The CPES BobChat

All month, we've been looking at good habits to foster in our children. Helping them know how to do hard things is so beneficial. It helped many of our faculty members adapt to a new country or pursue an advanced degree or teach more than twenty years. It helped the Winthrop Men's Basketball team persist in three overtime games this season. It leads to great success in deeply acquiring a second language (for all our kids.) How can we encourage our children to do hard things? 1. Allow them to try. Often, we want to keep their lives pain free and easy. Sometimes, we can be the most limiting factor when they want to do something outside their comfort zone that may not yield immediate success. There have been a number of times when my kids told me they were going "outside the box" and I desperately wanted to tell them, "What are you thinking?" It was hard to stay quiet and be supportive. In those situations, they learned so much more than I could have imagined and they developed much stronger character muscles. 2. Point out how they've done hard things in the past. Some of our children may not be as adventurous and may need a little nudging from us to do some hard things. When you know this opportunity may be good for them but they are afraid to take the risk, remind them when they have overcome obstacles in the past. For CPES kids, a great reminder is "If you've learned all your math, science and literacy in French/Spanish, you can easily learn how to do ___________." This is always true for our little ones. Remembering past wins can help them have confidence to do something challenging. 3. Clarify what success means. Our children need to know that success is having the courage to do their best in a new arena. It is making their best effort. The "try" is always more important than the "win." Some great questions (for all of us) when we do something hard are, "What are we learning in this situation? How are we growing? How are we getting better?" There may come a point where we help them decide that it is good to stop that activity and move on. Knowing when to bring closure on a new effort takes wisdom. We still want to reframe the experience for our children and clarify the takeaways that were good and meaningful. As the old saying goes, we want to help them "fall forward."

Persistence, endurance and perseverance are challenging character traits to develop in our children and in ourselves. Let's commit to look for those opportunities to model them for our kids and encourage them to do hard things.

Strength and Blessings,

Mr. Maness

1. January Teacher Appreciation--Thank you so much for the donations for the basket and our new planners. We also appreciate Mrs. Lauren Butler who provided a coffee truck for our teachers when they returned to school on January 8. We are so blessed to have such supportive parents at Cherry Park. (See pictures above.)

2. January Birthday Book Club Signups--It is time to celebrate with the Birthday Book Club again. This month we are celebrating the January birthdays. Our celebration will be on . Each child receives a free book of their choosing for their birthday! We need volunteers to help distribute the books during each students lunch time. You will find the sign up time slots on the sign up genius linked. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE AN APPROVED VOLUNTEER THROUGH THE DISTRICT! It is district policy that all volunteers have been approved. Thank you so much for your help! Click here to sign up to help: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D49A4A923AAFBC70-47163967-january#/

3. School of Choice Applications--The Choice Application Window opens January 22 through February 23. All rising kindergarten students who currently have siblings in the program will need to complete the Choice application to secure a spot for next year. We will host two parent meetings and will soon send a schedule for when those will be. The District Choice Fair will be Thursday, February 1 at Castle Heights Middle School from 6:00-7:30 PM. Currently enrolled students at Cherry Park do not have to reapply for next year (unless you are in the fifth grade. See Fifth Grade Parent Information below.) Here is the link for the District School of Choice Site for more information: https://www.rock-hill.k12.sc.us/site/Default.aspx?PageID=8539

4. Sullivan Academic Night for Fifth Graders--Please see attached flyer about the Sullivan Middle Academic Night on Wednesday, January 24 from 5:00-6:00 for Fifth Graders. This is a time to visit with Sullivan and connect with their faculty and staff. You can also learn about programs at Sullivan and services that will be available to your child and family. This is not the "Official District Middle School Orientation" that will be later in March but it is a great time to get to know Sullivan better. Click on picture above for more information.

5. FUTURE CHEFS Culinary Competition--Looking for a way to highlight the gifts and talents of your students? Invite them to submit their favorite breakfast recipe to compete in the FUTURE CHEFS competition at the Applied Technology Center on February 14. The deadline is quickly approaching - the deadline for submission is January 31. Please see flyer below in English and Spanish.

6. Valentine's Day Parties--Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Our Valentine's parties are the one time when we can have additional options that are not on the District Snack List. We still need to be mindful of food allergy issues in our homerooms. Our teachers know best what is the right balance of fun, food and activities for that day. They will communicate what they may need to celebrate "The Day of Love." If you have questions, let them know. Here are additional district reminders about Valentine's Day parties.

• Valentine’s Day is the only day exempt from the approved snack list as indicated in Policy ADF.

• All food must be store bought with a food ingredient label. No homemade treats are allowed. If snack/individual size candy is provided in goodie bags, the food ingredient label must also be available to review for allergens.

• There will be a process in place to check food ingredient labels prior to giving food/candy to students. Nurses can double check a label if the teacher/staff has a question but cannot be responsible for checking all food that comes into the school for Valentine’s Day.

• Be mindful - the Brach’s conversation hearts are manufactured in a plant also processing peanuts/tree nuts and dairy. These are NOT safe for our peanut/tree nut/dairy allergy kids. Teachers should not use these in classroom activities related to Valentine’s Day if they have students with these allergies.

