CARLSON COURIER
Home of the Champions
Hello Champions,
I hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather we were gifted. That, and for us natives, a Suns playoff win against the Lakers and ASU's own Lefty winning a Major Championship at 50! Wow, that is a pretty solid weekend in my book! Well, this is the final curtain call for the year. Although there were times this year felt like it would never end, now that the final days are upon us it feels like we didn't quite have enough time with our students. Especially, now that COVID is becoming more manageable with fewer restrictions. Nonetheless, we will enjoy these final hours and make a few more memories before everyone breaks for summer.
Just wanted to thank student council for putting together our final spirit week and those that participated. Lots of Carlson spirit was on display last week and its a joy to see such pride taken in our school by our students and staff. Students took some time out of their day to visit with each other and participate in the timeless tradition of signing each other's yearbook. This generation will never know the importance of getting phone numbers to K-I-T over the summer. Nowadays, they are in constant connection by the touch of a screen. Anyhow, our 6th graders had a great time celebrating their final year at Carlson with a trip to Main Event. Students played laser tag, video games, bowled, and ventured though the sky walk obstacle course. Thank you 6th grade for such a great year and we want to wish you all the best of luck in junior high. If you didn't get a chance to see some of Carlson's talented students showcase their skills, check out the link below to the virtual talent show. It always amazes me the talent of our students and the commitment they make to excel. And finally, we capped off the week/quarter with our last virtual assembly of the year and hopefully ever. A special thank you to Mrs. Murrieta, Ms. Sanborn and the 5th & 6h grade student council members for all their help with our games. We recognized all of our character counts winners, students that hit new milestones for AR dog tags, and a couple of students that earned a special recognition. Alicia Stola placed 2nd in her age group's division in Regional competition for gymnastics. Congrats Alicia and keep up the great work. And then there was Aaden Tang. Aaden was honored for not missing one single day during his entire elementary career spanning 7 years. Well done Aaden, that is an impressive feat. Now, I hope I didn't jinx you with three and half days to go. And of course we closed with our final slide show of the year revisited all of the memories this 4th quarter brought us, none better than seeing the smiles of students and staff as they reminisced together one last time.
Coming up this week we have Kinder graduation on Tuesday and Wednesday. Parents of Kinders you will enter through the southeast double gates at the end of parent pickup/drop off. There will be a check in for you and please remember we are limited to only two guests per student. The event will be held outside and last for approximately 25-30 minutes. Those attending the first session will need to exit promptly in order to clean and set up for the second session. You will exit though the same gates you came through. If you have any questions please reach out to your child's teacher.
6th grade will be having a virtual celebration along with a yearbook signing in the MPR on Wednesday afternoon. Unfortunately, this is for students only this year. Then on Thursday, the big clap out will take place. Parents you are invited to meet your student(s) on the field as they exit the building. We are limited to two guests per student though for this event. Parking will be interesting to say the least, so if you can limit the number of cars that will help out. You will enter through the double gates on the SE side of the school at the end of the parent pick up/drop off line. The clap out will begin at 10:30am inside the school and all students should be in their outside zones by 10:55am. There will be shade tents (not nearly enough for everyone) to mark each teacher's receiving zone on the field. We will need to be mindful that dismissal is at 11:30am, so if any of you plan on mingling for a while, we ask that you consider using Valencia park after 11:20am to avoid overlapping with parent pick up. We do have a pedestrian gate to access the park from inside the playground. Additionally, it might be easier to leave if you park on Desert Jewel if you plan on heading to the park. If you have any questions please reach out to your student's teacher.
Well, this is going to one for the ages and we are just grateful for the opportunity to host these two modified events for our students. Thank you for all your continued support and grace this year. We look forward to a much needed break and reset and coming back with business as usual if we can remember what that was exactly.
Thank you and have the best final week!
Gratefully,
Mr. Morgan
Final Reminders
Kindergarten Graduation
Will be held on Tuesday May 25th and Wednesday May 26th. We will have two class graduations back to back starting at 8:45am. See below for times.
