Dear Cottonwood Family,
Happy December! The school year is more than 1/3 of the way through and shortly after we return from the holiday break some of us will be preparing to celebrate the hundredth day of school! Holiday decorations are sprouting up everywhere as families in our area begin holiday shopping, vacation plans, and dinner menus. Many of our evenings and weekends will be spent getting ready for holiday celebrations. While visions of sugar plums, reindeers, and peppermint cocoa may arise at times, our Cottonwood Condors continue to have math facts, essays, favorite books and science experiments dancing through their heads. Please help us encourage our students to stay as focused as possible and include homework and study time in your holiday plans…at least until December 21st!
We want to express our sincere gratitude to all of you for helping to get your child(ren) to school every day and on-time! The first few minutes of the day really set the tone and we want all students to start the day off on the right foot! We are pleading that you please schedule appointments outside of school hours or on days that we are not in school if possible. We are in a competition with other schools in the district, as well as working to meet our attendance growth goal! The only way we can meet our goal is with YOUR help!
Are you looking for a few gift ideas, especially ones that don’t cost a lot of money? This holiday season give your child and family the gift of time. Enjoy a meal or two together as a family. Have a night in with the family and play a favorite board game. As parents, you are extremely important to your children. This month, make a goal to spend an evening, day, or weekend with each other. The time you spend with them is priceless.
Grade levels and classroom teachers are planning some fun activities during the month of December. Be sure to read their emails to you and watch for information to come home with your child(ren).
During the month of December, we have a few benchmark tests that must be completed. Students will be completing their Acadience Reading and Math middle of the year assessments, along with some reading and math middle of the year diagnostic tests. These assessments have hard deadlines, so it is imperative that your child is at school as much as possible during the month.
We know we might sound like a broken record, but we are in desperate need of your help! Our morning drop off and after school pick-up has become quite a scary thing. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION AND FOLLOW THE RULES! Parents MUST stay in their vehicle in the drop off/pick up zone. Parents must stay attentive (avoid cell phones) and continue moving forward to fill in the gaps. Please DO NOT drop off or pick up your child in the middle lane. Students must enter vehicles from the curb. Finally, please do not drop off or pick up until you have filled in gaps, and you are past the first crosswalk. We are always grateful to anyone who wants to help volunteer with supervision and traffic before and after school. Just give us a call and we will put you to work!
We are collecting gift cards to help support 14 families (28 children). We appreciate any support you can offer. Please see the enclosed flier.
Our winter break begins at 1:15 on Thursday, December 21st. We resume on Wednesday, January 4th. I wish all of you a wonderful and safe break.
Please remember that it is important that students come to school dressed appropriately for winter weather. Temperatures can fluctuate drastically during the day, so coats, hats, and long pants are important clothing for protection from the winter weather. If at all possible, we try to send the students outside for recess. Unless the wind chill/temperature is unsafe for students to be outside, the students will be out for recess.
To all of our Cottonwood families, I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and here’s to a wonderful new year!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Cooper
