Mr. Sloop's Comet Connection

Hello, Comet Families,

We hope you have had a great first 2 month's of school! Who can believe we are quickly marching into October? Finally, the weather is starting to feel appropriate to fall and just in time for Fall Break next week! Enjoy your time with your family and we will see students back to school on Monday, October 5!!

Please make sure to sign-up for a Fall Conference as soon as your child's teacher sends out the link. Our goal is to have a parent conference for EVERY single COMET, so please help us make this happen!!

We wanted to share a HUGE THANK YOU to our families, friends, close relatives, and business partners who supported this year's PTO fundraiser so well. The success of this fundraiser was incredible and we are grateful for your support! Also, we wanted to share that we have nearly 250 families who have joined our PTO this year, which is up significantly from the 175 families last year!! Thank you so much for supporting our PTO and our school!

Here are the important things included in this month's newsletter:

Upcoming Events

• Battle of the Books and Book Fair Coming Soon
• Save the Date - Silvery City Fall Festival
• 2026 Dr. Jim and Peggie Morrow Glow Run

From the Front Office

• FCS Strategic Plan Family Feedback Survey
• Shining Stars
• Shuttle Shirts Surplus Order Form
• Yearbooks on Sale
• Volunteers and Lunch Visitors
• 2026-27 Silver CityPartner Connect
• Attendance Update
• News from Silver City Cafe
• Nurse Updates
• Comet Kingdom

• Fall Fundraiser News
• Upcoming PTO Events
• General PTO Information

• North United Podcast

Dates To Know

Community News

The Silver City administration looks forward to serving you and your family this year and supporting your child's educational journey. We are, as follows:

Mr. Mike Sloop - Principal

Ms. Maleah Dickman - 1, 3 and 5 Assistant Principal

Ms. Jessica Scott - K, 2 and 4 Assistant Principal

Ms. Robin Tomes - Assistant Administrator

• Battle of the Books: Registration ends on October 5th. Click here to register.

• Book Fair Dates: 10/16, 10/20-23. 10/16 is open for parents to bring their children to come and shop before or after their parent conference. The Book Fair will also be open during the Fall Festival. Parents are only allowed to shop in the book fair on the online learning day on October 16th and during the Fall Festival. Teachers will sign up for a time to bring their students to shop during the day. Starting in October, parents can go to this link to add money to an e-wallet for their child.

Mark your calendars and join us for an evening of fall family fun, friends and Comet Spirit! This well-attended event is something you don't want to miss! There will be carnival-style games for our Comets (and younger siblings) with TONS of prizes, concessions to purchase, and face-painting to enjoy!

Any profits we collect from this event will go right back into our school to support our Pathways classes, as well as grants to support grade level and department needs in our school!

Date: Thursday, October 22

Time: 5-7:30PM

More details to come soon on purchasing tickets!

We are also looking for Fall Festival Sponsors!

For a sponsorship of $250, you will receive:

• A color photo of your logo and a link to your business website featured at one of our popular game booths
• Your logo prominently displayed on the festival map handed out to every attendee
• Placement of any flyers or business cards they provide in prize bags distributed to all families
• Recognition of your sponsorship on our social media page

You don't have to attend the festival to be a sponsor, but your support will play a vital role in creating a memorable experience for all of our students and families!

We want to hear from you! FCS is asking families to share feedback about your experiences in our schools. This survey is an opportunity to tell us what is working well and where we have room to grow.

The District Improvement Survey is open through October 8, 2026. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and share your perspective. Please complete one survey for each school your child(ren) attend(s).

FCS Family Survey - click here!

All survey responses are anonymous. Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Your perspective matters, and we appreciate your partnership in helping FCS continue to serve our students and families well.

A Shining Star is a student who goes above and beyond by showing the Comet Way! They are students who are respectful, responsible, and have integrity. As a PBIS school, this is one of the ways we like to honor our students!

Congratulations to our September Shining Stars!

Please see below link for a slideshow presentation of our September Shining Stars!

Shining Stars - September 2026.pptx

We still have some surplus Shuttle Shirts on hand! If you are interested in being on the waitlist to get a Shuttle Shirt, please complete the Shuttle Shirt Surplus Order Form by clicking here. If we have the size and color you need, we can fulfill your order.

