Cottonwood Elementary

Wow! I can't believe it's already December. It amazes me how fast the year goes and how quickly the month of December flies by. December is filled with lots of fun activities including holiday parties, theme days, and Grandparents' Day, assemblies, and we just completed our 2nd-grade music program. The month of December, it's a good time for us to review our expectations at home and at school of what we expect of our students as we participate in these great activities! Our core foundations include being responsible, respectful, safe, and ready. We review these foundations with our students frequently, so they know our expectations for these special events. It is also the time of the year when we complete mid-year testing. As your child completes these assessments, please reinforce at home that they need to give their best effort every single time. We use this data to drive our instruction starting in January. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at

corey_troast@usd368.org.

Regards,

Mr. Troast

Parents, please mark it on your calendar that December 19th will be a 2-hour early release day. School will dismiss at 1:10 pm and our bus routes, walkers, daycare, and car pick-up will run normally that day Please make sure you have accounted for this change and plan accordingly. If your child has a different means of transportation on December 19th, please communicate it to your child's classroom teacher and office staff. Any transportation changes need to be made by 12:30 pm on December 19th.

*Please note: Cottonwood Christmas parties will be on December 19th from 12:20-12:50 pm right before dismissal. You will be able to check out your student from the classroom if you attend.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h1Nr-OOjuzdEd9y4l7RZAocU4zMVZMH1/view?usp=sharing

Please note that students will not be able to stay at school until the BINGO starts. Students must use their normal transportation route home or be picked up in the car line. Please Note: if Grandparents are picking up students, they will need their iDismiss number. If your student is a bus rider, please note that Bingo will start at 4pm. You may consider having grandparents pick up in our car rider line.

We will be having classroom parties on December 19th from 12:20-12:50. We are happy to invite parents into the building this year for these parties. This year will be doing our holiday parties right before early release at 1:10pm.

Holiday Parties Expectations- Each classroom teacher will send out information with their classroom specifics. All parties must have the following guidelines in place:

• It's preferred that all food items must be individually wrapped.
• All items should be sent to school with the student in the morning.
• Please refer to your child's classroom teacher for any questions regarding what is and what isn't allowed.
• Classroom teachers will send out additional information.
• PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN OUR DROP-OFF LINE OR BUS LOOP.

*Please note: We will not be allowing families in for Valentine's Day parties in February. Classroom party times will be at the discretion of the teacher instead of one set time during the school day. Thank you for your understanding.

Parents,

On December 19th, we will NOT be serving a hot lunch. Instead, we will be serving a sack lunch here at school. The school sack lunch will be:

Homemade Ham or Turkey/Cheese Sandwich

Carrots/Ranch

Fruit Cup

Chips

Milk

Students are welcomed to bring their own sack lunch on December 19th as well. All families need to complete the google form below so we can get a count of how many school sack lunches will be necessary on December 19th.

Kindergarten: Leo McKoon and Aiden Worley

1st Grade: Leah Barrientos and Karalee Landry

2nd Grade:Novella Knight-Pointer and Hudsen Weems

Parents,

As the weather is getting colder, we are seeing more parents utilize our car rider line at the end of the day. Just a reminder that our line moves the fastest if everyone knows their iDismiss number. Every student in the building was assigned a number at the start of the year and given a card to display on their window visor. Feel free to make your own signs for additional vehicles in your family. If you memorize your number, you can always tell our Cottonwood staff when your roll down the window. When our staff must look up numbers it slows the entire line down. Please remember that our office staff will only share numbers with family members who are listed as primary contacts in the infinite campus. In the future, you may be asked to park if you do not know your number and a staff member will assist you when available.

Yearbook Orders are due by Thursday, February 15. Visit inter-state.com/order to order online and enter code 82201V.

• December 4th- 12th: End of Semester Testing
• December 11th: Board Meeting 6pm
• December 19th: Christmas Parties 12:20-12:50 pm
• December 19th: Early Release 1:10pm
• December 15th: Grandparents' Bingo Night 4pm at Paola High School
• December 20th- January 3rd: Winter Break
• January 4th: School Resumes

Email: corey_troast@usd368.org
Website: https://www.usd368.org/vnews/display.v/SEC/Cottonwood%20Elementary
Location: 709 Hedge Ln, Paola, KS 66071, USA
Phone: 913-294-8050