The Chat

Get Excited for the Fall Festival - Bike Rodeo! You and your family will not want to miss this great family event and fundraiser for Chatfield programs. We need your support and we hope you will attend! Register at: https://forms.gle/f321obiJu5eT4U3U7

We need lots of volunteers to make the Fall Festival - Bike Rodeo a success! Here is the link to sign up to volunteer! Please help out! From set up, to face painting, to grilling, to bike races, we need your help! Sign up at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4CA4A92CA0FA7-44355941-fall

Chatfield students will host their grandparents or special guests on Wednesday, September 20 from 6:30 to 7:30pm. Join us for punch and cookies, a tour of the school and grounds, and a musical treat. We apologize for the date change. We try to avoid events on Wednesdays, we hope everyone can still make it!

In the Willows, Chatfield students will be selling a variety of student grown and processed goods from our farm including;

• Bacon

• Breakfast Sausage

• Honey

• 2nd Grade Peach Freezer Jam

• Salsa

Thank you for your support! 100% of proceeds will benefit Chatfield School programs. We can accept cash and check.

The school year is off to a good start. As children take on the challenges of the new school year, sometimes kids can struggle in school for different reasons, such as:

• a learning or focus issue

• trouble getting organized

• not feeling well (for example, if they have asthma that isn't controlled)

• feelings of sadness or anxiety (sometimes manifests as upset stomach or headache)

Together we can help,

• talk to your child. Ask questions about the schoolwork, other kids, and teachers.

• Talk to your child’s teacher about how your child is doing. Teachers have a lot of information about how a child learns, behaves, and interacts with others.

• Then, schedule a visit with your child’s health care provider. They can check your child for a physical problem, like a vision problem that can be fixed with glasses.

All kids — whether they have problems at school or not — do better when they:

• Have a regular schedule with a set bedtime, homework time, and time to relax.

• Get enough sleep.

• Eat nutritious meals and snacks.

How Can the School Staff Help My Child?

School staff and teachers can help kids who have trouble in school. For example:

• If your child struggles with a particular subject, ask for them to meet with the teacher or assistant

• For kids who feel anxious, talking to the counselor may help.

• Meet with the school social worker to work on strategies of support.

• Your child can ask to sit closer to the teacher if they lose focus easily.

• Encourage you child to participate in school activities, extra-curricular activities.

• Communicate closely with the school teachers, support staff, and directors.

From: Kidshealth.org

Any and all spirit wear can now be purchased locally at VillageTee! Please visit the link and the Village Tee website to see all of the possibilities available. We are just getting started! www.villagetees.net/product-category/chatfield

Thank you so much to all the families that helped pick apples this weekend for our fall cider programs! Learning concepts like economics, apple origins, genetics, agricultural productions rankings, nutrition, value added marketing, simple machines and tons of math are integrated into the homeroom cider making experience. You all made light work of big job! We are so thankful for you!

We are recruiting homeroom parents to take the lead on a few important jobs. If you are interested in any of these responsibilities please contact the indicated person:

• Homeroom Parent: This parent supports the teacher's plan for classroom events - contact your child's homeroom teacher.
• Homeroom/Grade Level Art Docent K-5 only: This parent provides a monthly brief introduction to an artist and style of art - contact Mr. Lange at nlange@chatfieldschool.org
• Homeroom P.I.E. Parent: This parent represents the homeroom at each P.I.E. meeting - contact your child's homeroom teacher.

Thank you for the tremendous effort to help clear our Flint River canoe pathway this weekend. The 2.1 mile stretch from Rotary Park to Saginaw Landing is in great shape for our Fall canoe trips because of Stephen Cousins, Ken Bumhoffer, Roger McNutt, Casey and Ashton Carpenter, and Luke, Mia, and Ezra Moffitt. This week, our 7th grade students will be enjoying the work of all these volunteers.

Please take a moment to complete the 2023-2024 School Meals and Summer EBT Application and return 1 per family to school. A paper copy was sent home with your child today and is attached at the bottom of this newsletter. This application is necessary as we transition to the Michigan School Meals program offering free breakfast and lunch to all students. This form collects information needed to ensure that Chatfield School receives state and federal funding for several educational programs. Without this information Chatfield School could lose or see a reduction in state and federal funding. This funding helps provide additional supports and services for our students including, but not limited to:

• Instructional Staff (ex. Reading Interventionist, Math Tutors, Behavior Aids)

• Teaching supplies and materials

• Counselors and Social Workers

• Professional Development for staff

• Parent and Community engagement supplies and activities

• Technology

Why is Chatfield School requesting these forms be completed? The 2023-2024 School Meals and Summer EBT Applications determines eligibility of a student or household. The total count of eligible students is used to determine the funding amounts that will be available to Chatfield School. The more forms the better to insure proper funding.

