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Griffins Connect
Week of March 10th #Together #WholeChild
Sterling/CTC Orchestra Receives High Marks!
Congratulations to the Sterling/CTC Orchestra for achieving a Superior with Distinction at South Carolina Music Educators Association Concert Performance Assessment last Thursday at Furman University.
"The South Carolina Concert Performance Assessment is designed for middle school and high school orchestral ensembles – both string and full. These assessments allow students and directors an opportunity to perform for state and nationally known adjudicators for comments and ratings on prepared repertoire."
📆 What's Ahead...
Monday, March 11: S.C. Academy of Science, ONLINE CONTEST Grades 4-8 Deadline (info below)
Friday, March 15: No School for Students
Monday-Friday, March 18-22: Spring Break
Monday, March 25: Art 1 Honors Showcase (All Invited); 4:30-6:00pm in Vegas Room
Thursday, March 28: Spring Middle School Block Party; 2:45-4:30pm (info below)
Thursday, March 28: Deadline to Nominate a Student for A.R.M.E.S. (info below)
Friday, March 29: No School for Students
Friday, April 5: Spring Pictures: Prepay only; Background to be used
- Order online @ www.strawbridge.net; click "order pictures" & enter code: FM436460
FTC Competes @ State Championship
We are excited to share that the First Tech Challenge (FTC) team -Sterling Stormers competed in the FTC State Championship at Columbia, SC on March 1-2, 2024. They received the Controls Award at the event for the innovative controls that they coded in their robot.
FTC is the next step up from FLL for kids in grades 7 - 12. In FIRST Tech Challenge, students develop STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills and practice engineering principles while realizing the value of innovation. Teams are challenged to design, build, and program robots with Java programming language in a thrilling head-to-head competition.
They presented their Robot Design to FTC judges from the industry at the event. They talked about their robot design, and talked about how they worked as a team to come up with an innovative solution to this years challenge. The Sterling Stormers were honored to receive the Controls Award.
2024 Read Across America
March is National Reading Month and we're celebrating the joy of reading all month long! #ReadersAreLeaders
Mrs. Matthews & Mrs. Sheppard presented at the South Carolina Association of School Librarians annual conference.
Students in Mrs. Parks' class "Stop & Read!"
Dr. P. participates as "Waldo" in Book Character Dress Up Day
April Arts 2024 is Coming!
Interested in ordering this year's t-shirt?!? Order HERE!
Note: the shirt color changed due to printing issues.
From the Sterling/CTC PTA
PTA Reflections 2024 Winners
Congratulations to the winners of the Sterling School PTA Reflections Contest! Reflections is an annual PTA-sponsored contest encouraging students to express themselves in their artwork, tap into critical thinking skills, and experience the joy of making art. Thank you to our hardworking PTA Reflections Chairs who make this program possible!
Spring Middle School Block Party
Join your friends at the Spring Middle School Block Party on Thursday, March 28th, 2:45-4:30pm! TICKETS are on sale now for $5 and include admission, drink, and snack. Purchase online by March 27th or pay at the door. Additional snacks will be available for purchase $1/each (cash only).
VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED TO HELP MAKE THIS A GREAT EVENT - PLEASE SIGN UP!
Middle School Volunteers Needed!
We're seeking volunteers from middle schoolers (Grades 6, 7 & 8) to assist with our school's booth at the iMAGINE Upstate STEAM Festival 2024. The festival is scheduled for Saturday, April 6, from 11 am to 5 pm. It's the largest STEAM festival in Greenville and provides a great opportunity for us to showcase our school and engage with the community. Join us in making a difference! SIGN UP HERE!
HOG Day Donations
On Saturday, April 20th, the United Way of Greenville will be hosting HOG Day in which volunteers from around Greenville County will come to our school to help with general landscaping, maintenance, and housekeeping needs.
Please help us support and thank the volunteers by SIGNING UP to provide bottled water and/or snacks. Donations can be dropped at the front office and should be labeled for HOG Day no later than March 22nd. Thanks for your support!
April Arts Needs Your Fabric Scraps!
We're accepting pieces larger than 6 inches, made from any fabric. Please label your donations and drop them off in Mrs. Harrington's room. Let's add some color and creativity to this fun event!
Breakfast Bars Needed
Let's ensure our students start their day right! Please help us restock breakfast bars in the front office for those arriving too late to eat in the cafeteria. A nutritious breakfast helps improve focus, attitude, and overall academic performance.
