The Panther Post
Embedded Files
News & Updates from
Gum Springs Elementary
October 9-13, 2023
A Message from Administration
Good afternoon GSES Community!
It was another eventful week at GSES that ended at Friday night’s JCHS home football game with several of our students singing the national anthem prior to the start of the game. Thank you to Ms. Jackie Cooper for organizing this for our school and thank you to our students who performed admirably!
Thank you to those of you who joined us on Thursday night to spend time with your families and meet Gail Devers. It was an exciting time where dads had the opportunity to sit and enjoy a meal with their kids and hear a great motivational talk from an Olympic hero. Please stay tuned for the next All Pro Dads event.
We have a generous community and that was proven by the substantial amount raised by our Game Changers Fun Run over the last two weeks. At the end of the fundraising window, our community raised over $107,000. At some point in the future the GSES PTO will follow up with plans for implementation moving forward. Thank you!
Lastly, as we have advertised, parents can now sign up to have lunch with their students. Please review the expectations. I imagine that like many things that are new, we may experience a few hiccups along the way. The plan is to send an email to confirm your time. As we mention in the guidance on the Signup Genius page, lunch times are not “clean,” so we will communicate when your lunch window will begin and end. Please be mindful of your lunch window so that those who come before and after you may have the full allotted time with their student for the lunch window they have reserved. We value safety and instructional time above all else, so please arrive with enough time to check in via our Raptor security system. Students will be expected to return with their classes from lunch to resume instructional time.
We have a short break coming up at the end of this week. Please be safe as you travel and enjoy some time away from the hustle and bustle of the daily grind. Thank you so much for your investment in our school and our community!
Joshua Todd
Principal
News and Updates
As a reminder, there is no school for students this week on Thursday and Friday (10/12 - 10/13) as well as next Monday (10/16). We hope you have a fun and safe Fall Break!
Families may now sign up to join your child for lunch at GSES. Please read the guidelines at the top of the form carefully before signing up. Click HERE to select your spot.
Congraulations to our September CLAW OF THE MONTH winners for this school year--THE RED CLAW! They earned 1,717 tickets for showing PAWS expectations this month and got to visit the Pop-Up Prize Cart this week. Collectively, our students earned over 7,000 TICKETS for showing positive behaviors this month!!! Way to go, Panthers!
We are excited about this year's GSES Student Technology Competition for 3rd-5th grade students. If your child is planning to participate, please make sure that you have completed the competition interest form by Tuesday, October 17th so that we can directly communicate information to participating families. Students will present their projects and speeches at our GSES school competition on Friday, November 10th, so Fall Break is a great time to get a jump on creating! Students have the opportunity to compete in 14 various categories by submitting an individual or partner project. The website linked below provides detailed information on each of the 14 categories with examples of some previously-completed projects. The project can be something your child starts fresh this year or improves from a previous year. We will even be working on some projects in our classes at school. Please contact Mrs. Gassman (monica.gassman@jcss.us) if you have any questions.
Yearbooks are on sale now. Click HERE to order. You will need to enter the following passcode for GSES: 101485563232668. Receive a 10% discount if you order by October 31st.
This Week's
After-School Clubs
Tuesday: GS Gizmos (pick up at 4:30 P.M.)
Upcoming Events
October 12-16: Fall Break (No school for students or staff)
October 18: 50th Day of School Celebration (Students may dress in 1950s attire.)
October 19: GSES PTO Spirit Night at Chick-Fil-A, Braselton; 4:00-8:00 P.M.
October 20: Camo-Out for JCHS game
October 23-27: Red Ribbon Week (More info coming soon!)
October 23-November 3: Parent Conferences
October 27: Panther Playoffs (Students wear Claw Colors)
October 27: West-side Fall Festival at JCHS; 6:00 P.M.
SCHOOL SPOTLIGHTS
National Custodial Workers Day
On Monday, October 2nd, we celebrated National Custodial Workers Day. Our GSES Custodial Team is AMAZING! They are hard-working and helpful and go out of their way to keep our students and staff happy and healthy. We are so thankful for this valuable part of our Panther family!
National Principals Month
October is National Principals Month. We are fortunate to have many wonderful principals to celebrate in the Jackson County School System. We especially appreciate Mr. Todd's dedication to our school and GSES community! Thanks for all you do!
Coach Appreciation Day
Friday, October 6th was Coach's Appreciation Day. Coach Heather Backer and Coach Cody Whitlock are hard-working, supportive, tough, and fun! We don't how we got lucky enough to have two of the very best coaches both at our school, but we are so thankful for all they do for us!
Olympian Gail Devers Inspires Panther Community
Our "All Pro Dad" program kicked off this week with a special visit from Olympic champion Gail Devers. Mrs. Devers is a three-time Olympic gold medalist in track and field events and holds many national and world titles. She shared her inspirational story of perseverance with our students and dads and challenged dads to be present for all the little and big moments of their kids' lives. She encouraged students to find their passions and work hard to excel at them. A highlight of the evening was getting to try on Mrs. Devers' Olympic gold medals! We left feeling encouraged, inspired, and excited about our next All Pro Dad event! We hope your family will be able to join us! (Vist our GSES Facebook page for more pictures.)
Georgia Pre-K Week
Mrs. Adams, Mrs. Duke, and Mrs. Lyle's classes have had a wonderful time celebrating Georgia Pre-K Week! They enjoyed having many special guests throughout the week to share stories and read-alouds. Students especially enjoyed Community Helpers Day, where they had the opportunity to explore the responsibilities of local public safety workers in our community. Thanks to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, the Jackson Trail Fire Department, and the West Jackson Fire Department for making a special visit to our school and teaching our Pre-K students about their valuable contributions to our community. (Check out more pictures on our GSES Facebook page.)
PANTHER SUPPORTERS
We loved showing our Panther spirit on Friday for the JCHS Pink-Out in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Congratulations to this week's Spirit Contest winners Ginny, Rhett, McKinley, and Rocco! (And all of our spirit vibes worked, as the JCHS Panthers claimed victory over Shiloh 36-7!)
Many of our 5th graders were also honored to be part of the West Side Chorus, joining students from JCHS, WJMS, LKMS, WJES, and NJES to perform the National Anthem at Friday's game.
Registration is open now through October 20th for winter sports at Jackson County Parks and Recreation. You can register online at www.jacksonrec.com.
Registration is also open for the Jackson County Youth Wrestling Club. The goal of the Jackson County Youth Wrestling Club is to help young wrestlers grow and improve their skills in a fun and competitive environment while fostering a love for a great sport. Registration is open their website at www.jacksoncountywrestling.com. During registration, you can purchase your USA Wrestling Card and the team player pack. The first practice of the season will be on Thursday, November 2nd at 6:15pm in the JCHS Wrestling Room, and practices will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:15pm-7:30pm. Please see this flyer for more information and email Amy Powers at apowers@jcss.us with any questions.
Want to know more about how you can support our school? Click below for details.
Page updated
Report abuse