The CPES BobChat

Last week, I reflected on some events in our school which remind me of the blessings that we have. Here are a few others. 1. School Improvement Council and Parent Teacher Organization Meetings on Monday--Our school is so fortunate to have parents willing to lead to make a difference in our children. You not only support our SIC and PTO but you are leaders throughout our community. You are board members for non-profits. You volunteer in our churches and civic organizations. You coach little league sports and use your talents and gifts to care for the needy. I am never surprised to hear stories of the impact you make in Rock Hill. Thank you for caring for others. 2. Sara Brenton Led Professional Development Tuesday Afternoon--Sara is one of our first grade teachers who taught our staff about strategies to help our multi-lingual learners. She did a great job. As I watched her teach our teachers, I looked around the room and thought about the giftedness of each of our staff members. Like our parents who lead well, our teachers do, too. They are experts in their field who mentor and model and share and give. Every one of them are leaders and I am so grateful they choose to be at our school. 3. Fundraising Student Celebration on Friday (See Picture Above)--The totals have been calculated. Our Cherry Park School Family raised $76,890.28 through the Bobcat Dash Fundraiser. In addition, our children ran 13,337 laps. That is absolutely amazing!! This is a result of such a phenomenal effort by our families. We appreciate the leadership of Elizabeth Williams, Amanda Winters, Emanuel Daniels and our PTO leaders. Thank you so much for your generosity and support. 4. Carolina v. Clemson Tailgate on Friday--We had a good time cooking out for staff as we gathered together for lunch to cheer on our favorite teams next week. We appreciate your donations of time and goodies for this event. It was so nice to be together. I was reminded that just a few years ago, there was no "being together." There was social distancing and separation and isolation. As we enter this season of celebrating the holidays, it is such a blessing to be with the people we love and make new memories. I hope we will never take that opportunity for granted again. I wish you all the best this Thanksgiving and know it is such a privilege and honor for me to be with you at Cherry Park.

Strength and Blessings,

Mr. Maness

1. Canned Food Drive--We are hosting a food drive of non-perishable items the month of November that will benefit the Hope of Rock Hill food pantry. The class that brings in the most donations will win ice cream treats and the teacher will win a gift basket. Please bring in donations of non-perishable food items in jars, boxes and cans. We recommend sauces, soups, beans, oatmeal, rice and pasta as an example. Monetary donations are also accepted, $1 is equal to 1 can. Please make your check out to Hope. Inc or label your cash donations food drive in an envelope. Below is a sign up genius if you would like to volunteer your time counting cans for the classrooms. Thank you for helping to give back to those in need within our community.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D49A4A923AAFBC70-45656860-food

2. 5th Grade Parent Meeting--Are you interested in your student continuing in the Dual Language Immersion program in middle school? If so, please plan to attend a transition meeting on Tuesday, December 5th at 6 p.m. at Cherry Park. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about the DLI program components and expectations at both the middle and high school levels. We look forward to seeing you at this meeting.

3. CPES Spirit Wear Store--The online Spirit Wear store is now open and will remain open through Dec. 1. All orders will be delivered to school by Dec. 19th. We will not be able to accept late orders and we are not able to offer returns or exchanges.

Here is the link for the CPES Online Store: https://metroprint.printavo.com/merch/cherry-park-elementary

It will open again in the spring.

4. Yearbooks--Are now on sale. To guarantee your student receives a copy of the yearbook be sure to place your order no later than 11:59pm on Sunday, April 21, 2024. For more information to order, click on tab below.

5. Signing Out Students Early--Parents, please remember that students must be signed out by 1:45 each day. This was determined by the district so that we can safely and securely dismiss all of our students. We begin preparing for the end of the day starting at 1:45 and it is hard to securely get all students where they need to go after school while also retrieving a student to go to the office. Even with a doctor's appointment, please sign out students before 1:45.

November 21--Second Graders Attend Winthrop Women's Basketball Game

November 22-24--Thanksgiving Break

December 1--Last Day to Order Spirit Wear

December 5--6:00 Fifth Grade Parent Meeting about Middle School Immersion Program (CPES Cafeteria)

December 23-January 8--Winter Break

January 8--Teacher Workday

January 9--First Day Back for Students

School Improvement Council--This group seeks to determine how Cherry Park Elementary can be the best school it can be. It is a sounding board and feedback group for the school and district. Members are elected for two year terms. Members of this year's Council include Celia Kerr, Ashley Petit, Latisha Givens, Scott Kennedy, Chelsea Eichorn, Jennifer Hutchinson and Matthew Query. Ex-Officio Members are Mr. Maness (Principal) and Mrs. Futrelle (Assistant Principal). Meetings are held at Cherry Park on the second Monday of each month at 5:30 PM. All parents are invited to attend.

Parent Teacher Organization--This group has three main goals: Raising funds for the school, appreciating the staff and securing volunteers as needed. The Cherry Park PTO is a 501c3 tax deductible organization. Meetings are held at Cherry Park on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 PM (right after the SIC meetings.) All parents are invited to attend. All financial records are distributed and updated at each month's meeting. Officers this year are Amanda Winters (President), Emmanuel Daniel (Vice-President), Celia Kerr (Secretary) and Michelle Dawkins (Treasurer). We appreciate all of our sponsors (above) who contributed to our Bobcat Dash this year.

"What Reminds Me to Be Grateful?" November 12, 2023 https://www.smore.com/pvds3

"Is It about the Grade or the Learning?" November 5, 2023 https://www.smore.com/4hkq0

"Who Made a Difference at the Bobcat Dash?" October 29, 2023 https://www.smore.com/wcqun

"What Do You Need to Know about Bobcat Dash?" October 22, 2023 https://www.smore.com/f19ry

"What Special Events are Coming Up?" October 15, 2023 https://www.smore.com/brvz5

"What's It Really Like at CPES?" October 8, 2023 https://www.smore.com/a7chr

"How Do We Respond to Safety Situations? Part 2" October 1, 2023 https://www.smore.com/k9uet

"How Do We Respond to Safety Situations? Part 1" September 24, 2023 https://www.smore.com/n4c67

"How Can I Volunteer at CPES?" September 17, 2023 https://www.smore.com/7v8ky

"What CRAzy Model Do We Use for Math Instruction?" September 10, 2023 https://www.smore.com/kfbg7

"What Do We Need to Know about Arrival?" September 3, 2023 https://www.smore.com/fc0kd

"Did You Know that a Bobcat 'ROARS?"' August 27, 2023 https://www.smore.com/0g7qv

"What Do We Need to Remember as We Start Back" August 20, 2023 https://www.smore.com/yrt38

"Techno

logy Forms and Fees"--August 25, 2023 https://www.smore.com/72qcg

"How Can We Work Together to Keep Everyone Safe?" August 13, 2023 https://www.smore.com/6cbtm

"How Can Checklists Help You Start a New Year?" August 6, 2023 https://www.smore.com/0jyx61

"Who Are the Newest Hires and What Are the Latest Changes with Technology?" July 30, 2023 https://www.smore.com/z6qnp

"What's the Latest News at Cherry Park" July 16, 2023 https://www.smore.com/w9pth

"Challenger Be Great Academy Update" June 23, 2023 https://www.smore.com/8hqka

"What Staffing Changes Have Been Made at CPES?" June 18, 2023 https://www.smore.com/e0vr2