I hope you and your family are enjoying time together this summer. We have been wrapping up the past school year while also beginning to plan for next fall. Here are some updates to help keep you informed. 1. Administration--It is official that Dr. James Ramere will be with us next fall as an assistant principal. (Mrs. Futrelle will still be with us, too.) Dr. Ramere is a retired elementary principal from North Carolina from Gaston County. He has been with us on an interim basis since October. We are blessed to have him with us. In addition, all schools in Rock Hill will add a Dean of Students position this fall. This person will have administrative duties but will work fewer days than assistant principals in the summer. We will interview for this position in the next few weeks. 2. Fifth Grade--We hired Candice Clerqui to teach French alongside Mrs. Carrie Missaggia who will be her English partner teacher. Ms. Clerqui is from Martinique and taught second and fourth grade previously in France and Martinique. (Mrs. Missaggia has been with us for years and this spring, she taught third grade math on the French team.) Mrs. Stacy Easley was hired as an English language arts teacher. She will partner with Mrs. Lecolant who teaches Spanish. Mrs. Easley completed her teacher certification this spring and she has been one of our tutors at Cherry Park for the past two years as well. Ms. Vargas will shift to become a Spanish teacher and she will team with Mrs. Gullion. (Ms. Vargas will take the place of Mr. Urrestta who has relocated to his home country of Colombia, South America.) We are excited about having six teachers at every grade level this year. This is reflective of the growth of our language programs. 3. Fourth Grade--Mrs. Roehl (French) and Mrs. Goodner (English) will be in fourth grade next year. We appreciate their hard work these past years as they taught two grade levels. They are looking forward to focusing on one grade level of content. 4. Third Grade--Ms. St. Aime (French) and Mrs. George (English) will shift from second grade to third grade. They are excited to continue their relationships with their children and families from last year. 5. Second Grade--Ms. Berendia (French) and Mrs. Parrish (English) will be in second grade this year. We hired Ms. Berendia earlier in the semester. Mrs. Parrish previously taught second grade for a number of years. At this point, everyone in first grade and kindergarten will stay the same. 6. Other Positions--Mrs. Marissa Holdaway, our part-time music teacher, will return home to her little ones and will be leaving us. She will be missed. We are currently hiring a .5 Related Arts teacher to replace her. This person will pair with Dr. Austin, our Media Specialist. In addition, Mrs. McNay, our Gifted and Talented teacher, will be with us 2.5 days each week this year. She will split time between Cherry Park and Ebenezer. This will make her caseload of students comparable to other GT teachers in the district. We will share a second GT teacher with Oakdale and we are currently interviewing for this position. We are so blessed to secure such amazing and talented people who are dedicated to making a difference in children. There are so many great stories how our new staff members arrived with us. They look forward to joining our school family. We are so very fortunate to have them with us.

Strength and Blessings to You,

Mr. Maness

P.S. Please note on your calendar that our Open House this fall will be Thursday, August 17 from 4:30-6:30 PM. The first day for students is Monday, August 21.

Parent Portal Set Up--Parents, please be prompt in completing your Parent Portal account set up! You have received an email from the District with directions and your username and password connected to your student/s. This is important for you to complete as more items/information will be provided to you, as a parent, through your Parent Portal Access. For example, attendance, grades, teacher assignments, forms, etc.

SUMMER READING CHALLENGE--TRAVEL THE WORLD THIS SUMMER…IN A BOOK!

Because, afterall…READING TAKES YOU PLACES! Challenge yourself to read at least 10 hours this summer. Keep track on a special “Travel the World” bookmark. Each time you read 15 minutes check off a box. If you check all the boxes you will have read 10 hours. Return the bookmark to the library by September 1, 2023 and you are eligible for prizes. If you don’t read all 10 hours, it’s okay...there are still prizes for all who participate

Read for a total of:

• 5 hours = Small Treat
• 8 hours = Small Treat + Bookmark
• 10 hours = Small Treat + Bookmark + Rubber Bracelet + Free Book from the December Book Fair

Look for the bookmark and instructions for how to participate to come home the last week of school!

Office Hours During the Summer--During the summer, we work Mondays through Thursday during the month of June and July. The office is closed every Friday. The office will also be closed Monday and Tuesday, July 3 and 4 but will be open July 5-7 (including Friday) of that week. Feel free to call or email us if you have any questions for us.

July 3-4--Main Office Closed

July 5-7--Office is open

August 15--First Day Back for Teachers

August 17--4:30-6:30 PM Open House

August 21--First Day Back for Students

School Improvement Council--This group seeks to determine how Cherry Park Elementary can be the best school it can be. It is a sounding board and feedback group for the school and district. Members are elected for two year terms. Members of this year's Council include Anitra Meeks, Paloma Fernandez Sanchez, Brittany Jensen, Celia Kerr, Ashley Petit, Latisha Givens, and Scott Kennedy. Ex-Officio Members are Mr. Maness (Principal) and Mrs. Futrelle (Assistant Principal). Meetings are held at Cherry Park on the second Monday of each month at 5:30 PM. All parents are invited to attend.

