THE NORCROSS ELEMENTARY EAGLE

Dear Families,

Happy New Year!

We look forward to a great second semester!.

Included in the newsletter is information to stay current with the most up to date happenings at our school. There are also opportunities for you to make an impact and collaborate with us.

Thank you for all YOU DO!

Sincerely,

Dr. Kassia Sutton

Proud Principal of Norcross Elementary

Every year, we ask parents and guardians to complete and send back dozens of important forms and permission slips. We are pleased to share that your back-to-school forms that were previously in MyPaymentsPlus are now in ParentSquare!

Action: If you have not signed the agreements, please use the button with the link below to complete the forms.

Ayanna Mwangi (Young)

Calvin Suryadi (Young)

Harely Livingston (Bennett)

Jose Vargas (Miller)

These four students have been chosen to represent Norcross Elementary in the 2024 Gwinnett County Elementary Honor Chorus. The Honor Chorus will be made up of over 200 children from public schools around the county. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to experience musical activities at a high level and to further his or her musical exploration.
Please celebrate with us!

Dear Parent or Guardian of students in the multilingual program,

Each year, students in English learner programs take the ACCESS (Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners) proficiency test. This test measures academic English language proficiency for students learning English in our school and across the state. The test will be administered in January.

Once testing is complete, an Individual Student Report is uploaded to your child's file. This report provides important information about your child's test results, which we encourage you to review and keep.

Teachers at our school use these results to inform their instruction and monitor your child's progress toward English proficiency.

If you have any questions about the ACCESS for ELLs test, please don't hesitate to contact, Contacia Cross. You may want to ask about the following:

• How do teachers use the test results?
• What are the English proficiency goals for my child?
• Besides English, what other subjects does my child learn in school?

Below is a link for additional information.

https://wida.wisc.edu/resources/what-access-ells

January 6 - Students Return to School

January 13 - Carpet Installation begins. Our school/classrooms are receiving new carpet.

January 16 - 100th Day of School/Little Learners Academy at 4:30pm

January 20 - Dr. Martin Luther Kind Jr Holiday/No school

January 23 - STEM Night

January 24 - Dr. Gresham visits 12:30-1:30/1st Grade Fieldtrip/Food Pantry

January 31 - Local School Council (LSC at 7:30am)

Andrea Eberhart and Dr. Latonya Parker are our instructional coaches. Their role includes supporting teachers and students. Ms. Eberhart and Dr. Parker also plan and facilitate our LEVEL UP READING PROGRAM.

Please read the resource on Setting Resolutions for the new Year.

Below open the attachment for news from the Parent Center.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics are important disciplines for our students to learn about and to have opportunities to explore learning. We strongly encourage your child to participate in our STEM fair.

Please use the resources below to learn more about the STEM Fair.

NES STEM Fair website

2024-2025 STEM Fair video

STEM Fair Kick-Off Assembly slideshow

STEM Fair interest "permission"

If you have questions, please reach out Lauren Dennis, our amazing STEM teacher.

Use the link below for media center news and information about Winter Bingo.

Improving student academic and behavior outcomes is about ensuring all students have access to the most effective and accurately implemented instructional and behavioral practices and interventions possible. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) provide an operational framework for achieving these outcomes.

Below is a picture our PBIS Matrix

Acknowledging Appropriate Behavior at Home

Acknowledging appropriate behavior at home using PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) principles helps children develop consistent positive behaviors across environments, reinforces their understanding of expected actions, strengthens family relationships, and ultimately leads to better overall behavior both at home and school by actively focusing on what they are doing well

When using PBIS to acknowledge appropriate behavior at home, parents should actively recognize and praise specific positive behaviors their child demonstrates, using clear and concise language, while also ensuring consistent expectations and routines across the household to reinforce good behavior.

Key aspects of acknowledging appropriate behavior with PBIS at home:

• Specific praise:

Instead of just saying "good job," point out the exact positive behavior you see, like "Thank you for cleaning up your toys without being asked" or "I really appreciate how you helped set the table."

• Positive reinforcement:

Use rewards or incentives when your child consistently demonstrates positive behaviors, such as extra screen time, a special activity, or a small treat.

• Visual cues:

Consider using visual aids like sticker charts or behavior checklists to help children track their progress and see their positive actions recognized.

• Family expectations:

Establish clear and simple family rules that focus on positive behaviors, like "Be respectful," "Follow directions," and "Clean up after yourself".

