Colt Crusader
A newsletter for the families of CFES students
August Edition
2828 Pleasant Acres Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23453
757-648-2240
http://www.christopherfarmses.vbschools.com
Follow us on Twitter @cfescolts
Principal: Robyn Backer , @Robyn Backer
Asst. Principal: Patti Porter, @sunsetzzz15
Message From Ms. Backer, Our Principal & Mrs. Porter, Our Assistant Principal
Happy August!
We hope everyone is having a wonderful summer filled with family time, beach time, and relaxation. Mrs. Mercy and our custodians have been working hard to make sure that CFES is sparkling for Open House on August 29th.
Class lists are almost finalized and will be mailed out on August 19th. We thank you for your cooperation and support as we work hard to make these educational decisions to place your child where he/she will flourish.
Next week, we will be opening up Christopher Farms for our Summer Reading Challenge. We invite all of our students and their families to join us for an hour of reading. We will start with an exciting read aloud and followed up with fun literacy activities. This night is to help spark some summer reading and model different activities that all families can do at home. This reading challenge will be on Tuesday, August 13th. Session 1 will be from 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm and Session 2 will be from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm. Please call 648-2240 to RSVP.
In addition, we will be continuing our annual Popsicle in the park. This year, we will be visiting several parks on one night and ending at CFES. Please see the flyer below for locations and times.
Lastly, every year we welcome several new families to Christopher Farms. To help with the transition, learn about our amazing PTA, and fabulous traditions at The Farm, we will be holding a New Family night on Tuesday, August 27th from 6:00 - 7:00 in the Cafe. Families will be introduced to the CFES administration - Ms. Backer and Ms. Porter, our fabulous school counselor - Mrs. Yoshida, and our outstanding PTA. In addition, we will be giving a tour of the school.
Summer is not over quite yet, so continue to soak up the sun, fun, and family time.
-Ms. Backer and Ms. Porter
Important Upcoming Dates
August 13th - Summer Reading Challenge Night @CFES
(Session 1 2:00pm - 3:00 pm) (Session 2 6:00 pm - 7:00pm)
August 22nd - 1:00 - 4:10 - Popsicle in the Park - Come join in on the fun!
August 23rd - Welcome Back Teachers!
August 27th - Welcome Back all Staff! - New to CFES family night - 6:00 in Cafe.
August 29th- Open House K-5th, 5:00- 7:00 - See times below
Welcome our new staff to CFES!
Mrs. Adrian Greer - 2nd Grade Spanish Immersion
Ms. Armada - 5th Grade Spanish Immersion
My name is Ana Armada. I was born and raised in Cádiz, Southern Spain. I moved to the United States of America when I was 18 due to my father’s military deployment tour. Falling in love with America and its education system drove me to pursuit my passion of becoming a teacher at Old Dominion University. I enjoy reading, music and crafts. Because I have a big curiosity for Science, I also enjoy watching documentaries. I love hiking: I have hiked most mountains in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. But my long-life passions are teaching and children. I feel blessed to be able to give it my all as a teacher at Christopher Farms Elementary.
Mrs. Cindy Matney - 1st Grade Teacher
Mrs. Heather Armstrong - Kindergarten Assistant
Mrs. ShaCori Conyers - SPED assistant
Hello my name is ShaCori Conyers I have been working with Virginia Beach City Public Schools for about 8 years. I started out as a job coach then I became a special ed assistant 5 years ago. As a job coach I worked at Laskin Road Annex then once I became a special ed assistant I worked at Corporate Landing Elementary for one year and I have been at Seatack Elementary AAD for the past 4 years. I am looking forward to becoming part of your team and learning new things.
Mr. Manuel Hernandez - Strings Teacher
Mrs. Laura Perez - P.E Assistant
Laura Perez is originally from Colombia where she studied at the University of Quindio and earned a bachelor's degree in Financial Administration. She has been working in the school system over 2 years as a substitute, growing valuable teaching experience. Her passions are working out at the gym, half marathon running, camping, hiking and being active outdoors. She is recently remarried and has an 11-year-old son.
Open House
Please join us on Thursday, August 29, 2019 to meet your teachers and have a brief overview of the 2019-2020 school year.
