The Bulldog 8.29.24

Note from Mrs. Lockwood

Week five of the school year has been great! Everyone is settling into our daily school routines. As a reminder, Curriculum Night is this Thursday, August 29th. I look forward to seeing you there; we have some good information to share.

Reminder that Monday, September 2nd is Labor Day. School is closed. We will reopen on Tuesday, September 3rd. Enjoy your long weekend!

Mark your calendars for our first Picture Day of the school year! Individual pictures will be on Wednesday, September 11th. Families will be provided with a link a week after picture day to view the proofs.

Are you interested in coordinating classroom events and supporting your child(ren)'s teacher? Consider being a room parent! The goal of room parents is to coordinate/organize parental support throughout the school. Room parents help coordinate end-of-month birthday celebrations and field trip chaperones, just to name a few. There is still time to sign up!

As the room parents get organized for the school year, members of the committee would like to begin reaching out to other parents in the classroom. If you wish to opt out of room parent communication, please complete this form. The Opt-out form will be available until Friday, September 6th.

Events At A Glance

• Thursday, August 29 - Curriculum Night, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

• Monday, September 2 - Labor Day - No School

• Wednesday, September 4 - Friday, September, 6th - CoGat Testing

• Friday, September 6 - Battle of the Bands, 5-9 p.m.

• Wednesday, September 11 - Fall Picture Day

• Friday, September 13 - Walk and Roll

• Monday and Tuesday, September 16-17 - Musical Auditions, 2:45-4:30 p.m.

• Wednesday, September 18 - Spirit Night at Raging Burrito

Beginning Thursday, September 5, 2024, your school newsletter will come via CSD Weekly from the City Schools of Decatur email. Parents will automatically receive CSD Weekly. However, community subscribers who have opted out of CSD news will only receive future school newsletters by subscribing here and selecting to receive news from “City Schools of Decatur.”

CSD Weekly includes links to all school newsletters and provides the latest district news, enabling families with students at multiple schools to conveniently access updates using one source. Additionally, CSD Weekly aims to improve consistency in messaging about district and community news by communicating it in a centralized location.

We love having our parents join us for Community Circle, and we're having a lot of fun making friends at recess!

This year, the Clairemont Players will present the musical Dinosaurs Before Dark! Many students are familiar with the beloved Magic Tree House book series, and now they will get to take part in bringing the first book to life! Mark your calendars for this exciting musical event on the evening of Thursday, November 21.

Auditions will take place on Monday and Tuesday, September 16 and 17. Auditions will be after school from 2:45-4:30 p.m. on both days. We ask that students with last names beginning with A-L plan to audition on Monday, and last names beginning with M-Z audition on Tuesday. If you have a conflict with your assigned day, please let Mrs. Nelson or Ms. DeRosa know.

Auditions

Singers will have a number of roles to fill in our upcoming musical, however they will only audition for the part of Annie and Jack.

To prepare, please review the below musical score for Jack and Annie. You will need to click this link, then go to Audition Central. Go to Jack and click Score. There you will find the notes and lyrics for the song When We Woke (Reprise.) Paper copies of the song will be sent home in your child’s red folder on Thursday and will be available in Ms. Nelson's classroom. Ms. Nelson will also review the song "When We Woke" in music class.

Link: https://www.mtishows.com/magic-tree-house-dinosaurs-before-dark-kids

At the audition, all students will state their preferred character (see the list below) but will only audition for Jack or Annie. The full cast list (leads and ensemble) will be announced following auditions. Please emphasize to your child that every role in this musical is essential for the production to be a success! Leads and ensemble cast members working together make the magic happen!

Characters

Jack, Annie, Otto, Stump, Saplings, Red Pines/Hemlocks, Henry, Gary, Terri, Larry, Natty, Susan, Joan, Baby Dinosaurs, Ankylosaurus, Protoceratops, Iguanodons, Panoplosaurus, Troodon, T-Rex

This year, rehearsals will be on Monday and Tuesday afternoons from 2:45-4 p.m., starting September 30. Students who participate in Animal Crackers aftercare will be able to return to the cafeteria at the end of rehearsals. Please be sure to update the dismissal for your child on audition and rehearsal days in Pick Up Patrol.

Each fall semester, the Gifted Review Team looks at existing student data to discuss students’ needs and determine if further evaluation for gifted identification is needed. If you are interested in having the team discuss your child’s needs, you may complete a Recommendation for Review Form (found at the website below) and turn it in to the Gifted & Talented Specialist at your child’s school before Wednesday, October 2. No additional information is needed.

The Gifted & Talented Specialist for Clairemont ES is Tom Seetoo. For more detailed information about the review process and to obtain a copy of the Recommendation for Review Form, please contact the Gifted & Talented Specialist for your school at tseetoo@csdecatur.net or visit the following website: https://www.csdecatur.net/Page/581.

