9-4-22 PAW'S PRESS

Dear Cherokee Families,

It was so nice to see so many of you at Sneak Peek/Curriculum Night! We loved seeing the smiling faces of so many students! We can't wait to see them on the first day of school! Thank you to our amazing PTO for setting up our selfie stations, popsicle stand and many other beautiful displays. An extra thank you to our student leaders who helped greet our families.

Our first day of school will be a half day which officially ends at 11:25 AM. For safety reasons we do a staggered dismisssal which starts a few minutes before this. Plenty of staff will be supervising both arrival and dismissal. For full days of school our day officially ends at 3:14 PM and we begin our staggered dismissal at approximately 3:08 PM for walkers/parent pick up.

As in the past, the Paw's Press newsletters will include key information and typically will be sent on Sundays. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help make the school year a success for you and your child! See you soon!

Sincerely,

Heather Batko

Cherokee Principal

hbatko@cvs.k12.mi.us

Click to visit: CVS Transportation Webpage

Click here or below to access step-by-step directions on locating your Bus Stop Information

Click here to log in to VersaTrans

In December, some CVS schools piloted a new bus tracking system. This system is now available to Cherokee Families as well! Click on the MyStop button below for more information.

Bus Riders:

• Busses may run slightly late picking up students the first few days of school as our drivers and students learn their new routes. It is still recommended that students arrive at their bus stop 10 minutes prior to their scheduled time.
  
• Busses may run slightly late for drop off this week since students and drivers are learning their routes.
• Directions on accessing Transportation information can be found below.

Walkers/Riders:

• Walkers/Riders should line up and be dismissed from their classroom entrance doors. Teachers will pick-up their students from their entrance at 8:25 when the morning music begins.
  
• A map of grade level entrances can be found below.
  

Parking Lot:

• Please review the Parking Lot procedures below to know your student's entrance and exit.
• Staff will be present in the Parking Lot, Bus Loop and Building Entrances to help ensure a safe and smooth arrival and dismissal process at the start of next week.
• We ask for your patience and support as our new families learn the process and our returning families get back-in-the-swing-of-things :)

• We would love for our students to help design the 2022-2023 Cherokee class t-shirts.
• Submission forms for the t-shirt design contest will come home the first week of school and should be returned by 9/9/22.
  
• Designs must be in black and white.
• Designs must incorporate a Cherokee and Hollywood design theme.
• Top designs will be voted on by the student body.
• The winning design will be printed on all the class shirts for the 2022-2023 school year.
• The winner will receive free entry into all PTO sponsored events for the 2022-2023 school year.
• The t-shirts are purchased for all Cherokee students by our amazing PTO!

• PTO will be hosting a "Sip and Sob" the first day of school in the media center at 8:45 AM.
• Parents who would like to attend the Sip and Sob would need to drop off their children and enter the school through the main entrance (Door 1).
• Whether you are shouting "Woooohooo" or "Boohoo", come join us for some coffee and conversation.
• This will be a very low key way to help our families connect with each other and the school community.

Click here for the link to the district calendar. Printable versions are available at this site as well.

Hot lunch must be ordered at least one day in advance.

Click here to order hot lunch.

Click here for a printable version of the hot lunch menu.

• During the past two years, free breakfast and lunch have been offered to all students. However, this year families will need to have a 2022-2023 approved application on file for free breakfast/lunch benefits.
• Families must complete a new application each year.The 2022/2023 application may be completed online at https://www.chippewavalley.familyportal.cloud.
• There can be no exception to the due date of October 14th.

• Completing this application is the only way to be considered for free or reduced meals this school year. Please click on the "Meal Changes Letter" link below from the Chippewa Valley Food & Nutrition Services Department for details.

• Meal Changes Letter

• Students who do not have an approved 2022/2023 application on file as of October 14, 2022, will no longer receive meal benefits.
• Please see the document below with key information.
• Free breakfast will take place before the start of the school day(approximately 8:00 AM-8:30 AM). Breakfast services beging September 12th. If a student is not eligible for free breakfast, they are still welcome to purchase breakfast. See information below.
• For the 2022-2023 school year, families who do not qualify for free or reduced meals will resume paying full prices for school meals.
  
