CAES Weekly Updates 2025-2026

The Carillon 8/30/25

2025-2026 CAES Family FAQ Guide

If you have questions, the link above has answers.

While I hope you’ll familiarize yourself with all of the information in the FAQ’s of Carrollton Life guide, the following pages are especially important as we move into our first day of school this Tuesday, September 2.

Morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up – pages 4 &5
Chaperoning a field trip (There's a trip to the county fair in two weeks!) – page 6
New for us: Per IWCS School Board policy, no smart watches may be worn during the instructional day. – page 7
Updated bus routes – pages 13 – 16

It was wonderful seeing so many of you and your children at our Open House Thursday! Thank you for being flexible as we had to adjust our schedule and for being patient with the post-construction zone dust. I will also be grateful for your patience next week as we get our 600 Cardinals back into the routine of school – there’s a good chances a bus or two will be running late...

Here we go again!

Mr. B.

R. D. Brennan, CAES Principal

The Carillon 9/6/25

the Carillon

car·il·lon /ˈkerəlän,ˈkerələn/ (noun) a set of bells in a tower played using a keyboard

your weekly update from Carrollton Elementary

September 6, 2025

From the Desk of Mr. Brennan…

This year’s theme is LOOK UP, and full disclosure: It’s unabashedly due to my fandom of Superman.

Elementary children are still at the age that they think we adults know everything. I am encouraging our staff to LOOK IT UP if they don’t know the answer. The adults should be the lead learners in each classroom, and they should let the students observe how they think to arrive at an answer or how to arrive at an informed opinion. I want our Cardinals to be surrounded by educators who capitalize on the chance to hone their craft, expand their repertoire, broaden their horizons, and I want that for your kids, too.

Because I know that our little Cardinals LOOK UP to our staff, I want my staff to also LOOK UP to a mentor. It’s important to one who is flourishing to find someone with admirable traits to be emulated. This takes vulnerability and a willingness to consider another perspective, which are the very qualities that we expect from our children.

This generation of kids can easily feel secondary to the technology that consumes their adults’ attention, therefore, it’s vital that we LOOK UP AT THEM. Pausing from the task at hand to focus on the person in front of us tells her that she is worth our time and communicates that he is valuable. Good, old-fashioned eye-contact speaks volumes but is in short supply when we allow devices to command our attention.

When I was a middle school assistant principal years ago, a very wise and thoughtful custodian once advised, “Mr. Brennan, look up.” This was less about my propensity to squint furrow-browed at the floor as I navigated the halls full of early adolescents and more about the need to see the people and the activity and the good that was going on around me. This is how I encouraged the Carrollton staff on our first day together for the 2025-2026 school year and how I plan to continue to encourage them all the way through to our last day together: LOOK UP. It’s my encouragement to all of you Cardinal caregivers, too. This year will be as great as you make it. You will value your children as much as you want to. You will be annoyed as much as you let circumstances and others annoy you. You are in charge of your attitude, so don’t give that superpower away. This will be an important life lesson that I challenge you and your children’s educators to impart through words and actions.

When the staff walked into our building August 25 they were greeted by disarray: hanging wires, missing ceiling tiles, construction equipment, and debris. They could’ve stared at the mess or choose to fix their sights above, see the new HVAC system in the ceiling, and get to work. I’m glad they chose to focus above the mess with a vision of how to make our students’ Carrollton experience a super one.

LOOK UP,

Mr. B.

Mr. Brennan

Cardinal Kudos

We are grateful to Nathan Webb, pastor of Coastal Church in Battery Park, for his congregation’s generous donation of school supplies.
Our Cardinals did a fantastic job with our first of four September fire drills yesterday!

Good to Know

If you would like to receive whole-school text messages via Remind, the code is @f9273cg.
Caregivers of 1^st graders: The annual fieldtrip to the Isle of Wight County Fair is next Friday, Sept. 12.
- Please return permission slips.
- If you are hoping to chaperone, be sure to complete the division’s Volunteer Application at IWCS Volunteer Application
- If you plan to sign-out your child at the fairgrounds, be sure to communicate with the teacher in advance and have your photo ID with you.
From Mrs. Ellen Couch, Director of Child Nutrition: As we prepare for the new school year, we want to remind you about the Free & Reduced Meal Application. If you think your child may qualify, please complete an application online at www.schoolcafe.com or request a paper copy. Paper applications are available at Carrollton Elementary School, Westside Elementary School, Smithfield High School, and Smithfield Middle School. In addition, all students were given a paper application during the first week of school.

Please also remember: any meal debt from last school year has carried over into this year. If your child had a balance, it will continue to grow if new meal charges are added. If you need help with a payment plan, please contact Melissa Barbee at (757) 365-1631 or [email protected]—she will be happy to assist you.

