Knightly News
March 29, 2024
Every Student, Every Day Deserves to Learn, Lead, & Excel!
Message from our Principal~ Ms. Tamara Perkins
Our last week before spring break was filled with excitement. We started our week with spring individual and class pictures. Our 5th grade students also visited Jordan MS to prepare for their move up to middle school. Yesterday our PTA hosted their annual BINGO night giving away many awesome prizes.
This coming week all Gwinnett County Public Schools will be closed. We will open our doors and welcome all students and staff back on Monday, April 8, 2024.
The Area Board meeting for District II will take place on Monday, April 8, 2024. The meeting will take place at Mill Creek HS. Doors open at 6:30 pm and the meeting will begin at 7:00 pm. It is open to the public.
Have a great spring break!
Upcoming Events at Simonton
Monday, April 1- Friday, April 5
- Spring Break
Thursday, April 11
- 3rd Grade Field Trip
- Multilingual Family Workshop ~ 5:00-6:00 pm
Wednesday, April 17
- STEM Night ~ 5:00-7:00 pm
Thursday, April 18
- FOCUS Family Workshop ~ 5:00-6:00 pm
Friday, April 19
- Field Day (Kindergarten & 1st Grade)
- School Tours (New Families) ~ 10:00-11:00 am
Monday, April 22
- GMAS ELA Section 1 ~ Grades 3-5
Tuesday, April 23
- GMAS ELA Section 2~ Grades 3-5
Wednesday, April 24
- GMAS ELA Section 3 ~ Grades 3-5
Thursday, April 25
- GMAS ELA Make-ups
- Field Day (2nd & 3rd Grade)
Friday, April 26
- GMAS ELA Make-ups
- Field Day (4th Grade)
- Progress Reports emailed to parents
- SES Movie Night ~ 7:00-9:00 pm
Monday, April 29
- GMAS Math Section 1~ Grades 3-5
Tuesday, April 30
- GMAS Math Section 2 ~ Grades 3-5
Wednesday, May 1
- GMAS Math Make-ups
- Field Day (5th Grade)
Thursday, May 2
- GMAS Science ~ Grade 5
- Kindergarten Roundup ~ 5:30-6:30 pm
Friday, May 3
- GMAS Make-ups
- Local School Council Meeting ~ 9:00-10:00 am
- Barber of Seville ~ Grade 3-5
Monday, May 6- Wednesday, May 8
- BOGO Scholastic Book Fair
Thursday, May 9
- PTA Spirit Night at Sparkles ~ 5:00-8:00 pm
Friday, May 10
- School Tours (New Families) ~ 10:00-11:00 am
Tuesday, May 14
- Fine Arts Night ~ 5:30-7:00 pm
Wednesday, May 22
- Last Day of School
- Report Cards sent home
Upcoming Events:
April 11, 2024
5:00-6:00 pm
April 17, 2024
5:00-7:00 pm
April 26, 2024
7:00-9:00 pm
May 2, 2024
5:30-6:30 pm
May 9, 2024
5:00-8:00 pm
May 14, 2024
5:30-7:00 pm
Announcement from Jordan MS!
Summer Bridge Essential Backpacks
Students will be bringing a Summer Bridge Essential Backpack (as pictured below) home this week. This kit includes various resources such as an activity book, calm down kit, math cards, and age appropriate books. We hope that these backpacks will help learning continue over the summer, if not before!
GCPS Parent Portal Transition to ParentVUE
On March 25, 2024, family accounts were moved from Parent Portal to ParentVUE. This change will require parents/guardians to reset their passwords.
The district sent out an email notification through ParentSquare on March 25th to families of active students with an email address in Synergy. The message to parents will contain a link parents should click to initiate the password change.
If you received the email, CLICK HERE for more guidance on resetting your password.
If you did NOT receive the email message, see below for steps to help access your account.
Open the link for the new ParentVUE access page:
https://ga-gcps.edupoint.com/PXP2_Login_Parent.aspx?regenerateSessionId=True
Click the red lock icon with Forgot Password
Enter the email associated with your Parent Portal account and click Send Email.
