September 18, 2015

Volume 4 / Issue 4

IN THIS ISSUE:

- Note from Dr. Beekley

- Nurse Substitutes
- Curriculum Night

- Mission Smiley Bake Sale
- Kindergarten/New Family Gathering
- Social Development Theme of the Month
- Health Office News
- PTO Yankee Candle Sale

Monday, September 21st
- Curriculum Night
(6:00-6:30 pm for grades K-3)
(6:45-7:15 pm for grades 4-6)
- Mission Smiley Bake Sale

Wed., September 23rd

- Yom Kippur (No School)

Thursday, September 24th - Chester Board of Education Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Sunday, October 4th
- Kindergarten/New Family Gathering
(2:30-4:00 pm - Camp Hazen)

Tuesday, October 6th - Grade 4 Field Trip to Florence Griswold Museum

Monday, October 12th
- Professional Development Day (No School for Students)

Tuesday, October 13th
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Thursday, October 15th
- Student Banking & Box Tops Due

Wednesday, October 21st
- PTO Fall Clothing Drive

Thursday, October 22nd - PTO Fall Clothing Drive
- Early Dismissal at 1:00 pm for Parent/Teacher Conferences

October 23rd
- PTO Fall Clothing Drive
- Early Dismissal at 1:00 pm for Parent/Teacher Conferences

Friday, October 30
- Halloween Parade for grades K-3
- PTO Halloween Carnival

Friday, November 6th
- Early Dismissal (Professional Development for Staff)

Tuesday, November 10th - PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Wednesday, November 11th - Veterans Day Program

Thursday, November 19th - Student Banking & Box Tops Due

Monday, November 23rd - Chester Board of Education Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

November 25th-27th
- Thanksgiving Break

Tuesday, December 1st
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Tuesday, December 8th
- Winter Concert

Friday, December 11th
- PTO Holiday Craft Night

Thursday, December 17th
- Student Banking & Box Tops Due

Tuesday, December 22nd
- Snow Day Play

December 23rd-January 1st
- Holiday Break

Tuesday, January 12th
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Friday, January 15th
- Early Dismissal
(Professional Development for Staff)

Monday, January 18th
- Martin Luther King's Birthday (No School)

Thursday, January 21st
- Student Banking & Box Tops Due

Thursday, January 28th
- Chester Board of Education Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Tuesday, February 9th
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Friday, February 12th
- Early Dismissal (Professional Development for Staff)

Monday, February 15th
- Presidents Day (No School)

Tuesday, February 16th
- Professional Development Day (No School for Students)

Wednesday, February 17th
- Possible Snow Make-up Day

Thursday, February 18th
- Possible Snow Make-up Day
- Student Banking & Box Tops Due

Friday, February 26th
- PTO Bingo & Basket Raffle Night

Tuesday, March 8th
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Thursday, March 17th
- Student Banking & Box Tops Due

Tuesday, March 22nd
- PTO Book Fair

Wednesday, March 23rd
- PTO Book Fair
- Early Dismissal (Parent/ Teacher Conferences)

Thursday, March 24th
- PTO Book Fair
- Early Dismissal (Parent/ Teacher Conferences)
- Chester Board of Education Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Friday, March 25th
- Good Friday (No School)

Tuesday, March 29th
- S.T.E.A.M. Fair Open House

Wednesday, March 30th
- S.T.E.A.M. Fair Judging

Tuesday, April 12th
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Thursday, April 14th
- Student Banking & Box Tops Due

Friday, April 15th
- Early Dismissal (Professional Development for Staff)

April 18th-April 22nd
- Spring Recess

Monday, April 25th
- Possible Snow Make-up Day

Tuesday, April 26th
- Possible Snow Make-up Day

Friday, April 29th
- Arbor Day

Friday, April 30th
- State Invention Convention

Tuesday, May 3rd
- PTO Teachers' Appreciation Lunch

Wednesday, May 4th
- ACES Day
- Spring Arts Festival

Tuesday, May 10th
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Tuesday, May 17th
- Grade 3 Field Trip to Trash Museum

Thursday, May 19th
- Student Banking & Box Tops Due

Thursday, May 26th
- Chester Board of Education Meeting
(7:00 pm - Location TBD)

Friday, May 27th
- Early Dismissal (Professional Development for Staff)
- Memorial Day Program

Monday, May 30th
- Memorial Day (No School)
- Memorial Day Parade

Tuesday, May 31st
- Possible Snow Make-up Day
- PTO Spring Clothing Drive

Wednesday, June 1st- Friday, June 3rd
- PTO Spring Clothing Drive

Thursday, June 2nd
- Grade 6 Unity Day (JWMS)

Monday, June 13th
- Field Day

Tuesday, June 14th
- PTO Meeting
(7:00 pm - CES Library)

Wednesday, June 15th
- Early Dismissal (Last Day of School - depending on number of weather/ emergency days used)

A NOTE FROM DR. BEEKLEY

Dear Chester Elementary School Community,

A parent is a child's strongest advocate. At Chester Elementary School we recognize that parents are one of the most important components for a child to be successful in school. Your child's teacher is also an important advocate for your child. You have your perspective about your child from a home setting. We see your child in a different setting and have a different perspective. We gather information about your child's learning style and abilities so that we can plan appropriate educational experiences. By putting the two sets of information together, parent and teacher, your child's educational experience is enhanced.