Arriving to school on time every day is extremely important. Our school day starts at 8:20 a.m. Students are engaged in learning from the moment they walk in to their classroom. Students who are chronically tardy and absent tend to struggle academically.

Trying to get kids ready for school can be stressful for children and parents. Here are a few great suggestions from Seemamago.com that could help reduce the stress and struggle of getting your child to school on time. If you would like to read the entire article, please go to https://www.seemamago.com/stress-free-morning-kids/.

Make Sure All Gadgets are Put Away

Tablets, phones, 3DS, Xbox… there are a million distractions surrounding kids these days. You can make it a lot easier for them to resist these distractions by removing them from their sight when they wake up.

Practice Stretching Together or Doing a Small Exercise

A good morning stretch feels good for everybody. Get on the floor with your kids and try some morning stretches. Throw in a few easy yoga poses that you can both do and help get their blood flowing.

Make a Morning Checklist

Most kids are visual learners! Make the morning easier for you both by making a colorful checklist. Have them come up with ideas of what they need to do to get ready in the mornings and write that down. Let them decorate the list, and hang it in their room. Then every morning they get up, they have something fun to look at and know exactly what they need to do. And in turn, fewer things to remind them about!

Dear parents and guardians,

We all share a common goal for our children to be safe and protected from harm. Related to that goal, school counselors are required by GA Code § 20-2-134 to present annual personal safety lessons designed to prevent sexual abuse, assault awareness and prevention education. The Think First & Stay Safe™ program is a research-based program that teaches specific personal safety education through interactive classroom lessons, role-playing and corresponding activities. Think First & Stay Safe™ enables students to take an active and necessary role in protecting themselves from abuse, assault, and exploitation. A committee of school counselors reviewed the program and selected it for our students.

Due to the importance of this topic, I want you to know when and how you may preview the materials prior to them being presented in your child's class. The school counselor will offer the sexual abuse prevention and safety lessons to all students during the month of September. The materials will be available for preview on the Clairemont school counseling page. Ms. Pratt will host a virtual preview session on September 10 at 11 a.m. Join the meeting with video call link: https://meet.google.com/spg-kupq-yfn or dial: ‪(US) +1 650-449-9896‬ PIN: ‪811 354 062‬#

You can also learn more about the program and research behind this program at www.childluresprevention.com. Please be aware that more information is provided on the website than is actually used in CSD. The plan for CSD includes: the key concepts are taught at all grade levels, each grade reviews what was learned in the previous grade(s). and then learns additional safety information. Click on the image above to see specifics.

Unless written documentation is received from the parent/guardian, your child will participate in the lesson. If you prefer your child not to participate in the sexual abuse and safety prevention lessons, please email Ms. Pratt, school counselor, at cpratt@csdecatur.net. You may also contact Ms. Pratt if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Charmaine Pratt

School Counselor

From September 4-6, all 1st-grade students take the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). Unlike traditional achievement tests, which measure how well a student has learned the curriculum, the CogAT assesses a child’s ability to reason abstractly and recognize patterns and relationships in the world around them. Teachers can use CogAT scores to better understand a child’s pattern of strengths and weaknesses. Our school district also uses CogAT scores to identify academically gifted students.

Dear families,

We are having a great school year! A few reminders from the school nurse:

1. Please fill out the health cards that are sent home in Thursday folders if you haven't already.

2. Please make sure kids eat breakfast, even if it's a little bit, since they have a long day.

3. Please pack an extra set of clothes and a sweatshirt in case they need them at school.

4. I would gladly accept any donations for the school clinic of Kleenex tissue boxes, disposable cups, unscented baby wipes, unscented trash bags (four gallon or smaller), and sandwich Ziplocs.

You can send them with the student or drop them off at the front office.

Thanks,

Nurse Manjit

Stay up-to-date with all the Clairemont PTA news and see pictures of our fun events by following the PTA on Facebook or Instagram.

Find us at: https://www.facebook.com/ClairemontElementary and on Instagram @ClairemontPTA.

And of course, you can find all things Clairemont PTA as well as the form to join at our website: https://clairemontpta.ptboard.com/

Attend DEF's Battle of the Bands, a family-friendly community concert, and you could help your school win a $1000 music grant! Head to the Legacy Park lawn on Friday, Sept. 6 from 5-9 p.m. for a fun evening of live music, yummy food, and community! Four CSD bands will be bringing the tunes – you BYOB (bring your own blanket) and your school spirit! The school with the largest percentage of representation will win the music grant for their school... along with a trophy and bragging rights, of course! We’ll have food vendors and sweet treats to supplement your picnic. Adults are $10 and KIDS ARE FREE! Buy tickets here.

*If cost is an issue, please email Drew@DecaturEducationFoundation.org.