When the email arrives, follow the link in your message.
Enter the First Name and Last Name associated with your Parent Portal account. (Sometimes this is where errors occur. Please contact your school's SDMC to confirm the name on your account if you experience problems.)
Enter the new password twice.
You'll get a message that you've successfully changed your password with a link to the login page.
Login with the email as your username and the new password you just set.
Online Safety Tips!
Camp Invention
Hello Simonton ES families!
We are excited to host Camp Invention June 3, 2024 – June 6, 2024 here at Simonton Elementary School. A special thank you goes out to the Nordson Foundation who have made a generous donation that will allow us to offer scholarships for Simonton ES students who attend Camp Invention. 30 scholarships will be awarded to the first 30 students who sign up using the google link below. The scholarship award will be $200.00. Parents will be responsible for paying the remaining $85.00. Scholarship funds are for currently enrolled Simonton ES students only.
https://forms.gle/m5J3G32gZp8uH3u76
Hola familias de Simonton ES!
Estamos emocionados de organizar Camp Invention de Junio 3, 2024 - Junio 6, 2024 en la Escuela Simonton. Un agradecimiento especial a la Fundación Nordson que ha hecho una generosa donación que nos permitirá ofrecer becas para los estudiantes de Simonton ES que asistan a Camp Invention. Se otorgarán 30 becas a los primeros 30 estudiantes que se registren utilizando el enlace de Google a continuación. El premio de la beca será de $ 200.00. Los padres serán responsables de pagar los $85.00 restantes. Los fondos de la beca son solo para los estudiantes actualmente matriculados en Simonton ES.
GCPS Area Board Meetings
Please find the dates and locations for our upcoming Area Board meetings below. All meetings will be held in the theatre.
Meet and Greet begins at 6:30 p.m./Meeting begins at 7:00 p.m.
April 8 – District II (Steve Knudsen) – Mill Creek HS (Simonton's District)
2023-2024 Student Class Placement Request
Student Class Placement Request forms are now available for the 2024-2025 school year. Parents are welcome to pick up a form in our front office. You may provide information about your child’s learning needs and the classroom environment that you feel would be beneficial. Please do not use a specific teacher’s name requests for a specific teacher will not be honored. As always, the placement of your child will be the school’s top priority. All forms must be returned to the Simonton ES front office by Friday, March 29, 2024.
Georgia Milestones (GMAS)
Students in Grades 3-5 will take the Georgia Milestones at the end of April.
Field Day Shirts
Field day t-shirts are now available for pre-order through MyPaymentsPlus or by returning the flyer to Coach Cheney with payment.
The shirts will be available in 6 different colors...one for each grade level.
**Colors have not been determined yet.
Gwinnett Community Services' Event Calendar
Good News Club
Ready By 5
Simonton ES Handbook Highlights
Parent Involvement
We are very fortunate to have many parents willing to help at Simonton ES. The PTA, Local School Council, and volunteering are all ways you can get involved at our school. Please contact your child’s teacher or the Simonton PTA if you are interested in finding out more information about these opportunities. The role of a Simonton parent is vital to your child and to Simonton Elementary School. Students excel when you, the parent, are supportive in your child’s education at home and in the school. We welcome and encourage parents to volunteer; however, we ask that parents who are here as volunteers (to read, cut out things, help with a project or event, etc.) not bring siblings/small children into the classrooms, and must maintain confidentiality. Visitors must maintain confidentiality and refer any student redirection and/or disciplinary matters to a Simonton ES employee . This also applies to Class Celebrations. Parents and siblings are most welcome to come to support an event such as Field Day, provided the parent is able to actively monitor their younger child(ren). Siblings are welcome when a parent comes to have lunch with their child or when they are here to view a presentation in the classroom. Simonton loves to see family participation at PTA events, STEM/Literacy Night, and Movie Night, Fine Arts Chorus Concerts, Holiday Luncheons, etc. These are perfect times for the whole family to come together at school.
