

Dragon News
February 7, 2025
Hello Families,
We are winding down our NWEA winter testing and looking forward to getting back into our normal classroom routines. Thank you for having students here on time and ready for this assessment. Students being able to show us what they know allows us as educators to fine tune our efforts to best support our students here at China Primary School.
February 10th is the 100th day of school! This day will be recognized in classrooms in many different ways. Pictures will be included next week.
February 14th will be a day of FUN! It is of course Valentine's Day, and it's also the day we will recognize Global Play Day AND students are invited to dress comfy, dressy, or in Valentine's Day themed colors. We can't wait to see how students decide to dress. We will add pictures in our Dragon News just before February break.
Thank you for all that you do,
Kahlie and Liz
Important Notice to Parents:
Please direct any email regarding student absences and/or student dismissals to your child's teacher AND to our CPS office staff, Bobbie Weymouth (bweymouth@rsu18.org) and Mae Slevinsky (mslevinsky@rsu18.org).
Please be sure to communicate any changes for end of day dismissal plans prior to 2:00pm so students can be sure to receive their notes.
Upcoming Important Dates
February 3rd-14th
Cereal Drive for China Community Food Pantry sponsored by China Schools PTO
February 10th
100th day of school!!
February 11th
China Schools PTO Paint Night at CPS @ 6:30pm
Sign up here!
February 14th
Valentine's Day - Wear your pajamas, dress comfy or wear your festive Valentine's Day outfits!
Global Play Day
February 17th-21st
Winter Break
Mrs. Bentley (4th grade teacher) and Ms. Terry (lead nutritionist) have a fun rivalry that keeps things fun!
Update From the Nurse
Screenings
As a requirement of the state, all Pre K, Kindergarten, 1st and 3rd graders will have vision and hearing checked. Screenings have begun and will continue to take place over the next couple of weeks, if you have any questions or concerns regarding this feel free to give me a call or send me an email.
Cold Weather
We are at the point in the year where the weather is cold and snowy. Please help your child remember to bring the appropriate gear for playing outside including, boots ( and sneakers for inside especially on PE days), jacket, ski pants, hats and mittens/gloves. If you need assistance obtaining any of these items please reach out to the school and we will help attain the necessary items for your child. In talking about winter hats, we encourage you to talk with your kids about the importance of not sharing hats with friends. This is always a time of year when lice makes an appearance and sharing hats is one of the easiest ways for them to spread to others. Periodic checks of your child’s head is the best way to identify any problems early and treat quickly.
Illness
Please review the health manual accessible via our school’s website for the full policy on when to stay home and when it is appropriate to return to school. A few key points are fevers, diarrhea and vomiting. Your child must be free of both without medication for 24 hours before returning to school.
We are also seeing students that are in need of a change of clothes for various reasons, so it would be helpful if they keep a seasonally appropriate change of clothes including socks in their backpacks daily.
Box Tops
The Box Tops app makes it easy to earn cash for CPS! Simply download the app by using the QR code provided below and select China Primary School as the recipient. Take a photo of your grocery receipt and Box Tops does the rest!
Snacks
Please be sure to send your child with snacks for snack time each day.
Donations of extra (healthy) snacks (goldfish/pretzels) are always appreciated!
Lost and Found
Updates from our PTO
Next meeting is Thursday, March 6th at 6pm on Google Meet! Here's the link: https://meet.google.com/kvu-jxtp-vuo
Missed our last meeting? You can find the minutes from February's meeting on our Facebook page.
We are excited to announce that we are teaming up with the Maine Mariners for a fundraiser. This applies to the March 21st game only and you have to buy tickets through this link! What that means?
• Discounted tickets for you
• $5 from each ticket sold to China Schools PTO
• An awesome experience gift for the hockey lover in your house
We thank you for your continued support and hope to see you there!!!
https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/ChinasSchoolsPTOMarch21st
Paint Night at CPS: February 11th at 6:30 PM. Sign up here by February 7th and join our Facebook event here!
CPS Cereal Drive and CMS Pet Food Drive. February 3rd-February 14th - all donations stay in the community!
Looking ahead: Read-a-thon March 24th-April 7th
Want to stay in the know? Add the PTO public calendar to your phone! It has all the important school dates and events for CPS and CMS, and PTO happenings. Check out this post for how to add it or a PDF copy if you prefer: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/egVxio2x5BrF2thB/?
If you haven’t already, join our Facebook group to stay in the know: https://facebook.com/groups/chinaschoolspto/ And we are always here at chinaschoolspto@gmail.com!
China Rec Sports
Exciting news! China Rec Sports will be starting a Cal Ripken program this season, in addition to our usual baseball season programs for T-Ball and Coach Pitch. Registration for the Cal Ripken league will open Feb. 14 and will cost $50 per player. There will be a Major League for ages 12 and under and Minor League for ages 10 and under. Coach Pitch for 8 and under. Tball for ages 4-6 Benefits: play with your neighbors on local teams, with practices at the China fields. Games would be played at other community fields and at ours. Stayed tuned soon for the registration link.
Junior Achievement
JA Maine is seeking over 300 volunteers this spring to deliver learning experiences in classrooms throughout Maine including 4 opportunities at China Primary School. As a volunteer you’ll be working with students on the fundamentals of good money management, work and career readiness, and entrepreneurship, as well as sharing professional insight to inspire and build skill sets in our state’s future workforce and leaders: students. Reach out to our Program Team to learn more! https://maine.ja.org/ or email jjamison@jamaine.org
Show Your School Pride
CPS swag now available through Elliot Office Products! Link here!
Current Openings at CPS
Duty Monitor – 2.25 hours/day (10:45 am to 1:00 pm)
Special Education Ed Tech/Ed Tech I - 7 hours/day
Long Term Substitute Teacher- 2nd Grade (February through June 2025)
We, in RSU 18, are also always looking for excellent substitute teachers, nurses, and education technicians. Please reach out if you have interest or questions about this. You can see our current openings here!
Community Announcements
Erskine Valentine's Dance
The Erskine Academy National Honor Society will be hosting a Valentine's Dance for students in grades K - 5 on Friday, February 7, 2025 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm in the EA gym. Students from our sending schools are invited to attend and may bring one adult chaperone. Tickets may be purchased at the door.
Reach out to bbenner@erskine247.com with any questions.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Regards,
Betsy Benner