• Click here to access the Food Services website.

• We have many students at Cherokee with severe peanut/tree nut allergies. Therefore peanuts/tree nuts products and products contaminated in a facility that processes peanuts/tree nuts will not be allowed for certain classes, common areas, etc.
• Due to the severity of some of our students with allergies it has been asked that some classes avoid bringing peanut/tree nut products for both lunch and snacks consumed in the classroom. Other classes have only been asked to avoid bringing peanut/tree nut products for snacks consumed in the classroom. Guidelines have been communicated to individual classrooms/grade levels. Please contact your child's teacher if you have any questions about the guidelines for your child's classroom.
• The link for the Snack Safely Guide is below. This guide has many great many recommendations for foods do not have peanuts, tree nuts and are not processed in facility with these items. This guide updates regularly so it is best to check the link below rather than printing.
• Click here for the Snack Safely Guide.

• A new district practice is in place for volunteer background check.
• The coordinator of the event/volunteer opportunity will let our office know the volunteers for an event, classroom volunteer opportunity,etc.
• The office will send the digital volunteer background check form to those individuals. Therefore, we won't be able to post the form on this newsletter/website. The link/documents that were previously posted below have been deleted for this reason. Thank you for your patience.
• Once the link is sent to a parent and it is filled out, it goes directly to central office digitally.

Please remember, ALL of the policies and procedures put in place at Cherokee are intended to keep our children safe. Many of these policies are district-wide and can either be found in the CVS Return to School Guidelines, the CVS Student Code-of-Conduct, or Cherokee's Paws' Policies & Procedures. Links can be found below.

We appreciate your understanding and appreciate those families who continue to model kindess, patience, and respect. You make a difference & we are all doing the best that we can!

Please Remember:

• Adults are to remain outside of the building and must be "buzzed-in" by the front office.
• All adults must show their ID at the entrance if they need to drop something off or pick-up their child early.
• Contact information must be up-to-date in case we need to contact your family.
• We release children to only those people listed on your child's PowerSchool contact list.
• Changes in your child's dismissal process must be called in no later than 2:30 so we can be sure to get the information to our staff.
• Families are asked to preorder lunch using the online ordering system below.
• Refrain from parking on Rivergate near the school including the bus loop.

A NOTE FROM MRS. ASHLEY

For families looking to register for SACC

• SACC registration is first come first served.
• Due to limited staff and capacity limits some registrations may not be approved at this time until more staff are available.
• As staffing levels increase, so will our ability to enroll more students. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
  
• Once your registration application is submitted you must receive a registration approval email before your child can attend.
• Registrations will remain pending in the system and will be approved as openings become available.

For families currently enrolled in SACC

• Adding on additional days other than what was originally scheduled may be limited at this time due to student and staff ratios. You will be notified if your schedule change can be approved (some days may be available where others may not)
• If your child does not need to attend on a scheduled day please remove them from the schedule to open up a spot for someone else.

We appreciate your understanding at this time and anticipate more staff to be available soon. Until then we must adhere to the Licensing Rules for Child Care Centers and stay within the required student to staff ratios. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

NOTE: SACC will continue to remain peanut/tree nut fee.

Ashley Murphy

Cherokee SACC Director

(586) 723-4860

• CLICK HERE to access the CVS SACC informational page.

COVID-19 Update- Keeping our students and staff healthy and in the classroom is our top priority. We have updated our COVID-19 webpage and guidelines with the latest information from the Macomb County Health Department. Masks will remain optional for students and staff members. We are still requesting that families utilize the COVID-19 reporting form for positive cases. Individuals that test positive for COVID-19 are required to quarantine for 5 days, with the onset of symptoms or date of positive test being day 0. Upon returning to school, masking is strongly encouraged for days 6-10. Individuals that have been a close contact should monitor for symptoms and stay home if they feel ill. The district will no longer report positive cases on our website.

COVID Updates

Click image to access site for more information.

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Website: https://www.chippewavalleyschools.org/schools/elementary-schools/cherokee/
Location: 42900 Rivergate Drive, Clinton Township, MI, USA
Phone: 586-723-4800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CherokeeWildcats