The CPES BobChat
September 22, 2019
Why Does Attendance Matter?
September is National Attendance Month. We want to encourage you to have your students at school as much as possible. Their attendance really does matter....but why? Is it really a big deal when a child is absent lots? Are they really missing out on much if they have some tardies (or early dismissals) regularly? If they are a few minutes late or leave a few minutes early, surely they don't miss much. Hmmm...... Let me give you some perspective. 1. Attendance affects achievement. We can't teach them if they aren't with us. They lose the opportunity to learn content (i.e. reading, writing, math, science and social studies). As an immersion school, they lose precious time acquiring Spanish and French as well. We strive to take kids where they are and move them as far as they can go. Their learning is impacted when they are not with us. A teacher cannot ever give back the same amount of time in helping a child catch up as when he/she taught the material the first time. 2. Poor attendance is frustrating for kids. They feel that they're always trying to catch up with what they missed. They can't connect with what happened the day before (or an hour ago) because they were not there to experience it. Many kids thrive on structure and consistency and when that is interrupted, it upsets them. 3. Poor attendance steals time away from other children's learning. We usually think that only our child is impacted if he is absent or late or leaves early. The truth is that 24 other students are affected. Think about it. The teacher has to stop and catch the child up. Kids are distracted from their own learning by the interruption. The office calls into the classroom and all learning stops until the student is dismissed. Consider how much time is lost if multiple kids are absent or late or leave early. Any and every interruption hinders children from learning. 4. Money is not used wisely when kids are absent. It would be a conservative estimate to say that it costs $50 a day to educate a child in our district. All taxpayers want our children to receive a high quality education. They want to know that their dollars are invested well. When kids miss time in school, they do not access costly resources. We would never throw $50 away. When kids are absent or late needlessly, that is exactly what happens. There is a specific financial cost to all we do. We want to be good stewards of the resource called education. For children and teachers, we know that there are times of sickness or family emergencies or extenuating circumstances when we can't be and shouldn't be at school. Life happens. We also know that we, as educators, need to be just as responsible in being present as we want our students to be. For all of us, when we show up to teach and learn, we are being good stewards of the resources we have to promote the greater good. Attendance matters to everyone in order to accomplish the hopes and dreams we have for our kids.
Mr. Maness, Principal
Fire Alarm
Read Your Way to the Big Game
Read Your Way to the Big Game
School News
Emergency Situation on Last Wednesday--We had a fire alarm pulled and had to evacuate our building at 2:15. We appreciate your calmness and patience as we cleared the building, accounted for our students, and transitioned to a "normal" dismissal. If you were waiting in the car line, I am so proud of you for staying in your cars. As I've mentioned before, during emergency situations, we will move quickly to get our students safe and we will take as long as needed to ensure they go home securely and correctly. We appreciate your trust in us to make the appropriate decisions in the best interest of our children. We continue to learn from every safety exercise we do.
Read Your Way to the Big Game-- USC and Clemson University, in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Education, are again sponsoring the Read Your Way to the Big Game Contest. All PK through 8th grade students who read 6 books will qualify to win tickets to the Palmetto Bowl on November 30. Once students have completed their readings, they should turn in the list of books read to their teacher. Winners will receive four tickets and pre-game sideline passes to the Clemson vs. South Carolina game. Teachers have to input the students by November 1, 2019 deadline. Click on the link below for more information. If we have 70% of our school to participate, we could win a $2000 grant for library books as well.
PTO and SIC Information
Bobcat Dash
Our Bobcat Dash is a "fun run" fundraiser sponsored by PTO where students secure pledges for laps run during the day on Friday, November 1. This will be the culminating event of our Red Ribbon Week activities as well. We invite parents to come and cheer on their child and run with him/her. Students will run mostly during their Related Arts time:
8:00 Fifth Grade
8:55 Fourth Grade
9:50 Third Grade
10: 45 Second Grade
11:40 Kindergarten (This time is not their normal Related Arts time.)
12:35 First Grade
If you would like to support this fundraiser by being a sponsor, please click on the Sponsorship Form below. Sponsorship Forms are due by Friday, October 4. All contributions to our PTO are tax deductible given that they are a 501c3.
Box Tops For Education
The Box Tops program has gone digital! Please download the new Box Tops app and scan your receipts to help us earn money for Cherry Park Elementary. (Grandparents and neighbors are welcome to help, too.) You can also still clip and send traditional Box Tops with a valid expiration date. The first due date for clipped Box Tops will be Friday, October 18th, but you can send Box Tops to your child’s teacher at any time during the school year. For more information, please go to http://www.btfe.com. Thanks for supporting our school!
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. Meetings will be held on October 14, November 11, December 9 (if needed), January 13, February 10, March 9, April 13, and May 11 (if needed.)
Calendar of Events
Thursday, September 26--Mrs. Giles' Class to Kayak Trip
Friday, October 4--Bobcat Dash Sponsorships Due to PTO
Monday, October 14--5:30 School Improvement Council Meeting; 6:30 PTO Meeting
October 16--Fall Picture Day (Information to come.)
October 21--Parent Conference Day
October 27-November1--Red Ribbon Week
November 1--Bobcat Dash
November 8--Veterans Day Festival