Colt Crusader
A newsletter for the families of CFES students
June Edition
2828 Pleasant Acres Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23453
757-648-2240
http://www.christopherfarmses.vbschools.com
Follow us on Twitter @cfescolts
Principal: Robyn Backer , @Robyn Backer
Asst. Principal: Patti Porter, @sunsetzzz15
Message From Ms. Backer, Our Principal & Mrs. Porter, Our Assistant Principal
I can hardly believe that this school year is almost over. The work that has gone into making this a successful year has been immense by staff, students, and parents. Thank you, as always, for supporting all of us here at Christopher Farms! We couldn't have done it without you. Best of luck to our 5th graders who are moving on to middle school. I hope you each have a fun filled summer with your families. Remember to read every chance you get! We look forward to seeing everyone again in the fall!
With the end of the year quickly approaching, please note that class placement for the 2019-2020 school year will be mailed home in August. Keep in mind that when report cards are mailed the week after school ends, your child will not receive a room number or teacher, only a grade level placement.
Class lists are finalized in August after any staffing changes that may take place in the summer and mailed approximately August 16th. We thank you for your cooperation and support as we work hard to make these educational decisions to place your child where he/she will flourish.
Throughout this newsletter, there are several tips and suggestions to help your child's brain active and avoid that summer slide. In addition, we will be opening up CFES at different times throughout the summer for some fun reading activities. Be on the look out for those dates in the future!
Lastly, Mark your calendars for our Open House for next year. This is an opportunity for you to meet your child’s teacher, see the classroom, and drop off supplies. The open house schedule is as follows:
Open House Date: Thursday, August 29, 2019.
Kindergarten and Grade 1: 5:00 – 5:30
Grade 2: 5:40 – 6:10
Grade 3: 6:20 – 6:50
Grade 4: 5:40 – 6:10
Grade 5: 6:20 – 6:50
We are looking forward to finishing this school year with flying colors and are already excited about the 2019-2020 school year!
-Ms. Backer and Ms. Porter
Important Upcoming Dates
June
6/6 - PTA Meeting 3pm - 4pm
6/11 - Pre K Nursery Rhyme Parade/Lunch
6/13 - Kindergarten Ceremony 8:30am - 10:00am (All Kindergarten students will leave after ceremony)
6/14 - 4th Quarter Ends
6-14 - Last Day of School (adjusted dismissal at 12:10)
6-14 - 5th Grade Celebration 9:30am
6/21 - Report Cards go Home
Yearbook Signing
Important School Lunch Information
PRE-ORDERED AND PRE-PAID bag lunches will be prepared and distributed by class on Thursday, June 13th and Friday, June 14th to those students who wish to eat a school lunch. (Students may bring their own as usual if they prefer.)
In order to provide sufficient notice to the cafeteria manager for ordering and preparing purposes, please complete the attached form below and return it with the money (the same amount your child normally pays for lunch) to his/her teacher no later than Monday, June 10th.
Thank you for your timely response to this request.
Student Transportation Form - Please Return ASAP
Every Kid in a Park: 4th Graders Go Explore the National Parks
Every Kid in a Park provides one free Every Kid in a Park pass to fourth grade students through August 31 of the school year. This pass admits the student, any other youth under the age of 16 and up to three adults to any site which charges an entry fee.
Congratulations to our Citizens of the Month for April!
Pre-K & Kindergarten
1st - 5th Grade
1st Grade
Brooklynn McGee (Cooley)
Adam Wolcott (Kernodle)
Lucy Huber (torres)
Kenzie Oglesby (doyle)
Liliava Hartje (frierson)
2nd Grade
Makiyah Cogar (Bullard)
Ronin Cooper (Burok)
Alejandro Soto (Hall)
Landon Leonguerro (Love)
Joven Ermita (Minehan)
Kendyll Cobb (Zipprich)
3rd Grade
Yvonne Ren (Crouch)
Hannah Collins (Kesner)
Lily Seifert (Pascual)
Aniyah Abdulbaaqee (Rodriguez)
Elena Coff (Willett)
4th Grade
Esteban Sayago (Cucuzza)
Kevin Dison (Dorbin)
Tayten Smith (Zaleski)
William Tian (Nicolosi)
Robert Kelley (mcneely)
5th Grade
Ian Delaney (Bagnall)
Nathan Manganaro (Cochran)
Raymond Gooden (Kemper)
Jose Jones (Pagan)
Elijah Reid (Zajac)
Summer Reading
Parents should remember that children need free time in the summer to relax and enjoy the pleasures of childhood. So, summer reading should be fun. The following are a few tips to make reading and writing enjoyable for your children this summer:
1. Read aloud together with your child every day.
Make it fun by reading outdoors on the front steps, patio, at the beach or park. Also, let your children read to you. For younger children, point out the relationship between words and sounds.
