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MIDDLE SCHOOL
EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH
CARVER ROAD
MIDDLE
Ms. Kay Barker, media specialist, is the Employee of the Month for Carver Road Middle School. Ms. Barker is always genuinely willing to help others. She is compassionate and loving in everything that she does. Her warm and caring attitude permeates the building. Thank you for all that you do to make CAMS great!
KENNEDY ROAD MIDDLE
Kennedy Road Middle School would like to congratulate Robyn Davis as our Employee of the Month.Ms. Davis does an exceptional job educating her students. She has done a great job incorporating Math in the Fast Lane, utilizing technology in her classroom and is a vital part of our PBIS team. KRMS is lucky to have Ms. Davis!
REHOBOTH ROAD MIDDLE
Rebecca Smith is Rehoboth Road Middle School's Employee of the Month. She has done a tremendous job as our Title I parent liaison by organizing parent meetings and curriculum night. Mrs. Smith is always willing to go the extra yard to help our students and families. She is involved in all aspects of our school and is a significant part of Rehoboth Road's success.
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ORRS HAD A GREAT GRANDPARENT'S DAY LAST WEEK!
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SHS SCARECROW FESTIVAL
Nov. 5-6, 2014
Theme: Classic Movies
Come create a scarecrow display based on a classic movie and your team could win up to $100!
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Sept. 2 - Oct. 3, 2014
Grant Period for PIE Classroom/Field Trip Grants (visit www.gspie.org to complete application).
Sept. 20, 2014
7th Annual United Way Boat Race at Dundee Lake Park (Click HERE for the registration form).
Sept. 21, 2014
Cinema For A Cause benefiting Partners in Education at Griffin Stadium Cinemas
Sept. 27, 2014
Orrs Annual Character 5K
(Click HERE for registration form).
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Sept. 15 - Oct. 15
Sept. 16 Sept. 17 - 23
Constitution Week & Citizenship Day
Sept. 21
Sept. 22
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Symbols are important. Symbols indicate what we value and what we want to become. When I was a teenager I loved playing football and one of the most important symbols to me was the star on the side of the Dallas Cowboys helmet. The star is representative of Texas, the lone star state, but I also associated it with them being such a star team.
Later, I became interested in golf and wanted to possess the coveted Master's green jacket. Today we have Super Bowl rings, championship belts, plaques and trophies which all symbolize great achievement.
Recently, something unique happened to me which made me think about these symbols. I received an email from someone (we will call him "John") which stated...
"Hi Dr. Jones,
It's John. I was wondering how I go about getting a lanyard?
Thanks,
John"
I replied that the lanyards are given out by HR but that I would copy Edna Aikens on my reply to assist him. A little while later I received a reply from John asking...
What is HR? Can I just buy one?
Well, this made me stop and think...who is this person? Edna showed up in my office a few minutes later telling me that John was not a GSCS employee. So, after researching and discovering who John was I replied...
"Dear John,
Thank you for contacting me about the GSCS lanyard. Please ask your principal about getting a lanyard."
It turned out that John was a GSCS student.
We started wearing these lanyards a couple of years ago and unbeknownst to us, students have started to notice as well as people in the community. It's nice to know that our lanyards are being viewed with a sense of respect. I hope that you are all wearing yours proudly.
To make the lanyards more user-friendly we changed them recently. I hope you have all had a chance to change yours out and hope that our efforts were effective. I hope that you find a sense of pride seeing the pins you have earned and received. I also hope that when you look at the color of your lanyard, which represents your years of service to GSCS and public education, you feel respected and appreciated.
I am proud of the commitment and dedication of everyone wearing the GSCS lanyard.
Thank you for all you do!
