The CPES BobChat
August 25, 2019
Mrs. Preston's Class
Ms. St. Aimee's Class
Mrs. Rezzai's Class
How Do Our Children Know How to Be Safe?
We have started so well. Every day this week got better and better at arrival and dismissal and we appreciate your help with that. Over the next couple of weeks, we will start safety drills with our students so they will know what to do in emergency situations. Here's what we can do together to teach safety to our kids. 1. If you see something, say something. We want all staff members, parents, visitors and kids to know that if something doesn't look right, we want them to take action. That action might be informing the closest adult. It may be pulling a fire alarm. It may be calling 911. Safety is everyone's responsibility. Security cameras help but I would rather have 850-900 cameras (called our eyes) open and ready to respond to any situation. 2. We will conduct safety drills. These drills will include evacuations of the building, lockdowns, and severe weather drills (i.e. tornado, earthquake, and lightning). These drills are random and unannounced. We try to simulate what can really happen so our thinking is flexible and responsive. We always ask, "what do we do if.....?" 3. When you are at Cherry Park during a drill or emergency situation, help model for our kids what to do. During an emergency, we ask that you defer to (and take direction from) the closest adults in charge. (If you are an emergency worker and can assist, we welcome that as well.) Know that we will be specific and clear about what to do. We ask that you refrain from using your cell phone unless you check with a staff member. During a drill or incident, know that you may or may not be anywhere near your child and our first goal is to get everyone to a safe and secure location. Once the situation is resolved, we can then focus on you seeing your child. 4. Know that we will communicate with you as soon as we can. Our first priority in any incident is safety and not external communication. Know that we will tell you what is happening as soon as possible. Most likely, that information will come from a district source that has checked to be sure there is accuracy about what has happened. Do not trust the rumor mill. Please do not call the school. Please do not come to the school. I can promise you from prior experiences (i.e. going through a fire at Richmond Drive) that our campus will be immediately locked down and we will ensure the safety and security of your child before focusing on communication and reunification. As hard as it is, when you hear about something happening, it is best to wait for clarity and further directions. 5. Please help your child know what to do in any safety situation. We hope you periodically discuss with your child how to be safe when you go to the store or are walking through a parking lot or crowd. We want to instill confidence in our kids that they can act in appropriate ways to help keep themselves and others safe. These conversations need to be developmentally appropriate and thoughtful. We don't want to foster fearful kids but we do want them to be ready and aware. Kids always take their cues from us and they do what they see us do. Let's be thoughtful in modeling for them how to stay safe in all situations. As a district, safety is our highest priority and it takes #OneTeamOneMissionOneRockHill to make that possible.
Mr. Maness, Principal
School News
Back to School Reminders of Procedures
1. Arrival--By Friday, most all kids were dropped off by 7:45. Starting tomorrow, if you arrive after 7:45, you will need to sign in your child at our Main Office off of Caswell Street. Our Safety Patrol leaves at 7:40 so they can get to class on time. Our Caswell Entrance is moving along a little more quickly so you may want to consider drop-off there. (You can drop off your child at either entrance.) We strongly discourage parking across Cherry Road and walking across. That is one of the most unsafe ways for your child to arrive at school and it holds up our Cherry Road car line from being able to turn right. Also, especially for our little ones, please say goodbye when they get out of the car. We noticed that if you roll down your window to tell him/her additional things while moving through the car line, he/she will walk back towards your car and that can be dangerous. Please make sure they have what they need when they get out.
2. Dismissal--Again, know that our Caswell line is moving a little more quickly and you can use that pickup line for all grades. If you switch lines, be sure to get a new pickup card and inform your child's teacher in writing. At this point, if you need a new pickup card for yourself or others, you will need to come to the office in person to get it. This way, we can verify who is on the pickup list. If you add or subtract people picking up your child (i.e. changes to your Emergency Contact List), please come and do that in person in the office. If there is a temporary change (i.e. a change for just one day) in how your child goes home, please put it in writing and send it to the teacher first thing in the morning or, again, you can do that in person at the office.
