Summer Newsletter 2018
Chestatee Elementary School
A Letter From Dr. Tennies, Our Principal
Welcome June! What’s going on this summer?
Hopefully, your time will involve some rest and lots of family fun. When you catch your breath, I need to put in a huge push for READING for fun this summer with kids. Several years ago, I had a son who wasn’t a reader, wasn’t even interested, not even close. As a mom, a teacher, and ironically a reading specialist, I was concerned.
Looking back at a few painful years of non-reading, I realize now that finding what he loved and was interested in was at the heart of reading for him. It made a difference to help him love books. He got in the “reading door” by discovering Garfield. (The cat with the love of lasagna). Why Garfield? Low words, big vocabulary, lots of inferences, but number one tons of laughs. My boy loved to laugh. The hardest part was helping him find the books that he wanted to read.
There are a lot of ways to get the books. My favorite way doesn’t cost a thing. Libraries are made for exploring and are free. Good news, our library is open this summer on Wednesdays from 4-6pm and you are welcome to checkout our books. On the drive to the school, start by asking your child what they want to read! Remind them of their interests (the bugs they caught in the jar last night, their grandma that lives in Texas who they will visit in July, puppies of all types!) When I let go of what I thought he should read, he started to read more.
Kids who don’t read get rusty during the summer, or they can blossom and grow when they read the things that they really love.
Oh, and happy ending, my non-reader beat me in Scrabble last night, and I am a fierce word competitor. That vocabulary grew when he read what he loved.
Kindly,
Dr. Polly Tennies
Principal
Check out all the "T"-riffic things we have had going on at the "T"!
4th Grade Science Expo
Living Museum
Field Day
5th Grade End of the Year Fun!
Thank you to the Graduating Seniors who came to walk the halls on their last day! Best of luck in your future endeavours!
What's Coming up at next at the "T"?
Chestatee Summer Office Hours
Monday- Thursday 8:00-11:00 & 1:00-3:00
Offices Will be Closed July 2nd- 13th
Enjoy your summer!
Will you be new to Chestatee next year?
Hopefully it can help answer a lot of your questions.
We can't wait to have you as a part of the T next year!
It's not too late to enroll your upcoming Kindergartner!Check out this video for help on how you can get that done:
Looking for ways to stay connected to the school over the summer? Page Turners is for YOU!
Ice Cream Social June 20th
Open House 2018- July 31st (3 pm -7 pm)
Kindergarten Bus Round up - July 25th
First Day of School- August 2nd, 2018
Looking to Join Girls on the Run?!
North Forsyth Jr. Raiders Registration
A Few Words From Your Family Engagement Coordinator
Thank you so much for another great year! I have enjoyed getting to know so many families this year in my role as the Family Engagement Coordinator. One thing I know for sure is that our families are very ENGAGED! From coming for special events to APTT to connecting through Facebook, our families strive to help our school and students! It makes my job a pleasure. I hope you enjoy your summer with some extra time with your kids.
At our last APTT meeting, we shared the importance of reading over the summer. When a child doesn’t read consistently, we often see a slip of at least two reading levels in the fall. At APTT, we provided many activities and ideas to make reading fun, and 15 minutes daily makes a huge difference. The “Summer Learning Activities” are linked on our website so that it is easy to access the links. You can find tons of great information here. Remember that our media center and Family Resource Room will be open from 4-6 on Wednesdays through the summer.
Summer Learning Activities: https://bit.ly/2KNQqvV
Summer Reading Information from the Library: https://bit.ly/2KMc5Vi
Happy Summer and happy reading! We will see you soon!
Meg
770-887-2341 ext 722302
Don't Forget....
Box Tops/ Soup Labels
Remember if you fill up a box tops page, Ms. Donna has a prize you can earn!
Kroger and Publix will donate money too...
Publix Partners key-ring cards are available in the front office for to you scan every time you buy groceries at Publix. Publix will donate a certain percentage of their profits to Chestatee as well!
See Ms. Donna in the front office for one of these cards, or send a letter with your child asking for one, and we will send one home for you!
We love our Partners in Education!
Chestatee Elementary School
Website: http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/site/default.aspx?domainid=260
Location: 6945 Keith Bridge Road, Gainesville, GA, United States
Phone: 770-887-2341
Facebook: facebook.com/ChestateeES
Twitter: @chestateees