GSCS COMMUNICATOR
System-wide straight talk for employees
May 6-13, 2016
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In This Issue
SUMMER STEM INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
DON'T FRY DAY
MAY 2016 BOE BRIEFS
SHS FFA AWARDED GRANT
SPECIAL OLYMPICS 2016
GSCS MIDDLE SCHOOL 
EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH

CARVER ROAD MIDDLE
Carver Road Middle would like to recognize Ms. Pittman as the Employee of the Month for her vision for our International Bizarre. Thank you for organizing this event that allowed our students and community to come together and showcase their respective cultures. We had nearly 500 guests! #2185Pride
 
COWAN ROAD MIDDLE
Cowan Road Middle School's Employee of the Month is Assistant Principal Chandra Bell. Ms. Bell is dedicated to the success of Cowan Road Middle School. This month she spent countless hours organizing the administration of GMAS. As a result, the testing administration went smoothly and efficiently. She consistently displays a positive attitude and cultivates meaningful relationships with students and staff. Ms. Bell is a TRUE Panther!
 
KENNEDY ROAD
MIDDLE
Mandy Case is a great asset to the Kennedy Road family. She is a constant support in all facets of the building. She is a major part of our PBIS team and serves as our lead special education teacher. Ms. Case goes above and beyond to assist where needed and does so with a bright smile on her face and a kind word for everyone. Ms. Case is invaluable to our school.
 
REHOBOTH ROAD MIDDLE
Rehoboth Road's Employee of the Month is Assistant Principal Rusty Hudson. Mr. Hudson does an excellent job at RRMS. He is involved with students and staff and works to ensure the learning environment is productive and engaging. Mr. Hudson is our testing coordinator and has done a superb job guiding our school through the testing process this year. His dedication to our school and families helps make RRMS a place where learning takes place at high levels and students work to be their best.
CHALLENGE 24 WINNERS

Congratulations to Atkinson Elementary, Beaverbrook Elementary, KRMS and Cowan Road Middle for having winners in this years district Challenge 24 competition!

SUMMER STEM 
INTERNSHIPS

Help spread the news to our current Sophomores and Juniors about this great opportunity!

GATech's Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics 
and Computing is sponsoring
Summer Internships at local
businesses/industry.
Click HERE for a description of positions and for the application.
 
Interested students should complete the application ASAP and email laura.ergle@gscs.org with which position you are interested in.
2016 RFL OF SPALDING COUNTY

May 13, 2016
6pm-12am
Olympic Tyus Park
1301 Cowan Road
Griffin, GA 30223

Celebrate.
Remember.
Fight Back.
DON'T FRY DAY
 
Skin cancer is the most common of all cancer types. More than 3.5 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States, and more than 73,000 cases of melanoma (the most serious form of skin cancer) are expected to be diagnosed in 2015. That's why the American Cancer Society and the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention have designated the Friday before Memorial Day as Don't Fry Day -- this year it falls on
May 22, 2015.
 
Although skin cancer risk factors are present every day, the dangers are greater during the long days of summer when you may spend more time in the sun. Click HERE to view an infographic focused on easy-to-follow tips to help you be sun sensible and reduce your risk of skin cancer.
 
Click HERE for the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention's Educator Action Kit with more than 20 activities and ideas for educators to promote Don't Fry Day and use with
students.
 
Interesting Fact...
In 2006, in the 116 largest (most populous) U.S. cities, there were, on average, more tanning salons than there were Starbucks® coffee shops.
 

I hope you have enjoyed Teacher Appreciation Week and the first week of Teacher Appreciation Month as declared by the Georgia Department of Education.  Teachers play such an important role in the development of our children. Researchers come to virtually the same conclusion when the role of the teacher is studied. No other factor has more impact on student achievement than the teacher in the classroom. This becomes both a cause for celebration and a challenge to be accepted. Thank you to our teachers for working daily with students for whom you care.  And, take it as a challenge to be the best mentor and instructional leader you can each and every day. Your work counts.
 
Let me also highlight an instance when your voice was heard by state policymakers. Time and time again, teachers and school administrators have decried the state testing schedule as being a burden on the use of instructional time. Well, state legislators and the Governor heard your concerns. Governor Deal signed Senate bill 364 which reduces the number of state mandated tests and alleviates some concerns over the use of assessments as part of the evaluation system. A proper balance needs to be achieved in both instances. Hopefully, SB364 will be a step leading to better use of instructional time and a more effective evaluation system focusing on professional development. Thanks to all who let their voices be heard by those who made change happen.
 
Finally, we made our initial presentation of the proposed FY2017 system budget to the Board of Education. The general fund budget sets a plan to expend $83.5 million, an amount still short of pre-recession levels. The budget seeks to balance the use of available resources to best support the instructional program we place before our students daily. The budget is based on a 175 day student calendar and a full 190 day teacher work schedule. The budget includes funding for step increases on the salary schedules plus a 1.5% cost of living adjustment for all staff. Several new teaching positions are included to support instruction in specific areas. The local property tax millage rate is projected to remain unchanged from the prior year. We will highlight more details of the budget in coming weeks.
 
