Mountian View Elementary ESOL Family Night huge success

Bobcat's Corner

MVE ESOL Family Night was a success tonight!  Students and families shared the event together, enjoyed a read aloud, an Owl-about me craft, a Kahoot!, and received information about their student’s educational programs.

MVE Bus Driver of the Month

Bobcat's Corner, Mountain View Elem

Congrats to MVE bus driver of the month, Kathy Norton!  Kathy is kind and caring driver!  Students love her!  Thanks KATHY! Also pictured is Katrina Kingsley, Gilmer County Schools PBIS Director.

GAHA Art Show

Bobcat's Corner, Mountain View Elem

Congratulations to the winners of the MVE art show! MVE in partnership with Gilmer Arts and Heritage Center held the annual Art show! First place Lilyian Cook, Second place Keller Baughman, Third place Lilly Green, Honorable Mention Grayson Pritchett, Honorable Mention Brady Weaver. Thanks to everyone who participated.

 

Lilyian Cook

 

Keller Baughman

 

Lilly Green

 

Grayson Pritchett

 

Brady Weaver

Mountain View Elementary Thanks American Legion Riders

Bobcat's Corner

Mountain View Elementary would like to extend a HUGE Thank You to the American Legion Riders for their generous donation of shoes and clothes to the MVE Clothes Closet!

Piedmont Christmas Card Contest winners

Mountain View Elem

​Mountain View Elementary (MVE) is proud to announce winners of the Piedmont Christmas Card Contest. This year Piedmont teamed up with local schools in a search for a creative design for their holiday card.  This year’s theme was My Christmas Wish.

Pictured from left to right are, April Smith, MVE assistant principal, Misti Foster, art teacher, Jaycie Beaver, $50 winner, Caleb Foster, $100 winner, Solange Van Tuyl Ramirez, $100 winner, and Charles Walker, MVE principal.

The MVE art program will also receive a $500 donation from the hospital to purchase art supplies. All cards were distributed to patients in Piedmont’s care during the holiday season. Thank you to all who participated and to Piedmont Hospital.

PBIS Students of the Month

Mountain View Elem

​Mountain View Elementary is pleased to announ​ce our PBIS Students of the month. Pre-K – Kynlie Smith, Kindergarten – Neeyah McDaniel, 1st Grade – Cash Mooney, 2nd Grade – Max Jones, 3rd Grade Aryssa Rodas-Lopez, 4th Grade – Makayla Payne, Others – Ashley Quisquina-Arreaga.  The students are shown with Mr. Charles Walker and Mrs. April Smith.

Mountain View Elementary/Family Connection donations

Mountain View Elem

​ELLIJAY, Ga. – Mountain View Elementary teachers and staff donated 93 toys to Family Connection. Pictured is Tina Watkins, our school counselor who organized this event. Also pictured is Mr. Larry Naylor, who assisted in getting these toys delivered to Family Connection where they will go out to families in our community.

Sandra Deal reads to the Kindergarten Classes

Mountain View Elem

 

Perfect Attendance Winners

Mountain View Elem

Solar Eclipse Closes Gilmer Schools

News
Gilmer Schools close for the coming Solar Eclipse.

ELLIJAY, GA – Following a trend that seems to be crossing most of North Georgia, Gilmer County Schools have reported that they will close on Monday, August 21, 2017.

In a release from Superintendent Dr. Shanna Wilkes, safety concerns were partial reasoning for the cancellation as the peak of the event is set to occur just before the normal parent pick-up times for Ellijay Primary and Clear Creek Middle school causing darker conditions in the high traffic area and time. Another concern of the School System is the congestion on roads as North Georgia could expect hundreds of thousands of visitors and travelers.

Some counties, such as Georgia’s Towns County, are expecting 30,000 to 50,000 visitors alone. Venues are also selling out quickly for the even. Brasstown Bald has already sold all 450 tickets it made available for viewing.

The increased traffic of those who may be traveling to Gilmer or even through Gilmer could increase congestion making a later release unfeasible for the school system.

Dr. Wilkes also reports that the schools are siezing the opportunity for education as they will be spending class time lecturing about the solar event, safety, and proper care during the eclipse including a pair of “pair of NASA approved viewing glasses as they depart school on Friday afternoon prior to the eclipse.”

