COMET CONNECTION

Greetings,

HAPPY NEW SCHOOL YEAR 2024-2025 and welcome back to Britt Elementary School, Home of the Comets! It brings me great joy and excitement to begin a new school year with you still filled with lots of learning, growth, and success together! I hope this letter finds you doing well and that your summer vacation was the best! As always, here at Britt you can expect engaging and innovative educational experiences, a supportive network of educators, and an engaged community that celebrates all things COMETS! We will continue to be an environment that encourages critical thinking, collaboration, and personal growth, so that each student has the opportunity to recognize their own potential.

Although this is an exciting time of year, we want you to know that your Comet's attendance in school is the most important thing to us. Regular school attendance is vital to your student’s success. At Britt, our goal is to ensure that all students fully benefit from their education by getting to school on time (in class by 8:20 AM) and attending school regularly. Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves. You can help your student learn that going to school on time, every day is important. Consistent attendance will help children do well in high school, college, and at work. Arriving late to school/class impacts a student’s learning as well as the classroom atmosphere. Being on time for school/class is a positive goal for each of our students. Research has shown that your child's attendance record may be the biggest factor influencing his/her academic success.

At Britt, we track highest classroom monthly attendance! Classrooms with the highest classroom attendance by the end of each month win a popcorn party. Help your child's classroom win this awesome prize by sending them to school each day!

PLEASE NOTE:

• Students arrival begins at 8:20 AM and no earlier.
• The late bell rings and instruction begins at 8:50 AM.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

• Having your child ride the school bus assures your child will get to school on time.
• If your child is a car rider, leave yourself extra time in case of heavy traffic or inclement weather.
• Our doors open at 8:20 AM, so you can drop your child off starting then.

• An unexcused tardy means your child arrived in class late (after 8:50 AM) because of sleeping in late, traffic, missing the bus, running late, etc.
• Examples of an excused tardy or absence are illness, health condition, medical appointment, and family emergency.
• You must come inside the building to sign-in your child with the reason why your child was tardy.

If your student is going to be absent or late, please contact your child’s teacher, send in an excuse letter for the tardy or absence, or click on this link to access and complete an Excused Absence Form for your little one.

Parents and families, I encourage you to stay connected with us through ParentSquare, our school website, social media channels, and by ensuring that all of your contact information is correct in GCPS' Parent Portal, so you are able to stay informed about the exciting events happening here. Together I am sure, we will kick off this school year creating successful and memorable academic moments for all.

LET'S GO COMETS!!!

Soaring and Shining,

Melissa Madsen ⭐🚀⭐

• September 2 - Labor Day (NO SCHOOL FOR GCPS)
• September 5 & 6 - Grandparents Day Luncheons
• September 6 - Britt School Council Election Day
• September 10 - Annual Title 1 Parent Meeting at 6:30 PM
• September 17 - Skate Night at Sparkles Grayson Hwy
• September 20 - GCPS Digital Learning Day #1
• September 20 - Progress Report #1 (Sent Home Digitally; Available in ParentVue)
• September 23 - PBIS School Stores Officially Opens!
• September 27 - Britt Elementary Color Run

🏆GREATEST OVERALL ATTENDANCE TROPHY🏆

Congratulations to the winners for August!

Enjoy your popcorn party!

It is National Hispanic Heritage Month!

GCPS celebrates #EachAndEvery individual as we cultivate a culture of belonging while leading with empathy, equity, and excellence to ensure that #TeamGCPS students, families, and staff feel welcome, safe, accepted, valued, and prepared for the future.

Will your scholar be tardy to or absent from school? Has he or she already been tardy or absent? No worries! Use this QR code below, click on this link, or click on the blue link above to access and complete an Excused Absence Form for your little one.

The Gwinnett County Public Library has a calendar full of events for you and the family to enjoy! Many of them are FREE!

Click here to take a look at their monthly calendar.

Click on the pictures below to learn more about Gwinnett County's Branch Out and Beanstack programs for your growing reader!

WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS!

The Britt Family Engagement Center is officially open for business to the families in our school and community!

Run by Britt's Parent Instructional Support Coordinator, Breana Vining-Brown, visiting our family center will allow you to get important information on the resources, materials, and instructional tools we have to offer.

Be sure to stop visit our family center Monday - Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

You can also call 678-639-3884 or email breana.n.vining-brown@gcpsk12.org to make an appointment.

We will be more than happy to assist you with all your family needs!

All are welcome to join us for this event on Tuesday, September 10th at 6:30 PM in our cafeteria!

Your input means so much to us and we would love to see you there!

