12-4-22 PAW'S PRESS

Dear Cherokee Families,

We are so lucky to have so much family/community involvement here at Cherokee. Whether you are volunteering or supporting our students in other ways, please know how much we appreciate your partnership. Thank you to our PTO for coordinating last week's Santa's Shop and the upcoming Holiday Party. More details are below.

GIVING TREE - Our community is here for each other in times of abundance and need. If your family is experiencing abundance and is willing to provide help to a family in need, please scroll down to our "Help Cherokee Families" section of the newsletter. If your family is in need this year, please scroll down to our "Giving Tree" section of the newsletter. The deadline to donate or make a request for support is this Monday, December 5th.

Upcoming Important Events:

• DECEMBER LUNCH MENU/ORDERING AVAILABLE - See below
• PTO Meeting - December 5th at 6:00 PM Cherokee Media Center
  
• Report Cards Go Home - December 7th
• PTO Holiday Party Event - December 9th (6:00-8:00 PM) - details below
• PTO Cookie Sales Delivery - Thursday, December 15th 2:30 PM - 6:00 PM(front hallway) It is helpful for families to pick up deliveries after the end of the school day. If you arrive before this time, please buzz the office.
• Classroom Parties - December 20th (teachers will communicate party times, format and volunteer needs)
• Sing-a-long & PJ/Movie Day - December 21st
• Half Day - December 21st (Dismissal Times:11: 18 AM SACC/Safety/Service Squad, 11:21 AM Walkers/Parent Pick Up, 11:25 AM Bussers)

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help make the school year a success for you and your child!

Sincerely,

Heather Batko

Cherokee Principal

hbatko@cvs.k12.mi.us

INFO FROM PTO:

Join your Cherokee family on Friday, December 9, 2022 from 6pm to 8pm as we welcome the holiday season with a magical evening by bringing The Polar Express to Cherokee! Cost is $5 per participating child (if you intend to have your child participate in ANY way, we request you contribute the $5 to cover all costs, and to give us an accurate head count). Your child will enjoy hot cocoa and cookies, will make their own reindeer food, make some fun crafts... oh AND SEE SANTA!!!!

Link to sign up: https://checkout.square.site/buy/7GCGLDE2MABPX5DOAF3EQWJC

Please note the PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED so we can get an accurate head count.

We look forward to seeing everyone for another great PTO event!!

• See below for note. Hard copies were sent home.
• Thank you for your generosity!

As the holiday season quickly approaches, our Cherokee Community is offering our families the opportunity to participate in our Annual Giving Tree event. If your family is in need of support, please complete the form below. In order to receive support, all submissions must be completed online by Monday, December 5th. Please contact Mrs. Gilbert, social worker, if you have any questions at 586-723-4840.

Click here to complete the form.

Click here to order hot lunch for December.

Click here for the link to the printable December lunch menu.

Just a reminder, students continue to go outside for recess when it is 20 degrees or above (including if the wind chill factor 'feels like' below 20 ). Please make sure that your students come prepared with hats/gloves/snow pants/boots etc. Families may want to label these items with their child's name to make it easier for lost items to find their owner.

All children go out for recess unless a doctor's note has been submitted/is on file in the main office indicating otherwise.

Safety is our top priority! You can help staff, students and families stay safe by doing the following:

• Please only enter the building through Door 1/main entrance. Students/staff may be let in through many doors in the building. However, adult family members/guests should only enter through Door 1/main entrance by buzzing the office.
• Please do not park on Rivergate near our bus loop and school parking lot. This is a safety issue for students and drivers trying to navigate the sidewalks and parking lot. This section of Rivergate should not be used as an alternate drive pick up/ drop off lane. This limits visibility for walkers, parent pick up students and drivers.
• Please utilize parking spots for vehicles. If parking spots are not utlized properly it causes visibility and safety issues. This is key to keeping our cross walk clear and allow visiblity for children crossing.
• Police have been visiting our school and will enforce these protocols so that everyone is safe.

