GCS News Briefs

August 21, 2009

Tdap Vaccine Available at Middle School Open Houses

The Tdap vaccine will be available to all sixth-grade students during middle school open houses this weekend. Parents should bring a copy of their child’s shot record and insurance card, if any, with them to the open house.

In addition, the Guilford County Department of Public Health will offer a special Saturday clinic on Aug. 22 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at both clinic locations. Tdap vaccinations also are available by appointment each day at the health department’s offices, which are located at 1100 E. Wendover Ave., Greensboro and 501 E. Green Drive, High Point. Call 641-5563 for a Greensboro appointment. Call 845-7655 for an appointment in High Point.

A state law that went into effect early last year requires rising sixth-graders who have not received a Tdap vaccine since July 2004 to receive a booster shot.

State law requires schools to exclude students who have not received the shots. Unlike the previous year, appointment cards will not be accepted as substitutes for the vaccinations. Parents of rising sixth-graders are encouraged to get their children vaccinated before the deadline.

For more information about the Tdap vaccine, please visit the district’s Web site at www.gcsnc.com or go to www.immunizenc.com.

New Bus Stop Information Now Available Online

GCS bus stop information for the 2009-10 school year is now available through the Bus Stop Locator tool. The stops also will be available in hard copy at schools. District transportation officials will be at every school’s open house to provide information and answer questions.

While bus routes generally change from year to year, some stops are consolidated this year as part of the additional $2.2 million in budget cuts approved in July by the Guilford County Board of Education to address budget cuts from the state. In order to increase efficiency and reduce costs, the Transportation Department reviewed and eliminated a number of bus stops that were close in proximity.

This year’s further consolidation changed the stop locations for some high school students and some middle school students who use the same bus stop and ride the same bus as high school students. The consolidation affected about 20 percent of the district’s bus stops, which were adjusted to reduce the number of stops offered in residential neighborhoods.

Jeff Harris, director of transportation, anticipates that the average distance to an assigned bus stop will increase from 0.12 to 0.2 of a mile.

Parents wanting to appeal their bus stop location should complete the Bus Stop Appeal Form, available on the GCS Web site. Appealed bus stops will be reviewed by the Transportation Department to ensure guidelines were followed and that a roadway safety factor does not exist.

For more information, please contact the GCS Transportation Department at 370-8920.

Prekindergarten Children Learn to Use TOOLS for School Success

Young children learn language, math and science basics best in classroom learning centers designed to encourage children to play. This year, 15 district prekindergarten teachers will implement Tools of the Mind curriculum to guide children to gain skills to be 21st century learners: how to learn without distraction, how to effectively work in small groups and how to adjust to change.

The GCS prekindergarten program was awarded a grant to implement TOOLS in 30 classrooms over a four-year period. The U.S. Department of Education grant, administered by Vanderbilt University, includes all costs for professional development, coaching and materials.

For more information about TOOLS curriculum, please contact Linda Olinger, pre-K programs director, at olingel@gcsnc.com or 370-2362.

Back-to-School 2009: By the Numbers

Below are some fun facts about GCS:

• This year, GCS is expecting to enroll approximately 71,079 students in grades K-12 in 120 schools.

• GCS has 1,430,000 books in media centers, which means there are 18.3 books per student.

• This year, each student will spend approximately 72,900 minutes in school.

• By the time a child graduates, a student will have spent 947,700 minutes in school.

• District-wide, GCS has approximately 4,900 teachers.

• This year, GCS hired 155 new teachers to the district.

• Every year, the GCS Maintenance Department processes approximately 40,000 work orders to keep schools running efficiently.

• Every day, 629 buses travel approximately 50,000 miles transporting 40,000 students to and from various traditional, magnet and high school option educational opportunities. 

• Approximately 45,000 lunches are served every day.

• Approximately 16,000 breakfasts are served every day.

• Meal prices for this year:
  • Lunch: $2.30 for elementary students, $2.40 for middle school students and $2.50 for high school students
  • Breakfast: 90 cents for elementary students and $1 for middle and high school students
• About half of all students qualify for free and/or reduced-price meals.

Get Homework Help at the Greensboro Public Library Web site!

Visit the public library online at www.greensborolibrary.org and find resources, including Live Homework Help with a trained tutor, to help students of all grades succeed. 

The Live Homework Help, which is available in Spanish, can connect you with tutors of all grade levels and subjects. Sources such as current events, encyclopedias, citation instructions, language learning courses and other subjects like history, science, social studies and literary criticism also are available online at the library Web site.

To access this service, click on “Homework Help” at www.greensborolibrary.org.

For more information, please contact the Greensboro Public Library at 373-2471.

Sam’s Club Recognizes Outstanding Employee at Cone Elementary

At Cone Elementary, Brandon Herbin is a “yes” man. This energetic and positive technology assistant is always willing to go the extra mile to assist staff members and students. He reaches beyond the technology lab to connect with students, whether they’re in his classroom or not. He eats lunch with students, volunteers in an after-school male mentoring group and does whatever it takes to make sure students at Cone Elementary explore new and different opportunities.

