Sandy Ridge Elementary

Good evening, parents. This is Mrs. Cox. I regret to inform you that Bus 60 will not run in the morning. However, Mr. Bullins, who is currently driving Bus 86, will drive his route and then drive the route for Bus 60. That means if your child rides Bus 60, he or she will be picked up 45 minutes to an hour later than usual. I truly apologize for the inconvenience. If you would like to bring your child to school instead, since we have some students testing tomorrow, we start the morning car rider line at 6:55. Thank you.

Subject: Update on PowerSchool Data Breach and Ongoing Protection Measures Dear Stokes County Families, We want to make you aware of a recent update related to the PowerSchool data breach that was originally reported in January of this year. Recently, several schools and North Carolina Department of Pubic Instruction (NCDPI) employees across the state received messages from threat actors claiming to have access to student and teacher data from that breach. We have been informed that several Canadian school districts have received similar messages as well. Based on the current status of NCDPI’s investigation, they believe that the threat actors have access to the same data tables that were originally compromised. These data tables include student and staff names, contact information, social security numbers (limited student social security numbers), birthdays, medical notes, passwords (limited) and parent/guardian information. NCDPI has already notified appropriate law enforcement agencies, who are actively investigating this incident. We want to assure you that your Stokes County Schools and NCDPI have done everything possible to protect this information. PowerSchool, the vendor responsible for the incident, has taken full responsibility for the breach and is providing support services for those impacted. What You Need to Know: Please do not open any suspicious links or emails related to this incident. - Do not engage with anyone claiming to have this data. - PowerSchool is offering two years of free identity protection and credit monitoring to all affected students and educators through July 1, 2025. NCDPI is advocating for this window to be extended further to ensure everyone has time to enroll. Affected individuals can enroll in identity protection and credit monitoring at no cost to themselves here --> https://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/notice-of-united-states-data-breach/ Services include: - Two years of complimentary identity protection for all students and educators affected - Two years of complimentary credit monitoring for all adult students and educators affected These services are available regardless of whether an individual's Social Security number was compromised. Additional protection: Impacted users can freeze their identity for free through the North Carolina Department of Justice. LINK: https://ncdoj.gov/protecting-consumers/protecting-your-identity/free-security-freeze/ As we continue to work through this incident, we are committed to supporting students, families and staff with transparency and care. Sincerely, Phillip Bradley Rice, Ed.D. Superintendent Stokes County Schools

🎨☀️ Summer Art Camp 2025!🎭🖌️ Get ready for a summer full of creativity at The Arts Place of Stokes (502 Main Street, Danbury, NC)! : Camp opportunities: 🌀 Pottery 🎭 Theatre Camp 🎨 Visual Arts 🧶 Weaving 🗿 Sculpture Perfect for young artists looking to explore their talents and make new friends! 📞 Call 336-593-8159 or visit www.stokesarts.org to register today—spots fill fast! #StokesArts #SummerArtCamp #NCArts

We are excited to announce our upcoming YOUth Matter event focused on safety, taking place on Thursday, May 8, 2025, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at Southeastern Stokes Middle School. This event is open to all families across the district and will feature two important presentations: Insight Human Services on prescription drug safety Stokes County Sheriff's Office on firearm safety Pizza will be provided. Please RSVP: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf7KhswB77ZdNyGmAbsBghRgOYC2sHN0-bbuPvn4m18fd844Q/viewform Please see the attached flier for more details, and don’t hesitate to reach out to Salena Howlett if you have any questions.

Parents, I have been informed that Bus 72 did not run this morning. We were unaware that it would be unstaffed. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by this situation.

I am so sorry for the inconvenience. Our driver for Bus 72 has called out and is unable to drive. I do not have anyone to cover this route due to being short 3 drivers right now. Dr. Tedder and I have tried to find another driver but have been unsuccessful. If your child rides Bus 72 in the morning, please bring your child to school. The car rider line starts at 6:55. If you are unable to provide transportation for your child, please call me after 6:50 at 336-871-2400 so that I may try to provide transportation. Again, I am so sorry for this inconvenience.

Good evening, Bulldog families. In case you are unaware, our community suffered a tragedy on Saturday evening. A student who attends North Stokes lost his life in a car accident. The young man lived in the care of one of our bus drivers, Mrs. Tina Lawson, and her family. In addition to my asking you to keep this family as well as his other families and the staff and students at North Stokes in your thoughts and prayers, I ask you for flexibility in morning travel time for the next several days while Ms. Tina is out. Mr. Benny Bullins, our custodian, is going to continue running the route for Bus 86, as he has been. If your child rides Bus 86, which has been Bus 52 for a few weeks, he could arrive at your child's bus stop a few minutes early for that route. Bus 86 students will arrive at school by 6:50 AM and I will greet them at the door and take them into the cafeteria. They will be able to eat breakfast or just wait until it is time to go to class. Mr. Benny will then run the route for Bus 60. So, if your child rides Bus 60, know that Mr. Benny will be coming up to 30-35 minutes later than Ms. Tina normally does, and he will be driving Bus 52. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and if it would be better for you to bring your child to school for the next few days, our car rider line begins at 6:55. Thank you so much for your understanding and support at this time.