6th Grade Clap Out
Will take place on Thursday May 27th. All K-5 Students and staff will step into the hallways and clap out our 6th graders as they take one last pass through the Hall of Champions. Parents you are invited to receive them outside and take them home one last time.
Library Books
All library books are due by May 24th.
Medication Pick Up
Don't forget to pick up your child's medication(s) from the Health Office. The last day to do this is Thursday, May 27. Please contact the Health Office at 480.224.3802 with any questions.
Lost and Found Items
Please remind your student to check lost and found. Items have been placed in the main hallway for easy access. There are quite a few jackets, sweaters, water bottles and lunch boxes that need to go home. Any item left once school is out for summer will be donated.
Principal’s List & Honor Roll
Students in Grades 4 - 6 will be selected for Principal’s list if they have all A’s for both 3rd and 4th quarters and Honor Roll for having all A’s and B’s. This Friday, May 21st will be the cut off date to determine who is on these lists.
Final Week of School: May 24th - 28th
Tuesday 5/25
- Kinder Celebration - Mrs. Rivas: 8:45am - 9:10am; Mrs. Tellez: 9:15am - 9:45am
Wednesday 5/26
- Kinder Celebration - Mrs. Rang: 8:45am - 9:10am; Mrs. Shuck: 9:15am - 9:45am
- 6th Grade Celebration and yearbook signing starts at 1:00pm in the MPR
Thursday 5/27
- 6th Grade Final Clap Out starts at 10:30am
- Last Day for Students, early dismissal at 11:30am
- Last day for teachers
Important Summer Dates
Tuesday 6/1
- Kindergarten KIST testing 8:00am - 2:00pm
- Meet the Teacher 4:30pm - 6:30pm
Wednesday 7/21
- Students first day of school for the 2021-22 school year
- Curriculum Night 5:00pm - 6:30pm
This Week’s Lunch Menu
A Loog Around Campus
Important Links
2021-2022 Registration Information
Now enrolling for the 2021-22 school year. Contact the front office at 480-224-3800 to schedule a tour.
Band & Orchestra Registration
A Message From
Counseling Corner
Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)
Dear Carlson Families,
We are excited to announce the PTO Board Members for the 2021/2022 school year! Meet your board members:
Katie Palichuk, Carlson PTO President: I have been part of the Carlson family since opening year. My son is now a Junior at Perry High and my daughter, Lexi, is in Mrs. Rose’s 4th grade class. For the 2020-2021 school year I served as the Carlson PTO President. During this time, I enforced all by-laws and policies, outlined, and supervised all Carlson PTO fundraising efforts, coordinated teacher appreciation (staff meals, birthday, events, etc.), maintained all documents, operations and procedures. In addition, I oversaw PTO general meetings, attended Executive Board meetings, attended CSB General meetings, and handled the day-to-day operations. Prior to this year, for the 2019-2020 school year I served as Carlson PTO Secretary.
I have been an educator myself for the past 22 years. I taught at the elementary level for many years and am currently a full-time faculty member at ASU Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. I recently took on a Leadership Role at ASU and I now oversee the Elementary Teacher Prep Grad Program and I am excited to continue my work in the education field. Go Devils!
I look forward to continuing on the Carlson PTO board.
Nikki Macias, Carlson PTO Secretary: While this is my first year in the Carlson community, I look forward to making my PTO journey last for years to come. My daughter, Nora, is in Kindergarten and my 4-year-old son, Owen, cannot wait to be a Champion. I had the amazing opportunity of teaching Kindergarten and 1 st grade for over 10 years before having my children. I served as a team leader for many of those years and sat on several committees throughout my time as a teacher. For the past 20+ years, I have expanded my educational knowledge through continuing education classes, keeping up on best practices, remaining involved in education as much as possible while not actually being in the classroom, and have been a private tutor to children of all ages. Over the past three years, I have been the “ preschool mom” for my kids’ preschool and have organized events for the director on several occasions.
