Cougar Corner
COVID-19 Update 5.1.2020
Cottonwood Creek Good News Episode #3
Happy Day Parade!
Do you have Good News?
We hope you are enjoying the Cottonwood Creek Good News! This week was all about the awesome parade. Next week let's hear some Good News messages about your teachers. It is Teacher Appreciation Week and we would love to hear the good news you have about your teacher(s).
Dear Cottonwood Creek Families,
Happy May Day! I hope everyone noticed the daffodils blooming in front of the school on the day of the parade. What a beautiful sight to give us a glimpse of spring. Thanks to everyone who came through the parade on Wednesday. We had close to 150 cars drive through and wave to the staff. I think it was just what we all needed. Staff enjoyed seeing all the smiling faces and fun signs. We enjoyed it as much as the kids and families.
Can you believe we have three weeks remaining in the 2019-20 school year? This is certainly not how any of us would have believed this school year would end, but we have a few more fun ideas to help us finish strong. As we come to a close, please continue to let us know how we can support you and finish the best we can. We truly appreciate your feedback and thank you for sharing.
Take notice of the upcoming dates:
May 4-8 - Teacher Appreciation Week
May 6 - Talent Show (We will be sending a SMORE newsletter with the link.)
May 8 - Professional Development Day - Please take a break and enjoy the long weekend.
May 11-15 - Start to wind down and get all work completed, all families will be contacted during this week to complete a survey with their teacher.
May 14, 15, 18, 19 - Materials and Chrome Book Return (schedule will be coming)
May 18-20 - Students will get a menu of choices for "no tech" fun options for the last week of school.
May 20 - 5th grade promotion (Drive-thru celebration). Details will be coming.
May 21 - Last day of school Celebration Parade from 3pm -6pm (we hope to include more working families by extending into the evening). Details will be coming.
Thank you to everyone for hanging in there. We are coming to a close soon so stay connected and do your best.
Cougars - WE GOT THIS!
Take Care,
Mrs. Vrvilo
Teacher Appreciation Week
Tell a Joke Tuesday - Tell a teacher a joke to make them smile or send a goofy picture.
Weird Wednesday - Tell a teacher about their superpower.
Thank You Thursday - Your messages will be sent to your teachers today. Make sure you have completed the form above.
Fabulous Friday - Make sure you have sent your short Cottonwood Creek Good News video to ccnnews1983@gmail.com about how fabulous your teacher is. Videos need to be submitted by Wednesday to be included.
Remind your teachers why they love their profession. Send messages, letters, pictures, videos, and virtual gifts.
Teeland Middle School - New Student Orientation/Title I Parent Night
Click here for an introduction to Teeland Middle School for incoming 6th graders!
*Look for Colony Middle School's new student information in next week's SMORE.
Census 2020 Extended Deadline
Grading
Information regarding grading went out in last week's S'more newsletter. However, we wanted to keep the link for the Pass / No Grade option for grades 3-5 available here for easy access.
In response to the many families that are finding distance learning to be very challenging we want to offer the option of a P (Pass) for Literacy and Math. As long as your child is participating, completing assignments, and working with their teachers to do their best in this situation we will honor the the work with a P on the report card. If a parent would like to opt for a P/NG option in Literacy and Math, please click the button to complete the P/NG form.
Click on the Links below to view our past newsletters
2019/2020 Yearbooks
MSBSD Remote Learning Website
The MSBSD’s parent/student Remote Learning website is now available and intended to help parents and students transition from interacting with students face-to-face in classrooms to Remote Learning. Per Governor Dunleavy’s mandate, we will be providing instruction through Remote Learning for the remainder of the school year. As a result, the EdTechs have created a Remote Learning website of curated resources for parents and students. The resources include a calendar of parent trainings for April, Google Classroom tutorials, internet safety/digital citizenship resources, student learning checklists, and online learning tools organized by grade level. We have fielded numerous questions about these topics and are attempting to create a user-friendly resource for our parents and students. The resources provided are meant to enhance and support your site-based remote learning plans.
https://www.matsuk12.us/remote
The IT Department is looking for feedback on training opportunities for parents. Please take this survey:
Library Corner with Mrs. Udy
Retold by Ruby Dee
Digital Citizenship - Week 5
This week students will reflect on how to build positive relationships, avoid risky online talk, and understand why some topics and conversations may be better offline. Choose the video that best fits your child/teen and discuss the reflection questions together.
Primary Elementary K-2
Saying Goodbye to Technology - CLICK HERE!
How do you say goodbye to technology when you don't want to?
Intermediate Elementary 3-5
Keeping Games Fun - CLICK HERE!
What can you do to keep your online games safe and fun?
From Your School Psychologist Mr. Hoffman
Helping Kids Cope with COVID-19 (Part 1)
This is the first part in a series drawing advice from NASP's (National Association of School Psychologists) recent article Helping Children Cope with Changes Resulting From COVID-19. This video covers the section entitled Stay Calm, Listen, and Offer Reassurance.
Micah Hoffman MEd, EdS, NCSP
School Psychologist
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District
Cottonwood Creek ACTION School
Monday and Thursday (Wednesday Afternoon)
p: 907.864.2161 f: 907.864.2180
Finger Lake Elementary
Tuesday and Friday (Wednesday Morning)
p: 907.864.2233 f: 907.864.2280
News from the Nurse
Find Emergency Meals for Kids and Teens
Parents with kids and teens 18 years old and under can use our Meals 4 Kids mapping tool to find sites near them where they can pick up free nutritious meals and snacks. To maintain social distancing, kids and teens may take their meal home to eat. Simply type in your address and find results.
Text 'Food' to 877-877 to Find Feeding Sites for Kids and Teens
How it works:
- Text ‘FOOD’ to 877-877 or 'COMIDA' to 877-877 for information in Spanish.
- User receives text back prompting them to enter a street address, city and state and/or zip code for their desired location. While the service is able to return results for inputs that include only city and state and/or zip code, including a full street address will return results that are more accurate.
- The service then texts back information about nearby meal sites, or information about how to access other food resources if no sites are operating in the vicinity.
Call National Hunger Hotline
Call the USDA National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-348-6479, Monday-Friday, 7:00 am - 10:00 pm EST for help locating local feeding sites, food banks, or food pantries.
FoodFinder App
Find emergency food locations by using the FoodFinder online tool or mobile app.
Student Personal Items Pick-Up
If you still have items to pick up or have been contacted by your child's teacher to pick up items at school, please drop by the school for curbside pick up during one of the scheduled times on either Monday, Wednesday or Friday.
Monday, 10 AM to 12 PM
Wednesday, 11 AM to 1 PM
Friday, 1 PM to 3 PM
If you are unable to make one of these staggered times, we can make an appointment.
If your child NEEDS a chromebook, please complete the agreement form before coming to school. https://forms.gle/4yKgZu9qyXXPggxU7
Cottonwood Creek Facebook
Cottonwood Creek PTO Facebook
Follow/Like the Cottonwood Creek PTO Facebook page for updates and to stay involved with the PTO.
https://www.facebook.com/cottonwoodcreek.pto