Gator Bites
CGE Weekly Newsletter 2/22/2021
Welcome
Welcome to our weekly Gator Bites newsletter! Every Friday evening our team at CGE will send out any important updates for the following week. Our goal is to be prepared, transparent and informative! We appreciate your time and urge you to read through carefully each week- especially during these unconventional virtual learning weeks.
Stay safe, stay informed and stay Gator Strong! 🐊
From the Principal's Desk
Dr. Larry Savage, CGE Principal
Updates
Yearbooks
From the Library
The Online Book Fair is coming to Chatham Grove! March 1-14
Please share book fair information with your friends and family! All proceeds from the book fair support our school library!
Links you’ll want to check out:
From the ESL Department
Testing Information
WIDA ACCESS testing for ESL students will begin February 22nd - March 23rd.
The testing is planned to go as follows:
February 22nd: A day grades 1-3 students
February 23rd: A day grades 4-5 students
February 25th: B day grades 1-3 students
February 26th: B day grades 4-5 students
March 3rd: Virtual Academy students grades 4-5
Some students will have different testing dates and those students and parents will be contacted by Mrs Guibert regarding their testing date.
It is important that ESL students come to school on their designated testing days, well rested and ready for testing. They will be taking 4 tests: listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Each test will last 30 minutes to 1 hour throughout the school day. Please encourage your children who are being tested to do their best. Thank you for your support in this very important ESL testing. If you have any questions about testing, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Guibert at gguibert@chatham.k12.nc.us
Thank you,
Chatham Grove ESL Department
From the Guidance Department
Parent Pro Tip
20 Surprising, Science-Backed Health Benefits of Music
According to healthline.com, listening to music has many physical benefits. Some examples include:
Improvement to our heart health
A decrease in fatigue
A boost in our performance
Can help to manage pain
The next time your child is exercising, try to play some energetic and fast-tempo music in the background. Did your child feel motivated and empowered during their workout?
Stanborough, Rebecca Joy. “Benefits of Music on Body, Mind, Relationships & More.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 1 Apr. 2020, www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-music.
School Updates
Progress Reports
This Friday, February 26th, Quarter 3 Progress Reports will go home. K-2 Progress Reports will be shared via email by classroom teachers. For students in grades 3-5, Progress Reports will be shared via email from Powerschool. Please reach out to your classroom teacher if you do not receive a progress report by Friday evening.
Third Grade Families
Read to Achieve-It is important that you view the Read to Achieve video regarding third grade promotion standards. Students that have not currently achieved a pathway to proficiency have brought home or will be receiving a letter over the next week. Your student’s classroom teacher will be reaching out to answer any questions. Please stay tuned for a Parent Q & A Zoom Session regarding this information.
Read to Achieve Slide Deck-Spanish
From the Arts Department
CCS Winter Arts Festival
Wanted! Ad Circulars, Magazines & Catalogs for Art Class. Please place items for donation in a plastic grocery bag & send to school with your student if you are attending in-person instruction. There will be a drop off box in the lobby area for them. This is an ongoing need throughout the 2020/21 school year. Thank you!
In addition, please take a look at the CCS Winter Arts Festival website to view a display of visual and performing arts from all of the Chatham County district schools, including our own Chatham Grove Elementary artists. This is in lieu of in-person winter exhibitions and performances.
North Carolina Symphony’s Adopt-A-School Program
I am so excited to announce that Chatham Grove Elementary will be partnering with the North Carolina Symphony this semester to provide learning opportunities to our students! According to the North Carolina Symphony website, “The NCS Adopt-A-School program will serve to foster the relationship between NCS musicians and K-12 students and teachers statewide.” Over the next couple of months, students will be interacting with Ms. Rebekah Dale, a horn player in the NC Symphony, to learn about the symphony, instrument families of the orchestra, the science of sound, and the life of a musician. She will also provide instrument demonstrations for our students. If you would like to learn more about Ms. Daley, please visit the following website: Rebekah Daley Biography.
Schedule
During the months of February and March, we will be scheduling visits for 2nd-5th grade students. She most recently joined fourth and fifth grade virtual academy students. On March 2nd, she will be meeting with our in-person 2nd-5th grade students on Zoom during specials. B-day students should plan to join the Zoom that day with their A-day peers. If fourth and fifth grade VA students missed her on February 3rd, they are more than welcome to join the in-person session on March 2nd. The Zoom link will be shared on the remote learning matrix. We will also begin scheduling K-1 visits in April. 2nd-3rd grade VA students will meet with Ms. Daley in April.
