Panther Press

New Prospect Elementary School Newsletter

November 5, 2024

Grateful for YOU!

Hello Panther Parents,

November is the time to give thanks for all the blessings in our lives and I have many! One of the biggest blessings in my life, right behind my family, is THIS amazing school community! I am so thankful that you, our AMAZING PARENTS make this community.

Thank you for celebrating the staff with me. I had no idea I would get 400 responses from my words of affirmation ask last week. The staff (including me) are LOVING your comments. The are heartfelt, compassionate and so supportive! Thank you so much for taking time to make that happen for the staff, it means the world!

Thank you to everyone who came to our Thanksgiving Feast today! It was a blast! Looking forward to seeing everyone else on Thursday!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Amy Lemons

Principal

Upcoming Events:

November 21st-Kindergarten Musical 10:00am

Thanksgiving Feasts (times below) Buy Tickets Here

November 22nd-Panther House Day-Wear House Colors

November 25th-29th-Thanksgiving Break-No School

December 6th-Career Day-8:00-9:30am

We still need 6 volunteers!!! Please email Mrs. McLeod-mcleodcr@fultonschools.org

December 10th-13th-Holiday Shop (students can buy gifts for family & friends)

December 16th-20th-Winter Fun Week (for students during school)

December 23rd-Monday January 6th- Winter Break (no school for students)

Tuesday January 7th-First Day of Second Semester

New Prospect Calendar 2024-2025

Click Here

Introducing....Officer Morton!

I am ecstatic to introduce Officer Savannah Morton of the Alpharetta Police Department

to the New Prospect Community! Officer Morton is helping keep New Prosect safe and we are very fortunate to have this support along with the support of the School Resource Officers from Alpharetta High School (Fulton County School Police). Please read more about Officer Morton below.

I wanted to introduce myself so that I can become a familiar presence on your campus. My name is Officer Morton and I work for the Alpharetta Police Department. I have been with the department since May of 2023 and have recently made a transition from patrol to our Community Services Unit (CSU). A bit about me personally…

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California – the San Fernando Valley to be more specific! I grew up playing sports and in high school I played volleyball, softball, and ran track. I then went off to college in Santa Barbara, California! There I played indoor and beach volleyball for Santa Barbara City College and then transferred to the University of California Santa Barbara, where I joined the rowing team. I earned my bachelor’s degree in Communications and a minor in Sports Management. Throughout college, during various breaks, I travelled quite a bit; as of today, I have been to 15 countries. One of those countries being Australia, where I lived for almost a year after college. After returning from Australia, I began my search for a gratifying career path. Through some trials and tribulations, seeking advice from great mentors, and some self-reflection, I landed on the idea of becoming a police officer. So, I began my journey in applying with the Los Angeles Police Department.

I was with the LAPD for four years before moving to Georgia where I discovered an awesome agency – the Alpharetta Police Department. I was excited to continue my career in this beautiful place with lots of community support.

As this next chapter in my career unfolds, I am thrilled to be a part of the Community Services Unit.

My role in CSU is to partner with and maintain healthy working relationships with the schools in Alpharetta – my primary focus being the elementary schools. These efforts require cooperation and collaboration from not only the school itself, but also Fulton County School District and Fulton County School Police.

My relationship with the school system began at Creek View Elementary during the 2023-2024 school year as a patrol officer. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of two determined moms, the guidance of the Principal and Assistant Principals, and the support of Alpharetta PD Command Staff, we have been able to facilitate a multi-faceted safety and security program with a few goals in mind:

1) A tailored approach to safety and security ensuring that each school has specialized plans and infrastructure in the event of a critical incident.

2) “Humanizing the badge” – helping children build a positive outlook of police by providing an opportunity to have personal interactions with officers; in turn, showing them that police are approachable and are there to help.

3) Educating students in the realm of police work: answering questions about what officers do, the gear they use, Georgia law, the structure and culture of policing, participating in events like “Career Days,” etc.

I was proud to be selected by the Alpharetta Police Department Command Staff for this undertaking, and it has been a pleasure working with the schools in our community. Although, we have faced some challenges along the way, we are continually striving to achieve these overarching goals. However, there is still more work to be done! I look forward to assisting and evolving with the schools as time goes on, so please don’t be alarmed when you see me – come say hello!

