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March 24, 2016
Volume 4 / Issue 28
 
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Note from Dr. Beekley
- Girl Scouts Clean Up School Grounds
- CES S.T.E.A.M. Fair
- March Fitness Calendar
- CES Lunch Accounts
- Social Development News
- Social Development Books from CES Library
- PTO Fun Run Challenge
- Community News 


Thursday, March 24th
- PTO Book Fair
(7:00 am-2:00 pm)
- 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
(6:15-7:30 pm - Gymnasium)

Wednesday, March 30th
- S.T.E.A.M. Fair Judging
- Kindergarten Orientation
(6:30 pm - Gymnasium)

Thursday, March 31st
- Grade 6 Field Trip to JW Musical
(9:00 am - JW Middle School)

Saturday, April 9th
- PTO Fun Run (Rain Date April 10th)

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

Tuesday, May 24th
- Grade 1 Field Trip to Theaterworks

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)

Tuesday, June 7th
- Grade 3 Field Trip to British Art Museum & Yale Art Gallery
- Grade 6 Field Trip to Puerto Vallarta Restaurant

Wednesday, June 8th
- Grade 4 Field Trip to State Capitol

Thursday, June 9th
- Grade 1 Field Trip to The Children's Museum

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     
 
Report cards have been distributed to all students. If you did not receive your child's report card, please contact the school.  

Report cards can bring out powerful emotions. The key to dealing with your child's report card-good or bad-is to stay CALM.

C - Control. If the report card was disappointing, your first instinct might be to get angry. If it was very good, you might want to gush. Neither response will be helpful. Overreacting about your child's grades, good or bad, will only de-motivate him/her.
A - Affirm. Separate the report card from your child. Even if the grades were less than stellar, s/he is not a bad child. Start from the position, "I love you. Now let's talk about this report card." If your child did well, affirm their hard work and effort.
L - Listen. Your child may have a very good idea of why s/he got good (or poor) grades. Ask, "What did you do this marking period that worked so well?" Let him/her say
that doing homework paid off by leading to a better math grade. Similarly, if the report card is disappointing, help your child figure out what s/he could do better.
M - Motivate. Come up with a plan for the next report card. If things are working well, encourage your child to continue doing his/her best. If there are areas of weakness, help him/her make a plan so s/he can do better next time.

If you have specific concerns that you would like to discuss, the classroom teacher and support staff in the building are always here to support and help you and your child.

Joanne D. Beekley, Ed.D. 
Principal        
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
GIRL SCOUTS CLEAN UP!
 
Thank you to Girl Scout Troop 62758 for cleaning up our grounds last Friday. Great job, ladies!
 
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S.T.E.A.M. FAIR 
 
Our S.T.E.A.M. Fair Open House will be held on March 29th. Participating students need to bring their completed projects with display board and log to school on the morning of Tuesday, March 29th. To avoid drop off congestion, please bring your child's project to school starting at 7:30 am on Tuesday. The judging of student inventions will take place in the morning on March 30th. More details were sent home with your child earlier this week.

Full STEAM ahead!
 
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MARCH FITNESS CALENDAR  
 
At Chester Elementary School, we encourage our students to be physically active both inside and outside of the school setting.

Our March Fitness Calendar offers you and your child simple ideas for how to integrate physical activities throughout a busy day. Check it out for ways to get your whole family moving! 
Please click here for the March Fitness Calendars.

 
CES LUNCH ACCOUNTS
 
Many cafeteria accounts are not up-to-date, and we ask that all accounts be brought current. If you receive a letter with a lunch deficit, please be sure to include all of the information on the check or the front of the envelope if payment is sent to school. You may also pay on-line at any time. Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated by all of us.
 
 
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT NEWS 
 
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

Service-Learning Project
Our winter service-learning project is in collaboration with Connecticut Children's Medical Center. Our students will be making coloring books for the patients at CCMC. Along with that, we are asking families to donate used crayons with the paper removed. This service-learning project began on Tuesday, March 15th and will run through Thursday, March 24th. Our Social Development Committee members will be making fun shaped crayons to send along with the coloring books.
 
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THEMES

The Social Development Theme for the month of March is Honesty. The Social Development Book of the Month is  Olive and the Big Secret. Please enjoy a description of the book below.
                                              
When Molly shares a secret with Olive, the urge to tell is just too great! Olive tells Joe who tells Matt who tells Lola. But Lola is best friends with Molly. Uh-oh, the secret is out, and Olive is in for it!

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.

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SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT BOOKS AVAILABLE FROM CES LIBRARY 
 
Our Social Development theme of the month for March is Honesty. There are many excellent books in our library about honesty. A few will be featured during March and any may be borrowed from the library to be shared with your family. Just email Mrs. Moshier at bmoshier@reg4.k12.ct.us to request the book, and she will send it home with your child. 

The Summer My Father Was Ten by Pat Brisson     
   
A father tells his daughter the story of how he damaged a neighbor's tomato garden when he was a boy and what he did to make amends.   

