CCES PTA Weekly Newsletter

September 15, 2023

Lots of opportunities to volunteer this week, CCES Community!  Please see below and offer your time and skills where you can.  These events truly cannot happen for our kids without you!

Important Dates

• September 22nd - Early Release (12:55pm)
• September 25th - No School
• September 30th - First BCC Used Book Sale Drop-Off Day (see below for details)
• October 2nd - 1st PTA General Meeting (see details below)
• October 2nd-6th - CCES Book Fair
• October 4th - Walk/Ride Your Bike to School Day
• October 9th - No School
• October 13th - Color Run (details to come)
• October 22nd - Fall Festival at CCES (rain date October 29th)
• October 23rd - Picture Day
• October 31st - Classroom Fall Festival Parties
• December 4th - Picture Day Retakes

NEW - BCC Book Fair Drop-Off Days Announced

From BCC:  We are holding three donation days this school year for the biggest and best used book sale in the area - mark your calendars now!

Saturday, Sept 30, 10am-2pm

SUNDAY (please note day), Nov 5, 10am-2pm

Saturday, Jan 20, 10am-2pm

Please pack your books in sturdy boxes and bags and drive up the circle in front of the B-CC entrance at 4301 East-West Hwy. Our wonderful student and parent volunteers will unload your donations for you.

IMPORTANT: We can ONLY accept book donations during these designated drop-off periods. If you are unavailable to deliver your books then, please coordinate with someone in your neighborhood who is going. The school staff can neither accept nor store books...thank you for understanding and complying.

We gratefully accept:

• gently used books of all genres
• record albums

NEW THIS YEAR - we cannot accept:

• CDs, DVDs, audio books
• textbooks (college, grad school)
• dictionaries/encyclopedias
• oversized coffee table books
• games and toys
• cassettes, VHS
• magazines or journals
• travel or test prep books pre-2020
• books in poor condition (anything written in, torn, discolored)

We look forward to seeing you on the 30th!

NEW - Volunteers Needed for Fall Festival

FALL FESTIVAL NEEDS YOU! The annual CCES Fall Festival will take place on Sunday, October 22 from 3 - 5pm (rain date 10/29).  The Committee needs your help to make it the best it can be for our families!  Please take a look at the Fall Festival Volunteer Sign Up and help us celebrate the season.  This is a great way to connect with the CCES community and have fun along the way.

Not sure if you can attend the event?  We still need your help!  Please contact Kate Carman for more details on how you can contribute to this special event.  

NEW - FLES Language Offerings Announced

Big Learning FLES language programs are ready to return to CCES ES starting in October! We are looking forward to bringing our programs back to your school this session.  Classes will run for 11-week and are scheduled to start 10/3 and end on 12/19, before the Winter Break.  FLES is offering morning classes in French, Spanish, and Chinese.  Please see the attached flier for details!

NEW - Volunteers Needed for Walk/Bike to School Day

October 4th is National Bike & Walk to School Day. Bus riders will be dropped off at Rosemary & Meadow to walk the last block to school, and parent volunteers are needed to help ensure kids make it safely down Rosemary Street, and to hand out fresh fruit when they arrive at school. Please sign up to volunteer here and if you would like more information, contact Patrick Dillon at mpdillon@gmail.com.

UPDATED - We Need Room Parents!

We are still on the hunt for room parents for a few classes – they are still needed for Prego and Lee.  This is a great (and easy) way to be involved with your child’s class.  If you are interested in this role, which entails connecting classroom families, coordinating volunteers for class events, and keeping in touch with teachers on anything they may need, please email our Room Parent Coordinator, Stephanie Ketchum.  She can be reached at stephanieketchum@yahoo.com.

Volunteers Needed for Book Fair

CCES will be hosting the Scholastic book fair from October 2nd through the 6th, and we are in need of volunteers to help with setup, cleanup, and sales.  Your help is greatly appreciated!  If you have any questions, please reach out to Kitty Whitehead, our volunteer coordinator, at kittywdc@gmail.com

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0E4FACAF2CAA8-book

Volunteers Needed CCES PTA Silent Auction

Back by popular demand!  CCES PTA is bringing back the silent auction March 11-15, 2024.  We are currently looking for community members interested in joining the committee to solicit items.  Email our VP of Fundraising, Jennifer Iras-Helminski at jenniferiras@gmail.com to sign-up!  

Save the Date - PTA General Meeting October 2nd

Screen time, cell phones, gaming, and social media are just a few of the digital media topics challenging parents today. Helping our children develop a digital balance that promotes good online habits is critical.  At our first PTA Meeting on October 2nd, our speaker will discuss strategies and tactics for parents and children to leverage technology in a safe way with positive outcomes.  Stay tuned for more details!

Join the PTA!

Becoming a PTA member is just $10.

Our suggested donation is $175, which covers membership and a contribution to the Cheetah Pride Campaign which is our primary source of funding for annual PTA expenses.  We also welcome contributions at the Gold ($250) and Platinum ($500) levels.  Here’s how to join and donate:

• Online:  Go to https://chevychasees.memberhub.com/store
• Paper:  Fill out a membership form (coming soon through backpack mail)

Please reach out to Jennifer Iras-Helminski, our VP of Membership, at jenniferiras@gmail.com with any questions.

CCES PTA Google Calendar

Want to have all of these dates easily and quickly saved to your Google calendar?  Click here to access the CCES PTA’s Google Calendar.  This calendar will be updated as events are added and changed throughout the year.