Good afternoon, Bulldog families. Parent of students who attend the Jr. Blast program, I wanted to make sure you received the message that there will be no Jr. Blast this afternoon. Thank you and sorry for the short notice.

Little Folks Festival Saturday April 5th 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Hosted at Mount Olive Elementary School Address: 2145 Chestnut Grove Road King, NC

Good afternoon, Bulldog families. Thanks to our PTO for the fun Tie-Dye Party this afternoon. The students really enjoyed it. Tomorrow at Sandy Ridge will be the annual Bluegrass Show. Doors open at 5:00 and the show starts at 6:00. Next week is our Spring Break. Staff has an optional workday on Friday, March 21st. Students will be out all week and return on Monday, March 24th. I hope you all enjoy your week and get some much needed rest. I announced student birthdays that will take place over break today, but I missed a staff birthday. Happy Birthday to Ms. Tessa on Tuesday, March 18. Enjoy your day! Have a good evening, Bulldogs!

Good evening, This is Mrs. Cox, Principal of Sandy Ridge Elementary School. Today, we held an assembly to celebrate Read Across America Week, where we were excited to welcome our guest speaker, Sammy the Comic Book Man. He generously provided students with comic books. Unfortunately, it has come to our attention that at least one of the comic books contains content that is not appropriate for our students. We ask that you review the comic book your child received today. If you find the material inappropriate, please bring it to the school, and we will dispose of it and provide your child with an alternative, age-appropriate reading material. We sincerely apologize for this oversight. We have a long history of hosting this assembly, and this is the first time an issue like this has occurred. We have already contacted Sammy, and he has expressed his regret. He purchases his comic books in bulk, which appears to have been an unfortunate mistake by the company from which he sources the books. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We are taking steps to ensure that this does not happen again in the future. Thank you for your understanding and support. Sincerely, Mrs. Cox Principal, Sandy Ridge Elementary School

Bulldog families, be sure to check out Fox 8 News at 4:40 PM today to see our students from Sandy Ridge Elementary. Chad Tucker visited us this morning, read to all of the students and took a quick video to post on his news broadcast. So, you are in the presence of celebrities now! Tomorrow is our last day of Read Across America Week, which has been so fun! For the last day, wear green or dress for a fancy restaurant as we have green eggs and ham and/or book tasting parties in our classrooms. We will also have a visit from Sammie the Comic Book Man. See you tomorrow for the fun!

Weather Announcement: Friday, February 21st, 2025 Stokes County Schools will operate on a 2 hour delay.

🚨 Important Announcement: School Closure 🚨 Weather Announcement - February 20th, 2025 Due to the unexpected snow, Stokes County Schools will close today. We will not run buses today. Secondary parents: If your children were already on buses, their school will contact you to let you know at which elementary school they are located. Elementary school will start dismissal at 9:15. Please be safe traveling to pick up your child. We will supervise your child until you arrive. If you cannot pick up your child by 11:00 am, please contact your child’s school to make further arrangements. I apologize for the late notice and the inconvenience. Please be safe.

Parents, This is Mrs. Cox. Please pick up your child at the front of the school . Do not use the car rider line. We will stay with all students until they are picked up. If you see that you cannot get someone here by 11:00 AM, please call the school and let us know, Be safe. Thank you.

Weather Announcement: February 20th, 2025 Due to unforecasted burst of snow, some of the secondary roads are impacted. There will be a 3 hour delay for Middle and High Schools. If your student is on a bus they will continue to the school. Elementary schools o a normal schedule.

Weather Announcement: Wednesday, February 19, 2025 Stokes County Schools will be closed for students. Optional teacher workday . Staff: Option A

Good evening, Bulldog families. This message is to let you know we are postponing our Title I Math Night to Tuesday, February 18 due to our inclement weather days this week. We did not want anyone to miss out on the opportunity to join us for Math Night because they did not have the opportunity to RSVP. Please inform your child's teacher by this Friday if your family plans to attend so we will be sure to have plenty of pizza and math supplies for all in attendance on Tuesday night. Thank you for your understanding and have a good evening.

Winter Weather Update: Wednesday, February 12th, 2025 Due to power outages and trees falling across the county, Stokes County Schools will be closed for students and operate on an optional teacher workday. Staff will report on a 3 hour delay.

Weather Announcement: Due to the latest forecast, Stokes County Schools will have a remote learning day on Tuesday, February 11, 2025.