in bulk and distribute them discreetly every Friday to those children who have been identified by teachers and counselors as the most needy, pending parents' approval. We'll have to start small, with one or two schools, and build on that. This is a first step for us, and we have to take it one day at a time.
While we hope to generate enough funds between now and the beginning of next school year to get the program up and running, the total amount needed will depend on the number of students served.
About $250 can feed a student over the weekend throughout the school year. Funds may come from a number of small grants and tax-deductible donations from members of the community. In addition, PhoneGuard, Inc. - a provider of mobile applications software - will contribute a portion of the sales of a $20/year application that, among other features, locks down the keyboard of a cell phone once a vehicle reaches 10 mph, thus preventing the driver from emailing, texting or surfing the Internet while driving.
Tackling the hunger among the youth is crucial. Food insecurity issues create emotional problems, discipline problems and academic problems. It's so important that we bring up a generation that's healthy and able to handle the challenges they face
Donations to the program can be made out to Spalding Collaborative, P.O. Box 701, Griffin GA 30224. For additional information on the Backpack Food for Kids program, call 678-764-6297, email spaldingcollaborative@gmail.com or visit www.spaldingcollaborative.com. |
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