Have a great Mother's Day weekend. Come back on Monday ready to make the final fourteen days of the school year the best they can be.      
 
Sincerely,
Jim Smith
Superintendent
BOE BRIEFS

Click HERE to view the May 3, 2016 Board of Education meeting briefs.

GSCS Media Specialist of the Year - Leslie Benefield, Futral Road Elementary Media Specialist
Pictured (L-R): Futral Road Elementary Principal Ben Steele, Media Specialist of the Year Leslie Benefield and Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Sharlene Patterson

GaDOE 2016 Advanced Placement Honor Schools:
GHS - AP Humanities School
SHS - AP STEM School and AP STEM Achievement School
Pictured (L-R): GHS Principal Darrell Evans, SHS Principal Lindy Pruitt and Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Sharlene Patterson
CCRPI SCORES RELEASED
 
The 2015 College & Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) was released with Georgia Milestones scores being used as baseline data for the very first time.  The Griffin-Spalding County School System school-level scores are varied.
 
The Griffin-Spalding school board received a detailed presentation on the 2015 CCRPI at its regular May meeting. Overall, the school system's average CCRPI score is 67.5. State-wide average CCRPI scores is 75.5.
  
Five schools made gains even though the state predictions were for scores to drop.  Griffin High, Spalding High, Futral Road and Jackson Road Elementary schools as well as Cowan Road Middle School and AZ Kelsey saw increases.
 
"I am pleased that our high schools are advancing," said Superintendent Jim Smith.  "We will continue to use data provided through the CCRPI process to assess the specific instructional needs of our students and develop school improvement plans addressing those needs."
Read more...
2015-16 ANNUAL REPORT

Click HERE to view the GSCS 2015-16 Annual Report.
GSCS APPRECIATES OUR SCHOOL LUNCH SUPERHEROES

May 6 is School Lunch Superhero Day. This nationwide celebration gives schools and communities the opportunity to recognize the amazing effort and dedication of school nutrition professionals.
 
The Griffin-Spalding County School System employees over 140 nutrition assistants, assistant managers and managers who come to work every day to assure that our students have access to healthy and tasty school meals.  Between preparing healthy meals, adhering to strict nutrition standards, navigating student food allergies and offering service with a smile, GSCS nutrition professionals have a lot on their plate.
  • GSCS nutrition professionals operate 18 food service facilities serving almost 8,000 students each day.
  • All GSCS schools scored 100 percent on their health inspection this year.
  • This school year, GSCS nutrition professionals have served over 1.4 million lunches and over 690,000 breakfasts.  That is over two million meals!
  • Each year GSCS nutrition professionals serve over 40,000 gallons of milk, 175,000 apples, and 26,000 pounds of chicken. That is thirteen tons of food!
"Someone once told me not to bite off more than I could chew.
I told them I would rather choke on greatness than nibble on mediocrity."

~ Unknown
THANK YOU GSCS SCHOOL NURSES

Four important ways school nurses benefit the school:
 
Attendance - School nurses improve attendance through health promotion, disease prevention and disease management. Students with a full-time school nurse have about half the student illness- or injury-related early releases from school where no school nurse is present.
 
Academics - Improved attendance means the healthy student is in the classroom and ready to learn. School Nurses enable better performance, which also contributes to reducing drop-out rates.
 
Time - A school nurse in the building saves principals, teachers, and clerical staff a considerable amount of time that they would have spent addressing health concerns of students. A school nurse in the building saves:
* Principals almost an hour a day
* Teachers almost 20 minutes a day
* Clerical staff over 45 minutes a day
 
Staff Wellness - School nurses improve the general health of staff. According to reports, principals, teachers, and clerical staff are VERY satisfied with having school nurses in their schools for several reasons:
* Teachers can focus on teaching
* Office staff spend less time calling parents and sending students home
* Healthy staff means increased attendance and productivity

Thank you GSCS school nurses for all that you do!
Healthy Students = Academic Success
SHS FFA AWARDED GRANT

Spalding High School's Future Farmers of America (FFA) Chapter was awarded a $1000 Grant from the Tractor Supply Company store #0578 FFA Growing Scholars fund raiser.

Pictured (L-R): TSC Store #0578 Manager Rick Burns, SHS FFA members and SHS FFA Advisor Gordon Taff
FARM DAY 2016
On May 3, GSCS first graders attended the annual Farm Day at the Kiwanis Fairgrounds sponsored by Farm Bureau, Kiwanis Club and Spalding County Extension. Students rotated through eight stations and learned about poultry, dairy cows, vegetables, forest protection, etc.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS 2016
Special Olympics was held this week at Griffin High School.
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