Comet Connection
Keeping you connected with Silver City ES!
ADMIN UNIVERSE
Hello, Comet Families! I hope you have now all had the chance to conference with your child's teacher and get an idea of where they currently stand in all content areas, as well as behaviorally and socially. When we are able to partner closely with parents, our students are so much more successful, so thank you for your involvement! Please know if you ever have any concerns about your child's progress, you can reach out directly to their teacher for support.
As you read in Dr. Bearden's letter to families earlier this week, we have continued to see a downward trend in COVID cases throughout our County and within the school system, in particular (among both students and staff). Remember that all COVID-related information can be found here.
Some important things I would like to highlight that we have included in this week's newsletter are:
- Please get out and vote as the SPLOST for Schools is on the ballot
- Registration for Comet classes closes this TODAY
- If you would like to make a change in the education setting (face-to-face or virtual) for your child(ren) for the 2nd semester (beginning in January), we need to know by next Friday, November 5
We hope you enjoy this edition of the Comet Connection as we share the following information with you:
- November 2 - Special Purpose Local Sales Tax (SPLOST) for Schools
- Final Day to Register for Comet Classes Session #2
- 2nd Semester Educational Setting Change Request Due November 5
- Holiday Art Contest for our Comets
- Comet Corner Wish List
- Information for Car Riders
- Virtual Veterans Day Celebration - Thursday, November 11
- Shining Star Presentations
- Understanding the Referral Process - Parent Info Session
- PTA Newsletter
- Partners in Education 2021-2022
- Publix Partners
- Upcoming Dates
- Community Events and Resources
Sincerely,
Mr. Sloop
November 2 - Special Purpose Local Sales Tax (SPLOST) for Schools
Advanced voting for the November 2, 2021, 1% Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax or SPLOST for Schools ends this Friday. This is an opportunity for Forsyth County voters to continue the current sales tax for another five-year period or when a cap of $300 million is collected. Remember, if the SPLOST doesn't pass, property taxes in Forsyth County will have to increase to cover the voter-approved Bond payments from recent years. The SPLOST will cover the following needs:
- Continue to make payments on voter-approved Bonds ($50 million),
- Complete maintenance and life cycle projects at existing schools,
- Build one new elementary school, which will be a replacement and larger school for Midway, our second oldest school in the county,
- Fund safety, STEM, fine arts, CTAE/College and Career Development, special education, technology, transportation, and athletics, and
- Purchase land.
SPLOST is not a property tax. It is charged on goods purchased in Forsyth County regardless of where the purchaser resides.
As you know, Forsyth County Schools’ student enrollment has increased 43% over the past decade. To meet the needs of our students, voters have approved various referendums that have directly impacted us here at Silver City in the following positive ways in recent years:
- Built a new upper parking lot
- Repaired asphalt in our existing parking lots
- Installed 2 water bottle filling stations in the school
- Extended the car rider awning
- Replaced the flooring in the front office
We encourage you to be informed on this issue and to share the information with others. The district has posted a flyer, video, and more information at www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/splost. Advance voting is October 12-29. Times, dates, and polling places are also located on this website.
Final Day to Register for Comet Classes Session #2
Registration closes TODAY (October 29) for our second session of Comet Classes that run November 2- December 16. Classes are on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons until 4:30pm and cost $65 per class per student.
Click here for information on Registration, Available Classes, and Payment Options.
If you have any questions concerning Comet Classes, please email Andrew Garner at atgarner@forsyth.k12.ga.us.
2nd Semester Educational Setting Change Request Due November 5
Please complete the Educational Setting Change Request Form to let us know you are requesting your student's educational setting to CHANGE for Semester 2 of this school year. If you have multiple children at Silver City Elementary School, please complete one commitment form for EACH child.
Your choice for in-person or virtual learning for the educational setting for the second semester is a commitment from January through the end of the school year (May).
This survey closes at 4:00pm on Friday, November 5th and submittals after that time will not be honored. We encourage you to be certain of your decision prior to submitting any educational setting change request. Please note, students are not guaranteed the same teacher for the second semester, whether their educational setting is changed or not.
If you do not want to change your child's educational setting, you do NOT need
to complete this form. ONLY complete the form if you want to change
between face-to-face and virtual (go from one to the other).
Holiday Art Contest for our Comets
Silver City Elementary is hosting our inaugural Holiday Card design contest! Rules are below and all entries must be received by Mrs. Walraven no later than November 1, 2021 at 3:00 pm.
- Design must be on plain white copy paper that has been folded in half to make a 5 ½ x 8 ½ drawing surface.
- Design must be in colored pencil, crayon, or marker.
- A panel of judges from Silver City Elementary will review the entries and make the final decision.