I propose a few ideas you might want to consider as you build a partnership with your child's teacher:

Get to know your child's teacher by attending Parent/Teacher Conferences, volunteering in the school, and attending school functions. Everyone is part of the Chester Elementary School family! Your child's teacher wants you to be part of your child's educational experience.
Make sure the teacher has contact information for you. Let your child's teacher know how to reach you, when is the best time to call, and whether it is appropriate to contact you at work for non-emergency situations.
Keep the lines of communication open. If you have a question or concern, contact your child's teacher. The earlier you speak with the teacher, the faster your questions will be answered. Teachers are busy teaching during the day, but the office will be happy to take a message or forward you to voicemail. Your child's teacher will get back to you as soon as possible. Teachers love to hear from parents and welcome your participation.
Ask questions. When your teacher is using educational language that you are unsure of, ask for an explanation. We want you to understand everything we are telling you. We sometimes forget that not everyone is well versed in DRA, PPT, SBAC and MAP language. We are always happy to explain what all of our educational jargon means.

Your child's education is an important reason to be part of the team at Chester Elementary School. Please join with us in our goal of having every child succeed. We need you!

Reminders

- Curriculum Night on Monday, 9/21 (see below for details) and Mission Smiley Bake Sale
- No School on Wednesday, 9/23 - Yom Kippur

Have a terrific weekend!

Joanne D. Beekley, Ed.D.
Principal

ANNOUNCEMENTS

NURSE SUBSTITUTES

Currently, Region 4 is looking to augment their list of substitute nurses who are available to provide coverage in our buildings when a full-time nurse is absent. If you are a registered nurse (RN) (or know an RN who might be interested in being placed on the Region 4 nursing substitute list), please go to the Region 4 webpage, click on the "Employment" link and submit your application materials.

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CURRICULUM NIGHT

Curriculum Night will be held on Monday, September 21st. The schedule is listed below and on our school calendar. Please make every effort to attend. Your child's teacher will be sharing important information about the school year. Additionally, handouts about our curriculum and program offerings will be provided. It is also a time to sign up for conferences and as a PTO Room Parent. The draft of the student directory will also be available for you to edit/verify.

Curriculum Night - Monday, September 21st
6:00-6:30 pm - Grades K, 1, 2 and 3
6:45-7:15 pm - Grades 4, 5 and 6

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SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT NEWS

MISSION SMILEY BAKE SALE

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of this, our sixth grade Mission Smiley Committee will be holding a bake sale at Curriculum Night on Monday, September 21st. The proceeds from the bake sale will be delivered to the Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven.

KINDERGARTEN/NEW FAMILY GATHERING

There will be a kindergarten/new family gathering at Camp Hazen, on Sunday, October 4th from 2:30-4:00. The purpose of the day is to give families of kindergarten and new students the opportunity to socialize while engaging in fun team building activities directed by Camp Hazen staff. This day always turns out to be wonderful. Please be looking for more information to follow.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEMES

The Social Development Theme for the month of September is Respect. The Social Development Book of the Month is The Recess Queen. Please enjoy a description of the book below.

Oh, would that all bullying problems could be solved so easily! Mean Jean is the reigning Recess Queen, pushing and smooshing, hammering and slammering the other kids whenever they cross her. And then one day a puny new girl shows up on the playground and catches Mean Jean completely off-guard. Not only is little Katie Sue not the least bit intimidated by the bully, she actually asks her to jump rope with her. In no time flat, Jean and Katie Sue are best buddies, and the playground is safe for all again.

Sure, it's simplistic, but there's a strong element of truth in this energetic rhyming story by Alexis O'Neill (Loud Emily). Bullies are people, too, and sometimes nothing is quite so effective as ingenuous disarmament. Big, bold, funny acrylic and collage illustrations by Laura Huliska-Beith (The Book of Bad Ideas) bounce right along with the text. (Ages 5 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

The goal of our Social Development Book-of-the-Month is to integrate literature and concomitant language arts objectives with themes and ideas that support our social development program.

The Chester Public Library is graciously partnering with us on our social development Book-of-the-Month initiative. Our Book-of-the-Month is displayed at the library, and there are multiple copies available for families to borrow, so that the discussion begun at school can be shared and extended at home.

HEALTH OFFICE NEWS

FOOTWEAR FOR RECESS

In order to keep our kids safe at recess, it's important that they are wearing proper shoes while playing. Please make sure your child has sneakers or closed toe shoes for recess time. Flip flops and sandals should not be worn on the playground. Thank you for your cooperation!

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PTO NEWS

YANKEE CANDLE SALES GOING ON NOW!

Our 2nd Annual Yankee Candle Fundraiser is in full swing and runs until October 9th.

Besides the Catalog that went home with your students, the best way to sell (& to shop) is online. Shopping online is easy, convenient and you receive your items sooner with faster delivery.

To sell online, click: https://www.yankeecandlefundraising.com/scripts/ycfwcgi.exe?_V4=Process&_Func=genWebPage&page=sellerlogin&frComp=ycf. Simply fill out the "Signup to be a seller" form and use the CES PTO group number: 990067377 to register. After you create a seller account, you can email the link to Family and Friends to make purchases. You can even post the link on your Facebook page! Purchases will be shipped directly to customers' homes.

If you are not interested in selling and would prefer to give a 100% tax-deductible donation, simply write a check to CES PTO and submit to the school, Attn: CES PTO.

If you did not receive a catalog or have any questions, please contact Yankee Candle Fundraiser Co-Chairs: Melissa Hays, mismarz@hotmail.com or Dawn Saunders, dawnsaunders91@yahoo.com.

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Chester Elementary School

"It Takes a World of Differences to Make a Difference in this World"
23 Ridge Road / Chester, CT 06412 / 860-526-5797
www.ces.reg4.k12.ct.us