PTA NEWS FLASH
Indian Knoll Elementary
Letter from the Principal
IKES Families,
Fall is in the air and we have many exciting activities on the horizon. Our PTA is fully committed to a strong partnership with IKES and works collaboratively with the school staff to accomplish goals that positively impact our students. Please support them with your participation in spirit nights, school events, and fundraisers. We are also very excited to celebrate our Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Patti Nations! She will be representing our school in the Sequoyah High School homecoming parade on October 3rd, so please come out and cheer her on. The parade starts at 6:30pm!
Our students have embraced their new Bird Houses this year and are working collaboratively to make good choices and earn DoJo points for themselves and their house. Our first Bird House Meeting will take place on Friday, October 19, 2018! We will name our PRIDE OF THE FLOCK (1 student per class), PRIDE OF THE NEST (1 student per house), and PRIDE OF THE KNOLL (1 student per school). The students will also be recognized for perfect attendance at this time. The winning house will get a one-hour carnival themed party in the afternoon.
Our 2018-19 School Improvement Plan is well underway, and our academic goals are to improve both English Language Arts (ELA) and Math scores. We have many school incentives for both goals and are laser focused on raising student achievement in a warm and nurturing environment. The research shows that reading is the one skill that positively impacts overall student achievement in all areas of the curriculum. You can partner with your child’s teacher by encouraging pleasure reading. This will build comprehension skills, increase student vocabulary and provide a solid foundation for written expression.
We appreciate your partnership and look forward to a very successful school year.
Kim Cerasoli
Principal
Grandparents Day Breakfasts - When We're Together We Shine!
Movie Night on the Lawn - Friday, October 19th

Pumpkin Run 2018
We are excited to announce that Pumpkin Run will be held during the school day on October 31 this year! All children will be able to participate in this obstacle course fun run with their grade level during their specials time that day. Please look out for more information about donations and incentives for students coming home soon. We are forming our Pumpkin Run Committee now. If you would like to help or would like additional information, please contact Jeanette Smith at jeanettesmith.ikespta@gmail.com.
4th & 5th Grade Marco's Box Night
Tuesday, Oct. 16th, 4-8pm
4280 Hickory Flat Highway
Canton, GA

Teacher Favorites List & Birthdays! We are so fortunate to have the best teachers around! You can find a list of all of our staff favorites and birthdays on the new IKES PTA website page here. | Box Tops We are still collecting Box Tops for our Fall Drive "Race for Recess!" Thank you to everyone who has sent in Box Tops so far. If you have not sent your Box Tops in yet, there's still plenty of time. The contest ends Friday, October 19th. We have some fun changes for this Fall's Contest. We are holding a grade level competition! The winning grade level will receive an extra 30 minutes of recess on a selected day!! So start clipping and collecting! | Red Ribbon Week Red Ribbon Week is October 22rd- October 26th. We will have a K-9 presentation on Monday, October 22nd. Click here to check out the Red Ribbon Week Themes for each day. |
Teacher Favorites List & Birthdays!
Box Tops
Red Ribbon Week
Counselor Connections
Mrs. Colleen DeLosh – Grades 3-5
Mrs. Lori Waycaster – Grades K-2
We have enjoyed getting to know the students better through our classroom guidance program. The students have all participated in character education lessons this past month. We will continue our character education and begin personal safety in the months to come.
Thank you to those who sent in snacks to assist with our food pantry. Our food pantry is currently low on canned goods. If you can donate any items to assist with replenishing our pantry, please send them into the counselors. Canned and boxed goods such as fruits, vegetables, meats, sauces, and soups are items that we need most.
If you or anyone you know is in need of resources, such as food, clothing, or school supplies please feel free to contact either one of us: colleen.delosh@cherokee.k12.ga.us or lori.waycaster@cherokee.k12.ga.us.

