The Panther Post
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News & Updates from
Gum Springs Elementary
January 16-19, 2024
News and Updates
Report cards and winter testing results will be sent home with all students on Tuesday, January 16th. Be sure to check your child's backpack for this important information.
Join us Tuesday, January 16th for GSES Spirit Night at WNB Factory. GSES receives 10% of all orders placed between 5:00 and 7:00 P.M.
This Friday, January 19th is Yearbook Picture Day for newly-enrolled students (started at GSES after October 20th). Any student who was absent on both our first picture day and make-up day may also have their photo taken Friday.
Join us in sending good luck vibes to two of our GSES competition teams who are headed to regional events this weekend. We wish you the best of luck and know you'll make us Panther Proud!
After a strong finish in their regional competition several weeks ago, the Gum Springs Gizmos were invited to advance to the next competition level and will compete at the FIRST LEGO Legaue Super Regionals Tournament this weekend.
After winning first place in the JCSS District Technology competition in November, seven GSES Panthers earned the honor of representing the Jackson County School System at the Northeast Georgia Regional Competition this weekend. Go Panthers!
Round 2 of Claw Spirit Shirt orders is open through February 2nd. Click HERE to place your order on SchoolPay. (You must indicate your child's claw color on the order form to receive the correct color shirt. If you do not know your child's claw color, please ask his/her teacher.)
Pre-Kindergarten lottery registration for the 2024-25 school year is open. Families can register for the lottery through Friday, February 16. Please note this application does not guarantee admission into a Pre-K program inside the Jackson County School System, but is rather an application into the lottery. JCSS will hold a lottery drawing in March and families will be notified following the drawing. To register for the lottery, click HERE. Please help us spread the word to families in our JCSS community who have rising Pre-K students.
The Family Lunch Guest Sign-Up is live for January and Feburary dates. Click the button below if you'd like to reserve a time to join us. Please read the specific guidelines at the top of the form carefully before signing up (and be sure to click SUBMIT).
WJMS is hosting their annual community Daddy-Daughter Dance for Valentine's Day on Saturday, February 10th. Spots are limited and will sell out fast. Reserve your tickets HERE.
Current 5th grade families: If your child is interested in playing middle school softball next year, please complete the interest form referenced below by clicking HERE or scanning the QR code below.
The GSES Stock Market Club will be back in action for the spring competition soon! If your 4th or 5th grader is interested in participating, be sure to read the information below and click HERE to sign up.
This Week's
After-School Clubs
Tuesday: GS Gizmos (pick up at 5:00 P.M.)
Thursday: Science Olympiad Team (pick up at 4:00 P.M.)
Thursday: Secret STEM Club (pick up at 4:00 P.M.)
Thursday: Chorus Rehearsal--only speaking parts and all orphans--no Crew, no New Yorkers, no servants, no usthers (pick up at 4:00 P.M.)
Upcoming Events
January 16: Report Cards go home with all students.
January 16: GSES Spirit Night at WNB Factory
January 17: 100th Day of School (Your child's teacher will notify you if their grade level is planning any special events or dress-ups.)
January 19: Yearbook Picture Day (only for newly-enrolled students)
January 19: Kdg Field Trip
January 20: Northeast Georgia Regional Technology Competition
January 20: GS Gizmos LEGO Robotics Team Super-Regional Tournament
January 26: Winter Wonderland Dance for 5th graders
January 31: Claw Spirit Day and Panther Playoffs
February 1: Mark your calendar to join us for an awesome Family Game Night, sponsored by GSES PTO! Details coming soon.
SCHOOL SPOTLIGHTS
Mindset Winners
For the past four weeks, we have explored the "100% Accountable" mindset. Students have learned the importance of being responsible for their own happiness and success. This mindset helped students focus on recognizing their own fears and excuses and working to overcome them. Students have learned to focus their energy, and that we all grow through our experiences, good and bad. We are honored to spotlight one staff member and one student who represents this important Mindset. Congratulations to GSES staff member Mrs. Hannah Freyre and 4th grader Candler Chambers. Here's what their nominees had to say about these great Panthers:
Candler is the team leader of the Gum Springs Gizmos LEGO Robotics Team and led her team to a spot in the Super Regional competition, coming up this weekend. She has focused her energy inside and outside of school and is a leader in all she does. Candler is also very well-spoken and did a wonderful job explaining the Gizmos innovation project to the judges at the LEGO competition. She is passionate about the work they are doing.
