The Panther Post
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News & Updates from
Gum Springs Elementary
March 25-29, 2024
News and Updates
As a reminder, next week April 1-5 is Spring Break! We'd love to see what our students are up to over the break. Join Gus' Spring Break Claw Challenge! If you're headed out of town, be sure to pack your Claw shirt or Claw color to take with you! See graphic below for details. Our next edition of The Panther Post will be posted on Sunday, April 7th. Have a fun and safe week!
Our Jackson County Special Olympics athletes will be competing in their spring competition in April, and shirts are now on sale for anyone who would like to show their support. Click HERE to order this year's shirt by April 1st.
Kindergarten Registration for the 2024-25 school year is NOW OPEN. If you have a student who is not currently enrolled in a Pre-K program inside the Jackson County School System, please visit www.jacksonschoolsga.org/register to enroll your student in Kindergarten for the 2024-25 school year. Families with Pre-K students who currently attend a JCSS elementary school are not required to enroll their student in Kindergarten. (See graphic below for documents you will need for registration.) Please help us spread the word by sending this message to anyone you know who has a rising kindergarten student in the Jackson County School System.
March and April Family Lunch Guest Sign-Ups are available. 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). This will be our last lunch sign-up for this school year.
If your business would like to advertise on our new full-color LED sign located at the school's front entrance, please complete THIS FORM. All money raised through advertisements will be used to support GSES students and staff.
Want to make your child feel extra-special on his/her birthday?! You can purchase a Birthday Shout-Out on our new LED entrance sign for $5. Simply complete THIS FORM at least one week prior to your child's birthday, make your payment on School Pay, and submit a picture of your child. Details are included on the form link. If you have additional questions, please contact Mrs. Freyre at hannah.freyre@jcss.us.
This Week's
After-School Clubs
Thursday: Stock Market Club (pick up at 4:00 P.M.)
Thursday: Annie Rehearsal--all students (pick up at 4:00 P.M.)
Thursday: Annie Crew (pick up at 4:00 P.M.)
Upcoming Events
March 18-29: Parent Conferences
March 25-27: 5th Grade Jekyll Overnight Field Trip
April 1-5: Spring Break: No School for Students or Staff
April 1: Special Olympics T-shirt order store closes
SCHOOL SPOTLIGHTS
The JCSS Board of Education approved Ms. Kaycie Rogers as the new assistant principal for Gum Springs Elementary School at last Monday night's Board of Education meeting. Ms. Rogers is our current instructional coach and will begin in her new role this July! Click HERE to read more.
Mindset Winners
For the past four weeks, we have explored the "Live to Give" mindset. Students have learned the importance of using their passions and talents to make a difference, and leave a legacy, stretching themselves to try new things, and receiving gracefully. We are honored to spotlight one staff member and one student who represents this important Mindset. Congratulations to GSES staff member Ms. Monica McLinn and 3rd grader Mattox Jeffers. Here's what their nominees had to say about these great Panthers:
Mrs. McLinn has been a wonderful addition to the classroom she supports. She spends her day graciously serving the students in that classroom. She is a big part of the atmosphere of love and support with students and staff in the room. Monica is always smiling and has such a positive impact on everyone around her!
Mattox Jeffers is a great example of the "Live to Give" mindset. Mattox is always very helpful and kind to others. Like this Mindset teaches, Mattox is making a difference and leaving a legacy in our school and community. He recently initiated our school celebrating World Down Syndrome Awareness Day, during which he created videos, read a book, and shared personal stories about his sister Mabel to help our students understand the importance of celebrating all individuals and embracing their differences. We love Mattox's big heart for others and how he uses it to make our community better!
Panthers Take Top Honors at "Jackson Creates" Art Show
This year's "Jackson Creates" District Art Show featured the work of some very talented artists! Congratulations to all of the students whose work was selected to represent GSES in this year's show. A special congratulations goes out to three of our students who received Best in Show awards from this year's judges. Their work was judged against students from all six Jackson County elementary schools:
1st Place: Sarah Aldred, 3D Sculpture and Pottery
1st Place: Keaton Hamrick, Painting
3rd Place: Toni Cole, 3D Sculpture and Pottery
Thank you to art teacher Mrs. Hannifin for her hard work organizing this year's show! We are so lucky to have her inspiring our amazing artists! Great job, artists!
Science Olympiad Team is Headed to State Competition!
The GSES Science Olympiad Team is bringing some hardware back to school after yesterday’s Northeast Georgia Regional Science Olympiad Competition. The team finished in 3rd place out of 25 teams from all across Northeast Georgia! This amazing finish comes with an invitation to the STATE COMPETITION at Kennesaw State University in May. We are so proud of this awesome team and their coaches Mrs. Sheridan and Mrs. Black!
