Greenbrier Safari
We're Wild About Our School Theme:
Kind Voices and Healthy Choices

Weekly Newsletter

Click here for the Greenbrier Safari Express for this week.

Also, sign up for Greenbrier's Google Group!  You will receive an email with the weekly edition of our Safari Express newsletter.  Sign up at the bottom of this page to get our weekly email.

Announcements

Week of May 21

Greenbrier Elementary: The School of Kindness will “Take Time to Be Kind” and focus on Integrity during the month of May.

Our Kindness Rule Of the Week is
Do not lick your fingers, use a napkin.

CONGRATULATIONS, GREENBRIER ELEMENTARY…

We have been selected as a 2012 South Carolina School of Character, and we have received the SC State Department of Education’s Palmetto Silver Award for student performance!

Safety Patrol members have been an important part of Greenbrier Elementary, assisting with arrival and dismissal as well as serving as role models for our students. Safety Patrol members will celebrate with a special field trip on Monday, May 21. Thank you, Safety Patrols!

Box Tops and Campbell Soup Labels are due Monday, May 21. Thank you for your support of our PTA and school this year!

Breakfast Club will meet on Tuesday and Thursday in the computer lab at 7:30 AM.

Field Day for students in 1st through 5th grades will be held on Tuesday, May 22. Kindergarten & Special Education Field Day will be held on Wednesday, May 23.  Students are encouraged to dress appropriately for the warm weather and prepare to participate in outdoor games.

Communication Folders will be sent home on Tuesday, May 23.

Kindergarten Awards will be held on Thursday, May 24 at 8:45 AM in the Nutrition Lab. Parents and guests will be allowed to enter the Nutrition Lab beginning at 8:30 AM. Parents are encouraged to stay for the duration of the program.

5th Grade Day and Awards will be held on Friday, May 25, beginning with an awards program at 8:30 AM in the Nutrition Lab. Students may be signed out early from the picnic.

All Library Books are Due to the Media Center no later than Friday, May 25.

There will be NO Running Club, Garden Club, Math Club and HW Help for the remainder of the school year.

Thank you for your support of Greenbrier Elementary!

Let’s have a great week and remember to TTTBK!

Awards Day Schedules

We hope you join us for our End-of-Year Awards on the following days. For awards programs beginning at 8:30 AM, please arrive between 8:00 and 8:15 in order to allow our commuters dropping off students to get through the car line.

Programs will be held in the Nutrition Lab. Please note that lunch will not be scheduled at the same times as during the year.

K5 – Thursday, May 24 at 8:45 AM

5th Grade Day – Friday, May 25 at 8:30 AM

3rd grade – Wednesday, May 30 at 8:30 AM

4th grade – Wednesday, May 30 at 10:30 AM

1st grade – Thursday, May 31 at 8:30 AM

2nd grade – Thursday, May 31 at 10:30 AM

K4 – Friday, June 1 at 9:00 AM

Reminder from Nurse Robert

May 29th is the last full day of attendance for students. The School District Policy requires that medications not picked-up be the end of the school year be destroyed. If your student's medications are not picked-up by June 1st they will be destroyed. Also, for safety reasons medications can not be sent home with the student. A parent/guardian must pickup all medications. Please call the Healthroom at 355-5307 with any questions or concerns.

Teacher Leaders

Congratulations, Mollye Crowell, our 2012-2013 Teacher of the Year. Ms. Crowell teaches art at Greenbrier.

Congratulations, Marci Dutt, our Distinguished Reading Teacher of the Year. Ms. Dutt teaches third grade at Greenbrier.

Congratulations, Kelly Wingert, recognized as Magic 98.9’s Teacher Who Makes Magic.

Pay Online for Lunches!

Parents may now purchase student meals online. Greenville County schools are now partnering with My School Bucks where you can set up an account for each of your students. You can pay online using your debit or credit card for multiple students at a time. Click on the image below for more information on this new program. If you're ready to get started or make a payment online, visit My School Bucks!

Arrival and Dismissal Pointers

MORNING DROP-OFF

• Our building is open at 7:15 AM. We encourage students to arrive early and have breakfast in our Nutrition Lab, where delicious food items will be available.
• Attendance is taken at 8:00 AM and students are marked tardy at 8:05 AM. Understand that it takes students time to get to their classrooms. If you drop your child off at 8:03 AM, they will be marked tardy if it takes them longer than 2 minutes to get to their classroom.
• We don't want students to feel rushed or anxious about arriving late. Please help us by getting your child to school on time.
• To access the front of the school AND the front parking lot, please enter the car line at the first entrance, just past the school marquee. You will move through the car line and enter the parking lot for parking on your right, just past the flag pole.
• DO NOT ACCESS the second entrance between 7:15-8:00 AM, as this entrance is for buses, day care vans, and staff only. This will be strictly enforced this year!

