CALLAWAY HILLS FAMILY NEWSLETTER
DECEMBER/JANUARY EDITION 2022
HAPPY HOLIDAYS, CALLAWAY FAMILIES!
I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoyed time with your family! It was definitely a quick month and winter break will be here before we know it! We have had such an incredible semester! Students have worked hard and grown academically, socially, and behaviorally. Thanks for your continued support!
November 22 was the midterm of Quarter 2. Midterm progress reports will go home by December 5th. Please communicate concerns with your student's teacher and stay connected via Class DOJO, read the Classroom Weekly News, keep this newsletter link handy and feel free to call with any questions or concerns. Communication is the key to supporting our students!
Please reference the calendar often. Upcoming dates include Holiday Concert, Winter Parties, Holiday Cougar General Shopping, Candy Gram Sales, 12 Days 'til Winter Break fun, and other opportunities to support and be involved at CH.
Have a great week and we look forward to seeing you throughout the month of December!
Please contact me with any questions or concerns via email: malissa.pistel@jcschools.us
Together We Can Achieve the Extraordinary,
Malissa Pistel
Principal
Outdoor Recess
It's the time of year where we are starting to have chilly weather. As a reminder, we go outside for recess if the temperature or wind chill is above 20 degrees. Please make sure your student is prepared for outside recess by coming to school with coats, gloves, hats, and scarves!
CONTACT CALLAWAY HILLS
Office Phone Number: 573-596-5051
Office Hours: 7:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. (M-Th)
7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Friday)
Breakfast: 7:15 - 7:40 a.m. in Cougar Cafe, Grab and Go after 7:40 a.m.
Student Hours: 7:45 a.m. – 2:45 p.m.
District Website: www.jschools.us
Click on “Schools” to access the Callaway Hills Website
Nurse/Health Room: 573-896-5618
Counselor: 573-896-5191
First Student, TRANSPORTATION: 573-634-7645
OFFICE STAFF:
Malissa Pistel, PRINCIPAL: malissa.pistel@jcschools.us
Mrs. Judy Ahart, SCHOOL ADMIN ASSISTANT: judith.ahart@jcschools.us
Mrs. Charlotte Webb, PART TIME SCHOOL ADMIN ASSISTANT: charlotte.webb@jcschools.us
Mrs. Pam McCracken SCHOOL NURSE: pamela.mccracken@jcschool.us
Mrs. Dorothy Parks, SCHOOL COUNSELOR: dorothy.parks@jcschools.us
SCHOOL ADDRESS/PHONE:
2715 State Road AA
Holts Summit, MO 65043
573-896-5051
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." --Sir Richard Steele
MATH GAME WEBSITES
NIGHTLY READING LOG
NIGHTLY MATH LOG
UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES (LOOK FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION AS EVENTS GET CLOSER)
- DECEMBER 2 - CELEBRATION SPIRIT ASSEMBLY, GRADES K-2 1:00
GRADES 3-5, 1:50 - December 5 - Picture Retakes
- December 12 - December 16, Cougar General Holiday Shopping
- December 15 - Winter Concert, 6:00 Second and Third Grades, see Mr. Veile's notes below!
- December 21 - Holiday Parties, 9:30 - 10:20 and 3 Hour Early Release: 11:45
- December 21 - End of 2nd Quarter
- December 22- January 2, Winter Break
- January 3 - School resumes
- January 6 - Celebration Spirit Assembly, K-2 1:00 and 3-5 1:50
- January 9 - Winter Wishes Candy Gram sales begin 7:15 - 7:45 daily
- January 11 - 2 Hour Early Release
- January 13 - Grade Cards go home
- January 16 - NO SCHOOL, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- January 17 - PTO Meeting, 6:00 Callaway Hills Library
- January 9 -27 iReady Reading and Math Diagnostic Window (parent informational letter)
- February 3 - PTO Snowball Dance
PTO EVENTS AND MEETING MINUTES
JANUARY PTO EVENT
JOIN CALLAWAY HILLS FOR A NIGHT OF WINTER FUN. MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THE 2023 SNOWBALL DANCE, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3RD. MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW. PLEASE CONTACT JENNIFER BRITTON IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER.
WE NEED YOUR HELP! SPREAD CHEER THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!
THERE'S STILL TIME TO HELP: DONATIONS NEEDED FOR HOLIDAY SHOPPING AT COUGAR GENERAL
We need your help! We are needing items for the upcoming holiday season. Cougar General's Holiday Store is a chance for students to buy gifts for others with the Cougar Cash they have earned for positive behavior. Here are some examples of what you could donate: wrapping paper, gift bags, gift tags, jewelry, mugs, small trinkets, small toys, markers, scarves, gloves, small stuffed animals, journals, calendars, ornaments, binders, folders, ink pens, individually wrapped food items like Goldfish, boxed Mac-n-Cheese, pretzels, Cheese-Its, hot chocolate, etc. You may send items with your child to school or bring them in. If you would like to make a monetary donation, we would appreciate that as well. Please drop any donations off at the office with Mrs. Ahart. We thank you for helping us and donating to our school.
