Colt Crusader
A newsletter for the families of CFES students
January 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
Happy New Year!
-Ms. Backer
Message from Mrs. Porter, our assistant principal.
Happy New Year Colt Families!
As we begin the new year, teachers are preparing lessons filled with engagement, creativity, and student led collaboration. The 4th grade will have a Jamestown Settlement Program and 1st grade will have classroom visits from MOCA.
Students returned to school continuing their positive ways with PBIS structures. So many students were seen this past week encouraging their friends in the hall so their class earned a Golden Ticket.
Hoping to see many of you this month during programs or at lunch visits. Wishing you a joyful January!
-Mrs. Porter
Important Upcoming Dates
January
1/3 - Brickell Academy Information Night @ 5p
1/8 - Landstown Middle Open House @5:30p
1/15 - Chuck E. Cheese Cashola @ 3:00p-9:00p
1/17 - PTA Meeting @ 3:00p
1/21 - Martin Luther King Day (No School)
1/25 - Father Daughter Masquerade Ball @ 6:00p-8:00p
1/28 - The Great Kindness Challenge Week Begins (information will come home soon about how to encourage children to make a difference for others)
1/31 - Quarter 2 Ends
February
2/1 - Staff Day
2/6 - 4th Grade Sandler Center Field Trip
2/7 - Gifted Application Testing
2/7 Reflections Program Celebration
2/11 - Report Cards Go Home
2/11 - Grandparents Weeks Begins
2/15 - Grandparents Week Ends
2/18 - Spring Book Fair Begins
2/19 - Book Fair Family Night 5p-6p
2/22 - Spring Book Fair Ends
2/22 - Mother Son Sock Hop 6p-8p
Great Dreams Need Great Teachers!
Congratulations to our Citizens of the Month for December!
1st - 5th Grade
1st Grade
Ryleigh Hartman(Cooley)
Logan Pishioneri (Kernodle)
Greenlee Schmidt (Shutter)
Lauren Colagene (Stewart)
Robert Johnson(Torres)
2nd Grade
Alex George (Bullard)
Jayla Fradella (Burok)
Kinsley Hall (Hall)
Kai Chadprachong (Love)
Madeline Arnett (Minehan)
Savannah Loy (Zipprich)
3rd Grade
Everett Farley (Crouch)
Janiyah Tumali (Kesner)
Lia Manganaro (Pascual)
Harper Willetts (Rodriguez)
Camden Kemp (Willett)
4th Grade
Jeanine Salas (Cucuzza)
Kaitlyn Anderson (Dorbin)
Cassidy Snider (Mcneely)
Paris Willie (Nicolosi)
Joslyn Rowe (Zaleski)
5th Grade
Jordan Wallace (Bagnall)
kennedy Armstrong (Cochran)
anika kane (Kemper)
Joshua Crawford (Pagan)
Alaya Daigrepont (Zajac)
Counselor Corner
Happy New Year! Our monthly focus for this month is KINDNESS and CARING. Students will learn about making positive contributions to society through using kind language and gestures, helping those in need and showing empathy.
Our school will join the entire VBCPS division, schools across Virginia and the US in the Great Kindness Challenge Monday, January 28th through Friday, February 1st. We will have spirit days throughout the week and students will be encouraged to participate in as many acts of kindness as they can at school, home and in the community. See the attached flyers for more details.
Do you love your job or have an exciting or unique career you’d like to share with our students? If so, please fill in this Career Day Speaker form and return to Mrs. Yoshida at your earliest convenience.
Parents of 5th graders, please note important dates this week regarding Middle School and contact Mrs. Yoshida with any questions or concerns.
Tuesday, January 7th:
6th Grade Course Request sheets will be sent home in Tuesday folders with a copy of a practice course selection worksheet with money symbols that students used in their lesson prior to Winter Break. Please review these sheets, complete, sign and return the registration form immediately. Information and descriptions for available courses can be found here.
