The CPES BobChat

Happy Mother's Day!! I hope you and your family have enjoyed time together today to love and care for the moms in your life. Being a mom (and dad) is such a crucial role in the lives of our children. With that in mind, there is a Latin phrase in education that we use to describe our role with your child. It is "in loco parentis" which means "in place of the parent." Our job is to do all we can to stand in your place during each school day while your child is with us. What does it mean for us to stand "in loco parentis?" 1. We want children to be safe. We constantly monitor our rooms, halls, cafeteria, and play areas so kids stay safe physically. We also work hard to guard the psychological, emotional and social safety of our children. As I watch the daily interactions of our staff with students, I believe that all of them have proverbial eyes in the back of their head. For all of us as parents (both at home and school), we know that accidents in all domains will happen but we want to limit those as much as we possibly can. Safety is such an important value for us. 2. We want them to become good people. Some of the most important lessons we teach are about life. What do you do when you make a mistake? How do you make it right when you hurt another person's feelings? How important is it to tell the truth? Are you doing your best on that assignment or with that responsibility? How could you say that more respectfully? What do you need to do differently next time? Who needs to take ownership for what happened? These are sometimes hard questions for adults to answer. Hopefully, if we teach our little ones how best to respond to them, they become more independent and make better choices that have better outcomes for themselves and others. When we do this, we help them become good people. 3. We want them to grow as learners. For parents and teachers, we want our children to academically progress as much as they can each year. If they start the year at a high percentile, we want them to finish there or better. If they are below grade level, can we help them grow as much as possible and move towards meeting expectations? And, if that doesn't happen, do we know why and what we can do to further help a child meet those academic goals?

We thank you for entrusting your child with us each day. We also value your partnership in helping your little one grow to become all he or she can be. None of us can do it alone. It takes all of us working together. It is a privilege and an honor to serve as your child's school "Mom or Dad." Happy Mother's Day (and Happy Father's Day in advance.)

Strength and Blessings,

Mr. Maness

1. Notes and Reminders--a. Absence Documentation--Please send notes and documentation for absences to Mrs. Motz at the following email address: mailto:CPAbsenceDocumentation@rhmail.org Mrs. Motz (who is at our front reception desk) will handle attendance for us through the end of the year. b. Snack List Reminder--Parents, please remember the only kinds of snacks that can be sent to school are those on the District Approved Snack List which is on one of the buttons below. This is for the safety of our students. c. Medication Pick Up--Please pick up medications from Nurse Love by 12:00, 5/27. They will discarded otherwise. We want to be sure all families receive any extra medication we have. d. Last Day to Eat Lunch with Your Child Is This Friday--Will be this Friday, May 16. Given that we will have Field Day Monday and Tuesday and special activities on Wednesday, our lunch schedules not be at their normal times. We will also have lots of transitions happening throughout these days and want to ensure the safety and security of our children.

2. Second Lottery for Spots Available--The 2nd lottery window for the 2025-2026 school year will be open from May 12 and run until May 23. We currently have limited spots available in French Kindergarten and French First grade. If you have any family or friends interested in applying to attend, please share those dates with them and share the following link with them for more information. https://www.rock-hill.k12.sc.us/site/Default.aspx?PageID=8539

3. SC READY Math Tests on Tuesday for Grades 3, 4 and 5 and SC READY Science Test on Thursday for 4th Grade--Please do all you can to have your child at school on time. They should eat a good breakfast and get a good night's sleep. Please reschedule any other appointments they might have on Wednesday. Encourage them to do their best and to take their time.

4. Yearbooks--Went out this past week. We want to recognize Marie Thompkins who designed our cover. (See picture above.) Great job, Marie!!

5. First Grade End of Year Programs--Will be Friday, May 16. Grow and Brouillet are at 8:00 AM, Pezzello and Chavez are at 9:00 AM and Brenton and Garcia are at 10:00 AM. Please park in the lower Cherry Road Lot or on the right hand side of the drive. You can enter through the lower Cherry Road Entrance. Please bring your ID in order to sign in. We ask that CPES siblings not attend due to limited space in classrooms. We hope you can come.

6. End of the Year Library Information for Families--All library books are due on May 16, 2025

• Teachers have been made aware of students’ current checkouts.
• You will be notified after May 16 of any books that are still missing.
• Do not send money for library books unless you have been contacted directly by the teacher or the Media Specialist. We do not collect fees until after a complete inventory is done to make sure that the book hasn’t been returned and not scanned.

Summer Reading Incentive forms will be sent home during the last week of school.

• Be on the lookout for these.
• There will also be a copy of the form and instructions for participating on our school’s website over the summer.
• Rising first through fifth graders (this year’s Kindergarten through fourth graders) are invited to participate over the summer.
• Each student that returns a summer reading form will receive a small treat. All returned forms will be eligible to enter a drawing for a back-to-school grand prize.
• Forms will be due and prizes will be given during the first two weeks of school.

