Reflecting on a Successful First Quarter Together
Dear Sterling School Families -
As we celebrate the close of our first quarter, I want to share a moment of reflection. Last Friday, my family and I toured a college campus with my high school senior, and it struck me just how quickly these school years pass. Watching her prepare for this next chapter filled me with gratitude for the many teachers, coaches, and mentors who’ve poured into her growth along the way. Here at Sterling, our commitment to this same journey with your children—to shape and prepare them for life beyond our walls—is one we cherish and take seriously.
Our first quarter has been filled with tremendous strides, all made possible by the partnership we share with you. Whether through attending parent/teacher conferences, engaging in SIC/PTA meetings, volunteering as a mentor, chaperoning a field trip, or reading and responding to the communication that comes home (thank YOU for reading! 😀)—each connection strengthens our Sterling School community.
As we move forward, thank you for your continued support, involvement, and trust. We are excited for the growth ahead and grateful to walk this journey with you!
Learning together,
Dr. P
50's Day: Let's "Twist and Shout" in Primary Grades
We’re excited to celebrate the 50th -ish day of school with a special event for our primary grade students (4K-2nd) on Wednesday, October 30th! Students will participate in fun math activities that highlight the number 50.
We also invite all students and faculty/staff to join in the fun by wearing 50’s-style clothing! There’s no need to buy anything—just get creative with what you already have at home. Some ideas include: poodle skirts, cheerleading outfits, sweaters, pink lady jackets, scarves, ponytails, white t-shirts, jeans rolled up, letterman or leather jackets, slicked hair, and more. Just have fun!
🎃 Fall Festival Fun
Our Fall Festival was a huge success! Families enjoyed an exciting evening filled with fun activities, including the Beta Club’s spooky haunted house, thrilling mad scientist experiments, dancing at the DJ’s candy walk, and the popular soda bottle toss. Kids had a blast on the inflatables, and everyone loved the delicious food and amazing crafts. Thank you to all the families who came out to make this event so memorable. We couldn’t have done it without you! A special thank you to the event chair, Purvi Ajmera, for her hard work and dedication in bringing this fantastic event to life for our school community! The collage above captures just a few highlights from the event, but if you are interested in seeing more photos, please check out this link: Fall Festival Pictures
📣 A Message from the Fall Festival Chair, Purvi Ajmera
I’d like to give a big thank you to our incredible Fall Festival team for their dedication and hard work in making this event a success! Special thanks to Lindsay Pharr, Nicole Burns, Caren Morrison, Tiffany Walsh, Mary Gosage, Nadee Attanayake, Danielle Hansen, Perry Behrens, Allison Wescott, and Chloe McGoogin. We also extend our gratitude to the entire E-board for their support throughout this process.
Thank you to Ms. Harrington and the Art Honor students for their creative contributions, as well as Ms. Foulkes and our Beta Club volunteers for lending their time. And finally, thank you to every volunteer and all who generously donated to make the Fall Festival possible. We couldn’t have done it without you!
👏 A Huge Thank You to Our Amazing Fall Festival Vendors!
We’re so grateful to the incredible vendors who helped make this year’s Fall Festival a success! Special thanks to Anetia’s Catering, Kona Ice, Common Pops, Duck Donuts, DJ CooLarry, SC Party Rentals and Up N Jumping, and our premiere sponsor, Palmetto Family Orthodontics. Your support and contributions made the event truly wonderful for our students and families!
Thank you for bringing the fun, flavor, and festive spirit to our Fall Festival!
🎖️ Help Us Honor Our Veterans at Sterling/CTC!
We’re preparing a heartfelt Veterans Day celebration on **Friday, November 8th** to honor those who have served, and we need your support! Please help us make the two receptions following our Veterans Day programs extra special by sending in donated items. To sign up to donate items, please use this link: Veterans Day Sign Up
Thank you for helping us make this a memorable day for our veterans and our community!
📚 Spirit Week Book Fair @ M.Judson Booksellers!
Join us for a book fair at M.Judson Booksellers on November 18-22 from 7:30 am - 7:00 pm! Support an independent bookstore while also supporting our school! Every purchase including books, gifts, cafe items, and drinks will benefit the Sterling Media Center. All you have to do is shop for books and gifts or grab a cafe snack at M.Judson and mention "Sterling School" at checkout! M.Judson Booksellers is located next door to The Westin Poinsett in the heart of downtown Greenville at: 130 S. Main St, Suite 200A, Greenville, SC 29601. This spirit week fundraiser is in place of our normal in-person school book fair.
🏃🏾♂️ Bubble Run Prizes
Our K4-5th graders had a blast celebrating their Bubble Run Grand Prizes! Thanks to all their hard work meeting team goals during the fundraiser, they enjoyed an exciting day with inflatables and tons of fun! A special thank you to Up'N'Jumping for supplying the amazing inflatables that made the day special!
Accepting Imperfection: 24-25 PTA Reflections
The 2024–2025 National PTA Reflections program is here, and this year's theme is "Accepting Imperfection." This powerful theme invites students to explore and express their thoughts, emotions, and ideas through the arts. Whether your student is passionate about dance choreography, film production, music composition, photography, literature, or visual art, this is their chance to showcase their creativity and share their unique perspective.
"Accepting Imperfection" will inspire students across the nation and in U.S. schools abroad to embrace the beauty found in imperfections and create original works that reflect their personal journeys and experiences. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of something special. We can't wait to see what our students create!
