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 February 6

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

Our Kindness Rule Of the Week is
Learn from your mistakes and move on.

CONGRATULATIONS, GREENBRIER ELEMENTARY! We have been selected as a 2012 South Carolina School of Character. Our program is being considered by Character Education Partnership in Washington, D.C. for the National Schools of Character program.

5th graders will be visiting Hillcrest Middle School on Monday, February 6.

Good News Club will meet on Monday from 2:30 to 3:45 PM.

Spring Garden Club will meet on Monday from 2:45 to 3:30 PM.

Communication Folders will be sent home on Tuesday, February 7.

Breakfast Club will meet on Tuesday & Thursday mornings from 7:30-8:00 AM in the computer lab.

Gazelles Running Club will meet on Tuesday from 2:45 to 3:30 PM.

Chorus Rehearsals will be held on Wednesday for 3rd grade and on Friday for 4th and 5th grades from 7:30-8:00 AM in the music room.

Our School Store will be open on Thursday from 7:20-7:45 AM.

Math Club will meet on Thursday from 3:00 to 4:15 PM.

Junior Beta Club members will be installed on Thursday at 6:30 PM.

With these cold temperatures, please make sure your child is dressed warmly with a heavy coat, gloves, hat and scarf.

Thank you for your support of Greenbrier Elementary!

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

The Great Race: Math Facts

Math Facts ARE important for children to learn without the aid of electronics. Not only will it help them solve more complex math problems more quickly, but it will expand their number sense as well.

Greenbrier Elementary students are learning their facts as part of The Great Race. Click on The Great Race to learn more.

WHAT IS A MATH FACT?
An Addition or Subtraction Math Fact is a math question such as 3+ 4 or 6-2 that a child should know quickly. If a child can say the answer within a couple of seconds, this is usually considered mastery of the Fact.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT THAT CHILDREN LEARN MATH FACTS?

• Math Facts are important because they form the building blocks for higher-level Math concepts. Skills such as adding and subtracting larger numbers, telling time, counting money, measurement, long multiplication and division are just a few of the concepts that a child will encounter fairly early in his/her Math career. 

• By learning his/her Math Facts, your child will also develop a keen number sense. This means that he/she will better understand the relationship between numbers. For example, it is important for your child to see that 6-2=4 because 2+4=6.

• It is important that your child moves from counting strategies to automaticity (rapid recall) of his/her Math Facts. Your child will soon be using Math Facts as a tool to solve more difficult Math questions. If he/she must count to find the answer every time he/she needs to add two numbers, it will take him/her a much longer time to get to the final answer.

• If your child is struggling with recalling his/her basic Math Facts each day, he/she may lose confidence in his/her Math abilities. Sometimes, this can lead to a loss of interest or effort in Math. Children need all the confidence boosters they can get, especially in a subject like Math where many of them have already developed a mental block.

• Independent research proves the need and importance for students to master their Math Facts. Not only did they discover that mastering the Math Facts aids in higher-level Math, but they also discovered actual shifts in brain patterns as Math Facts were learned!

Please remember to review math facts nightly. Use these great educational websites to help you practice your facts:

http://www.mathfactcafe.com/
www.freerice.com (Change subject to Math)
http://www.factmonster.com/math/flashcards.html
http://www.coolmath4kids.com/

Art Show!

Join us for our Amazing Student Art Show on Monday, February 13 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. Please return the RSVP form to your child’s teacher so your student's work will be on display. Our PTA Meeting will also be held this evening at 6:30 PM in the Nutrition Lab. Come out and hear our 3rd grade chorus perform after the PTA Meeting. You will also want to stop by the media center to check out the Scholastic Book Fair. A full, fun evening you don't want to miss!

Fit's Cool School Challenge

Join Greenbrier Elementary and Gazelles Running Club in helping us win money for our school! The $4,000 Fit’s Cool School Challenge offers two ways for our school to win money. The elementary and middle school with the most registrants in the TD Bank Reedy River Run (Reedy Great Youth Mile, 5K, and 10K) will each win $1,000. Based on official student enrollment, the elementary and middle school with the highest percentage of registrants will each win $1,000, as well. The easiest way for you to help our school is to encourage your friends and family to list Greenbrier when they register online for one of these three TD Bank Reedy River Run events. The Children's Fun Run is not part of the Fit’s Cool School Challenge.

Click here for the registration form. Registration is $12 for all races and checks should be made payable to Greenbrier Elementary. Deadline is February 15, 2012. 

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.