The Principal's New Clothes by Stephanie Calmenson 
  
The vain principal of P.S. 88 is persuaded by tailors that they will make him a suit that will only be visible to intelligent people good at their jobs.

More True Lies: 18 Tales for You to Judge told by George Shannon 
 
Presents a collection of eighteen brief folktales in which the reader is asked to explain how the folk character lied and told the truth at the same time.

On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer  

When his best friend drowns while they are both swimming in a river that they had promised never to go near, Joel is terrified at having to tell both sets of parents what has happened.

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PTO NEWS
 
PTO FUN RUN CHALLENGE - DEADLINE EXTENDED

*The Fun Run registration deadline has been extended to Tuesday, March 29th!*

The 2016 Fun Run Challenge takes on a whole new flare with challenging obstacles that participants can navigate to test their physical ability at their own pace.

We've corrected the flyer to clarify that there is no fee required to participate, but we hope that all will make an effort to raise sponsor money to support this PTO fundraiser. Not only is this event a healthy way for your child to spend the morning, all the proceeds go right back to CES to support enrichment activities throughout the year. Every $25 raised gets an entry into a drawing for prizes like sports gear, ice cream, day camp and other certificates for kid friendly businesses.

Last year's event was a huge success, and we hope with the addition of the obstacle course we can even do better!

Please see the Chalk Talk Digital Backpack, or click on the following links, for the Fun Run Flyer, Registration Form and Sponsor Form.

Thank You! 
CES PTO

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COMMUNITY NEWS 
 
CHESTER PARKS AND RECREATION
 
Chester Parks and Recreation
Celebrating Community through People, Parks and Programs! 

Please call 860-526-0013, x223 or email parkrec@chesterct.org for availability before submitting registration.

MAKE A SPLASH THIS SUMMER!   

We are an outdoor program specializing in waterfront activities! Our Camp Counselors are Certified Lifeguards.  

Summer Camp availability the week of:  June 27 = 7 spaces, July 5 = 4 spaces, July 11 = 1 space, July 18 = waiting list, July 25 = 10 spaces (includes swimming lessons), August 1 = 10 spaces (includes swimming lessons), August 8 = waiting list, August 15 = waiting list, Introduction to Camp for ages 4 & 5 July 5 = 1 space (includes swimming lessons)

Our SUMMER CAMP rivals any camp in the area!
We offer swimming, sports, science & nature, arts & crafts, team building, and more, but unlike many camps, children choose most of what they wish to participate in throughout the day from a variety of programmed activities. It is open to children entering grades 1 through 7, and the hours are from 8:15am until 3:45pm, the weeks of June 27, July 5, July 11, July 18, July 25, August 1, August 8, and August 15, at Chester Elementary School on Mondays, Fridays and severe weather days, and Cedar Lake on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The children take field trips on Fridays. The fee is $115 per child, per week, and payable at the time of registration. The weeks of July 5 (SEE INTRODUCTION TO CAMP BELOW) and August 15 are 4-day weeks without a field trip, for $80 each. The weeks of July 5, July 25, August 1 and August 15 are open to children entering Kindergarten, too!

INTRODUCTION TO CAMP for children ages 4 and 5 meets from 8:15am until 3:45pm, Tuesday and Friday at Chester Elementary School and Wednesday and Thursday at Cedar Lake, July 5th through 8th with staff and programming designed specifically to meet the needs of younger children. Activities include games, sports, crafts, nature, teacher led swimming and story time. The children have their own teachers, lunch time, and activities in their group of 8 to 12 campers, running concurrently with our grades 1 through 7 camp, at the same location. The cost is $80 for the 4-day week.

SWIMMING LESSONS are included in the Introduction to Camp program and by request, for all ages, the weeks of July 25 and August 1.

 
YMCA SUMMER CAMP

For information on the Valley Shore YMCA Summer Camp, please see the Chalk Talk Digital Backpack, or click here.

 
LITTLE LEAGUE SIGN UPS!
 
New for the 2016 season -  Chester and Deep River Little League will merge into one League.

You may sign up now at www.deepriverll.com.

Important Dates/Info:

4/30 - Opening day:  Place and time TBD

5/2 - Golf Tournament:  Info to follow

6/4 - Yard Goats Game

If there are any questions or concerns please feel free to contact Bryan Knudsen at bryanknudsen@yahoo.com or 760-271-8274 after 3pm. Thank you.

 
REGION 4 COLLABORATIVE PRESCHOOL  
 
The Region 4 Collaborative Preschool is seeking community children for the 2016-2017 school year. The Collaborative Preschool is an integrated setting located at Essex Elementary School. We offer preschool and prekindergarten classes for children with and without special needs. Children being considered for the program must reside in Deep River, Chester or Essex and be 3 by September 1st. Applications are due by April 12, 2016. For more information about our program, the enrollment process and to download an application, please visit the Collaborative Preschool link on the Region 4 School District website http://www.reg4.k12.ct.us or contact the staff at (860) 767-3195 or (860) 767-8215 before or after school hours.
 
 
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