Rocket Fuel
First Six Weeks
A Note from Dr. McMinn
Hey, Rocket Families!
We are off to a great start this year! The first six weeks has been very busy with so many great things happening for our students and teachers. Be sure to congratulate Mrs. Amanda Lammers for being chosen the Beginning Teacher of the Year for the Polk School District and Ms. Lyla Johnson for being chosen the District Teacher of the Year! We have also had teachers winning awards and recognitions for their hard work and dedication to our students including Ms. Andrea Walter who has received the North Carolina Science Teaching Award and will be traveling to Winston-Salem in November to receive the award. Also, Mrs. Rebekah Morse received the Susan S. McHugh Honored Educator Scholar award for this year. We have an amazing staff to serve our students!
Have you noticed more students seem to be at Polk Central this year? If it seems like there are more students, it's because there are! Enrollment is up by about 40 students! Some newcomers have moved into the area, and some have transferred here because of the great things and innovative educational opportunities like RootEd that they have heard about through friends and by following our Facebook page. I have had the opportunity to meet with several parents over the course of the summer and this first six weeks and have discussed many aspects of our school that we are so proud of and aspects we want to continue to grow. Polk Central is committed to academic growth and social-emotional development of each child, and the word is out!
Over the next few months, there will be many opportunities for parent and community involvement to enrich the learning experiences of our Rockets. Stay on the lookout and get involved in all of the great things happening here!
Anna Nelon
Nurse Anna is your first contact for your child's medical needs here at school!
Maria Llanos
Mrs. Llanos is our multi-language learner instructor. She is here to help our ML students access the curriculum.
Ashley Bell
Mrs. Bell is our school counselor. She works with our students in whole class, small group, and one-on-one to support them with making friends and navigating their feelings.
Counselor's Corner
Hello PCES families!
I am Ashley Bell, your School Counselor. I look forward to another great year with you all! Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can help your child or family in any way. To begin the new school year I want to share a few resources about creating a morning, afternoon, and night time routine to help your child succeed at school. Please check out the QR code to view many resources sharing the importance of routines in children as well as tips to establish a routine.
As a Polk Central Rocket we encourage everyone to SOAR: Be SAFE, ON TASK, ACT Responsibly, Show RESPECT everyday. We would love your help as parents to help reinforce these positive behaviors. As always let me know how I can help and remember to SOAR!
A Message from Nurse Anna!
O is for Oral Health
Oral health is a key part of your child’s overall health and well-being. To help you ensure your child has healthy, strong teeth to last a lifetime:
Brush teeth at least twice a day
Floss teeth daily
Have regular dental checkups
Limit eating snacks high in sugar or starch
Limit drinks that contain sugar
Drink water
Eat sugary foods only when you are able to brush your teeth
DENTAL SERVICES ARE COMING September 26-29 & October 3-5
We are partnering with Blue Ridge Health - Collins Dental Center to provide dental assessments through the school based mobile dental program. If you have not received a consent form and would like for your children to be seen through this program please reach out to your child’s teacher or to Nurse Anna. Forms will NEED to be requested and turned in no later than 9/27/23 to be seen.
The ML Corner
Welcome all the new families entering our district! My name is Maria Llanos, the ML or Multilingual learner teacher at Polk Central Elementary.My job is to support the teachers of PCES and the students who are learning English and speak a different language at home. I also support English speakers, whose home language is not English, in improving a specific language domain- Reading, Listening, Speaking, or Writing. This year, we have hit the ground running with a new implementation to improve the reading skills of our ML students across grades based on their specific language levels measured by the WIDA Screener scores and ACCESS testing. We are using Heggerty and Ufli foundations phonics instruction as well as a vocabulary and writing curriculum for newcomers. I am very excited to see new outcomes this year! Feel free contact me with any language needs that you may have for your student. My email is mllanos@polkschools.org.
To an exciting new year of opportunities!
¡Bienvenidas a todas las nuevas familias que ingresan a nuestro distrito!
Mi nombre es María Llanos, maestra de ML o estudiante multilingüe en Polk Central Elementary. Mi trabajo es apoyar a los maestros de PCES y a los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés y hablan un idioma diferente en casa. También apoyo a los angloparlantes, cuyo idioma materno no es el inglés, a mejorar un dominio lingüístico específico: lectura, comprensión auditiva, expresión oral o escritura. Este año, hemos comenzado a trabajar con una nueva implementación para mejorar las habilidades de lectura de nuestros estudiantes de ML en todos los grados. Estamos utilizando la instrucción fonética de los fundamentos de Heggerty y Ufli, así como un plan de estudios de vocabulario y escritura para los recién llegados. ¡Estoy muy emocionado de ver nuevos resultados este año! No dude en contactarme con cualquier necesidad lingüística que pueda tener para su estudiante. Mi correo electrónico es mllanos@polkschools.org.
¡Por un emocionante nuevo año de oportunidades!
An Important Message from Title I
Parent Teacher Organization Updates!
Our PTO board has been hard at work organizing our fundraisers for the Fall. Please be on the look for information. Funds raised this year will go directly to swings for the K-2 playground and our upper playground refurbishment. Also, we are taking nominations for our 2023-2024 board members until October 5th. If you or a parent you know is willing to volunteer time to assist in this area this year, please fill out the Google Form for nominations. Digital voting will take place during the month of October. PTO By-Laws are available for your review on our website.