Cottonwood News
Sept. 28th
News You Can Use
Walk to School -October 4th--This national activity emphasizes safer routes for walking and bicycling and the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and building connections between families and schools. Please join teachers and AHS students at either the 13th Street Park Community Building or at Lakeside and Allison on the Red Bud Trail at 8:15 and we'll walk to school together.
Parent Teacher Conferences - Please plan to join teachers October 19th for this year's PT Conferences. Teachers are starting to schedule times now, so look for information in your email or in a note home. Conferences can be held from 7:30 am-8:00 pm. Working together, you and the teacher can help your child have a successful school year.
When attending conferences, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Start the conference right: be there on time, and plan not to run over 20 minutes. If a longer conference is required, please let the teacher know ahead of time. Some conferences may be student-led. In this case, know that the students have worked hard to prepare his/her information. Listen carefully and be sure to ask questions.
Getting Ready: Each teacher will come prepared with samples of your children’s work and with ideas to help them do even better in school. You can get ready for the conference, too. Talk to your children before the conference. Find out what they think are their best subjects, and what subjects they like the least. Find out why. Ask your children if there is anything they would like you to talk about with their teachers.
Before you go to the school, write a note to yourself about:
- Things about your child’s life at home, personality, problems, habits, and hobbies you feel is important for the teacher to know.
- How you and the school can work together to help your child.
The Conference: Some good questions to ask are these:
- What are my child’s best and worst subjects?
- What kinds of tests are being done? What do the test tell about my child’s progress?
- Does my child participate in class discussions and activities?
- How well does my child get along with others?
- Have you noticed any sudden changes in the way my child acts? For example, have you noticed any squinting, tiredness or moodiness that might be a sign of physical or other problems?
The Cottonwood staff looks forward to sharing our ideas with you. Together we will help all of our students be successful.
Educationally yours,
Shari Rooks, Principal
GAD Parade--Cottonwood Float
Cottonwood families, please join us during the GAD "50 & Fabulous!" parade on Saturday, 9/30/2017!
The GAD parade will begin at 10:00am. We will meet by the Cottonwood float at 9:30am. The float will be located in either the Cottonwood, Andover Middle School, or Andover High School parking lots. Please find a GAD volunteer the morning of the parade and they will direct you to our float.
Cottonwood parents and children are welcome to walk next to and ride on the 1950's inspired float! We ask that at least one parent stay with their children during the entirety of the parade.
We will have candy for the kids to handout, but please feel free to bring a bag of your own if you are able! The kids LOVE handing out candy and it runs out quickly!
Costumes are not required to participate in the parade; however, here are some suggestions if you choose to have your child dress up! Costume suggestions include: jeans rolled up to the ankle, poodle skirts, white t-shirts with the sleeves rolled up, black jackets, pink jackets, bowling shirts, and neck scarves.
We look forward to a parade filled with Cottonwood spirit and pride!
Cottonwood Student Council
The Cottonwood Student Council is made up of a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer elected by Cottonwood teachers. Officers are all 5th grade students. Each third, fourth, and fifth grade class elects two representatives for the council. StuCo meets once a month on Wednesday mornings and is a service organization that gives students opportunities to help others.
This year’s council officers and members are:
President-Olivia Doremus Vice-President-John Rather
Secretary-Lauren Heinz Treasurer-Kaitlyn Brown
Class Representatives are:
Barnes-Isabel Hawley and William Rather
Hesterman-Isaiah Day and Maia Sternfeld-Dunn
Wright-Gracee Johnson and Abigail Neibling
Rich-Avery Casady and Wyatt McDowell
Ralston-(tie scores)-Brooklyn Brown, Caleb Crowley, Mae Fetters, and Katelyn Kice
Plank-Daniel Beck and Adyson Nowak
Fox-Mari Griffin and Kamden Thornton
Defebaugh (tie scores)- Allie Conard, Luke Osburn, Ben Vardaman, and Jordyn Washington
Gallagher-Tumani Anderson and Maire O’Connell
Each year, the officers decide what projects to undertake throughout the year. Projects for this year include:
October
We’ll go trick-or-treating for UNICEF (Just StuCo members. We will not be trick-or-treating at school.)
We will read with the residents at an assisted living center
We will make Positive Posters to hang around the school.
