Eagle Wings

Greetings Eagle Families,

It was a fantastic week of learning and connection in the nest! One of the highlights of the week was our annual Grits with Grandparents Breakfast. It was such a joy to see our students sharing special moments with their grandparents and loved ones. Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make the morning so memorable.

Our students have also been excitedly using their SOAR Bucks to purchase special events and experiences such as games with Ms. Silverman, lunch (or more games!) with me and reading the Pledge on the morning announcements. It has been wonderful to watch students demonstrate positive behaviors, make responsible choices, and then enjoy the rewards they have earned.

Next week our staff and students will participate in our first Arts NOW! professional development of the year. The focus on this quarter's skill is theater. Make sure to read below on additional Arts NOW! resources. This would not be possible without the support of our PTO.

Yours in partnership,

Ms. Crawford

September:

14th-Music Performance with Milton Music (3rd-5th grade)

21st-25th-Fall Break: No School

28th-Bright Star Performance (3rd-5th grade)

30th-Eagle Dash Kick Off

Due to the population growth of the Alpharetta area, more & more drivers are using Mayfield Road as a means to get to their morning destination. Please take note of the "No left turn from 7:10-7:40am" signs that are now located at the main and bus rider entrances. By helping to adhere to this, the flow of traffic can continue while ensuring that our students who arrive by car are in their class by 7:40am.

Beginning this school year, morning carpool will end at 7:35 am. Ending at this time allows for students to walk to their class and be in their seat by 7:40am, which is the start of our instructional day. If you are arriving after 7:35 am, you will be directed to park and walk your child to the front door. If the bell rings during this time, you will need to sign you child in on our Checkmate system which is located outside the front doors.

*Please note, we have several families with students who participate in our Autism classes and use our main carpool drop off area after 7:35am. This is to help ease their transitions and limit distractions.

Please take a moment to review information in our AES Family Handbook. In coming weeks, we will highlight pertinent information you need to know about.

This week's spotlight is on Remote Days. Read below for more information.

At our school, we are committed to creating a safe, positive, and productive learning environment for all students. To support this goal, we teach and reinforce our school-wide behavior expectations through SOAR:

• Safe
• Ownership
• Attentive
• Respectful

Throughout the school day, students are expected to demonstrate these behaviors in classrooms, hallways, the cafeteria, playground, buses, and all other school settings.

What is a SOAR Reminder?

When a student does not meet one of our SOAR expectations, a staff member will provide a SOAR Reminder. A SOAR Reminder serves as an opportunity for the student to reflect on their choices, understand the expected behavior, and make positive adjustments moving forward.

Our behavior system is designed to give students multiple opportunities to correct their behavior before administrative intervention becomes necessary.

• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd behavior infractions: Student receives a SOAR Reminder.
• 4th behavior infraction: Student receives an office referral/write-up, which is submitted to the Assistant Principal for review and follow-up.

This process allows teachers and staff to address minor behaviors consistently while providing students with opportunities to improve and demonstrate our SOAR expectations.

We ask that parents/guardians review the SOAR reminder, sign the form, and return it to the homeroom teacher. See below for what the form entails:

How Families Can Help

We encourage families to discuss SOAR expectations at home and reinforce the importance of being:

• Safe in actions and choices
• Taking Ownership of behavior and learning
• Being Attentive and ready to learn
• Showing Respect to peers, staff, and school property

Thank you for your partnership and support as we continue to foster a positive school culture where every student can SOAR!

We are excited to begin planning two engaging career-focused events for our students and are looking for volunteers from our school and community to participate!

🚚 Touch-a-Truck Event (Pre-K–2nd Grade) – Fall 2026 (October)
Our younger students will have the opportunity to explore a variety of vehicles and learn about the important people who use them in their daily work. We are looking for participants with trucks, emergency vehicles, construction equipment, service vehicles, and other interesting vehicles that children would enjoy seeing up close.

💼 Career Exploration Day (Grades 3–5) – Spring 2027 (April/May)
Our older students will learn about different careers and pathways by hearing directly from professionals in our community. We are seeking volunteers from all career fields who would be willing to share information about their profession, education, skills, and experiences.

If you, a family member, friend, or community partner would be interested in participating in either event, please complete the interest form below:

2026-27 AES Touch-A-Truck & Career Exploration – Fill out form

Your willingness to share your time and expertise helps our students connect their learning to future possibilities. We greatly appreciate your support and look forward to partnering with our amazing Alpharetta Elementary community!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Turquisha Lasker-Smith (laskersmitht@fultonschools.org)

Grades K-5 have started their state and district-required digital citizenship lessons from the Common Sense Media curriculum. These lessons cover 4 topics: healthy habits (media balance), privacy & security, media literacy, and cyberbullying & online harm. Families are encouraged to continue the conversations at home. Resources including articles and conversation starters are available below.

