Chadds Ford Elementary School
Monthly Newsletter
May Newsletter
Take a few moments to catch up on the happenings around Chadds Ford Elementary. How does a month go by so quickly? It seems like just last week was spring break and now we are welcoming the month of May. This past month we enjoyed Earth Day and wellness activities, started the PSSA assessment, and are in the process of working on a local project for Habitat for Humanity. It's been a great April! Thank you for sending your child to school ready to learn!
Recess Updates:
Recess is an important part of the school day. We aim to have our children enjoy the playground, blacktop area, and field areas as flexibly as possible each day. At times, we are limited to blacktop only play after heavy rains. During blacktop only recess we will decrease play options to increase safety when a larger number of students are in one concentrated area. The goal is always to give our students an outlet to take care of themselves through recess!
We need your help to encourage your child to have safe play during recess. A few reminders from home can help us here at school:
- hands and feet to yourself - physical aggression is never acceptable
- use appropriate and respectful language
- report something unsafe immediately
- recess play is different than competitive after school activities, be forgiving and kind
- anyone interested in playing they should be included in a group activity
Thank you for your partnership!
Charge on Chargers!
Core Essentials
CFES explores and teaches concepts to help our students develop strong character. The Core Essentials program infuses the social-emotional learning competencies with each of our monthly values.
Thank you for support to engage in conversations at home that enhance the learning at home about the Core Essential traits we will be learning this school year. Our hope is that our Charger students will embody these skills and traits to build their character and succeed in life.
☑Competencies addressed throughout the year: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, Responsible Decision-Making
☑ Big Idea Values addressed throughout the year: Trust, Grit, Courage, Joy, Knowledge, Respect, Forgiveness, Humility, and Determination
During the month of May, our students will focus on the last trait of this school year, Determination. Determination - Deciding it's worth it to finish what you started. How do you show determination in your everyday life? How can you encourage your child to be determined while learning from mistakes. This is a great topic to discuss as a family!
Quote:
"The reward of one duty done is the power to fulfill another." — George Eliot
Succeed in Life:
School Updates
Attendance, travel plans, and dismissal changes should be communicated to cfeattendance@ucfsd.net, and please cc the homeroom teacher. All changes to dismissal plans should be submitted before 2:30 pm to ensure a safe dismissal process.
Thank you for your patience with the arrival and dismissal procedures. Safety on campus is extremely important. You can assist in the process by:
- Please stay attentive and pull forward to maximize our car line capacity.
- Stay in your vehicle and advance forward in the loading zone between the cones.
- Drop off and pick up can occur anywhere between the orange cones, pulling forward helps expedite the process.
- If you need more time before your journey home please pull into an open parking space or proceed to the lower gravel lot, this will allow the car line to flow smoothly and quickly.
- Please be mindful of staff entering and leaving the parking areas, you can help by leaving space for parking as needed.
- Keep a watchful eye on traffic control and flow, watch for staff in yellow vests and signs to direct traffic.
- Remember the speed limit on school grounds is 15 MPH!
- When on the driveway entering and exiting the school please yield to the school buses on the smaller bridge area.
Important Note for the 2023-2024 School Year:
Next school year, vehicles will no longer be permitted to arrive on campus before 3:15 pm to enter the car line in front of the school for car rider dismissal. The crowded car line poses safety concerns and challenges for late in the day deliveries to the school that need to access the back of the building. Please make note and plan accordingly, car riders will still be dismissed starting at 3:35 pm. You can help now by starting to adhere to this change of procedure to maintain a safe campus. Thank you!
Safety Drills - we participate in monthly safety drills to ensure are practices are relevant, timely, and proactive. Being prepared and responsive is paramount to the safety of our students and school.
Please regularly check your email or voicemail for updates from the school for any upcoming communications or weather-related events that may impact the school day.
It is important that you review your Parent Portal in Powerschool. All information for your child and family is stored in this portal for communications. A helpful area to review is under the 'Forms' section. In this section, you will find pertinent forms (FERPA, Acceptable Use, etc.) which link permissions to your child that the school references frequently. As a family keeping your portal updated ensures that you receive communications from the school and district. In addition, the school will follow your preferences indicated in the portal. Take a moment to check the portal. Reach out to the main office at Chadds Ford if you need further support.
Staying connected is an important part of the home and school partnership. We appreciate working and growing with our families to create a strong bond that benefits your child. Please keep in mind the school day is busy and it will take some time for staff to respond to emails and calls. We are in this together, your support and understanding are paramount to our success as a team!
Take Care of Yourself:
From the Nurse's Office - Mrs. Hocking
Updates:
May is filled with many fun outdoor activities, opportunities for outdoor learning, and outdoor field trips. As springtime allergies are continuing to flare up, many children are struggling throughout the day. While most are suffering from mild symptoms of itchy eyes, sneezing, and runny nose, these symptoms are impacting their day while at school.
If your child requires medication to treat seasonal allergies, please remember to administer as prescribed to help alleviate symptoms during the day.
For more information on allergies, click here for a free download of the Understanding Allergies Guide from the Asthma & Allergy Network.
Please do NOT send your child to school if he/she has or has had:
- A fever of 100 degrees or higher within the last 24 hours. Must be fever free without medication for 24 hours
- Vomiting or diarrhea within the last 24 hours
- Continuous coughing, not relieved with cough medicine
The goal of keeping our schools healthy involves all of us and I truly appreciate your partnership!!
From the School Counselor - Mrs. Sowden
Check out this article on a social battery:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/social-battery
Staffing update:
Mrs. Sowden has enjoyed her last two years at CFES as a Charger. You may not have realized that Mrs. Sowden was first a Pocopson Patriot before being hired at Chadds Ford as the School Counselor. An opportunity was available for Mrs. Sowden to go back to her roots at PES, where her daughters also attend school. While we will miss Mrs. Sowden next year she will still be close by! We are actively recruiting our next school counselor. When the new School Counselor is hired an announcement will be made to our community. We wish Mrs. Sowden well as she transitions next school year to PES.