The team competed in 18 events to earn points toward a team total in today's competition. Five teams also won medals for being Top 3 finishers among the 25 teams competing in their events today. Special congratulations to
1st place, Deep Blue Sea: Parker Hamrick and Samuel Srbljanin
2nd place, No Bones About it: Jonah Black and Carson Powers
2nd place, Crime Busters: Jonah Black and Charleigh Kayumova
2nd place, Paper Rockets: Cooper Williams and Ethan Abutiate
3rd place, Water Rockets: Olivia Bennett, Parker Hamrick, and Brodie Thomas
The team has been training after school for the past six months and doing lots of studying at home too. Thanks to the parents of our team members who also helped with study resources, building events, providing supplies, and even doing some volunteer coaching during our club meetings. We are proud of their great teamwork, dedication, and determination. Join us in congratulating this amazing group!
Panthers "Rock Our Socks" for World Down Syndrome Day
Thanks to 3rd grader Mattox for inspiring our school to join this year’s World Down Syndrome Day celebration. We had lots of great conversations and enjoyed lots of special activities around school today to help build awareness. We discussed ways to make others feel special and included and ways to show kindness. We designed our own creative socks and displayed them to show that our classrooms are welcoming spaces. We read the great new books donated to our media center by the Mighty Mabel Foundation, and, of course, we loved seeing lots of mismatched, silly socks all around school from our students and staff members showing their support. We challenge you to be inspired by Mabel’s legacy and by all of our little hearts who were on a big mission last week: think of something selfless you can do tomorrow to “Bee Kind” to someone! (Be sure to visit our Facebook page to see lots more photos.)
4th Grade 4-Hers Win Big at Project
Achievement Competition
In February, GSES 4th graders competed in the Jackson County 4-H Project Achievement competition where they researched topics of their choice, created speeches with posters or other visual aids, and presented their speeches before a panel of judges. Their projects were scored and judged against students from all Jackson County, Commerce City, and Jefferson City students. We are proud to share that 40 of our GSES students were selected as Jackson County winners and invited to represent Jackson County 4-H at this past weekend's Northeast District Project Achievement! And the winning continued there! Lots of our Panthers earned 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place ribbons for their awesome presentations in the district competition on Saturday. It's no easy feat to enter a public speaking competition and share your work in front of a large group of people. We are SO PROUD of our 4th graders for being so brave and poised and shining at this weekend's event. Congratulations, 4th grade 4-Hers!
4th Grade Field Trip Fun
4th graders recently enjoyed a fun field trip to Elachee Nature Center. Students learned all about ecosystems. They went on a hike and learned about different organisms in our own community. Students also learned about different producers, consumers, and decomposers in the different ecosystems we have in Georgia. They got to practice making food chains within those ecosystems to learn more about how animals survive and thrive.
Planning with our Peeps!
Ms. Carter's kindergarteners and Mrs. Mitas' 3rd graders enjoyed a partner challenge with their Book Buddies last week. They completed a Peep STEM challenge where they had to construct a “nest” that would protect their Peep. Third graders helped teach their kindergarten friends lots of important vocabulary words, such as construct, support, intersect, and balance. Teams worked together to sketch out a plan then brought their designs to life by building their nests. We love seeing our Book Buddies work and learn together!
"Rock"star Reward
The 1st grade "Rock"stars were excited to celebrate a big victory this week! They have been working together as a class to earn a behavior reward. This week, they colored in their last Lucky Charm and celebrated with a special treat. Great job, Mrs. Rock's class!
PANTHER SUPPORTERS
World Social Work Day
Last week included World Social Work Day and the Jackson County School System is appreciative of the four full-time social workers who commit their professional lives to the betterment of our students and community. We are thankful for the many ways they support us!
Mighty Mabel Foundation Donates Books to GSES Media Center
Thank you to the Mighty Mabel Foundation for donating 21 books to our GSES Media Center in honor of World Down Syndrome Day. These picture books will be a great resource for our teachers to help their students understand different special needs and disabilities, as well as the importance of inclusion. Pictured with the donation are Rachel Jeffers, 3rd grader Mattox Jeffers, and Media Specialist Mrs. Gassman.
The Mighty Mabel Foundation mission is to advocate for families with special needs and congenital heart defects, educate others about inclusivity opportunities and celebrate Down Syndrome and individuals of all abilities. Their focus areas for service projects currently are NICU, CHD families and therapy opportunities for children with special needs. To learn more about the Mighty Mabel Foundation and how to support their mission of being kind and spreading joy the community in Mabel’s memory, please visit www.mightymabel.com.
The second Thursday of every month from 4:00 P.M. until supplies last, Free Chapel Braselton is hosting a Mobile Food Pantry. This will be an opportunity for families in need to receive FREE groceries. There is no sign up; all you must do is show up and receive your groceries. We appreciate their community support.
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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