• Active listening:

Pay attention to your child's efforts and provide feedback, showing that you value their positive actions.

PBIS Information for Families
https://www.pbis.org/family

Positive Behavior
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/pbs-resources/

Dr. Fain is our PBIS Coach.

christi.fain@gcpsk12.org

Tips to help children develop healthy digital habits

1. Create screen-free times and places in your home, such as meals and bedtime. Set do-not-disturb on phones when you want undistracted time. For younger children, it helps to have consistent and predictable media routines and time limits. Use built-in timers to make it easier for young children to transition away when time is up.

2. Have regular discussions as a family about your online activities. Discuss new areas of learning, fun discoveries, as well as difficult experiences–for both parents and children. This fosters open discussion about a sometimes-challenging topic.

3. Talk about social media. Start regular, open-minded conversations with your children (even the youngest ones!) about their media use, and yours. You don't have to be an expert on each platform to have meaningful discussions! Ask questions like: What do you like about social media platforms? How do you feel when you're on social media? And when I'm on social media? Have you seen anything concerning?

4. Make sure your kids know they can come to you about their experiences online, even if they feel embarrassed or worried. Let them know you're there to support them through challenges, since we're all learning as we go.

5. Help children understand what's real and what's edited, how to recognize ads or inappropriate content, and when influencers are being authentic versus outrageous.

6. Talk about how media and emotions connect. We sometimes crave social media when we're stressed or want to share our joy. At the same time, what we see online shapes how we feel. This is an important insight for both children and parents.

7. Set a good example. Include your own habits in discussions about social media usage. Be aware of when your attention is on your device and what you may be role modeling. When you must use your device around your family, tell your kids what you're doing and how you're supporting others online.

8. Check settings. When your child or adolescent starts a new social media or video game account, set parental controls and privacy settings at the most secure level. Discuss safety rules for who they can chat with online, how to report problematic posts and whether they can make purchases. Get familiar with how the platform works by reading about it or having your child take you on a tour.

9. Watch for signs of problematic media use. In adolescents, this could include withdrawing from friendships and hobbies. In younger children, signs include arguing about media constantly and lack of interest in other activities. At all ages, another red flag is if time on social media, devices or video games interferes with physical activity, healthy eating or bedtime.

Setting Family Wellness Goals

The beginning of the year can be a joyous time! We look forward to everything new, a chance to start over, and ways to care for ourselves. January is a great time to set wellness goals with your family to ensure you have a smooth transition into the new year. The key is to set realistic and achievable goals that everyone in you can do. Here is a week-by-week breakdown for January on how you and your family can set and begin working on wellness goals.

Week One: Set family wellness goals that center around physical health.

Week Two: Set family wellness goals that center around mental health.

Week Three: Set family wellness goals that center around financial health.

Week Four: Set family wellness goals that center around being intentional with family time.

Remember, prioritizing your family’s wellness is vital to overall health.

If you’d like more information on wellness and goal-setting, click HERE for the article.

MyPaymentPlus Offers Free 24/7 Access To

• Student cafeteria balances and purchase history
• Prepayments for breakfast/lunch, with auto-pay capability
• Meet Your Teacher Day (Open House) documents
• Other fees and activities such as yearbooks, spirit wear, field trips and more!

Using your MPP Account

https://instruction.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/content/enforced/2323043-Federal_Programs_Communication_Center/MyPaymentsPlus/MPP.setup.HOW_TO.mp4?ou=2323043

Creating an Account - Spanish

https://instruction.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/content/enforced/2323043-Federal_Programs_Communication_Center/MyPaymentsPlus/Spanish%20version%20(detailed).pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=j8rIvA3AnIlKoIU3fgtWbW8eI&ou=2323043

A Parental Guide: Reviewing and Acknowledging Orientation Agreements & Title I Documents

https://instruction.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/content/enforced/2323043-Federal_Programs_Communication_Center/MyPaymentsPlus/MPP%20How%20to%20review%20report.mp4?_&d2lSessionVal=j8rIvA3AnIlKoIU3fgtWbW8eI&ou=2323043

For customer service & support on your MyPaymentsPlus account, please call 1-877-237-0946

Up-to-date Safety Equipment and Technology

Our school uses a variety of technological tools to reinforce security. These are some—but not all—of the tools in place:

• Cameras — interior and exterior
• VMS and Raptor — visitor management systems that control access doors and screen adults against National Sex Offenders Registry. Every visitor is required to show identification.
• Vestibules — Double glass door entry with bullet-resistant glass film at designated single point of entry for the school (coming soon).

