The CPES BobChat
July 26, 2020
What Questions Do You Have?
This past Thursday, you received our Return to School Plan for the Rock Hill School District. (See link below.) This information has led to some additional common questions that I'd like to answer. 1. How will the school district support dual language instruction through Rock Hill Schools Virtual Academy? We are pleased to share the Rock Hill Schools Virtual Academy will offer dual language immersion (DLI) services for students who are currently enrolled in the language immersion program. Given the nature of both the district’s DLI program and the newly created Virtual Academy, it is important to note that not all aspects can be fully integrated. However, for the 2020-21 school year for DLI students, the Virtual Academy will provide DLI students with instruction in their target language (Spanish or French) to ensure continued growth in pursuit of language mastery. As with all students in the Virtual Academy program, DLI students will follow a set schedule at both the elementary and middle school levels. Content in the target language will be provided virtually to DLI students enrolled in the Virtual Academy. 2. If my child attends Cherry Park for face to face instruction, will he/she need to wear a mask all day? The plan states that masks will be required of all staff and students. We hope that students will be able to social distance in the classroom and provide students an opportunity for “mask breaks” throughout the day. Once we know how many students will attend the Virtual Academy and how many will be at Cherry Park, we will have greater clarity about how well we will socially distance students. We are hoping that we will be able to have all students at least six feet apart as much as is reasonable. Masks will be used when we are not able to do that, especially during transitions and movement throughout the school. 3. What will the day look like for face to face instruction? What about for days when students are at home? We will follow the same schedule we have always done for immersion at Cherry Park. Half the day will be spent with the French or Spanish teacher on math, science and second language literacy. The other half of the day will be with the English teacher on language arts, social studies and math reinforcement. Teachers will assign students work and activities for the days they will not be at school. Given that all of them are teaching students in a face to face fashion, they will not be able to do online instruction during the day as well. We are looking at many different ways we can support instruction for students while they are at home. Please remember that C days will be used so that students can receive an additional day of instruction every other week. (One week, A Day students will come Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and the other week, B Day students will come Monday, Wednesday and Friday.) 4. Will we get more information? Absolutely!! The Return to School Plan answered the biggest questions for our families. Now that those decisions are made and are clear, we will start working through the next level of questions and the next level and so on. I will continue to send a weekly newsletter to keep you informed. Know that we are committed to provide the best instruction we can for our Cherry Park children whether you choose a virtual or face to face format. We appreciate your support for your child and our school.
Mr. Maness, Principal
P.S. We will soon send information about how our district will use August 31-September 4 (LEAP Days) in order to help our children effectively transition back to school.
School News
Summer Learning Opportunities--We have placed all recommendations from our teachers for summer learning opportunities on our school website. Click on the button below for more information.
Returning Student Registration--Please click on the link below to update your chld's information for this fall. Please, please, please be sure to do this because all of our data management and communication programs pull from the information you update. Remember that all families must provide an updated proof of residence.
New Kindergarten Student Registration--Is a different link located below. This is for rising kindergarten students who have not been in Rock Hill Schools. (If your child attended K4 at a Rock Hill school, please use the Returning Student Registration link.)
Staffing Changes--We are so saddened that Ms. Sharon Crocker (4th/5th Grade English Language Arts), Mrs. Martha Miller (Resource), and Mrs. Susan Dixon (Literacy Coach) will be leaving CPES. Each of them is pursuing some exciting opportunities for them this fall. Mrs. Tracy Mitchell will move from 3rd Grade English Language Arts to Mrs. Crocker's position in 4th/5th Language Arts. She will be on the French teaching team with Ms. Fant. We have hired Dr. Allison Nichols as our resource teacher. She has served in many different capacities as a self-contained and a resource special education teacher. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our school. Ms. Hannah Grippo will be an additional half-time resource teacher with us. She is certified in elementary education and special education and has worked with students on the autism spectrum. Mrs. Karen Finley will be our new literacy coach. She is a native of France who is highly fluent in English as well. She knows best practices in literacy for any language and has served as an immersion teacher for nearly twenty years. Ms. Tyliah Broughton will be our new third grade language arts teacher (who will be taking Mrs. Mitchell's place and will be teaming with Ms. Garcia.) Ms. Broughton taught last year in second grade and knows appropriate expectations for our rising third graders. We are so blessed to have them join our Cherry Park family.
Summer Office Hours--Are from 7:30-5:30 Monday through Thursday right now.
Retrieving Your Child's Bag--Currently, we have 60 bags that have not been picked up. Please email Mrs. Neal, Mrs. Deyerle, Mrs. Futrelle or Mr. Maness to set up a time to pick it up. Email addresses are below.
Yearbooks--With COVID-19, there was a production shutdown which has delayed getting the books back in time. We will contact you when we are sure they will be shipped and we will get those to you.
Additional Summer Learning Resources
PTO and SIC Information
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.
School Calendar
July 17-27--Virtual Academy Application Window is Open
August 31-September 4--First Days Back for Students (K-8th Grades) (More information to come about these days)September 7--Labor Day Holiday
September 8--All Students Return