Mrs. Freyre is new to our GSES team as a staff member this year, but she has been very involved at our school the past several years as a member of our PTO Board. Mrs. Freye is committed to making GSES a great place for students and our community. She is a go-getter and hard worker who is always willing to take on new tasks; Mrs. Freyre does everything with excellence! We are thankful to have her as part of our GSES team.
New Year, New Goals
This week's "New Year, New Goals" challenge is to set up a daily reading routine with your child at home. By setting a daily reading expectation at home, you are showing your child that literacy matters to your family and are setting your child up for future success! Did you know that research shows that young children whose parents read to them daily have been exposed to anywhere from 290,000 to 1,000,000 more words by the time they enter kindergarten than kids who aren’t read to regularly? This is often referred to as "the million word advantage."
It's NEVER too late to get started and establish a family reading routine. Read this helpful article to learn more about the benefits for your child of reading at home. If you'd like to set up a reading routine but don't feel like your child has a good selection of books, or you aren't sure what types of books are good for your child, reach out to his/her teacher, and she/he will be happy to help you get started finding some good book options.
Public libraries are also pretty magical places! In addition to books, they also offer special activities and community resources to support families, and they're FREE. We are fortunate to have eight public libraries in Jackson County, with the closest to our school community being in Braselton (newly remodeled) and Jefferson. Learn more or sign up for a library card by clicking HERE.
Hoping for Snow
Mrs. Lyle's Pre-K Pals enjoyed reading about snowmen and snow last week. After reading The Snowy Day, they had fun exploring with shaving cream and pretending it was snow. (Our fingers are crossed that we'll get to see some real snow this winter too!)
Ready, Set, Glow
Mrs. McCarty’s 1st grade celebrated reaching 1,000 Dojo points with a Glow Math party. They really shined while investigating geometric attributes, solving math brain teasers, and practicing foundational calculation skills. These 1st graders are BRIGHT!
The Force is With Us...
What better way to learn about a challenging science concept than conducting your own investigations?! Mrs. Dunahoo's 4th graders set up their own force and motion experiments and used the data they collected from their investigations to make conclusions about how different forces affect patterns of motion.
Claw Shirts & Class Shirts
Claw Shirt Design (green example)
Class Shirt Design (yellow example)
Students are proud to show their Claw Spirit! (View our GS Facebook page to see more Spirit Day photos.)
We have really enjoyed seeing lots of school spirit on our CLAW SPIRIT DAYS, like the one we had last week. To clarify some confusion, we wanted to remind you that we have placed orders for two different types of GSES shirts this year--Claw Shirts and Class Shirts.
Each GSES student is part of a Claw Group, or color group. Did you know that one of the names for a collective group of panthers is a "CLAW," although panthers in nature actually seldom travel in groups?! That's why our school color groups are called CLAWS. If your child attended GSES last year, our color groups were called "tribes." Once a GSES student enrolls and is assigned a Claw color, he/she will, in most cases, keep that same color the entire time they attend GSES, so your child's Claw color this year should be the same as his/her tribe color from previous years.
Having Claw groups and earning positive behavior tickets for their Claw in our monthly competitions is one way we help young students understand that their actions can have a larger impact, besides just on themselves. Claw groups offer students a sense of belonging and are a fun way for us to help promote Panther Pride and friendly competition. Our Claw colors are Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple. Each student and staff member is part of one of these claw color groups. If you would like to order one of our new 2023-24 Claw shirt designs for your child, see information in the "News and Updates" section above about how to order.
In addition to Claw shirts, we also offered the purchase of Class shirts in the fall. Each class is assigned a color, and all students in that class have the same color Class shirt. Since all students in a class wear the same color shirt, class shirts help us quickly group students by class when we have large group events like the Fun Run, Field Day, or field trips. They are a helpful safety and efficiency tool for us during large events.
If you are unsure of your child's CLAW COLOR or CLASS SHIRT COLOR, reach out to your child's teacher to find out. Our next CLAW SPIRIT DAY will be on January 31st.
PANTHER SUPPORTERS
Spring sports registration is now open at Jackson County Parks and Recreation. Register for baseball, softball, t-ball, volleyball, soccer, and track and field today. Click HERE to register or call 706-367-6350.
If you want to join a great team, mark your calendars to visit the Jackson County School System Career Fair later this month. Help spread the word to your friends in surrounding areas so we can recruit the best and brightest staff members to the Jackson County School System.
Want to know more about how you can support our school? Click below for details. Feel free to contact Mrs. Hannah Freyre at hannah.freyre@jcss.us with questions.
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