GSCS ELEMENTARY
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
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ANNE STREET ELEMENTARY
Anne Street Elementary would like to recognize Assistant Principal Dr. Tosha Williams and Kindergarten Paraprofessional Sonya Edwards, as our Employees of the Month.
ATKINSON ELEMENTARY
Atkinson would like to recognize our Assistant Principal, Mondrell Gary, as Employee of the Month. Mr. Gary has dived right in since joining the Atkinson family in September. He is doing a great job building relationships with our students, staff and parents. He made an immediate impact on our students. He is constantly brainstorming ways we can grow as school. We appreciate his efforts and encourage him to "Keep Working!"
BEAVERBROOK ELEMENTARY
Michelle Cobb is the Employee of the Month for Beaverbrook. Nurse Cobb is a vital part of our school. She is a tireless worker and her love for students shows every day. We are confident that she cares for more students than any other nurse in the world! We love her and appreciate all she does for our students.
COWAN ROAD ELEMENTARY
Cowan Road Elementary Employee of the Month is our school counselor, Ms. Tonya Jones. Daily Ms. Jones provides the students and teachers with wonderful treats and inspiration. Her leadership with PBIS is outstanding. She always has a positive attitude and is an essential part of Cowan Road!
CRESCENT ELEMENTARY
Our Employee of the Month is Sara Johnson, Crescent media specialist and a whole lot more! Mrs. Johnson continues to guide staff as they learn new programs and resources. She is hands on with student learning and fills in as needed to support the total school program. She encourages the use of innovative practices to increase student achievement. Thanks for seeing the big picture!
FUTRAL ROAD ELEMENTARY
Nancy Williamson is Futral Road's Employee of the Month. Nancy is the glue that holds everything together here at Futral. Everything she does is done with excellence! She is second to none in her skills as a secretary. However, it does not stop there; she is a custodian, a clerk, a counselor, a teacher, an administrator, a sister, a mother, but most importantly a loving friend to all! We love you Nancy, Merry Christmas!
JACKSON ROAD ELEMENTARY
JRE has three Employees of the Month. While each teacher is outstanding on her own, they make up an extremely dynamic team that comes together as one to serve our 4th grade students.
Veronica Braswell teaches science, social studies, and writing in her content area. She is hard-working and continuously seeks ways to engage her students.
Robyn Jackson
teaches ELA. She juggles many levels of students all day and is committed to meeting individual needs.
Melinda Owens
teaches math and writing in her content area. She never stops finding ways to reach all of her students.
All three teachers are mentor teachers and always go the extra mile. This Dream Team works countless hours to discuss and plan for awesome differentiated strategies to meet their students' needs. They stay in close touch with parents and encourage communication. Jackson Road is very fortunate.
JORDAN HILL ELEMENTARY
The Jordan Hill Employee of the Month for December is Shelly Liles. Shelly came to us this year as an instructional paraprofessional working mainly with our fourth and fifth grade students. Since she has been here, there has been nothing but positive comments from the students and staff. Everyone loves her and she works well with everyone. She performs her duties with a smile and is willing to go the extra mile. We are proud to have her as part of our Jordan Hill Family!
Moore Elementary is proud to recognize Shawanda Millsap as the Employee of the Month. Mrs. Millsap is a fifth grade teacher and ELA department chair. She has dedicated many hours preparing students for Literacy Days and the Spelling Bee. Mrs. Millsap is always willing to go the extra mile to assist in any way with a positive and enthusiastic attitude. She is a true team player and asset to Moore Elementary.
MORELAND ROAD ELEMENTARY
The Employee of the Month for Moreland Road is Dr. Nina Williams. Dr. Williams is doing an outstanding job with our music department here at MRE. She organized and took our chorus to Southern Crescent and to the Governor's Mansion. The students looked and sounded wonderful! She has organized multiple fundraisers for a trip to the Orlando Music Festival for our 5th graders. This opportunity will provide our students with a valuable experience and exposure to another city and culture. Dr. Williams enhances Moreland Road in so many ways. We are grateful for her devotion to the school and our children. Thanks for everything that you do!
ORRS ELEMENTARY
The certified Employee of the Month is Nicole Freeman who was named by her peers for the innovative work she does with her students.
The classified Employee of the Month is Essence Williams who was named by her peers for the excellent work she does with students in her fine arts class.
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RRMS received
2nd place in the Griffin RESA 2015 Academic Bowl!
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We've reached the end of 2015. The year certainly went by quickly. The Holiday season is here. I hope each of you and your families will have a restful break and wonderful Christmas time. Special events are a hallmark of this time of year. Earlier today,13 students received their high school diplomas as graduates of A.Z. Kelsey Academy. What better gift can there be to oneself than to earn and receive a high school diploma that is so vital to unlocking future opportunities? Perhaps you remember a high school or college instructor mentioning that a diploma awaited those who completed the program. The promise of a diploma got many of us through late night study sessions. Well, today 13 students walked across the auditorium stage, in front of proud parents, families and friends, and realized the promise of a high school diploma. I can't imagine a better way to go into the break. I know you've enjoyed parties, programs, and concerts all with a celebratory undertone. I've enjoyed reading to a second grade class and attending band and chorus concerts. Our school system has a lot to be proud of in the way of student performance. As I mentioned in an earlier article, your gift of time spent with students is time well spent. Please enjoy the holidays and come back refreshed and recommitted in January.
