First Day at Cherry Elementary

The first day of school is Monday, August 26, 2019. On the first day of school, all students will go directly to their classrooms upon arriving at school.  Parents are welcome to walk their students to their classrooms on the first day only. At 7:50, I invite all parents to join me in the Cafeteria for donuts and juice.

Then at 8:10, parents will be asked to leave campus so that our students can come to the Cafeteria to eat breakfast with their new friends. We ask that parents do not come for lunch during the first two weeks of school. We will be focusing on routines and procedures during this time, and having parents come and go can be very difficult for our students as they adjust to the school day. Beginning September 9, 2019, parents are welcome to come enjoy lunch with their student during their assigned lunch period.

Drop Off & Dismissal Procedures

8^th Street is one-way directly in front of the school during morning drop-off and afternoon dismissal.  Drivers must maintain awareness of their surroundings, and are expected to follow all traffic laws at all times during drop off and dismissal, including but not limited to the following:

●       Smoking is not permitted anywhere on campus property, including both driveways and parking lots.

●       Cell phone usage is not allowed while driving in a school zone.

●       Children must be properly restrained according to their height and weight.

●       All persons in a moving vehicle must wear their seat belt while the vehicle is in motion.

●       Please drive slowly and watch for children.

Morning Drop-Off:

Our campus doors open at 7:15 a.m.  In order to maintain student safety, students are not allowed to wait outside of the building without an adult before this time.  Drivers are to remain in the right-hand lane only, and leave the left lane open during drop-off.  All students are to be dropped off in the front of the school, and will enter through the main doors.  On rainy days, additional doors will be opened to allow quick entry.  Cherry staff will be monitoring students and helping them into the building.

Dismissal:

There are three options for student dismissal: bus riders, car riders, and walking pick-up.  Pre-Kindergarten will dismiss from the back (north side) of the school, and Kindergarten will dismiss from the front (south side) of the school.  If you have students in both grade levels, they will dismiss with Pre-Kindergarten.

Please be sure that your child’s teacher is aware of how your student is to go home.  Changes in transportation must be made in writing by sending a note with your student, emailing your student’s teacher, or by completing the “Change of Transportation” form in the office.  Changes will not be made over the phone in order to ensure student safety.  Changes will not be accepted past 2:30 p.m.

Pre-Kindergarten:

Bus Riders and Car Riders: At 3:15, the buses will load all bus riders (PK and K) from the back of the campus.  Once the buses have exited the driveway, parents may then enter the driveway for dismissal.  Please keep your car-tag visible during dismissal for safety purposes, and to make dismissal run quickly and smoothly.  Without a designated car-tag, you will have to park in front of the school and come inside to the main office with a photo ID in order to pick up your student.

Walking Pick-Ups: Parents will wait at the corner of the fenced playground, and must have their car-tag with them in order to pick up their student(s).  Students will be dismissed to their parents at 3:30 p.m.

Kindergarten:

Bus Riders: At 3:15, the buses will load all bus riders (PK and K) from the back of the campus.

Car Riders: 8^th Street is one-way directly in front of the school during afternoon dismissal.  Please keep your car-tag visible during dismissal for safety purposes, and to make dismissal run quickly and smoothly.  Without a designated car-tag, you will have to park and come inside with a photo ID in order to pick up your student.

Walking Pick-Ups: Parents will wait outside of the front door, and must have their car-tag with them in order to pick up their student(s).  Students will be dismissed to their parents after all Car Riders have been dismissed.

Special Circumstances:

Students requiring special transportation will be considered individually according to their needs.  Parents should meet with their student’s teacher and the campus principal to make appropriate arrangements.

Always remember that the safety of our students is our TOP PRIORITY.  This may mean that drop-off or dismissal takes more time than expected, especially during the first two to three weeks of school.  Please be patient, and respect those assisting our children in getting home safely.  By the fourth week of school, our goal is to be able to dismiss over 500 students safely in just 30 minutes.  Thank you for your understanding and assistance!

Schedule and Attendance

Learning to Listen

Listening Rules

1. Eyes Watching
2. Ears Listening
3. Voices quiet (or the students said "Voices off"
4. Body Still

Lesson Concepts

Why This Lesson Matters

Using the Skills

• Have students use the listening rules at home when you are talking and in turn, do the same for them. 
• Play Simon Says or My Turn, Your Turn. This helps them control their bodies and listen to what you are saying

Home Connect

Cherry Elementary Counseling Program Information

Guidance Lessons

• Skills for learning
• Empathy
• Emotion Management
• Problem Solving. 

Group Sessions

Individual Counseling

Academic Counseling

Personal Counseling

Student/Parent Advocate

1. How do you want to be treated by me (leader)?
2. How do you want to be treated by each other?
3. How do you think I (leader) want to be treated by you?
4. How do you want to treat each other when there is a conflict?

As a whole group, the students go through adding words to their social contract and agreeing upon those words. Words might include respectful, honest, trustworthy, helpful. When adding the word to the contract, the teacher might ask "what does that look like", "how could we show that in the classroom". If a word is said more than once, the students will put a checkmark next to that word to show that the class thinks that it is important. When the students are satisfied with the words on the contract, the class agrees to the social contract by signing it. 

Below are a few examples of contracts from the Cherry Elementary classrooms. In grades 2nd through 5th grade, the teachers guide the students through these steps to help them create a contract for each of their classes. This ensures that the students have specific words and actions that their class has agreed upon. 

Mrs. Frankson's 1st Grade Classroom

Ms. Jernigan's Kinder Classroom

Mrs. Becker's 3rd Grade Classroom

Mrs. Ressman's 3rd Grade Classroom

Mrs. Johnson's 5th Grade Classroom

The great thing about social contracts are that they can be used universally. The staff at Cherry has a social contract that we refer to in our meetings or if a conflict arises on campus. Some teachers have even decided to use them at home with their own families. 

Each week we will be sharing a word from the Cherry Elementary Social contract with you. Take time to talk with your students about the word that we share. What does it look like? What do you expect from them in regard to that word? How can they show that they understand what that word means?

We look forward to sharing more with you, 
Mrs. Hagg
Cherry School Counselor