Greetings from the T!

Progress. It was a happy moment this week when we opened the doors again of our media center at Chestatee. Our polished concrete floor was finished and we were able to start moving bookcases back into our library. I am feeling so proud of our students and staff who managed to come up with creative solutions during this unusual situation. The Chestatee Way was in full use!

At lunch recently, a fourth grader shared that some of the books that were lost were a little bit old and tattered, and wouldn’t it be great to have new books to read. We talked about having patience while the solution was being worked on at our school, but her positive mindset was admirable. Several teachers shared how their students made use of class bookshelves with paperbacks and read from an online application available to Forsyth County Students on Class Link. It’s wonderful when kids can see more than one way to solve a problem! Our mini media center also filled a need for kids.

Mrs. Wiggins, our Media Specialist, rallied her team who carefully rearranged our space. Giving time, effort, and ideas as we did indeed come back together better than ever. As we continue to open boxes of materials, settle our skipjack back into place, and arrange the tables and chairs, I know that we have all grown from this experience. I hope that you will get a chance to stop by the media center in the month of March and see the progress for yourself.

Together, We are Chestatee!

Sincerely,

Dr. Polly Tennies

Principal

The media center is open and close to being finished!

O'Raylia took first place, and Bailey was the runner-up for our oratorical contest. Each fifth grade class sent a representative. Congrats to all of these students!

Our drawing was held on 2/22, and the winners received bikes, roller blades, or scooters! Kindness is how we roll at the T!

$250 will be used on treats for staff. Our community is amazing! Thanks to ALL.

Our team is:

Kiera R.- Daise

Zainab I.- Ware

Baleigh R.-Stowers

Lila W.- Stowers

Emily Castleberry received the FCS Outstanding Employee of the Month!

Thank you to the FCS Education Foundation and Publix!

Thank You for Joining, Parents!

We love dressing alike!

Thank you for a great first grade field trip!

Our kindergarten students went to see the play!

Always a favorite!

It was great to see former Chestatee Eagles!

We met tons of potential candidates for next year!

Second graders dressed as their favorite character!

Make amazing substitute teachers!

February 15th

Students in this club did service projects- cleaning up the outdoor classroom and making cards for staff.

Thank you to the Forsyth County Fire Department Education Division!

• Please remember to send in your child’s excuse within 5 days.
• Families can send up to 10 notes from home for absences before doctor notes are required.
• On email excuses to the teacher, it’s easy to add Ms. Stacey (Sholbrook@forsyth.k12.ga.us) to make sure she gets the excuse.
• Any time you go to see the doctor, please ask for a school excuse. If you forget, contact the doctor and ask them to email or fax the excuse. Fax: 770-781-2281.
• Georgia law requires the school to send attendance letters after 5 or more unexcused absences.
• If your child is checking out from the clinic, the absence is excused.
• When you check your child in/ out on Checkmate, the absence will be unexcused. Please provide a medical excuse if you'd like the absence excused.

Click Here for Details!

Please continue to signup. This ensures that we have enough tables and that the tables are clean.

Our families have been so generous! We made almost $23,000 for classroom materials with this fundraiser. Thank YOU, Families! The teachers were so excited about their gift cards!

You may be wondering what a High Flyer Ceremony is! Each month, we will recognize 2 students from each class who have done an amazing job exhibiting the Chestatee Way! Students will receive a special invitation for their families. We will meet in the cafeteria together. We love celebrating the positives in students! We have had these virtually the last two years, and so we have been so excited to have our ceremonies again this year!

Students can be written up by their teacher for using their strategies, showing effort, having a great attitude or showing kindness. When a child receives a Positive Office Referral, they visit Dr. Tennies in the office, receive a prize, and get a picture on a special display. We are very proud of our students!

We are proud to announce Lynn McNeal as our February Staff Member of the Month!

Lynn is known for her dedication to the T. She began working at Chestatee in 1992 as a substitute teacher and volunteer. She has served as an instructional assistant in first grade, kindergarten, and Pre-K and has worked at Chestatee for 30 years! Lynn currently works with Mrs. Kim Sarfaty in our Pre-K program. Together, Ms. Lynn and Ms. Kim are often a child’s first teacher and instill a love for learning early.

Ms. Lynn is loyal and hard working. Recently, she has needed to do some extras, and she has always done this with grace. Ms. Lynn has gone over and beyond. She received several nominations in the past few months stating how amazing she has been.

Lynn and her husband, Tim, have 2 grown children and 4 grandchildren! Their twins, Haley and Holden went to Chestatee many years ago. Lynn and Tim live in the Chestatee community and are very active in their church. We are so very thankful that she is part of our amazing Chestatee staff. Congratulations to our Lynn McNeal!

A big thank you to our PTO and Mathnasium of Coal Mountain for sponsoring our Chestatee Staff Member of the Month Program!

Do you want to recognize and celebrate the exemplary teaching and contributions by Chestatee Elementary teachers and staff? Click here to write a nomination.

March 3- Read Across America Day at the T!

March 6-9- Teacher Appreciation Week

March 6-9- Exceptional Children's Week

March 7- STEAM Night (Math and Science fun at Chestatee): 5:30-7:00

March 8- Vertical Acknowledgement Awards Night at East: 6:30 (By invitation)

March 9- Early Release for Spring Conferences

March 10- Student Holiday/ Professional Development

March 14- Pizza Azzuri PTO Spirit Night

March 15- Spring Pictures and Class Pictures

March 20-31- Virtual Art Show

March 28- Fine Arts Night

Our PTO board members raise money to help teachers and our school.