You are invited and encouraged to attend the Chatfield P.I.E. meetings to be held the second Wednesday of each month at 4pm in the middle school commons. The second meeting is October 11 at 4pm. Chatfield P.I.E. serves as an organization to provide student and family engagement and participation and to support school activities. The P.I.E. meetings provide a forum for the school staff to share information with parents. Again we highly encourage you to attend! WChristina Hall is President, Tracy Coulter is Vice-President, Amanda Blay is Secretary, and Jacqueline Wellington is Treasurer. Erin Sawgle and Stephanie Klee remain on the board as trustees.

Meeting dates

Oct. 11, Nov. 8, Dec. 13, Jan. 10, Feb. 14, Mar. 13, Apr. 10, May 8

The Bike Rodeo Fall Festival is scheduled for October 7! It is just around the corner! Please stay tuned for details!

The Bike Rodeo is our big P.I.E. fundraiser. With the goal of making enought money to support P.I.E. programs we are looking for businesses that would be willing to sponsor the Bike Rodeo/Fall Festival. Please help out by seeing if your business would consider a sponsorship. The sponsorship request and form is attached at the bottom of this newsletter or at this LINK.

Breakfast is served "to go style" in the lobby from 8:00 to 8:20. Students do not need to order in advance. They will take their breakfast to the classroom. Students must be on time to class, breakfast can not be used an excuse for tardiness.

For lunch, students must order their lunch each day when arriving to homeroom. Both breakfast and lunch are served without cost to students/families! If a student orders only milk or purchases 2 milks they are charged for the cost of the milk. Unfortunately, milk a la carte is not free.

Parent Teacher conferences with your child's homeroom teacher will be held on Thursday, October 5 and Tuesday, October 10! Please see your child's newsletter to sign up for a time for conference. Elective teachers will be present for drop in conferences on these days. The teachers are expecting 100% participation in Fall Conferences.

Bike Club - A Fall Season Adventure League held every Monday at the Willows

Bike club is free and open to any student grades 3-8. Parents and non-Chatfield students are welcome. Students 2nd grade and younger are welcome if a parent rides with them. We will do most of our riding on the Oakdale trail system, 9.5 miles of singletrack with no road crossings. This multi-use, natural surface trail offers some amazing terrain for us to enjoy. Bikes brought in before school can be put on the bike rack near the gym or parked out by the Willows. Helmets are mandatory and we do have loaners. Bike club will last approximately 8 weeks. Contact Peter McCreedy at pmccreedy@chatfieldschool.org with questions.

Link to Register: Bike Club Registration LINK

Weekly participation is not mandatory, but in order to participate you must have completed the registration.

Does your child have something to celebrate - perhaps an athletic accomplishment, a dance competition result, a special camp or program completion? We want to celebrate extra-curricular student success too! Let us know about it and we will celebrate it in the newsletter and on Facebook/Instagram. Send an email to Mr. Kraly (bkraly@chatfieldschool.org) with your child's first and last name, information about the success, and a quality picture (jpeg) or video.

Examples: Athletic award achieved, dance award, special recital, technology achievement, scouts or other organized program recognitions.

It is an oldie but a goodie: School House Rock! The Preamble to the constitution can easily be memorized using this song!

At home talk about what the preamble means:

Establish justice

Ensure domestic tranquility

Provide for the common defense

Promote the general welfare

Secure the blessing of liberty

The student & parent handbook for 2023-2024 is available now. Please take time to read it over. If you have any questions or concerns please let Mr. Young or Mr. Kraly know.

Handbook LINK

Link to confirm you have read the Handbook:

https://forms.gle/AfA6UCkprHQgcPAD8

9/20/2023 6:30 PM Grandparent's Evening

10/5/2023 Parent-Teacher Conferences

10/7/2023 11AM-3PM Bike Rodeo

10/10/2023 Parent-Teacher Conferences

10/16-19/2023 5th Grade Camp

10/20/2023 No School

10/25/2023 Picture Retakes AM

10/27/2023 End of 1st Marking Period

10/27/2023 Half Day of School 11:30am Dismissal

10/31/2023 Halloween - Trunk or Treat PM

Please stay tuned for details regarding Trunk or Treat. We will be celebrating on Halloween Day. We ask that every student send in 50 pieces of wrapped candy for this event. More details to come.

Please visit the Chatfield website to learn about the Chatfield School Board of Directors meeting times and dates. LINK

President Nathan Muir

Vice President Erin Viers

Secretary/Treasurer Karen Dumas

Trustee Katheryn Poniatowski

Trustee Catherine Amboy

Parents & Guardians,

We are hiring some part time employees! If you are interested in being on one of our teams please let us know! Specifically we could use some support on our lunch team, child care team, and on our substitute team. Contact Mr. Kraly at bkraly@chatfieldschool.org or Mrs. Davis at adavis@chatfieldschool.org

The Chatfield School, a tuition-free, public school academy nestled in the heart of Lapeer, offers the best educational opportunities for students in grades K-8.

Email: chatfieldschool@chatfieldschool.org
Website: www.chatfieldschool.org
Location: 231 Lake Drive, Lapeer, MI, USA
Phone: (810)-667-8970