9-18-22 PAW'S PRESS

Dear Cherokee Families,

It is hard to believe that the first day of fall is already upon us this week! The start of fall and a new school year can bring exciting new beginnings as well as new challenges. We are here to support our students in all the new adventures they will have this year!

Please see below for important transportation updates and the student information verification process for this year. If your child has any health updates, please contact Mrs. Shawn Rhodes (school health aide) at srhodes@cvs.k12.mi.us

ONE FREE CLASS SHIRT PER CHILD - PTO and Russ Milne Ford will purchase a class shirt for each student. Click here to order a free t-shirt for your child. You will need to complete this form/link for each child. If you know a company interested in sponsoring our class shirts or other events at Cherokee, please scroll down to the bottom of this newsletter for sponsor information. Thank you!

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!

Sincerely,

Heather Batko

Cherokee Principal

hbatko@cvs.k12.mi.us

We received this info from transportation at the end of the day on Friday. It has been sent out to familes. Transportation will give us updated lists on Monday.

Dear Route 43 and 64 families,

As we evaluate our routing system, we have made some changes to your route. Please check the E-Link portal to review your students stop information. Username is the student’s id number and password is the 8-digit birthdate. E-Link can be found here - https://versatransweb07.tylertech.com/Chippewa/elinkrp/Login.aspx

This change will be effective Monday, September 19th, 2022.

Kind regards,

Mahlon Williams

Transportation Director

Chippewa Valley Schools

• PowerSchool login information was sent home last week. Please keep this information in a safe place. You will use this information to log into the Parent Portal.
• The document below gives directions for how to verify/update student contact information, verify/update student addresses. Please review your child's information to make sure that it is correct. Thank you for your help with this!
• The document also explains how to verify receipt of other items such as the handbook, etc. This digital process will help eliminate papers being sent back and forth to school.

The district fall benchmark window opened on 9/12 and will close on 9/30.

• Students in Grades K-3 will take the FastBridge Assessment.
• Students in Grades 4-5 will take the NWEA assessment.
• To watch a 3-minute video describing the NWEA/MAP assessment for parents, go to: https://vimeo.com/230226438.
• For a video on the FastBridge assessment, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCbEThKdpQk&t=14s

Our school works in partnership with parents and the transportation department to keep our students safe. With a new school year, there are always ways we can improve our processes. Feel free to contact our office if a new issue needs to be brought to our attention. Our team works very hard to problem solve any issues. We have many staff members with our children at the bus loop for arrival and dismissal that are also happy to help. SCROLL DOWN TO SEE IMPORTANT COMMUNICATION THAT WAS SENT TO PARENTS FROM THE TRANSPORTATION DIRECTOR THIS WEEK.

Logging into VersaTrans: If you have not had your child go on the bus yet (and you plan to this year) it is very important to double check the VersTrans site. It is key to do this for each child because we have a found a few discrepancies where children from the same family were assigned different routes. Checking ahead gives us the opportunity to reach out to transportation in advance to remedy the issue. Thank you so much for your help with this!

Reviewing Route Numbers: It is also helpful to review the bus route number with your child. Some children have been attempting to go on their route from a previous year when their route has changed. Teachers also do this as well at the start of the school year. Thank you for your support with this.

Communication with Transportation: Additionally, I have asked transportation to remind bus drivers not to release students off the busses at school until an adult is present to help the younger students. This has been a past practice but there are many new bus drivers. We have many staff assigned to the bus loop to ensure the safety of our students.

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.

*************SENT OUT THIS WEEK **********************************************

Important: Transportation News
E-Link program reset corrects issue

Dear Chippewa Valley Parents,

As you may know, we had a problem with our Transportation E-Link program. E-Link allows parents access to bus route information, including bus times and locations.

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.

As we begin the school year, we know there may be time discrepancies and we are working on getting those fixed. Please be at the bus stop 10-15 minutes early as we are trying to correct these times and make sure we do not miss students in the process. We appreciate your patience as we navigate the coming days.

Sincerely,

Mahlon G. Williams
Director of Transportation
Chippewa Valley Schools

Bus stop reminders
Please arrive 10-15 minutes before the bus is scheduled to depart

All students should arrive at their bus stop 10-15 minutes before their scheduled departure time to accommodate traffic and the timing of this year’s routes. This year road closures and construction have added an additional challenge for our drivers. Please arrive early so our drivers can maintain their schedule and get everyone to school on time.

Thank you for your cooperation.

E-Link Instructions

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!

The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, or M-STEP, is a computer-based assessment designed to gauge how well students are mastering grade-level state standards each spring. A hard copy of your child's M-STEP report will be sent home this week. These standards broadly outline what students should know and be able to do to be prepared to enter the workplace, career education training, and college. M-STEP results, when combined with classroom work, report cards, local district assessments, and other tools offer a comprehensive view of student progress and achievement. For additional information, click State Assessment in Michigan: What it is, What it means - And What it Offers.

The Michigan Department of Education, responsible for the statewide administration of the assessment, following state law, has created a set of parent guides to help families understand the results they are about to receive.

2022 Spring

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 3

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 3 - Spanish

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 3 - Arabic

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 4

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 4 - Spanish

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 4 - Arabic

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 5

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 5 - Spanish

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 5 - Arabic

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 6

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 6 - Spanish

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 6 - Arabic

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 7

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 7 - Spanish

M-STEP Parent Guide Grade 7 - Arabic

M-STEP and PSAT Grade 8 - How to Read your Child's Score Report

M-STEP, WorkKeys, SAT Grade 11 - How to Read your Child's Score Report

If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher or myself.

Sincerely,

Heather Batko

Principal

• Information for SchoolStore.net was sent home this past week. This is a simple fundraiser that generates a lot of funds for our school.
• Funds will be used for assemblies and other fun learning activities for our students.

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.

• Bussers who need free breakfast should go to the cafeteria after exiting the bus. Safeties will escort K/1 bussers who need breakfast.
• 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

If you would like to be a Cherokee Elementary sponsor please contac tour 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/