Duncan Creek Elementary School
Principal: Sheri Tolar
4500 Braselton Highway (Highway 124), Hoschton, GA 30548
School Highlights
The following school highlights showcase how Duncan Creek Elementary School is fulfilling Gwinnett County Public School's four strategic priorities of Empathy, Equity, Effectiveness, and Excellence. Visit the School Profile Dashboard to find more detailed data on our school.
- At Duncan Creek, all students have access to 1:1 Chromebooks for use at school and home. This technology supports student learning, research, and productivity. However, screens don’t replace connection, so face-to-face interaction remains a vital part of our classrooms. We prioritize a balanced approach that blends digital tools with hands-on activities, collaboration, and meaningful conversations to support the whole child.
- Our students enjoy a well-rounded education with special instruction in Art, Music, Health, Physical Education, STEM, and Computer Science. These engaging classes spark creativity, build important life skills, and encourage exploration beyond the core curriculum. Our STEM and Computer Science classes offer hands-on, engaging activities that blend science, technology, engineering, and math in exciting, creative ways. Throughout all of our specials classes, students are developing vital skills like critical thinking, logical reasoning, collaboration, and resilience. These opportunities support both academic success and personal growth for every child!
- Reading remained a central focus this year with school-wide reading challenges that encouraged students to increase their reading stamina by tracking minutes or participating in themed activities. Incentives included a visit from the Book Mobile and a crowd-pleasing magic show! We also enhanced our Media Center collection by adding more books in Spanish, Korean, Chinese, and Russian to reflect the rich diversity of our student body. Our All-Star Reading Day featured guest readers, including high school and middle school athletes from Mill Creek High School and Osborne Middle School, as well as retired NFL player Damon Denson, who shared a special storytime with our 2nd-grade students.
- Incoming kindergarten students get a head start on their school adventure through the Duncan Creek KinderHawk Camp! This special program helps ease the transition into kindergarten by building excitement, boosting confidence, and giving students a chance to explore their new school, meet teachers, and make new friends, all before the first day of school. It's a fun and welcoming way to kick off their learning journey!
- Our Media Center partners with classroom teachers to make learning come alive with our new EL Education curriculum. Kindergarten students brought the weather to life by producing forecast videos. 1st grade students explored the stars with an exciting visit to the Star Lab. 2nd graders learned about the important role of pollinators with a special guest, an actual beekeeper. 3rd grade students discussed barriers to education with a visit from the Book Mobile. 4th graders connected with a virtual poet, diving deeper into creative expression. Finally, our 5th grade students explored history through the KSU Mobile Exhibit, Beyond Rosie: Women in WWII.
- Duncan Creek Elementary offers a variety of extracurricular clubs that allow students to explore their interests, build friendships, and develop leadership skills. Opportunities include the FLL Robotics Team, Kindness Club, Running Club, Art Club, Dance Team, Singing Hawks Chorus, and Student Council. These clubs help students grow beyond the classroom while having fun and connecting with others!
- Duncan Creek has a Kindness Club that helped fill the school year with inspiring moments that fostered kindness, curiosity, and a love of learning across all grade levels! Our commitment to kindness continued through a variety of school-wide and classroom-based initiatives. We kicked off the year with powerful assemblies and classroom visits from motivational speaker Stan Tucker. Students engaged in meaningful projects, including Veterans Day Goodie Bags, Kindness Candy Grams, the Tie Blanket Project for children in need, and Teacher Appreciation Treats. Classrooms also led their initiatives, such as organizing the lost and found, creating a kindness bulletin board, supporting the Memorial Garden, and crafting welcome cards for new students. Monthly kindness challenges kept the spirit going throughout the year!
- The Duncan Creek FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Team had an outstanding season, competing at the Regional, Super Regional, and State tournaments, including the State competition held at the University of Georgia. Facing off against elementary, middle, private school, and community teams, our students demonstrated incredible skill and teamwork. Throughout the season, the team earned multiple honors, including the Project Award, Champion’s Award, and two Robot Performance Awards. We’re proud of their hard work, innovation, and dedication!
- Play 2 Learn is a free, weekly program at Duncan Creek Elementary for children ages birth to 5 and their parents or caregivers. Each 90-minute session is filled with engaging, hands-on activities that support early learning and development. The program empowers parents as their child’s first and most important teacher, while helping children build key readiness skills in communication, language, literacy, cognitive growth, social-emotional development, and motor skills. This year, we proudly served 40 families through Play 2 Learn. In addition, we offer a monthly Little Learners class and have launched a Community Play 2 Learn class at the Hamilton Mill Branch Library each semester, expanding our reach and impact in the community.
- Duncan Creek Elementary’s PTA plays a vital role in fostering community and supporting student success through a variety of engaging events that reflect the school’s commitment to Gwinnett County Public Schools’ strategic priorities of Empathy, Equity, Effectiveness, and Excellence. Events such as the 5th Grade Celebration and Staff Appreciation Week highlight a culture of gratitude around the world, while the Fall Festival Story Book Stroll brings literature to life, promoting a love of reading in an inclusive and creative way. Family Game Night and Spirit Nights encourage strong school-family connections, enhancing student engagement and building a sense of belonging for all.