We are so grateful for this unique opportunity, and having the chance to provide this experience to our elementary students! We know that this will be a meaningful and valuable experience for all. Please contact Mrs. Galloway with any questions about the North Carolina Symphony’s Adopt-A-School program.
North Carolina Symphony - One State One Score Project
North Carolina Symphony - One State One Score Project
The NC Symphony recently launched the 'One State One Score' project. Students from across the state of North Carolina will be learning Beethoven's Ode to Joy, as part of the statewide initiative. During the next couple of weeks, all K-5 students are invited to learn and sing Ode to Joy. After learning the music, students will create a video to submit towards the NC Symphony 'One State One Score' project. Both VA and in-person students are invited to participate in this project. Mrs. Galloway and Mr. Smith will share all of the student video submissions from our school with the NC Symphony on February 28th. The NC Symphony recently extended the deadline, so please note the updated date from the original correspondence. After the video submission period concludes, NC Symphony will take all of the video submissions from across the state and create one final, collaborative arrangement of Ode to Joy. When the completed project is released in early spring, we will share the final product with families. For more details, please visit our ‘One State One Score’ website: One State One Score Website. Please contact Mrs. Galloway, if you need help with the recording process.
CGE Ongoing Information
School Nutrition Update: Curbside Meal Pickup
Curbside meal pick-up will take place at CGE each Wednesday from 10:30 to 1:00 starting on January 13th. Please reach out to our Cafeteria Manager, Ms. Jessica Frye, for questions. Her email address is: jfrye@chatham.k12.nc.us.
Materials Pick Up
Student materials will be available for pick up again starting on Monday February 22nd at 9 a.m. Please contact your student’s classroom teacher if you have a question about the materials/resources that need to be collected at our school.
Specials Grading for VA Students
To create consistency in grading K-5 Art, Music and PE classes, all students for quarters 3 and 4 in grades 3-5 district-wide will receive the following feedback on report cards--Proficient, Developing, or No Evidence. For quarters 3 and 4, all students in grades K-2 will receive a 1, 2, 3, or 4 for specials.
Please know that in conversations and in our recent CGE Parent Survey, we heard feedback regarding assessing for Virtual Academy students in our specials’ classes. Specifically, some of our VA parents are really struggling with balancing, home, work, and school demands. We understand. For K-2 students who are unable to consistently attend specials, they will not receive a grade and that section of the report card will be blank. For 3-5 students who are unable to consistently attend specials, they will not receive a grade and that section of the report card will say ‘No Evidence.’
Car Line Reminders
For safety purposes, please
Pull up to where your child’s exit or entry door lines up with the cone. This allows eight students to enter or exit cars at a time without having to take any children off the sidewalk.
Pull up to the farthest available cone.
Allow space between the sidewalk and the curb
Have children on the sidewalk side of the car ready to exit
In the afternoon, one staff member covers two stations. Please be patient with them as they move from one car to the next.
Meet Our Staff
Cari-Ann Walls, 1st Grade Teacher
About Ms. Walls: I grew up in a small college town, Edinboro, Pennsylvania. I earned my Elementary Education Degree at Edinboro University of PA along with a Spanish Minor. After graduation I moved to North Carolina and began teaching. While teaching I attended NCSU to obtain my English as a Second Language (ESL) License. This is my 17th year of teaching; I've taught 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, ESL, and Literacy Support. I'm so excited to be a 1st Grade teacher this year!
I am married to Jason Walls and we have two sons, Preston (5) and Palmer (3). Preston attends CGE for Kindergarten. We also have two dogs at home.
A few of Ms. Walls’ favorite things: I enjoy going to the pool, hiking, playing the piano, and cooking.
Blaire Easterling, 1st Grade Teacher
About Ms. Easterling: I grew up here in Pittsboro. I attended Chatham County Schools - Pittsboro Elementary, Horton Middle, and Northwood High. After high school, I went to UNC Charlotte and received a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Reading Education. After college I decided to return to Pittsboro and begin my teaching career here in Chatham! My whole family lives nearby - we are all neighbors! I have a small dog named Oreo, which your child will probably hear me talk about a lot.
A few of Ms. Easterling’s favorite things: I love spending time at the beach and spending time with my family and friends. I also enjoy fishing, walking, and shopping!
Chatham Grove Elementary School
Email: lsavage@chatham.k12.nc.us
Website: https://www.chatham.k12.nc.us/Domain/2227
Location: 1301 Andrews Store Road, Pittsboro, NC, USA
Phone: 919-642-7069
Facebook: facebook.com/chathamgrovees