LIBRARY NEWS WITH MRS. WILSON
As the holiday season is quickly approaching and you are out looking for last minute gifts, books are always an excellent choice! Not sure what to buy your child? Don't worry I can always help! Send me a message on Dojo, email, catch me in the car rider line, or give me a call. The most important thing is to get your child books on topics he/she is interested in. We have to make reading an activity that they WANT to do, something they want to do for enjoyment. That is why getting books on topics your child enjoys is key. I would also suggest getting a variety of books from picture books and nonfiction to chapter books that can be read together. No matter how old your child is-they love to be read to!! Winter Break is a great time to go check out DBRL (next to New China) and let your child explore the public library and check out some materials-all for FREE! Enjoy this precious time with your child before they grow up and are too cool for their parents, it will be here before you know it!
MUSIC WITH MR. VEILE
We’re in deep for the holiday season now! We’ll be singing and playing with lots of holiday music this month, including body percussion, old classics, and some new favorites.
The 2nd and 3rd grades will present a Winter Concert on Thursday, December 15 at 6:00 in the school gymnasium. All members of the Callaway Hills community are invited to join us to help get in the holiday spirit. 2nd and 3rd grade students should be in their assigned place by 5:45. Students should wear dress clothes; holiday colors are encouraged. Students may wear Santa/Elf/Holiday hats for the performance as long as they don’t make noise or have distracting lights.
4th and 5th grade will continue learning the basics of recorders. Pretty soon we’ll be able to play Hot Cross Buns and even write our own music. We just danced a bit last month to Hot Cross Buns. Sometime after Christmas, we’ll be making up our own dance moves!
Kindergarten and First grades will be doing lots of holiday music, but we’ll also keep learning about instruments, rhythms, and more musical elements.
The “Music Style of the Month” for 4th and 5th grades is 1960s Rock ‘n’ Roll, starting with the Beatles.
The “Composer of the Month” for 3rd grade is John Williams. He’s probably the most famous movie composer of all time.
The “Song of the Month” for 1st and 2nd grades is “This Land Is Your Land.”
READING ROCKS WITH MRS. BOWDEN
☺️☺️ READ for AT LEAST 20 minutes every day!! ☺️☺️
It's easy!
Get your name in the drawing for an extra special VIP lunch!
Holiday Travel and Reading Fun
We spend an outrageous amount of time on the go through the holidays!
Why not turn that travel time into some extra learning time?
As you travel through the holidays, use these fun activities to keep your child entertained
and keep their brains engaged with these fun reading & math activities.
Enjoy this time together!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! ~ Mrs. Bowden
Try these ideas to encourage reading even when traveling this holiday season!
COUNSELING CORNER WITH MRS. PARKS
Compassion and Kindness are the Character Traits for DECEMBER. During our weekly counseling lessons, students will be participating in discussions regarding kindness and compassion and what it looks and sounds like in a classroom and around our school. Sometimes students may have difficulty understanding the meaning of and differences between these two traits.
What is the difference between compassion and kindness?
- Kindness is the act of helping others in need. Students often associate kindness with being friendly, generous and considerate. One of the first acts of kindness is to be kind to yourself. When we are kind to ourselves, it is easy to be kind to others. We can show kindness to others by saying kind words to others such as "thank you, please, good morning.
- Compassion is when you can relate to someone's situation and you want to help them. One of the best ways to show compassion is to model the behavior. For example, you see that someone is hurt and you want to help them feel better. Students often associate words such as "kindness, empathy, and understanding" when talking about this trait.
These traits are important because they help us connect to our own feelings and the feelings of others.
Students who are recognized for showing these traits are given verbal feedback with Cougar Cash to spend at our Cougar General Store, presented with written WooHoos to celebrate success with Mrs. Pistel, and given whole class compliments.
The CH Staff will be looking for students in all settings who are exhibiting these character traits, while continuing to look for Respectful, Responsible, and Self-Disciplined citizens as well. We are continuing to build Students of Character at Callaway!
Attendance letters were sent out for the first time two weeks ago. Sending letters is district policy and the letters are auto-generated. We understand that students will be out due to illness, appointments, and other important family matters, but we appreciate a notification when this occurs. Our Callaway Hills' attendance goal is 90% of the student population attending school 90% of the time. In-seat attendance is the best way to foster learning and growth. When students miss school, it is hard to replicate these learning experiences and students can fall behind quickly. Again we understand that absences will occur for various reasons. Your continued support is appreciated! Please call with questions.
FREE/REDUCED LUNCH FORM
In order to receive free or reduced price lunches you will still need to qualify through the application process. If you have not completed a Free & Reduced Meal Application for the 2022-2023 school year, please be sure to do that as soon as possible. You can request an application at the front office of the school or access one online HERE.
Please feel free to contact the Nutrition Services Department via email (nutritionservices@jcschools.us) or phone at 573-659-3123 if you have any questions about this new program or about completion of the Free & Reduced Meal Application.
Thank you,
JC Schools Nutrition ServicesBreakfast - FREE
Lunch - $3.00
COUGAR PLEDGE
I promise to be respectful in all that I do, be ready to learn and responsible too. Be safe and caring every day, watch us roar the Cougar way.
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORTS
COUGARS ARE SAFE, RESPECTFUL, AND RESPONSIBLE
All Settings Matrix 1
All Settings Matrix 2
Monthly Character Traits
January Trait: Hard Working and Motivation
Malissa Pistel, Principal
Email: malissa.pistel@jcschools.us
Website: https://www.jcschools.us/Domain/9
Location: 2715 State Road AA, Holts Summit, MO, USA
Phone: 573-896-5051
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CallawayHillsCougars/
Twitter: @callawaycougars