Star News

Dear Simpson Parents,

Happy November! It was wonderful to see many of you last month during the Early Release Parent-Teacher Conferences. This is always such a valuable time for you to talk with the teacher to see how your child is progressing both academically and socially. I am confident you will find this time helpful to you. Early Release conferences are held twice a year. The next early release days will be held on March 5-6, 2025. We will again be scheduling conferences online. Also, the Parent Portal is a great way for you to stay informed about your child’s academic progress 24 hours a day/7 days a week. You can monitor student assignments and assessments if you have a child in grades 1st – 5th. Finally, in the true essence of Thanksgiving, we are truly grateful for our amazing Simpson Elementary PTA. Throughout the year they sponsor grab-and-go Chic-fil-A Lunches during parent conference week, plan spectacular festivals, support funding for classroom supplies, and numerous staff appreciation events. Many thanks again for making our Simpson Staff feel so valued and appreciated. Have a wonderful upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Proud to be your principal,

Dr. Connery

November 1st: PTA Charleston Wrap Fundraiser Ends

November 5th: DLD/Voting Day!

November 11th & 12th: Holiday Meal

November 12th: All Pro Dads

November 14th: Picture Day Make-up

November 14th: PTA Spirit Night- Fire & Stone 5-8 PM

November 15th: Deadline to purchase 5th-grade ads for the yearbook

November 20th: Mother/Son Night at PDHS

November 25th-29th: Thanksgiving Holiday Break/Schools Closed

Greetings Superstar Parents/Guardians,

Please help me welcome an Aspiring Principal Program (APP) Resident, Ms. Soo Son/AP from Rock Springs ES who began a residency program on Monday, October 28th-November 22nd at Simpson Elementary School. This unique opportunity that GCPS offers is for aspiring principals to shadow veteran leaders across the district who desire to be a principals in our county. Again, please help me welcome Ms. Son to our sweet Simpson Family! ~ Dr. Connery

Hello Parents,

On November 11th & 12th, our fabulous cafeteria staff will be hosting a special Holiday Meal during lunch times for staff, students, and families. Parents are invited to join their children at lunchtime on their designated day. Please see your child’s grade level day with details in the attachment. In addition, please refrain from visiting lunch on the non-holiday meal day as other grade-level classes will be eating in their classrooms to make space for parent visitors. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your grade-level teacher.

Picture makeup day is coming soon on Thursday, November 14th. Please save the date for any students who may need to make up photos.

We would like to thank our amazing PTA Co-Presidents Ms. Maxine McClure, Ms. Jordan Mallory, Ms. Kelsey Dykes, Ms. Carly Ely-Kelso, and Ms. Elizabeth Carter for planning a spectacular 2024 Fall Festival Camp-Style at Simpson Elementary School. We had an amazing turnout with families enjoying games, photo booths, live music, food offerings, and much, much, more! Many thanks again to all who came out to enjoy in all of the fun! We appreciate each and every one of you! ~ Dr. Connery

Dear parents,

If your family identifies with any international culture or loves learning about other cultures, and would like to meet more families like you. We have set up a Facebook group 'Simpson international families' group - to connect with more families and stay in touch over the school breaks as well. We are also open to home-schooling/charter school families within the Simpson school zone.

Together the Simpson international families can support and enrich each other's lives and create a nurturing group for the students to learn the world's geographies, languages, and cultures. I also want to thank Ms. Muzna Mirza, Ms. Jocelyn Shieh, Ms. Yillia Zhang, and Mr. Dong Yan who also hosted our first 'international table' during the 2024 Fall Festival at Simpson Elementary. We are so grateful for all of their support in bringing additional awareness of cultural artifacts and samples from all over the world for our students to explore during the festival. Please see the photos attached for details and if interested, please join the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/simpson.international.families/ or email muz.jon@gmail.com to learn more. ~ Dr. Connery

A big THANK YOU to our incredible book fair volunteers who made our Fall Fair an absolute blast! Your dedication and hard work ensured that our students had a stellar experience, and we couldn't have done it without you!

A special shout-out to Rondi Scott and Ms. Aristizabal for their fantastic creativity in designing such amazing decorations that transported us all to a galaxy far, far away!

