August News from Forsyth County Schools

August 2022 Newsletter

Welcome Back from Superintendent Bearden!

Dear FCS Family:

Welcome back! For those of you who are new to FCS, welcome to our family. I hope you all had a very safe and enjoyable summer recess. I look forward to the return of our students later this week. I know you will be ready.

I want to take a few moments to share some information with you about school safety. First and foremost, please know that the safety of our students and our staff is our number one priority. It always will be. School safety is a team effort and the responsibility of ALL staff and ALL students. We must work together, and we will. This school year, the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office has assigned at least one School Resource Officer (SRO) to every school in our system. I am so grateful for our outstanding partnership with Sheriff Freeman and his team. Not only do we have a strong team of SROs, but we also have other deputies who are on patrol around our campuses when school is in session. It is not unusual to see two or three cruisers parked at any one campus during the academic day. This is intentional.

There are several ways you can assist. Please, NEVER prop open ANY exterior door. If you see a door propped open, close it immediately and check to be sure it is locked. Report any doors that are propped open to your school administration. If you find any doors that do not lock properly, please report it to school administration and we will have our facilities team remedy that situation immediately.

ALL visitors MUST report to our front offices to be granted access to any building. In order to be approved for entrance, ALL visitors MUST show a valid driver's license and must be approved through our RAPTOR system. This system checks to make sure we do not have any identified child predators in our schools. If you ever see someone in a school that is not wearing an FCS badge or an approved badge that is created after their identification is scanned through RAPTOR, please ask for identification and report immediately to your

school's administration.

Please be vigilant. If staff or students see something, or someone, suspicious on or around campus, please say something. If staff or students see something posted on social media that is cause for suspicion, please report that immediately.

Our "See Something, Say Something" campaign has been very successful. Using P3 Campus, our students have reported suspicious activity to us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and we appreciate it. I am proud of them for doing so. Tips can be reported anonymously, and ALL tips are appropriately investigated.

Teachers, please take a minute or two and walk your corridor during your planning time. If you have an exterior door on your corridor, please check to ensure the door is locked. Taking just a minute or two out of your daily planning to conduct a quick safety check is one way for us to be proactive. Know your school safety plan. Be prepared. Be sure all students are attentive and engaged during any safety drills.

I feel VERY confident about the safety of our schools. I have complete confidence in our FCS Safety Team and our local law enforcement agencies. We plan together. We train together. We communicate. We always work together.

I wish you all a very enjoyable and productive 22-23 school year. I look forward to my visits to your school.

Sincerely,

Jeff Bearden

Transportation Information

We are excited that the first day of the 2022-23 school year is almost here!

We ask for patience as our drivers get to know your child and establish expectations and routines designed to deliver students to and from school safely every day. As it is every year, the first few weeks of school are a learning process for our bus drivers, students especially new bus riders, and other motorists.

To locate bus routes and stops:

Log into Infinite Campus/Parent Portal , select your child, and then open the transportation heading from the menu OR
Go to forsyth.k12.ga.us/transportation and select bus routes. Once on the page featuring the map, go to the upper right-hand side of the page and enter your address.

If you have any other questions or issues regarding your child’s bus route, ride, or stop, please contact the Transportation District Supervisor serving your child’s school or an administrator at your child’s school.

Expect bus route delays during the first few days of the new school year. Although a bus may be running late, FCS will provide bus service to all assigned bus stops every single day.

Student Meal Information

The USDA has ended free meals, which were started in response to COVID.

Please have a plan for your child's meals this year:

2022 New Educator Orientation

We were thrilled to host one of our favorite annual events, New Educator Orientation! We have over 500 new educators joining the FCS Family...Welcome!

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