October 2021
Chestatee Elementary School
A Letter From Dr. Tennies, Our Principal
Dear Families of Chestatee,
Principals spend a chunk of their day looking at numbers. As the daughter of an accountant, that is okay by me. I grew up being comfortable with numbers. I look at baselines and then observe where our numbers are trending--either up or down. To give you some context about our school, here are a few of my favorite numbers:
Number of students: 1220
Number of staff: 155
Number of buses: 20
Number of weeks we have been in school so far: 9
One number I encourage you to track is the number of minutes your child spends reading at home. Our teachers also track this data. Kids that practice become fluent readers. Currently, our school percentage of students completing this assignment is 93%--Impressive~!!! I would love to see it go higher. When students put in the time to practice with books at home, reading becomes easier and growth happens. Practice improves their skill level and they become more able with books. Students might even enjoy reading more when it becomes less of a struggle.
On another note, our school superintendent, Dr. Bearden also looks at numbers of active COVID cases as we all continue to monitor our data. This data is important to us as a school and we compare it to cases within the community. This data is available for all stakeholders on the Forsyth County webpage. https://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/Page/54410
Thank you for partnering with us as we continue to provide both face to face and virtual environments for all students to learn.
Kindly,
Dr. Polly Tennies
Principal
Thank You for Your Support! This is Amazing!
Orchestra Club Continues Great Progress!
Congratulations to these Two FCS Staff Members of the Month for the County!
We Received Grant Money for our Greatest Kindness Week Ever- October 4-8!
Check Out Our High Flyers for September! We are Proud of You, Students!
We Celebrated Patriots Day!
APTT/ Curriculum Night Was a Success!
Car Line was Incredible!
Celebrating Success!
Our Dance Fit Was a Blast on 9/17!
Boosterthon Was a Huge Success!
Lots of Fun Was Had By All! (Well, Except Maybe for Dr. Tennies!)
Students Learned Bus Safety with SOAR!
Congratulations to our Staff Member of the Month for September- Becca Stowers!
We are proud to announce Becca Stowers as our September Staff Member of the Month!
Mrs. Rebecca Stowers is in her third year of teaching at Chestatee. Mrs. Stowers graduated from Kennesaw State University with a degree in Elementary Education, in addition to a Reading and ESOL endorsement. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Elementary Education along with her Gifted Endorsement from Piedmont University.
While Mrs. Stowers is not teaching, she loves spending time with family and friends, cheering on the Dawgs, and working with her husband and their cows. Her husband is known as Dr. Seth in the Dawsonville community serving pets on Mondays at Dawsonville Veterinary Hospital.
Becca has been nominated several times this year already for Staff Member of the Month. Parents reported that she bonds with her students, supports them and guides them as needed. She is a great communicator to families and works hard to build relationships with students and parents alike. Her team loves her contributions and efforts as a team member, and fourth grade is known for being a highly collaborative team.
We are so happy that Becca teaches at Chestatee and feel lucky to have her on our fantastic staff!
A big thank you to our business partners, Ultimate Auto Glass and Electronics, and Mathnasium of Coal Mountain for sponsoring our Chestatee Staff Member of the Month Program!
Teacher and Staff Member of the Month Nominations
2021-22 PTO Information!
Our PTO is a GREAT Way to Get Involved!
Our PTO board members raise money to help teachers and our school.
You can support our PTO through our fundraiser, events, and spirit wear.
There are no membership dues this year.
What's Coming up at the T?
The iChallenge is Here!
and a fun family activity board too!
Save the Date!
Greatest Kindness Week Ever: GKWE
Walk and Treat- October Family Event
Rain Date: October 28
Early Release/ Parent Teacher Conferences
Professional Development Day- No School
Picture Makeups
Important Cafeteria Information
Our Communi-T-y is the BEST!
Thanks to Warbington Farms for the donation of mini pumpkins for STEM! We wonder What Mrs. Clark has Planned!
Thank You to Teresa Banker for the Snack Donations to Our Pantry
Partners in Ed- Faye and Rusty Tarsches from Mathnasium of Coal Mountain Support Our School!
Community Opportunities
Watch DOGS
Here’s what you would do:
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.
Please know that we cannot permit any entry of parents into the school at this time per FCS guidelines.
Questions? Contact Meg Killingsworth
770-887-2341
A Few Words From our Family Engagement Coordinator
Dear Families,
I hope your Fall Break was relaxing and gave you a chance to recharge and get ready for a wonderful October!
We are excited to have Parent Teacher Conferences this month. These meetings will be virtual.
As a teacher, I always loved conference time because it meant sitting down with each parent and taking time to discuss each child at length. As a parent, conference time is my favorite because I get to hear about my child. Conferences provide a chance to speak with the teacher, ask questions, and find out more about how the year is going.
The report card can also be a topic of conversation. Report cards will be digital and found on Parent Portal. It is very important to have a Parent Portal Account, so that you will be able to access this information. If you need to activate your Parent Portal Account, please contact Stacey Holbrook at sholbrook@forsyth.k12.ga.us or stop by the front office.
I love helping folks sign up for Parent Portal, so if you have an issues, feel free to reach out to me. We can go over it on the phone or you can come to the front office with me. We also have videos to show how you can use this program. Click here for video help.
Together we are Chestatee!
See you soon!
Meg
Meg Killingsworth
Family Engagement Coordinator
770-887-2341 ext 722122
Parent Help Videos are on Our Website!
Families In Action!
We Love Seeing Families Together or Working at Home!
APTT Practice with Griffin
Austyn went hunting on Family Night!
Bryce practiced baseball on Family Night!
Reading practice made fun for Jamison!
Hadley and her dog, Axel on Family Night
Family time on Family Night with Bryce!
REMEMBER THE MOMENTS BIG and SMALL!
From the best friend, to the teacher who inspired your child beyond belief, these years are theirs to live.
Don't Forget....
Box Tops/ Soup Labels
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.
Kroger and Publix will donate money too...
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!
Chestatee Elementary School
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