To Jackie Delgado for generously providing over 600 bags for our shoppers to bring home their goodies — thank you!

Thank you to Diana Shehadeh, Amanda Caskey, Crystal Hsu, Krista Mitchell, The Dotts Family, and Keish Marshall-Small for going above and beyond by volunteering multiple times; your commitment truly made a difference!

And finally, a huge thank you to Laura Pusateri and Annie Craig for their behind-the-scenes work. Your organization and dedication ensured everything ran smoothly.

This book fair wouldn’t be possible without each and every one of our superstar volunteers. You are all shining stars in our Simpson universe! Thank you for your time, energy, and support in making this event so special.

With gratitude, Monica Dierkes

Simpson Superstars! Are you ready to start your STEM fair projects? This year we have 8 new and exciting categories to create a STEM project from. Make sure to visit the STEM Fair Google classroom for the driving questions and to make a copy of your STEM Fair Journal.

What is PBIS?

At its heart, PBIS calls on teachers to teach kids about behavior, just as they would teach about any other subject—like reading or math. PBIS recognizes that kids can only meet behavior expectations if they know what the expectations are. An indicator of a school using PBIS is that everyone knows what’s appropriate behavior. Throughout the school day—in class, at lunch, and on the bus—students understand what’s expected of them

Supporting PBIS at Home

Nurture your child's self-esteem. A child with a good sense of self is happier, well adjusted, and does better in school. Strategies for fostering self-esteem include giving your child responsibilities, allowing them to make age appropriate choices, and showing your appreciation for a job well done.

Foundational Elements of Families in PBIS

- Building positive relationships

- Engaging in two-way communication

- Ensuring equitable family representation

- Making meaningful data-driven decisions

The grand opening of our PBIS store occurred on September 9th. Students have been enjoying redeeming their earned Starbucks for various prizes. Please see our Simpson Superstar grade-level buying days:

Monday - 5th grade

Tuesday - 4th grade

Wednesday - 2nd grade and 3rd grade

Thursday - 1st grade

Friday - Kindergarten and PreK

Simpson is excited to offer an opportunity for parents with children ages birth to five!

We are so blessed to have one of our veteran, retired, and former Simpson Kindergarten Teachers, Ms. Sharon Terry! Once again she will be our Play2Learn instructor during the 24-25 SY. Therefore, please help us spread the good news to all of your family and friends, who may have children in this age range to call the school for additional information. Want to learn more about how to be your child's best teacher through PLAY? Simpson Elementary is offering the GCPS from Birth-To-FIVE Program for you and your child!

Little Learners Academy for children birth through five years old will meet on the third Tuesday of each month from 5-6pm. Come join the fun of learning!

November 19th

December 17th

January 21st

February 18th

March 18th

April 15th

Students will have the opportunity to purchase ice cream from a variety of selections during lunch. Ice cream is $1.00 and will be sold Monday/Wednesday/Friday for all grade levels. Class Parties for ice cream sales are also available. Please email your child’s homeroom teacher for details.

GOOD NEWS CLUB

2nd-5th Graders

Mondays October 28- March 31,2025

Meeting after school with car pick-up at 5:00

Students who are in GASP will be escorted back at 5:00

Meeting in the Media/Library Room

FREE However, donations are welcome

Register on line www.goodnewsclubgwinnett.org/student/registration (Limited Enrollment)

Club activities include; Snacks, Interactive Bible Stories, Memory Verses,, Active Games, Lively Songs.

The Club emphasizes Biblical Principles, character qualities, respect for authority and moral values.

There is a Treasure Box of toy rewards, Surprises and lots of laughter and fun.

Leaders are specially trained Christians, concerned for the spiritual life of your child.

For Questions…Contact Cathy Hicks- Coordinator hm. 770 447 0540

jchicks@thejrg.net

Interested in being an active participant in your child's school? We are excited to have you join our school council for the 24-25 SY. In case you were wondering, what is the purpose of a school council? It is intended to help local boards of education by bringing parents and the community together with teachers and school administrators to create a better understanding of and mutual respect for concerns and shared ideas for school improvement.

