May 2022
Chestatee Elementary School
A Letter From Dr. Tennies, Our Principal
Dear Families,
We are excited to be sharing May with you and your children. So many fun wrap up activities are on deck for this month @ the T.
One of my favorite events at Chestatee happens on the last day of class. We have a “graduation walk” through the halls and across the sidewalks. It is a wonderful time to celebrate the accomplishments of our 5th graders as they take a victory lap through our school. As an added treat, we invite our past Chestatee students who are graduating from high school to walk on the end of our parade line. Seeing the many different graduation gowns is a treat for our staff. Seeing our past students become graduating seniors fills us with pride!
From Field Days to Class Parties, it is wonderful to be able to welcome volunteers and guests to our campus. Volunteers make our events better. We appreciate the extra hands to support the work.
As a reminder, please allow extra time to sign in and receive your visitor pass as you enter Chestatee. Ms. Stacey will need a photo I.D. so that she will be able to print your visitor badge. We will offer pre-registration for class parties. Look for a link from your homeroom teacher closer to the event date.
We look forward to seeing you in the coming weeks! Together we are Chestatee!
Kindly,
Dr. Polly Tennies
Principal
Chestatee Elementary School
770-887-2341 ext. 722004
Positive Office Referral Students Visit Dr. T's Office
Lunch Details and Times Below! Guests are welcome through May 18th!
Please limit yourself to one date per month, as we give opportunity for everyone. Outside food is allowed.
The cost of a guest lunch is $3.85. The cafeteria can accept check or exact cash.
Some Guidelines for Lunch:
- Meet your child in the lunchroom.
- Sit at your assigned table. There are 4 chairs.
- Wave goodbye from the lunchroom at the end of the period.
Thank YOU!
A Congratulations is in Order!
The Cafeteria Team Earned a 100 on their Inspection!
Our Fifth Grade Math Team Competed at South Forsyth on Saturday!
Kim Sarfaty Represented Chestatee at the Teacher of the Year Conference in LaGrange, GA!
We are Proud of Joanna for Sharing Her Story with Other Families
These Students were Chosen as High Flyers for Showing Compassion!
We Celebrated Administrative Assistants Day!
May 1st was National Principal Appreciation Day!
Lunch Earned with Bravo Bucks
The Eagles Rock- We Love the Positive Messages!
Purple Up Day- April 15th- in Support of Military Children
Pre-K had an Egg Hunt
Fifth Grade had a GLOW Review Party
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work!
We Love Partnering with Our Families: APTT Night was Face to Face!
Car Line Fun
You Won't Want to Miss the One East Field Day: May 11th!
Building Community with Students
In building community, we often use the term, "Be a Buddy- Not a Bully." We were very excited to participate in our first, "Greatest Kindness Week Ever" in October to celebrate kindness at the T! The Kindness Grant funds our Buddy Benches on the playground. We had another week of kindness this month too! This was a One East Initiative and all schools in our cluster participated. We are thankful for our counselors and Mrs. Olear!
What's Coming Up at the T?
Every Tuesday
May 3rd at 6 PM
May 4th (Wednesday) at 6 PM
May 19, 20
May 20
May 26th
Field Day Information! Play Like Champions!
8-9:30 Kindergarten
10:00-11:30 4th Grade
11:30-12:30 Lunch
12:30- 2:00 2nd grade
May 20
8-9:30 1st grade
10:00-11:30 5th grade
11:30-12:30 Lunch
12:30- 2:00 3rd grade
Many parents have asked if they could come even though the volunteer sign up is full. Thank you for double checking! Our spots did fill up quickly. Yes, our families can come. We encourage all hands on deck. Teachers can always use help with water bottles, keeping the class together, running kids up to the building, etc. We would love folks' help. Come early to get signed in please. All visitors will need to go through the front office.
Save the Dates!
Congratulations to Our April Staff Member of the Month- Kelli McCravy!
We are proud to announce Kelli McCravy, as our April Staff Member of the Month!
Kelli McCravy is a school psychologist in Forsyth County Schools. This is her first year in education. She graduated from South Forsyth High School before heading to the University of Georgia for her Bachelor’s degree. She then attended Georgia Southern University for their School Psychology Program.
