While King Springs was closed for summer break, our support organizations were still working hard to improve our school!

KSE Foundation
The mission of the King Springs Elementary Foundation is to provide resources beyond those currently provided by the Cobb County School District to supplement elements of enhanced education.

This summer the Foundation spent $3,500 to send 25, Kindergarten through 2nd grade, teachers to an Orton Gillingham training. Orton Gillingham is an intensive, sequential phonics-based reading system which teaches the basics of word formation before whole meanings. The training was a major success. The 25 teachers who went are “on-fire” and beyond excited to utilize the training this year. A more senior teacher said, “I will never teach reading the same way again!” The Foundation also funded several other teacher trainings over the summer including, sending the STEM teachers to the West Georgia RESA STEM Conference.

In May, the Foundation hosted two sessions of Kindergarten Camp! We had an amazing turnout of 105 upcoming kindergarteners attend the sessions to acclimate themselves to the K-2 campus, classrooms and teachers.

Lastly, the Foundation funded $8,000 in start up costs for KSE's new morning choice program. Teachers across different grade levels submitted requests for art supplies, gear building, kinetic sand, building blocks, magnetic tiles, legos, yatzee, connect four, scrabble, uno, checkers, mad libs, brain quests, dot to dots, jig saw puzzles and lots more!! In addition, we provided each teacher a $30 amazon gift card to purchase supplies specifically for their classroom.

All of this funding is possible due to the supportive and generous families at King Springs who donated to our annual campaign, Support The Pride last year. Be on the lookout this Fall to help fund our 2019/2020 budget!! Please reach out if you are interested in joining any committees at the Foundation!  heidi.sandate@gmail.com * www.kingspringsfoundation.org


School Council
The KSE School Council worked with Keep Smyrna Beautiful to secure grant money to aid in the beautification of both campuses. We purchased flower pots, greenery, and bright flowers for a welcoming pop of color outside each new outdoor classroom.

Students and parents volunteered at both K-2 and 3-5 to pick up trash, trim trees, plant flowers and lay pine straw. Our student volunteers are particularly proud of the new playground games they painted in the front parking lot and driveway at K-2.


PTA
The KSE PTA's Executive Board has been hard at work planning for the upcoming school year. Several board members attended a multi-day conference for local PTA leaders, where they learned tips & strategies from other PTAs. Board members met with Dr. Szwec to pencil in dates for this year's major events, including Fall Festival, VIP Skate Dates, and much more. And our VP of Enrichment Clubs worked closely with the school's ASP Director to schedule Enrichment Clubs for the Fall.

At the beginning and end of summer, the PTA hosted breakfasts for KSE's teachers. These post-planning and pre-planning meals are just one way the PTA shows KSE's teachers how much we appreciate them!

As part of its Kindergarten Welcome, the PTA hosted several initiatives for rising Kindergarteners and other new families. These included a parent/child orientation in May, a Popsicle Playdate in July, and a separate Facebook page just for new families. On the first day of school, the PTA hosted its annual Coffee, Tea & Sympathy event at the K-2 campus.

Several PTA volunteers devoted part of their summer to updating our spirit wear offerings. This year's Spirit Wear features a wide array of kid and adult shirts and hats, water bottles, color-changing "mood" cups, and even umbrellas!

Finally, the PTA updated its website and other communications to reflect plans for the new year. Our FAQ document, Sneak-a-Peek Checklist, Membership & Spirit Wear Order Form, and Volunteer Pledge are just some of the items that were revised over the summer.

As the new year starts rolling, the PTA is still looking to fill a few key roles. We welcome all volunteers -- many hands make light work! Please make sure you've completed the Volunteer Pledge to tell us how you'd like to help this year. And, many thanks to everyone who has already chipped in to help with PTA programs this year!