- The first place winner will be featured on our Silver City holiday card.
- Each entry must include a paper with student name, grade level, and teacher name paper clipped to their entry.
- Each entry must have a winter holiday theme.
- Deadline for submittal is Monday, November 1 at 3:00 p.m. Late entries will not be accepted.
Comet Corner Wish List
Comet Corner is our K-5 PBIS store at which our students shop with the comet cash they earn. Each homeroom gets to "shop" every two weeks and students can choose to purchase items or save up for bigger items. We love having lots of options for our students to choose from, so we are asking for donations to keep our store fully stocked for students.
Thank you to the families who have already donated items!
We greatly appreciate your contributions!
Please take a look at our Amazon wish list to make donations easier and ship items directly to the school (Silver City ES, ATTN: Maleah Dickman, 6200 Dahlonega Hwy., Cumming, GA 30028). You can also ship items to your home and drop them off at the Front Office with a "PBIS Store" label on them. Thanks for any donations you provide!
Information for Car Riders
If the long wait at car rider is too much to bear some days, definitely consider having your child ride the bus! It is a great alternative.
If you park and walk your child to the crosswalk in the morning, please wait to cross the path of the car rider traffic in the parking lot until cars have stopped. Please do not make cars stop for you in the parking lot, as this slows down the line and affects the efficiency of car rider.
Please follow the signs in the parking lot and make sure your child is ready to exit when they are at the car rider lane along the sidewalk. Children should have their backpacks and jackets on, be done with their breakfast, and be ready to open the door and exit the car right when the car stops.
- Please remember that morning car rider runs from 7:45-8:20am. If you pull into the parking lot after 8:15am, there is a high likelihood your child will be late. If your child arrives at 8:20 a.m. or after (once the tardy bell has rung), you must park and walk your child into the front office to sign your child in as tardy.
Afternoon Car Rider
- In the afternoon, please make sure you don’t block the neighbors driveway entrance on the hill...they still need to be able to get into and out of their driveway in the afternoons.
- Please fill out the Daily Transportation Form by 1:00pm if you need to change transportation. If you need to make a permanent change, please send a signed note into your child's teacher.
All of this information can be found in our 2021-2022 Student Handbook.
Virtual Veterans Day Celebration - Thursday, November 11
Last year, our virtual Veteran's Day Celebration was so special and many families and veterans were able to participate on-line with us. We are excited to host a virtual celebration again this year to honor and celebrate our veterans.
In an effort to specifically honor veterans in our community and related to our Comets, we are asking for families to please use this Google form to submit the first and last name, rank, and branch of any service member that you would like us to honor by Friday, October 29. You may also submit a photo of the veteran you wish to honor.
We will use this information to include the veteran's name and information in our Comet News segments as well as in our virtual presentation we will share on November 11 - Veterans Day.
Shining Star Presentations
K-2 October Shining Stars
3-5 October Shining Stars
Understanding the Referral Process - Parent Info Session
JOIN US FOR A FREE OUTREACH EVENT
October 28 @7pm
@ Forsyth County Board of Ed Room 380
Speaker- Paul West, Asst. Director Special Education, Forsyth County
Paul will attempt to explain the complicated referral process!
This event is free and open to the public.
Registration is requested- Register Here
This event is appropriate for any parent of a struggling student.
We hope to see you there!
2021-22 Silver City “Partners In Education”
We would like to thank our amazing 2021-2022 Partners in Education for their incredible support:
General Partnership:
- Ascent Church
- Chestatee Growers, Inc.
- Erika Wallace - State Farm Insurance Agent
Blue Partnership:
- Kinsey Family Farm
- Lowe's - Cumming
Platinum Partnership:
- The DOJO - North Forsyth/Dawson
Diamond Partnership:
- The Chantal and Tommy Bagwell Foundation Fund
We are still looking for more Partners to help us with the following projects this year:
- Building a PreK playground
- Enhancing our current K-2 and 3-5 playgrounds
- Buying new books for our media center
- Offering more teaching tools for math
- Purchasing a book vending machine for students
- Hosting staff luncheons and celebrations
Please see our flyer and information below and contact Mr. Sloop, Ms. Fuchs, or Ms. Walraven if you OR your company are interested in helping us with any of the projects above!!
Publix Partners
Upcoming Dates
- Wednesday, November 10 - Wellness Wednesday
- Thursday, November 11 - Virtual Veteran's Day program (we will publish a link and share it out on social media and through IC messenger)
---->> Community Events and Resources <<----
Silver City Elementary School
Website: https://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/silvercity
Location: 6200 Dahlonega Hwy, Cumming, GA 30028
Phone: (678) 965-5020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SilverCityES
Twitter: @SilverCityES