SOTA opens its doors Monday night in Lawrenceville, GSMST holds its first lottery info session Thursday, and Veterans Day on Wednesday is a regular school day. County offices close that day. Five school days, then the countdown to Thanksgiving.
Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) students have five regular school days this week, Monday, November 9, through Friday, November 13, 2026. Sunday, November 8, and Saturday, November 14, are not school days. Neither the district's approved 2026 to 2027 calendar nor its student calendar lists a holiday, early release or Digital Learning Day between November 9 and 13. Both calendars were checked November 7, 2026. Times below are Eastern.
Monday, November 9: When is SOTA Spotlight Night?
At 6:30 p.m. Monday, November 9, 2026, in the Main Stage Theatre at the School of the Arts (SOTA) at Central Gwinnett High School, 564 West Crogan Street in Lawrenceville. A GCPS announcement posted October 7, 2026, says the night includes student performances, school tours, a teacher meet and greet, and audition information and tips.
Two official listings disagree on when it ends. The October 7 announcement says 6:30 to 8 p.m. The events calendar on the SOTA homepage lists the same night from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the theater. SOTA's Upcoming Events page gives only the start time, 6:30 p.m. Neither SOTA nor GCPS has posted one reconciled end time. If you are arranging a ride or a sitter, plan through 8:30 p.m. Call SOTA Admissions at 678 377 3960 if you need the official end time before you leave.
No registration or ticket requirement appears on the district announcement or on those SOTA pages for Spotlight Night.
SOTA is a school within a school at Central Gwinnett. The October 7 announcement says current eighth graders from across the district may apply to the Conservatory, which requires an audition or portfolio, and that rising 9th through 12th graders may apply to Fellows, which has no audition but requires eligibility for a permissive transfer. Applications for both programs close Monday, November 30, 2026. Conservatory auditions are Monday, January 4, 2027.
Questions go to SOTA Admissions at 678 377 3960 or SOTA.Admissions@gcpsk12.org, the contacts on the SOTA admissions page. The school site also lists 770 963 8041.
Tuesday, November 10: Is this a regular school day?
Yes. Tuesday, November 10, 2026, is a regular school day on both GCPS calendars.
Testing already underway this week is the first semester FIT Georgia post test. The district's test dates page, checked November 7, 2026, lists that post test for grades 6 to 8 and grades 9 to 12 from November 6 through December 18, 2026. The page marks the date scores reach ParentVUE as TBD. Your child's school sets the exact day inside that window.
Wednesday, November 11: Is GCPS closed for Veterans Day?
No. Wednesday, November 11, 2026, is a regular school day in Gwinnett County Public Schools. Neither the approved calendar nor the student calendar lists November 11 as a holiday. The board calendar's list of holidays for 12 month employees names Thanksgiving, November 26 and 27, 2026, and does not name Veterans Day.
Other public offices in Gwinnett do close. Gwinnett County government offices are closed Wednesday, November 11, except operations needed for residents' comfort and safety, and they reopen Thursday, November 12, according to the county's holiday schedule. The Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner lists Wednesday, November 11, among its 2026 holiday closures. State of Georgia offices close too. Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, is on the 2026 state holiday list.
GCPS marks the day without dismissing students. Its calendar of observances lists November 11 as "Veterans Day (Armistice Day)." The district says that list is there to help teachers and administrators consider possible conflicts when they schedule tests and schoolwide activities.
If school status ever changes because of weather, not the holiday, the superintendent makes the call for every school, according to the district's Inclement Weather page. Full day cancellations are usually announced by 6 a.m. on GCPS TV, the district website, Facebook, Instagram, ParentSquare and metro Atlanta news stations. The student handbook entry on Preparing for Inclement Weather says, "School is open or will remain open unless it is specifically announced otherwise. The school system does not issue announcements when school will be in session as scheduled."
Thursday, November 12: Which families should go to the GSMST info night?
