The Grove Gazette
February Newsletter 2025
I hope everyone enjoyed the recent snow days! Although we had to cancel our annual STEM Night, I’m excited to share that it has been rescheduled for Thursday, February 27. This event has grown into one of Walnut Grove’s hallmark evenings, and I hope to see many students, parents, and community members come out to support our STEM initiative.
It’s hard to believe we’re already in the second semester! We recently celebrated the 100th day of school, and both students and staff had a great time dressing up and creatively incorporating the number 100 into their lessons.
Additionally, our clear backpack pilot program, which began on January 14, will wrap up on February 7. Thank you to everyone for your cooperation and support in making this initiative run smoothly.
Looking ahead, please note these important updates:
- Due to the January snow days, Friday, February 7 will be a regular school day instead of a digital learning day.
- February Break will be from Thursday, February 13 through Monday, February 17, providing students and staff a much-deserved extended weekend.
Thank you for your ongoing support of Walnut Grove. Let’s make this second semester as impactful as the first!
Sincerely,
Dr. Dale Pugh
Dear GCPS Families,
We are always looking for ways to make our schools safer and more secure for all students, staff, and families. Starting in January 2025, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) will implement a clear backpack pilot program at select schools. This pilot will help us understand how a clear backpack requirement might work across the district.
You are receiving this information because your school will be part of the January 2025 Clear Backpack Pilot Program.
How the Pilot Will Work
- Who is part of the pilot program?
- 33 GCPS elementary, middle, and high schools will participate; view the full list.
- All students at these schools are expected to participate in the pilot.
- What is the school or district providing?
- Every student in your school will receive a backpack from the district at no charge.
- GCPS will provide replacement bags if they are lost or damaged during the pilot.
- Families can purchase their own clear backpack if they prefer not to use the district-provided backpack. More details are available on the website if you choose to purchase a clear backpack for your student.
- When will this happen?
- Elementary School Pilot Programs: January 13 – February 7, 2025.
- Middle and High School Pilot Programs: January 6 – January 31, 2025.
- What is required for participating schools?
- All students attending participating schools are expected to participate in the pilot.
- The data and feedback collected from participating schools will help inform if the district will move forward with clear backpacks in all schools next school year.
- Small personal items, like lunch boxes, pencil pouches, purses, laptop sleeves, instrument cases for music students, and athletic bags for athletes, are still allowed.
What Happens Next?
Your school principal will share additional details about the distribution of clear backpacks in December. Please continue to check your school website, newsletters, ParentSquare, and social media for school-specific details and reminders.
We will gather feedback and data throughout the pilot to inform our decisions moving forward. By March 3, 2025, we will decide whether to move forward with a districtwide clear backpack policy for the 2025-26 school year.
We have posted detailed information about the clear backpack pilot on our website for the entire GCPS community. This includes a list of all participating schools, pilot details, and answers to questions that you may have as a participating school. If you do not find the information you are looking for on this page or have comments you would like to share, please email clearbackpacks@gcpsk12.org.
Together, we can ensure GCPS continues to be a community where learning thrives.
Parents now have the option to be notified in the ParentVUE mobile app if their student’s grade fall below a preset threshold. Within the app, a parent can choose to enable the notification and will select the grade threshold of when to be notified. Thresholds can be set on the student’s class average or on assignment grades. The notifications are processed each afternoon starting at 5:30 pm. Specific directions on enabling Grade Notifications can be found here. Other ParentVUE resources are available on the ParentVUE site.