7. 5th Grade Parent Information--Here is the link to the presentation from December about the Middle (and High) School Immersion Program. At the end of the presentation, there is a QR code for the Letter of Intent to continue in the program at Sullivan Middle. There is also a button below for the Letter of Intent. This is due on February 24, 2024 but we wanted you to have this now.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oOWWAqum-RZXHnDtno3W__HXVpZND7xm/edit#slide=id.p6

8. Yearbooks--Are now on sale. To guarantee your student receives a copy of the yearbook be sure to place your order no later than 11:59pm on Sunday, April 21, 2024. For more information to order, click on tab below.

9. Fifth Grade Recognition--We know it is a bit early, but we wanted to be sure you have on your calendar that our 5th Grade Recognition will be Friday, May 31 at 9:00 in the Sullivan Auditorium. Please do not arrive any earlier than 8:30. We want to allow Sullivan to complete their arrival process before we use their drives and parking areas.

January 22--School of Choice Application Window Opens; 5:30 PM SIC; 6:30 PM PTO (Rescheduled due to Bad Weather)

February 1--6:00-7:30 PM District School of Choice Fair at Castle Heights Middle School

February 12--5:30 PM SIC Meeting; 6:30 PM PTO Meeting

February 14--Valentine's Day

February 15--Student Holiday and Teacher Professional Development Day

February 16--Student Holiday and Teacher Workday

February 19--President's Day Holiday (Bad Weather Makeup Day)

February 23--School of Choice Application Window Closes

May 31--9:00 AM 5th Grade Recognition at Sullivan Auditorium

School Improvement Council--This group seeks to determine how Cherry Park Elementary can be the best school it can be. It is a sounding board and feedback group for the school and district. Members are elected for two year terms. Members of this year's Council include Celia Kerr, Ashley Petit, Latisha Givens, Scott Kennedy, Chelsea Eichorn, Jennifer Hutchinson and Matthew Query. Ex-Officio Members are Mr. Maness (Principal) and Mrs. Futrelle (Assistant Principal). Meetings are held at Cherry Park on the second Monday of each month at 5:30 PM. All parents are invited to attend.

Parent Teacher Organization--This group has three main goals: Raising funds for the school, appreciating the staff and securing volunteers as needed. The Cherry Park PTO is a 501c3 tax deductible organization. Meetings are held at Cherry Park on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 PM (right after the SIC meetings.) All parents are invited to attend. All financial records are distributed and updated at each month's meeting. Officers this year are Amanda Winters (President), Emmanuel Daniel (Vice-President), Celia Kerr (Secretary) and Michelle Dawkins (Treasurer). We appreciate all of our sponsors (above) who contributed to our Bobcat Dash this year.

"What Did Martin Luther King, Jr. Say?" January 14, 2024 https://www.smore.com/1c2ze

"Can One Word Make a Difference This Year?" January 7, 2024 https://www.smore.com/p9n3v5

"How Can We Manage Expectations during the Holidays?" December 17, 2023 https://www.smore.com/ceswg

"How Can We Give the "Best Gift Ever?" December 10, 2023 https://www.smore.com/1p0kd

"How Can We Find a Silent Night?" December 3, 2023 https://www.smore.com/n/p2zes

"What Reminds Me to Be Grateful?" November 12, 2023 https://www.smore.com/pvds3

"Is It about the Grade or the Learning?" November 5, 2023 https://www.smore.com/4hkq0

"Who Made a Difference at the Bobcat Dash?" October 29, 2023 https://www.smore.com/wcqun

"What Do You Need to Know about Bobcat Dash?" October 22, 2023 https://www.smore.com/f19ry

"What Special Events are Coming Up?" October 15, 2023 https://www.smore.com/brvz5

"What's It Really Like at CPES?" October 8, 2023 https://www.smore.com/a7chr

"How Do We Respond to Safety Situations? Part 2" October 1, 2023 https://www.smore.com/k9uet

"How Do We Respond to Safety Situations? Part 1" September 24, 2023 https://www.smore.com/n4c67

"How Can I Volunteer at CPES?" September 17, 2023 https://www.smore.com/7v8ky

"What CRAzy Model Do We Use for Math Instruction?" September 10, 2023 https://www.smore.com/kfbg7

"What Do We Need to Know about Arrival?" September 3, 2023 https://www.smore.com/fc0kd

"Did You Know that a Bobcat 'ROARS?"' August 27, 2023 https://www.smore.com/0g7qv

"What Do We Need to Remember as We Start Back" August 20, 2023 https://www.smore.com/yrt38

"Techno

logy Forms and Fees"--August 25, 2023 https://www.smore.com/72qcg

"How Can We Work Together to Keep Everyone Safe?" August 13, 2023 https://www.smore.com/6cbtm

"How Can Checklists Help You Start a New Year?" August 6, 2023 https://www.smore.com/0jyx61

"Who Are the Newest Hires and What Are the Latest Changes with Technology?" July 30, 2023 https://www.smore.com/z6qnp

"What's the Latest News at Cherry Park" July 16, 2023 https://www.smore.com/w9pth

"Challenger Be Great Academy Update" June 23, 2023 https://www.smore.com/8hqka

"What Staffing Changes Have Been Made at CPES?" June 18, 2023 https://www.smore.com/e0vr2