The Grove Gazette
January Newsletter 2025
Dear Walnut Grove Families,
I hope you all had a relaxing Winter Break and an awesome holiday season! It’s hard to believe the first semester is already behind us, and here we are in 2025. It feels like just yesterday we were welcoming everyone back to kick off the 2024–2025 school year. The first half of the year flew by, and I don’t think the second half is going to slow down! I’m so proud of everything our students and staff have accomplished so far—they’ve been working so hard and doing amazing things.
We’re lucky to have so many ways for families and our community to get involved at Walnut Grove, and one of the biggest highlights is coming up soon—STEM Night! Make sure to mark your calendars for Thursday, January 23, 2025, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM. It’s always such a fun event, and this year, we’re pulling out all the stops to make it the best one yet. I really hope to see you there!
As we dive into 2025, I’m so excited about what’s ahead for Walnut Grove. It’s such an honor to be part of this amazing school and community. Thank you for all your support as we keep working together to help our students shine and grow into leaders.
Here’s to another great semester!
Sincerely,
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.
Parents, During the week of December 16th – 20th, visitors will not be allowed during student lunch time. The last week of school for 2024 is a very busy time! We have several events planned including staff activities, district testing, and the class Winter Parties on Friday, December 20th. Let’s finish the year strong! Thank you for your support! We will start back having lunch visitors on Monday, January 13, 2025.
Join us for the "See the Possibilities: Bringing VR to Walnut Grove" fundraiser hosted by Walnut Grove Elementary School! Your donations will help us bring the world to our students by funding a class set of VR glasses for our Media Center. With your support to complete the funding of the project (PTA is providing half of the funding from their Fall fundraiser), our students will be able to experience immersive learning right here at school. Your generosity will make a direct impact on their education and open up a whole new world of possibilities. Let's work together to provide them with the tools they need to succeed! Thank you for helping us make this dream a reality.
