Announcements

Book Character Pumpkin Painting Contest

Paint your favorite book character on a pumpkin! All pumpkins will be on display for a week so please NO CARVING! The voting will begin on the 21st and the winners will be announced on the 25th. Click on last year's pumpkin contest picture for the entry form.

 ALL PUMPKINS ARE DUE ON OCT. 18TH
*PLEASE NO EARLY ENTRIES*

The Big Game Reading Contest

SC Reads is again sponsoring the annual reading contest, Read Your Way to the Big Game! If your child reads 6 books on his or her reading level and fills out the reading log, they are entered in a drawing for a chance to win tickets to the Carolina vs. Clemson football game! The game is on November 30th, but the reading logs are DUE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31ST.  For every 6 books read, their name is entered into the drawing; if your child wants a better chance, read more books and turn in more reading logs! Monarch Library will also award prizes to the top Carolina reader and top Clemson reader in every grade level. Click on the image below for the reading log. HAPPY READING!

Summer Reading SLIME Party

Congratulations to our top Summer Readers! These 13 students read a combined total of 2, 155 books over the summer!! What an accomplishment! This is the most read in Monarch history, and to celebrate their amazing accomplishment, we had a SLIME party! Students and Miss Gibson flew down a slip and slide and landed in a pool of slime at the end! Three of the other top readers will have a slime party with Miss Gibson next week making slime. A lot of sticky fun happening! For pictures, please click on the Slime Party image below.

HANDBOOK HIGHLIGHTS

• The school requires signed notes from parents or guardians for explanation of the following: Absence/Tardiness/Early Dismissal/ Change in the way a child is going home/ Permission to go home with another student (*If riding the bus, students must already ride the same bus route). A signed parent note or medical excuse must be given to the office any time your child is absent.
• Any changes in afternoon transportation must be in writing and signed by the parent. Emails or phone calls cannot be accepted.
• Per Greenville County School District (GCSD) policy, early dismissals must be before 2:00 p.m.
• No volunteers are allowed in the building until 8:30 a.m. All volunteers must be out of the building by 2:00 p.m. 
• All parents/visitors must remain outside until 3:00 p.m. during daily dismissal.
• Money is receipted by teachers first thing in the morning. All money must be turned in to teachers by 8:00 a.m.  The office cannot accept any money.
• According to healthy school guidelines, no restaurant/fast food/food delivery of any kind is allowed – healthy or not. To support healthy choices, birthday treats must be healthy, such as yogurt, fruit kababs, pretzels, graham crackers, and whole-grain muffins. 
• To protect instructional time, forgotten items, except glasses, will be placed in the teacher’s mailbox. Forgotten lunches will be placed on a designated table in the cafeteria.  Students can pick them up on their way to lunch.
• After afternoon dismissal, no students are allowed back into classrooms to retrieve anything they have forgotten after they have left the building.
• Due to class interruption, missed instructional time, and limited space students are not allowed to attend sibling performances.
• For safety precautions, balloons are not allowed in the building.
• Per GCSD policy, school personnel are not allowed to touch birthday party invitations. A student can distribute invitations if all students in the class are invited.
• The back entrance where car riders enter the building closes at 8:00 a.m. Even if a parent is in the line, students are considered tardy if they aren’t in the building when the bell rings.
• Please send correct change or check when paying for school fees, field trips, etc.
• It is vitally important to report head lice to Nurse Amy at 452-0604.
• Parents, please notify daycares of early dismissals and absences.
• Hair color should be a natural hair color. Non-human hair color is not acceptable. 

New Parent Backpack

Please see your child’s back to school packet for a letter, directions, and the student ID number needed to sign up.  It is extremely important that every parent enroll in Greenville County School’s new Parent Backpack.  Backpack is an online tool that will allow you to view your child’s grades, see district and state testing scores, attendance and more. Parent Backpack works on any device and is mobile friendly. 

To access Parent Backpack, go to https://parents.gcsbackpack.com/signin.aspx and create an account. Please access directions by clicking on Creating a Parent Backpack Account - English Directions or Direcciones en Español

To view a video on how to create your Parent Backpack, click on the Backpack icon. Please click on this letter from Mrs. Overman to know what the process entails to complete the account in the office.