February Newsletter 2019
Chestatee Elementary School
A Letter From Dr. Tennies, Our Principal
Chestatee favors collaboration. You can see it within our staff as teachers work on teams. Teams from grade levels meet weekly, often multiple times, to strengthen and plan for their students. Providing the best lessons is a process of reading data, learning new technology tools and being open to new methods. We have found that together is stronger than separate.
Schools in the north end of Forsyth also collaborate. Principals and staff from the seven schools join together to support the community they serve and send positive messages. North Forsyth High School, North Middle, Little Mill, Chattahoochee, Coal Mountain, Silver City and Chestatee are aligned with the 7 Mindsets, our character education program. This program has provided many opportunities to think about how we can “Live to Give,” our February Mindset.
This month, we celebrate a Heart for Giving Week across North Forsyth. Small acts of kindness and reaching out to others are two small pieces of the practices we encourage. Look for celebrations on our Twitter and Face Book page featuring student connections. Making a Heart for Giving a North Forsyth Tradition is happening!
Kindly,
Dr. Polly Tennies
Principal
Also, save the date for Family Fest at North Forsyth High School on March 21st from 6-8pm!
INCREDIBLE Things Happen at the "T"!
Chestatee is 100 days Smarter!
APTT was a huge success!
The Snowflake Ball was amazing!
Chestatee’s Robotics teams had another great season. One of our teams placed first out of 24 teams in robot performance at our December competition. For the second consecutive year, a team from Chestatee qualified for a First Lego League Super Regional Competition.
Chestatee's 2nd Annual International Night will be April 11th, 2019 from 6-730pm. The night is filled with exciting performances, food tasting, arts and crafts! The best of all is our student's country boards. The boards are the highlight of the evening. Students and their families work together to create a small presentation about a specific country. If you’d like to be a part of this wonderful night and represent a country by creating a board, please let us know. Send an email to Mrs. Perez by February 15th, 2019 to vperez@forsyth.k12.ga.us If you have any questions or would like to help out, email her as well.
We love to see kids in action! Add a blurb to send pics for school happenings or your child reading to lbruce@forsyth.k12.ga.us
What's New At the T?
Awesome New Rug in the A/V classroom!
Our 1st Online Learning Day was a success!
Snow Day Help Video
7:45 am-9:15 am
10:00 am -10:50 am
11:45 am-12:30 pm
Before you are able to come and read to students, you MUST watch the mandated reporter video here. You will also need to sign the Volunteer Agreement attached below.
Teacher/ Staff Member of the Month Nominations
Congratulations to January Teacher of the Month-Bonnie Lee
Parents stated that Bonnie is an amazing teacher who takes her time to know each child. She challenges students, helps students turn “weaknesses” into strengths, and makes learning fun for all. She invites parents in to help in the classroom and leaves a special place in their families’ hearts forever. Bonnie’s teammates love what she offers to the first-grade team, and colleagues noted her smile and great attitude always. Her compassion and enthusiasm make a difference at our school.
After teaching preschool for many years, Mrs. Lee decided to obtain her Masters in Elementary Education from Grand Canyon University and begin her career as an elementary teacher. This is her fourth-year teaching at Chestatee. She and her husband have two children who are both graduates of Chestatee. Walker will be a senior this year and Lucy a Freshman at Forsyth Central High School. We are so glad that Mrs. Lee is a teacher at Chestatee!
Live to Give
Live to Give Club
Our Live to Give Club meets once a month to spread the love. They complete student led service projects and have over 100 members.
What's Coming up at the T?
Watch Dog Dad Burger and Builders Night
Come have a free supper and build a special project! It's going to be a great night!
North Synergy Heart for Giving Week! February 11-14
Monday: “Hey Day”
You will have name badges in your mailbox for each student and staff member to wear one. Encourage students to introduce themselves to a student they do not know.
Tuesday: “Too Sweet Tuesday”
Random Acts of Kindness
Heart Cut Outs for Words of Encouragement – These will be in your mailboxes and can be posted outside your classroom doors.
Wednesday: “Make a Wish Wednesday”
Toss your spare change in your school wishing well located in the lobby. Donations collected will be used by our school social workers to support students. Use the wishing well as an opportunity to demonstrate that one does not need a lot of money to practice a giving heart; when we live to give as a community, the smallest change can make the biggest difference.
Thursday: “Thankful Thursday”
Show your appreciation by expressing thanks to those that work tirelessly to help make our school and community great. Write a thank you note. Sign our thank you poster for our neighboring school.
February 19-February 22
Here is more information about Kindergarten Registration!
3 Steps to Register:
1. Make an appointment at the Hill Center.
2. Do the online pre-registration paperwork.
3. Take the needed documents to the appointment.
If you are missing any documents, come to your appointment any way. You can submit missing forms later.
Mother/ Son Night at the "T"!
February 26
Family Science Night will be coming to the "T"! The NFHS Science Ambassadors will be here conducting experiments with our students! This night is a family favorite! You will NOT want to miss the fun!
Don't Miss our Coffee Chat
March 21
Our Communi-T-y is the BEST!
Thank You to Our School Store Sponsor!
Please check out Farmers Insurance here!
You can also check out their Facebook page.
Want to Join PTO?
A Few Words From our Family Engagement Coordinator
As your Family Engagement Coordinator, I must start by saying thank you for coming out to Chestatee for our second round of Academic Parent Teacher Team meetings this month. 626 of our students had a family member walk through our doors on the actual APTT Nights. Many more have come for a makeup session with me. That is nothing short of amazing! Thank you, Families!
At the APTT meetings, we spent time talking about the love of reading. This month, our Facebook Friday Shows will have guests and strategies for more reading. We will have a series of shows to support reading at home. As staff members, we have really learned that kids get better with practice. And when we give them choices about their reading, they want to read.
So as the adult of your home, here are 4 tips for helping your child with reading:
1. Give your children choices on what to read. Visit the library or have them get on My On under Classlink. There are thousands of books!
2. Help them find the series they love. Is it a chapter book, a comic book, or nonfiction? Half the battle is finding the right kind of books.
3. Read to your child and celebrate finished books. Even fourth and fifth graders enjoy read alouds even when they say they don’t.
4. Books make great rewards. Our family loves to work for new books or pick out books as prizes. When the Book Fair comes, I’m all in on getting some new reads!
As a school, we are really enjoying and celebrating reading. Thank you for carrying this over to home. Happy reading!
You are always welcome at Chestatee.
Let me know if I can help you.
See you soon!
Meg Killingsworth
770-887-2341 ext 722302
Free and Reduced Lunch
Click here to apply. Need help filling out the form? Stop by and see Meg Killingsworth in the Family Resource Room (302). Or give her a call or email. She’s glad to help! Can't come in?
Here's a video with directions!
770-887-2341 ext 722302
Don't Forget....
Box Tops/ Soup Labels
Remember if you full up a box tops page, Ms. Donna has a prize you can earn!
Publix will donate money too...
See Ms. Donna in the front office for one of these cards, or send a letter with your child asking for one, and we will send one home for you!
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