Comet Connection - Britt Elementary School

Comet Connection
Comet Connection
October 2013
Issue 2
August/September
2012
Vol. Issue
A newsletter for the families of W.C. Britt Elementary School
Our Principal’s Message
Greetings to the Britt Elementary School Community!
What an exciting year of learning students at Britt Elementary School are
enjoying! It is my joy to observe classrooms daily and see our Britt Comets’
excitement for learning. Britt teachers go above and beyond the call of duty
every day to make learning enjoyable, challenging, engaging, and effective.
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Teacher of the Year
FLARE Competition
Literacy Scavenger Hunt
Technology Minute
Book Fair
Calendar of Events
Math Night
Fall Health Fair
October AKS
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At Britt Elementary School, as in all Gwinnett County Schools, our focus remains
on teaching and learning. I urge you to visit the Gwinnett County Public Schools
website at www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us to learn more about the four key district
initiatives which include the following: 1) The Gwinnett Teacher Effectiveness
System, 2) alignment of the Academic Knowledge and Skills with the Common
Core Georgia Performance Standards, 3) eCLASS, an instructional initiative that
combines technology resources, digital content, and powerful analytics, and 4)
leadership development. Gwinnett County Public Schools has maintained a
strategic direction while pursuing a vision of becoming a system of world-class
schools.
At Britt, we are very blessed to have a community supporting our work of
striving for excellence. I want to thank the Britt PTA for their many efforts to
support our entire school community. Their excellent work provides many
enjoyable events for Britt families to connect with each other. Appreciation goes
to all who have volunteered to serve on at least one of the committees in charge
of the PTA events.
Speaking of PTA events, our Britt Comets enjoyed the PTA fund-raiser kick-off
pep rally on Friday, September 20, which featured the South Gwinnett High
School football team, dance team, cheerleading team, and band. What a fun
time for our students! In addition to the PTA fall fund raiser, several events are
on the calendar for fall 2013, including Movie Night, Health Fair, Red Ribbon
Week, and Family Game Night. Additional information regarding upcoming
events can be found later in the Comet Connection and on the Britt home page,
www.wcbritt.org/home.html. I hope your family will take advantage of these
opportunities to enjoy time together with the Britt Elementary School
Community.
I want to once again thank you for choosing Britt Elementary for your child. I
urge you to visit our website frequently to stay connected and to stay informed
about the best year yet at Britt Elementary.
With kindest regards,
Doris Jones
Principal
Comet Connection
A newsletter for the families of W.C. Britt Elementary School
Teacher of the Year
Finalists
Teacher of the Year
Trisha Voiles
Congratulations to kindergarten
teacher Trisha Voiles on her
selection as a Teacher of the Year
finalist for 2013.
Shannon Robertson
Congratulations as well to P.E. and
health teacher Shannon
Robertson on her selection as a
Teacher of the Year finalist for
2013.
Our heartfelt congratulations to Britt Elementary
School’s Teacher of the Year, Mr. Chase Garner. As a
teacher of every student in the school, Mr. Garner, our
music teacher, is well known and loved across the school.
He provides amazing and engaging lessons that have
helped Britt Comets become among the most music-savvy
students in Gwinnett County. He also leads Britt’s incredible
chorus, which has delighted our students and parents with
elaborate and beautiful performances for several years. Mr.
Garner was a Teacher of the Year finalist last year, and was
deservingly voted by the school’s faculty to be the winner
this year.
Comet Connection
A newsletter for the families of W.C. Britt Elementary School
Literacy Scavenger Hunt
Gwinnett County FLARE Science Competition
In conjunction with Awards
Night and the Book Fair, we
invite you to join us for our Britt
Literacy Night on October 24,
from 5:00-7:30. This year, we
are conducting a Literacy
Scavenger Hunt. As a team, you
and your child will be scouring
the building for information
about reading and writing. It
should be lots of fun, and
educational to boot! Teams with
completed Scavenger Hunt
forms will be entered into a
drawing to be held the next day
at school. See you there!
Britt’s students have won yet another award! A team of
students competed in the GCPS FLARE science competition
on September 21st. After winning first prize for best recipe
in last year's competition, Britt's team returned to win this
year's highest award - Best Overall Design. The students
were August Madsen, Tony Shaw, Kiya Hauser, Rashmi
Mohan, Avery Jenny, and Ravyn Calderon. Team coaches,
Tom McNeill and Amy Russell, challenged the team to
develop a blue ribbon solar cooker that was able to reach –
get this – almost 500 degrees Fahrenheit! Once the
students learning that parabolic dishes gather and redirect
the most energy, they jokingly inquired about making a
huge dish, "like the satellite dishes outside behind the
school,” and that’s exactly what they ended up doing. One
of the goals of the overall design was to spend as little
money as possible to create the team’s entry, and
repurposing an unused satellite dish proved to be a free
and highly effective way to accomplish this goal!
