Norton Elementary School
Principal: Katoria Gaston
3050 Xavier Ray Court, Snellville, GA 30039
School Highlights
The following school highlights showcase how Norton 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.
- As one of the eight Gwinnett County Public Schools offering Pre-Kindergarten, Norton Elementary School stands out with its unique program. We have two Pre-Kindergarten classes, each with a teacher, a paraprofessional, and 16 students. Our students benefit from a full day of teaching and learning aligned to state standards, significantly preparing them for Kindergarten.
- We continue to make great strides with our PBIS program. Our teachers use PBIS lessons to explain and model how students can be ready, respectful, and responsible. Students can earn PBIS Gotcha Cards when they are showing the 3Rs. The Gotcha Cards are used at the PBIS Store to purchase prizes, treats, or admission into a celebration. There are also class Gotcha Cards utilized to recognize an entire class during specials in the media center, hall, or cafeteria. Golden Gotcha Cards are given by administrators and are submitted for a monthly raffle. The raffle winners from each grade receive a call home and a treat bag.
- The purpose of the student council at Norton is to lift student voices as essential stakeholders in the Norton community and beyond. We want students to feel that their voices are heard and valued. With a team of fourteen 4th and 5th-grade student members, some returning from last year and some new student leaders, we continued serving the community and lifting the voices of the students at Norton. This year, the student council planned for and implemented multiple food drives to restock the Comets Care Closet. In addition, the student council worked to build student and staff morale by implementing weekly student and staff trivia. The student council also identified a need to bridge the gap between upper and lower grades. They began planning a book buddy program where the student council collaborates with the K-2 teachers to help foster the love of reading in the younger students.
- Norton Elementary School's student council worked diligently to continue to grow the Comets Care Closet food pantry to serve our community members in need. The Comets Care Closet has remained a valuable resource for Norton’s needy families through building community partnerships, ongoing staff and community member donations, and planning and carrying out multiple food drives. This year, the Comets Care Closet was put in the spotlight and highlighted as an example of one of GCPS’ strategic priorities: Lifting student voice. This positive recognition allowed the students and staff involved in overseeing the Comets Care Closet to speak on the impact that it has had on not only the community members utilizing the resource but also their very own leadership skills, service, and work ethic.
- Fifth-grade students interested in music and singing can audition for the County-Wide Fifth Grade Honors Chorus. Elementary students across the county come together in March to perform songs at Central Gwinnett High School. They work with clinicians to practice and perfect the music they have learned with their teachers in the previous months. Students rehearse all day and then perform that afternoon for parents, teachers, and stakeholders within the community. Kylee Clark and Amaya Hammock represented Norton in this year’s 5th Grade Honors Chorus.
- Ten students in grades 3-5 came together, shared a love of music, and learned more advanced musical concepts this year in music club. During club meetings, students sing, play instruments, and move to various genres of music. They also have input into songs for performances and practice for their performance in the school’s Winter Concert, Black History Month Program, and Fifth Grade Moving Up Ceremony.
- Norton Sign Language Choir consists of fourth- and fifth-grade students who exhibit an interest in sign language communication and demonstrate excellent classroom behavior. The choir is formed at the beginning of the school year and meets regularly before school to practice and perform at various school and community events. The students will be able to learn American Sign Language and sign between 300 and 500 words after the school year.
- Norton held our Great Days of Service Read Aloud event in October. We hosted volunteers from Berean Christian Church to read aloud various books from the media center to students to share a love of reading.
- In February, a team of six students in grades 4 and 5 traveled to Peachtree Ridge High School to participate in the Readers Rally annual competition with coaches Denise Baccus, Debbie Moeller, and Scharletta Jones. The team placed second runner-up in their division.
- Gwinnett County Public Schools' Book Mobiles came to Norton in March. During this literacy event, each student could select a free book from the mobile library to extend their love of reading from the classroom to home.