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GSCS HIGH SCHOOL EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH
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A.Z. KELSEY
Stevie Davis is the Employee of the Month at A.Z. Kelsey. Mr. Davis diligently works with students to help them be successful. He willingly provided items to assist students who were unable to meet the dress code standards. Mr. Davis truly cares about his students and is an asset to our school.
MAINSTAY ACADEMY Mainstay Academy's Employees of the Month are Grant Adams and Bridget Miller, our K-8 math team. Mr. Adams and Ms. Miller make learning math fun! They are keeping their students involved in a wide variety of math activities and showing students the practical application of math skills. This team is a TREASURE!
SPALDING HIGH SCHOOL Spalding High School would like to name Elise Cona-Heaton as the Employee of the Month for her outstanding commitment to students and staff at SHS. She has done an exceptional job leading the way with PBIS, House Advisement Program and Peer Leadership Class which are all designed to improve student accountability, develop relationships and build school spirit. She has worked tirelessly organizing and ensuring that staff had what they needed to incorporate various items into the classroom. She has been a cheerleader, leader and team player. We are all grateful for her hard work and commitment to SHS!
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Sept. 24 - Oct. 4, 2015
Performances:
Thurs. - Sat. at 7:30 pm & Sundays at 3pm.
Box Office:
770-229-9916
Click HERE for more information. |
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GSCS Middle School Honor Chorus Concert
October 3, 2015
3:00 pm
Griffin Auditorium
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 Last week, I wrote about our system's work toward developing a five-year strategic plan. Now I want to highlight our cooperation with the broader community in planning for the success of our hometown. For the past several months, GSCS has been involved with the City of Griffin, Spalding County and business leaders in a local initiative, the Archway Partnership. The partnership also involves the University of Georgia's help in facilitating the process of putting together a community strategic plan. Our own strategic plan focuses more inwardly and asks the community to help us reach our goals and objectives. Archway allows GSCS to work outwardly in making the larger community successful. City, county, school and business leaders are dedicating time and energy to identify areas of community life which can be improved through a collaborative effort. Economic development, housing, health and welfare and education are among the broad areas under which work plans will be developed and implemented. The involvement of GSCS in the Archway Partnership is exceptionally important when you consider the impact the public school district has in the county. GSCS is the largest employer with over 1600 staff members. Our staff is a major player in community projects such as United Way of which we annually contribute over $20,000 toward the overall goal. We serve the families of over 10,000 school age children meaning we directly impact almost half of the county's population daily. In times of emergency, GSCS offers the largest fleet of vehicles for use in mass transportation and numerous facilities to house displaced people as we saw during the tornado outbreak in 2011. We have direct relationships with over 275 individuals and businesses who participate as Partners in Education. Our footprint on the county is large. We owe it to our community to support work that brings new opportunities to Griffin and Spalding County. Over the next few years under the Archway umbrella, GSCS will work with the community on issues such as public health, school readiness, resource identification, community beautification, leadership development and intergovernmental cooperation. As much as we need the communities help to successfully educate our students, the community needs the help of the educators to bring opportunity to the area. Never take lightly that what we do in education and how large of a role we play in the success of our community. Have a great first weekend of Fall!
Jim Smith
Superintendent
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| EARLY RELEASE DAY ON WEDNESDAY |
 The school system has an early release day on Wednesday, September 30, for all students. All staff will remain in their building for their regular hours unless assigned another duty. This time is is set aside for you to plan, work in groups, review data and other activities developed by your principal. It is not appropriate to bring your own children to school during this time.
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| LAST WEEK FOR PIE GRANTS! |
 PIE grants close Oct. 1. This is your last week to
visit www.gspie.org and complete your application to receive up to $1,000 for your classroom or field trip. Don't miss out on this great opportunity! |
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2016 OPEN ENROLLMENT
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 State Health/Flex Spending Oct.19 - Nov. 6, 2015
Benefits Meetings
October 7, 2015 - GSCS Learning Center
9:30AM - 11AM
4:30PM - 6PM
More information and instructions will be sent via email on October 5.
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TEACHER PAY SCALE ADJUSTMENTS
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 The Griffin-Spalding County School System contracted with Dennis Fordham, a salary study consultant, to evaluate the competitiveness of the system's pay scales with 12 other school districts. The districts chosen for comparison were either direct competitors for talent or a similar size district based on student count. The results of the study found that steps 0-9 of the Teacher Salary Schedule were below the group average while steps 10-23+ were above the group average. From these results, the recommendation to the Board of Education as part of the FY16 Budget included increases to the local supplement on steps 0-9 to a minimum of 6% of the State-based salary and grandfathered in any step that was already above the 6% base supplement. This change brings those steps, 0-9, to the group average to be more competitive. Steps 10+ were held the same since they were above the group average and deemed competitive. "The purpose of the salary study was to determine competitiveness not give raises," stated Ryan McLemore, chief financial officer. "No changes have been made to the last half of the scale since they have been and continue to be above the group average." Step and salary changes will occur in the September paycheck for 190-day employees. |
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"You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction."
~ George Lorimer
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CONNECTION C.A.F.E
(Circle of Adults Focusing on Education)
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Sponsored By:Griffin-Spalding County School System Department of Special Education Services & Supports
Date: October 1, 2015
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Topic: Dangers of Teen Substance Use
Presenters: David and Yvette Burnett
Location: GSCS Learning Center
Chase Burnett passed away in March 2012 after smoking synthetic marijuana. His parents, David and Yvette Burnett will present their story as they continue to educate parents on the extreme dangers of synthetic marijuana.The Burnett's touching story has important lessons for educators, parents, students and community members!
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CHARACTER ED CONTINUES IN GSCS
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| RED RIBBON WEEK OCT. 23-31, 2015 |
 Are you ready for Red Ribbon Week (October 23-31)? The Red Ribbon Campaign� is the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the Nation and a way for people and communities to take a visible stand against drugs. This year's theme, "Respect Yourself. Be Drug Free.™" created by a middle school student in Ohio, is a wonderful, positive message to share.
Enter the 2015 National Red Ribbon Week photo contest by clicking HERE.You could w in an iPad and $1,000 for your school! They are giving out $20,000 to schools across America. Click HERE to watch their one-minute video.
Other Ways To Get Ready:
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MENTAL HEALTH NUMBERS OF NOTE
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 Mental health diagnoses for kids are increasing:
| 8.1 | Percentage of U.S. children's visits to a pediatrician in 2010 that resulted in a mental health diagnosis. | | 10.5 | Percentage of U.S. children's visits to a pediatrician in 2013 that resulted in a mental health diagnosis.
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...especially for boys.
| 14.7 | Percentage of U.S. boys' visits to a pediatrician that resulted in a mental health diagnosis in 2013.
| | 8.2 | Percentage of U.S. girls' visits to a pediatrician that resulted in a mental health diagnosis in 2013.
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ASCD Educational Leadership October 2015 Vol. 73 No. 2
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MR. I'M POSSIBLE WORDS OF WISDOM
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| | Jordan Hill Elementary teachers brought Keith L. Brown's message to their school. |
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