The Bulldog 9.12.24

Note from Mrs. Lockwood

The halls are buzzing with excitement as students continue to grow and learn!

This week we celebrated our very own Monica Nelson at this month’s board meeting. Ms. Nelson is our 24-25 teacher of the year. Thank you Ms. Nelson for all that you do for our Clairemont students!

Due to forecasted rain, we will reschedule tomorrow’s Walk & Roll to next Friday, September 20. We look forward to our first Walk & Roll of the school year!

Events at a glance:

• Thursday, September 12: 2nd Grade Poetry Slam, Session 1 - 6 p.m., Session 2 - 7 p.m.

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

• Wednesday, September 18: Spirit Night at Raging Burrito

• Wednesday, September 18: PTA Meeting

• Friday, September 20: Walk and Roll

• Friday, September 20: Early Release Day, 12:50 p.m.

• Monday, September 23-Friday, September 27: FALL BREAK

• Wednesday, October 2: Flu Shot Clinic, 9-11 a.m.

Hip Hip Hooray for our first Walk and Roll day! Please plan to ride your bike, scooter, walk or take the bus to school.

We got all dressed up for picture day and had another visit from DHS cheerleaders and football players to get us pumped for the game on Friday!

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 were sent home in your child’s red folder and are 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.

The Fall Read-a-Thon and Book Fair are coming up soon! Read-a-Thon kicks off on Friday, October 11th and then it will run along with the Book Fair and lots of great literacy events the whole week of October 14th-18th. More details coming soon.

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 Gifted & Talented Services webpage.

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!

September 8-14 is National Suicide Prevention week. The purpose of this week is to raise awareness about the various ways that suicide can be prevented. Many mental health practitioners say that utilizing effective coping strategies can help children manage their feelings in a healthier way. This week our students have learned about ways they can be kind to their mind.

We use the phrase, "Be kind to your mind" as a way to talk to very young children about their mental health. A few coping strategies that can help children be kind to their mind are utilizing deep breathing, mindfulness, grounding and reciting positive self-affirmations. It is also important that a child knows they have a support system that cares about how they feel. If you would like know to know more about suicide prevention, you can visit BeThe1To or NAMI.

Camp MAGIK is announcing its fall 2024 camp session. This session will be held at The North Georgia Christian Camp in Clarkesville, Georgia, October 4-6. Applications need to be postmarked or emailed to Camp MAGIK no later than September 20, 2024. Camp MAGIK provides free transportation to camp and back based on need. Camp MAGIK is well suited to all youth ages 6 through 18 who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling or other close loved one, especially youth who have experienced traumatic death, within the last 3-4 years. Professional bereavement counselors, trained in grief and trauma, lead all counseling sessions. There is also a retreat available for adults who want to process their own grief with other adults who are grieving.

Camp sessions are FREE OF CHARGE to all participating children, adolescents and parents/guardians.

Please click the links below for additional information and camp application

Camp MAGIK - Fall Announcement 2024

Camp MAGIK - Fall Announcement 2024 en Español

Join us for our monthly PTA Meeting on Wednesday, September 18, 5:30-7 p.m.! Meetings are open to anyone in our school community interested in learning more about the work of the PTA.

Meeting link: https://zoom.us/j/99337197628

Stay up-to-date with all the Clairemont PTA news and see pictures of our fun events by following the PTA on Facebook and Instagram. You can find all things Clairemont PTA, as well as the form to join, at the Clairemont PTA website.

Rather than asking parents to send in money throughout the year to cover various classroom costs (e.g., learning celebrations and classroom celebrations), we would like to collect classroom funds at one time. This year, to make the funds equitable, the Clairemont PTA Room Parent Coordinator is collecting one Class Fund Pool that she will divide equally among all classes.

Thank you to the 30 families who have already donated to our Class Fund pool! If you have not yet donated, please consider making a small gift today $10 - 20 is suggested, but whatever you can give makes a difference. Our room parents will use these funds to support our teachers and school staff through birthday acknowledgments, end of semester gifts, and teacher appreciation week. This is not an official request from the school, and contributions are completely optional.

If you would like to contribute, please donate via Venmo to @lrherman (confirmation code 6165) by September 30, 2024. Please put “Clairemont Room Fund” as a note when sending in your donation, so that we will know what it’s for.

Leslie Herman is the PTA Room Parent Coordinator and will confirm receipt of contributions. Please contact her if you have any questions or concerns or if you need another method of payment besides Venmo (such as Zelle, CashApp, PayPal, etc.).

Leslie Herman

lrherman@icloud.com

410-591-6165

A Season of Giving is a neighbor-led organization that brings joy to local children and seniors through gift-giving.

For Assistance: To apply for gift assistance, please complete our online application at Apply by October 31st. We are excited to support children through 12th grade again this year.

Sponsor a Gift: Donors can purchase gifts based on individual wish lists for children or seniors. If you would like to be a sponsor, please fill out the form at Sponsor.

Donate Directly: If you prefer, you can make a donation, and we will do the shopping for you. Simply Donate at our website!

Volunteer: We would greatly appreciate your help! If you're interested in volunteering, please go to Volunteer and sign up.

Need Help or Have Questions? If you encounter any issues with the forms or have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at aseasonofgivingdecatur@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support and generosity of the Season of Giving!