7. Field Day--Will be Monday, May 19 for K-2nd and Tuesday, May 20 for 3rd-5th. It will be across the street at Cherry Park (the park.) For safety and security reasons, the only adults who will be admitted to attend are our prescreened volunteers. Please be sure your screening is up to date. If you volunteer, please know that it will not be possible for you to bring your younger children. (Again, this is for safety, security, and liability reasons.) Signups are available below and we appreciate your support with our Field Days. The Volunteer Screening Application is below as well.

May 11--Mother's Day

May 13--SC READY Math (3rd-5th Grades)

May 15--SC READY Science (4th Grade)

May 16--First Grade End of Year Programs (See schedule above.)

May 19--K-2nd Field Day

May 20--3rd-5th Field Day

May 21--9:00 Fifth Grade Recognition (Sullivan Auditorium)

May 22-23 Half Days for Students (May 23 is the last day of school)

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 Chelsea Eichorn, Jennifer Hutchinson, Matthew Query, Bernice Huskins, Heather Kagey, and Emily Parrish. 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 Shannon Martin/Caroline Stubbs (Co-Treasurers). We appreciate all of our sponsors (above) who contributed to our Bobcat Dash this year.

"What Do I Appreciate about Our Cherry Park Staff?" May 4, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/ark20

"How Do We Grow Healthy Kids...Behaviorally?" April 27, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/uqrfb

"How Do we Grow Healthy Kids...Artistically?" April 13, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/49dxs

"How Do We Help Our Kids Have Healthy Attitudes about Tests?" April 6, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/0svnx

"How Does Swimming Grow Healthy Kids?" March 30, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/y6ad7

"How Can We Grow Healthy Kids...Physically?" March 23, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/0jba5

"What's Ahead for This Spring at CP?" March 16, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/1ejcy

"Mrs. Preston, How Can Parents Help Their Children Become Better Readers?" March 9, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/ecwts

"How Can Reading Take Our Children Places?" March 2, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/jr7wu

"What Can We Do to Help Alleviate Traffic at CP?" (Part 2) February 23, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/82gwk6

"What Can We Do to Help Alleviate Traffic at CP?" February 16, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/h2qar

"What Could We Do for Others for Valentine's Day?" February 9, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/sjc7h

"What Do We Need to Know about Program Options and Flu Season?" February 2, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/zfkvbs

"What Questions Do Families Have? (Part 3)" January 26, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/uc39sa

"What Questions Do Families Have? (Part 2)" January 19, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/8nby3

"What Questions Do Families Have? (Part 1)" January 12, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/12psc

"How Can You Give the Gift of Second Language Learning?" January 5, 2025 https://secure.smore.com/n/n0j1us

"High and Fast or Low and Slow?" December 15, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/am39k

"What about a Game?" December 8, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/erny5h

"How Am I Grateful?" December 1, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/m9u4b

"What Is the Connection between Thanks and Giving?" November 17, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/c6hvt

"What Do Parents Need to Know about Our Book Fair" November 10, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/36azws

"How Can We Help Our Children Make Good Decisions?" November 3, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/tj863

"Who Made a Difference at the Bobcat Dash?" October 27, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/v7pxu

"What Do You Need to Know about the Bobcat Dash?" October 20, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/jecu8

"How Do We Help Kids Process Difficult Events?" October 13, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/nefrt

"How Can We Help Kids 'Handle Hard Better?'" October 5, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/brh0j

"What Should We Remember When We Have Bad Weather?" September 29, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/28hfx

"What Do Great Coaches Do?" September 22, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/cuktn

"How Can We Support the Bobcat Dash on 10/25?" September 15, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/vs3uwm

"What Are We Thinking about Safety This Week?" September 8, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/pxhd6

"What is the Difference between PTO and SIC?" September 1, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/syh3t

"How Are We Doing?" August 25, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/b2a9s

"What Lessons Can We Learn from the Olympics? (Part 2) August 18, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/9fe7s

"What Lessons Can We Learn from the Olympics? (Part 1)" August 11, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/ejr3s

"How Can We 'Be' Ready for the First Day of School? (Final Reminders) August 4, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/0wvx9

"What Do Families Need to Know about Open House" August 3, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/3wx9d

"How Can We Start Getting Ready for School?" (Part 4) July 28, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/59pwv

"How Can We Start Getting Ready for School?" (Part 3) July 21, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/y0w1e

"How Can We Start Getting Ready for School?" (Part 2) July 14, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/x5hed

"How Can We Start Getting Ready for School?" July 7, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/6x9vk

"Who's and What's New at Cherry Park? (Part 3) June 30, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/ksd0u

"Who's New at Cherry Park? (Part 2) June 2, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/8cuf1g

"Who's New at Cherry Park? (Part 1)" May 26, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/c0pnvt