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Week of July 22 - 26, 2013
the Griffin-Spalding County School System's employee e-newsletter
published by the communications and partnerships department
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the gscs
COMMUNICATOR
system-wide straight talk |
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Garage Manager, Kenneth Brooks, standing with the new buses
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GSCS TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT HAS 12 NEW BLUEBIRDS AT NO COST!
The GSCS transportation department received 12 new buses on Monday July 8, 2013.
Director of Transportation, Harlan Plagmann, commented that "this represents a 10% replacement of our schools bus fleet." He also noted that the buses were fully funded by the State of Georgia and the Department of Natural Resources so no local money was used to secure the new equipment.
"We are looking forward to a safe and successful school year," added Plagmann.
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"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it."
- Maya Angelou
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GSCS SUMMER ACTIVITIES THAT WILL LEAD TO AN AMAZING FIRST DAY AND YEAR!
by Ashley Crawford, K-12 Curriculum Director
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I continue to be amazed at how quickly time flies. Every year seems to go by faster than the previous one. While it is often believed that schools shut down for the summer, I can attest that the opposite is true in the Griffin-Spalding County School System. A number of instructional activities have occurred since the last day of school. Below is a brief synopsis of the activities:
May:
* High school common assessments were reviewed and revised.
June:
* The Teachers as Learners Conference engaged almost 200 teachers in professional learning about best practices.
* The English Language Arts units in grades 1 - 8 were revised to better align to the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards and the requirements of the CCRPI.
July:
* Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) were created for a number of courses. SLOs are used as a method of determining student growth over a school year.
* Teams of teachers from every elementary and middle school received additional training on Thinking Maps: Write from the Beginning and Beyond.
I would like to thank all of the teachers who worked many hours this summer to ensure that all of this curriculum work was done well. It would not have been possible without you.
In just a couple of weeks, our students will be returning to school. I am sure they are approaching that first day with a variety of emotions...nervousness, excitement, maybe even hesitation. Parents will also have mixed emotions about the start of school. Photographs will be taken to document this important day.
I would like to share the following excerpt from a short story entitled "First Days" by Elena Fox.
 | | Thinking Maps: Write from the Beginning and Beyond training on July 11, 2013. |
"As teachers, we are guaranteed at least one "first day" year - a new school year, a new class, a new experience teaching. And we also have an opportunity to give each student in our class a life-changing "first day" experience...and a chance to make a fresh start...to leave past mistakes and failures behind and begin a new and better life in school."
I hope everyone has a fantastic first day!
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"Children want the same things we want. To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained, and delighted."
- Dr. Seuss
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TECHNOLOGY TIPS FOR TEACHERS:
GREAT BACK-TO-SCHOOL RESOURCE!
Class Set-Up tool is a new, easy-to-use, virtual layout tool that helps you design customized and effective classrooms to promote learning. Use this tool to rearrange and set-up mock classrooms, and map out virtual seating charts.
USE SOCIAL NETWORKING TO STAY ON TOP OF YOUR TEACHING GAME
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Click HERE to upload the original.
SOURCES: Social media PD: Project Tomorrow, "Speak Up 2011." Twitter: Semiocast. YouTube: NielsenWire, "August 2012, Top U.S. Online Video Sites." Facebook: Yahoo! Finance, "Number of Active Users at Facebook over the Years." Pinterest: Repinly.com, "Pinterest Stats"; fastcodesign.com, "The Astounding Power of Pinterest."
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IMPORTANT NOTICES FROM STATE HEALTH
By Kathy Gossett, Human Resources
NEW MEMBER PORTAL:
Beginning August 1, 2013, all employees will be required to use the new State Health Benefits Enrollment Portal/Call Center. The portal will be available year round, 24/7. The call center will be available Monday-Friday. Through the portal/call center, members will be allowed to:
- Make changes for qualifying events
- View their current and past coverage's
- Update address and contact information
- Make elections during Open Enrollment periods
More details to come!
WELLNESS/2014 INCENTIVE OBLIGATIONS:
The deadline for completion/submission of all 2013 Wellness and Incentive Requirements was May 31, 2013, 4:30 p.m. EDT.
Beginning July 1, 2013, if you or your covered spouse are advised, or discover, that you have not completed one or more of the 2013 Wellness Requirements, you will be able to appeal if you disagree with that decision. Appeal forms, along with the requested documents, must be submitted by August 2, 2013. You can find the appeal form on our benefits website at www.mygscsbenefits.com
If you need to confirmation regarding your obligations, call your vendor at the number below:
Cigna 1-800-633-8519
United Health Care 1-800-396-6515
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