Upcoming Monroe County Schools Happenings
October 24-28 
Red Ribbon Week
MP Homecoming Week
November 8 
MCBOE Work Session
November 17
Progress Reports
November 21-25
Thanksgiving Break
December 13
MCBOE Meeting
December 19-30
Christmas Break
Monroe Messages
Newsletter of Monroe County Schools
KBSutton Student and Staff Members Recognized
Maxwell Nickel, a KBSutton Elementary School fourth grader, recently won an online poetry competition with his entry, Sweet Africa.  Here is his poem:
Sweet Africa
The buffalo picks insects off its fur at sundown
As the zebras travel in packs at noon
Far from the pyramids of Egypt
To the sun-baked beaches of Madagascar and its islands
The inhabitants of sweet Africa roam

The giraffe sways its long neck in the morning
And as the wild pigs lie in the puddles of mud
the wildlife of sweet Africa thrives

And though it thrives,
I ask myself,
will we still have it tomorrow?
For it thrives, for it thrives!
But the hunters and the fishers,
and their brothers and their sisters,
might someday take our beauties away

So the next time you go visit the Nile
or the outbacks of the Sahara
just enjoy it
for it might be gone, sometime soon

Mrs. Melissa Smith, KBSutton Elementary School Counselor, was recognized for coordinating the schoolwide mentoring program, Roundtable Chatter.  The program was recently recognized by the Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals with the prestigious School Bell Award.

KBSutton Elementary staff members were recognized for their years of service to Monroe County Schools.  They are Leigh Hanson, 5 years; Leanna Linnenkohl, 10 years; Jason Morrow, 10 years; Misti Sikes, 10 years; Johnnie Skelton, 10 years; Patricia Watson, 10 years; Sheri Williams, 10 years; Joanne Binns, 25 years.  Pictured above are:  Assistant Superintendent Jackson Daniel, KBS Principal Becky Brown, KBS Assistant Principal Joanne Binns, Dr. Sheri Williams, Johnnie Skelton, Misti Sikes, Leanna Linnenkohl, and Superintendent Dr. Mike Hickman.
Parent Engagement Makes a
Positive Difference in Our Schools


At the October MCBOE meeting, Parent Coordinator Brandi Pye shared parent involvement activities and training throughout the system.  If you are interested in volunteering, see our website at http://www.monroe.k12.ga.us and click on the volunteer badge.  To see the parent involvement presentation, click here.
Monroe County Middle Remedial Program Outlined at MCBOE Meeting

MCMS staff members Christina Chapman, Instructional Coach, and Ashley Tarver, Remedial Program Teacher, shared the MCMS program for remediation for English/Language Arts and Mathematics.  MCMS uses a variety of means including online learning and the workshop model to impact student progress in these areas.  To see their presentation,
Hubbard Elementary Third Grade Team Wins DNR's Conservation Teacher of the Year Grant
Congratulations to the third grade team at Hubbard Elementary School!  The team is the 2016 Georgia Department of Natural Resources "Conservation Teacher of the Year."  This accolade includes a $1000 grant to maintain their ecological bog that they have developed with their students.  Congratulations to these staff members, Katie Whitley, Tiffani Smith, Marnai Boose, Lynn Grizzard, and Amy Carter for their "Georgia Native Bog Gardens" project!  Their proposal was inspired by their students' idea to divert water from a regularly flooded area between two school wings into a bog garden that they will construct.  In addition to solving a condensation problem, the bog garden will serve as a great place to learn about native plant and animal interactions while covering several K-5 curriculum standards.  Through various activities, the teachers will help their students hone the 4 C's of 21st Century Learning: critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication.  Additional support for the project will come from parents, local gardeners, and the Georgia Farm Bureau.  

To make sure the bog garden will be maintained and used as a teaching aid in the future, they developed a long-term sustainability plan.  Furthermore, their students will write a guide explaining how to start and maintain a Georgia bog garden, which can serve as a model for other schools. 
MCMS Receives Lab Coats Donation Courtesy of Georgia TOTY Casey Bethel
Georgia's 2017 Teacher of the Year, Casey Bethel, recently visited Monroe County Middle School classes.  As a thank you gift for hosting him for the day, he provided lab coats for the students.  Pictured above are Mrs. Jennifer Pippin's eighth grade students in their new lab coats.  Thank you, Mr. Bethel!
Central Georgia EMC Contributes $5200 to Monroe County Schools
Pictured L to R: CGEMC Board Member Phil Ham; Forsyth-Monroe County Chamber President CEO Cheri Sparks; Monroe County Schools Assistant Superintendent Alicia Elder; Monroe County Schools Superintendent Dr. Mike Hickman; CGEMC Vice President of Field Services Ben Thomason.
On October 21, 2016, Central Georgia EMC's Board Member Phil Ham presented the Forsyth-Monroe Chamber of Commerce, the Forsyth-Monroe Industrial Development Authority, and Monroe County Schools with checks totaling $15,600 to go toward education, community, and economic development activities.  Monroe County Schools received $5200.   
 
