August/September 2024

the Carillon

Your weekly update from Carrollton Elementary

 8/31/2024

                                                                                          

car·il·lon /ˈkerəlän,ˈkerələn/ (noun) a set of bells in a tower, played using a keyboard or by an automatic mechanism similar to a piano roll.

Why am I dubbing our weekly update as The Carillon? Well, there’s a lot of information that I want to make sure you hear and this e-mail is one method of getting it out there. (Plus, I like that carillon sounds like our school’s name!) 

It was great seeing so many of you at our Open House Wednesday. What a positive time that was with all those excited kids and grinning caregivers. I know you received a good deal of info, and there’s even more listed below. Please take some time to read it over so you feel prepped and ready for Day One this coming Tuesday, September 3. I’m eagerly looking forward to a busy day as we kick off this new year – and I’m glad you will be part of it all.

Here we grow!

Mr. B.

Mr. Brennan

A huge thank-you to Hannah Robinson for the much-needed make-over to our staff dining room! Hannah invested her own time, energy, and resources to make the space warm and inviting. 

 

To round out our staff for the 2024-2025 school year, we need one 1^st & 2^nd grade instructional assistant. Interested or know someone who would be a great fit? Check out the information found at Jobs at Carrollton.

Caregivers often ask how they can support the school staff and one way would to provide items for staff incentives; here’s an Amazon link for such items: Ways to Encourage the CAES Staff

Bus routes are fluid the first few weeks of school, so your patience will be appreciated. Continue to check the IWCS website for updates (IWCS Transportation Information) and we’ll communicate pertinent transportation info as we get it. 

Per division guidance: Students who do not have proper immunizations are not permitted to attend class. Teachers are required to note students sent home due to missing immunizations and the office staff must withdraw these students. Once immunization records are received, we will notify Central Office in order to bring the students back in.

From the new Director of Child Nutrition, Mrs. Ellen Couch: 

IWCS is bringing Food Services back in house. New meal prices are listed below: 

	Breakfast	Lunch
Elementary	$1.40	$2.75
Middle & High	$1.45	$2.95
Milk Only	$0.50	$0.50
Adult (Faculty and Parents)	$2.75	$4.75

 

Menus are posted monthly on the IWCS website at IWCS Cafeteria Menus ('24-'25)

Please review the following new procedures to ensure a smooth start to the upcoming school year.

• At no time can students charge snacks (a la carte items).
• When a student reaches a meal debt in the amount of $1, the student will not be able to purchase a la carte items; they will have to pay off their debt before this restriction is lifted. 
• A student may only purchase a la carte items for themselves, not for others, due to food safety. 
• At any time, families can go online and add funds to their student’s lunch account and see current lunch balances using www.schoolcafe.com (formerly Lunch PrePay). This is a great way to stay ahead of unforeseen charges. 
• To avoid starting the school year off with a negative balance, please ensure that you fill out a free /reduced lunch form. You can find the form through www.schoolcafe.com. Applications are also available at school.

Lost & Found items will be placed outside of Door 1 from September 21 through September 23and then gone.

 

Here’s the link to our school’s handbook: CAES Family FAQ ('24-'25)

 

Here’s the link to an “online note” that you can use to report your children’s absences: CAES Absence Note

A copy of the school division’s calendar is linked here: ​2024-2025 School Calendar

Information about the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) and the division’s new language arts curriculum, myView: Virginia Literacy Act

 

Here’s a link to IWCS Transportation Information.

 

Blue Dominion is our contracted photography studio who will be providing pictures for the fall and spring as well as our yearbook in May.

Dates for fall school pictures are Oct. 1 & 2. 

9/2       No school: Labor Day

9/3       First day of school!

9/11     Patriots Day (We’ll be wearing our red, white, and blue.)

9/13     1^st graders and Mrs. Rosenberry’s students will be attending the County Fair

9/23     Asynchronous day for students – more info to come

9/24     PTA-sponsored Boosterthon Fun Run

9/27     Packer Backer Friday (Wear blue and gold to support our SHS Packers)

10/1,2  School picture days

10/4     Packer Backer Friday / 1:00 dismissal for the SHS homecoming parad

10/10   Crunch Heard ‘Round the Commonwealth

10/14   No school

10/15   No school: Staff professional development day

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

 9/7/2024

                                                                                          

HERE at Carrollton Elementary, we have a staff full of wonderful, talented individuals dedicated to creating a place that is safe and welcoming and spaces where students are seen and heard. It is HERE that students will be expected and supported to do their best. It is HERE at Carrollton that academic achievement with social-emotional growth is our primary concern. It is HERE in our classrooms and hallways, our cafeteria and playgrounds that our Cardinals will be encouraged to demonstrate gumption, resilience, integrity, and tenacity.

WE Cardinals are special! With a very robust local military presence, WE have students that come to us from all over the country and from around the world. As we move into our thirty-second year of operation, WE have students with parents who at one time attended CAES. WE have a student body made up of close to 600 Cardinals in pre-school through third grade, and WE have a staff of close to one hundred, which includes veteran educators, career-switchers, and recent college graduates. WE have employees who were Carrollton parents first, and WEhave students whose caregivers work here.