Landstown Middle School’s information night 5:30pm. Please plan to attend if this is your zone school and/or if you plan to continue in the Spanish Immersion program.
Friday, January 11th: Middle School Options Letter and 6th Grade Course Registration Forms are due.
Those students who plan to apply to ODS Brickell Academy, ODS Gifted Dance, Virginia Beach Middle Visual Arts or Plaza International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program, please remember on-line applications are due before February 1st.
Reading Corner
Brrr…it’s winter time. That means it’s the perfect time of year to curl up with a good book. This is a perfect time of year to develop a love of reading in your child. Twenty minutes a day will build your child’s vocabulary and their interest in reading. Here’s the impact of reading 20 minutes per day:
Math Corner
Happy 2019! Kindergarten is kicking off the new year with a math unit in data. They are building and interpreting object and picture graphs in class. Try creating a picture graph at home by charting favorite colors of family and friends! Computation is an important skill that our students are diving into this month. Students in 1st grade are creating and solving story problems up to sums of 10. In 2nd grade, students are developing mental strategies for basic addition/subtraction facts. In 3rd grade, students are representing multiplication and division through models. Fourth graders are creating and solving single-step division problems. Finally, fifth graders are adding, subtracting, and multiplying decimals and mixed numbers. Encourage your child to talk about some of the math strategies they are exploring in class!
Tech Talk
The biggest issue when students try to log into a browser for Clever access is the use of other Google Accounts in the same browser. It often helps if you are able use a Incognito browser window with Chrome, or a InPrivate Browser Window for Internet Explorer, and start from there. The private browser windows don’t keep the login information that can interfere with getting into Clever because the school login is a Google Account.
Once you have a Incognito window open, go to the Christopher Farms Home page https://christopherfarmses.vbschools.com/ and click on Clever from the Student Menu. Ideally, if there is more than one Google Account being used on the device on a regular basis, the child should probably have their account added to the Google Account List for that browser to make it easier to access. However, if your child just needs to log in every once in a while, the InPrivate/ incognito mode will do the trick.
Library News
Gifted Gab
Are you interested in applying to a gifted program or the program at ODS for your child? Visit this link for timelines: Gifted Program Timelines
Click below to watch a video about the application process
The user name is your child’s student number (lunch number) and the password is the one assigned by the homeroom teacher that your child uses to log onto his or her Chromebook.
All applications are due by February 1, 2019 by 4 pm.
First grade applications only are due by March 1, 2019 by 4 pm
No late applications will be accepted, so please submit your applications in advance.
PTA News
- January 15th 3-9pm is Chuck E Cheese Cashola Night
- January 25th 6-9pm is Father/Daughter Masquerade Ball
Please see the flyers below.
Shutterfly Partners with CFES!
Text "Yes" for VBCPS Alert Now Text Messaging
As many of you know, VBCPS uses its Alert Now system to send school news, including weather announcements, school closings, etc. This year, VBCPS is using a new provider. Families will not need to enroll in the system; their contact information is directly carried over based on their child’s registration. However, for text messaging, families will need to confirm they would like to keep receiving text messages from the division.
You may have received a message on July 2 from the division’s provider, School Messenger, asking you to confirm you want to keep receiving Alert Now texts. If you did not, families can always opt-in to the texts at any time by texting a “Y” or “Yes” to the division’s short code number, 67587.
As a reminder, there are no additional fees for this service – it would be subject to all applicable messaging charges depending on your service provider. Standard message and data rates may apply.
WAYS TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH CFES HAPPENINGS:
- Check our website weekly: https://christopherfarmses.vbschools.com/
- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfescolts?lang=en
- 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: chritopherfarmses.vbschools.com
Location: Christopher Farms Elementary School 2828 Pleasant Acres Drive Virginia Beach, Virginia 234
Phone: (757) 648-2240
Twitter: @RobynBacker