Do you know New Prospect has a MAKERSPACE?!?!

Our Makerspace has a bunch of STEM activities that your students use in the mornings before the bell rings! They can build with Legos, practice basic coding with robots (Bee Bots, Coding Critters, and Dash), create interesting objects with Brain Flakes, and much, much more! The NPE SWAT Team (student tech team) helps teach our Panthers how to use these items and they love to jump in and play with students, too.

Action Needed REPEAT- PLEASE take this survey NOW (if you haven't)....closes on Friday!

Do you love New Prospect??? Or do you want your voice heard about things you want to change??

The way you do that is by giving your feedback here: https://www.fultonschools.org/AnnualParentSurvey

We are at 31% ...can we get to 50%???

Let's do this! Let's show Fulton County how great NPE is so we can continue our great success!

Parent Perception Survey FAQ

Click Here

Need Volunteers for Holiday Shop- December 8th-13th

Please consider giving some of your time to volunteer in the holiday shop! The students come very excited to shop but sometimes do not have budgets that match their wishes :)

Volunteers are needed to help students calculate if they have enough money to make their desired purchases, and if not, help them find items that meet their budgets. Also needed are volunteers to help wrap their gifts, which is really simple - gift bags are provided - no wrapping skills needed.

If you can come for part of a timeslot, please feel free to sign up and make a note of when you can come. Mornings from 7-8 are usually the busiest, so lots of helpers are needed. When you volunteer once, you'll be hooked...It's a lot of fun so go ahead and sign up for a few slots! Thanks in advance for your help. We wouldn't be able to do this without you!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904084EACA72DA2F49-53319103-holiday#/

New Prospect Yearbook-For Sale Now $40

Click Here

We're also looking for parents to submit candid photos of their kids when they are at New Prospect, either for a school day or event. Using the password ... Yearbook24! ... please submit the photos here

Our first graders waiting for the Alpharetta High School Band, Cheerleaders and Football players to walk through the hall for Red Ribbon Week!!!

What has been happening in Brain Building?!?!

Health

Nutrition and healthy eating has been the focus of HEALTH lessons during the most recent Brain Building sessions. The five food groups were introduced and students brainstormed healthy foods included in each group. Students learned about basic portion sizes for healthy eating, using the MyPlate diagram. Kindergarten and first grade students played a fun match game to help reinforce which foods belong to each group. Second and third grade students learned the “eat a rainbow” strategy, which is designed to encourage us to eat fruit and vegetables. Students in fourth and fifth grade were given an opportunity to practice healthy snack planning and create a recipe for their perfect healthy smoothies! Throughout all grade levels, students shared great examples and made excellent connections! For more information and resources about nutrition, visit MyPlate.gov.

Creative Thinking (TAG Strategies)

We began the last creativity lessons by reading "Not a Stick" by Antoinette Portis. In this book, the main character uses creativity to imagine a stick as many different things, like a fishing pole, a horse, or a paintbrush. Through class discussions, we talked about how students can use their imagination to transform an object into something unique. Students created their own page for a similar book called “Not a Box.” Many students submitted pages from these books, and they will be consolidated into a couple of books for students to read. Next, K-2 students will read “The Turn-Around Upside-Down Alphabet Book” by Lisa Ernst and 3-5 will learn how to create a scavenger hunt using creative language.

Media Center

In the Media Center, our focus has been on how to be responsible digital citizens - along with some support from counseling! We’ve discussed ways to protect our personal information, how to bring balance to our media usage, and how to navigate the internet critically. Our Common Sense Media curriculum included videos, poems, and activities featuring “The Digital Citizens,” a group of characters who each represent a different quality of responsible internet use.

Our next round of Brain Building will focus on the benefits and drawbacks of AI in grades 2-5, and research strategies in K-1!

Guidance

In Brain Building Counseling lessons this month, students are learning the DEBUG steps to deal with behaviors that “BUG” them. Ignore, move away, ask nicely, tell firmly, & get an adult to help. PLEASE use this at home with your kids too!