Monthly Update #6
Friday, January 3, 2025
Potential to Fail Letters and Attendance Policy
As part of our ongoing efforts to keep you informed about your child’s progress, Potential to Fail letters were sent home on January 8th. If your child was currently identified as a failing one or more classes, please know that there is still time for them to improve their grades and academic standing. I strongly encourage you to reach out to your child's teacher(s) to see what you can do to partner with him or her to support your child's academic progress.
We want to emphasize the importance of daily attendance and punctuality, as regular and timely participation in school is critical for your child’s success. Missing even part of the school day, including early checkouts, can lead to missed valuable instruction and learning opportunities.
To support punctuality, please be aware that the car rider lane
closes each morning at 7:40 AM. If your child is not in their classroom by 7:40 AM, they will be considered tardy. After the car rider lanes close, parents must walk their child into the building and sign them in.
Your partnership is vital in helping your child achieve their full potential. If you receive a retention letter, we recommend reaching out to your child’s teacher(s) to discuss strategies and support to help your child succeed.
Character Trait List for January
Week of January 13, 2025 | Humble: Being modest, not overly proud, haughty, or not being arrogant
Week of January 20, 2025 | Ambitious: Having or showing a strong desire and determination to succeed
Week of January 27, 2025 | Ethical: Being in compliance with the rules or standards
Week of February 3, 2025 | Optimistic: To be hopeful and confident
Important Dates to Remember
- Tuesday, January 14th: Family Math Night @ 5:30 PM
- Monday, January 20th: No School - MLK, Jr. Day
- Tuesday, January 21st: Waterford Family Night (sign-up here) @ 5:30 PM
- Thursday, January 23rd: 100th Day of School
- Tuesday, January 28th: FSES Talent Show @ 5:30 PM
Benchmark Assessments
During the week of January 6-17, 2024, students in Grades K-5 will participate in the Winter iReady Diagnostic Reading and Mathematics. These assessments are an important opportunity to measure your child’s progress and growth in key academic areas.
Students in grades K-3 will participate in Literacy Task Assessments. The Literacy Task Assessments will include:
Kindergarten
Letter Naming Fluency of Mixed-Case Letters Task
Rapid Automatized Naming of Objects Task
Pseudoword Decoding Fluency
First Grade
Grade 1 Passage Reading Fluency Task
Rapid Automatized Naming of Letters Task
Pseudoword Decoding Fluency
Second Grade
Grade 2 Passage Reading Fluency Task
Rapid Automatized Naming of Letters Task
Pseudoword Decoding Fluency
Third Grade
Grade 3 Passage Reading Fluency Task
Rapid Automatized Naming of Letters Task
Pseudoword Decoding Fluency
These evaluations help us celebrate student growth and identify areas for continued support.
If you have any concerns about your child’s progress, please reach out to schedule a conference with your child’s teacher(s).
Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting your child’s academic success and ensuring your student is present each and every day.
Yearbook Ads for 5th Grade Students
We are pleased to announce that we are offering 5th-grade parents the opportunity to purchase and design Ad space in the FSES Yearbook to celebrate their child’s last year at Factory Shoals.
LAST DAY TO ORDER ADS will be Friday, February 28, 2025!
The yearbook team offers 3 Yearbook Ad sizes:
Full Page Ad: $50.00 (40-60 Words, 4+ images)
Half Page Ad: $40.00 (20-30 Words, 2-3 images)
Quarter Page Ad: $35.00 (10-15 Words, no images)
You will create your ad, personalized to your liking. All Ads must be completed and submitted by April 4, 2025. No exceptions!
Link: https://www.buytheyearbook.com/en/
School ID Number: 725466
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Principal Wright.
Purchase your Yearbook today!
It's time to order your 24-25 yearbook! This year all orders will be taken through the Pictavo website: https://www.buytheyearbook.com/en/ (School Id: 725466)
The yearbook will be $40. Get yours while supplies last!
Parent Pulse Surveys - We Value your Opinion!
As school we want to get better at improving our school culture and get a pulse on the issues that matter to you. We've signed up to a service that will send you regular, short, anonymous surveys making it quick and easy to get your voice heard.