Performing Arts Club: Save the Date
Come check out the Sterling Performing Arts Club's amazing production! Hamilton, Annie, The Wiz, Matilda, and more! Thursday, April 25 @ 6:30. We can't wait to see you there!
2024-2025 Carpool Interest Form
Are you interested in carpooling next year? Please fill out the 2024-25 Carpool Form. We’ll have several new incoming CTC 3rd grade families joining the list! The spreadsheet will be shared in March.
Butterfly Garden - Sign Up to Help!
The weather is warming and it is officially time to kick off our Butterfly Garden Revitalization Project!
Using the funds awarded to Sterling School by the Greenville Master Gardeners Association's 2024 Community Grant, we will be able to update and expand our current Butterfly Garden area. This is where you and your family can help!
In addition to our large "All Hands" garden work days, this signup includes a list of flexible dates for smaller garden tasks that individual students/families can sign up to complete. Sign up for as few or as many dates as works for you!
Please contact April Boyer with any questions. Thank you for investing your time in our beautiful outdoor learning space. We rely on our school community to make projects like this successful and your support is truly appreciated.
Annual Parent School Climate Survey
All Sterling School parents have the opportunity to share your voice via the Parent School Climate Survey. The Parent School Climate Survey will be available via Backpack for Parents on the My Students page. One survey per family should be completed per student. Parents of multiple students at different school locations may complete a survey for each school their students attend. Parents of students in any grade level are invited to complete a survey.
WHHS Musical Theatre Camp: Click Image to Register!
MathCounts Team Shine @ State Competition
Last weekend, Walker Banks, Jeff Kim, Nicholas Hu, Dhanya Rajagopalan, Henry Quackenbush, and Karthik Arumugam represented Sterling at the MathCounts State Competition. Nicholas won first place both in the Countdown Round and Individual Competition and will advance to Nationals.
We are very proud of all of our students! Special thanks to Mr. Whittaker for his dedication to our school's MathCounts program. Additionally, we thank Mr. Ganesh Rajagopalan (Dhanya's father) for helping Mr. Whit in coaching this year's team.
First Lego League Teams Advance to Global Stage
The Argent Agents and the Silver Flames competed at the FLL State Tournament on February 17. The Argent Agents finished with the 1st Place Champion Award, and the Silver Flames received the Engineering Excellence award. The Argent Agents are advancing to World Festival in Houston in April, and the Silver Flames will be advancing to WPI Open in Massachusetts in June.
Argent Agents
Silver Flames
2023-2024 District and State PTA Reflections Winners
Congratulations to all of the talented Sterling School artists who participated in the 2023-2024 Reflections program, responding to the theme: I Am Hopeful Because…We are excited to celebrate and spotlight our District and State Winners! Best of luck to Forest Duckett III and Amita Barik, SCPTA Award of Excellence Winners, who will be advancing to the National competition. We want to give a special thanks to our Reflection co-chairs T.J. Jaconetti and Jagy Lenka!
SCPTA Reflections Winners
District PTA Reflections Winners
🧑🏽🔬 2024 South Carolina Academy of Science, ONLINE CONTEST Grades 4 - 8
The 2024 ONLINE contest for the Middle/Elementary School Academy of Science (MESAS) is now available to interested students in grades 4-8. Last year, Sterling School had 10 winners!
- Direct Link to the South Carolina 2024 online e-contest (Grades 4-6): CLICK HERE!
- Direct Link to the South Carolina 2024 online e-contest (Grades 6-8): CLICK HERE!
This is an optional contest. Each student who participates will be recognized and each school that participates will have at least one winner. Winners will be announced in the South Carolina Academy of Science (SCAS) newsletters and the SCAS Bulletin. The online contest is available and must be completed on or before 11:59 PM Monday, March 11, 2024.
Students are encouraged to use reference resources of all types, including the internet. However, parent assistance is strongly discouraged in finding the answers. This is a competitive contest meant to teach students new methods of learning and exploring. Questions are prepared with respect to the standards for SC. Participating students may indicate Ms. Deborah Foulkes, instructional coach, as our school's sponsor (dfoulkes@greenville.k12.sc.us).
Nominate a Student for A.R.M.E.S.!
Arts Reaching Middle and Elementary Schools is a tuition-free, rigorous, artistically gifted and talented program designed to meet the needs of identified 3rd through 8th grade Greenville County students. Nominations for the 2024-25 school year close March 28. Rising 3rd through 8th grade students may be nominated by a teacher, parent, adult or self. CLICK HERE for flyer!
Learn more and submit a nomination: http://tinyurl.com/36dr9pj7
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.