Summerour Blue Devil Blast

Volume 2, Issue 28 - February 15, 2023
Dr. Looney's Message
Upcoming Dates
- February 15 - Strengthening Families Program
- February 15 - GCPS County Basketball Tournament
- February 16, 17, 20 - No School - GCPS Student Holiday
- February 20 - President's Day
- February 22 - NHS Football 8th Grade Weight Training Starts
- February 24 - Black History Program (during school day)
- February 24 - GCPS Science Fair (Gas South District)
- March 1/2 - Early Release (1:20pm) & Conferences
- March 3 - Progress Reports Go Home (for non-conferenced students)
- March 4 - Saturday Tutoring
- March 6 - Winter Sports Banquet
- March 9 - Raising Highly Capable Kids
- March 9 - GMAS & Family Game Night
- March 10 - Tapestry Show
- March 11 - Saturday Tutoring
- March 12 - Daylight Savings Time Begins
- March 13 - 16 - Spirit Week
- March 17 - St. Patrick's Day / Digital Learning Day #4
- March 18 - Saturday Tutoring
- March 23 - International Night
- March 25 - Saturday Tutoring
*SmarterMe ESL Classes for Parents every Monday & Wednesday at 10am. See our calendar on our school website if you have doubts about cancellations. Contact Rosanna Carlson for more information.
**Norcross First UMC After School Program (6/7) Mondays & Wednesdays starting February 22
Mr. Lenie George
6th Grade Assistant Principal
Ms. Pam Griswell
6th Grade Counselor
Mr. Stacy James
7th Grade Assistant Principal
770-417-2486
Ms. Yunilda Valdez
7th Grade Counselor
770-417-2480
8th Grade Counselors:
Robin Blackwell, Robin.Blackwell@gcpsk12.org
Kimberly Blackshear, Kimberly.Blackshear@gcpsk12.org
8th Grade Assistant Principal:
Christy Gray, Christian.Gray@gcpsk12.org
8th Grade Clerk:
Faby Silva, Faby.Silva@gcpsk12.org
Belinda Terry, Belinda.Terry@gcpsk12.org
FIESTA Friday
Friday, February 24
Noon - 1:30 pm
Summerour Parent Center
Why Attendance Matters
Supporting Learning at Home
Building Strong Relationships
Call Rosanna Carlson (770-582-7545) for more information
GMAS & Family Game Night
Thursday, March 9
6 pm - 7:30 pm
Summerour Cafeteria
- Everything you need to know about GMAS (Georgia Milestones Assessment)
- Get free practice test booklets for use at home
- Free entry - Free Pizza - Three Grand Raffle Prizes
More info? Rosanna Carlson, 770-582-7545
What is an IB Communicator?
Community Event
Threaded From Heaven is a local business established in 2018 and committed to being a light to the community one stitch at a time.
We are passionate about sharing the joys of sewing with others. Your students would benefit from this unique extracurricular activity. Not only does it help cultivate creativity but it also provides an opportunity to learn about STEAM concepts such as materials science, engineering, and mathematics, to name a few.
We crafted an exhilarating Fashion Design course inspired by the 2021 movie, Cruella called Cruella: Fashion to Runway. Students can channel their ingenuity, creativity, and innovation to their heart's contentment.
Faith-Based Community Event
This event is not affiliated with Summerour
Young Soldiers in Motion (YSIM) event
Saturday, February 25, 2023
Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church.
"You're in motion, but where are you headed?"
The YSIM event is primarily for Middle School and High School students. The event will be fun; yet very serious with breakout groups to allow for Straight Talk. We will also provide activities for the younger children so that the parents can participate in the YSIM event.
These events provide a forum for open discussions with the intent to stimulate critical thinking to help youths and teenagers to learn to think before acting or reacting without consideration to the consequences.
Straight Talk allow parents, youths, teenagers, and young adults to separate into groups by Age and Gender to address subject matters such as:
- Anger/Gangs/Violence/Crime
- Drugs/Alcoholism
- Sex/Peer Pressure
- Respect/School/Career
YSIM have reserved spaces for 125 students from Summerour MS to attend the event. Registration form attached.
5th Grade Visits
Our feeder elementary schools will be visiting Summerour in April. If you've got younger students in 5th grade, here's when they'll come to see us:
- Beaver Ridge Elementary School - April 11
- Norcross Elementary School - April 12
- Baldwin Elementary School - April 13
Transitional Families Program
Dear Parents and Guardians:
The A. Worley Brown Boys and Girls Club located in Norcross, has launched a program to help the transitioning families receiving housing at local extended stays. Our club program caters to youth from ages 6-18 afterschool from 2:30pm-8pm. Our program centers academic success, healthy lifestyles, and character/leadership through programming a community. We offer homework help/tutoring, basketball, flag football, soccer, cheerleading, dance, music studio production, and much more fun and engaging programs.
In this initiative we are prepared to offer free/low cost memberships to transitioning families. We offer free memberships to those with Amerigroup, Peach State, and to teens 14 and up. Those who don’t qualify for free membership we are offering a limited number of scholarships for free membership, now until February 15th. If your child attends the following schools we can provide transportation from the school to the club, and back your extended stay.
The schools include:
- Baldwin Elementary School
- Chesney Elementary School
- Meadowcreek Elementary
- Beaver Ridge Elementary School
- Peachtree Elementary School
- Pickneyville Middle School
- Duluth Middle School
- Radloff Middle School
- Norcross Elementary School
- Norcross High School
- Summerour Middle School
- Duluth High School
- Give Center West High School
- Meadowcreek High School
If you are interested, please come to the club at 5360 Old Norcross Rd, Norcross, GA 30071 to fill out an application. For any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 678-421-0894 or lmims@bgcma.org. We look forward to you joining the family!
March Dates, After School Program
April Dates, After School Program
May Dates, After School Program
Norcross Football Weight Training Starts February 22
February IB Learner Profile: Communicators
They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
IB students regularly deliver stimulating presentations and drive excellence in group assignments.
Summerour is a No Phone Zone!
Cell phones are not allowed during the school day at Summerour.
- No phones in classrooms
- No phones in hallways
- No phones in restrooms
Phones should be left at home or turned off and left in backpacks/book bags all day long.
Covid Surveillance Testing
Summerour is still hosting weekly Covid surveillance testing on Thursday afternoons. If you'd like to sign your child up, use this form to sign up.
Parent Center
Our Parent Center is located on our first floor, so it's easy to get to. Come check in at the front office, then use the Parent Center to volunteer, check-out resources, and get engaged!
More information is on our website, or you can reach out to Rosanna Carlson, our Parent Instructional Support Coordinator.
School Hours
- Student Tutoring - 8:15 - 8:50 a.m.
- Student Arrival - 8:50 a.m.
- Tardy Bell / Late Arrival - 9:15 a.m.
- No Check Out After - 3:00 p.m.
- Dismissal Bell - 4:00 p.m.
Have You Tried the Apps?
ParentVUE App
Parents can use this if they have a Parent Portal account. It's an app that makes it much easier to quickly access the portal and navigate student grades, absences, etc...
We strongly encourage you to use this if you have a portal account. If you don't have a portal account, come to the school and set one up.
Uninstall/Reinstall
If you are using either of these apps, but it quit working in September of 2022, you may need to uninstall/reinstall. There was a major update last month that requires this.
StudentVUE App
Students can install this on their iOS device (iPhone, iPad) or their Android device to more easily access the "My StudentVUE" portion of their portal: this includes, grades, missing assignments, etc.