2. Set a good example!
Parents must be willing to model behavior for their children. Keep lots of reading material around the house. Turn off the TV and have each person read his or her book, including mom and dad.
3. Read the same book your child is reading and discuss it.
This is the way to develop habits of the mind and build capacity for thought and insight.
4. Let kids choose what they want to read, and don't turn your nose up at popular fiction.
It will only discourage the reading habit.
5. Buy books on tape, especially for a child with a learning disability.
Listen to them in the car, or turn off the TV and have the family listen to them together.
6. Take your children to the library regularly.
Most libraries sponsor summer reading clubs with easy-to-reach goals for preschool and school-age children. Check the library calendar for special summer reading activities and events. Libraries also provide age appropriate lists for summer reading.
7. Subscribe, in your child's name, to magazines like Sports Illustrated for Kids, Highlights for Children, or National Geographic World.
Encourage older children to read the newspaper and current events magazines, to keep up the reading habit over the summer and develop vocabulary. Ask them what they think about what they've read, and listen to what they say.
8. Ease disappointment over summer separation from a favorite school friend by encouraging them to become pen pals.
Present both children with postcards or envelopes that are already addressed and stamped. If both children have access to the Internet, email is another option.
9. Make trips a way to encourage reading by reading aloud traffic signs, billboards, notices.
Show your children how to read a map, and once you are on the road, let them take turns being the navigator.
10. Encourage children to keep a summer scrapbook.
Tape in souvenirs of your family's summer activities picture postcards, ticket stubs, photos. Have your children write the captions and read them and read them aloud as you look at the book together.
VBCPS approved more recess next year for students
Local school boards may include and the Board of Education shall accept, for elementary school, unstructured recreational time that is intended to develop teamwork, social skills, and overall physical fitness in any calculation of total instructional time or teaching hours, provided that such unstructured recreational time does not exceed 15 percent of total instructional time or teaching hours.
As such, recess in all elementary schools will increase to 40 minutes daily for full-day kindergarten students and to 30 minutes daily for students in grades 1-5.
Tech Talk
Counselor's Corner
It is so hard to believe we have reached the end of our school year already. Time flies when you are having fun! Mrs. Beda and Mrs. Yoshida would like to say thank you for the warm welcome the Christopher Farms Community has extended during our first year on “The Farm”. It has been such a pleasure to get to know the students, families and staff of CFES. We look forward to seeing most of you back in the fall, but send our well wishes to those students moving on to middle school and those students and families who may be moving out of our school zone. If you know your student will be experiencing a transition over the summer, and may be uneasy about it, they are welcome to talk with us.
What are your summer plans? How about helping to keep students’ skills from experiencing the “summer slide”. Encourage your children to read on their level independently daily and read with them on a slightly higher level whenever you can. Remember a book can travel easily or take you on an adventure in your own home. Teachers will likely send resources home for summer practice of academic skills, but don’t forget about our very important Citizenship and Graduate profile skills as well. Encourage children to be thinkers, inquirers and to seek knowledge. Ask them what they’d like to know more about and perhaps visit a museum or the public library. Invite your children to be cross-culturally competent, respectful of others, communicators and collaborators. Finally, don’t forget to praise them for being resilient, personally and socially responsible and problems solvers. So often we adults are rushed and want to do things for our children so we can keep up with our “to do’s”, but we know they need the experiences of struggle and failing forward to truly benefit and value their success. So when they make the effort, remember to share your pride!
Speaking of pride, we are so proud of our students’ effort and your support this school year. Thank you for an awesome year! We hope you have a safe and enjoyable summer!
Library News
I want to thank all of the wonderful parent volunteers who have given of their time in the library this year. They have done a tremendous amount of work and have freed Mary Anne, Linda, and I up to do other things that perhaps might have gone by the wayside. They have been faithful and so much fun to work with. I hope they ALL come back for Round 2 next year.
