Principal's Post - 9/23/14 - Fall is here!

Principal's Post - 9/23/14 - Fall is here! 
This week has brought cooler temps and Fall is in the air.  We are in full swing of school and we are off to a great year so far @ CES!  Thank you for making this a great year!

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we made some changes with morning car line (north side), park and walk up (south side) and the front office. We feel these changes have made our campus a safer place in the mornings. 

Please keep in mind when we start construction this winter there could be more changes to our morning drop-off areas as we build our new 3-5 campus here at CES.

Principal's Cam: 9-23-14 - Ms. Fee's music class - <<Click on the link!

Habit of the Month!

Habit 1: Be Proactive – The habit of choice.

Being Proactive: I am a responsible person.  I take initiative, I choose my actions, attitudes, and moods. I do not blame others for my wrong actions. I do the right thing without being asked, even when no one is looking.

CES is a Leader in Me school - For more information see the Leader in Me website @

www.theleaderinme.com

Early Dismissal - 1/2 day on Wed, Sept 24th @ 11:10 a.m.

Early dismissal dates for the 2014-15 school year:
Sep 24
Nov 5
Dec 19
Feb 11
Apr 15
May 28

Early dismissal dates are setup for teachers to have professional development sessions in the afternoons after students are dismissed.

Sydney's Coins for Courage - Childhood Cancer Awareness. 

Send your coins to Creekside to support Sydney and Childhood Cancer Awareness.
Sydney is 5th grade student @ CES and a childhood cancer survivor!  Students may deposit loose coins, cash, or checks made payable to "Beads of Courage" in their grade level jar.  The grade level that raises the most money at CES will receive an ice cream party at school from Chick-fil-A!

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE INFO!!

PTO Drumbeat Newsletter - please take the time to read over the PTO newsletter "The Drumbeat" for lots of great info from our PTO.

CLICK HERE TO READ 

PTO MEETING DATES:
Sep 8
Nov 3
Dec 11
Feb 2
Apr 6
May 4

All meetings are @ 6:00 PM in the lunchroom

Click here for more info concerning our PTO

CES fundraising calendar for 2014-15

Mr. Taylor has created a calendar for CES to help us organize our fundraising and community involvement activities.

LINK TO CALENDAR

Upcoming Dates:

Sep 24 - 1/2 day dismiss @ 11:10 AM
Sep 25 - 5th grade - last day to register for DC
Sep 25 - Bowling Field Trip for Special Ed
Sep 26 - East v. Athens - spirit items sold on Friday
Sep 30 - 4th grade parent night - 5:00-6:00 PM

October - Habit of the Month: Begin with the End in Mind

Oct 11-19 - FALL BREAK - no school
Oct 21 - Boosterthon fundraiser starts
Oct 30 - Boosterthon Fun Run!

Our PTO will be sending home shirt orders today.  If you have an issue with your shirt please let them know @ cespto@lcsk12.org

As you can see we have a lot going on @ CES!  Thank you for always being supportive of our school.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with me or your child's teacher.

Thanks, 
Matt Scott
Principal

3rd and 4th grade Mandatory Parent meeting 8/19 @ 5:30 for Apple MacBooks

Mandatory meeting tomorrow for Apple MacBooks:

3rd and 4th grade parents ONLY

August 19th

Time :

5:30 PM

In the lunchroom

 Park on North or South Side

Doors will open @ 5:15 

We are not having the 8:30 AM meeting due to parking and space concerns.

This is a mandatory meeting for 3rd and 4th grade parents only.

We will have a 2nd meeting on Aug 26th @ 5:30.

Your child will not be able to bring their issued MacBook home unless you attend this meeting or the Aug 26th meeting.

We will be issuing MacBooks on September 5th.

We are not having the 8:30 AM meeting due to parking and space concerns.

We will have a 2nd meeting on Aug 26th @ 5:30.

Volunteer @ CES with our PTO!

Volunteer @ CES with our PTO!

Attached is a form which lists different activities and ways to be invovled with CES and PTO.

PTO FORM <---Click here

There are also sign up sheets in the front office on the PTO bulletin board.

Sign up for:

• Box tops program
• Book Fair
• Copy Workroom
• Spring Festival
• Boosterthon
• AR Store
• Field Day
• T-Shirts
• Family Fun Night!
• Library help
• Picture Days
• Communications
• Food Hospitality
• Spelling Bee
• Art Show

PTO phone numbers are listed or email @ cespto@lcsk12.org

Morning drop off reminders

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North side Car Line - 7:05 - 7:25

South side Park & Walk up - 7:20 - 7:35

Tardy Bell rings at 7:35

**Below is new for 2014-15**

We will close the North entrance on Sanderson Road @ 7:25.  We will be putting cones out at the road.

After 7:25 all cars must use the South entrance.

