Cougar Connections

Happy New Year to all of our CVE families! We hope you enjoyed time spent with family and friends over the Holiday. As we ring in 2024, we look forward to all the possibilities and new learning that await our CVE students. We’d like to take a moment to remind everyone of our vision at CVE which is to develop happy, high achieving students and staff. Our teachers are committed to not only making sure your child is learning the expected standards, but they are also devoted to making sure your child is engaged in learning that encourages cooperation, critical thinking, and fun!

As our partners in education, we encourage you to take time to work with your child whether it is practicing his/her math facts, reading, or writing a fun story together. When kids know parents are interested in their academic lives, they take school more seriously as well.

As we move into the second semester of our school year, CVE will continue to focus on decreasing the amount of students who are absent, tardy, as well as decreasing the amount of students who are picked up early from school. Please remember that school starts at 8:00 and students can be dropped off as early at 7:20 for breakfast. Dismissal begins at 3:40 and students should not be leaving prior to that time. We can’t emphasize enough how important it is that your child is present for the entire school day so their exposure to instruction is maximized.

CMAS testing is on the horizon and we are asking that if you have a student(s) in the testing grades, please plan doctor visits and/or vacations around the CMAS testing dates. More detailed information will be provided in the February newsletter.

3rd Grade: April 8 - 11

4th Grade: April 15 - 18

5th Grade: April 8 - 18

We are excited about the possibilities that each new year brings, and we have no doubt 2024 will be a year of learning, growing, and sharing among our Cactus Valley community! Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We would love to hear from you!

Best Wishes,

Kelly Detlefsen, Principal

Stacy VanHercke, Assistant Principal

Happy New Year!! I hope you had a wonderful, relaxing break and are ready to learn and grow in the new year. We are moving along and entering our third quarter of the school year. With the new year, I will be focusing on KINDNESS in the month of January. In Kindergarten and 1st grade, we will identify what an accident is with our bodies or words and then make sure we apologize. In second grade we will read The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig and discuss how we can show kindness at school.

In third grade we will discuss the traits of kindness and watch a short cartoon film called “The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse” and then write 3 ways we can show kindness at home and at school.

Fourth and Fifth grade will focus on Kindness with our words and actions by not spreading rumors or engaging in gossip. Fourth grade will read “Trouble Talk” by Trudy Ludwig and Fifth grade will read “Mr. Peabody’s Apples”.

Totes for Hope, a program run through the River Center, gives families 6-7 non perishable food items weekly and is distributed on Wednesdays. If you are a family that could use the supplemental food, please contact me and I can get you signed up.

If you need hats, gloves, or winter boots, please reach out and I can help get these items for your student.

Public health will be offering FREE dental screenings/cleanings for ALL of our students, families (parents) and staff at our schools. They are also offering TeleHealth appointments to anyone that can’t make it in person. CVE will be having dental screenings 1/03-1/11/24. Please call me if you would like to use this FREE service.

Students will learn how to distinguish between viewing a problem with optimism and with pessimism. They will practice strategies to help them approach life with more optimism.

Students will also practice that thinking about a happy experience can help change their mood.