I also want to give a tremendous SHOUT OUT to my wonderful Student Library Assistants! This group of boys and girls have been THE BEST student assistants I’ve ever had in the library—and I’ve been doing this program for well over 16 years. They have been respectful, responsible, and faithful in showing up and doing their jobs. I have enjoyed getting to know each and every one of them and will be so sorry to lost my daily contact with them as they move on to 5th grade. I’m sure they will continue to be outstanding student leaders! Congratulations and well-done!!
Reading Corner
Summertime is a fun and exciting time for students filled with outdoor activities and sports. But each year some students experience summer slide, where their reading level decreases. Oftentimes, families get too busy and forget to include reading into their busy schedules.
Research has shown that summer reading loss creates a large gap over time. While some struggling students are falling behind, others are moving ahead with their skills. By middle school, children who lose reading skills over the summer have accumulated a two‐year lag behind their classmates.
Students who read regularly receive higher tests scores compared to those who do not.
Choosing their own reading materials is an important factor in motivating readers, especially
those who are struggling. Children are more likely to read when it is something that interests them.
Reading just 4‐5 books during the summer may potentially prevent a child
from experiencing summer slide.
What Can You Do to Help
- Encourage your child to read at least 15‐30 minutes every day or a minimum of 4‐5 books during summer break.
- Motivate them to read anything at their reading level that interests them; whether it is comics, magazines, graphic novels, recipes, etc.
- Take your child to the public library to check out books. Let your child participate in summer reading programs and other activities.
Math Corner
June is here! Help your child see how math is all around us this summer. Here are some ideas:
- Compare amounts in practical situations- How many more shells did you collect than your sister? How much lemonade is left in the pitcher after we both drink one cup each? How many fewer degrees was yesterday's temperature?
- Look for real-life word problems- I see 3 boats with 4 people on each boat. How many people is that total? I have 12 popsicles and 2 children. How many popsicles will each child get?
- Measure everything around you!- About how many feet the sprinkler hose? About how many gallons of water fills a baby pool? If there are about 4 weeks in June, how many days is that?
Nurse's Notes
The rising 6th graders have done a great job getting their shot records into the School Nurse. The students who have turned in their updated shot records have had their records updated and are ready for Middle School For those who choose to get their Tdap during the summer, please remember you must take a copy to the Middle School your child will be attending. I recommend you saving a copy for yourself in case they say it was not turned in. If your child will be participating in a Sport, they will need a Sports Physical that will be good for the school year. Remember, a new Sports Physical will be needed each new school year. It has been my pleasure watching your child grow and I wish them (you ALL) a safe and healthy summer and lots of luck to all of our students!!!
For students who may have medications or treatments housed in the clinic, parents please remember to come pick them up by 12 NOON on June 14th. Thank you!
Junior Tides Membership
Memberships for the Junior Tides are now available!
New Junior Tides memberships can be purchased online or in person at Harbor Park for just $25.
Children who have previously participated in the Junior Tides program can renew their membership for only $20. Those memberships can be purchased online or in person at Harbor Park.
Please note that the child must be 13 or younger to participate in the club. Federal law prohibits collecting personal information from a child under 13 without the consent of that child's legal guardian. Entering the guardian's name in the form will serve as consent.
Member of the Junior Tides receive:
- Kids Ticket for 5 games with Ticket Discounts for Companions
- Membership Card
- New Tides Lunchbox
- New Junior Tides T-Shirt
- New Junior Tides Pencil Case
- Four Exclusive pre-game photo opportunities with a Tides player
- Five FREE vouchers for concourse games (Speed Pitch and Kids' Bounce)
- Completed forms should be mailed to:
Harbor Park
Junior Tides
150 Park Ave.
Norfolk, VA 23510
Summer Fun!
- Virginia Beach Fieldhouse Camps Brochure
- Kellam Camps Flyer
- Summer Reading Flyer
PTA
Upcoming Dates
6/6 - 3:00 pm PTA Meeting (Library)
Shutterfly Partners with CFES!
WAYS TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH CFES HAPPENINGS:
- Check our website weekly: https://christopherfarmses.vbschools.com/
- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfescolts
- Download the VBSCHOOLS app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store
- Make sure the school has your updated phone number and email address in order to receive Alert Now communications
- Follow your child's progress on Parent Portal: https://www.vbschools.com/parents/parent_portal
Proud Principal
Email: robyn.backer@vbschools.com
Website: https://christopherfarmses.vbschools.com/
Location: Christopher Farms Elementary School 2828 Pleasant Acres Drive Virginia Beach, Virginia 234
Phone: (757) 648-2240
Twitter: @RobynBacker