The Viking Voice for Families
Week of September 26th
Week 5
Good evening, Viking Families,
I hope you had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather!
As we enjoy the arrival of fall, please take time to reflect on ways we can partner together to help your children fall in love with learning!
There are so many ideas to #MakeLearningFun! most of which are EASY & FREE! I shared the visual below with our teachers & staff this week to provide some ideas, but I already see so many great things happening throughout the building!
I've seen hands-on activities, such as tracing letters and sight words in applesauce during an apple unit! I've seen All About Me activities & Kahoot games on our 1:1 devices. I've seen brain breaks that get kids up and moving in between lessons or activities. I've also seen kids utilizing the sensory pathways to transition in a fun way!
Do you have a great idea? If so, please share it with us by taking this short survey!
In this newsletter, you will find the following:
- Important Dates & Information
- A link to the traditional academic calendar
- Information About OneCards
- Breakfast & Lunch Menus
- Free or Reduced Breakfast & Lunch Application Link
- A link to put money on your child's account
- Health Updates
- Videos of the PRINCIPALS BEING SLIMED!
- Volunteer Registration
- Colfax History
Dream Big,
Principal Garcia
Important Dates
September
- Tuesday, September 27 - Progress Reports for Students, KINDERGARTEN NWEA Assessment
- Friday, September 30 - 4th Grade NWEA Assessment for Reading
October
- Sunday, October 2 - Beautification Day (Details Forthcoming)
- Monday, October 3 - 5th Grade NWEA Math
- Tuesday, October 4 - 5th Grade NWEA Reading, Leadership Team Meeting 2:50 PM
- Wednesday, October 5 - Optional Teacher Workday - No School
- Thursday, October 6 - 1st Grade NWEA Testing
- Friday, October 7 - 3rd Grade NWEA Testing, Kinder Field Trip to Whitaker Farms
- Monday, October 10 - 4th Grade NWEA Math
- Tuesday, October 11 - Read to Achieve - Applicable to some 4th Graders
- Wednesday, October 12 - 4th Grade Field Trip to HPU
- Friday, October 14 - Fall Pictures
- Wednesday, October 19 - 3rd Grade Math Benchmark
- Thursday, October 20 - 5th Grade Fire Assembly 9:00-10:00 AM, 4th Grade Math Benchmark
- Tuesday, October 25 - 5th Grade ELA Benchmark
- Wednesday, October 26 - 5th Grade Math Benchmark
- Thursday, October 27 - 5th Grade Science Benchmark
- Friday, October 28 - Optional Teacher Workday - No School, Sky Zone Fundraiser (Details forthcoming!)
- Monday, October 31 - Mandatory Teacher Workday - No School
November
- Tuesday, November 1 - Colfax Leadership Team 2:50 PM
- Monday, November 7 - Report Cards Go Home (Please sign & return envelopes)
- Tuesday, November 8 - Optional Teacher Workday - No School
- Friday, November 11 - Veteran's Day Holiday - No School
- Tuesday, November 15 - Goals Teams 2:50 PM, 3rd Grade ELA Benchmark
- Wednesday, November 23 - Optional Teacher Workday - No School
- Thursday, November 24 - Thanksgiving Holiday - No School
- Friday, November 25 - No School
We hope you enjoy your fall break, which is Wednesday, 11/23 through Sunday, 11/27.
December
- Tuesday, December 1 - 4th Grade ELA Benchmark, Colfax Leadership Team 2:50 PM
We hope you enjoy winter break, which is Monday, 12/19 through Tuesday, 1/3.
Students return to school on Wednesday, January 4th!
Reminders
OneCards:
- Please ensure your child has their OneCard on when they board the bus or exit your car each day! This should be part of their daily routine.
- Kindergarten and new students will have their photos taken soon to have cards made.
- When children get home, please have a set routine regarding what to do with their OneCard so they have it the next day. At our house, we put the OneCard in the small side pocket of our book bag each afternoon.