Herbin makes sure everyone at Cone starts the day on the right foot. “Mr. Herbin starts the Cone day with enthusiasm and encouragement by leading the school announcements with our school song,” Principal Renee McKinnon said in her nomination of him.

Because of his patience in dealing with students, staff and parents and his enthusiastic attitude toward tackling problems, Herbin is the district’s September Employee of the Month.

As Employee of the Month, Herbin was surprised with a $50 gift card from Sam’s Club, which has generously partnered with GCS to support the employee recognition program. During the month of September, his photo will hang at the district’s central offices and the Sam’s Club on Wendover Avenue. In addition, the Guilford County Board of Education will recognize him at its Sept. 8 meeting.

Know an outstanding employee who settles for nothing less than excellence? Click here to nominate him or her to be the GCS Employee of the Month.

Pleasant Garden Teacher Wins Money for School

Pleasant Garden Elementary teacher Edythe Cooke was surprised Thursday with a $500 award from insurance company Horace Mann. Half of the prize will go to the school and Cooke will keep the other half. The Win $ Win Sweepstakes is open to teachers and other school employees through Oct. 15. To enter, school employees can receive a code from a Horace Mann agent or through the company’s Web site, www.horacemann.com. The prizes/donations range from $500 to a grand prize of $20,000. For more information, please contact Sarah Matthews, principal, at 674-4321 or David McMurtrie, Horace Mann insurance agent, at 451-7688.

Salary Information for 2009-10

The following is provided as an overview of salary information for 2009-10. 

• Due to the state’s current financial status, no employee salary increases are appropriated for the 2009-10 school year. This means if you are continuing in the same position for 2009-10 as last school year, your salary will be the same as it was for 2008-09.
• Due to the timing of the adoption of the state budget and the August payroll dates, the pay grade and step updates for the 2009-10 school year will be reflected on the September 2009 payroll checks. The August 2009 payroll checks will reflect the same grade and step as 2008-09. 
• ABC Bonuses are not funded for 2009-10. 
• Longevity payments will be funded for 2009-10 for all eligible employees. 

The revised salary schedules and additional explanations are posted on the GCS Web site at http://www.gcsnc.com/HR/menu_ss.htm. For more information, please contact Barbara Campbell, program administrator for salary administration, at 370-8091 ext. 1 or campbeb@gcsnc.com. 

GCSTV 2

The Latest News for the new school year from GCS

GCS Newsbreak
Highlights of this latest GCSTV 2 Newsbreak includes back to school cleaning and moving at Oak Ridge Elementary, honoring GCS retirees, and taking Grimsley off campus for the new school year.

Meet GCS’ Regional Superintendents

These GCS special Newsbreaks feature conversations with the district’s regional superintendents. The programs can be seen on GCSTV 2 at the following times:  Click on the links below to view the Newsbreaks now!

Lewis Ferebee-Enrichment Region  8 a.m. daily  Video Blog
Terry Worrell-Central Region  9 a.m. daily  Video Blog
Angelo Kidd-Western Region  10 a.m. daily Video Blog   
Phyllis Martin-Southeastern Region 11 a.m. daily Video Blog       
John Modest-Northern Region Noon daily Video Blog

GCSTV 2-LIVE
Now streaming live on gcsnc.com

Honoring GCS Employees

GCS pays tribute to 184 retirees with a luncheon and a special video. This presentation is runs daily at 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

GCS Board of Education

Watch the latest GCS Board of Education meeting live, Thursday, Aug. 27 at 6 p.m. Encore presentations of board meetings are telecast the day following the meeting and the following Saturday at 1 p.m. You can also watch board of education meetings at your convenience. The meetings are now archived and available online anytime at gcsnc.com.  Watch them here.
 
GCSTV 2 Media Center
A Library of GCS News
GCS Newsbreaks-Media Center

Also on GCSTV 2:

Tdap Alert – Vaccinations Required to Attend School

GCSTV 2 NEWS ALERT-Tdap  These news alerts can be seen at 10 a.m., 11:16 a.m. and 7 p.m.  

GCSTV 2 Programming Guide

Find out what else is showing on GCSTV 2 here: GCSTV 2 Programming Guide

Showcase Your Talent on GCSTV 2

GCSTV 2 is now accepting student-, faculty-, staff- or parent-produced programming.  See the Details for submissions here or Watch the video.

GCSTV 2 & ABC-45

GCS continues its partnership with ABC-45 television to share current news and feature stories about our district. These Newsbreak segments are broadcast on ABC-45 (Cable Channel 7) during Good Morning America each Wednesday and Friday at 7:25 a.m. and 8:25 a.m.

For more information contact, please Leonard Simpson, GCSTV 2  manager, at 370-8167.