Please click the link below to sign up https://app.satchelpulse.com/parents?country=us
Please use the school ID (code) 735095 when prompted to join the school.
Concentric Educational Solutions
We are excited to announce that Factory Shoals Elementary School has partnered with Concentric Educational Solutions, Inc. (CES) to enhance our support for students, families, and the school community. This partnership aims to strengthen the connection between home and school by providing evidence-based solutions that address academic and social needs.
Through our collaboration with CES, we will enhance existing supports and resources while identifying effective strategies to improve your child’s attendance and academic success.
One of the most exciting aspects of this partnership is the opportunity to learn about the barriers impacting our families so that we better understand and address any needs. For the remainder of the school year, at the recommendation of the School Support Team at Factory Shoals Elementary School, CES representatives will be conducting informational home visits. These visits will help us gather valuable insights from you and your child, allowing us to create an enriching learning experience focused on improving attendance, fostering appropriate social-emotional behaviors, and boosting academic achievement.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Principal Wright. We are looking forward to a productive and engaging partnership with you and your child!
Epic Books
Students love to read using Epic, a reading app that gives 24/7 access to a digital library of over 40,000+ premium books. It’s great for their daily reading and for keeping up the momentum on weekends and during school breaks. Here are the login instructions:
𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀: Open browser and
1. Go to 𝗸𝗶𝗱𝘀.𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗰.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀
2. Enter class code to log in.
𝗶𝗢𝗦 & 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗶𝗱: Download & open Epic for Kids app
1. Tap on “Students”
2. Enter class code to log in.
Here is a link to the class codes for your child's homeroom teacher.
Student Check-Outs & School Attendance Policy
The Georgia Compulsory Attendance Law holds parents responsible for making sure that their children attend school. According to this attendance law, the only legal excuses for absences are
1. Personal illness
2. Death in the immediate family
3. Religious holidays
Although attendance at school is very important, students with a contagious illness or fever should be kept home. Upon returning to school after an absence, a written excuse must be given to the homeroom teacher within three days. Students who are absent miss instruction that is vital to the mastery of the standards. Students are tardy to school after the 7:40 AM bell. Students who are tardy miss valuable instruction and disrupt the class. If a student is late, a parent must escort his/her child to the office for a tardy pass before the student goes to class. Again, students who are repeatedly checked out prior to the end of the instructional day (2:10 PM) miss valuable instructional time.
2024-2025 Student & Family Handbook for FSES & DCSS
Here you will find the FSES Student & Family Handbook.
Here you will find the DCSS Elementary Student Handbook.
Transportation Changes
FSES Staff Shout-outs
Complete the FORM here.
Have you joined us on Remind & ClassDojo?
Our school code for Remind is: @fsesga
Join our school on Class Dojo using this link.
We will use Remind for all communication with families. We will use Class Dojo as our school-wide behavior management tool. Please be sure to sign up for both. Our staff is also available via email (first name.last name @ dcssga.org) or via phone at 770-651-3900.
Go Guardian
School Nutrition: Breakfast and Lunch
If your child has a negative lunch balance, they will not be accepted into any FSES extracurricular activities until that balance is cleared.
Infinite Campus Parent Portal
Here Comes the Bus & Bus Expectations
Here Comes the Bus is available for parents and students to download now. To sign up, visit the Apple or Android store, or visit www.herecomesthebus.com.
Students are still encouraged to arrive at their stop five to ten minutes early and to follow any additional instructions given by drivers. Please sign up for Here Comes the Bus. You can use code 79003.
As your children board the bus each morning, please help us and remind them of our bus rules. Students should stay seated in assigned seat, there is to be no eating or drinking on the bus and students should use their inside voices. Students should also keep their hands and other objects to themselves while riding the bus.
School bus transportation is a privilege afforded pupils by the Board of Education. It is not a right. To protect the safety and well-being of all involved, pupils must adhere to established bus conduct rules. Bus transportation privilege may be revoked if the pupil does not observe bus conduct expectations.
Late Bus Information
Morning & Afternoon Car Rider Procedures
Morning Arrival to FSES
Car riders may only be dropped off and picked up within the designated car rider zone.
Morning student drop-off begins at 7:00 AM in the car rider lane.