Submission Deadline: December 15, 2024
Submit your entry using the link below: Reflections Entry
Choose Sterling School! 25-26 School Choice Lottery Window Opens Nov. 21st
Did you know... Sterling School is Greenville County's only total choice school? This means every single family who attends Sterling School is here by choice. While students of our Charles Townes Center Program are here by invitation, many people do not realize that students of our Sterling Program are also here by choice. So, if you've enjoyed your experience at our school, share the good news (and this digital newsletter) and invite them to join our family!
Why Attend Sterling School?
- We are a National Blue Ribbon School (Blue Ribbon Announcement)
- We have a longstanding reputation as a Top Performing School (Pep Rally Celebration)
- Unique Learning Experiences! (Such as Painting a Collaborative Mural)
- We Believe in Educating the WHOLE CHILD! (and are Award-Winning)
- We have a strong community partnerships (National PTA School of Excellence)
- And MUCH, MUCH more!
Greenville County Schools Change in Assignment School Choice Lottery Window for the 2025-26 school year will be Thursday, November 21, 2024 through Friday, December 6, 2024. All parents wishing to submit a CIA choice request should submit at their first choice school during this window. 2025-26 Change in Assignment Choice Lottery request forms will be distributed via courier on November 15. Magnet applications should be submitted via Backpack. Contact for CIA Requests: Planning and Demographics office, 355-7266 or 355-7263.
Veterans Day 2024 @ Sterling
On Friday, November 8th, Sterling School will honor those who have fought for the many freedoms we, as American citizens, have today. We will have two programs. Our K-3rd grade program will begin at 8:30am and the 4th-8th grade program will begin at 9:30am. We invite all veterans in our Sterling family to join us as honored guests.
If a special guest is planning to attend, we ask that you RSVP by Thur., Oct. 31st (CLICK HERE!). As a special treat, please send in or email a picture of your honored guest (preferably in uniform), the name and relationship to our Sterling/CTC student, and the name of the military branch in which he or she served. (You'll find this request within the Google Form as well.)
Our PTA is planning a reception after each program for our veterans and their guests. Students of our veterans are invited to attend as well. If you would like to participate, please complete the same Google Form (CLICK HERE!).
We invite all students to wear red, white, and blue on the day of our program, Fri., Nov. 8th.
We look forward to this exciting day, as we pay tribute to those who have served our country. Thank you, in advance, for your willingness to participate!
Upcoming Middle School Lunch & Learn
We're excited to announce that our upcoming event with Melissa Cline, Director of Admissions at Furman University, is now open to all middle school families! Originally offered for 8th-grade families, we’ve expanded this in-person session to ensure that all middle school parents and students can take advantage of this unique opportunity. Melissa will provide valuable insights into the college admissions process and answer any questions you may have about planning for your student's future.
Feel free to bring your lunch and join us for this informative event!
Click the image or CLICK HERE to sign-up!
We look forward to seeing you there!
AstroNerds Stargazing Party for CTC Middle Schoolers
The Sterling School AstroNerds Astronomy Club, in collaboration with Roper Mountain astronomers, is excited to offer CTC middle schoolers and their families an opportunity to explore the night sky!
- What: Stargazing party for CTC middle schoolers and their families
- Who: AstroNerds Astronomy Club in partnership with Roper Mountain Science Center
- Where: Roper Mountain Science Center
- When: November 8th, 2024, at 6:00 PM EST (weather permitting)
To participate, visitors will need to purchase tickets for the Starry Night show, hosted by Roper Mountain Science Center, from 6:00 PM to 6:45 PM. Following the show, the stargazing event will take place at the Roper Mountain Observatory. Roper Mountain astronomers have graciously volunteered their time to guide students in their stargazing journey. Participants will also have the chance to see different telescopes in action!
✨ Sterling School SIC October Meeting Recap ✨
Huge thanks to everyone who participated in our October SIC Meeting! It was full of valuable insights and updates. We also welcomed our newly elected SIC Parent and Teacher Representatives.
Dr. Patterson and our PTA President, Priya Manavalan, shared important school news, highlights, and upcoming events. Our favorite part, as always, was the ‘Teacher Sharing,’ which showcased amazing curriculum activities and student engagement!
We discussed updates on the Buddy Family Program, including feedback from new families and resources being created for our community —such as the SIC Parent Quick Reference Guide!
September and October minutes will be posted on the SIC Website in the near future
SAVE THE DATE 🗓️: Our next meeting is on November 7th @ 8:30 AM in the Vegas Room! We hope to see you there! ✨
Helene Attendance Information
Here is a brief explanation of attendance with regards to the days we were closed for Helene:
- ALL students were marked virtually present on Friday, 9/27. VTP is a PRESENT code, so no child was marked absent that day.
- ALL students were then marked with a weather absence code (WTHR) 9/30-10/8. This is visible in Parent Backpack.
- Once the state and district settle on how these dates will be treated, the code will be changed. Until then, the WTHR code stands to account for those days.
- These "absences" will not count against any student in any way, regardless of the final decision from the state.
If you have any questions, please e-mail Chrissy Hammonds at cdhammon@greenville.k12.sc.us.
💙 Support a Griffin & Become a Mentor!
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 2024-2025 school year, we will follow-up with training information and other pertinent details. For any questions, email Mrs. Lindsay Berry (school counselor).
Can You Serve As A Substitute?
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!
After School Program Now Hiring!
Looking for a part-time job? Sterling School's After School Program is hiring dedicated and enthusiastic workers! If you enjoy working with kids and have a few hours to spare in the afternoons, this could be the perfect opportunity for you.
- Hours: 2-5PM or 2-6PM
- Interested? Contact Maxi Henry at mhenry@greenville.k12.sc.us for more information.
Join our team and make a difference in the lives of our students!
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