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Griffins Connect
Week of December 17th #Together #WholeChild
Reminder: Early Dismissal THIS Tuesday; 11:45 elementary, 12:00 middle
Mrs. Beth Beard, Sterling School's 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year!
Congratulations to Mrs. Beth Beard, who will represent Sterling School as the 2024-2025 Teacher of the Year! Mrs. Beard spent her early years in the Maryland/Washington DC area, and graduated from high school and started college in Honolulu, Hawaii. These geographic locations provided her with the foundation for her outlook on life with an appreciation for diversity, travel, adventure, and a love of learning. She loves to SCUBA dive, travel anywhere and everywhere, and is known by her family as their personal paparazzi due to the number of photographs she takes. Having two daughters had the most profound effect on Mrs. Beard’s teaching philosophy, as she became acutely aware of what kind of teacher she expected for her own children and decided to become the teacher she would expect for them. That teacher would see their failures and their successes as equal opportunities to grow, and that teacher would appreciate their quirks and individualities.
This is Mrs. Beard’s 24th year of teaching and her 2nd year as the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) and Technology teacher at Sterling School. As an educator, Mrs. Beard strives to provide her students with hands-on, real world activities to get them interested in furthering their technology skills while learning how to balance their real and digital lives. The goal of her classes is to inspire her students to want to learn more about technology and open doors to future career and learning opportunities. She wants her students to understand the power and possibilities of technology but also the dangers. She makes a concerted effort to make her classes fun in order to spark curiosity for the content area and to show students from all backgrounds that technical topics like coding and robotics are accessible to anyone.
Mrs. Beard majored in Elementary Education at The University of Hawaii and Clemson University, and earned her Master’s Degree in Technology Education from Lesley University. Mrs. Beard has taught middle school science and social studies as well as technology and PLTW, and earned National Board Certification in Adolescent Career and Technical Education. She is also middle level science certified. Mrs. Beard has coached Odyssey of The Mind, sponsored the Junior Beta Club, and coached First Lego League at previous schools, she has been a Girl Scout Leader, has served as a teacher sponsor for the Running Club at Sterling, and is currently the coach of two VEX Robotics teams as well as a co-coach of a First Lego League Team.
🌟 🎈 Congratulations, Mrs. Beard! 🎉 🏆
📆 What's Ahead...
December 19: Half Day; Dismissal @ 11:45am, elementary; 12:00pm middle
December 19: End of 2nd Quarter
December 20-January 2: Winter Break
January 3: Teacher Workday (no school for students)
January 4: Students Return to School; Start of 3rd Quarter
Get Ready for the 2023 Winter Break Reading Challenge!
Light Up the Season with Kindness
Last week, our Students in Action Club hosted “Light up the Season with Kindness” Day. Students limboed their way into the holiday spirit, complete with a Winter Wonderland Photo Booth and a holiday treat for showing how they can light up this season with kindness. A huge thank you to our Students in Action Club and our amazing school counseling team for reminding us the importance of showing kindness this season.
❄️ From the Sterling/CTC PTA ❄️
Teacher Gift Ideas
Are you wondering what to get your child's teacher for the holidays? Let us make it a little easier by sharing their wishlist and favorite items!
New favorites are being added frequently, so check back if you don't see your teacher's information listed. If your teacher doesn't have specific requests, gift cards are always appreciated!
Thank you for considering these gifts!
Save the Date: International Night
We hope you will join us for our PTA’s International Night on Friday, February 2nd. If you are interested in representing a country or region, please contact Priya Manavalan.
Sterling School SIC Corner
Every month, the Sterling School School Improvement Council will provide families with a recap of our monthly meeting (video below). In addition, you will find the approved minutes from the previous month's meeting: CLICK HERE!
Ultimately, our goal is to provide open communication of the important work that is happening from the group and to increase engagement and involvement across our school community. As a reminder, members of our school community are invited to attend our monthly meetings. We meet on the first Thursday of every month from 8:30-9:30am. We hope you'll join us! #Together #WholeChild
Purchase Your Yearbook Today!
Don't forget to order your child's yearbook! The process is super easy! Visit the Jostens site to order.
- Elementary: CLICK HERE!
- Middle School: CLICK HERE!
Can You Serve As A Substitute?
At Sterling School, we have amazing substitute teachers. These dedicated individuals help ensure that our school operates smoothly when a classroom teacher is absent. However, our list of active subs is short.
If you are able to help serve as a substitute for Sterling School and Greenville County Schools, please follow this link to get started and be sure to let us know (email Dr. Patterson!). We will be happy to help facilitate the process or connect you with current substitutes who can answer any of your questions. You may choose to work at any school or you can select Sterling exclusively. Work only on the days that fit your schedule. We appreciate your consideration to help the school by serving as a substitute!
Support a Griffin & Become a Mentor!
The Sterling School has a partnership with Mentor Upstate, a nonprofit organization that seeks to support children with one-on-one positive relationships. We are looking for committed adults who are willing to support and encourage ONE student for the year. If you or someone you know from our school community are willing to volunteer 30 minutes of your time weekly, we need you!
If you are interested in serving as a mentor, please complete the interest survey found HERE! Near the start of the 2023-2024 school year, we will follow-up with training information and other pertinent details. For any questions, email Mrs. Lindsay Berry (school counselor).
We Need YOU! Volunteer Training
Thinking of chaperoning a field trip, becoming a room parents, or mentoring a student? Parents at Sterling School may now participate in volunteer training either in person or online.
Upon completion of the online training module, you will be asked to take a short quiz which will be submitted to Mr. Murphy for scoring. All volunteers must answer each question correctly. Failure to do so will result in potential volunteers being asked to review the training module again or attend a face-to-face training.
To apply to be a Level II volunteer, please CLICK HERE! Follow "Level II" process and select "Field Trip Chaperone" as one of your functions/roles (even if you never want to go on a field trip). This needs to be selected to pull the background check. You may select as many other roles or all that you may be interested in. This does not commit you to anything.
If you have questions about the process or anything related to volunteering at Sterling, or if you prefer a face-to-face training, contact Mr. Murphy via email or (864) 355-4480.
Sterling School
Email: jpatterson@greenville.k12.sc.us
Website: www.greenville.k12.sc.us/sterling
Location: Sterling School, John McCarroll Way, Greenville, SC, United States
Phone: 864-355-4480
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theSterlingSchool
Twitter: @SterlingSchool
Principal - Sterling School & Charles Townes Center; Greenville County Schools, South Carolina.