November
We’ll host a food drive again this year for the Andover Methodist Church food bank. We will walk to the food bank and help sort the food items.
We will read with the residents at an assisted living center
We will make Positive Posters to hang around the school.
December
StuCo members who would like to participate will be Salvation Army Bell Ringers at Dillon’s in Andover.
Dessert Cart for teachers
We will read with the residents at an assisted living center
We will make Positive Posters to hang around the school.
January
We will read with the residents at an assisted living center
We will make Positive Posters to hang around the school.
February
Stuffed Animal Drive for the Andover Police Department.
Make blankets for the Sunshine Children’s Home
We will read with the residents at an assisted living center
We will make Positive Posters to hang around the school..
March
Brinkley’s Buddies-Animal toy drive for the Kansas Humane Society
We will deliver cookies and thank-you notes to Andover’s city servants (fire, police, etc.)
We will read with the residents at an assisted living center
We will make Positive Posters to hang around the school.
April
We will host a Buddy Olympics.
We will read with the residents at an assisted living center
We will make Positive Posters to hang around the school.
May
Teacher Appreciation Week
We will read with the residents at an assisted living center
We will make Positive Posters to hang around the school.
Student Council will also be making a donation to Hurricane Relief to help schools rebuild.
Student Council also runs a school store every Tuesday morning. Students can buy erasers, pencils, pens, highlighters, etc. from the store. Prices range from $.25 to $2.00. Proceeds from the store finance our service projects.
If you have any questions about Student Council, feel free to contact Jill Hodge at hodgej@usd385.org.
Andover Advantage Foundation
Want to help celebrate? Click here!
Counselor's Corner--Marcie Faust
Counselor Time: During October, we will be working on a bullying unit. We will address what a bully is and what to do if you are being bullied. We will talk about verbal bullying, physical bullying, social bullying and cyber bullying. We will also visit about why we should not be a by stander. Please talk to your child about what they have learned. Reinforce with them how to treat others and how to be confident in themselves.
Red Ribbon Week is the last week of October. This is saying no to drugs and bad choices. Be sure to watch for more information. We want all our students making healthy choices.
We will start Banana Splits in October. I have already sent home permission slips. Please contact me with any questions or concerns.
If your child is having any school or home related issues please reach out to me. I am here to help.
Marcie Faust-Cottonwood Counselor/LPC/NBCC
316-218-4620 ext. 2
Nurse's News
The temperatures outside have not felt much like Fall, but Fall and Cold/Flu season are just around the corner. Remember to get your Flu shots!
Please reinforce with your kids the importance of hygiene. Reminders to cover their mouths and noses when coughing/sneezing, and to always wash their hands never hurt. As always good nutrition, drinking plenty of fluids and making sure to keep to a regular bedtime to insure students are getting the sleep are all a part of staying healthy.
Thank you to everyone who donated clothes to the health office, we are currently well stocked.
Cottonwood Library
Students in grades 3 – 5 are able to participate in the William Allen White program. This is a Kansas state book award and the winner of the award is chosen by the students. The award is in honor of William Allen White, a renowned newspaper editor, politician, and author. Each year books are nominated for a 3 – 5 category and a 6 – 8 category. The books must be published within the last two years. The book lists are selected by Kansas librarians and often include Newbery award winning books.
At CES, students in grades 3 – 5 have the option to participate. Students read the books and take an AR quiz at school. Students must get at least a 70 % or better on the AR quiz for it to count. Those who read two or more books from the list may vote for their favorite in April. Students also earn prizes after reading two, four, then (6 for 3rd, 7 for 4th, 8 for 5th). The last prize is a pizza party the end of April. The date is yet to be determined. Students have until April 15th to complete the challenge for prizes.
More information about the award and a list of this year’s *nominated books can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/wawlist2017
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at mmccall@usd385.org
Happy reading!
Mrs. Ohlund, CES Librarian
*The book George is not required or available at CES. Although will be counted if your child takes the test and passes with 70% or better..
Cottonwood PTO
Notes from the Sept. 5th meeting can be found here.
Throughout the year there are several opportunities to volunteer. Check out our Facebook page for more information.
