The CPES BobChat
May 12, 2024
Happy Mother's Day!!!
What's Important this Month at Cherry Park?
At the end of the year, there are many important priorities we want to consider as we bring the year to a close. Here are a few of them. 1. It is a time to finish well with our best effort. For all third through fifth graders, statewide SC READY testing will happen this Tuesday and Thursday and next Tuesday and Thursday (May 14 and 16 and May 21 and 23.) These assessments are important for understanding what our students have learned and they are important for how our school is evaluated. These test results have an impact and please encourage your child to do their best. Our collective best effort is the target on the wall. For our lower grades, teachers will be doing end of year individual assessments with them as well. 2. It is a time to express appreciation. We are so blessed by all the ways you've valued our staff this past week during Staff Appreciation Week. Thank you, Brittani Rayfield, for chairing our Staff Appreciation Committee all year long. As a staff, we want to say "Thank You" as well to all our amazing parent volunteers. Please be sure to sign up below for our Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon from 11:00-1:00 on Wednesday, May 29. We hope you can come. 3. It is a time to celebrate and have fun. We have been doing that through our Art Show and Music Performances the past two weeks. Kindergarten had their End of Year Programs on Friday. First Grade will have their Author's Teas from 8:30-9:30 on Monday, May 20 (Webb and Rayhill), Wednesday, May 22 (Brenton and Garcia) and May 24 (Pezzello and Chavez). We will invite all our new families to the Welcome to the Family Drop In from 5:30-6:30 PM on Wednesday, May 29. Our Fifth Grade Recognition will be Friday, May 31 at 9:00 at Sullivan's Auditorium. Field Day for Kindergarten, First and Second will be Tuesday, June 4 (8:30-12:00) and for Third, Fourth and Fifth on Wednesday, June 5 (8:30-12:00) at Cherry Park. (Please remember that for safety and security reasons, only those parents who have been prescreened and are volunteering will be able to attend.) Our last day of school is a half-day on Thursday, June 6 and we will dismiss at 11:15. Hal Keith, one of my former high school teachers, told me, "Maness, work hard when you should work and play hard when it is time to play...and don't get the two mixed up!!" This season of the school year is such an important time to remember that. Let's work hard so we can show all we know on our final assessments and play hard when it is time to celebrate. Thank you for all the ways you will join us and support our children in doing that.
Strength and Blessings,
Mr. Maness
P.S. Happy Mother's Day!! We want to honor all our moms and especially Ms. Sonia Crandall (pictured above) who is our Support Staff of the Year for Cherry Park. Ms. Crandall is an amazing mom who supports all of our children and staff each day as a floater assistant. Wherever there is a need, Ms. Crandall is there to meet it.
Notes and Reminders
1. SC READY Testing Begins This Tuesday for Upper Grades--This is our statewide test for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. We need all students present on the following dates: Tuesday, May 14 (English Language Arts Day 1); Thursday, May 16 (English Language Arts Day 2); Tuesday, May 21 (Science for 4th Graders); Thursday, May 23 (Math). Tuesday, April 30 will be a Writing Field Test and we need all students present to take that as well. Click on the following link or the button below for more information on spring testing: https://www.smore.com/n/f4y3k1
2. First Grade Author Teas--First Grade will have their Author's Teas from 8:30-9:30 on Monday, May 20 (Webb and Rayhill), Wednesday, May 22 (Brenton and Garcia) and May 24 (Pezzello and Chavez). Parents and visitors are asked to park in the Cherry Road Loop and enter the building at the lower level. As always, please be sure to bring an ID. We look forward to seeing you then.
3. Volunteer Luncheon Wednesday, May 29 (Note that it was rescheduled from May 22 to May 29)--We want you to know how much we appreciate you. We are having a luncheon in honor of all our CPES family members who have volunteered (or will volunteer) with us this year. We will have grilled chicken, baked potatoes and dessert. Please RSVP below to let us know if you can come. Just check in at the office and we will give you directions to the luncheon. We hope to see you there. Please RSVP by Thursday, May 14. Click Here: https://forms.gle/cd8xiAsut35S5exk6
4. Welcome to the Family Drop In Wednesday, May 29 for Next Year's Kindergarten Families--We will have a drop-in for all families who will have children starting kindergarten next year on Wednesday, May 29 from 5:30-6:30. Parents and children can come see classrooms and visit the school. This is also a time to ask questions if you'd like. We are excited about our new families joining our school family next year. Click on the following link for more information: https://secure.smore.com/n/7w6dx
5. Fifth Grade Recognition--Will be Friday, May 31 at 9:00 AM at the Sullivan Auditorium. Please do not arrive before 8:30 AM that morning because we want to allow Sullivan to complete their normal arrival procedures first. Families can park in the Sullivan Auditorium lot.