You can support our PTO through our fundraisers, Spirit Nights, events, and spirit wear.

There are no membership dues this year.

Contact our PTO at chestateeelementarypto@yahoo.com any time!

Because FCS did our electronic sign, we have had extra funding for projects at the T!

• PTO installed a second gaga pit with turf, and turf/ new padding will be added for the original gaga pit.
• Bookshelves were also added to each classroom on the 3-5 end of the school.
• Many new books were purchased for our media center.

Thank YOU for your generosity!

The Pre-K team earned a treat day!

Thanks to Frozen Frenzee!

Dear Families,

The main reasons for keeping your child at home are as follows:

• If he/she is too sick to be comfortable at school
• If he/she will spread a contagious illness/disease to another child

Remember: Students must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications before returning to school. Students must also be vomiting and diarrhea free for 24 hours before returning to school.

Let me know as you have questions,

Nurse Kristen

Ext. 722151

We were so excited to win the "Stock the Fridge" Contest!

Adam brought information and refreshments for staff on Valentine's Day!

Thanks to Colin and Priscilla for bringing information and donuts for the staff!

Thank you to Clint, Ash, and Jenny for visiting and for helping our students build in STEM! We appreciate Construction Ready and Associated General Contractors of Georgia!

Our Youth Scholarship provides funding for families that cannot afford the participation fees for our recreation, athletic and camp programs.

Children ages 17 or younger are eligible to apply for this scholarship. They must be county residents and must provide a completed application with supporting documents. You can find the application and more information here:

https://parks.forsythco.com/How-Do-I/Apply-for-a-Scholarship

Our senders have been so important to the school! Sending in items is a great way to be involved. Currently, we are collecting desserts and snacks for our Teacher Appreciation Week. Many parents have already signed up to make this a week that our staff won't forget. If you work and can't get to school as often as you'd like, donating items needed is a great way to help! Thank YOU in advance! Click here for the latest signup:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48aaa82aaafb6-teacher#/

Calling all male role models! Watchdog Dads are welcome at the T!

There are two ways to help:

#1- Wear a WD shirt (we have one to borrow if needed), and help on car line by smiling, greeting kids, and helping them get out of the car.

Carline Signup

#2-Wear a WD shirt and spend the day with us! You'll visit the carline, the school news, your child's class, Pathways classes, lunch and recess. You'll be busy and tired at the end of the day!

WD Signup for the Day

Click here for all the information!

Questions? Contact Meg Killingsworth

770-887-2341 ext. 723002

Email Meg

By now, you may have heard about our book club. It’s the first time, we’ve done a book club at the T with parents, and I’m so excited. We are reading, Raising Good Humans: A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids. We just finished chapter 1 of our book, and we are already learning so much!

One of my favorite lessons came from the members of the club during our first session. We noticed that parents are more alike than different. Many of us want the same things for our kids: to be happy, healthy, confident, kind, loving, thriving and successful at whatever they might choose to do. It felt good to meet with people who had such similar feelings as me.

And in Chapter 1, we read about two of my favorite topics…mindfulness and self-care. The author writes that self-care is parental responsibility. Now, my self-care is taking time for my nails and lashes. LOL. But our group had other great ideas. What self-care might you be doing?

Taking a walk

Walking with a friend

Watching a show

Going out with friends

Taking a nap

Reading a book (or joining a book club)

Soaking in a bath

As we continued reading chapter 1, we learned about taking time to be mindful. Being mindful simply means that we live in the present- being in that moment. One of the best things we can be for our kids is present. That means we stop to listen and acknowledge what they are saying. Being mindful while you do something is using your five senses to enjoy the moment. It’s feeling grateful for that moment even when you might not love what you are doing. And being mindful makes us better parents because it slows us down. How many of us are listening, making dinner, emptying the dishwasher, and checking our phones all at the same time? When we do this, we really aren’t doing anything well. So learn to do one of those things at a time. Slow down. It will help you do a better job at each of the items.

There’s so much more that I learned, but I know you only have so much time! If you were interested in the book, I’ve got a couple of copies left for checkout. And it’s not too late to join the book club either. We are meeting on Wednesdays at 9:30 in the Family Resource Room or on Teams- Monday nights at 7:00. You are always welcome!

I’ll write more as I learn!

See you soon!

Meg

Meg Killingsworth

Family Engagement Coordinator

770-887-2341 ext. 723002

mkillingsworth@forsyth.k12.ga.us

It's not too late to join! We are starting chapter 2 this week.

There are options for a book club led by Meg and several teacher leaders.

Wednesdays 9:30-10:30 AM in the Family Resource Room or

Monday nights at 7:00 PM on Microsoft Teams.

Here’s the link for more information about our first book. Raising Good Humans: A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids https://a.co/d/6mdNsO4 You can purchase your own or check one out from our Family Resource Room.

We’d love to have you! Contact Meg if interested! mkillingsworth@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Or 770-887-2341 ext. 723002

We collect Box Tops to raise money for our school.

The procedure will be changing in the near future (we will keep you posted!)

For now, keep filling out your Box Top Sheets and turn them in to Ms. Donna in the front office.

If you ask to connect your Kroger Plus card to Chestatee Elementary, they will donate a certain percentage of the profits to our school. You can find out more about how to do this if you CLICK HERE.

Publix Partners with Chestatee also. You only need to put your phone number in as you checkout. Publix will donate a certain percentage of their profits to Chestatee from your purchase!

We love our Partners in Education!

Email: chestateees@gmail.com
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