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ELEMENTARY
EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH
ANNE STREET ELEMENTARY
Anne Street Elementary would like to recognize Urseila Williams as the Employee of the Month. She is doing a fantastic job as our new parent liaison. She consistently works to support parent partnerships to help set our students up for success.
ATKINSON ELEMENTARY
Atkinson Elementary would like to recognize Melanie Lynch as our Employee of the Month. Mrs. Lynch was faced with the overwhelming task of restoring our Media Center following the summer renovation. She has worked without complaint unpacking boxes and re-shelving books. Thanks to her dedication our Media Center is back up and in full operation for students and staff. Thanks Ms. Lynch for your hard work as we strive to provide our students with the resources they need to be successful.
BEAVERBROOK ELEMENTARY
Terri Woodroof is our Employee of the Month. Terri is very professional and helpful. She is always willing to help our staff, parents and students. Terri meets everyone with a smile. She makes everyone feel welcome at Beaverbrook. If she is given a task she gets it done quickly and accurately.
COWAN ROAD ELEMENTARY
Second grade teachers Trina Mullis, Angela Ware, Lisa Poss, Dee Collier and Liz Akins are the Employees of the Month for Cowan Road Elementary. These ladies brought life to the student restrooms at CRE. Their decorations have given our students a greater sense of pride! CRE thanks them for going over and above!
CRESCENT ELEMENTARY
Crescent wants to give an Employee of the Month shout out to Lisa Lance and the nutrition staff for going above and beyond. They help our school maintain a positive climate by assisting students, staff and parents daily. The food is awesome!
FUTRAL ROAD ELEMENTARY
Ginger Wilson is the Futral Road Employee of the Month. Ms. Wilson went to great length to revamp our student of the month process. These students now receive a breakfast and donation from our partners in education each month. Thank you Ms. Wilson for working so hard to make sure our students receive the recognition they deserve!
JACKSON ROAD ELEMENTARY
April Diaz, new JRE academic coach, is our Employee of the Month. She has put in countless hours above and beyond to assist our teachers. She is enthusiastic, knowledgeable, helpful, and positive. We are very excited that April has joined our Wildcat family.
JORDAN HILL ELEMENTARY
The Jordan Hill Employee of the Month is Laine Boyles. Laine has assumed the duties of our computer lab and is doing a fantastic job. She has a great relationship with students, parents and staff. She is dependable, self-motivated and is always looking for ways to help. She is a valued member of the Jordan Hill Family.
MOORE ELEMENTARY
Moore Elementary is honored to recognize Carmar Walker as the Employee of the Month. Coach Walker's leadership has not only been noticed as department chair, but she goes beyond the call of duty to ensure we provide a safe and positive learning environment. She has spearheaded efforts for staff and students to be health conscious by providing healthy choices and alternatives lifestyles.
MORELAND ROAD ELEMENTARY
Lisa Miller is an excellent educator. She is a mentor to other teachers and is a devoted member of the Moreland Road family. She provides extra support as needed, specifically with instructional best practices and classroom management strategies. She is always willing to help out administration and take on extra responsibilities. She always has a great attitude and never acts as though helping is a burden. Lisa is also the kindergarten grade level chair and is a valuable member of our leadership team. Thank you Lisa Miller for all that you do!
ORRS ELEMENTARY
The certified Employee of the Month is Orrs Assistant Principal Shavon Beckett. Staff members state that Ms. Beckett is always willing to assist whenever needed and with a smile. She makes coming to work a very pleasant experience.
The classified Employee of the Month is Gina McDaniel. Ms. McDaniel has worked patiently with the new changes we implemented with recording lunch choices with a Google document. She makes personal visits to classrooms with a smile to help make sure that the document is in on time.
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COME CHEER OUR GSCS TEAMS ON
SAT. SEPT. 12!
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RRMS 8TH ANNUAL JACK-O-LANTERN JOG
October 29, 2015
6:30PM
It's that time of year again! Rehoboth Road Middle School would like to invite you to register for the 8th Annual Jack-O-Lantern Jog. This year's event is going to better than ever!
Click HERE to register online.
Click HERE for a printable registration form. |
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2nd ANNUAL
BEARS 5000
Oct. 21, 2015
6:30 PM
GHS Cross Country Course
This is a 5k fund raiser for Griffin High cross country and baseball teams. Registration includes a glow in the dark necklace and a neon t-shirt. Click HERE for more information and to register.
Thank you for supporting our young athletes!
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Rumors circulated this week about threats of violence in schools. Nothing was specific or actionable to our area. We worked closely with law enforcement to assess the validity of the rumors and they did not know of any credible threats in our area. However, officers and deputies were more visible in and around the schools. School personnel remained watchful using our normal safety procedures. Thankfully, nothing happened to disrupt the school day. We must always remain watchful - each and every day. We must use good judgement and common sense when surveying for possible threats around us. We must maintain good partnerships with law enforcement agencies who help us tremendously year round. If you see something unusual, let someone know about it. Safety of students, staff and facilities is a primary concern we all share. Thanks for being watchful today. It was a good day.
On a lighter note, the Griffin-Spalding Partners in Education are offering every classroom a grant opportunity. Each teacher has the opportunity to apply for grants of up to $1,000 to fund a classroom project, grade level project or a field trip that relates to your instruction. All applications are online at www.gspie.org. Access the online application, describe your project or field trip idea and identify the monetary amount needed. The application narrative should not include any information identifying you or your school. A panel of judges will rate each application and determine which ones to fund. Last year, over $26,000 in grants were awarded by Partners in Education. I encourage all of our teachers to apply.
