Knightly News

Next week we will finish the last three days of the school year. Wednesday, May 22, 2024, is the last day of school for all students. Students are asked to bring their backpacks to school each day.

Join us on Monday, May 20, 2024, and Tuesday, May 21, 2024, as we celebrate our 5th grade students before they head off to middle school. We are so proud of each student and wish them the best as they take the next step in their educational journey. All ceremonies will begin at 8:30 am and will be held in the Simonton ES cafeteria.

This will be our last Knightly News to go out for the school year. We thank you for a great school year and all of your support. Our next newsletter will come out in July welcoming everyone back for a new school year. Open House for the 2024-2025 school year will take place on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.

Have a safe and happy summer!

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.

If you have medication in the clinic, please contact Ms. Tammy Jones to pick up your medicine by Wednesday, May 22, 2024.

Monday, May 20

• 5th Grade Celebration (Colclough, Vlaic, & Shoemake)~ 8:30-10:00 am

Tuesday, May 21

• 5th Grade Celebration (Battle, Elliott, & McCree)~ 8:30-10:00 am
• 5th Grade Walk ~ 2:00 pm

Wednesday, May 22

• Last Day of School
• Report Cards sent home

Dear Parents,

An email was sent to let you know of an unexpected delay in the production of this year's yearbook. Typically, our yearbooks arrive in early May for distribution and we were recently informed they will not arrive on time. We understand how important these keepsakes are for capturing and preserving the memories of the school year, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Our team is working diligently with Balfour, the yearbook publisher, to resolve the issue quickly. At this time, we anticipate that the yearbooks will be shipped to Simonton ES at the beginning of June. Our representative is providing timely updates and will inform us if there are any additional changes. As soon as they arrive, families will be contacted.

We share your frustration and disappointment at this turn of events. Balfour is a trusted vendor that many Gwinnett County Public Schools have worked with for multiple years and this delay is unprecedented. Thank you for your understanding and patience. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

Sincerely,

Ms. Tamara G. Perkins

Principal

Simonton ES

Student dress should not cause any distraction from the instructional program. Students are encouraged to dress appropriately for the school setting, suitable to weather conditions, and in good taste. Short skirts, short shorts, or halter tops/crop shirts are not considered appropriate dress for school. Hats, bandanas, and sweatbands should not be worn in school. Students should not wear any clothing that advertises alcoholic beverages, drugs, or violence. Students should wear shoes that allow for safe play at outside time and PE class. All shorts/skirts should come to the student’s knee.

• Report Cards will be sent home with your child(ren) on the last day of school, Wednesday, May 22nd.

• Report Cards will be attached to the Student Documents sections in the Portal the week of Tuesday, May 28. Parents and students can access these documents through the ParentVUE/ StudentVUE window.

​The Georgia Learning Resources System (GLRS), a statewide network of eighteen resource centers offering free services to parents and educators of students with disabilities, has recently published its 2024 Special Needs Directory. This directory includes a plethora of contacts for summer offerings, including disability specific camps, as well as contact information for provides.

What: Under state laws passed by the Georgia State Legislature, parents of students who receive special education services or accommodations under a Section 504 Individual Accommodation Plan may request to transfer their child to another public or private school in Georgia.

Who: Any student who currently receives special education services, grades PK-11th and any returning 12th grader, as well as students who are eligible for a Section 504 Plan and are in grades Kindergarten-11th.

For more information click on the link below.

Georgia Special Scholarship (SB10/SB47) - Gwinnett County Public Schools (gcpsk12.org)

• eCLASS course pages: All students with 2023-2024 access to eCLASS will continue through July 19th.
• Summer School students will have access based on their start date.
• eCLASS course pages: Access to their 2024-2025 course pages will be available on August 4th.
• For students who have current access to 2023-2024 digital resources, their access will continue through July 5th.
• Access to digital resources for the 2024-2025 school year will be available on August 4th.

​Learning and performing magic tricks have been shown to benefit children and adults with disabilities. The approach is being shown to be an effective treatment technique as it promotes motivation and improves physical, psychological, perceptual, or social functions in those who participate. For this reason, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is hosting EVERY DAY Magic camp free of charge to students with disabilities.

​Who: Students with disabilities ages 9-18 years of age.

​What: Parent Mentors Present: “Locating and Understanding Resources within the Community”

​When: Camp 1: June 3 to June 28, 2024

​ Camp 2: July 8 to August 2, 2024

​Where: virtually via Zoom. For additional information, email Arts in Medicine at artsinmedicine@uab.edu

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.

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.

https://forms.gle/m5J3G32gZp8uH3u76

Who: Families of students who are receiving special education services

What: Each state is required to conduct a parent survey to measure parent/family perceptions of the success of parent engagement between home and local schools.

When: Available now through May 31, 2024

Where: Parents can complete the survey via the survey link below. We ask that a copy of the attached letter be sent home with every SWD student. Additionally, we ask that the letter(s) and survey link be posted on your special education teachers e-class pages as well as your school website. Our goal is to ensure that all parents are aware of the survey and have the opportunity to participate.

Please use the following link to access the survey:

VR Field Trip: Machu Picchu - Tuesday, May 14th @4:30pm

Doggie Tales - Saturday, May 18th @11am

Words of Affirmation Button Making - Tuesday, May 21st @5pm

Un Poquito de Espanol: Resiliente - Wednesday, May 22nd @4:30pm

Register Here!

We are excited to announce that the Office of Family Engagement in the Department of Federal Programs, in collaboration with the Directors of Teaching and Learning, is providing videos and handouts for all GCPS families in elementary schools to help prevent the summer slide.

The ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies Directors recorded instructional videos highlighting resources and activities for families to support their children at home over the summer. The videos are posted in the GCPS "Engage Equip Empower" series website (bottom of the page). Captions are available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Chinese.

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

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.

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).

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.

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

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