Shuttle shirts are used for shuttle meetings, Galactic Games, Field Trips and SCES Field Day. The shirts are $15 each and payment will need to be sent in via cash or check to your student's homeroom teacher. Please make checks payable to SCES and please try to send in exact change for cash orders!!

We will keep the order link open until all are gone!

Yearbook Orders-Capture the memories of this school year with a Silver City yearbook!

• Current Sale Price: $48 - Order by October 10 to take advantage of the current price.
• 5th Grade Tribute Ads - The deadline to purchase a 5th Grade Tribute Ad is October 10.

Order at: silvercityyearbook.com

Volunteer at Silver City!

If you are interested in volunteering at the school, please follow the link below to watch the mandated reporter videos and complete the volunteer agreement.

https://volunteer.forsythpartnerconnect.org/agency/detail/?agency_id=173434

Visitors at Lunch:

Parents and family members of students may eat lunch with their child as long as they are a "cleared" visitor for that child. When family members visit students at lunch, they may ONLY eat with their child(ren) at the parent tables in the cafeteria . We do not allow friends or other students to sit with a child and their parent/family members at the parent tables because 1) we do not know if the other child's parent has given their child permission to sit with you and 2) we do not have enough space at the parent tables to accommodate students other than your own children to join you.

All visitors and volunteers MUST have a valid picture ID to enter ANY Forsyth County School for safety and security reasons. Thank you for understanding!!

If you are interested in becoming a Partner in Education for the 2026-27 school year, or find out about specific volunteer opportunities at our school, please reach out to Robin Tomes at RTomes@forsyth.k12.ga.us or Jess Thomas at f44965@forsyth.k12.ga.us to find out more information OR checkout our Partner Connect site

We are so grateful for all the ways our community supports the work that we do! You are incredible at supporting our staff, students, and families and we appreciate you so much!

Here are links to our fantastic Extended, Diamond, Platinum, and Silver, and Blue Partners:

Extended Partners

• The Pearce Creative Art Studio https://www.thepearcecreative.com/
• Everline Coatings and Services https://everlinecoatings.com/us/ga/atlanta/ne/

Platinum Partners

• Dojo - North Forsyth/Dawson

Thank you for your continued support!

Interested in becoming a Partner?

Partner Connect allows students to go beyond the classroom and into the community where time, talent, and resources provide enhanced learning. This partnership program seeks to create a collaborative framework that not only fosters growth but also strengthens the bond between schools and the broader community. Our partners are individuals, businesses, post-secondary institutions, community organizations, professional associations, faith communities, government agencies, and other groups who are interested in partnering with our school system. By becoming involved, you are taking an active role in educating our students and ensuring a brighter economic future for Forsyth County. If you are interested in getting involved, scan the QR code or visit www.forsythpartnerconnect.org

ATTEND TODAY, ACHIEVE TOMORROW!

FCS Attendance Information for Families

Regular school attendance is an important part of your child’s academic success. Please review these important Forsyth County Schools attendance guidelines and reminders.

Click here for the detailed Board Policy on Attendance

EXCUSABLE ABSENCES

• Illness
• Immediate family death or illness (up to 3 days)
• Court order
• Religious holidays
• Scheduled medical, dental, or eye appointments
• Registering to vote or voting
• Visiting with a military parent/guardian

⚠️ Please Note: Family vacations or extended trips are not excusable absences.

THE FACTS

• 1 in 3 students are chronically absent.
• Absenteeism in the first month of school can predict poor attendance throughout the year.
• Poor attendance can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of 3rd grade.
• By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student may drop out of high school.
• Missing just 10% of the school year can negatively affect academic performance.

CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM

Forsyth County Food and Nutrition Services will continue to use MySchoolBucks to add funds to your child's lunch account this year, but you can also send in cash or check.

We highly encourage families to take advantage of Free and Reduced meals. The application for Free and Reduced meals is available online and our cafe staff and counselors have paper applications, as well, if needed. Online applications are processed much faster, so we highly encourage families to use the digital application at https://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/page/399.

