Cartersville Elementary School

Happy December! We're sharing our December newsletter a bit early, so you can make plans to join us for some of the upcoming events! Our 5th graders will graduate from the DARE program this semester on December 13th. Our winter parties will be either Thursday, December 19th or Friday, December 20th. (We're hopeful not having them all on the same day will make parking easier!) Teachers will communicate on which day they will have their party. Our PTC will also be hosting a new event for students - Reindeer Lane - where students can budget and shop for gifts for family at a pop-up gift shop. We're hopeful this will allow our students to experience being givers, and not just receivers around the holidays, while also learning about budgeting and money management. There are several ways to volunteer and support these events, so please make sure read each section below! And don't forget the final day of the semester is a half-day for students - details below! We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!

~Mrs. Bryant

Please see the year-at-a-glance calendar below provided at Open House with important dates for this school year. While we anticipate these dates to remain the same, please note changes could occur throughout the school year. Please be sure to reference the CES Monthly Newsletters with the most up-to-date information.

· Our school day is from 7:40-2:40. Doors open at 7:15 each morning.

· Early checkouts are not permitted after 2:10 pm for student safety.

· Please remember to send in a written and signed note for all transportation changes.

· All visitors must come through the main office and bring a photo ID to sign in.

· If your child is absent from school, a note must be turned in within 3 days of the absence. You may e-mail doctor's excuse notes to Sabrina McWhorter at smcwhorter2@cartersvilleschools.org

· All medications requiring administration at school must be brought to the school by a parent or guardian.

· No outside food or drink may be ordered and sent to the school for students; however, parents may bring food with them for a lunch visit with their child in our cafeteria.

· Be sure to check your child's grade frequently on Infinite Campus, once available. Progress reports will go home at 9-weeks, and report cards will be issued each semester.

· We kindly request all families picking their students up in cars, use the car rider line each afternoon. Car tags are available in the front office. This is for the supervision and safety of our students.

November 25th-29th - Thanksgiving Break (no school)

December 2nd - School Governance Council meeting

December 2nd - Tech Club

December 3rd - Art Club - Group 1

December 3rd - School Spelling Bee

December 3rd - Purple Rain Singers rehearsal

December 4th - Drive Thru Food Pantry

December 5th - Art Club - Group 2

December 5th - Cartersville Christmas parade

December 9th-12th - Reindeer Lane pop-up gift shop

December 9th - Board meeting

December 9th - Purple Rain Singers Holiday Concert (see flyer below)

December 10th - Art Club - Group 3

December 10th - Purple Rain Singers rehearsal

December 12th - DARE rehearsal

December 12th - Art Club - Group 4

December 13th - DARE Graduation

December 16th - Tech Club

December 16th - Pajama Day!

December 17th - Wear red and white (candy cane!)

December 18th - Wear holiday hats (holly jolly hat day, toboggans, antlers, etc.)

December 19th - Wear festive holiday attire (sparkly, shiny, or festive!)

December 19th - Winter Party Day (option1)

December 20th - Wear ugly (or cozy) Holiday sweater

December 20th - Winter Party Day (option 2)

December 20th - half day of school (see below for details)

January 7th - Students return to school for 2nd semester

5th Grade DARE graduation will be held at Crosspoint City Church across the street from Cartersville Elementary School on Friday, December 13th at 10:00 am. The address is 325 Old Mill Road, Cartersville, GA 30120. We will have one graduation for our 5th grade class. We are excited to celebrate with our students and appreciate Crosspoint City Church sharing their space. Parents are invited to attend, and we recommend arriving a little early in order to have time to park. We look forward to seeing our 5th grade families.

*Please note, for safety, no students will be allowed to check-out at Crosspoint following graduation. All check-outs will need to take place at CES. Specific instructions will be shared at the ceremony following graduation.

Reindeer Lane is coming to CES! This is a great opportunity for your child to shop for gifts for their favorite people. Students will learn life skills such as earning money, managing it, and budgeting.

• Gifts range from $0.25-$12 (most are in the $1-$4 range)
• Your child's shopping day and time are below.
• Parent volunteers will assist your child during the gift shop

We're so excited to offer this opportunity through our PTC and cannot wait to share this experience with our students. Be on the lookout following Thanksgiving break for a flyer and additional information.

December 19th and 20th will be our Winter party days, and parents are invited to attend! Teachers will communicate their individual party day/times as the date approaches. The PBIS events (hosted the day before or after the winter party) are for students only. We look forward to celebrating the completion of our first semester with you!

December 20th is a half-day for students. School will begin at our normal time - 7:40 am. Dismissal will begin at 11:15. Students will be served both breakfast and lunch.

First, I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I am thankful for each and every student! As we come together to celebrate and share why we are thankful, remember that we can also share viruses and sickness.