School councils are in place to support and build strong school-community partnerships. If you desire to become a member and have an interest in joining, please contact Ms. Traci Douglas at Traci.Douglas@gcpsk12.org to RSVP no later than Friday, September 20th. Please see the dates/times below for details.

Meeting Dates for the 2024-2025 School Year:

Meetings will begin at 7:30 AM and will be held in the Professional Learning Lab on site. Light refreshments will be available.

• November 22, 2024
• January 31, 2025

• March 28, 2025

GCPS will continue to follow guidelines as it relate to safety & security by visitors producing identification when inside the vestibule to check out students (as well as during visiting lunch hours).

In addition, we will continue to follow safety guidelines to minimize the risk of infection and/or spread of COVID-19. Therefore, if anyone in your household becomes sick and has tested positive for COVID-19, please contact our school nurse, Amy Norris, and/or your homeroom teacher immediately.

Thank you to our amazing Simpson Elementary PTA Community for having us be recognized two years in a row as a National PTA School of Excellence for 2023-2005!

Many thanks again to our immediate past and present Simpson PTA Presidents, Ms. Mary Catherine Jennings, Ms. Maxine McClure, and Ms. Jordan Mallory! A wise person once said, "Great Schools build Great Communities, and in turn, Great Communities, Build Great Schools!" Thank you for your service and for keeping us Simpson Strong! ~ Dr. Connery

Principal- Dr. Taffeta Connery

Assistant Principal- Ms. Brandy Bosak, Grades 1st, 3rd, & 5th

Assistant Principal- Ms. Jeanette Johnson, Grades K, 2nd, & 4th

Assistant Principal- Ms. Stephanie Wells, Special Needs & Connections

Counselors:

Sheri Terry

Nicole Faulstich

School Hours

Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 7:30 AM - 4:15 PM

• All visitors must check in at the welcome desk and please be prepared to provide some form of identification upon request.
  

Students should arrive between 8:20 AM- 8:50 AM

Morning announcements and tardy bell rings at 8:50 AM

Dismissal bell rings at 3:20 PM

• If you are checking out your child early from school, please do so on or before 2:45 PM. This leaves our bus lanes open for bus arrivals. Also, please remember that a picture ID is required for all student check-outs. Thank you!

According to US News Report for 2024, Simpson Elementary School is ranked #6 as one of the BEST Elementary Schools in the State of Georgia. Schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation, and how well they prepare their students for high school. Simpson is ranked as:

• #1 in Gwinnett County Public Schools

• #6 in the State of Georgia
• https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/georgia/simpson-elementary-school-223330

Simpson Elementary School

Learn more about Simpson Elementary School here - See an overview of the school, get student population data, enrollment information, test scores and more.

www.usnews.com

Please click here to join the PTA for the 2024-2025 School Year!

Did you know that becoming a PTA member does not require you to volunteer?

Your memberships have an enormous impact! Simpson PTA sponsors and coordinates over 30 programs each school year.

Visit our website and join our PTA Facebook page to stay connected!

November 1 | Charleston Wrap Fundraiser Ends

November 12 | All Pro Dads, 7 AM

November 11 - 15 | Purchase tickets for Mother/Son Event

November 14 | Spirit Night - Fire & Stone, 5 - 8 PM

November 15 | Deadline to Purchase 5th Grade Baby Ad Space

November 20 | Mother/Son Event - Click to volunteer

November 22 | Staff Appreciation - Holiday Luncheon - Click to contribute

Volunteer in the Media Center!

Yearbooks + 5th Grade Baby Ads are for Sale | Click to learn more

We have 313 PTA Members, and have received $2,141 in direct donations

Thank you for your gracious support!

Click here to purchase!

Reserve space for your baby by November 15, 2024

Submit your baby ad content by January 1, 2025

Click here to learn more

Support from the businesses in our local community is critical in the PTA's success in providing enriching (and fun!) experiences and programs to our Superstar students and staff.

To learn more about partnering with our PTA, please visit our website and/or

contact our Business Partners Chair, Heather Reich, businesspartners@simpsonespta.org