From Mrs. Rentschler - School Social Worker
Linked below are the county links to locate services within the county you reside that include but are not limited to housing, food, and behavioral health needs.
Delaware County Department of Human Services Resources
How to Find Health and Human Services in Chester County
Kate Rentschler - Contact Information Phone: 610-347-1700 X3575 Email: Krentschler@ucfsd.net
Breakfast and Lunch Program
Children need healthy meals to learn. All students are able to purchase lunch ($2.75). Meal requirements are put in place to ensure that the food items contribute to a sufficient and healthy meal for each child. The webpage has a wealth of information about our meal program, click the button below.
On April 26th CFES students sampled dried dates to honor the traditions and culture for those who celebrate Eid al-Fitr. This was the last of our taste testing of the school year! Our students enjoyed trying new foods in our cafeteria.
May Dates to Note:
- May 12th - CFES May Fair - 2:00 pm
- Rain-date May 19th
- May 16th - No school for students - teacher in-service day
- May 18th - CFES Spring Open House - 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
- May 23rd - 4th and 5th grades Band, Orchestra, and Chorus Spring Concert 1:45 pm - more details to come
- May 29th - No school in observance of Memorial Day
Mark your Calendar for PSSA testing dates for 3rd-5th grade students
Student attendance is always important, please do your best to schedule appointments and events to avoid these testing dates.
- Math - Monday 5/1, Tuesday 5/2
- Science (4th grade only) - Wednesday 5/3, Thursday 5/4
- Make-ups will occur on 5/3, 5/4, 5/5
Kindergarten Registration is Open
Welcome Kindergarten Registration for the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District is now open for the 2023-2024 school year. Below is important information for students entering Kindergarten or the PA Public School system for the first time. For questions please call our Registrar 610-347-0970 x 3300 or email enrollment@ucfsd.net.
- Students who reside in the UCFSD attendance boundary and will be 5 years old on or before September 1st of the current year are eligible to enroll in Kindergarten for the upcoming school year.
- Students who reside in the UCFSD attendance boundary and will be 6 years old on or before September 1st of the current year are eligible to enroll in First Grade for the upcoming school year.
Be Inspired to Learn:
School Spirit Days
May Spirit Days:
- Friday, May 12th - Wear your CFES spirit wear to show your school spirit!
- Friday, May 26th - Wear your red, white, and blue to show our support for U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the United States armed forces.
Be on the lookout for additional special spirit days!
Healthy You and Healthy Earth
CFES celebrates a student wellness day!
Calling all Chargers - First In Math
Chargers are working hard to build math fluency and problem solving skills. We are computing our way to the goal of acquiring 1 million stickers in the First In Math program by June 1st. If we make our goal, there is a special celebration day planned for the students! Keep those math minds going and solve those problems!
Check out this video of our students sharing information about the program.
First In Math - click on the hyperlink
CFES Walking and Learning Trail
Check out Mr. Judd sharing details about the CFES Walking and Learning Trail. Thank you PTO for your support and funding for signage on the trail which will be installed before the end of the school year.
Walking and Learning Trail - click on the hyperlink
CFES Students Working with UHS Students
Mrs. Pepper, CFES Health Teacher and Mr. Drew Moister, UHS health/PE teacher collaborated to teach our students about the TATU (Teens Against Tobacco Use) program for the fourth grade students. UHS students visited with our 4th graders to share knowledge and engage in learning together! Students rotated through learning stations and then exercised as a large group. Another successful partnership in being inspired to learn!
CFES Kindergarten Learns with the Queen!
Pumpkin seed planting activity in Mrs. Robinson's kindergarten class with the Unionville Community Fair queen alternate, Faith Mousaw. CFES Chargers enjoyed meeting a new friend and learning together!
More Learning and Growing Together with STEM!
The UHS students stopped by CFES to enage in a a STEM activity with the 4th and 5th graders in Mrs. Gehris's class. Students worked collaboratively to develop a prototype and run test for effectiveness!
Reminders from our Librarian - Mrs. Price
Birthday Books, If you would like more information about Birthday Books, please click here and print out the form. You can submit forms to the library.
Contribute to Society:
Habitat for Humanity
Chadds Ford Elementary Chargers are committed to supporting service projects. Our service project this month was to paint, decorate, and collect supplies to welcome new families to the neighborhood. With the support of the PTO, students painted wooden bins which will store gardening supplies with bright and cheerful artwork. These bins will then be delivered full of supplies and welcome notes to families who will have new homes in Chester County in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Be on the lookout for more information. Thank you very much for your support! Supporting an organization and making a thoughtful donation to important causes is one way that Chargers contribute to society.
Outdoor Learning at CFES!
Watershed health and water study
right in our front yard at CFES!
PTO News
Join the PTO for the last meeting of the year on Wednesday, May 3rd at 9:30 am in the school's Makerspace bring your ID to check in at the front office. Your help, input, ideas, and support is appreciated and welcomed!
Thank you to the many volunteers and supporters of the CFES PTO! We are grateful for your time, energy, generosity, and dedication to CFES! Please consider how you can be a part of the PTO this school year, we need your help!
Thank you PTO for a wonderful assembly!
Earth Day Magic and Learning
Lots of fun and laughs at CFES!
Stay connected
Stay connected and share your story: Twitter #ChaddsFordUCFSD Instagram chaddsforducfsd Facebook @ChaddsFordChargers Search and use CFES hashtags #chaddsforducfsd #cfeschargers #UCFProud. Charge on Chargers!