Week of February 20

The Panther Post

News & Updates from Gum Springs Elementary School

Week of February 20-24, 2023

News & Updates

As a reminder, there is no school for students on Monday, February 20th and Tuesday, February 21st. Enjoy your break!

For this year's "Read Across America" celebration during the week of February 27-March 3, we are going to ACTUALLY read across America! Each day, we will explore a region of the United States and stories that help us learn more about that region's geography and culture. We'd love your help as we promote a love of reading during this special week of celebration. We want to show students how far outside of Georgia our GSES families and friends are. If you have a connection with a GSES supporter from another state, please share our quick survey link with them so they can share their favorite book and Panther connection with us. We are hoping to fill our interactive USA map with connections from ALL 50 STATES! We are also looking forward to spotlighting some of our out-of-state Panther supporters on our GSPN (Gum Springs Panther Network) Morning News Show. Start sharing today at bit.ly/gsesreads!
Friday, March 3rd will be Book Character Dress-Up Day, as we wrap up our "Read Across America" Week celebration. Get your costumes ready! We can't wait to see our favorite book characters come to life in the GSES Book Character Virtual Parade. (We'll share a link on social media and in the next week's Panther Post for you all to see our celebration too.)
Parents - Please help our district and school by taking a brief survey about our school. Your feedback is important to Jackson County Schools as we are always looking for ways to improve and ensure we are providing the best for our students. We appreciate your time and dedication to our school! Click HERE to complete the Georgia Parent Survey by February 25th.
Pre-K Registration for the 2023-24 school year is open through February 28th. Students are selected for the limited spots in our Pre-K program through a lottery drawing that will be held on March 14. Specific information about our Pre-K program and the application and registration process can be found at https://www.jacksonschoolsga.org/prek. Applications may be picked up at GSES. If you know of a family in our school district with a rising Pre-K student, please help us spread the word by letting them know this important information. (Kindergarten registration will be in March, and information will shared later about that process.)
Tuesday, February 15th, was School Resource Officer Apprecation Day. We are thankful to have this amazing team helping keep our Panther family safe every day!

This Week's

After-School Clubs

Thursday: Science Olympiad Team (pick-up at 4:00)

Drama Club Cast and Ensemble only, No Crew (pick-up at 4:30)

Upcoming Events

February 20-21: No School for Students

February 27-March 3: Read Across America Week

March 3: Book Character Dress-Up Day

March 20-31: Parent Conferences

March 22: Early Relase Day (School dismisses at 11:30, and there is no After-School Program.)

SCHOOL SPOTLIGHTS

MINDSET WINNERS

We are proud to recognize our "Attitude of Gratitude" Mindset winners, staff member Mrs. Jessie Carney and kindergarten student Trinity Burgess.

Mrs. Carney is such a valuable member of our GSES family. She's a jack-of-all-trades who is always willing to do anything she can to help our students or her fellow staff members. We appreciate what a go-getter and leader she is!

Trinity was nominated for the Attitude of Gratitude award because she is so excited for school everyday! Her smile and laugh are contagious, and you can't help but smile when you are around her too. Trinity makes friends with everyone she meets and is always willing to be a helper. Join us in congratulating Mrs. Carney and Trinity!

A PAW-FECT PANTHER PERFORMANCE!

Students from Ms. Hendley, Mrs. Richardson, Mrs. Benkoski, and Mrs. Lankford's classes represented GSES at the Winter Special Olympics last week, and Mrs. Hendley's class won FIRST PLACE at basketball! Several students also won ribbons for their performance with skills centers. Way to go, guys! We are PANTHER PROUD of these awesome students and their teachers! (You can view more pictures from this exciting event on our GSES Facebook page.)

Shadow Shape Scientists

The rain might have kept 1st graders from being able to go outside to trace their shadows for science lessons as planned last week, but some creative problem solving made it just as fun and memorable. Mrs. Harrison's class used what they have learned about light and shadows to make shadow shapes using flashlights. They also loved having 4th grader Lucas from Mrs. Ellis's class as a special guest scientist who joined them for their lesson. Lucas chose to use his hard-earned DOJO points to be a teacher's assistant in Mrs. Harrison's class.

4th grade

4-Hers SHINE

Our 4th graders have been hard at work for weeks researching, planning, writing, and practicing for 4-H Project Achievement competition. This week was their time to shine as they presented their work to judges from Jackson County 4-H! Public speaking takes lots of courage, and we are so proud of our students—many of whom tried something outside of their comfort zones by participating. Thanks to their teachers and families who helped prepare presentations and provided encouragement. Great job, 4th grade!

ARCTIC ANIMAL EXPLORERS

Winter Weather Science has made for some fun learning experiences at GSES recently. Both Mrs. Dukes' Pre-K class and Ms. Duren's 1st grade class enjoyed learning about how blubber protects winter animals by adding a layer of "blubber" to their OWN HANDS! Mrs. Duren's 1st graders have also been working on an Arctic animal informational writing unit, so this experiment was a great way to collect data for their writing too. Students were amazed at how well the blubber worked to keep their hands warm when dipped in ice water!

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