3. Signing In and Signing Out--Please bring your license with you when you come. We do not do sign outs after 2:00 for safety and security reasons. For Challenger students who need to be dismissed before 3:00, please send a note that they will be car riders and where they will be picked up (Caswell or Cherry Road Entrance.) If at all possible, please sign your child out either before or after his lunch time. It is difficult to get word to the teacher during lunch and then the teacher will need to escort the child back to the room during lunch to get his belongings (and the teacher misses out on eating lunch.)
4. Visiting--Again, please bring your license in order to check in. We welcome you to come for lunch with your child. In the past, we allowed students to choose a friend from the class to eat with his/her parents when they visited at lunch. Given that there is limited room for visitors, we cannot accommodate friends from the class. We want families to have the space they need to enjoy time together. (We hope to add some outdoor seating so we can accommodate more visitors.) As always, please say goodbye in the cafeteria when it is time for the class to return to their instruction. Please remember that visits (outside of the lunch time) need to be scheduled ahead of time with the teacher.
LET ME RUN (for 4th and 5th Grade Boys)
Registration is now open.
COACHES ARE NEEDED.
PLEASE VOLUNTEER AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF BOYS!!!
We do not have coaches for Let Me Run at Cherry Park this fall but registration is open contingent on filling those coaching position. Please consider coaching, or if you can't coach, get the word out and help us find coaches. Last spring we had 2 awesome teams and 25 boys in the program. Let's make that happen again!
Let Me Run is a running program for 4th - 5th grade boys, but it’s more about the boy than the run. Counteracting the negative pressures society places on boys, the program uses running as the vehicle to inspire, teach, and reach them. Combining exercise with fun activities and lessons, Let Me Run inspire boys to be courageous enough to be themselves, build healthy relationships, and live an active lifestyle.
Let Me Run meets for 1 hour 15 minutes after school for 7 weeks on two non-consecutive days beginning mid-September. The season will end with the inaugural Upper Palmetto Let Me Run 5K To be held at the Winthrop Coliseum /Winthrop Lake area.
Register your son at:
http://www.letmerun.org/region/upper-palmetto/teams
To volunteer as a coach or for information contact:
Don Rice, Director
704-743-8755
Opportunity to Play Football
Cherry Park students will play on the same team as Richmond Drive students. David Bell will be the head coach and he models high expectations for kids. For more information, please click on the flyer below. You can reach Coach Bell at 803-412-2475 or wvdawgs@comporium.net.
PTO and SIC Information
Box Tops For Education
The Box Tops program has gone digital! Please download the new Box Tops app and scan your receipts to help us earn money for Cherry Park Elementary. (Grandparents and neighbors are welcome to help, too.) You can also still clip and send traditional Box Tops with a valid expiration date. The first due date for clipped Box Tops will be Friday, October 18th, but you can send Box Tops to your child’s teacher at any time during the school year. For more information, please go to http://www.btfe.com. Thanks for supporting our school!
Parent Teacher Organization and School Improvement Council Update
The PTO serves to raise funds, coordinate volunteers and encourage teachers through appreciation activities. Click on the PTO Newsletter button below if you wish to receive the PTO Newsletter: PTO and SIC are tentatively planning to meet on the second Monday of each month next year. School Improvement Council meets at 5:30 (in the Fish Bowl) and our Parent Teacher Organization meets at 6:30 (in the Media Center.) Elections were held in the spring for these organizations but all parents are welcome to attend to help provide input and volunteer. Meetings will be held on September 9, October 14, November 11, December 9 (if needed), January 13, February 10, March 9, April 13, and May 11 (if needed.)
Calendar of Events
Tuesday, August 27--6:00-8:00 PM High School Open House
Wednesday, August 28--6:30 PM Night for Scouting Meeting in the Media Center
Thursday, August 29--6:00-7:30 PM Middle School Open House
September 2--Labor Day Holiday
September 9--First School Improvement Council Meeting (5:30 PM) and Parent Teacher Organization Meeting (6:30 PM) (All parents are welcome to attend.)
October 16--Fall Picture Day (Information to come.)
Monday, October 21--Parent Conference Day
Monday-Friday, October 27-November1--Red Ribbon Week
Friday, November 1--Bobcat Dash (This is our Fall Fundraiser and more information will be sent home at a later time.)