The ESPN- February 2024
Cannon Falls Elementary School Principal News
Hello CFES Families-
Each month, I will be sending out a monthly newsletter that will include all of the happenings and other informational items about our building. This month our newsletter is a big one with lots of information. Please read it all the way through. Our goal is to stay as connected as we can with all of our families. If you ever have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us! We celebrated our incredibly caring and amazing paraprofessional crew this past week. They are pictured above. Please if you see one of our para's out and about, give them a high five. They deserve it!
Three important reminders on arrival/dismissal:
- ALL parents/guardians/students/staff NEED to use a crosswalk when coming or going. We have repeat offenders to this and while we know this is an inconvenience, we have procedures in place for the safety of all.
- Students should never have to cross in front of a lane of traffic without a crossing guard. You must be in either lane 1 or lane 2 to drop or pick up your child. Any other area is dangerous! We are seeing more of this everyday and need your help!
- Doors B and C lock at 8:00 AM therefore, if you arrive after 8:00 AM your child will need to go through the main doors to the office to get a tardy pass.
Thank you as well for your continued support to the CFES school community! - Mrs. Chappuis
February is I LOVE TO READ MONTH
Our school literacy team has been working hard for our special I LOVE TO READ month! Our theme this year is Reading is My Super Power. We will be doing some fun activities all month long based around that theme.
We will celebrate as well on four dress up Friday's:
Friday, Feb 2 - Superhero Day - Show us what you would look like as a superhero (no masks please)
Friday, Feb 9 - Wearable Words - wear clothing and hats with words on them
Friday, Feb 16 - Dress Like Your Favorite Book Character
Friday, Feb 23 - Hats Off To Reading - wear your favorite hat
We NEED your help! PTO Carnival is coming soon! Feb. 9th 5:00- 8:00 PM
We are quickly approaching our Carnival and Silent Auction. We need your help! The SignUp Genius link is below with all available openings. We offer most shifts in 3's. Option 1 is to help set up and run, Option 2 is to help run, Option 3 is to help fun and clean up. All shifts are very critical!
As always we are happy to sign anything for someone that needs volunteer time. We are open to students, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles! Without you this is not possible!
Winter Conferences are coming soon- Feb. 26 (Monday) and Feb. 29th (Thursday)
Winter Parent/Teacher Conferences are on Monday, Feb. 26th and Thursday Feb. 29th. This is a great opportunity to meet with the teacher(s) and your children to discuss how things are going. I strongly encourage everyone to attend. Our building attendance goal for conferences is always 100%. We again are using PTCfast (just like fall conferences) for our conference sign-up. The link will be live on Monday, Feb. 12 at 9:00 AM.
***The scholastic book fair put on by our PTO will be running during conferences!
Cannon Falls Elementary (grades 3-5) Book Challenge has started!
The Cannon Falls Education Foundation along with the Grades 3-5 teachers are sponsoring a program to encourage students to read. The program requirements are simple; a student needs to read ten “reading level” books approved by their teacher during a four month period. If the student meets these requirements and has turned in their completed entry form to their teacher, their name will be added to a drawing that will take place in the spring at a school assembly for one of over 20 prizes per grade level. This takes the place of the Bikes For Books program that is no longer available for our school.
B.O.L.D Day Reminders
With the cold weather approaching, its a great time to revisit our BOLD Day (Bomber Online Learning Day) guidelines. The first two cancellations due to weather will not be considered BOLD days. We have our first snow day on Jan. 12th. The days following our first two will be BOLD days and counted as regular instructional days. Your child's teacher will be communicating with you what the BOLD day learning expectations will be when that time comes. Click here to see our districts BOLD day guidelines.
Class of 2037- Kindergarten Open House Coming Soon
Welcome to our soon to be bombers! Our kindergarten open house will be on March 4th at 3:30-4:30 PM. We will begin in the elementary cafeteria and then we will tour the kindergarten classrooms and meet teachers. If you aren't able to make the open house and would like to visit the school or need registration information please call the school at 507-263-6800 ext. 1201.
For more information, please check out our website at the link below.
Thank you Cannon Falls Education Foundation
The Cannon Falls Education Foundation is truly one of a kind. CFEF supports and promotes excellence in education by providing funding for all types of educational programs and activities that are above and beyond the programs supported by general education dollars. The project listed below totaling just over $3,000.00 dollars was funded in January at the elementary school.
- Cannon Falls Elementary Reading Challenge- 3-5th grade teachers- $1432.00
- MN Author and Illustrator Visit (Trisha Shaskan & Magdalena Mora)- Deb Kopp- $1657.00
Thank you to the CFEF for sponsoring this new reading program and for supporting our district. We are so grateful for our partnership. If you would like to donate to this incredible foundation you may do so online by clicking here!
5th Grade Kindness Retreat was a huge success!