AFTERNOON PICK-UP

• DO NOT ACCESS the second entrance between 1:30-3:00 PM, as this entrance is for buses, day care vans, and staff only.
• To access the car line, please enter the first entrance, just past the school marquee. Prior to 2:00 PM, please line up on the left side of the car line to form Group 1 of the afternoon car line. If you need to get your child for an EARLY DISMISSAL you will need to arrive BEFORE 2:00 PM. Use the right side of the car line to access the front parking lot to park and enter the office to sign your child out. Only adults on the Student Information Sheet will be allowed to pick up a student.
• At 2:00 PM a school staff member will move cars on from the left to the right in order to create a double line, which will create Group 1 for afternoon dismissal.
• All cars picking up students for afternoon dismissal MUST display a green car tag number. If you do not have one, we will call your child down to the office. When the line begins to move, you will need to park and come into the office to receive your child. At that time, an office staff member will verify your tag number and will create another one for you.
• If you have to enter the office, please understand this procedure is not to inconvenience you, rather to ensure student safety.
• All students should be picked up by 3:00 PM.

One last thing - Children will be dismissed the way parents have specified UNLESS a written note is sent to the teacher, signed and dated, by the parent/guardian. Include your child's first & last name and your child's teacher. We will not honor a change in transportation based on a child's word. We also discourage you to call the office with change of transportation after 1:30 PM. If you call then, we cannot guarantee this change in transportation.

Join Our Extended Day Program

Registration for Greenbrier Elementary School's Extended Day Program is now open. This program is offered in the afternoon. Click here to download the registration forms. Note that the registration fee is due upon submitting the registration forms. Please read the content carefully and call Tisha Montgomery at 355-5300 with any questions.

New Healthy Concept

What do you mean no cupcakes, candy, or soda at Greenbrier this year? Yes, it's true. Greenbrier is initiating a new healthy concept, which will require us to think differently about our actions. Greenbrier is on the move to promote a healthy school environment.  

What's the big deal? Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. The numbers are even higher in African American and Hispanic communities, where nearly 40% of the children are overweight or obese. If we don't solve this problem, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives. Many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma.

So, how will we celebrate birthdays and other occasions? Birthday parties and holiday celebrations at school provide a unique opportunity to help make healthful eating fun and exciting for children. Schools can take advantage of classroom celebrations to serve food that tastes good, is nutritious, and provides students with an opportunity for nutrition education experiences.

Tell me more! Typically, foods for school celebrations include cupcakes, candy, cookies and soda. So what's the harm? There is nothing wrong with an occasional treat, but unhealthy choices have become the norm rather than the exception. Parties, treats used as classroom rewards, food fundraisers, vending machines, snacks and school stores constantly expose children to high-fat, high-sugar, low-nutrient choices. Overall, our children's eating habits are poor. Only two percent of children meet all MyPyramid recommendations. Most children do not eat enough fruits, vegetables or whole grains. Obesity rates among children are on the rise, with serious health consequences. Constant exposure to low-nutrient foods makes it difficult for children to learn how to make healthy food choices. By providing students with nutritious choices wherever food is available (including the classroom), schools can positively influence children's eating habits. For more information about supporting healthy choices click here.

What will this new healthy concept look like at Greenbrier? Our fantastic cafeteria staff has gone through 40 hours of culinary training at the Culinary Arts Institute at Greenville Tech. We believe the school cafeteria, now known as the Nutrition Lab, is an extension of the classroom. We will begin with implementing a vegetation station (what grown-ups call a salad bar) and slowly introduce healthy options. Our hope is for students to learn, practice, and adopt healthy eating habits!
Click on the videos below to see how you can be a healthier kid. Being a healthier kid means being a better student, artist, athlete, actor or actress, musician…really a better anything!

Knock Poor Nutrition - Breakfast

Knock Poor Nutrition - Colors

Knock Poor Nutrition - Sugar

Knock Poor Nutrition - Move

Knock Poor Nutrition - Nutrition

Report To the Community

Click here for the 2010-2011 Report to the Community. This Report is issued by the School Improvement Council in accordance with South Carolina law to share information on the school's progress in meeting various goals, the work of the SIC, and other accomplishments during the school year.

New Parent Portal

Parents of children attending Greenville County Schools have access to a new and improved Parent Portal that will help keep them better informed about their children's academic performance, attendance and much more. More Details

No Cell Phone Zone

You may have noticed the No Cell Phone Zone signs posted in the car pool lines recently and you might be asking yourself, “What’s the harm in talking on a cell phone in a school zone?” Safe Kids Upstate, a program dedicated to reducing the unintentional injury of children under the age of 14, would like for you to be aware of the risk of talking on your cell phone while driving.

Here are the facts:

• One out of every six drivers in school zones is distracted by the use of cell phones, eating, drinking, smoking, reaching behind, grooming and reading.

• According to research, the use of electronics (such as cell phones, PDAs and Smartphones) was the leading category of distraction while driving at 9.8 percent.

• Studies show that driving while using a cell phone is the equivalent to driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08, the legal definition for drunken driving.

• The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis estimated that cell phone use was a factor in 6% or 636,000 crashes in 2003 resulting in 12,000 major injuries and 2,600 deaths.

• One in three child pedestrian deaths occur every year between 3 and 7 p.m. meaning that afternoons are the most dangerous time for children to walk.

The very act of driving requires intense focus of changing environments and road conditions not to mention the actions of other drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and other passengers or objects in the car. The more distractions added to the task of driving such as talking on a cell phone, eating, drinking, etc. places the driver and passengers at an increased risk of crashing.

Safe Kids Upstate, a program led by Children’s Hospital of Greenville Hospital System University Medical System, applauds the efforts of the Greenbrier administration and faculty to enforce the No Cell Phone Zone policy for drivers in the carpool lines in order to ensure the safety and well-being of our students.