Parent Teacher Organization--This group has three main goals: Raising funds for the school, appreciating the staff and securing volunteers as needed. The Cherry Park PTO is a 501c3 tax deductible organization. Officers for 22-23 are Stephanie Greer (President), Amanda Winters (Vice-President), Liz Lowery (Secretary), and Erica Smith (Treasurer). Meetings are held at Cherry Park on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 PM (right after the SIC meetings.) All parents are invited to attend. All financial records are distributed and updated at each month's meeting.

"What Are the Hardest Words for Moms (and Dads) to Say?" May 14, 2023 https://www.smore.com/va3b9

"What Does Gratitude Look Like?" May 7, 2023 https://www.smore.com/btaur

"How Can We Help Our Children Do Well on Big Tests?" April 30, 2023 https://www.smore.com/bhyx2

"How Can We Keep Our Children Safe Online?" April 23, 2023 https://www.smore.com/pv71w

"How Do We Help Our Children Responsibly Use Technology?" April 16, 2023 https://www.smore.com/wgyk0

"What Do Great Trainers and Cheerleaders Do?" April 9, 2023 https://www.smore.com/y3t47

"What Do Great Referees Do?" March 26, 2023 https://www.smore.com/ps3q6

"What Do Great Coaches Do?" March 19, 2023 https://www.smore.com/pgbu8v

"What Role Do We Play in Our Children's Lives?" March 12, 2023 https://www.smore.com/4f1dp

"How Can We Help Our Children 'See' the World?" March 5, 2023 https://www.smore.com/ba6u18

"How Can You Share the Love of Reading with Your Child?" February 26, 2023 https://www.smore.com/8b6pm

"How Can We Share the Love...with our Children?" February 19, 2023 https://www.smore.com/3se17

"How Can We Share the Love...with People Different From Us?" February 12, 2023 https://www.smore.com/ck5xp

"How Can We Share the Love...about Cherry Park?" February 5, 2023 https://www.smore.com/mfjbh

"Can We Lose a Bad Health Habit?" January 29, 2023 https://www.smore.com/7e10cf

"Can We Lose Some of Our Stuff?" January 22, 2023 https://www.smore.com/vqz19

"Can We Lose a Little of Ourselves?" January 15, 2023 https://www.smore.com/kydtr

"What Can We Lose?" January 8, 2023 https://www.smore.com/j3spt

"What's Happening in the New Year?" January 1, 2023 https://www.smore.com/zcthu

"What 'R' You Going to Do during the Holidays?" December 18, 2022 https://www.smore.com/8c6u49

"How Can We Reduce Holiday Stress?" December 11, 2022 https://www.smore.com/vmx8s

"Why Do We Clap and Cheer for Our Children?" December 4, 2022 https://www.smore.com/jegnm

"When Is the Best Time to Express Gratitude?" November 20, 2022 https://www.smore.com/b2xmt

"What Do You Need to Know about the World Cup 2022?) November 13, 2022 https://www.smore.com/d8c4x

"What's Happening in November at CPES?" November 6, 2022 https://www.smore.com/zyuje

"Who Showed Up for the Bobcat Dash?" October 30, 2022 https://www.smore.com/gjsm8

"How Do We Make Time Slow Down?" October 23, 2022 https://www.smore.com/c19u8

"Could PLCs Work for All of Us?" October 16, 2022 https://www.smore.com/6edtw

"What Is the Latest on the Bobcat Dash and Does It Make a Difference?" October 9, 2022 https://www.smore.com/2bf4k

"What is 'Nattering' and Is It Effective?" October 2, 2022 https://www.smore.com/gmrac

"What Do Parents Need to Know about Student Attendance?" September 25, 2022 https://www.smore.com/7rnbq

"What Do We Control?" September 18, 2022 https://www.smore.com/qv3hb

"What's the Goal for Our Children?" September 11, 2022 https://www.smore.com/q8k0b

"What Do You Do If You Want to Visit for Lunch?" September 4, 2022 https://www.smore.com/2ha8b

"How Was the First Week?" August 21, 2022 https://www.smore.com/t65yv

"What Do We Need to Remember as We Start Back?" August 14, 2022 https://www.smore.com/qjucf

"Open House Reminders" August 11, 2022 https://www.smore.com/35c6a

"Remind Me, Who's New at Cherry Park?" August 7, 2022 https://www.smore.com/b71ef

"Where Are the Pinch Points?" July 31, 2022 https://www.smore.com/csh32

"How Can You Help Us Keep Our Children Safe and Secure?" July 24, 2022 https://www.smore.com/6bweq

"How Can We Get Ready for the Fall?" July 17, 2022 https://www.smore.com/hcp2q

"What Do We Need to Know" July 10, 2022 https://www.smore.com/y35p6