August 15, 2018 ebulletinboard Archive
ebulletinboard is e-mailed on pay dates in August - May (except during extended holidays) to all employees to inform you about events, workshops and other matters of interest. Principals and other location supervisors should post one copy for employees who do not have e-mail. Editions are archived for reference.
CONGRATULATIONS
CONGRATULATIONS to the 2018-19 Greenville County Schools Teacher of the Year, Shelley Smith, from Travelers Rest High School. Congratulations are also in order for first runner-up Rick Schwartz (Greer High), second runner-up Matthew Boone (Northwood), third runner-up Reem Alnatour (Fork Shoals), and our Emerging Teachers of the Year, Jordyn Lyles (Bryson Elementary) and Elijah Edwards (Golden Strip Career Center). Teacher of the Year awards were presented this morning at the GCS Teacher of the Year Breakfast. Read more about our honorees on the GCS website or in the Greenville Journal insert hitting newsstands this Friday.
AWARDS/APPLICATIONS/CONTESTS/GRANTS
6th – 12th Grade Educators
Fluid Power Action Challenge Grants – Grants of up to $500 will be awarded to middle and high school educators planning to teach fluid power in the classroom. Grants will be used to defray the costs of expenses directly related to students and teachers participating in Fluid Power Challenge events or related classroom activities. For more information or to access the online application, click here. Deadline: Rolling Audience: K-12 educators
Contact: Lisa Finley, Grant Writer, 355-3113.
K-12 Educators
Wellness Inspired School Environments (WISE) Grants - K-12 schools are eligible to apply for grants ranging from $2,000 to $8,000 for activities and equipment that support the school’s Alliance for a Healthier Generation (AHG) Action Plan. Applicants MUST have completed or updated an existing AHG online assessment in the last 12 months. Grant awards are dependent on the size of the school population and Title 1 status. The online application and full description are available here. Deadline: Rolling Audience: K-12 educators
Contact: Lisa Finley, Grant Writer, 355-3113.
Greater Greenville Master Gardeners Association Grants - K-12 schools are eligible to apply for grants (minimum $100) for projects that foster gardening education. Funds can be used to purchase gardening equipment and materials for new or existing projects. Click here to access the application and guidelines. Deadline: September 30, 2018; Notification in October Audience: K-12 educators
Contact: Lisa Finley, Grant Writer, 355-3113.
Green Education Foundation Challenge Grant –K-12 schools with established gardens are invited to compete for a $500 award. School applicants should submit a chronicle of their garden project demonstrating their success and how the garden has impacted the community. Awarded funds must be used to support the continued sustainability of the garden project. For more information, click here. Deadline: September 30, 2018 Audience: K-12 educators
Contact: Lisa Finley, Grant Writer, 355-3113.
Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Grants – The foundation awards grants year round for K-12 school projects related to STEM, out-of-school projects that blend academic learning with enriching activities. The foundation will also consider applications for professional development and training. The initial approach is by letter with invitations extended to projects the foundation is interested in pursuing. For more information, click here. Deadline: Rolling Audience: K-12 educators
Contact: Lisa Finley, Grant Writer, 355-3113.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Click HERE for Human Resources Home Page
NOTICES/REQUESTS
Upstate Schools Consortium - Registration for the 2018-2019 Upstate Schools Consortium seminars is now open. Please visit the Consortium website here to learn more about each seminar or to register. Teachers will receive renewal certification credit for attending. These seminars are FREE to GCS educators.
Contact: Karen Kapp, 355-3894
Required Customer Service Training - We have opened 4 additional sessions of Customer Service Training to serve all staff whose duties involve daily interaction with parents or response to employee inquiries. Greenville Technical College provides this training to front office clerical and department staff. This training is REQUIRED for the following employees: school clerks, student support clerks, and school secretaries. Media clerks will not be trained. Additionally, clerks and secretaries employed in Transportation, Special Education Services, ESOL, Pupil Personnel Services, and district level support offices must be trained. All who are required to attend this training previously received an email confirming the requirement.
The training will be delivered at the Buck Mickel Center, Greenville Technical College, 216 S. Pleasantburg Drive 29607. All sessions are 3.5 hours.
The goals of the course are to create:
— Common understanding of customer service, types of customers and the impact communication style and emotion have on the customer exchange
— Tools for improvement
— Common Language
— De-escalation
Sign up on the portal:
October 30 – 8:30 am - https://pd.greenville.k12.sc.us/myPD.aspx?action=register&sessionid=153922
October 30 – 1:00 pm - https://pd.greenville.k12.sc.us/myPD.aspx?action=register&sessionid=153923
November 15 – 8:30 am - https://pd.greenville.k12.sc.us/myPD.aspx?action=register&sessionid=153925
November 15 – 1:00 pm - https://pd.greenville.k12.sc.us/myPD.aspx?action=register&sessionid=153926
Contact: Lacey Cobb, 355-2756
Peace Passport Field Trip Series - Our 2018-19 season Peace Passport Field Trip series is designed for teachers and students to actively explore the world around them through 14 diverse performances and accompanying curriculum. Peace Passport Series features extraordinary artists from around the world who inspire cultural awareness, provoke artistic creation, and ignite scientific curiosity. Our arts-centric learning approach engages learners of all styles in a personal way with works of art through observation, exploration, and creation.
