IKES Families,

Fall is in the air and we have settled nicely into our school routines. Our Firebird students are role model children who academically excel and are showing us exemplary behavior and character. We’ve celebrated our first quarter honor roll and PBIS house winners! We had 200+ 4th and 5th grade honor roll students who we recently recognized as well as our “PRIDE of IKES” PBIS students. In addition, we initiated 15 fifth graders into our BETA Club based on their achievement and outstanding character. We are so very proud of our students’ school and extracurricular achievements. We have such hardworking and talented Firebirds and we are very proud to share their accomplishments.

Our school CCRPI score was just released and IKES continues to make academic gains. Our school improvement goals are to improve reading and math scores and we have many incentives in place to motivate our students in those two areas. Soon, I will send out a State of Georgia Parent Survey link which will provide you with 24 questions about our school. This will determine our 2019 State of Georgia, School Climate Rating. I encourage you to participate and to provide positive feedback to reflect the amazing things happening at the school.

Our IKES community is very involved and we are blessed with such engagement! Recently, we had a successful Grandparents’ Day Breakfast, Movie Night and Pumpkin Run. These events wouldn’t be possible without the support of our highly effective and super involved Executive PTA Board and the community at large. We acknowledge and appreciate your support to maintain a variety of school activities, clubs, and programs. We are looking forward to hosting a Veteran’s Day assembly and we welcome you to join us for Thanksgiving lunch soon.

I am honored to serve as your principal and value your feedback. Please call on me whenever the need arises.

With Appreciation,

Kim Cerasoli
Principal

Our Cherrydale Catalog Fall Fundraiser was a tremendous success! We had nearly $32,000 in sales. Of this amount, 40% of all sales and 100% of all donations will come directly back to our school. We are so grateful for your support and excited to put this funding towards wish list items, such as technology, classroom expenses, and other programs that directly benefit your children. Stay tuned for more details!

We will also be recognizing our top selling students with a field trip to Culver's for lunch and ice cream! Qualifying students will be notified and will receive a field trip permission form soon. Thank you for all of your support!

Thank you to all the families who joined us for our Movie Night on the Lawn on Friday, October 19th. The weather was perfect! Everyone enjoyed Hotel Transylvania 3 along with face painting donated by smART Club (our ASP art club provider) as well as dancing, limbo, hula-hooping, playground fun, free popcorn courtesy of Aurora Cineplex, and great food served by Brusters and Buffalo's Cafe!

All IKES students were able to take part in the 2018 Pumpkin Run during the school day on October 31st. Students were able to channel some of that Halloween energy and excitement toward some healthy fun and exercise!! Thanks to donations from our business sponsors, we were able to provide a festive Pumpkin Run t-shirt to every student. Huge thanks to our all of our volunteers, coaches and specials teachers for helping run the show and bringing their contagious enthusiasm! Thanks to all the parents who were able to come watch and support! We appreciate all of the generous donations that came in and we are quickly working to tabulate results and will announce prizes shortly!

Mrs. Colleen DeLosh – Grades 3-5

Mrs. Lori Waycaster – Grades K-2

Speak Up, Be Safe began in October and we will be finished teaching the program by December. Be sure to talk with your children about who their safe adult is and ask them to show you the 5 safety rules they have learned.

1. It’s my body!

2. Ask an adult if I’m safe.

3. I have choices.

4. Tell someone

5. It’s never my fault.

2018 MUST Ministries Thanksgiving Food Box Drive

Indian Knoll has an opportunity to team up with Sequoyah High School Air Force Junior ROTC to assist with MUST Ministries Thanksgiving Service Project. Starting on Nov. 1st, students can bring in items from the list below to help support MUST Ministries. Items brought in will be tallied by our Jr. Beta club students. Each student in the house with the most items donated will get 5 extra DOJO points. We will be collecting items from Nov. 1st – Nov. 8th.

Thank you for your support!

Corn Stuffing

Green beans Chicken Broth

Yams Mac & Cheese

Cranberry sauce Instant Potatoes

Soup Marshmallows

Fruit Instant Tea

Turkey gravy mix Sugar

Pie or cake mix

If you or someone you know needs holiday assistance, please note the dates below for MUST Ministries registration:

MUST Ministries toy shop registration will continue through Friday, 11/16. Registration is being done during regular intake hours of 10a-2p, Mon-Fri.

If a registrant is a current MUST client all they need to bring is a photo ID for the adult who is registering and a valid, original ID (Social Security card, birth certificate, passport, medical insurance card) for each child under the age of 18. If they are not a current MUST client, in addition to the IDs they will be asked to complete a MUST intake form and a self-declaration of income for each household member 18 yrs. or older.

The Toy Shop will be open from Dec. 1-15 this year and will be located in Riverstone Plaza, next to the Publix.

If you or someone you know is in need of clothing for the winter months please contact one of us at colleen.delosh@cherokee.k12.ga.us or lori.waycaster@cherokee.k12.ga.us.

In celebration of National School Bus Safety Week, IKES PTA thanked our awesome bus drivers with refreshments and an IKES sweatshirt. Our bus drivers are sometimes the first smiling adult a child sees each morning and the last before they get home. They always brave the weather to get our kids safely where they need to be, while being a shining example as they do it! We love our bus drivers!

If you are a PTA member, don't forget to use your Firebird Flash Card for great discounts at over 50 local businesses. For a complete list of participating vendors, click here. If you are not yet a PTA member, join PTA today and start saving!!