Cherrydale Catalog Fall Fundraiser Our Cherrydale Catalog Fall Fundraiser kicks off on Monday, October 1 and runs through Tuesday, October 16th. Funds raised will help provide resources not funded through our school budget. These are the “extras” that PTA Programs provide. We will reach our goal if each student sells 10 or more items from the enclosed brochures and website. Children will have fun earning cowabungas and lots of other fantastic prizes. Please see the brochures coming home today for more details.
We hope that we can count on your support! Don’t forget to register online here for additional ways to spread the word and raise money. | Bus Driver Appreciation National School Bus Safety Week is October 22-26. Show some love to your bus driver this week. We suggest a simple thank you, a card made by your child, a small gift, a baked treat, a gift card, and/or signs at the bus stop. | Volunteer Opportunities Our Cherrydale Fall Fundraiser runs from October 1st to October 16th. We would love to have help running the prize table each morning from 7:00 to 7:30 am for the duration of this event. We would also greatly appreciate help organizing and distributing orders when they arrive in November. If you are able to help, please contact Rachel Chapman at rachel.chapman.ikespta@gmail.com. Movie Night on the Lawn is Friday, October 19th. If you would like to volunteer to run concessions or help set up this event, please contact Andrea Ondeck at andrea.ondeck@cherokee.k12.ga.us. Pumpkin Run will be held during the school day on October 31st. We'll need help planning, setting up and on the day of this event. If you would like to volunteer for the Pumpkin Run, please contact Jeanette Smith at jeanettesmith.ikespta@gmail.com. Our Veteran's Day celebration is on November 9th. We will need help setting up the afternoon before as well as the morning of the event. If you can help with this event, please contact stephanie.ann.chen@gmail.com. |
Cherrydale Catalog Fall Fundraiser
We hope that we can count on your support! Don’t forget to register online here for additional ways to spread the word and raise money.
Bus Driver Appreciation
Volunteer Opportunities
Movie Night on the Lawn is Friday, October 19th. If you would like to volunteer to run concessions or help set up this event, please contact Andrea Ondeck at andrea.ondeck@cherokee.k12.ga.us.
Pumpkin Run will be held during the school day on October 31st. We'll need help planning, setting up and on the day of this event. If you would like to volunteer for the Pumpkin Run, please contact Jeanette Smith at jeanettesmith.ikespta@gmail.com.
Our Veteran's Day celebration is on November 9th. We will need help setting up the afternoon before as well as the morning of the event. If you can help with this event, please contact stephanie.ann.chen@gmail.com.
Chick-fil-A Spirit Night
Thursday, Oct. 18th, 4-8pm
2048 Cumming Highway
Canton, GA

Hearing and Vision ScreeningHearing and Vision Screenings will be held on Wednesday, October 17th and Thursday, October 18th from 8:00 am - 10:20 am. We will be screening 1st and 3rd grade only. Please sign up here if you would like to volunteer to help Nurse Maria with these screenings or contact Rachel Chapman at rachel.chapman.ikespta@gmail.com if you have additional questions. | Special Olympics Awareness Day The Cherokee County Special Olympics Awareness Day will be held on Friday, October 5, 2018 at River Ridge High School. We are excited to have 9 of our own IKES students participating in this year's games! Our IKES PTA will be setting up a booth in the Olympic Village which will have lots of carnival type games for students to enjoy while waiting for their Olympic events. | Reflections - Heroes Around Me The deadline for Reflections entries is this Friday, Oct. 5th. There is still time for students to get creative and submit a piece for the contest! Remember, students may enter a number of categories, including dance choreography, music composition, visual arts, literature, film, and photography. Contact our Reflections Committee Chair Bayley Pittman at bayley.pittman@gmail.com with questions or check out our IKES PTA website here for more information. |
Hearing and Vision Screening
Hearing and Vision Screenings will be held on Wednesday, October 17th and Thursday, October 18th from 8:00 am - 10:20 am. We will be screening 1st and 3rd grade only. Please sign up here if you would like to volunteer to help Nurse Maria with these screenings or contact Rachel Chapman at rachel.chapman.ikespta@gmail.com if you have additional questions.
Special Olympics Awareness Day
Reflections - Heroes Around Me
Veteran's Day
Breakfast, the Most Important Meal of the Day!
WHY????
1. It is a proven fact that students perform better in school when they eat a nutritious breakfast in the morning.
2. Students who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight.
School Breakfast is a great option for busy lifestyles. Each morning in the Indian Knoll Cafeteria, we serve breakfast from 7:00-7:40 am. There are great hot breakfast offerings each day such as Sausage Biscuits, Chicken Biscuits, French Toast Sticks, Waffles, Pancakes or Breakfast Pizza. Additionally, every day students may choose from a variety of whole-grain, reduced sugar cereals and low-fat yogurts with whole-grain toast or whole-grain breakfast pastries. We also offer fruit and fruit juice in addition to two different varieties of milk. (Low Fat White Milk and No Fat Chocolate Milk) There is something for everyone!
School Breakfast is very affordable too! Full Pay students only pay $1.50 for breakfast, which includes an entrée of their choosing, milk, fruit and fruit juice. Reduced Plan students only pay 30 cents for the same breakfast. Free Plan students get their breakfast FREE for the same breakfast in addition to their lunch. Let your student(s) eat breakfast at school and save some time in the early morning for other To-Do Items. If you choose to eat breakfast with your student, the Adult Breakfast Meal is only $1.75! On the other hand, Parents, maybe you can sleep a few minutes later while your student(s) eats breakfast at school!
Please note: Milk ala carte is 50 cents a carton. All visitors, no matter the age, pay the same price.
Special thanks to our 2018-2019 IKES PTA Business Sponsors!
Thank you to our Firebird Flash Card Sponsors!
PTA
We love to hear from you! Please contact us with any suggestions, comments or questions!
Rachel Chapman Co-President
rachel.chapman.ikespta@gmail.com
Jennifer Severson Co-President
jenniferseverson.ikespta@gmail.com
Valerie Holman Treasurer
Alison Waites Secretary
Christine Dagostino Vice President
Sara Kirkpatrick Vice President
skirkpatrick.ikespta@gmail.com
Andrea Ondeck Vice President
Brenna Pittaway Vice President
Jeanette Smith Vice President
jeanettesmith.ikespta@gmail.com
Katrina Brown Parliamentarian