6. Field Day Volunteers--Field day is coming! The K-2nd Field Day will be Tuesday, June 4 and the 3rd-5th Field Day will be Wednesday, June 5. Please use the links below to volunteer at our event. Only volunteers will be allowed to attend field day because each volunteer is pre-screened by the district. This process keeps your children safe as they play and enjoy the day with their teachers and friends.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Christi Beard cabeard@rhmail.org
Emily Anderson eanderson@rhmail.org
K-2nd Volunteer Signup Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4EACAC22AB9-48705704-k12#/
3rd-5th Volunteer Signup Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4EACAC22AB9-48710948-3rd#/
7. Absence Documentation--You can email excuses for absences or send questions about attendance to the following email address: mailto:CPAbsenceDocumentation@rhmail.org Mrs. Janelle Miskelly is the person in our office who now handles all attendance coding in PowerSchool.
School Calendar
May 12--Mother's Day
May 14--SC READY ELA Test (Day 1) for 3rd, 4th and 5th Grades
May 16--SC READY ELA Test (Day 2) for 3rd, 4th and 5th Grades
May 20--8:30-9:30 Webb/Rayhill Author's Tea
May 21--SC READY Science Test for 4th Grade Only; 3rd Grade Takes MAP Reading
May 22--8:30-9:30 Brenton/Garcia Author's Tea
May 23--SC READY Math Test for 3rd, 4th and 5th Grades
May 24--8:30-9:30 Pezzello/Chavez Author's Tea
May 27--Memorial Day Holiday (District Closed)
May 29--11:00-1:00 Volunteer Luncheon (Please RSVP above.); 5:30-6:30 PM Welcome to the Family Drop In
May 31--9:00 AM 5th Grade Recognition at Sullivan Auditorium (Please do not arrive before 8:30)
June 4--K, 1st and 2nd Grade Field Day (8:30-12:00)
June 5--3rd, 4th and 5th Grade Field Day (8:30-12:00)
June 6--Half Day for Students (Dismissal at 11:15)/Last Day of School
Parent Organizations
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.
Previous Newsletters for 23-24 School Year
"What Do I Appreciate about Our Staff?" May 5, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/kmgp8
"Why Do Performances Matter?" April 28, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/8zxke
"What Do Tests Really Tell Us?" April 21, 2024 https://www.smore.com/n/zb6px
"How Can We Change Our Children's Mindsets about Tests?" April 14, 2024 https://www.smore.com/n/a3p4t
"What Field Trips Are Close By?" April 7, 2024 https://www.smore.com/n/v2xga
"Why Are Field Studies So Important?" March 24, 2024 https://www.smore.com/n/cnw5j
"What's the Difference between Reacting and Responding?" March 17, 2024 https://www.smore.com/n/491bh
"How Is Reading a Game Changer?" March 10, 2024 https://www.smore.com/n/evgx3u
"What Is Important about Read Across America Week?" March 3, 2024 https://www.smore.com/n/g4u3t
"What Do We Love about Language Immersion?" (Part 4) February 25, 2024 https://www.smore.com/n/e0n5g
"What Do We Love about Language Immersion?" (Part 3) February 18, 2024 https://www.smore.com/t49v3
"What Do We Love about Language Immersion?" (Part 2) February 11, 2024 https://www.smore.com/tqjb1
"Why Do We Love Language Immersion?" (Part 1) February 4, 2024 https://www.smore.com/x4dpg
"How Can We Inform Other Parents about Immersion?" January 28, 2024 https://www.smore.com/yswvf
"How Do We Help Children Do Hard Things?" January 21, 2024 https://www.smore.com/574bh
"What Did Martin Luther King, Jr. Say?" January 14, 2024 https://www.smore.com/1c2ze
"Can One Word Make a Difference This Year?" January 7, 2024 https://www.smore.com/p9n3v5
"How Can We Manage Expectations during the Holidays?" December 17, 2023 https://www.smore.com/ceswg
"How Can We Give the "Best Gift Ever?" December 10, 2023 https://www.smore.com/1p0kd
"How Can We Find a Silent Night?" December 3, 2023 https://www.smore.com/n/p2zes
"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