We hope you had a wonderful holiday break and a great start to 2023! We are so excited for the amazing things that the new year has in store for us. Right now, we are collecting mid-year data through the PALs assessment. We are so proud of their growth. At home, you can help us by reading together each night. 15-20 minutes of reading makes all the difference. We appreciate all you do!

Please help us by making sure that your child is in school and on time every day. Our school accreditation is dependent on our school attendance rate. Currently, we are still having an issue keeping our attendance rate down. We really need your help! If your child is running a fever or vomiting, please keep them home. Be sure to log into ParentVUE to report the absence. Otherwise, please have your child in school.

Note: Vacations are not an excused absence.

Our Chronic Absenteeism rate is currently: 33.21%

This means that more than 33% of our students have missed 10% of the school year to date. If your child has missed more than 10% already, please help us but ensuring they are in school. The more days they are in, reduces this number greatly.

January is...

9-13 School Principal's Week

This month:

• Friday, January 13th- 1980's Dress Day for the 80th day of school
• Monday, January 16- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day- No School
• Thursday, January 26th- Mad Scientist Day- Dress like a Mad Scientist/Doctor/Geologist/Meteorologist/Chemist or any other person in the science field. We will be doing a lot of fun experiments!
• Friday, January 27th- Early Release/End of Grading Period
• Monday, January 30 and 31- No School- Teacher workday and Inservice Day.

Special Thanks to the Brooklyn Nets player Cam Thomas for his generous donation to our school. Cam Thomas is a former Tiny Tiger himself. We are so thankful that he is giving back to his school community.

His donation will help us fill our book vending machine which allows students the opportunity to earn books as positive incentives for demonstrating positive school behavior and improving academically or with attendance.

Remember, together we are better! Thanks again Cam Thomas for being such a vital part of our school community!

We would like to thank all of our community partners for their generosity over the course of the holiday season. We had meal donations as well as toy donations to support families during the holiday. Without the partnerships, we would not be able to offer so many wonderful opportunities. with meals, toys, coats, shoes, gift cards, and hats/gloves.

Rack Room Shoes

Property Line Home Improvements LLC

The Place of Change

River Oak Church

Chesapeake Rotary Club

JCA Foundation

New Mount Olive AME Church

Oak Grove UMC Wesleyan Class

Old Point National Bank

The Noblemen

Portlock United Methodist Church

Kiwanis Club of Chesapeake

Crestwood High School Alumni Association

Faculty and Friends of Portlock Primary

Great Bridge United Methodist Church Circle of Faith

Virginia Department of Education definition on bullying. Bullying means any aggressive and unwanted behavior that is intended to harm, intimidate, or humiliate the victim; involves a real or perceived power imbalance between the aggressor or aggressors and victim; and is repeated over time or causes severe emotional trauma. "Bullying" includes cyber bullying. "Bullying" does not include ordinary teasing, horseplay, argument, or peer conflict.

If you haven't joined our fabulous PTA, please consider joining! Click here to join.

• School begins at 7:35. Doors will open at 7:15 to begin drop-off. Please be sure that your child has their bookbag/lunchbox ready as you approach the drop-off location. This will make the line faster to ensure we get everyone in the building in time for school to begin. Once you have come to a complete stop, your child may exit the car on the passenger's side of the car.
• School ends at 2:04. We are actively preparing for the dismissal process at 1:50.
• Please be sure that your child and the teacher know how your child gets home every day.
• For the safety of our students, no transportation changes after 1:30. This is a Chesapeake Public Schools guideline this year.
• Kindergarteners: PLEASE have bus tags daily!
• Please do not line up outside for parent drop-off before 7 so that staff can get in the parking lot for the day.
• Please do not line up for Tiny Tiger pick-up prior to 1:30.
• Absences: Please be sure to log into ParentVUE to submit absence notes, you can send in a note or email Porttiger@cpschools.com within 4 days of absence. This is important because the absences automatically go unexcused without a note and an excused reason (illness, doctor). 5 unexcused absences lead to the beginning phases of truancy.
• Thank you so much for your assistance in helping our school day run smoothly!
  

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR KINDERGARTEN PARENTS: Your child will have a bus tag which will be placed on their backpack. The person picking the Kindergartener up from the bus stop MUST have the matching tag. Bus drivers do not have the ability to verify parent contacts so the card is the only way that they can verify the person is allowed to have that child. If no one has the card or can quickly get the card, the student will be returned to school for pick up and verification. This is a CPS policy and the driver MUST follow the policy. The policy is for your child's safety!

Here is some useful information regarding the newest approach to literacy instruction.