If you are sending someone else to pick up your child, please make them aware of these safety protocols. Thank you in advance for your support and cooperation.

• Thank you to Russ Milne Ford for sponsoring our class t-shirts!
• Russ Milne Ford is located at the corner of M-59 and Gratiot (24777 Hall Road, Macomb 48042)
• Sales Department 586-842-0653
• Service Department 586-840-8285
• Click here for the Russ Milne Ford website.

Our lunch monitor position was re-posted. Click here to apply

If you would be willing to fill in as a substitute lunch monitor please complete the application at Edustaff.org.

Additionally, we are setting up a volunteer program called Paw's Pals for families to volunteer in the cafeteria. More information will be coming home soon.

• We are so excited to welcome volunteers back into our cafeteria once again! See the flyer below!
• Please understand that these volunteers are not in place of lunch monitors.
• Our lunch monitors will be responsible for supervising the students, cleaning, etc.
• Paw's Pals volunteers will have time to chat with students and build relationships during lunch. If recess is outdoors, they are also welcome to go outside and spend recess with students.
• This program is very similar to the Watch D.O.G.S program that was in place at Cherokee prior to the pandemic. It is not limited to male volunteers as the Watch D.O.G.S program was.
• Just like any other school volunteer, our Paw's Pals volunteers will respect the privacy of our students.
  
• In order to participate in the program there are 2 steps to complete.
• Step One: Click here to select a date in November. OR Click here to select a date in December. OR click here to select a date in January. Keep in mind that if your 2022-2023 volunteer background check is not on file, it takes two weeks to process.
• Step Two: Click here to complete the Paw's Pals Application. The volunteer background check is a part of this application.
• Please give our main office a call at least 48 hours prior to your volunteer date if you are note sure if your background check has been approved. If you already know that you have a background check on file for this school year, you may come to the main office on the date you have selected.

• Throughout the school year we are required to complete 5 fire drills, 3 lockdown drills and 2 tornado drills.
• We have already completed our first three fire drills and two lockdown drills. The students did a great job!
• We do not tell families or students the exact dates/times of these drills for safety reasons.
  
• The book, I'm Not Scared I'm Prepared, that is utilized for the lockdown drills is below in a PDF format in case you would like to review it with your family. This book is used at all elementary schools in the district.
• Our teachers do a great job of reviewing procedures in a way that makes students feel safe.
• We just had our first cardiac drill on 11/17. The cardiac drills are unannounced even to our staff. The purpose of the drills is for our staff to be able to respond quickly to a cardiac emergency. A notification will be sent home after each cardiac drill.
  

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.

From Transportation (on 9/11) - E-Link has resolved the issue with the server. All student passwords were reset to the 8-digit birthdate, and you will have to reset the password again, but this time you will not get the error. E-Link has since been reactivated and you are able to log in any time.

Full Day Dismissal Times:

3:05 SACC, Safety & Service Squad

3:08 Walkers & parent pick up

3:12 Bussers

Half Day Dismissal Times

11: 18 AM - SACC, Safety and Service Squad

11:21 AM - Walkers and Parent Pick Up

11:25 AM - Bussers

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 love celebrating birthdays at school! Please send treats that are prepackaged, include ingredients, and are individually wrapped.

If your child is placed in a peanut/tree nut free classroom, the treats should be peanut/tree nut free as well. We should avoid sending snacks that have been processed in a facility with peanuts/tree nuts. Thank you!

If you have any questions about birthday treats, please reach out to your child's teacher. Thank you!

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

• 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.

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.

If you would like to be a Cherokee Elementary sponsor please contat our PTO at 35pto@cvs.k12.mi.us or call our main office.

We choose to Inspire, Believe, Achieve & LEAD!

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

https://www.facebook.com/CherokeeWildcats

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CherokeePTO/