As the car approaches the drop-off location, students should unbuckle themselves, have their bookbag on, and place any materials being carried in their hands.
Please move forward until directed to stop. Once stopped, please remember to unlock doors. In the morning, we typically unload three to four cars at a time.
Students MUST wait until FSES School Staff opens the car door in order to proceed from vehicles. Students should not get out of the car by themselves. This is for the safety of all students.
If possible, all students should be loaded and unloaded through passenger side doors- Curb Side.
Do not drive around or pass cars that are still unloading. Vehicles will wait until all children have exited their vehicle before proceeding to the exit. Like school bus loading and unloading zones, violators will have license plates turned over to the DCSS Police Department.
Vehicles NOT in line when the clock turns 7:40 AM will be directed to sign the child in through the front office.
Students coming in through the front office must be escorted into the building by a parent or guardian.
Afternoon Dismissal from FSES
The afternoon car rider line begins at 1:50 PM.
Afternoon dismissal of car riders begins at 2:10 PM.
Please do not use cell phones once the car pick-up line begins to move.
The school-issued car rider tag is required for pick-up. (Even if we know who you are. You must have a car rider tag to pick up a child.) If you do not have a tag, you will be directed to the front office to get one. Additional tags are $2.
A staff member is responsible for radioing your child's car rider number. Please wait until they have done so before moving on in the line.
Move all the way forward until directed to stop.
Vehicles should be placed in park.
Normally, three students are loaded into cars at a time.
Children will enter the car on the right-hand side.
Parents or Guardians should remain in the vehicle at all times.
Once the child is loaded, you may proceed to the exit.
If a child needs assistance with getting buckled in, your vehicle should move forward towards the exit. Do not assist while in the line.
Vehicles need to be in line by 2:35 PM. After 2:35 PM you will need to pick your child up from the front office.
Students waiting after the car rider line ends will be placed in the After School Program and a fee will be assessed.
If you or the person who is picking up your child in the afternoon does not have the hanging FSES 2024-2025 Car Rider Identification card, they will have to pick up the child from the front office and have their ID available for our front office staff to check. This is for the safety of your child. Thank you for your understanding.
We thank you in advance for adhering to our rules as they all help keep your students safe around moving vehicles.
FSES is a No Cell Phone Zone
We recognize that electronic devices are an important part of our everyday world and are increasingly being used in teaching and learning. However, we want to be sure that any devices at school are being used as an appropriate instructional tool, and their use does not interfere with our students’ learning environment.
Factory Shoals is proud to provide student access to Chrome Books in all of our classrooms. Students should only use electronic devices under the direct supervision of their teacher, so there is absolutely no need for students to bring their own devices from home. This includes cell phones, smart watches, iPads, and tablets. We believe that elementary school students are not equipped to deal with the responsibilities of having unsupervised access to technology, and their brains are not quite ready to handle such distractions at school.
If your child must bring a device to school in order to communicate with you after school hours, then please remind them of the following:
Electronic devices brought from home will be kept in the backpack turned off during the school day and will not ring or cause disruption to the instruction in the classroom.
Thank you for helping us to make Factory Shoals an amazing place where students value their education!
Student Birthdays
We do not allow birthday parties during lunch, whole birthday cakes or any birthday treats that are not individually wrapped.
We enjoy honoring our students on their birthday. We announce the birthday child’s name on the morning announcements and allow families to bring in treats within the guidelines below.
Cupcakes/snacks must be store bought AND prepackaged/individually wrapped.
Also, you may want to think about non-food items. The items listed below will still make your child feel special and they will last a lot longer than a food item.
- A game for the classroom
- A classroom book (A nice touch would be having your child pick it out, sign it, and date it.)
- A classroom set of items for each child to keep such as pencils, pens, erasers, markers, etc.
Bilingual Family Liaison
Mr. Hector Cotte is our Bilingual Family Liaison. He speaks Spanish and is here to help parents improve their understanding of the school and the school system, while maximizing their involvement in school activities and helping to minimize any linguistic barriers. You can reach Mr. Cotte at hector.cotte@dcssga.org or 770.651.3937.
Bilingual Liaison
Phone: 770.651.2223
Email: lizzy.kilgore@dcssga.org