1. If your child has a medical alert/medical health management plan, please contact Lilana Martinez as soon as possible, and complete and return applicable forms to her in a timely manner.

2. We want our students to have a full day of learning, but sometimes illness(es) may interrupt their day. For the safety and health of your child and others, if your child gets ill at school and needs to go home, please do so promptly. If you’re unable to pick them up, please be sure that we have a current list of emergency contact(s) that we may reach out to.

We will continue our focus on the Whole Child through MTSS by using Supportive Community and Academic Press (see picture below). An example of Supportive Community is our Positive Behaviors Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Program and an example of Academic Press is the implementation of the EL Education literacy pilot for Language Arts.

MTSS is a system or framework that integrates assessment and intervention within a school-wide, multi prevention system to maximize student achievement and reduce behavioral problems. It promotes systems alignment to increase efficacy and effectiveness of resources. (Adopted for National Center on Intensive Intervention).

Implementation of MTSS is one of our LSPI goals.

A student who leaves school before the official ending time must be signed out in the office by his/her parent or guardian. Parents must report to the receptionist, not the classroom. The receptionist will call the room for the child after a photo ID (government issued) has been shown. Please remember that each time a child checks out early, we must call the classroom and disrupt instruction for everyone. Children will be called to the Front Office where they will be released to the parent/guardian. The office will not check out students after 2:30 P.M. (11:30 A.M. on early release days). Please do not ask school personnel to make exceptions.

A child will not be permitted to leave the school in the custody of any person other than the child's parent unless that person is listed as a parent/guardian or emergency contact in the school’s database. As telephone numbers and situations change, please make sure you report this information to the school so we have the most accurate information.

Arrival

• Doors open at 8:20am
• Classes begin at 8:50am

Dismissal

• The Day ends at 3:20pm

Check out our Parent Page in our School Website to find more information regarding Title 1 and what happens at Norcross Elementary. It’s important to stay informed about your child’s education. The Powerpoint Presentation of the Title 1 Annual Meeting is posted there for your review. https://www.gcpsk12.org/domain/1603

We are looking for volunteers to participate in our Local School Council and Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Reach out to our Parent Center team, Altavise Walker altavise.walker@gcpsk12.org or Eduardina Checo Eduardina.checo@gcpsk12.org for more information.

LOCAL SCHOOL COUNCIL (LSC)

The purpose of the LSC is:

• To help the local board of education develop and nurture participation
• To bring parents and the community together with teachers and school administrators to create a better understanding of and mutual respect for each other’s concerns
• To share ideas for school improvement

PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA)

We are in need of a PTA board to support our school, our students, and our faculty. The board consists of a president/co-president, vice president, treasurer and secretary. Please contact me at kassia.morris.sutton@gcpsk12.org if you are interested.

https://www.pta.org/home/About-National-Parent-Teacher-Association/Mission-Values

Volunteer

Please partner with us and commit to volunteering at our school. Volunteer activities may include: working in the media center, laminating materials, counting out documents, cutting, and filing. Please contact Eduardina Checo (eduardina.checo@gcpsk12.org) for volunteer opportunities.

September Family Newsletter: https://secure.smore.com/n/dsvag

Principal – Kassia Sutton (kassia.morris.sutton@gcpsk12.org)

Assistant Principal – Gr. 1, 4, 5 – Contacia Cross (contacia.cross@gcpsk12.org)

Assistant Principal - Gr. K, 2, 3 - Katrina Bilal (katrina.p.bilal@gcpsk12.org)

Assistan Principal - Special Education - Alicia Lapinsky (alicia.lapinsky@gcpsk12.org)

Counselor - Gr. K, 1 - Shelby Gonzalez (shelby.gonzalez@gcpsk12.org)

Counselor Gr. 2, 3 - Amy Crapo (amy.crapo.@gcps12.org)

Counselor Gr. 4, 5 - Matt Ho (matt.ho@gcpsk12.org)

Website: https://www.gcpsk12.org/NorcrossES
Location: 150 Hunt Street, Norcross, GA, USA
Phone: 770-448-2188
Facebook: facebook.com/NorcrossElementarySchool-GCPS

Please open the document for dates and times. Information was sent home in the Friday Folder.