Families from the Archer, Brookwood, Dacula, Grayson, Mill Creek, Mountain View, Parkview, Shiloh and South Gwinnett clusters. The Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (GSMST) holds its first eighth grade information session at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 12, 2026, in the school cafeteria at 970 McElvaney Lane in Lawrenceville, according to the GSMST Admissions page. The GSMST calendar lists an "8G Informational Session at 7 p.m." that night. Both were checked November 7, 2026.
GSMST says the information is the same at all three sessions. If your cluster is Thursday and you cannot come, the Admissions page lists Tuesday, December 8, 2026, for the Berkmar, Central Gwinnett, Collins Hill, Discovery, Duluth, Lanier, Meadowcreek, Norcross, North Gwinnett, Peachtree Ridge and Seckinger clusters, and Thursday, January 7, 2027, as a make up date for anyone who missed the first two.
The lottery window for students entering ninth grade in fall 2027 is already open. It runs through Friday, January 15, 2027, at 4 p.m. Eastern, according to GSMST's Application Eligibility Requirements page. The GSMST calendar shows that same window as November 1 through January 15. Our GSMST lottery guide covers who can apply.
GSMST's main number is 678 518 6700.
Thursday is also opening night of SOTA's Musical Theatre Showcase, Revolution!, at 7 p.m., according to SOTA's Upcoming Events page. The SOTA homepage calendar lists Musical Theatre Showcase performances Thursday, November 12, and Friday, November 13, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the theater.
Friday, November 13: Is Friday a full school day?
Yes. Friday, November 13, 2026, is a regular school day on both GCPS calendars, with no early release listed.
That evening is the second night of SOTA's Musical Theatre Showcase at 7 p.m. Ticket prices are not listed on the SOTA pages. The Upcoming Events page points families to tickets on GoFan.
Saturday, November 14: What should families put on the calendar after this weekend?
Two dates sit just on the other side of this week.
Gwinnett's 2026 property tax bills are due Sunday, November 15, 2026, according to the Tax Commissioner's Deadlines and Due Dates page. Because that date falls on a Sunday, check that page for how payments made that day are handled before you count on a last minute mailing or office visit. Its holiday schedule lists a closure Wednesday, November 11, 2026, for Veterans Day.
The Gwinnett County Board of Education holds its November work session at 6 p.m. Tuesday, November 17, 2026, and its business meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 19, 2026, in the Board Room at the Instructional Support Center, 437 Old Peachtree Road in Suwanee, according to the board's meeting schedule. Anyone who wants to speak on November 19 must submit an electronic request by 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 18, the board's How to Address the Board page says. Anyone who needs an interpreter is asked to sign up by Monday of the meeting week, which is November 16.
Which magnet deadlines are counting down this week?
SOTA applications close Monday, November 30, the first day back from Thanksgiving break, as noted above. Art and Design Conservatory applicants also turn in a portfolio "by the first Friday back from Thanksgiving break," the admissions page says, at the red desk inside the SOTA entrance on weekdays from 6:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. SOTA has not posted a calendar date for that Friday, so confirm it at 678 377 3960 or SOTA.Admissions@gcpsk12.org. Our SOTA application guide covers Conservatory versus Fellows.
Thanksgiving break runs Monday, November 23, through Friday, November 27, 2026, with classes resuming Monday, November 30. Friday, November 20, is a regular school day on both calendars.
The state's winter Georgia Milestones End of Course window opens Monday, November 16, 2026, according to the Georgia Department of Education's 2026 to 2027 Student Assessment Handbook. GCPS has not posted its own winter dates. The test dates page lists the Winter Main administration for schools and courses taught on the accelerated block schedule as TBD and tells families to check with the school. If your teen is in Literature and Composition II, Algebra: Concepts and Connections, Biology or U.S. History this fall on a block schedule, ask this week whether the course ends with a December exam.
Watch ParentSquare for any school level changes this week.