Central Georgia EMC (CGEMC), an electric membership cooperative headquartered in Jackson, Georgia, hand delivered 22 checks this month totaling $107,980.00 to area Chambers of Commerce, School Boards, and Industrial Development Authorities throughout the service territory.
 
These funds come from unclaimed capital credits that remain with CGEMC after five years. Unclaimed capital credits that remain after five years stay in the communities served by Central Georgia EMC for the sole purposes of funding education, economic development, and 501 (c) (3) charitable organizations in the EMC service area.
 
Capital credits are margins over and above the cost of providing service for members of Central Georgia EMC for a specific year, after Central Georgia EMC's financial obligations have been met. According to unique cooperative business principles, capital credits may be returned to each member on a pro-rata basis with a schedule determined by the respective EMC management and the board of directors. The amount of unclaimed capital credits will fluctuate annually, depending on the amount of capital credits refunded to members in a given year. 
 
Central Georgia EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to over 54,000 billed meters in 14 counties (Bibb, Butts, Clayton, Fayette, Henry, Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Monroe, Morgan, Newton, Pike, Putnam, and Spalding).


Monroe County Schools Teachers Focus on Quality Writing through Professional Learning
Monroe County Schools has contracted with Dr. Kevin Raczynski to work with teachers to improve literacy instruction based on a needs assessment from the elementary, middle, and high school levels.  His support will focus on how writing practices should be aligned with curriculum, assessment, and instruction through the use of open-ended assessment items.  
 
Dr. Kevin Raczynski has been with the Georgia Center for Assessment for over twelve years. He has extensive experience in both the classroom and with scoring summative writing assessments, in multiple subject areas. He is currently providing support through the Georgia Department of Education's Culture of Writing professional development for schools across the state. 
Kevin received his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Georgia. His research has focused on literacy assessments, specifically on methods to ensure accurate scoring of open-ended assessment items and the degree to which knowledge of accurate scoring influences educators' pedagogy.    
His formal teaching experience includes English 1101 and 1102 at the University of Georgia (2003-2005), in addition to work with students in grades K-12 across the state of Georgia (2005-present). This work centers on text-dependent writing. 
His work with educators involves much of the same and includes research-based approaches to classroom literacy instruction.
GADOE Seeks Input for Implementation
of ESSA, Every Child Succeeds Act

The Georgia Department of Education announced today an online survey to get the public's feedback on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In addition to the survey, eight feedback sessions are being held throughout the state to allow all citizens to give input on Georgia's ESSA plan.
 
The online survey can be found at the following link: http://gadoe.org/ESSASurvey  
 
Learn more about the Every Student Succeeds Act and the development of Georgia's state plan at http://gadoe.org/ESSA 

Announcing Fire Safety Poster Contest Winners
The Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner sponsors a statewide poster, essay, and calendar contest yearly.  Hubbard Elementary School winners in the recent state fire safety poster contest are:
Kindergarten First Place Poster Winner Carly Hicks    
Kindergarten Second Place Poster Winner  Carson Allen   
1st Grade  First Place Poster Winner  Traveona Brown     moving_firetruck.jpg
1st Grade Second Place Poster Winner  Savannah Grace Banks   
2nd Grade First Place Poster Winner Daniel Jungberg   
2nd Grade Third Place Poster Winner Joey King   

KBSutton Elementary School winners in the recent state fire safety poster contest are:
3rd Grade First Place Poster Winner Alecia Gifford
Honorable mentions are: Breyona Wilson, 4th grade; Caleb Ellison, Annabelle Potts, and Sophie Brown, 3rd grade; Anna Thompson, 1st grade.
Georgia Parent Survey is Open For Your Input
The Georgia Parent Survey contains 24 questions. Parents may complete the survey using their personal computer, smartphones or tablet.  All parents are encouraged to participate in the Georgia Parent Survey because the data will be used as part of the calculation of the School Climate Star Rating. Survey responses are anonymous and will be submitted directly to the Georgia Department of Education for analysis.  
http://apps.gadoe.org/schoolclimate/parents.nsf/Survey.xsp 
A Message from Monroe County Schools Nurses:  Prescription Drug Awareness

We're Celebrating Red Ribbon Week!
Monroe County Schools will participate in Red Ribbon Week during this week. Students of all ages can take a stand against drugs.  

The history behind Red Ribbon Campaign� was started when drug traffickers in Mexico City murdered DEA agent Kiki Camarena in 1985. This began the continuing tradition of displaying Red Ribbons as a symbol of intolerance towards the use of drugs. The mission of the Red Ribbon Campaign� is to present a unified and visible commitment towards the creation of a DRUG - FREE AMERICA.

Red ribbon week is a time to combat those that abuse drugs and encourage youth to stay away from them. According to http://www.redribbon.org,  Children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those who don't, yet only a quarter of teens report having these conversations.  Red Ribbon Week serves as a vehicle for communities and individuals to take a stand for the hopes and dreams of our children through a commitment to drug prevention and education and a personal commitment to live drug free lives with the ultimate goal being the creation of drug free America.