Busy BEEs are Buzzing!

Greetings Parents and Community Members!

I trust that everyone had a relaxing, refreshing and rejuvenating Spring Break! And likewise, I hope that the added week of virtual learning went well. It was amazing jumping into virtual classes and seeing the growth that our students exhibited from the early days of virtual learning in August and September until now.  While not ideal, I was blown away by our students focus and attention through a full day of virtual learning. I have witnessed immense growth and our students, teachers and parents should be proud!

As we move into the home stretch of the 20/21 school year, I want you to know that we are  busier than ever! Busy enrolling new students, planning for end of year activities, wrapping up final units in ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies and continuing to put the needs of our virtual and face to face students first. With that said, there is a lot to be made aware of and in keeping with my most recent format, here are the most important!

1. Extended school day for the 21/22 school year (All Students) – As many of you may or may not have known, the Atlanta Board of Education was made aware of plans to extend the school day for 30 minutes next year in order to take into account the time lost in other subjects due to the implementation of mandatory intervention blocks and to help supplement learning loss from the COVID-19 pandemic. I do not have much more information at this time but as I learn more, I will of course share.
2. Intervention and Acceleration blocks (All Students) – In order to give every student what they need to be successful (as written in our school Vision), we will continue to implement a 45 minute intervention and acceleration block into the K-5 schedule for next school year. We are excited to add an additional intervention teacher to each building, finally utilize our full time math interventionist as well as bring back our gifted teachers, all of whom have been teaching virtual classes this year. Rest assured, we will have all of the new supports in place for our students on Day 1 of the 21/22 school year.
3. May 26 is now face to face (Face to Face Students Only) –  I want to remind (or make you aware) that Dr. Herring also recently announced that the last day of school will no longer be asynchronous – and that’s great news! We get one more day of learning and celebration with our favorite Bees. Please be sure to mark your calendars!
4. Carpool Readiness (Face to Face Students Only) – As we jump back into the swing of things, I want to remind all of our carpool riders that school starts at 8am sharp. We are experiencing a rush of cars at the end of carpool causing many tardies. Please remember that carpool begins promptly at 7:30am and is generally pretty slow until 7:45. Students MUST be ready to get out with all of their supplies in hand. We love masks to be on when they exit the vehicle, but masks can always be put on before entering the building- and we have plenty of extras!
5. Georgia Milestones begin April 19 (Face to Face Students in 3rd-5th only) –  You probably have not heard me mention much about the upcoming administration of the Georgia Milestones (GMAS) and that is intentional. This year, the results of the GMAS are held harmless and cannot be used for retention or promotion purposes. They will not affect a school’s CCRPI (school report card) and have been modified to include less examination time and only assess ELA and Math (and science for 5th). If you are a 3rd through 5th grader, look for communication that should have already been sent home with your child. Testing will occur on Mondays and Thursdays only with Tuesdays and Fridays used for makeup. You can help us by ensuring that your child is at school on time any day that we test. This will help us to eliminate the need for make-ups. Testing times have been reduced and there will be an adjusted schedule at the Main Campus on testing days to still allow for lunch, recess, and Specials. 
6. Mitigation strategy reinforcement – Lastly and as always, I want to remind everyone that we are still implementing mitigation strategies each day. Please remember that gaiters or masks with vents are not permissible and to complete the HealthCheck screening each morning.  Thank you for your cooperation.

I hope that everyone continues to have an excellent week. I have really enjoyed watching our students participate in the Fun Run and have a ball purchasing Scholastic books in the Media Center during both PE and Media specials. Even in a pandemic, we persevere and continue to find ways to make school fun and engaging.  Also, don’t forget to complete the Parent Input Form HERE if you are a rising 1st through 5th grader.  The deadline is quickly approaching.

Until next time!
Jay