See the full release below and find a link for more information of the Eclipse and North Georgia’s place in the “totality.”

 

Due to safety concerns, Gilmer County Schools will close all schools on August 21, 2017 for students and 190-day (or less) personnel.

This date coincides with the first total solar eclipse to occur across the entire continental United States in 99 years. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly in front of the sun, and casts its shadow on the Earth below. The event will begin at approximately 1:00pm with the sky becoming darker until approximately 2:36pm when the eclipse reaches “totality” just to our north and the sky begins to lighten again. Gilmer County falls in a region expected to experience a 99% eclipse.

The darkest time of this event is occurring just minutes before we would normally begin parent pick-up for Ellijay Primary and Clear Creek Middle school. This means students would be moving about in crowded loading areas and parking lots in much darker than normal conditions. According to EMA officials, large crowds are expected on our roadways as viewers attempt to make their way to and from the total eclipse area just to our north where several festivals are planned to celebrate the event. Delaying parent pick-up would cause remaining parent pick-up times and school dismissals to be late thus placing student drivers, buses, and parents in greater congestion.

To capitalize on this incredible learning opportunity, our schools will be educating our students on the science of this event. Safety will be emphasized, including the dangers of looking at the sun at any time, even during the apex of the eclipse without the use of special safety glasses or other approved means; doing so is likely to result in permanent eye damage. Each student will receive a pair of NASA approved viewing glasses as they depart school on Friday afternoon prior to the eclipse.

The safety of our students is always our number one priority. By closing the schools we ensure the safety of our precious students, as well as the many GCCSS employees. I hope that you and your children are able to spend quality time together experiencing this once-in-a-lifetime event in an enjoyable and safe manner at home. Please visit https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/ to learn more about the solar eclipse safety.

The MVE Yearbook was dedicated to Mrs. Debby Brown and Mrs. Denise Estes

Mountain View Elem

This years MVE Yearbook was dedicated to Mrs. Debby Brown and Mrs. Denise Estes who will be retiring from the school system this year. It has been an honor and privilege for many of us to work with these two special ladies!

Career Week at Mountain View Elementary

Mountain View Elem

Mountain View Elementary had over 30 speakers for Career Week May 1-5.  We had a wide range of careers/jobs highlighted for our students.  Just a few of those were: Roger Mooney- Professional Rodeo Announcer, Patrick and Susan McVey- Banking and Real Estate,  Jim Parmer-Military, Danny McCollum-Car Dealer, Tim Keener-Secret Service, and Dr. Shanna Wilkes-Superintendent.  The staff and students all had a great time learning about different careers!

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​MVE students celebrated Earth Day

Mountain View Elem

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MVE students celebrate’s Earth Day by picking up trash around their school.

Mountain View Elementary students support Military Families

Mountain View Elem

On Friday, April 21st Mountain View students wore purple to show their support for Military Families.

                                                       MVE

The Gilmer County School System does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, creed, or disability in admission to its programs, services, and activities, in access to them, in treatment of individuals, or in any aspect of their operations. For additional information or referral to the appropriate system coordinator, contact the system superintendent’s office at 134 Industrial Blvd, Ellijay, Ga 30540 –(706) 276-5000.


Budget and Purchases to Prep BOE for Changes

News

On the same night as their first Budget Hearing, the Gilmer County Board of Education seemed to deal a lot with purchases and finances throughout its meeting. Items in equipment as well as educational materials took focus as the Board moves closer to the end of the school year.

Although already approved twice, the Board brought up their bus purchase again according to policy for public information. This annual bus purchase was approved as a part of the Budget, as well as a part of the ESPLOST plan. Coming in at $333,828, these buses will arrive at the school fully equipped with their usual specifications as well as Air Conditioning, something the Board began working into all their buses last year.

After receiving the OSDA Grant, Gilmer will also be purchasing a new additional freezer for Mountain View Elementary School. The larger walk in freezer received $29,174 in Grant funds. However, the lowest quote Gilmer received for a freezer came in at $37,000. Although approved to purchase, the difference between the Grant funds and actual cost will come from the School Nutrition Budget instead of additional draw off of the General Fund.

