News You Can Use

Seven Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) have become part of the Compost Connectors program to reduce food waste at schools around metro Atlanta and add nutrient-rich soil to school gardens. Compost Connectors is an innovative program in partnership with Food Well Alliance, GCPS, and Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful.

Incorporating Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) curricula, participating students learn their role in building healthier communities by interacting with each phase of the composting cycle: Collecting and delivering food waste from school cafeterias to compost bins; transferring compostable materials through bins to make compost; incorporating finished compost into school garden beds to increase nutrients in the soil; tending plants as they grow; harvesting, preparing and enjoying the produce they have grown.

New Compost Connectors Partner Schools in Gwinnett:

Baggett Elementary School

Harbins Elementary School

Hopkins Elementary School

Lilburn Elementary School

McKendree Elementary School

Minor Elementary School

Sycamore Elementary School

Early Gwinnett Partners:

Discovery High School & Lovin Elementary School

Image courtesy of Food Well Aliance

Parkview High School’s marching band has been invited to perform in the 2025 New Year Parade in Rome, Italy, by Bob Bone, Co-Founder and Chairman known for orchestrating some of the world's most renowned street parades and musical events. Aside from the parade participation, band students will experience a transformative week in the historic city, including an immersive educational program encompassing visits to museums, historic sites, and culturally significant locations. The parade, tracing an iconic route through Piazza del Popolo, Via del Corso, Via dei Condotti, Piazza di Spagna, Via del Babuino, and concluding at Piazza del Popolo, will be streamed around the globe. At the same time, choral and orchestral concerts will grace historic venues throughout the ancient city.

Stan Tucker, the founder of @leapforliteracy, author of Stan And The Man, and Host of @theveryairylibrary visited Duncan Creek Elementary School recently to help spread kindness as part of their school theme this year, “Kindness begins with me.” The author helped reinforce the importance of reading and being kind by visiting classrooms and reading his book, My Kind of People, which promotes traits that people with kindness have. The theme focuses on teaching children about kindness and encouraging them to practice what they are learning. Each week, the school’s Kindness Squad, a club featuring representatives from each 2nd through 5th-grade class, discusses kindness, works on school and community projects, and communicates weekly Kindness Challenges with their classmates.

image courtesy of Stantucker.com

In celebration of International Girl Day, Brookwood High School Robotics will host a Girl Powered STEM Workshop for Brookwood Cluster girls in grades 6-12, on Thursday, October 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. in The Commons. Participants can look forward to engaging in student-led subject area classes featuring exciting activities, such as creating slime and building Da Vinci bridges. Food and refreshments will be provided for all attendees.

Baggett Elementary School has been awarded the Project Learning Garden (PLG) grant from the Captain Planet Foundation, with a celebratory event scheduled for the morning of October 18 at the school. Cox Enterprises, the corporate sponsor of these grants, will have a presence at the event, along with potential attendance from government and school district officials. During the event, a third-grade class will participate in the harvest of vegetables from the school's gardens, which will then be incorporated into a salad enjoyed by the students. This initiative raises awareness for Baggett's Project Learning Garden and underscores the positive impact of Captain Planet Foundation grants on the school community.

On Thursday, September 28, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., the Lanier cluster, the City of Sugar Hill, and Somos Ecclesia are teaming up to host a StoryWalk. StoryWalks are fun, educational activities that take a children's storybook apart along a popular walking route and promote movement outdoors, literacy, and parent engagement. The event, open to students in the Lanier cluster, will feature a story walk map through downtown Sugar Hill. In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, participants can enjoy the book “Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré,” by Anika Denis in both Spanish and English. The event will also feature a hidden message which can be deciphered using Mores code. The first 500 students to complete the StoryWalk will receive a free book from the GCPS Book Mobile!

• • Board meeting and work session (September 21)
    
  • Coffee with Calvin (September 1)
  • Connected (September 8)
  • GCPS Links (September 15)
    
  • News Releases
    
  • Student Calendars
    
  • And much more at www.gcpsk12.org!

• Keep Connected with news from GCPS TV… the next episode airs October 12!
• The next regular Board Meeting is October 19. (Online, find links to sign up for the public comment sections of the meeting.)