Ed Briefs

In this episode of Coffee with Calvin, Dr. Watts chats with GCPS School Counselors to learn more about what they do from day to day. It's a lot, it's never the same thing, and it may surprise you.

Friday, February 2, is a Digital Learning Day (DLD) for all students. To ensure that students have a nutritious breakfast and lunch to fuel their learning, our bus drivers will be on the road and at every bus stop to deliver meals prepared by School Nutrition Program staff.

Each year, to help improve our schools, Gwinnett County Public Schools collects feedback from our staff members about their school experience. The district will once again give the Educational Effectiveness Surveys (EES) to get feedback on nine characteristics of high-performing schools. An email that includes a link to the survey was sent to employees on February 1 from CEE Surveys, ceesurveys@effectiveness.org.

Each month of the 2023-24 school year, we will spotlight one of our strategic priorities or Portrait of a Graduate competencies by sharing the stories of two clusters—highlighting their classrooms, notable events, community insights, achievements, community service projects, student organizations, volunteer efforts, and more.

GCPS students and staff make a point to reflect deeply about their own thinking, integrating diverse perspectives to understand the "bigger picture." They consider the benefits and barriers of evolving technologies as they learn to use those technologies to achieve their goals, and are critical consumers of information.

In February, we'll focus on Critical Thinking in the Brookwood and Dacula clusters.

GCPS invites all families of students in grades 3–12 to take part in the “Georgia Milestones Assessment Family Night” led by the Executive Director of the Accountability & Assessment Office on February 6 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Join us to learn about the Georgia Milestones assessment (GMAS), explore sample questions, and get tips to help your child prepare. Interpretation will be provided in Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Chinese. Online registration for this virtual event is now open.

February 15-19 is Winter Break for students and 180-, 181-, 185-, 190-, 193, and 200-day staff.

The Gwinnett County Board of Education will meet on Thursday, February 8 instead of the third Thursday of the month as February 15 is a student and 180-, 181-, 190-, 193, and 200-day staff holiday.

Nearpod is a great interactive tool that can be used with students and staff to increase engagement and measure student understanding. This platform is located within Safari Montage and has tons of built-in features including 3D models, virtual field trips, and so much more! Check out this video from GCPS Tech Tips for a brief introduction and how to access Nearpod from the GCPS Employee Portal.

Keep up with Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation Fund (GCPSFF) for information about student scholarships, grants for teachers, and employee perks. You can follow the GCPSFF on Facebook and Instagram.

Want to share a success story about your school or department with the entire GCPS community?

Are you looking for a way to celebrate an honor and recognize a teacher, student, or team member for their work? Do you want to share an achievement, upcoming event, or opportunity?

Do you have GCPS Good News to share? Let us know through this online form.

• Board meeting and work session (January 18)
  
• Connected (January 25)
  
• GCPS Links (January 18)
  
• Coffee with Calvin (January 4)
  
• News Releases
  
• Student Calendars
  
• News You Can Use
  

• Keep Connected with news from GCPS TV… the next episode airs February 8!
• The next regular Board meeting is February 8. (Online, find links to sign up for the public comment sections of the meeting.)
  
• Watch for the next issue of GCPS Links on February 15!