Maintenance is looking for two new lifts to aid them in their job. Two lifts are being purchased for $26,000 according to the Board. One lift will be a scissor lift providing 26 feet working height for indoor usage to provide maintenance on lights, but also for painting, pressure washing, or anything that might usually require the team to put up scaffolding to accomplish. The other lift purchase is a tow-able aerial lift providing 36 feet working height for outdoor usage for jobs like parking lot lighting.

Also approved by the Board is a purchase for new lighting at the school system’s Administrative and Technology Offices for LED lighting. However, this item wasn’t under Purchasing Policy in the agenda. This is because, from the School Board’s point of view, it’s not a purchase as Georgia Power is offering to change the lighting at no initial costs. The Board will remain responsible for the lighting bill, but is estimated to actually save roughly $1200 a year in energy savings due to the new lighting.

After a presentation Monday, the Board of Education has approved purchases for a new education system for Math. Origo Math has been in pilot program status within the schools, but will now be purchased for use in Kindergarten through 5th grade. This system received rave reviews from the teachers testing it (Kathy Cobb – Kindergarten at Ellijay Primary / Jessica Gearheart – 3rd Grade at Ellijay Elementary / Hope Henson – 4th Grade at Mountain View)  as well as students who our teachers are reporting, “love Origo.”Hope Henson went on to say she has taught for 14 years with 12 years teaching math and has never had a class as advanced and intuitively learning as her current 28 student class, providing an example involving fractions where she only had to teach 8 of the 28 students steps to simplifying fractions.

The math system also received an endorsement from Board Member Thomas Ocobock who said his own son’s math skills have drastically improved. Saying its amazing how his son has caught on to math this year, Ocobock has been astounded at the advanced level his own son has achieved.

The program is supported by PLC videos, Professional Learning Communities for Teachers, and a newer tool called One-Minute Math Models providing videos providing “light-bulb moments” for students to see how concepts work. The presentation also highlighted a easy way to provide differentiation and extension in classes. This provides opportunities for students who need to go back to an early grade level to reinforce older lessons as well as students who are advancing quicker and are ready to begin a higher grade level study.

Origo also has fundamental games for use to “engage students in learning and problem solving” as they “reinforce and practice computation strategies.” Teachers have utilized these games to continue practice of lesson and keep their students engaged as they say, “From bell to bell.”

Thursday’s Meeting also held the Board’s first required Public Meeting for the Annual Operating Budget for FY18. Only one person was present to speak.

Travis Crouch, Post Commissioner for Gilmer County, was present to renew the Commissioners request that the Board of Education increase its financial support for School Resource Officers from roughly one-third to one-half. Estimating the total costs of the officers at $300,000, Crouch informed the Board this would increase their financial responsibility from $105,000 to $150,000.

This was the first Public Meeting, meaning the Budget is still in very early stages. Superintendent Dr. Shanna Wilkes stated 85% of the Budget is Personnel. While they are looking at mandatory increases from State Legislation, such as a possibly a 2% increase to salary for teachers from the Governor, Gilmer is pursuing a “Net 0” change in its personnel. This means that before the mandatory state items. Gilmer is seeking to not change its budgeted personnel costs as it shuffles staff and faces teacher retirements, new staff hiring, and other regular changes.

For more financial information from the Board of Education, check out the January Financial Report, the 2010 ESPLOST Report, and the 2015 ESPLOST Report as well as the Purchasing Policy Expenditures previously mentioned in this article.

Stay up to date on Policies through the proposed changes in March’s Meetings for First Reading and final approval for those in Second Reading.

Mountain View Elementary Paws Student for the Month of March

Mountain View Elem
Mountain View 5
Mountain View Elementary Paws Student for the Month of March are:
Kindergarten – Owen Reece, 1st Grade – Joei Marshall, 2nd Grade – Jacob Futch, 3rd Grade – Keith Doyle, 4th Grade Jenny Andres Perez, and Others – Kalie Newton.  They are shown with Mrs. Andrea Crump and Mr. Charles Walker.
Great Job everyone.

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