#GOCOWLS

The weekly newsletter for Gwinnett Online Campus

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

All GCPS students, faculty and staff will observe the February Break from Thursday, February 16 through Monday, February 20. Faculty and staff will not be available to students for questions or instruction during this time. Students and staff return to learning on Tuesday, February 21.

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#OnlineWeLearnSuccessfully

Grades 3-12: Schedule Update Milestone Benchmarks

Milestone Benchmarks will take place Monday, March 6 through Thursday, March 16 at Gwinnett Online Campus. This in-person assessment will determine where students are performing academically in preparation for the state Milestone assessments in April. Students will need to bring their GCPS Chromebook and charger with them to campus.

Due to testing on campus Monday, March 6 through Thursday March 16; all grade levels that are not testing will have VIRTUAL LABS from home during this testing timeframe. There will be NO on-campus labs March 6 through March 16.

Please email the Assessment Office with questions.

Grade 12: May 2023 Graduation Information URGENT

It's an exciting time of the year as many families are beginning to prepare for the upcoming May 2023 full-time graduation. Students who meet all graduation requirements and pay their senior fees will be eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony at the Gas South Ballroom scheduled for Friday, May 26 at 6 p.m.

Students who plan to walk in the commencement ceremony must visit their MyPaymentsPlus account by Friday, February 17 at 11:59 p.m. to pay their senior fees (which includes a sizing selection form for the GOC approved gown).

While we CANNOT confirm all of the graduation details at this time since we are still in the planning phase, we ask that students and parents/guardians pay particular attention to their email inbox over the next few months as we will begin communicating on a regular basis with important information and updates as it becomes available.

Please click HERE if you have any questions.

Grades 9-11: 2023-24 Dual Enrollment Informational Meeting

Please contact Mr. Dwight Jackson (student's last name A-J) or Ms. Julie Floyd (student's last name K-Z) with questions.

Grades 4-12: Roost & Boost

Come join us for Roost and Boost where you can connect with a content teacher to receive support with specific subject areas. This is an in-person academic assistance session, where a teacher from each content area (math, language arts, science, and social studies) will be available to provide academic support to students. All students are welcome and may choose which content area to attend but are strongly encouraged to attend a targeted content area if they receive a personal invitation from a teacher.

Grades 6 & 8: On-Campus Scoliosis Screenings

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, scoliosis screening is required for all students in grades 6 and 8 who attend public school in Georgia. Scoliosis screening can be completed by the students physician, the local health department or by a nurse at the local school. Parents, please take a moment to read this important Parent Scoliosis Screening Letter.

Scoliosis Screening will take place during the students on-campus learning lab according to the following schedule:

Parents or guardians may choose to not have their student screened at the local school by selecting the opt-out portion of the Parent Scoliosis Screening Letter and returning it to Ms. Petra Ordini, Office of Student Services, no later than 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, February 15.

Students without an opt-out form on file will be asked to participate in the screening event on campus.

Grades 4-12: Virtual SLT (Student Leadership Team) Meeting

Please join us for our February Virtual SLT meeting open to all members. Be mindful of the updated time for this meeting.

Please contact Ms. Hope Campbell with questions.

Grades K-12: GOC Family Skate Night

Come out and support GOC and our Parent Advisory Committee at our Family Skate Fundraiser. All proceeds will go to support our GOC PAC and all the great work they do here at GOC.

Our next off-campus family event at Sparkles Family Fun Center, Gwinnett is scheduled for Tuesday, February 28 from 5-9 p.m. This is NOT a drop off event; every student should have a parent or guardian accompany them to this event. On school skate nights, the venue offers special pricing of $7 admission which includes skates. Non-skating parents are free. There is also a $15 Meal Deal which includes 1 large cheese pizza and 1 pitcher of your choice beverage. Click HERE to RSVP for this event.

Please contact GOC's Parent Advisory Committee with questions. Also, be sure to add their email address (gwinnettonlineparents@gmail.com) to your address book to prevent emails from going to spam.

Grades 4-12: Club & Activities Friday - DATE CHANGE

We hope to see everyone at our next Club and Activities Friday scheduled for Friday, March 17. Please note this is a date change due to a revision to the Milestone Benchmark Testing schedule.

Also, as a reminder we do not have Club Friday during the month of February due to the long February break.

Please note that the typical Club Friday schedule has been modified due to testing in the afternoon.

Click HERE to RSVP for this event.

Mark your calendar for our last Club Friday of the school year which will be held on Friday, April 21.

Please contact Ms. Hope Campbell with questions.

Grades K-12: PAC (Parent Advisory Committee) Meeting

Calling all parents!! We need your help to plan lots of fun student events here at Gwinnett Online Campus!

Please join us on Friday, March 10 from 10:45-11:45 a.m. for a parent volunteer meeting to discuss how you can help with upcoming events.

The PAC (Parent Advisory Committee) would like to reach out to the parents who are not already involved this year. To stay up to date on the upcoming events and other information for the rest of this year and next year, please complete and submit the Parent Information Form.

For questions and to RSVP for the in-person parent meeting, please email

GOC's PAC (Parent Advisory Committee).

Grades 9-12: Social Lounge Meeting

Please join us for our next Social Lounge meeting scheduled for Wednesday, February 22 from 1-2 p.m. The Social Lounge group gets together to discuss topics related to our Social Studies Electives. This month we will be exploring Criminology.

Please email Ms. Denise Billingsley with questions.

Grades K-12: Purchase Your 2022-23 GOC Lookbook

We have some exciting news! GOC will have our version of a yearbook again this year called The GOC Lookbook!

We have a group of students who have been working with one of our teachers on designing and publishing our Lookbook since August, and we are happy to announce that they are now available for you to purchase. Our GOC Lookbook will capture full-time students on campus in grades K-12, including classroom shots as well as pictures from clubs and activities throughout the school year. We hope this will be a book that your student can keep as a memory of their year at Gwinnett Online Campus. The GOC Lookbook will not include individual portraits of students.

Please note that the GOC Lookbook can only be purchased by the deadline of Friday, March 31. We will NOT have extra or additional copies for sale when the books are delivered.

Please click HERE for instructions on purchasing your very own 2022-23 GOC Lookbook.

Grades 5, 8 &12: GOC Lookbook - Purchase an Ad

Are you a parent/guardian of a student in grades 5, 8 or 12? If you have a student in one of these milestone grades and would like to honor your student with a personal and customized ad in our 2022-23 GOC Lookbook, please click HERE for

instructions to purchase your ad by our deadline of Friday, March 3.

Extracurricular Podcast

Make sure to check out the latest episode of Extracurricular, GOC's podcast about the amazing hobbies and interests GOC students, staff, and faculty members have outside of school. There are two episodes this week, and the guests are siblings! You can listen by clicking on the links below or searching for Extracurricular on your podcast app.

Grades 6-8: Breakfast with Buddies

GOC's "Breakfast with Buddies" Program allows students to enjoy breakfast from home with their school counselor and peers every Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. to develop meaningful relationships! This connection may positively impact the student and their learning!

We are considering offering an in-person Breakfast Buddies. Please click HERE if you are interested in this opportunity.

Please click HERE to reserve your spot for next Wednesday. The counselors will provide a participation link to those who have reserved a spot for this event.

For questions please contact your middle school counselor, Ms. Teshia Dula or Ms. Nikita Johnson.