Lost & Found:
- Lost & Found is filling up quickly! Please remind your child to look for their missing items and communicate with your child's teacher if needed.
Breakfast & Lunch
Click here to view the September Breakfast & Lunch Menu!
Meal Prices
- Breakfast Prices for 2022-2023 School Year- $1.00
- Lunch Prices for 2022-2023 School Year- $2.85
- To prepay for breakfast, lunch, or A la Carte Items for your child, please use the K-12 Payment Center.
- Online School Payments for K-12 | K12 PaymentCenter
- The application window for free or reduced school meals is now open.
- The federal program that provided free meals for students for the past two years is over. Families will now have to apply for free school meals.
- Filling out an application is easy and can be found on our website or at www.lunchapplication.com
Please call school nutrition services at (336) 370-3266 if you have any questions.
Health Updates
Colfax Steps:
- Please email your child's teacher if your child tests positive for COVID-19.
- You do not need to email the school for exposure.
- Our office staff will reach out to your family via email to collect some information and then we will submit any necessary information to the county.
- Teachers will maintain contact with the family and ensure your child can access their work. Your child will have time to make up work upon their return as well, since getting better is the top priority.
Here is the updated guidance from our District and The BOE as of 9/1/22:
- Individual can return to school/work after 5 days from the first day of symptoms or the date he/she tested positive
- Upon return to school/work, the individual is to wear a mask for 5 days
- Principal/designee is to input the positive case into the portal & will need to collect some information from the parent/guardian
What to do if an individual is exposed to COVID-19per CDC guidelines:
- If the individual does not have symptoms, he/she does not need to quarantine
- Individual does NOT have to wear a mask
- Schools are no longer required to have an isolation room
PTO Info
Don’t forget to get your child’s birthday sign!
- $20 on the Colfax Elementary PTO website!
- https://ch2v-33410.memberhub.com/store
- Your order must be submitted by the 20th of the prior month you would like your child's birthday displayed.
Spirit Wear Updates:
- Orders have ended & all items should arrive to Colfax within 3 weeks!
- Water bottles were delivered last week!
Grade Level Ambassadors:
- Grade Level Ambassadors must be APPROVED GCS volunteers that can help support grade level needs! Whether that be helping with tutoring, reading to a class, covering lunch duty from time to time, weekly folder preparation and MORE! There is not a weekly time commitment, this is more of an "as-needed" type program. Teachers will be given your information and reach out as they need support in their classrooms!
- Find out more information on the sign-up link right here!
- If you have any questions please reach out to Taylor Moore at colfaxelempto@gmail.com.
Stay tuned for Beautification day sign-ups for October 2nd.
Mark your calendars for a Sky Zone Jump Day on Friday, October 28th. Stay tuned for more information to come home in weekly folders and posted online, etc.
Please follow Colfax Elementary PTO on Facebook for additional information, updates and opportunities to volunteer.
Please email:colfaxelempto@gmail.com with any questions!
Boosterthon Fundraiser
Check out these videos of your PRINCIPALS being SLIMED!
Since we met our fundraiser goal, the top 5 earners got to slime the principals as the entire school watched!
Thank you for working with us to make our school stronger. We are grateful for your support!
Thank you,
Colfax Elementary PTO
Volunteers
Volunteers:
- Remember, that any adult who plans to volunteer for any period of time or who plans to chaperone a field trip must be an approved volunteer.
- This form must be completed each school year, so even if you did it a few months ago, please go ahead and do it again.
- You can apply for the required background check by visiting: https://www.gcsvolunteers.com/.
Colfax History
- You can read some information about it on our school website or if you have time you can dig deeper into the history at this site!
Colfax Elementary
Email: garciaa3@gcsnc.com
Website: https://www.gcsnc.com/colfax_elementary
Location: 9112 W Market St, Colfax, NC 27235, USA
Phone: (336) 992-6060
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colfax.vikings.3/?viewas=100000686899395&show_switched_toast=0&show_switched_tooltip=0&show_podcast_settings=0
Twitter: @colfaxgcs1