Common Sense Media Family Tips & Activities

Parent & Caregiver Webinars

Reach out to AES Library Media Specialist, Ms. Falkenberg, for assistance or questions. Email: falkenberga1@fultonschools.org

September is the perfect time to set consistent morning and bedtime routines that make school attendance a natural habit. Students who start the year strong are more likely to maintain excellent attendance all year long. Missing 10% (just 2 days a month) over the course of the school year, can affect a student’s academic success.

Students who miss fewer than 5 days in the first semester are 3 times more likely to stay on track in reading and math.

Excused and unexcused absences easily add up to too much time lost in the classroom, putting students at risk academically. For students to learn and achieve their fullest potential, it is critical that they attend school and are engaged in the learning process. Some absences are unavoidable. The important thing is to get your children to school as often as possible and on time!

The late bell rings at 7:40. Students should be in their classroom ready to learn at that time. Please email the school data clerk/ attendance email and copy your child’s teacher when your child is absent.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership in ensuring the success of your child's education. For more information on FCS attendance policies please visit the FCS Attendance Matters Website.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your student’s attendance, please don’t hesitate to reach out, Randi Downey, LCSW 470-317-8530, downeyr@fultonschools.org.

Students are now able to purchases snacks daily as well as ice cream on Wednesdays and Fridays. Students will need to have money on their account in order to purchase these items. Please reach out to Lawanda Blyther, Cafeteria Manager, with any questions (blyther@fultonschools.org).

Screening for the Gifted Program takes place twice a year for Fulton County Schools, and every student is screened every year. Automatic Screening takes place in August- September. Parents will be notified before any testing begins. Students referred for testing will be tested during the Fall semester. All parents will be notified of eligibility by December. The Classroom Screening will take place for a two-week period from January – February. Students Identified for testing will be tested January-March. All parents will be notified of eligibility by the end of the school year. For more information please read the documents below:

​Notification_Screening_Referral_Gifted_Students_2026-27_Accessible.pdf​

​Notificacion_Seleccion_Referencia_Estudiantes_Superdotados_2026-27_Accesible.pdf​

You can also visit the following website for more information: FCS TAG Department Website

If you have further questions, please reach out to our TAG teachers, Kellie Cleveland (clevelandk@fultonschools.org) and Lindsey Messina (messinal@fultonschools.org).

ArtsNOW is a nationally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit with more than 20 years of experience reshaping education. Through programming that integrates visual arts, music, dance, digital arts and drama into academic lessons, ArtsNOW sets the stage for educators to become effective in their teaching — and for students to achieve greater academic and personal success.

This month in STEAM

Students are learning visual art strategies and vocabulary as a way to engage with math. Students will show mastery of addition/subtraction or multiplication/division fact families through creating mosaics.

Parent Resources

ArtsNowLearning.org provides materials and activities for at-home connections. You can also find a weekly activity that aligns with the week's STEAM class highlighted in your homeroom teacher's weekly newsletter. See https://artsnowlearning.org/resources/at-home-lessons/ for more resources.

Reach out to Ms. Wilkinson (wilkinsonrm@fultonschools.org) for more information

Please consider joining the PTO--they provide incredible resources and support to our students, staff, and community. For more information, click here: Alpharetta Elementary School PTO - Home

To read September's PTO newsletter, click here

Fulton County Schools is excited to introduce SchoolCash Online—a convenient and secure way for families to pay for school-related fees. With this new system, you can easily pay for items such as field trips, classroom activities, parking permits, yearbooks, and more—all from the comfort of home.

SchoolCash Online helps reduce the need for cash and checks in our schools while giving families a safe and simple way to make payments using a credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

Getting Started

Beginning July 1, 2026, please be on the lookout for a registration email from:

"KEV Group at noreply@stagingschoolcashonline.com."

The subject line will read: “Fulton County Schools shared a student with you.”

For step-by-step registration instructions, please visit the SchoolCash Online webpage at https://fultonschools.schoolcashonline.com/.

Learn more about SchoolCash Online on the FCS district website at www.fultonschools.org/schoolcash.

Please take a moment to read Fulton County's Device Handbook.

FCS 26-27 Student Device One-to-One Handbook- English

Families will need to complete the Device Use Agreement.

Optional Device Protection (ODP) Enrollment Information:

This window remains open through September 25th. We encourage all schools to actively promote this program with families, particularly our middle schools, where students have recently been issued brand-new Chromebooks.

The Optional Device Protection Plan helps families offset the cost of accidental device damage and can significantly reduce out-of-pocket expenses for repairs or replacement. Without coverage, families may be responsible for repair costs ranging from $30-$270, with replacement costs up to $500 depending on the extent of the damage.

Protecting devices early helps keep students connected to learning while minimizing unexpected costs for families. Thank you for your partnership in helping ensure a successful and uninterrupted learning experience for our students.

For more information, please contact Dr. Taylor Barton at BartonT@fultonschools.org