Jim Smith
Superintendent
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GSCS TEACHER OF THE YEAR FINALIST ANNOUNCED
Jonathan McGavin from Orrs Elementary, Rebecca Smith from Rehoboth Road Middle and Jaqueline Taylor from Cowan Road Elementary are finalists for the district Teacher of the Year.
Candidates from all 19 schools completed the screening process that included judging by three committees consisting of last year's Teacher of the Year finalist, community leaders and retired educators from other districts. These three teachers will now host classroom observations from instructional specialists as well as participate in a personal interview before the district Teacher of the Year is named.
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Pictured (L-R): Rebecca Smith from Rehoboth Road Middle, Jonathan McGavin from Orrs Elementary and Jacqueline Taylor from Cowan Road Elementary
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 SOCIAL SECURITY SEMINAR
November 12, 2015
3:30PM - 6PM
GSCS Learning Center
Save the date and stay tuned for more information! |
 OPEN ENROLLMENT
October 19 - November 6, 2015
Benefits Meetings
October 7, 2015
9:30AM - 11AM
4:30PM - 6PM
GSCS Learning Center
*Check your email and in the Communicator for more information to come |
 ATTENDANCE EQUALS ACHIEVEMENT A Message from Superintendent Jim Smith
The opening days of school conjure up images of backpacks stuffed with notebooks and unsharpened pencils, bulletin boards freshly decorated by teachers, and students showing off new clothes to old friends. But even in these early days of the new school year, some students already are heading toward academic trouble: They're missing too many days of school. Across the country, as many as 7.5 million students miss nearly a month of school every year-absences that can correlate with poor performance at every grade level. This trend starts as early as kindergarten and continues through high school, contributing to achievement gaps and ultimately to dropout rates. In the 2014-15 school year, GSCS had 52% of our students who missed 6 or more days of school! We can't afford to think of absenteeism as simply an administrative matter. Good attendance is central to student achievement and our broader efforts to improve schools. All of our investments in curriculum and instruction won't amount to much if students aren't showing up to benefit from them. That's why Griffin-Spalding County School System wants improved attendance for this school year. |
GSCS CLASS OF 2019 GETS MOTIVATED TO GRADUATE
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On Sept. 9, all GSCS ninth graders participated as Keith Brown, "Mr. I'm Possible," pumped them up to stay
in school and graduate on time. This event was sponsored by the Griffin Rotary Club as a
part of Destination Graduation.
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 FLP RESULTS
During the 2014-2015 school year, Flexible Learning Programs (FLP) were offered at Carver Road Middle and Cowan Road Middle. These programs provided extra support in math one day a week during connections. Each program had two measurable goals.
Carver Road Middle School:
Forty-six percent of the students were served in the program last year. Analysis of the first goal is pending the release of the Georgia Milestones math results. The second measurable goal was for 70% of the students who attended 20 hours of FLP instruction to make a gain of 10 points between their pre and post math assessment. The goal was met with 71% of students gaining at least 10 points. The average point gain for those students with 20 or more hours was 21 points.
Carver Road Middle School's hard work has paid off because it is no longer a Focus School. Congrats!
Cowan Road Middle School:
Thirty-eight percent of the students were served in the program last year. Analysis of the first goal is pending the release of the Georgia Milestones math results. The second measurable goal was for 70% of the students who attended 20 hours of FLP instruction to make a gain of 10 points between their pre and post math assessment. The goal was not met. However, 63% of students improved by at least 10 points and the average point gain was 11 points.
Cowan Road Middle School has been designated as a Focus School under Georgia's ESEA Flexibility Waiver for the 2015-2016 school year. This designation is based on the school's three year average College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) Achievement Gap score. The school will retain this designation until it meets the exit criteria for Focus School status. The school will continue to offer FLP during 2015-2016.
Click HERE for Carver Road Middle's 2014-15 final report.
Click HERE for Cowan Road Middle's 2014-15 final report.
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"Two things define you. Your patience when you have nothing, and your attitude when you have everything."
~ Unknown
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GSCS CELEBRATES GRANDPARENTS DAY
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 TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT'S CROPPING UP AT GRIFFIN RESA
Griffin RESA has lots to crow about! Take a look at the crops in their professional learning department....
Click HERE for their October 2015 class list. |
 SIT LESS, LIVE LONGER?
Researchers from the American Cancer Society have found that women who spend 6 hours or more of free time sitting per day have a 10% greater risk of getting cancer than women who spend less than 3 hours of free time sitting per day.
They were also more likely to develop certain types of cancer: multiple myeloma, ovarian cancer and invasive breast cancer. Sitting time did not increase cancer risk for most men in the study.
The American Cancer Society recommends adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity each week (or a combination of
these), preferably spread throughout the week, and limit time spent sitting when possible.
Follow these four simple tips to reduce sitting time at work: - Parking farther away from where you're going, so you walk more
- Standing during conference calls
- Making short meetings "standing" meetings, if you're the organizer
- Taking a 1-2 minute standing or walking break every hour
Click HERE to read the full article. |
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Click HERE for our non-discrimination statement.
Communicator is edited using the AP Stylebook 2010 edition.
Laura Beaber, Editor
GSCS Communications and Partnerships Department
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