The Panther Post
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News & Updates from
Gum Springs Elementary
January 29-February 2, 2024
News and Updates
We hope you can join us for some family fun THIS THURSDAY, February 1st from 6:00-7:30 P.M. as GSES PTO hosts Glow-in-the-Dark Bingo Night! A meal voucher ticket ($8) is required for all guests and includes pizza, cookie, bottle of water, and free Bingo cards. The event is pre-sale only. Click HERE to purchase tickets. If you are available to help with a volunteer shift, PTO would greatly appreciate it. Click HERE to sign up as a volunteer.
This Wednesday, January 31st is CLAW SPIRIT DAY! We are excited to see lots of CLAW PRIDE with students wearing their Claw Shirts or Claw Colors. We will also be hosting Panther Playoffs on Wednesday. This is our reward opportunity for students who reached their PBIS goals for Quarter 2. As a reminder, round 2 of Claw Spirit Shirt orders closes THIS FRIDAY, 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.) This is your LAST CHANCE this year to purchase Claw shirts.
Families are requested to give feedback about our school on the annual Georgia Health Survey. Survey results help us find out how families feel about our school climate and community. We'd love to hear from you! This short survey can be completed in 10-15 minutes. Click HERE to get started. Students in grades 3-5 will also complete the annual state-required Georgia Health Survey to let us know how they feel about our school. If you do not want your child to participate in the survey, please sign and complete this opt-out letter by Friday, February 2nd. You may print and return a signed copy to school or pick up a copy of the form at the front office to sign. Feedback from our student and family stakeholders is important to us because it lets us know what you like about our school and helps us continue to make GSES better.
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).
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. Sign-ups close THIS WEDNESDAY, January 31st.
This Week's
After-School Clubs
Tuesday: GS Gizoms (team pick up at 4:00 P.M.; Coders pick-up at 5:00 P.M.)
Thursday: Science Olympiad Team (pick up at 4:00 P.M.)
Thursday: Chorus Rehearsal--only speaking parts and all orphans--no Crew, no New Yorkers, no servants, no ushers (pick up at 4:00 P.M.)
Upcoming Events
January 31: Claw Spirit Day and Panther Playoffs
January 31: Deadline to sign up for Stock Market Club
February 1: GSES PTO Glow-in-the-Dark Family Bingo Night; 6:00-7:30 P.M.
February 2: 2nd Grade Field Trip
February 2: Deadline to order Claw shirts
February 16: Deadline to register for Pre-K lottery for 2024-25 school year
February 16 & 19: No School for Students
Don't forget to order your child's yearbook by March 22nd. Click HERE to order online and enter school passcode 101485563232668. (If you can't remember if you already ordered this year, check your email for a receipt from publisher Treering.) With your purchase, you get to create two free custom pages, printed only in your child's yearbook, including pictures of your child this year and answers to personal memory questions. As a reminder, yearbook sales are PRE-SALE ONLY. Extra copies will NOT be available when books are delivered. See flyer below for more details.
SCHOOL SPOTLIGHTS
GSES Presents "Paws & Claws" to JCSS Board of Education
GSES was honored to be the monthly spotlight school for this month's JCSS Board of Education meeting. Our awesome PBIS coaches Mrs. Haley Meier and Mrs. Krissy Landers did a fun presentation about our "PAWS and Claws" initiatives to encourage students to make positive choices, and even Gus showed up to help them out! Our Board Members and Superintendent each got to take part in a Claw reveal ceremony, and we are excited to report each Claw now has one new member! Welcome...Mr. Sanders to Red Claw; Mr. Clack to Orange Claw; Dr. Brown to Yellow Claw; Mr. Hollett to Green Claw; Mr. Johnson to Blue Claw; and Mrs. Massey-Wheeler to Purple Claw.
Look how excited they were to find out! Thank you to students Rocky, Gianna, Addison, Cadence, Hannah, and Lucy for leading the Pledge of Allegiance to start the meeting. The highlight of the night was the amazing group of students who were recognized by our district leaders. A large cheering section was present to support our Panthers who won 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in this year's JCSS District Technology competition. It was a great night to showcase many reasons that we are Panther Proud!
Cardboard Carnival
Our 4th grade STEM-gineers have been hard at work for the past few weeks putting their science knowledge into practice. Inspired by the true story of Caine's Arcade, students used what they had learned about balanced and unbalanced forces, gravitational force, the effects of friction, and how simple machines work to create their own carnival games out of recycled materials. They set up their games in a "Cardboard Carnival" for other students to explore and learn in a fun way. We loved all the great problem solving skills and creative thinking our students showed while building their projects. (And if you don't know the story of Caine's Arcade, it's a great one! Check it out HERE. Never underestimate the power of an inspired kid!)
Fun with Forces
Mrs. Holman's kindergarten students, who are Book Buddies with Mrs. Franks' 4th grade class, loved getting to visit the 4th Cardboard Carnival this week. The 4th grade Buddies taught their kindergarten partners all about pushes, pulls, and gravitational force. They especially loved getting to play all of the games and winning some prizes. What a great learning partnership!
Tackling a Reading Challenge
We are excited to report that twelve GSES classes have decided to take on a new challenge called Read Bowl. This project is sponsored by former UGA and NFL superstar Malcolm Mitchell's non-profit called Share the Magic Foundation, an organization aimed at promoting the power of reading. For the five weeks between the College National Championship game and the Super Bowl, classes all around the world compete to see who is reading the most. Our students are diligently recording their daily reading minutes as part of the competition. The world-wide winner will be announced on Super Bowl Sunday. We are proud of these classes for their hard work and extra effort!
Leaderboard Legends
Three more top-fundraising Panthers recently had the chance to cash in their Leaderboard Legend prizes to become a GS Faculty Member for a Day. Visit our Facebook page to read more about Haley and Owen's job takeovers of Principal Todd and Aurora's takeover for Art Teacher Mrs. Hannifin.
Kdg Field Trip
Kindergarten had a great time on their recent field trip to the Aurora Theater. Kindergarteners have been working hard to learn narrative re-telling skills, so it was exciting for them to see a live action performance of "The Three Little Pigs." (Kindergarten field trips are especially exciting because for many of our students, this is their very chance to ride a school bus!)
STEAM Bus
A little rain didn't slow down the special lessons we got to enjoy this week as the JCSS STEAM Bus made its rounds to GSES. We loved having Mrs. Brooksher and Mrs. Tinnell with us this week to lead interactive science lessons including topics such as sinking and floating, rocks and minerals, animal adaptations, extreme weather, force and motion, magnets, and physical/chemical changes.
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.
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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