PTO officers for the 17-18 school year are:
President—Tijen Owings
Vice President—Mike Scolari
Secretary—Rachel Niebling
Treasurer—Sarah Osburn
School Safety
Breafast is served from 8:20-8:50.
After school dismissal is at 3:45. Please continue to follow the traffic patterns. It helps the adults if you have the name cards in the side windows. If you have suggestions on how to make our process and flow of traffic safer, feel free to share your ideas.
Food Service -$10.00
end of this three-day period, Andover Food Services has not been notifed as to payment arrangements or if payment has not been made, further charges will not be allowed. The student must bring payment to purchase a lunch or bring a lunch to school.
Free & Reduced Meals are available to qualifying households. They are available through www.usd385.org Parents/Free/Reduced Lunch Forms or through Bonnie Scarth at Support Services, 202 W Market, 316-218-4604
Communication is Key
School website: http://cottonwood.usd385.org/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CottonwoodElementary
PTO Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cottonwoodelementarypto/
Andover Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndoverSchools
Cottonwood Twitter: https://twitter.com/CottonwoodElem
Teacher Facebook/Twitter pages:
Mrs. Defebaugh https://www.facebook.com/MrsDefebaugh/
Mrs. Fox https://www.facebook.com/foxin5th/
Mrs. Gallagher https://www.facebook.com/mrsgallaghers5thgradeclass
Mrs. Plank https://www.facebook.com/Mrs-Planks-Fourth-Grade-1490196337947267/?fref=ts
Mrs. Ralston Twitter @Mrs_Ralston https://www.facebook.com/MrsRalstons4thGrade/?ref=settings
Mrs. Rich https://www.facebook.com/emmonsa/?fref=ts
Ms. Wright https://www.facebook.com/wrightces/?fref=ts
Mrs. Hachen https://www.facebook.com/HachenHighlights/?fref=ts
Mrs. Davis https://www.facebook.com/dayswithdavis/
Mrs. Highfill https://www.facebook.com/highfill2nd/?fref=ts
Mrs. Barscewski https://www.facebook.com/Mrs-Barscewskis-First-Grade-1295655550474548/?fref=ts
Mrs. Kindle https://www.facebook.com/kindle2014/?fref=ts
Ms. McKenna https://www.facebook.com/1stgrademckenna/
Mrs. Hanna https://www.facebook.com/MrsHannasKindergarten/?fref=ts
Mrs. Johnson/Mrs. Hays -- Hays & Johnson Kindergarten Connection (Ask for permission to join)
Mrs. Wilson https://www.facebook.com/Wilsonart2015/?fref=ts
Peachjar-- Peachjar is an “electronic backpack” system where schools post calendars, activity information from enrichment providers, and school letters. This system is used exclusively for distribution of school-approved fliers. Your email address will not be shared or used for any other purpose.
Andover Food Service-- Andover School Lunch Menus are digital. Look for the link on our district website at USD385.org, or go to usd385.nutrislice.com. There is also an app available. Just look for Nutrislice in your app store. Please call Nutrition Services, 316-218-4603 with any questions.
Greater Andover Days Parade
Saturday, Sep 30, 2017, 09:00 AM
Cottonwood Elementary School, North Andover Road, Andover, KS, United States
PTO Meeting
Tuesday, Oct 3, 2017, 06:30 PM
Cottonwood Elementary School, North Andover Road, Andover, KS, United States
Walk to School Day
Wednesday, Oct 4, 2017, 08:15 AM
Andover Parks & Recreation, East 13th Street, Andover, KS, United States
PTO Non-A-Thon
Friday, Oct 6, 2017, 09:00 PM
Cottonwood Elementary School, North Andover Road, Andover, KS, United States
Parent Teacher Conferences
Thursday, Sep 28, 2017, 07:30 AM
Cottonwood Elementary School, North Andover Road, Andover, KS, United States
No School-End of 1st Quarter
Friday, Oct 20, 2017, 08:00 AM
Cottonwood Elementary School, North Andover Road, Andover, KS, United States
Next Cottonwood News--October 13th
Cottonwood Elementary
Email: rookss@usd385.org
Website: http://cottonwood.usd385.org/
Location: 1747 N Andover Rd, Andover, KS, United States
Phone: 316-218-4620
Facebook: facebook.com/CottonwoodElementary/
Twitter: @CottonwoodElem