Congratulations to GCPS’ top senior athletes!

Each year, the Outstanding Senior Athlete Award is presented to a male and female student at each high school who has shown excellence in athletics, academics, and leadership roles in the school and community service. These students are not necessarily the best athletes in their senior class, but have shown to be outstanding in a variety of areas. The director of athletics at each high school works with the coaching staff to select the students who will represent their school. We congratulate these young people for their hard work in the classroom and in the pool and the gym and on the field and the track. Good luck to those who plan to compete at the college level!

Make plans to watch virtual graduation ceremonies to celebrate GCPS grads

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the daily lives of GCPS students and families. Perhaps that is most keenly felt by our seniors and their families. While graduation ceremonies cannot be held in a traditional manner, our high schools have found creative ways to celebrate their graduates and their accomplishments during these last weeks of the year. The next milestone is virtual graduations scheduled for the coming week.

If you have a graduate, invite family and friends to watch your student’s virtual graduation, which will be livestreamed at its scheduled time on the GCPS website. Graduations also will be aired on GCPS TV, available on the following cable channels:

• AT&T U-verse— Listed under Local Government

• Charter— Channel 180

• Comcast— Channel 24 or 26

If you miss the event or want to re-watch, each school’s ceremony (with captions) will be available after the event on demand on the GCPS TV web page.

Phoenix High School, Wednesday, May 20, 4:30 p.m.

Paul Duke STEM High School, Wednesday, May 20, 6:30 p.m.

McClure Health Science High School, Wednesday, May 20, 8:30 p.m.

Duluth High School, Thursday, May 21, 8:30 a.m.

Central Gwinnett High School, Thursday, May 21, 10:30 a.m.

Brookwood High School, Thursday, May 21, 12:30 p.m.

Discovery High School, Thursday, May 21, 2:30 p.m.

Mill Creek High School, Thursday, May 21, 4:30 p.m.

Parkview High School, Thursday, May 21, 6:30 p.m.

Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, Thursday, May 21, 8:30 p.m.

Dacula High School, Friday, May 22, 8:30 a.m.

Archer High School, Friday, May 22, 10:30 a.m.

Shiloh High School, Friday, May 22, 12:30 p.m.

Mountain View High School, Friday, May 22, 2:30 p.m.

Berkmar High School, Friday, May 22, 4:30 p.m.

Norcross High School, Friday, May 22, 6:30 p.m.

Gwinnett Online Campus, Friday, May 22, 8:30 p.m.

Meadowcreek High School, Saturday, May 23, 8:30 a.m.

Grayson High School, Saturday, May 23, 10:30 a.m.

South Gwinnett High School, Saturday, May 23, 12:30 p.m.

North Gwinnett High School, Saturday, May 23, 2:30 p.m.

Peachtree Ridge High School, Saturday, May 23, 4:30 p.m.

Collins Hill High School, Saturday, May 23, 6:30 p.m.

Lanier High School, Saturday, May 23, 8:30 p.m.

In July, Gwinnett County Public Schools will hold in-person graduation ceremonies should conditions allow.

Show your support for the Class of 2020 with a profile frame!

If you’re on a mobile device, go to your profile and click the camera by your profile picture. A window will pop up with the top option “add frame,” and from there you can search GCPS or “GCPS We Love Our Seniors."

Once you've saved your new Facebook profile photo and frame, you can share your photo to Instagram by tapping your profile image and clicking the “view profile picture” option. When your new profile image comes up, tap the three dots in the top right corner and select “save to phone” or “share external.” You will see an option to share your photo on Instagram or you can upload your saved photo from your device.

If you’re on a computer, go to your profile and click the camera on your profile picture that says “update.” A new window will pop up with an option to “add frame,” and from there you can select and position your new profile frame following the same steps listed above. You also can access the frame directly here: https://bit.ly/gcps_SeniorsFrame

Thanks for helping us put the spotlight on the Class of 2020! #SeniorSpotlight #GCPSClassof2020

Gwinnett County government expanding Summer Meals Program for kids

Gwinnett County Government and Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) are teaming up to help ease hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic by continuing the food program for Gwinnett’s children during the summer.

On Friday, May 15, GCPS will wrap up the meal service it has provided since March 16 for Gwinnett children 18 years and younger. This service has provided more than 2.2 million meals at 67 school locations and included delivery by school buses within identified clusters. Gwinnett County will fill in when the school district’s program ends by starting its Summer Meals program on Monday, May 18.

Gwinnett County’s program, now in its second year, will expand to add locations and free grab-and-go breakfasts and lunches for children 18 years old and younger. Families can pick up nutritious meals to take home to their children at 18 park locations around the county. The meals, which consist of things like sandwiches and wraps, meet USDA guidelines.

 “It is the common goal of the Board of the Commissioners and the Board of Education to assist families and make sure children receive nutritious meals during this challenging time,” said Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chairman Charlotte Nash. “For some kids, this may be the only meal they get that day. The Board of Commissioners especially want to recognize the school board’s efforts to feed children during the digital learning days just ending and the work they will do when their meals program picks up again in June.”

Locations were selected based on school clusters in which 50% or more of students qualified for free-and-reduced-price meals during the school year. The County’s Summer Meals program complements a summertime meals program for students offered by the school district. Meals also are available for adults with disabilities. The school district will ramp up its Seamless Summer meals program for children from June 8 to June 26, and will provide school locations once they are finalized.