Thank you for helping us ensure every child has access to healthy school meals.

Loads of Links

Our school’s handbook: 2025-2026 CAES Family FAQ Guide

Literacy: Information about the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) and the division’s language arts curriculum, myView, is linked here: Virginia Literacy Act and here: IWCS Language Arts Info

School Counselors: Here is our school counselors’ referral form.

Food:

o All students enrolled in Isle of Wight County Schools are given an opportunity to apply for free and reduced-price meals. Applications may be completed privately and securely online at www.schoolcafe.com, and forms can be obtained at any school's cafeteria or main office.

o Cafeteria menus are posted monthly on the IWCS website at IWCS Cafeteria Menus ('25-'26)

Attendance:

o An “online note” that you can use to report your children’s absences: CAES Absence Note

o Information about IWCS All Things Attendance

School division calendar: 2025-2026 IWCS Calendar

Bus info: IWCS Transportation Information

Reminders

If you would like to eat lunch with your child, please reach out to the teacher at least 24 hours in advance to schedule the visit; this will allow the teacher to communicate if there are any changes to the lunch schedule and to notify the office of your upcoming visit.

Early pick-up ends at 3:15 daily. From 3:15 to 3:35, students are receiving valuable instruction, at recess, or transitioning between classes, so your support is appreciated.

Morning drop-off info:

o Please do not leave your vehicle unattended in the line.

o All drop-off students are expected to come through the car line.

o Please do not pass another vehicle in the line.

o Students will not be permitted to exit vehicles from the passenger’s side.

o If you trust your student to get out without staff assistance, this is fine.

Afternoon pick-up info:

o Please don’t arrive before 3:00 as this may block staff in their parking spots.

o Please do not leave your car unattended in the line.

o Be sure to come through the line by turning right from New Towne Haven Lane.

o Please do not pass another vehicle or switch lanes.

o Move up to a safely close distance to the vehicle in front of you.

o Turn off your engine once parked and leave it off until vehicles are directed to move.

o Here’s a link with more information: CAES Afternoon Pick-up Procedure

Mark Your Calendar

9/11 Patriots Day – We will show our spirit by wearing red, white, and blue.

9/12 Isle of Wight County Fair fieldtrip for 1^st grade and VPI

9/19 Aloha to Summer spirit day – Tropical prints, leis, and sunglasses to wish summer goodbye

9/22 Asynchronous day for students – Teachers will be sharing the work packets soon.

9/26 Smile Virginia mobile dentistry will be with us

9/30 PTA’s annual Boosterthon kicks off

10/7 Quarter one progress reports come home

10/7 School pictures day 1 (Ms. Norton, Ms. T. Nagy, Ms. Micciche, grades 2 & 3)

10/8 School picture day 2 (Mrs. Nemetz-Gardner, Mrs. Rowland, Pre-K, grades K & 1)

10/8 Boosterthon Glow Run event

10/10 Packer Backer spirit day – We’ll wear blue and gold to support our Smithfield High Packers!

10/10 1:00 dismissal

10/10 Smithfield High’s homecoming parade and game

10/13 No school

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The Carillon 9/13/25

the Carillon

car·il·lon /ˈkerəlän,ˈkerələn/ (noun) a set of bells in a tower played using a keyboard

your weekly update from Carrollton Elementary

September 13, 2025

From the Desk of Mr. Brennan…

Traditionally I will make the effort to personally acknowledge the anniversary of September 11 by watching the solemn ceremonies from Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and Shanksville. Or I’ll watch a documentary about that day. Or I’ll at least post something profound and patriotic on social media. Not this year, though. There was already so much heaviness in the news this past week that couldn’t be ignored and I didn't need to tip the scales any further. • On that second Tuesday in September of 2001, I was shepherding my class of sophomores into the library at Menchville High School in Newport News; they were lining up for yearbook pictures and I glanced up at the television mounted in the corner. I saw the smoke billowing out of the first Tower and wondered how the fire started. Then a plane entered the screen. My reaction was visceral and the surroundings surreal: here I was with a bunch of tenth graders primping for their pictures, making each other laugh, oblivious to the tragedy playing out over their heads. • This was 2001 and I don’t remember any of the students having smart phones, so back in the classroom we remained relatively oblivious; however, with each squawk of the loudspeaker and another student called to go home early, we were keenly aware that something was very, very wrong. • It wasn’t until I got home that I learned the magnitude of the day’s destruction. It was my wife who told me that the Towers were gone and my wife who sat next to me for the hours we stared at the news and my wife who tried to console me when the weight of it all became too much. • Wednesday, September 12, I asked those same sophomores to reflect in their journals about what they had seen and felt the day before, to record history in their words, to capture that piece of their 16-year-old selves. I told them that there will come a day when people won’t remember because they will have no firsthand 9/11 experience. That day is here. I don’t know where those tenth graders are with whom I shared that horrible day but I know they are in their 40’s now, many no doubt married, with children, with mortgages and careers, older today than I was then. I hope they kept their journals. I hope they paused Thursday to remember however they deemed best. And I hope they told the Gen Z’s and Gen Alphas around them about what those young people missed and what should never be forgotten.