If you need to come to the front office you are welcome to but you will have to park in the South parking lot and walk around front.

We have made this change to make our campus a safer place in the mornings.  In the past we have had too many cars coming in the Front Office parking area after 7:25 causing congestion and an unsafe area for students.

The North entrance will be opened back up @ 7:35.

Just a reminder the Tardy Bell rings at 7:35.

Apple Partnership @ Creekside

At Creekside Elementary School we are continuing our partnership with Apple!

Starting with grades 3 & 4 - every student and teacher at Creekside and LCS will have their own MacBook Air.  We look forward to adding grades in the future but the process will start with grades 3 and 4 this year.

All grade levels will have Apple devices in their hands on a regular basis.  Here is a breakdown of what we will have available for students.

Kindergarten - iPad / MacBook carts

1st Grade - iPad / MacBook carts

2nd Grade - iPad / MacBook carts

3rd Grade - Every student will have their own 11'' MacBook Air & iPad carts

4th Grade - Every student will have their own 11" MacBook Air & iPad carts

5th Grade - iPad / MacBook carts

K-5 Teachers - Every teacher has an iPad

3 & 4 Grades - Every teacher has a MacBook Air

This process started last year in LCS - read a post from last year here

3rd and 4th grade student will receive their MacBooks on September 5th.

We will have a mandatory parent meeting on August 19th 2 times (8:30 AM or 5:30 PM) in the lunchroom.  We will have a make-up meeting on August 26th @ 5:30 PM in the lunchroom.

We are also excited to have 2 full time Technology Facilitators @ Creekside this year:

Michelle Mitchell & Amy Jackson.

Welcome to CES Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Jackson!

If you have any questions please let us know.

Thank you!  MS

Growing my Personal Learning Network (PLN) @ NAESP

I had the pleasure of attending the 2014 National Association of Elementary School Principal's @NAESP conference in Nashville this past week (#naesp14).

The best part of going to a national conference is being able to grow your Personal Learning Network (PLN) with principals from all over the country.  Some of the best conversations I had were with principals before, during and after sessions we attended.

The first part of my week I had the opportunity to be a part of the National Mentor Training and Certification Program.  I was placed in a cohort group of 26 principals from across the country with several states represented.  Through the leadership of Mrs. Galen Hoffstat from Texas and Mrs. Lori Ellis from Maryland.    Through the 2.5 days training with the Mentorship program I was able to learn best practices in mentoring through training and dialogue with some of the nation's top principals.  Principals shared their experiences and we learned through collaboration throughout the training.  Some of the principals in my PLN from this experience were: Jeromey Sheets, Aimee Lunsford, & Adam Drummond.

The next 3 days were spent going through the conference sessions learning "Best Practices for Better Schools".  One of my favorite parts of the conference was the "Social Media Lounge", which was a area in the convention center dedicated to leading school leaders like myself in our technology driven world.  Heading up the "Social Media Lounge" were school leaders like - Dan Butler, Don Jacobs, Kathy Melton, Joe Mazza, Tony Sinanis, Erin Simpson & Melinda Miller to name a few.  These school leaders helped us see the value in Twitter and other media outlets in our social world.

During the conference I had the pleasure to write "Wrap-up Sessions" for NAESP from the "Social Media Lounge".  After sessions several school leaders attending the conference would email notes from session to Kaylen Tucker & NAESP.

2 sessions I wrote on:

• Accessing, Archiving & Sharing #Hashtags (click on the link to see notes) - by Dan Butler & Joe Mazza.  
• Using Facebook: Connecting & Celebrating your School (click on the link to see notes) - by Kathy Melton & Melinda Miller

The last highlight of my trip to Nashville was having the pleasure of participating in a luncheon session with Todd Whitaker & Beth Whitaker.  Todd Whitaker has been a part of my PLN for years and I have learned so much from him and it was a pleasure to visit with his wife as well.

2 top quotes I brought back from Todd Whitaker:

Your culture exists in your mind
You have to use your vision to control your perception

It was a great week in Nashville for the NAESP convention this year.  I met a lot of new friends, colleagues, and enhanced my PLN.  It is vital we all continue to grow professionally and I look forward to growing my PLN in the future with my new network of colleagues.

Kindergarten Kamp 2014 is underway!

Kindergarten Kamp 2014 is underway!

I want to welcome all of our new Kindergarten students, parents and relatives.  We are so excited to offer Kindergarten Kamp free for all of our incoming Kindergarten students.  

Our PTO has supported K-Kamp for several years and we are very thankful for our supportive PTO.

Kindergarten Kamp provides families with the structure of a school setting during the summer and allows students to familiarize themselves with their new school.

At K-Kamp, parents able to meet their teacher for the school year and start building their positive relationships during the summer.  During K-Kamp, students are able to become more acclimated to their new surroundings and their new classmates.