“This partnership between the school district and the county is a shining example of how Gwinnett County comes together to serve our community,” says GCPS CEO/Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks. “Working together, we will be able to bridge the gap and provide food to children while school is not in session over the summer.”

The County program, part of the Summer Food Service Program offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is being sponsored by the nonprofit Georgia Nutritional Services Inc., which will provide the vendor for the meals.

Last year, Summer Meals served about 10,200 lunches at three parks, which was supplemented by a similar county program that served another 6,500 meals to kids at four other County locations. Children ate lunches and snacks on-site last summer, but, because of social distancing requirements, the USDA is allowing people to take the meals home this year. Funding for the program comes from the USDA.

Registration is not required. Meals can be picked up between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. while supplies last at these County facilities:

• Pinckneyville Park, 4650 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Berkeley Lake

• Shorty Howell Park, 2750 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth

• Club Drive Park, 3330 Club Drive, Lawrenceville

• Freeman’s Mill Park, 1401 Alcovy Road, Lawrenceville

• Lawrenceville Female Seminary, 455 South Perry Street, Lawrenceville

• Rhodes Jordan Park, 100 East Crogan Street, Lawrenceville

• Sweet Water Park, 800 Bethesda School Road, Lawrenceville

• Bryson Park, 5075 Lawrenceville Highway, Lilburn

• Lilburn Activity Building, 788 Hillcrest Road, Lilburn

• Vines Park, 3500 Oak Grove Road, Loganville

• Best Friend Park, 6224 Jimmy Carter Boulevard, Norcross

• Cemetery Field, 211 Cemetery Street, Norcross

• Graves Park, 1540 Graves Road, Norcross

• Lucky Shoals Park, 4651 Britt Road, Norcross

• Lenora Park, 4515 Lenora Church Road, Snellville

• OneStop Centerville, 3025 Bethany Church Road, Snellville

• DeShong Park, 2859 North DeShong Road, Stone Mountain

• Yellow River Park, 3232 Juhan Road, Stone Mountain

For more information about the County’s summer program, visit www.GwinnettSummerMeals.com or call 770-822-8840.

Vote to help South Gwinnett HS earn $50K for art program!

South Gwinnett HS is asking for your help as their student artists compete for a $50,000 prize to support the school’s art program! Vans Custom Culture high school art contest was created to inspire and empower high school students to embrace their creativity through art and design and put a focus on the need for arts funding. The contest allows teens to customize Vans shoes in two categories—physical sneakers and digital shoes— around specific themes.

The South Gwinnett shoe designs (in the Digital Shoes category) are among the top 25 designs competing for the big prize. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favorite design every day through May 15. (One vote per day per computer.) The top six finishers in each category will be announced between May 25 and May 29, with a top prize of $50,000 and two runners-up earning $10,000 each.

Art Teacher Kelly Valdez says the contest experience has been amazing for her students. “[The contest] offered a time to come together, share ideas, and collaborate in order to achieve a goal,” she says. “The impact of this project went beyond simply drawing and creating— it offered an outlet for ideas and an opportunity for students to feel good about themselves and take pride in their work.”

Good luck, South!

Contribute to Foundation’s ‘We Care’ initiative to raise $1 million

The GCPS Foundation Fund, Inc., is asking for your help to raise $1 million by June 15 through its “We Care” fundraiser! Your gifts to the Foundation help fund scholarships, provide classroom grants, support teaching and learning, foster innovation, and assist students and families in need through Care Teams at local schools. Please give today, as you are able, and let’s watch our gifts grow together! To learn more, visit www.gcps-foundation.org, and follow the Foundation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

GCPS announces schedule for virtual graduations, in-person July events if conditions permit

Online, families can find graduation schedules for GCPS high schools, including the line-up set for May 20-23 for virtual graduations to be aired on GCPS TV and livestreamed on the district website. The schedule also includes tentative dates and times for in-person graduations, which will be held July 13–19 if conditions allow.

Census 2020: Be Counted!

If you haven’t yet completed the census for your household, it’s not too late to respond! By completing the 2020 Census, you’re helping to shape the future of our community for the next 10 years. You can complete the #2020Census now online, by phone, or by mail. It takes just a few minutes to complete and the process is safe, secure, and confidential. Once you have responded, encourage your family and friends to complete the census, too. Visit 2020Census.gov today to get started!

Give a listen to ‘Teaching Gwinnett’ podcast

GCPS has launched “Teaching Gwinnett,” a district-produced podcast that tackles important, relevant, and timely topics that have an impact on our students, families, and staff members. Each episode— hosted by Bernard Watson, GCPS’ director of media and community relations— features in-depth and informative interviews and a special segment called… “Did you know?” Upcoming episodes will focus on the need-to-know information for families as we approach the end of the school year.

You can find the podcast on Anchor, Spotify, Google Play Music, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Overcast, Pocket Casts, iTunes, the Apple Podcast app, and the district website. Subscribe today!

Check Out the Latest Episode of the ‘Teaching Gwinnett’ Podcast…
Meet Cecily Lewis of Meadowcreek HS, the nation’s School Librarian of the Year for 2020! In this special edition, Mrs. Lewis talks about her award-winning and world-renowned Read Woke program, its origins, how it works, and its impact on students. She also touches on her childhood in Mississippi, how her mother sparked her passion for books and reading and the benefits and challenges of digital learning.