Lunchroom music
During lunch, music is played in the cafeteria. While the music is on, students do not talk and are encouraged to eat. This also helps to keep the noise level to a minimum. The music is on for 5 minutes (followed by 10 minutes when students may talk). This rotates throughout the lunch time which allows each class a total of 20 minutes to speak with classmates using an inside voice. (Note: Students also have 30 minutes of Teacher Directed Physical Education each day which gives additional time for them to talk with their classmates.)
From our Counselors...
Information for Parents: New Resource for K-5 English Language Arts
Medication
Students may NOT carry medication of any kind to school. For student safety, we need to be aware of the medication and dosage in case there are any adverse reactions. The clinic worker is authorized to administer medications to students when proper paperwork is completed. Medications should always be in the original containers when brought to or picked up from school by an adult. Medication may not be brought to school by a student. These procedures are a safety precaution for your child, both on the bus and when they visit the clinic. Parents should inform the school if their child has a contagious disease.
Ice Cream for Sale
This year's ice cream selections can be seen in the picture to the side:
The application for free and reduced lunch is now available. There will be no waiver in place to offer free lunch for all students. Please complete the application if you feel this is a service your family will need. All students who have not been approved for free or reduced lunch service will be charged the full price each day.
Free and Reduced Lunch Application
https://www.nlappscloud.com/Welcome.aspx?api=78f8fee54716f21218e523747d37a13c
Clinic Card
Does your child have a medical concern that we need to be aware of? Stop in to see Mrs. Tammy Jones in the clinic.
Complete the clinic card if your child has any medical concerns that we need to be aware of. We also need to know any medication your child is taking and directions of what to do while we are caring for your child until you arrive.
ParentSquare
We are excited to announce that our school district has adopted a new form of school-to-home communication called ParentSquare. This unified communications platform is designed to keep parents and guardians informed and encourage greater engagement and connection with your child’s school and Gwinnett County Public Schools.
ParentSquare provides a safe way for district administrators, school principals, teachers, staff, and parents to receive and send information, such as:
- Weather-related closings & delays
- School and class information
- Share pictures and files
- See calendar items
- Upcoming class activities
District & school information will now be sent to your computer or phone via email and/or text via ParentSquare. For even more convenience, download the ParentSquare app (available for free for iOS and Android devices).
MyPaymentsPlus
We encourage all families to create a MPP account. No purchase is necessary to have a MPP account. You will be able to read and digitally sign documents and/or make necessary payments. It is a great way for you to manage and keep track of all of your student payments and forms in one place throughout the school year.
MyPaymentsPlus is linked directly to your school’s student information system (SIS), enabling us to show real-time balances and invoices, and eliminating the need to call or visit your school in search of information.
Whether you’re viewing what your 2nd grader ate for lunch, renting a locker for your middle schooler, or purchasing a parking permit for that new driver in your family, MyPaymentsPlus ensures you never miss a beat, from Pre-K to graduation day.
Simply create a free MyPaymentsPlus account to get started today.
Elementary e-Tips for Parents
SIMONTON ELEMENTARY- WHAT WE STAND FOR
Vision
Simonton is committed to dynamic high quality instruction resulting in a passion for learning, leading and excelling.
Core Belief
Every Student Every Day, Deserves to Learn, Lead, and Excel
Commitments
We commit to giving our students a fresh start every day.
We commit to preparing quality and engaging lessons that will prepare our students to be successful in school.
We commit to teaching, modeling and holding our students accountable for appropriate school behavior.
We commit to providing our students with a structured and safe learning environment.
We commit to a great year of learning, leading, and excelling
Simonton Elementary School
Superintendent ~ Dr. Calvin J. Watts
Board Member ~ Mr. Steven B. Knudsen
Principal ~ Ms. Tamara G. Perkins
Assistant Principal ~ Mr. Nicholas Gilmore
Assistant Principal ~ Dr. Joe Sanfilippo
Assistant Principal ~ Mrs. Amy Steinberg
Website: gcpsk12.org/SimontonES
Location: 275 Simonton Road Southeast, Lawrenceville, GA, USA
Phone: 770-513-6637
Twitter: @simontonPride
Instagram: @SimontonPride