GROW is what each of us should do! During their time as Cardinals – whether just part of this year or all the way through – our students will GROW a great deal. They will GROWintellectually and socially and physically. They will GROW as readers and thinkers and problem-solvers. They will GROW in their understanding of technology and engineering and in their appreciation of art and music. It’s my desire that our adults will GROW as well – as more loving, connected caregivers and as more loving, equipped employees. And in this eighth year as the proud Cardinal principal, I plan to GROW, too, as I increase my focus on helping our students feel safe and my staff feel supported.

Let’s grow!

Mr. B.

Mr. Brennan

 

Thank you to all who have dropped off school supplies in the box in our new vestibule; these items are being collected by a Smithfield High school student who is running the “Kids in Need” supply drive.

 

Thanks, also, to those who have donated new or slightly used puzzles, board games, cards, etc. to our library. If you would like to be part of this fun, reach out to our new librarian Mrs. O’Byrne at [email protected].

 

Halloween candy hit the shelves several weeks ago! If you would like to donate a bag or two, I will happily provide the staff with the treats during our weekly meetings – because chocolate makes things better.

To round out our staff for the 2024-2025 school year, we need one 1^st & 2^nd grade instructional assistant. Interested or know someone who would be a great fit? Check out the information found at Jobs at Carrollton.

Caregivers often ask how they can support the school staff and one way would to provide items for staff incentives; here’s an Amazon link for such items: Ways to Encourage the CAES Staff

Early pick-up will end at 3:15 daily effective Monday, Sept. 9. From 3:15 to 3:35, students are at recess, transitioning between classes, or receiving valuable instruction, so your understanding is appreciated.

Morning drop-off info: 

• All students are expected to come through the car line.
• To decrease the congestion on the sidewalks, please do not park and walk your student to the building unless you have arrangements with the teacher.
• Please do not pass another vehicle in the line.
• If you trust your student to get out without staff assistance, this is fine.
• Please don't allow your child to sit in your lap when driving through the loop.
• For the safety of the students and staff, please consider the loop a no-phone zone.

Afternoon pick-up info:

• 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 vehicle in front of you. 
• Turn off your engine once parked and leave it off until vehicles are directed to move. 
• Please don’t arrive before 3:00 as this may block staff in their parking spots.
• For the safety of the students and staff, please consider the lanes a no-phone zone.

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.

Here’s the link to our school’s handbook: CAES Family FAQ ('24-'25)

 

Here’s the link to an “online note” that you can use to report your children’s absences: CAES Absence Note

A copy of the school division’s calendar is linked here: ​2024-2025 School Calendar

Information about the Virginia Literacy Act (VLA) and the division’s new language arts curriculum, myView: Virginia Literacy Act

Reminder: Bus routes are fluid the first few weeks of school, so your patience will be appreciated. Continue to check the IWCS website for updates (IWCS Transportation Information) and we’ll communicate pertinent transportation info as we get it. 

Reminder: From the new Director of Child Nutrition, Mrs. Ellen Couch: 

New meal prices: 

	Breakfast	Lunch
Elementary	$1.40	$2.75
Middle & High	$1.45	$2.95
Milk Only	$0.50	$0.50
Adult (Faculty and Parents)	$2.75	$4.75

 

Menus are posted monthly on the IWCS website at IWCS Cafeteria Menus ('24-'25)

Please review the following new procedures to ensure a smooth start to the upcoming school year.

• At no time can students charge snacks (a la carte items).
• When a student reaches a meal debt in the amount of $1, the student will not be able to purchase a la carte items; they will have to pay off their debt before this restriction is lifted. 
• A student may only purchase a la carte items for themselves, not for others, due to food safety. 
• At any time, families can go online and add funds to their student’s lunch account and see current lunch balances using www.schoolcafe.com (formerly Lunch PrePay). This is a great way to stay ahead of unforeseen charges. 
• To avoid starting the school year off with a negative balance, please ensure that you fill out a free /reduced lunch form. You can find the form through www.schoolcafe.com. Applications are also available at school.

Lost & Found items will be placed outside of Door 1 from September 21 through September 23and then gone.

 

Blue Dominion is our contracted photography studio who will be providing pictures for the fall and spring as well as our yearbook in May.

Dates for fall school pictures are Oct. 1 & 2. 

9/11     Patriots Day (We’ll be wearing our red, white, and blue.)

9/13     1^st graders and Mrs. Rosenberry’s students will be attending the County Fair

9/23     Asynchronous day for students – more info to come

9/24     PTA-sponsored Boosterthon Fun Run

9/27     Packer Backer Friday (Wear blue and gold to support our SHS Packers)

10/1,2  School picture days

10/4     Packer Backer Friday / 1:00 dismissal for the SHS homecoming parad

10/10   Crunch Heard ‘Round the Commonwealth

10/14   No school

10/15   No school: Staff professional development day

10/25   PTA-sponsored Trunk-or-Treat

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