Apologies for a (very!) late newsletter this month. It's been busy!
Be sure to check out the events for the rest of the year. There may be more to come (and some details might change), but we'll keep you updated!
THIS MONTH...
Bolton Ski and Ride, March 27. The last day of ski and ride is this Wednesday! The season is ending with so much snow!
PTO Board of Director's Meeting, March 28, 6:30-8:00, Charlotte Library. For our March meeting, we will be meeting in person in the adult reading area at the Charlotte Library. We encourage anyone to join us! We will discuss the PTO's financial status; we'll review events; we’ll discuss volunteer opportunities; and we’ll discuss new event and fundraising opportunities. Please find the March agenda here. Please find the January summary here, the November summary here, and the September summary here.
Math Night, April 3, 6:00-7:30, CCS MPR. Back for a second year in a row, families of all ages are invited to this event! You'll find games, raffles, prizes, and fun! If you'd like to attend, an RSVP with your child(ren)'s name(s) would be helpful for planning purposes! And please consider volunteering your time!
Budget Q&A with CVSD School Board Chair and Charlotte parent Meghan Metzler! Thursday April 4 at 6:30 in the CCS Library! Charlotte CVSD school board member and school board chair Meghan Metzler has offered to help us all understand the CVSD budget. We encourage all CCS community members to attend this very important meeting in advance of the vote on April 16, 2024. Hosted by the PTO!
CCS Board Membership 2024-2025. You’re already a CCS PTO member, so take the next step and be an ACTIVE member! And for those inclined, we're actively looking to find new leadership for the next school year. Reach out to Jen Banbury and Damaris Herlihy to find out more!
Volunteer Needs. If you'd like to be an integral part of the CCS community, here are 10 ways you can volunteer in the school! We encourage parents, grandparents, and all caregivers to go through the necessary process to become a volunteer. The CCS PTO has made it easier than ever to become a volunteer. Here is what you need to do.
COMING IN HOT...
Staff Lunch, May 10. Stay tuned for more information from Chantal!
Fun Run and Open House: Celebration of Learning, May 30. Stay tuned for more details!
Lake Monsters Game, June 6. Stay tuned for more details!
Omega (grade 7 and 8): Science teacher Andrew Lounsbury is looking for parents of 7th and 8th graders who are interested in coming into the classroom to talk about what they do. He's very open to working with family members to create a really cool learning experience for the students. Here is the 7/8th Grade Unit Overview. Even if the parents' science field is not quite the same as the unit, there are still ways I can integrate what they do into my lessons. If you are interested in helping out in those areas, please add your name along with your area of expertise to this spreadsheet. We're pumped to see ways in which you & the teacher will make a connection between the science lesson and your talents and skills. All volunteers would need to be at least CORI'd (see the Caregiver Volunteer Requirements).
FEBRUARY WRAP UP
Community Connection Series Part 3, February 15, 6:30-7:30 in the CCS Library: The third in a four-part series designed to foster connections between our students’ caregivers and school, this meeting focused on mental health. Please read our notes from the Part 3 meeting here. We apologize to anyone who was not able to get online for this meeting. The PTO was given a school GoogleMeet link that we shared with our community. The link did not work for the meeting and it was out of the PTO’s control. We have learned and will only use a link in the future that the PTO generates. In addition, we did not get to all questions below in the meeting. CCS administration has assured us that we will get answers. “I have spoken with several CVSD DEI coaches, the CVSD IT & digital learning leaders and members of our CCS School Safety committee to envision education for all of our adult community about the work happening here in CCS and across the district. I'll let you know how and when those forums will be scheduled based on the needs and availability of those experts. I'll leave it up to our SEL team to add any additional thoughts about their roles and responsibilities surrounding the children of CCS that might not have been addressed at the forum.” Unfortunately, due to poor attendance at the Part 3 meeting, we have decided not to schedule the fourth and final meeting. We hope to be able to offer similar meetings next year where we can more easily share information with our community. ... If you missed it, read notes from the Part 1 meeting here (with special guests Jen Roth and Amanda Riggleman) and the Part 2 meeting here (with special guests Rene Sanchez, Meghan Metzler, and Meghan Siket).
THINGS TO ALWAYS REMEMBER...
Amazon Wishlists! The CCS community would love to give back directly to CCS teachers. Consider a donation directly to your child's teacher or another staff member! You may hear from your teacher directly with an amazon wishlist, but there are some teachers or staff you won't hear from because they are not the lead teacher for a specific class. We have collected the staff wishlists we have so far!
Please consider making a donation to the CCS PTO. The PTO's mission is to support the school community by providing the means to enrich the learning experience of faculty, staff, and students at CCS. To that end, we gave out $5,000 in grants to teachers this fall; we have a second grant cycle in the Spring. We pay for equipment such as sleds, musical instruments, art supplies, STEM learning kits, sports uniforms, theater sets, recess equipment, and more. We have an EMERGENCY FUND that provides support when members of the community need a little help during lean times (please see the next bullet for more info!). We host and fund beloved community events like STEM Night, Math Night, and the Fun Run. We've been running fingerprinting drives to cover the costs of background checks so parents/caregivers can volunteer in the school; we are working toward connecting volunteers with opportunities. The PTO is a nonprofit, so your donations are tax deductible. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND DONATE.
DON'T FORGET! $25 GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE TO CCS FAMILIES: The PTO Emergency Fund is there to provide support when members of the community need a little help during lean times—at any time of year. If you could use a $25 gift card to places like Healthy Living, Hannafords, Healthy Living, Target, or elsewhere, please reach out to School Counselor Betsy Lloyd or 802-425-6691. No questions asked and totally anonymous! ... In order to keep this fund going, we need contributions. Please contributing to the Emergency Fund (scroll down)! We are grateful to Healthy Living (owned by a CCS family!) for donating cards directly to the school. The PTO purchases all other cards so all donations are appreciated!
Instagram and Facebook: Follow us on Instagram and Facebook. But we could use some help keeping it updated! Feel free to let us know if you're social-media savvy and interested in helping out a bit!
CCS Garden: The school grounds has a beautiful garden. It is not affiliated with the PTO. It has been managed for many years by Deirdre Holmes, even after her daughters had moved on from CCS. Rodney Centeno (dad to a 7th grader and CVU sophomore) has graciously volunteered to step in as her replacement and to coordinate future volunteers from the community. If you would like to participate in the garden at some point in the future, please let Rodney know!
HELPFUL LINKS
If you have a hard time finding links when you need them, here are a few...
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, always feel free to reach out to us!
Best,
CCS PTO Co-Presidents Jen Banbury and Damaris Herlihy
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