To help improve your child's school, Gwinnett County Public Schools students in grades 3-12 will participate in the EES Student Wellness Screener during school this September. This confidential screening will provide our school and district staff with valuable data about students' academic, social, and emotional needs.

The results of the EES Student Screener will be used to identify students needing additional support in the areas of Academic Behaviors, Social Behaviors, and Emotional Behaviors. The 22-item screener should take students less than 10 minutes for students to complete. You can view the Screener Questions on our website.

Parents may complete the Opt-Out Process if they do not wish their student(s) to participate in the screener. Parents may use the Parent Portal to complete this process or send a written request to the school to opt their student(s) out of this survey. Please note that any parent or guardian wishing to opt their student out of the survey should complete the online form or inform the school in writing by August 30, 2024, before the scheduled screener to ensure that the student does not participate.

Please use this links below to access more information about the EES Wellness Screener and Student Survey.

GCPS partners with students and caregivers to engage, equip, and empower families, educators, and community members as co-authors for the development of the whole learner from birth through adulthood.

Gwinnett County Public Schools’ Family Engagement Initiative seeks to support the growth, development, and success of each and every student. The Engage, Equip, and Empower series hosted by the Department of Federal Programs Office of Family Engagement provides opportunities for families to participate in instructional sessions, workshops, events, and activities to engage with Gwinnett County Public Schools. The series will provide opportunities for families to learn how to support their children at home in the core academic content areas, be active participants in their children’s education, and learn about resources, programs, and wraparound services to support their children.

PLAY 2 LEARN & LITTLE LEARNERS ACADEMY

Early childhood experiences are so important to lifelong learning. If you have a child between the ages of one month and five years old and are looking for ways to encourage him/her to play, learn, and grow, consider learning about and joining our FREE Play 2 Learn, Little Learners Academy, and Building Babies Brains programs here at Britt for the 2023-2024 school year.

For more information, please contact Dr. Luann Hammami at (770) 972-4500, visit the school, or email her at Luann.Hammami@gcpsk12.org. You can also click the links or scan the QR Codes below for more details and resources.

Student Arrival 8:20-8:50 and Dismissal 3:20-3:45

School Hours: 8:50 a.m. - 3:20 p.m.

Office Hours: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

Arrival is from 8:20 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. The tardy bell rings at 8:50 a.m. Parents must come inside to check in their student(s) after this time. Dismissal begins at 3:20 p.m. Car rider dismissal ends at 3:45 p.m. After this time, you must come inside for student pickup.

Early Checkouts are allowed until 3 pm. After that time, check outs will be delayed until dismissal is completed.

SCHOOL LUNCH VISITATION AT BRITT

Come eat with your Comet for lunch!

Adult lunch is $4.00.

🍽️

We kindly ask that no fast food be brought to lunch. Thank you!

About ParentSquare

ParentSquare is a unified communication platform that offers a whole host of tools that allows district leaders, school administrators, and teachers to communicate and engage with families and students more effectively.

Some features include:

• Mass Notifications and Urgent Alerts with two-way communication
• Mobile application for administrators and parents (iOS and Android)
• Attendance notifications (district-managed)
• Teacher and classroom communication
• Direct Messaging with two-way translation
• Social Media (Facebook and Twitter) and website share
• StudentSquare (high school students)
• And so much more!

We know that families want easy access and one go-to location for need-to-know information about their student's education. Everything from records to resources found in one spot! Just as important, you want an easy way to stay in touch with your child's school. The updated Parent Vue Portal gives parents access to grades, assignments, attendance, and communication with teachers. The Parent Portal also gives families a direct line to the classroom, with 24/7 real-time information and anytime, anywhere access, with in-portal translation in multiple languages.

Don't have an account or need to update your information?

Visit GCPS' Parent Vue Portal page here for all the help you need!

Make sure you are also signed up and connected with the applications and resources below to stay connected even more!

All Snacks Must Be Paid For Through Your Child's My Payment Plus Account.

No Cash Will Be Taken At School For Snacks!

GCPS Tech Tips is a place where GCPS educators offer quick tips and tricks for technology integration in the classroom. Each week, a new video will be released which focuses on how to effectively use your Chromebook and other tips/tricks.

Check out the entire playlist here.

👉 GCPS Job Opportunities Are Waiting Just For You! 👈

Principal: Mrs. Melissa Madsen

Website: https://www.gcpsk12.org/BrittES
Location: 2503 Skyland Drive Southwest, Snellville, GA, USA
Phone: 770-972-4500
Facebook: facebook.com/brittelementary

Instagram: @britt_elementary
Twitter: @twitter_Brittelementary