Kindergarten and Grade 1: 5:00 – 5:30
Grade 1: Room 5 ONLY 5:40 - 6:10
Grade 2: 5:40 – 6:10
Grade 2: Room 16 ONLY 6:20 - 6:50
Grade 3: 6:20 – 6:50
Grade 4: 5:40 – 6:10
Grade 5: 6:20 – 6:50
In addition, please allow time to visit our many informational tables in the cafe. We will have the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts, Bus Stop Information, Tech Help and more..
Come have a sweet treat with Ms. Backer, Ms. Porter and other CFES staff on August 22nd!
Counselor's Corner
The CFES Counseling Team: Ms. Riccio, our Military Family Life Counselor, Mrs. Beda our Itinerant (Kindergarten/1st Grade) School Counselor and Mrs. Yoshida, our Full-time School Counselor look forward to serving our community again this 2019-2020 school year.
“Why do we have elementary school counselors?” Many parents think of a school counselor as being someone who you checked in with on occasion for scheduling, testing or college applications in high school. Elementary school, however, is actually when students begin to formulate attitudes concerning school, self, family, peers and social groups. It is also when decision making, communication and life skills as well as character values are developed. Our counseling team is here to support the academic, career and social/emotional growth of our students in partnership with our parents and staff at CFES.
Our counseling program provides monthly guidance lessons based on the VBCPS Graduate Profile to all students in grades K through 5. Counselors work closely with the Student Response Team (SRT) and Section 504 Teams, including parents and staff, to identify student strengths and weaknesses as well as explore possible interventions or accommodations when needed. We support our school community’s Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), collaborate to link families with community resources and facilitate goal focused small groups or individual meetings when possible.
If you have a concern regarding your child, please do not hesitate to contact our office. Mrs. Yoshida can be available to all families. Because Ms. Riccio and Mrs. Beda are shared with other Virginia Beach City schools, they will only be in our building on select days each week, however, they will respond to messages at their earliest convenience. Once again, we look forward to an amazing year with our Colt families.
CONGRATULATIONS, CFES! WE RECEIVED THE 2019 BOARD OF EDUCATION HIGHEST ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Virginia Beach schools received 15 Exemplar Performance School Awards, the most of any Hampton Roads city. Presented for the first time by the state Board of Education (BOE), these awards recognize schools in the Commonwealth for exceeding state accreditation standards, narrowing achievement gaps and improving outcomes for students.
"Equity and high-quality instruction for all students regardless of ZIP code is what we continue to emphasize across our 86 schools and centers," said Virginia Beach City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence. "Access to an excellent education is critical to student success and we are honored that our schools are being recognized for helping all students to succeed."
In the higher of two categories, called the Board of Education Highest Achievement Award, Virginia Beach schools received 9 of 52 awards presented across the Commonwealth. Virginia Beach schools recognized in this category were Bayside Elementary School, Christopher Farms Elementary School, Corporate Landing Elementary School, Green Run Collegiate, Kingston Elementary School, Malibu Elementary School, Old Donation School, Rosemont Elementary School and Shelton Park Elementary School.
To earn this distinction, a school had to earn a state rating of accredited and meet the following benchmarks:
- 70% pass rate on state assessments in science and mathematics;
- 75% pass rate on state assessment in English reading and writing;
- No more than a 5% gap (for schools with two student demographic groups) or a 10% gap (for schools with three or more student demographic groups) in English reading and writing between the lowest-performing group and all other students in the school; and
- No more than a 5% gap (for schools with two demographic student groups) or a 10% gap (for schools with three or more student demographic groups) in mathematics between the lowest-performing group and all other students in the school.
PTA
WAYS TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH CFES HAPPENINGS:
- Check our website weekly: https://christopherfarmses.vbschools.com/
- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfescolts
- Download the VBSCHOOLS app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store
- Make sure the school has your updated phone number and email address in order to receive Alert Now communications
- Follow your child's progress on Parent Portal: https://www.vbschools.com/parents/parent_portal
Proud Principal
Email: robyn.backer@vbschools.com
Website: https://christopherfarmses.vbschools.com/
Location: Christopher Farms Elementary School 2828 Pleasant Acres Drive Virginia Beach, Virginia 234
Phone: (757) 648-2240
Twitter: @RobynBacker