Britt Parent Center Hours
Tuesdays: 9:20-3:30
Thursdays: 11:00-7:00
2nd&4th Fridays: 9:20-3:30
Comet Connection
A newsletter for the families of W.C. Britt Elementary School
PTA Events in October
Zaxby’s Night (10% donated to Britt)
October 8
5:00-8:00 pm
Technology Minute
Health Fair
October 19
11:00am – 3:00pm
Red Ribbon Week
October 21-25
“A Healthy Me Is Drug Free!”
Other October Events
Fund-Raiser Packets Due
October 4
Picture Day
October 9
Math Night
October 10
6:30pm
Relay for Life Hat Day ($1 donation)
October 11
Have you checked out the Britt At-Home Technology Center yet? This feature
of our school’s website provides access to our most popular and engaging
educational programs for students at home! The At-Home Technology Center
is a great way for parents to support their students’ education. Check it out by
visiting www.wcbritt.org/home.html and clicking on the At-Home Technology
Center link.
Book Fair
Student Holiday
October 14
Report Cards Issued
October 19
Book Fair
October 21-25
ITBS Testing (Grades 3 & 5)
October 21-25
A Big Night at Britt!!
October 24
Grades 3-5 Awards Night at 6:00
Grades K-2 Awards Night at 6:30
Family Literacy Scavenger Hunt 5:00-7:30
Book Fair Family Night 5:00-7:30
The always popular Britt Book Fair is coming in October!
Students can shop at the Book Fair during the week of
October 21-25. Additionally, we’ll be open from 5:00-7:30
Thursday, October 24, so that families can come and shop
before or after awards night.
Math Night
Thursday, October 10, 2013 6:30PM-7:45PM
Math Night Agenda:
Welcome and Instructions: 6:30-6:35 in Britt’s cafeteria
6:40-7:10: Session A
7:15-7:45 Session B
Session Choices
(All sessions will be available for both time slots)
K-2 Basic Fact Fluency
During this session, K-2 grade teachers will teach basic fact card games you can play
at home to increase fact fluency of addition and subtraction facts.
3-5 Basic Fact Fluency
During this session, 3-5 grade teachers will teach basic card games you can play at
home to increase fact fluency of multiplication and division facts.
Homework Help for 3rd-5th grade
Research shows that students have a deeper understanding when they are taught
math conceptually, not using rote procedures like algorithms, but parents of students
were not taught this way and it is causing some confusion at home during homework
time. This session will focus on the conceptual models Britt students are learning..
Math Resources Available for Check-Out
The Parent Center has LOTS of resources for you to check-out to help your child
with math at home. The math resources will be showcased this evening and parents
will have an opportunity to browse the resources, try out the games, and do the
activities with their child.
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Come One Come ALL!!!
Fall Festival and Health Fair
October 19, 11am – 3pm
Wear your Halloween costume!
$5 per person
Includes all activities
LUNCH
Bouncy Houses, Popcorn, Snow Cone, Games, Trunk or Treat,
Entertainment, Blood Pressure Check, Demos, Cook and Tell Stories, door
prizes and much, much more!!!
What will my student be learning in October?
Kindergarten
Math: Identify coins, write numbers #0-20,
compose/decompose 11-19 into ones and tens,
counting to 100, comparing, and sorting.
Language Arts: Write words/sentences, write one or
more sentences, practice beginning and ending
punctuation and spacing, learn high-frequency sight
words, read informational texts and narratives (stories
and nursery rhymes).
Social Studies: Columbus Day, Maps, Veteran's Day, US
Symbols, Long Ago/Thanksgiving, Personal Finance, and
Practice Address.
Science: Push/pull, gravity, & characteristics of science.
First Grade
Social Studies: Benjamin Franklin
Science: Water Cycle
Math: Defining attributes 2D and 3D shapes
Writing: Writing 3 strong sentences about a personal
experience.
Reading: Improve reading level to “D” or higher.
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
Math: continue Place Value; begin Addition and
Subtraction Unit
Reading: integrating science, social studies, and math
into reading lessons/activities
Writing: Informational
Science: continue Plants and Animal Unit; begin Matter
Unit
Social Studies: continue Georgia Regions; begin Creek
and Cherokee Indians
Math: Introduction to Multiplication and Division,
review addition/subtraction strategies
Social Studies: Paul Revere and Our
Democracy/Branches of Government/Greece
Science: Pollution and Habitats
Reading: Using non-fiction/informational for research
and fiction- reading traditional literature (fables, myths,
tall tales) for figurative language
Writing: Identifying the parts of speech in sentences,
irregular verbs, and prefixes/suffixes
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4 Grade
Reading: theme, characters, setting, within a text and
summarizing using specific details; comparing and
contrasting point of view.
Language Arts: informative writing; adjectives and
quotation marks; identifying similes and metaphors.
Math: adding, subtracting, and comparing fractions.
Science: Solar System and stars; phases of the moon;
the nature of light.
Social Studies: Colonial America and the Road to
Revolution
5th Grade
Social Studies: Government, due process,
Constitutional amendments, Reconstruction
Science: vertebrates, invertebrates, inherited and
learned traits.
Math: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division of whole numbers and decimals
Language Arts: Building writing skills through reading