As flu season is upon us, I want to share a few tips to help keep everyone healthy and safe:

• 1. Practice Good Hygiene:
• a. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. This is the best way to protect yourself from illness. Always use soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.
• b. Use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol when soap and water aren’t available.
• c. Avoid touching your face, especially your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• 2. Cover Your Coughs and Sneezes: Use a tissue or your elbow, not your hands. Dispose of tissues immediately and wash your hands afterward.
• 3. Keep Surfaces Clean: Disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces, such as doorknobs, keyboards, and phones.
• 4. Get Vaccinated: The flu vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others from the flu. If you haven’t already, consider getting vaccinated as soon as possible.
• 5. Stay Home When Sick: If you or your child feel unwell, please stay home to rest and avoid spreading illness. Common flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, and fatigue. School policy states that a student must be fever-free (without the use of medication) or vomit free for 24 hours before returning to school. The definition of fever is a temperature greater than 100.4.

Remember to send in any documentation you may have for your child if they stay home sick. Cartersville City School policy allows for four days to be excused with parent notes per semester, and all notes must be turned in within 3 days of the absence. Notes can be emailed to smcwhorter2@cartersvilleschools.org . If your child is sent home by the nurse with fever or vomiting from school, it is considered an excused absence. Of course, you are

always welcome to contact the school nurse with any questions about whether your child should stay home.

We are also seeing an uptick of pneumonia, bronchitis, RSV and rhinovirus in the community, so please take precautions to protect yourself and your family members. Our priority is keeping everyone in our school community safe and healthy. If you have any questions or need more information about prevention from flu and other viruses, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Stay well and have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday,

Marcie Garrett, RN, BSN

School Nurse, Cartersville Elementary School

• With so much media and information coming at us through the television, phones, social media, and more, it's more important than ever for kids to understand the basics of media literacy. When kids can identify different types of news and media and the methods and meanings behind them, they're on their way to being critical thinkers and smart consumers. This month we are providing you with a lesson on News & Media Literacy, and we would highly encourage you to complete this short activity as a family. It is never too early to learn about internet safety!

  "Relationships and Communication"

  
  

  • Family Activity (3rd - 5th Grade) (English | Spanish)

  • Family Tips (3rd - 5th Grade) (English | Spanish)

Our STEAM team would love your help collecting supplies to add to our STEAM lab! If you can collect some of the items below, like toilet and paper towels rolls, cereal boxes, magazines, etc., we would love to take them off your hands! Or if you have items you're not using and could donate, like twist ties, sponges, ping pong balls etc., we would love those as well! You can send them in at any time, as our students will be consistently using this space.

If you have not yet turned in field trip money, we now have an online payment option. You can use the link below to pay for either 4th grade or 5th grade field trips.

https://sfnd.io/448kq

Donate at the link below or print and complete the Adopt-a-Classroom form attached below! Our teachers would LOVE your support!

https://sfnd.io/9ngnx

We would love to have you join our PTC program! There are multiple ways to be involved and support our school, and we'd love for you to be part! We will not host a December PTC meeting, but there are lots of opportunities to help this month as we head into the holiday season! Please check the GroupMe and sign up to volunteer when you can!

*Please reach out to 770-891-2203 if you are interested in sponsorship opportunities!

If you have not completed this step already, please complete the Annual Information Update inside the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. You will not be able to access schedules, grades, or attendance information until this step is complete. See the image below with instructions.

Payments for school nutrition accounts can be set up and accessed at www.myschoolbucks.com. Please remember to check your student's lunch balance and pay or replenish funds as needed. You can also fill out your free/reduced lunch form on MySchoolApps - Home Page. The school nutrition website and additional information can be found at https://www.cartersvilleschools.org/domain/63. If you have any questions about balances or charges or free/reduced meals you may contact Christina Nichols at cnichols@cartersvilleschools.org.

The December lunch menu can be found at: Cartersville Elementary School - MealViewer Schools

Each month we will share the Capturing Kids' Hearts Newsletter for the month. Attached are the English and Spanish parent newsletters highlighting Responsibility- our focus for December.

This month, we’re challenging your students to reflect on their experiences and take responsibility for how they choose to learn and grow from these experiences. We are partnering with you to grow and develop your child’s sense of responsibility. As you reflect as a family, celebrate your accomplishments, identify areas you may want to improve, and consider new ways to serve others in the days ahead.

Please visit the link below to learn how to access this voluntary opportunity.

K-12 Student Accident Insurance (kandkinsurance.com)

Our students use Clever to house most of their academic resources and this portal can be accessed from home! Attached below are instructions for how to access your child’s Clever homepage.

Email: bbryant@cartersvilleschools.org
Website: https://www.cartersvilleschools.org/ces
Location: 340 Old Mill Road, Cartersville, GA, USA
Phone: 770-382-0983