Kelli has been nominated many times throughout the year for the relationships she is building with our staff, students, and their families. She works closely with Ms. Hundt to help determine what students need. She is highly visible in our school and is ALWAYS smiling! Kelli even takes time to attend special events like the Orchestra Concert to see students she helps!
Ms. McCravy lives in Cumming and loves her dogs! She has a boyfriend, Lucas, and is close with her family. Kelli loves the beach and frequents Starbucks! We are very grateful that she is part of our amazing Chestatee staff. Congratulations to Kelly McCravy!
A big thank you to our business partners, Ultimate Auto Glass and Electronics, and Mathnasium of Coal Mountain for sponsoring our Chestatee Staff Member of the Month Program!
Teacher and Staff Member of the Month Nominations
2021-22 PTO Information!
Our PTO is a GREAT Way to Get Involved!
We are ALL the PTO at Chestatee!
Our PTO board members raise money to help teachers and our school.
You can support our PTO through our fundraiser, events, and spirit wear.
There are no membership dues this year.
2022-23 PTO Board Members
Kandi Wetzel- President
Emily Morgan and Jennifer Grindle- Co Vice Presidents
Meg Killingsworth- Secretary
Kim Ashe- Treasurer
Nicole Tierney- Parliamentarian
chestateeelementarypto@yahoo.com
Important Cafeteria Information
Our Communi-T-y is the BEST!
Thank You to Warbington Farms for the Free Admission for Chestatee's Night at the Farm!
Partners in Ed- Faye and Rusty Tarsches from Mathnasium of Coal Mountain Support Our School!
Community Opportunities
Watch DOGS is Back!
We have 2 options for WDs:
Carline Help:
Wear a WD shirt (we have one to borrow if needed), and help on car line by smiling, greeting kids, and helping them get out of the car.
Spend the Day:
Wear a WD shirt. We'll have a schedule for you to follow helping students around the school. Enjoy lunch with your child, recess time, car or bus line, and helping small groups of students in classrooms.
Sign up here:
Questions? Contact Meg Killingsworth
770-887-2341 ext. 723002
A Few Words From our Family Engagement Coordinator
Summer is almost upon us, and we are wrapping up another school year! With all the busyness of springtime, we would like to thank you for taking the time to partner with us this year. It has been great getting back to normal- Watchdog Dads, volunteers, and lunch guests. We are excited to welcome families for the class parties also. Grateful is the word I’m thinking of with all these great things happening.
As you know, Academic Parent Teacher Teams were in-person with a virtual option for this last meeting. After two years of virtual meetings only, it sure was good to see families back in the building. Before these meetings, we weren’t sure what the plan would be for next year. After these meetings, several things became much clearer.
Here are some of the main points:
- Families find virtual meetings convenient and have gotten comfortable with them. We had about 125 families join in virtually on the 3-5 night.
- Families especially like face to face meetings in the beginning of the year. An in-person meeting is a great way to see the classroom and get to know the teacher better.
- It isn’t necessary to offer face to face and virtual for the same meeting. However, we realize that makeup meetings are very important.
- Childcare is an important feature to the in-person meeting.
- Families miss the raffle and prizes of the meetings.
- Winter and spring are great times of year to have virtual meetings.
Do we have a lot of decisions to make for APTT next year? Yes! However, this last meeting really helped to clarify our needs. We will also be putting out a survey for your input. I’ll be reading each one, so let us know your thoughts. Your input makes us better!
See you soon!
Meg
Meg Killingsworth, Family Engagement Coordinator
770-887-2341 ext. 723002
The FORCE is in the Partnership Between Home and School!
Parent Help Videos are on Our Website!
Families In Action!
Send Us Your Summer Learning Pictures!
Don't Forget....
Box Tops/ Soup Labels
The procedure will be changing in the near future (we will keep you posted!)
For now, keep filling out your Box Top Sheets and turn them in to Ms. Donna in the front office.
Kroger and Publix will donate money too...
Publix Partners with Chestatee also. You only need to put your phone number in as you checkout. Publix will donate a certain percentage of their profits to Chestatee from your purchase!
We love our Partners in Education!
Chestatee Elementary School
Email: chestateees@gmail.com
Website: http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/site/default.aspx?domainid=260
Location: 6945 Keith Bridge Road, Gainesville, GA, United States
Phone: 770-887-2341
Facebook: facebook.com/ChestateeES
Twitter: @chestateees