Remember,

Mr. B.

Mr. Brennan

Cardinal Kudos

The William M. Cage Library Trust made lots of Cardinal readers very happy with its generous donation that supports our library.
A big thanks to all of the caregivers who helped chaperone our annual field trip to the county fair!
And thank you to our art teacher Mrs. Gasparini, our computer science teacher Mrs. Waibel, and school counselor Mrs. Bryant for constructed our beautiful haybale entry for the annual contest at the fair!

Good to Know

If you would like to receive whole-school text messages via Remind, the code is @f9273cg.
For those who pick up their children in the afternoon, please help your kids memorize their pick-up numbers and encourage them to move quickly from their classrooms to the front of the building.

The Virginia Lottery, in partnership with The Supply Room, is excited to launch its newest “Thank a Teacher ” promotion, the Teachers’ Lounge Makeover. The Teachers’ Lounge Makeover is a special opportunity to recognize and celebrate that dedication by transforming the heart of your school into a refreshed, comfortable, and inspiring space. This promotion is open to all K-12 public schools in Virginia. The winning school will receive a refreshed lounge valued at $7,500, furnished and supplied with comfort and creativity in mind — a welcoming retreat where educators can recharge and connect. 

Teachers, staff, parents, and community members 18 years and older can nominate their favorite K-12 public schoolat www.thankateacher.com/teacherslounge now through October 3, 2025. One lucky school will win. Will it be ours?

We will have our first lock-down drill next week; please speak with your children about how their job is to be as still and quiet as possible so Mrs. Toth and Mr. Brennan don’t hear or see anyone when they’re checking all of the doors
Reminder: From Mrs. Ellen Couch, Director of Child Nutrition: As we prepare for the new school year, we want to remind you about the Free & Reduced Meal Application. If you think your child may qualify, please complete an application online at www.schoolcafe.com or request a paper copy. Paper applications are available at Carrollton Elementary School, Westside Elementary School, Smithfield High School, and Smithfield Middle School. In addition, all students were given a paper application during the first week of school.

Loads of Links

Our school’s handbook: 2025-2026 CAES Family FAQ Guide

Literacy: Information about the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) and the division’s language arts curriculum, myView, is linked here: Virginia Literacy Act and here: IWCS Language Arts Info.

School Counselor: Here is the link for Ms. Berkeley and Ms. Bryant, our school counselors: referral form.

Food:
- All students enrolled in Isle of Wight County Schools are given an opportunity to apply for free and reduced-price meals. Applications may be completed privately and securely online at www.schoolcafe.com, and forms can be obtained at any school's cafeteria or main office.
- Cafeteria menus are posted monthly on the IWCS website at IWCS Cafeteria Menus ('25-'26)

Attendance:
- An “online note” that you can use to report your children’s absences: CAES Absence Note
- Information about IWCS All Things Attendance

School division calendar: 2025-2026 IWCS Calendar

Bus info: IWCS Transportation Information

Reminders

If you would like to eat lunch with your child, please reach out to the teacher at least 24 hours in advance to schedule the visit; this will allow the teacher to communicate if there are any changes to the lunch schedule and to notify the office of your upcoming visit.
Early pick-up ends at 3:15 daily. From 3:15 to 3:35, students are receiving valuable instruction, away from their rooms at recess, or transitioning between classes, so your support is appreciated.
Morning drop-off info:
- Please do not leave your vehicle unattended in the line.
- All drop-off students are expected to come through the car line.
- Please do not pass another vehicle in the line.
- Students will not be permitted to exit vehicles from the passenger’s side.
- If you trust your student to get out without staff assistance, this is fine.
Afternoon pick-up info:
- Please don’t arrive before 3:00 as this may block staff in their parking spots.
- Please do not leave your car unattended in the line.
- Be sure to come through the line by turning right from New Towne Haven Lane.
- Please do not pass another vehicle or switch lanes.
- Move up to a safely close distance to the vehicle in front of you.
- Turn off your engine once parked and leave it off until vehicles are directed to move.

o Here’s a link with more information: CAES Afternoon Pick-up Procedure

Mark Your Calendar