Cannon Falls Elementary 5th grade students participated in a high-energy retreat on Jan. 19th to give students tools to develop empathy and promote kindness in our school. The three main objectives of this retreat are:
1. Understand why and how to make kind choices.
2. Enhance empathy skills to understand how words and actions affect others.
3. Develop conflict-resolution strategies that can be used in response to unkind actions.
This retreat was sponsored by the Cannon Falls Education Foundation. We are so grateful to be able to offer this retreat yearly as it is so very important for our school community.
Attendance Concerns
Every day our secretaries are spending a considerable amount of time attempting to reach out to families of absent students, please make every effort to call the office if your child will be absent from school. If you do not call the school the absence is marked unexcused. We absolutely have to have contact from the parents about absences by 9:00 AM. We can be reached at 507-263-6800 option 4.
As a reminder, attendance matters! If your child is not feeling well... we understand. However, we have many students reaching a concerning number of absences for other reasons. Did you know that students fall behind with as little as 2 days per month being absent? For more helpful information on the importance of your child's attendance, please read this.
Healthy Snacks and Beverages at CFES- We need your help
Save the Dates: Remaining Music Performances
1st Grade Informances - Week of May 6-9 (THIS IS A RECENT CHANGE)
2nd and 3rd Grade Concert - April 25
4th and 5th Grade Concert - February 22
CARE Dental Clinic- March 4th
The CARE Dental Clinic is coming to Cannon Falls Schools on Monday March 4 to provide free dental screenings and preventive care at school during regular school hours to qualifying students (uninsured or state-insured and whose families meet certain income guidelines).
If you would like your child to receive dental care please fill out the form below and return it to school. If you are a student who is 18 years or older you may complete the form by yourself.
Please note: Annual permission is required. Please fill out this form every school year to ensure your student is seen for care. If you already filled out this form for the clinic that was held last fall you do not need to complete it again. CARE Clinic may need to call with questions prior to treatment; please be sure to provide a number to reach you during the school day.
You may contact the CARE Clinic or the school nurses if you have any questions about the services they provide.
CARE Clinic Phone Number: 651-388-1022
Thank you,
District Nurse, Pam Wulf
Parent Pick-up/Drop-off Reminders
Please read the document below for expectations of our parent pick-up/drop-off and other parking lot helpful hints. One main item that needs to be addressed is that ALL parents/guardians/students/staff NEED to use a crosswalk when coming or going. Please do NOT cut across the car lane. Students are always watching and we want to model for them how to safely cross in the parking lot. The document for reference can be found below. I encourage you to revisit it often. Please share with anyone that is going to be picking up your student.
Safety and Security
As a reminder, parents/guardians will no longer be able to walk their child to their classroom. A students independence grows so much when they get an opportunity to walk into the building by themselves. You may only walk them up to their designated door. Please drop off any items that your child needs for their day in the main office and we will get it to them.
Emergency Drills
For those of you unaware, our district uses the ALICE method in the event of a threat. We will continue to remind students of our expectations during both of these types of drills. Our ALICE drills are not intended to create anxiety for our students but rather provide a knowledge base that will help them in the event they need it. During the ALICE drills, staff and students will be discussing how to follow directions when given a specific set of threat scenarios. For example: An announcement will be made over the loud speaker stating for example: "There is a threat in the cafeteria, Activate ALICE now." Here is a short video for more information on ALICE. Severe weather drills will take place in the Spring.
**If you would wish that your child opt out of safety drills, please notify Mrs. Chappuis at chappuis.jennifer@cf.k12.mn.us
Care Solace
Cannon Falls Area Schools partnered with Care Solace to support the well-being of students and their family members. Care Solace is a complimentary and confidential care coordination service that can help you quickly find mental health or substance use treatment options matched to your needs, regardless of circumstance.
If you or a family member are looking for help with mental health or substance use and would like to use Care Solace to find a provider:
- Call 888-515-0595. Support is available 24/7/365 in any language.
- Visit www.caresolace.com/cfk12 and either search on your own OR click “Book Appointment” for assistance by video chat, email, or phone.
Volunteering at CFES
January PBIS Keep It Real Winners...
Remaining PLC Early Release Days for the 2023-2024 School Year
- Feb. 9th
- Mar. 15th
- Apr. 12th
- May 10th
Did you know...Attendance Matters
Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school AND themselves. Start building this habit early (PK or kindergarten) so they learn that going to school on time, every day is important. Eventually good attendance will be a skill that will help them succeed.
District Transportation
Upcoming Important Dates:
- Feb. 9th PLC Early Release- 12:50 PM
- Feb. 9th- PTO Carnival 5-8 PM
- Feb. 19th- NO SCHOOL- Presidents Day
- Feb. 22nd- 4th and 5th grade Music Concert- 6:00 PM (High School Auditorium)
- Feb. 26th & 29th- Conferences 3:30-7:30 PM ** PTO BOOK FAIR TOO:)
- Mar. 4th- CARE Dental Clinic- during school day
- Mar. 4th- Kindergarten Open House- 3:30-4:30 PM
- Mar. 15th- PLC Early Release- 12:50 PM
- Mar. 25th-April 1st- NO SCHOOL- Spring Break