COLDR 
P.S. I heard back from John saying that his principal took care of him. |
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 TEACHER WEBPAGES Teachers, please be sure you have populated your individual webpages with a welcome message and with your assignments. Always date your postings to ensure that parents and students are looking at the correct assignment. |
 BEARDEN'S TIPS ON LEADERSHIP
Click HERE for Follow-up Tip #5: Words as Tools for Influencing Behavior |
 FALL OPEN ENROLLMENT: STATE HEALTH AND FLEX SPENDING
Be on the lookout in a couple of weeks regarding upcoming open enrollment for State Health Benefits and Flex Spending. Important information will be communicated through Emails, GSCS communicator, and our benefits website: www.mygscsbenefits.com
State Health Benefit Plan has announced additional vendors for 2015. For details, click the link below:
https://dch.georgia.gov/press-releases/2014-07-01/georgia-department-community-health-awards-health-plan-contracts
2015 SHBP PLAN OPTIONS - IMPORTANT NOTICE
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia (BCBSGa) has made the decision to discontinue its Medicare Advantage (MA) plan offering under the State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP) contract for the 2015 Plan Year. Retired members can enroll in one of the UnitedHealthcare MA (Standard and Premium) Plan Options for 2015. Please note that this decision will not affect members' BCBSGa MA coverage in 2014.
SHBP has released a message to retired members. Should you have any questions specific to this change, please contact BCBSGa Customer Service at
855-322-7062.
While members may receive information from BCBSGa on this change, SHBP wanted to reach out to the payroll locations and membership directly to make everyone aware. It is SHBP's mission to clearly and openly communicate with its stakeholders to ensure that everyone has the information needed to ensure members are educated about their health care options.
Please stay tuned for more updates from SHBP in preparation for this year's Open Enrollment (OE) and Retiree Option Change Period (ROCP). OE and ROCP begin at12:01 a.m. ET on Monday, October 27, 2014 and close at 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, November 14, 2014.
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 THE NINJAS ARE HERE...NOT THE TURTLES BUT THE TECH TEAM!
The GSCS Instructional Technology Department has begun its Ninja Academy. The purpose of the Ninja Academy is to increase the faculty and staff's knowledge level of Google Apps. Griffin�-Spalding is a Google Applications for Education (GAFE) district. This means teachers and students have access to Google Docs, Sheets, Forms, and Slides, in addition to the resources in the Chrome Store. This also gives our students access to the tools necessary for a successful transition to post-secondary options (military, technical school, college or career). Teachers can access the Ninja Academy by clicking HERE. The Academy is designed to be self-�paced so that Ninja wannabes can take the time to properly train as they progress from level to level. The ultimate goal is for everyone in the District to be a Black Belt. Click HERE for a short introductory video explaining Ninja Academy's purpose. The Ninja Tech Team will be presenting at the Griffin�-Resa Technology Drive�-In Conference which will be held September 25, 2014. Their topic is From Tin Cans to Twitter: Growing Your Professional Learning Network. Registration information can be found HERE. |
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CONGRATS TO MOORE ELEM. MEDIA SPECIALIST!
 Dr. Pam Nutt, Moore Elementary Media Specialist, co-authored a chapter in Innovative Technology for 21st Century Education which was recently published by Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. She co-wrote Chapter 31: Professional Development in Using New Technologies. The book will be used in the Education Department at Columbus State University.
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FIRST 2014-15 PARENT UNIVERSITY FOCUSES ON MATH STANDARDS
 The Griffin-Spalding County School System (GSCS) will host its first Parent University of the school year on September 22, 2014 at 5:45 p.m. in the GSCS Learning Center.
The workshop speaker will be Graham Fletcher, who is the new math coordinator for GSCS. Graham will be discussing the new Georgia Milestones Assessment, current math standards and provide parents with math resources and tips for working with their students at home.
Read more...
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 DID YOU KNOW?
Griffin High School seniors already received acceptance letters to Auburn, Clemson, Duke, Furman, Georgia Tech, Presbyterian College, South Carolina State, UGA, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech!
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 HEALTHY LIVING: DEBUG YOUR DESK
As many as 283 species of bacteria can thrive in ordinary office dust, including nasty streptococcus, the main cause of strep throat, and staphylococcus aureus, which can lead to MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant staph infection, according to a recent report. Wipe down your workstation, keyboard, and phone regularly with a disinfectant such as Formula 409 Antibacterial All-Purpose Cleaner or Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner.
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Click HERE for our non-discrimination statement.
Laura Beaber, Editor
GSCS Communications and Partnerships Department
PO Drawer N
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