Peace Passport Curricula include guided activities that empower teachers to become co-learners with their students in the classroom. All activities are aligned with the South Carolina College and Career Ready Standards.
We hope to see you and your students this year at the Peace Center. Register HERE before the shows are sold out!
Contact: Larisa Gelman, 864.679.9209
Whole Child Conference - SCASCD's Whole Child Conference will be Thursday, October 18, and Friday, October 19, 2018 at the Brookland Conference Center in West Columbia. Click here for more information.
EMPLOYEE DISCOUNTS
Chico’s at Greenridge – Chico’s is offering an extra 10% off your purchase through September 1. In addition to this promotion, Chico’s is hosting a 40% off promotion from August 17-24. See store for details.
Contact: Nancy Todaro
South Carolina Aquarium – The South Carolina Aquarium is offering 20% off admission. Purchase your tickets online in advance by visiting scquiarium.org and entering promo code gcs18 at checkout. To redeem onsite, present this coupon at the gate. Not valid with any other purchase. Once coupon per transaction. Restrictions apply.
Contact: Amy Lovette
Teach864 School Year Leadoff - The Greenville Drive, Public Education Partners, and Greenville County Schools will host "Teach864 School Year Leadoff" on Labor Day, Monday, September 3 at 2:00 p.m. at Fluor Field to celebrate our district’s greatest asset---our teachers! All GCS teachers will receive a complimentary ticket to the game and may purchase additional tickets for friends and family members. To claim your complimentary ticket, bring your school ID to the Drive box office August 31-September 2 OR wear your Teach864 shirt on game day (September 3) and visit either box office (Field or Main Street). Once inside the stadium, you may receive a $5 food voucher with your school ID or Teach864 shirt at the Infocenter at Section 107.
Contact: Susan Clarke, 355-8874
GCS Rewards - The GCS Employee Discount Program, GCS Rewards, offers great discounts for employees! Check out www.gcsrewards.org and be sure to add the app to your phone for quick access. If you’re interested in getting email updates when new vendors come on board, you can enroll on the Subscribe page. Be sure to visit our preferred vendors and thank them for participating in GCS Rewards!
Contact: Susan Clarke, 355-8874
MISCELLANEOUS
GCS YouTube Channel – Click HERE to watch the latest from Greenville County Schools.
Contacts: Meredith Murray or Jeff Hoffman, Video Production Services, 452-0122.
Blueprint 2023— July 1 marked the implementation date for the new Greenville County Schools Strategic Plan. In keeping with our district-wide theme of Building a Better Graduate, we are calling the new strategic plan Blueprint 2023. The following link will take you to an electronic book that provides an overview of the plan, describes the planning process, and shares key responses to the community forums and surveys that were conducted as part of the planning process.
Link to ebook: https://goo.gl/Mb3Aao
Accreditation is Coming!
Your participation in the district-wide accreditation process is extremely valuable and critical to our success. This fall (October 14-17), GCS will host an AdvancED External Team as part of our accreditation process. Team members will review the Strategic Plan prior to the visit. While here, they will do site visits in many of our schools and may ask you questions related to the Strategic Plan, particularly regarding the vision and mission statements, belief statements, goals, and priorities. Thank you in advance for taking some time to prepare for this visit by reading about this plan, reviewing its key elements, and connecting those elements to the work you do each day.
Contact: Teri Brinkman, 355-8871
HEALTH AND WELLNESSS
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it feeds your body and mind with the necessary nutrients and energy to function throughout the day. Eating breakfast regularly will also help keep weight off because it gets your metabolism going.
Regular exercise can help increase self-esteem and self-confidence, decrease stress and anxiety, enhance mood, and improve general mental health.
CALENDAR
Monday, September 3 Labor Day Holiday
Teach864 Event at Fluor Field
Sunday, October 14-
Wednesday, October 17 AdvancED Accreditation External Team Visit
Tuesday, October 30 Required Customer Service Training, 8:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
Buck Mickel Center, Greenville Technical College, 216 S. Pleasantburg Dr. 29607
Thursday, November 15 Required Customer Service Training, 8:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
Buck Mickel Center, Greenville Technical College, 216 S. Pleasantburg Dr. 29607
2018-19 Calendars: Employee, Student, Spanish
