NEW WEB SITE!
We are thrilled to announce our new CCS PTO website! Access to edit our previous website expired so it was necessary to find an alternative solution. (You might see the old website up until June 1, but it should disappear on or before that date.) CCS parent Janet Pye came to our rescue and created this beautiful new site for us in just a couple days! It's the same content but new location. We are forever grateful to Janet! Be sure to bookmark it as a helpful resource throughout the year!
THIS MONTH...
PTO Board Meeting, May 30, 6:30-7:30 in the CCS Library
At this last meeting of this school year, we will meet our new Executive Board and begin our transition to next year. If you'd like to be part of next year's Board, chair a committee, or just be actively involved in some way, please reach out to one of our amazing Board members here (scroll down toward the bottom) to find out more! Please find the May 30 agenda here. ... Please find the January summary here, the November summary here, the September summary here, the March summary here, and the May 7 summary here.
CCS Board Membership 2024-2025
You're already a CCS PTO member, so take the next step and be an ACTIVE member! Please check out the proposed organization for the PTO in 2024-2025. And for those inclined, we're actively looking to find new leadership for the next school year. Reach out to Jen Banbury, Damaris Herlihy, or one of our amazing Board members to find out more!
Volunteer Needs
If you'd like to be an integral part of the CCS community, here are 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...
Fun Run and Open House: Celebration of Learning, June 4
Stay tuned for more details!
Lake Monsters Game, June 6
Join CCS for a Lake Monsters baseball game! Buy your discounted grandstand tickets and share the link with your friends and neighbors. 50% of funds from tickets sold through our link go back to the CCS PTO! The game will start with the National Athem played by your CCS band! First pitch is at 6:35 pm!
Online Spirit Gear Store Opening Soon
Stock up for the summer on CCS t-shirts, trucker hats, picnic blankets and more. They make GREAT gifts for grandparents and friends. Stay tuned for more information.
WRAP UP
PTO Board of Director's Meeting
At the May 7 meeting, we focused on our goals for next year. Please check out the proposed organization for the PTO in 2024-2025. Reach out to one of our amazing Board members to find out more! ... Please find the May summary here, the January summary here, the November summary here, the September summary here, and the March summary here.
Staff Appreciation Week
Thanks to donations, we were able to shower teachers with nonstop gratitude during Teacher Appreciation Week. Sidewalk messages, a room service cart with breakfast treats (made by parents), seltzers and sodas for meetings, individual notes, and a catered taco lunch. Teachers were VERY grateful. Thank you for the help!
Spring Grants
This month, we are also finalizing approvals for spring teacher grants. We'll be covering the costs of extra teaching and support tools like books, a "chill out" corner, sheet music, recess equipment, a force and motion science unit, and more! Again, all thanks to donations from our families.
CCS & Community Safety Discussion
On April 18, the CCS Safety Team and BeSmart shared school safety information. Please see PTO notes here.
Schools and the Budget with Meghan Metzler and Chea Evans
On April 15, all community members were invited to share their thoughts and concerns regarding the CVSD school district and the budget at the Charlotte Senior Center. We are a group of families deeply committed to ensuring the success of CVSD and we are here to listen, learn, and take action. Representative Chea Evans and School Board Chair (and CCS parent!) Meghan Metzler joined us! See notes here. If you are interested in engaging further, please contact Damaris Herlihy.
Budget Q&A with Meghan Metzler
On April 4, Charlotte School Board Chair (and CCS parent!) Meghan Metzler and CVSD COO Gary Markres sat down with us to help us all try to understand the CVSD budget. Please find notes from this meeting here!
Community Connection Series
Thank you to all the teachers and our community for participating in the Community Connections Series this year. We will not be hosting the fourth and last one, but we wanted to be sure you all had easy access to the notes for each of the three meetings we hosted. Part 1 meeting notes are here (with special guests Jen Roth and Amanda Riggleman), Part 2 meeting notes are here (with special guests Rene Sanchez, Meghan Metzler, and Meghan Siket), and Part 3 meeting notes are here (with special guests from the CCS mental-health team).
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 Chards are 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 consider a donation to the PTO! 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!
Special Euducation Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC)
A parent in the Hinesburg asked us to share this important letter with our community. ... Hello Parents, Caregivers, and Friends of Children with special needs, My name is Erin Bingham. I am the mother of 2 at HCS - a second grader and a preschooler. My youngest has a rare genetic condition, Williams Syndrome. I am interested in both creating a network of individuals who care for kids with special needs that can serve as a support and working together to establish a Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) that would serve the entire district. SEPACs advocate for the interests of any child with any kind of special need at school. Although there is a commitment from CVSD administration, this is the first step in a long process to gauge interest and commitment, but there is no timeline yet. ... If you are interested at any level in either connecting with others who support kids with special needs, or in understanding more about what would be necessary to start a SEPAC, please email me at bingham.erin@gmail.com. Warmly, Erin
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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