CARLSON COURIER
Home of the Champions
Patriot Day Ceremony 2021
Greetings Champions,
I hope you are enjoying your weekend. We are only 2 weeks (10 school days) away from Fall break! How did that happen and when will our Fall weather get here? Anyhow, we had a great short week. First, we kicked off our Step It Up fundraiser and judging by the amount of prizes we’ve been handing out it looks like we are off to a great start. In addition to winning prizes such as the mini fridges, cash and iPad, the class with the highest average amount raised per student will get to put a pie in my face at the end of the quarter assembly. Now, who can’t send a few emails for that? For those that have been busy already we can’t thank you enough for the support and generosity. The money raised is going toward providing students an exciting fun filled field day and to improve and enhance our playground.
In addition to to the fundraiser, students were hard at work making cards, writing letters and gearing up for our annual Patriot Day ceremony. A huge thank you to our Red, White and Blue committee (Mrs. Coking, Mrs. Franzen, Mrs. Rose, Mrs. Malizia, Mr. Sword, Mrs. Idso and Mrs. Idso) for all their hard work to make Friday's event memorable for everyone. And how about Mr. Davis and the Champions' rendition of America the Beautiful? Thank you Mr. Davis for that and your snare accompaniment during the presentation of colors. We also were honored to have some very special guests with us. Pictured above is a short video with some highlights of the ceremony. Below that was our Keynote speaker from the FBI, Special Agent Brian Nadeau. He was working just a few blocks from the towers that day and shared a recorded age appropriate message of his experience with all of our students and staff. And the last picture above from left to right is: Assistant Police Chief Byran Cox, Mayor Kevin Hartke, Mrs. Carol Carlson, Mr. Morgan, Assistant Fire Chief Hargis, Battalion Chief Kelber, and Mr. Schlueter.
Also, in attendance were members of the Valencia HOA: Mrs. Lisa Mears, Mr. Kevin Larkin, and Mr. Jeff Stearns (not pictured) along with Mr. Tony Perslta, a Veteran of the US Military who played TAPS on his trumpet during our moment of silence. And to Mrs. Dwiggins and Chandler Fire Chief Tom Dwiggins for helping coordinate the fire truck and first responders attendance as they are also Carlson parents. Bonus! Due to it being a warm and trying to limit the time outside we had students view Agent Nadeau’s video before heading out to the ceremony. His inspiring words touched on the history, significance and unity brought about by this tragedy. Of course it was done with the Elementary age student in mind so as not to be too detailed or graphic. So, a special thank you to Mrs. Hays who arranged for Agent Nadaeu (her brother) to share this with our students. Furthermore, we appreciate everyone that came out to remember our fallen and honor our first responders that were called into action both then and now. 20 years ago 9/11 changed our nation's trajectory and we will never forget that or those that were taken from us. I hope our students learned a little more about 9/11 and just how important all our first responders are and how lucky we are to call the great city of Chandler home. We appreciate all of our leaders that help make this community a safe place to live and raise our children. And we cannot leave out CUSD and our amazing Carlson teachers and staff that go above and beyond everyday to care for our kids. Thank you! Definitely a proud day to be an American and of course a Champion.
Coming up this week: club meetings for Student Council and Yearbook on Tuesday and Battle of the Books on Thursday. On Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 PM we have our first site council meeting of the year. We’d love to have more parents and community members attend and help be a part of this committee. It helps make decisions, give input and plan how to best utilize resources. So, if you’re not busy and can make it, join us in the media center. Then Friday we have our Champion's Lunch for those students that are selected for the character trait of Responsibility and PTO will be handing out treats for Fun Friday this Friday afternoon. So, let’s finish this quarter strong!
Gratefully,
Mr. Morgan
Important Dates
Tuesday 9/14
- Student Council Meeting - Room #37; 7:30 AM
- Yearbook Club Meeting - Room #35; 3:00 PM
Wednesday 9/15
- Site council meeting - Media Center; 3:30 PM
- Battle of the Books Club Meeting - Room #33; 3:00 PM
- Champion's Lunch - Responsibility
- PTO - First FUN Friday
- Deadline for 1st Quarter AR Dog Tags
Friday 9/24
- Champions Assembly
- End of Quarter 1; last day for students
Fall Break 9/27 - 10/11
- Students return on 10/12/21
STEP IT UP UPDATE!
This week's Breakfast & Lunch Menu
A Look Around Campus
The Fab 5 - 5th Grade Team
Patriot Day 2021
Counseling Connections
Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)
Dear Carlson Families,
The following are your 2021-22 PTO board members:
Katie Palichuk, Carlson PTO President
Nikki Macias, Carlson PTO Secretary
Denise Coracides, Carlson PTO Director of Technology & Communications
Stephanie Wesselmann, Carlson PTO Director of Merchandising
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
Office Hours: 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Principal: Andy Morgan
Dean of Students: Bridgett Matson
Office Manager: (480) 224-3807 - Mrs. Benfield, Office Manager
Front Office: (480) 224-3800 - Mrs. Kleinholz, Senior Administrative Clerk
Attendance: (480) 224-3803 - Mrs. Lang Attendance Tech/RegistrarHealth Office: (480) 224-3802 - Mrs. Franco, Health Assistant
Fax: (480) 224-9443
Website: https://www.cusd80.com/Domain/4422
Location: 5400 South White Drive, Chandler, AZ, USA
Phone: 480-224-3800
Facebook: facebook.com/CarlsonChamps
Twitter: @CarlsonChamps