Happy Holidays!
Jim Smith
Superintendent |
Congratulations to A.Z. Kelsey Academy's 13 graduates!
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GSCS TO UNDERGO CURRICULUM AUDIT
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 The Griffin-Spalding County School System has contracted with Phi Delta Kappa International to undergo a curriculum management audit in early 2016. The audit is similar to a financial audit but instead examines the district's curriculum design and delivery system.
The curriculum management audit provides school systems with a comprehensive, objective look at how well their system is delivering teaching and learning. It identifies where the system is in its quest for quality and what it has to do to improve achievement.
"It is important for GSCS to be proactive to ensure that there is alignment among the written curricula, the curricula that is taught, and the curricula that is tested across all 18 schools. When you have everyone working across the district, teaching the same curriculum, students will have a better chance at success," stated Curriculum Director Ashley Crawford.
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TWO GSCS SCHOOLS RECOGNIZED AS 2015-2016 REWARD SCHOOLS
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 Cowan Road Elementary and Moreland Road Elementary were included on the 2015-16 list of Title I Reward Schools released by the Georgia Department of Education this week.
"These schools and districts are working against the odds to provide opportunities for their students," State School Superintendent Richard Woods said.
GSCS Reward Schools are Title I schools that classify as a Highest-Progress School. A Highest-Progress School is among the 10 percent of the state's Title I schools making the most progress in improving the performance of the "all students" group over three years on the statewide assessments.
Superintendent Jim Smith stated, "I can't overstate how proud I am of the hard work from Moreland Road and Cowan Road Elementary administrators, students, teachers, staff and parents. Making the highest-progress school list is a great accomplishment. GSCS takes great satisfaction in these results!"
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| GSCS TEACHERS EXCEEDING THE BAR |
 Schools receive "Exceeding the Bar" points in CCRPI if half of the teachers in the school have 500 or more page views in SLDS during the year.
Click HERE to view the GSCS teachers who currently have 250 or more page views in SLDS this year. |
HELP A GHS ROBOTICS TEAM GO TO THE STATE COMPETITION
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 Hello GSCS colleagues!
I have two quick things to share with you about our Griffin High Robotics teams! Yes, we have two this season!
This past weekend our teams went to compete against 29 other teams from across the state. Our veteran team finished the day in fifth place and unfortunately lost in the semi-finals. Our rookie team placed eighth and just missed an opportunity to play in the semi-finals. Both teams overcame many challenges and stood up to great adversity throughout the tournament. If you see any of the members you should congratulate them on an outstanding job!
Now for the help part. Griffin has the opportunity to co-host a tournament on January 30 at Clayton State University. If our teams can get at least 20 volunteers (at least 10 adults and the others can be middle school or higher) to help set up and run the tournament then one of our teams will get an automatic bid to the state tournament regardless of their performance in the tournament! You could help one of our teams go to state!
If you are interested in helping, know someone who might be or want more information, please email eric.harper@gscs.org. There will be at least five volunteers that will need to go to a brief training to help be judges but there is plenty of manual "grunt" work to be done as well. You don't have to know a thing about robots to volunteer! I will tell you up front that these tournaments tend to last most of the day but are great fun!
Thanks so much!
Eric Harper
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| VERIFY YOUR HEALTH DEDUCTION |
 Please review and verify that your health deduction premium is correct on their December check stub.
If an error has occurred, notify SHBP Member Services at 1-800-610-1863 for correction of errors by December 31, 2015.
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START THE NEW YEAR BY ADVANCING YOUR CAREER!
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 Information session for paraprofessionals, teachers and all interested in a teaching career!
Who: Mercer University, Tift College of Education
What: Information session on Early Childhood Program/Special Education Program and Middle Grades Program
Where: Large Board Room, 216 S. 6th Street
When: January 4, 2016 & February 12, 2016
Time: 4:30PM - 5:30PM
Teacher Education Program Chair Dr. Ronald Knorr, of the McDonough campus, will outline the path to teacher certification for all interested. The presentation will include information for paraprofessionals or any staff member who may have little or some college, and teachers or other staff members who have a college degree in a discipline other than education.
Don't miss this opportunity to learn more about advancing your career as a teacher by attending Mercer University!
(Note - Scholarship opportunities are available for paraprofessionals; financial aid opportunities will be discussed for all interested.)
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BBB'S 12 SCAMS OF CHRISTMAS
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The holidays may be a joyful and giving time of the year, but the Better Business Bureau is warning shoppers about those who might try to take advantage of the season.
The BBB released the 12 Scams of Christmas, a list of the most popular ways scammers and thieves try to steal money and information from consumers during the holidays.
To read more about the 12 scams of Christmas click HERE.
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RING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
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 Click HERE to view the professional learning
class list for January 2016 at Griffin RESA.
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2015 RED RIBBON AWARD COMPETITION
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 The date for the Red Ribbon Competition has been extended to Jan. 15, 2016.
Click HERE for the guidelines outlining eligibility, criteria, judging protocol and the application. Remember, if your school or community organization wins you will be able to participate in the Award Ceremony which will be held in March 2016. |
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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
PO Drawer N
Griffin, GA 30224
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