For more information, visit

https://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/district-services/food-nutrition-services/about

From Nurse Kaitlyn:

Wishlist- We are in need of small boy shorts and t-shirts. If you have any gently used clothes, please consider donating to our clinic! We also need small boy underwear but not used.

Thank you!

Our Mission Statement:

Offering positive, developmentally-appropriate activities for all children to help them learn, explore and grow.

A little about us...

Before and after a day of school, it is important for every parent to know that their child is in a safe, warm environment. Comet Kingdom provides care for children that is both stimulating and fun. Our qualified staff will give children the opportunity to participate in activities that will support them in their social, intellectual, physical and artistic growth. Comet Kingdom is dedicated to providing a quality program for you and your child.

Comet Kingdom Application

If you sign up for Comet Kingdom after the start of the school, you will need to:

• Print and fill out the Comet Kingdom application PRIOR to the first day your child will attend.

• Go to www.schoolpay.com and pay $65 registration fee.

• Contact one of the Directors to confirm monthly amount to pay.

• Send application in with your child to give to their teacher.

• Make sure you have filled out transportation link on days they will attend Comet Kingdom.

Comet Kingdom Hours

Co-Directors

Michele Bice-Samples

678-965-5020 Ext: 350268

Janet Shrauger

678-965-5020 Ext: 350269

sce_cometkingdom@forsythk12org.onmicrosoft.com

What a fantastic start to the school year for our PTO! Thanks to the incredible support of our Silver City families, we not only reached our $60,000 fundraising goal, we then surpassed it with our $70,000 stretch goal!

Our Bounce Bash was a huge success, and we are so grateful to everyone who donated, volunteered, participated, and helped make it such a memorable event for our students.

Also, have you met our new Silver City Comet mascot???? We are so excited that he was able to join us for the morning of Bounce Bash!! We are going to have a campaign with our students in October to name the new mascot, so be on the listen-out for that! Thank you to our PTO for making this happen!

We kicked off our first Spirit Night of the year at Mellow Mushroom, and it was wonderful to see so many Silver City families come out to support our school! Thank you for your support!

There’s still plenty of fun ahead! Mark your calendars for our PTO Movie Night on November 13th. We can’t wait to see our Silver City families there! This is a free event so please mark your calendars and bring your blankets!

For PTO-specific updates, event information, volunteer opportunities, and more, be sure to follow us on Facebook and visit our PTO website. Thank you for continuing to support our school and making such a difference in the Silver City community!

Follow us on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/share/1HQPwVDyn3/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Please visit our PTO Website:

https://silvercityes.ptboard.com/

The North United Cluster is excited to bring you the North United Podcast for the 2026–2027 school year! We want to keep our North United community connected and informed, and we would love your input on what you want to hear about most.

Episodes will feature principals, assistant principals, school counselors, school social workers, instructional coaches, technology coaches, Forsyth County Schools district staff, and more! We’ll share helpful information, school happenings, resources, and conversations that support our students and families.

Please complete this short survey by Wednesday October 7th to share the topics you would most like to hear in future episodes. Your feedback will help shape the podcast throughout the year.

LINK: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfavX6UqI8M6LITiaRWTJJ2jIDqPsdwJ6xFoS-Jy7XVIHLqgg/viewform?usp=dialog

• 9/28-10/2 - Fall Break
• 10/5-10/9- Comet Way Reset Week!
• 10/16 and 10/20-23- Book Fair!
• 10/7- NFHS HoCo Parade! (5th Grade Field Trip)
• 10/15- 8:30am PK-5 Shining Star
• 10/16- K-12 Online Learning Day/Parent Conferences/Book Fair
• 10/19- Student Holiday
• 10/22 - Fall Picture Make-Ups and Fall Festival 5-7:30PM!
• 10/26-10/30- Red Ribbon Week
• 10/27- North United Trunk or Treat 5:30 PM
• 10/29- 6&7PM 3rd Grade Performs
• 10/30- Book Character Dress-Up Day!

Website: forsyth.k12.ga.us/silvercity
Location: 6200 Dahlonega Highway, Cumming, Ga 30028
Phone: 678-965-5020
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SilverCityES