For the past three years, I have been a private family mediator where I spend my time helping families make the best decisions possible for their children. Not only am I a mediator, but I am responsible for all the administrative duties at my business. This requires a huge amount of organizational skill, overseeing that staff is effectively following procedures, attending continuing education classes, being on committees for mediators, and coordinating schedules of staff members and clients. My passion is and has always been children. Being part of PTO is something that I have dreamed of since before my children were here. I look forward to this opportunity and working with the amazing staff and parents at Carlson.
Monica Jones, Carlson PTO Treasurer: Monica has served on the PTO Board at Carlson for the last two years as Treasurer. Monica has two children that attend Carlson Elementary. Her oldest son will be in 6th grade next year and her youngest son will be going into 2nd grade. Monica is a Commodity Manager at Intel and has held several positions during her 19-year career at lntel. During her free time, Monica enjoys attending her kids sport events, volunteering at Carlson Elementary, traveling and growing her small Party consultant/rental business she started with her husband 3 years ago.
Denise Coracides, Carlson PTO Director of Technology & Communications: Denise has served on our PTO for the past 2 years. She served as VP of Communications, and most recently as Secretary. She is also an original parent at Carlson since it opened its doors. She has volunteered in many different positions and has also been a substitute teacher for the past 6 years. She has taken a full-time job as an instructor for a large company in Chandler, but still wishes to continue serving our board and school. Next year will be Denise’s last year at Carlson, as her youngest will enter the 6th grade. She hopes to make this last year a fun and memorable one serving our school and community.
Stephanie Wesselmann, Carlson PTO Director of Merchandising: Stephanie has served on the PTO Board at Carlson for the past two years as Merchandising VP and General Board Member. Prior to moving to Phoenix and serving on PTO, she held various HR Manager positions at a large Fortune 500 company. She has a daughter going into 4 th grade next year and enjoys spending time at Carlson giving back to the students and staff.
Davy Yee, Carlson PTO General Board Member: I have two girls. One is at ACP Oakland and the other, Maddie, is in 4th grade in Ms. Ledman's class. We were originally at Tarwater then moved to Great Hearts Lincoln and now our home school, Carlson. I have been a room mom for 6 years and have served in various committees. At Tarwater, I started up and was co-chair of their Mandarin parents’ group where I oversaw the committees, managed communications to parents, and assisted in grade level activities. I was also room mom for three years there and one year was room mom for 3 classes. At Lincoln, I managed their used uniforms programs (sale of, intake, inventory). I also served on their social and events committees helping in their annual literacy night and daddy/daughter dance. I was also room mom for three years and oversaw/organized grade level activities (125 students) for the specific grade. Look forward to working with you and the board in whatever capacity you need.
Please reach out to PTO at any time at admin@carlsonpto.com
We look forward to serving the Carlson community in the 2021/2022 school year!
~Your Carlson PTO Board
CUSD Nutrition
This summer, Universal FREE curbside meals will continue at four sites: Chandler High School, Perry High School, Hamilton High School, and Casteel High School; 7:30-9:30am and 4:30-5:30pm, Mondays (exceptions due to holidays). The Pre-Order link for curbside is embedded in the document and located here. In addition, we are working with the counseling team to implement neighborhood deliveries to our neediest families. We will also be serving all children enrolled in Kids Express Camps, Lil’ Explorers, and Summer Academy and Enrichment.
Back To School Drive
CARLSON ELEMENTARY
Name: John and Carol Carlson Elementary School
Mascot: Champions; Champ is a cougarAddress: 5400 S. White Drive, Chandler, AZ 85249
School Hours: 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Principal: Andy Morgan
Dean of Students: Bridgett Matson
Office Manager: (480) 224-3807 (Mrs. MoralesBenfield, Office Manager)
Front Office: (480) 224-3800 (Mrs. Ozawa, School Assistant)
Attendance: (480) 224-3803 (Mrs. Keith, Attendance Tech/Registrar)Health Office: (480) 224-3802 (Mrs. Franco, Health Assistant)
Fax: (480) 224-9443
Office Hours: 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Website: https://www.cusd80.com/Domain/4422
Location: 5400 South White Drive, Chandler, AZ, USA
Phone: 480-224-3800
Twitter: @CarlsonChamps