...FROM THE LEADERSHIP TEAM

As we dive into the first full month of the school year, it's a great time to celebrate the work that has already happened on campus! Our school-wide theme is
Year of Wonder and different grade levels are tapping into students' curiosity and wonder in very exciting ways. Have you seen the spirit of wonder enter into your conversations and experiences at home as well? It's been a pleasure to have students back on campus and we look forward to a wonderful year together!

Here are some of the essential questions that students will be investigating during the first half of the year:

What can students teach their community about healthy eating?
What happens to stuff that we throw away?
World of Wonder: How can I be proud of who I am and be proud of wonderful cultures?
How can curiosity about Maidu history impact our present use of natural resources and
how we respond to differences among people?
How does where you are influence what you do and why you do it?
How can we use engineering skills to solve the problems a character faces in a book?
What do Ancient Civilizations teach us about ourselves?
How do local government issues impact us as students? How can we have an impact in our community by learning about government?
Where does math come from?
What are the possible properties of your property?
How does curiosity make me a stronger person?
How does our culture influence us and how can we influence it? What makes us curious and furious about culture?

Essential questions are presented at the onset of a project. They are wide-open questions that do not have a "googlable" answer. There are investigations that must occur in order to answer the questions and the products that students present will show a variety of thinking. Essential questions are a foundational piece of Project Based Learning and the kick-off to the project work. In the coming weeks, we hope to host a screening of the 2015 film Most Likely to Succeed on campus so families have an opportunity to see PBL in action and engage in discussion about this work. More information to follow and here is the trailer for the film in the meantime.

Last year we were able to come together as a staff to articulate the purpose behind CCDS. It boiled down to: "Be good to each other and do work that matters." Thank you for supporting this work.

Warmly,
Wendy
In This Issue
After School Opportunities Available

CCDS Band
Beginning band begins September 5, 4:05-4:45 p.m.  It's never too late to join.  There are still school clarinets and a few flutes available.

Sign up with ASP to stay after school until band starts. Fees apply.

Beginning Band Schedule
Flute players - Tues.
Clarinet/Saxaphone players - Wed.
Brass, bass, drum players - Thurs.

Please come to the band room at 4:45 p.m. to pick-up your child after band.

CCDS Choir
Choir is still accepting students!  Beginning Choir is Tuesday mornings from 7:40-8:25 (2nd grade and up).

Concert Choir will be meeting M/W 3-4 p.m. and Fri. 7:30-8:25 p.m.


Girls Who Code
Do you have a 6th-8th grade girl who is interested in computer science? On Wednesdays from 3:15-5:15 p.m. there will be a Girls Who Code Club in the middle school. Start date is TBA. To learn more about this cool opportunity,  click here.

 

Blue Oak Mobile Live Scan offered their service during our Back to School Night and donated $65 back to the school! Thank you Kate Carmichael!

The PTP parent breakfast was a great "welcome back"!  A big thank you to Courtney Crane for donating coffee, Clara Ellis and Jenny Maiorano for bringing breakfast treats, Denine Owen and Tricia Daverson for popsicle delivery, Linda Patterson and Elsie Mendonca for handing out popsicles and everyone else who came out and made our day such a success!

Thank you to all who purchased school supplies for classrooms this year! We are very grateful!
 

Sept. 6         Minimum Day (See Bell Schedule Here)
Sept. 8         Picture Day (order forms coming home or order                                 online at mylifetouch.com)
Sept 11-15  Safety Week
Sept. 13      PTP General Meeting - Middle School Common                                  Area 5:15 p.m.
                   Board of Directors Meeting - Middle School 
                   Room 7  5:30 p.m. (Open Session Begins at 6 p.m.) 
Sept. 29      Jogathon
Oct 4         Minimum Day
Oct 7         Parade of Lights
Oct. 13      Harvest Fair
                  
Bella the Pig Visits Mrs. Bower's Elective

Beginning of the Year
TO DO's

Free and Reduced Lunch Application
Why is it important to fill this out this form? Research has proven that eating breakfast and lunch improves a student's ability to learn.  Additionally, s tate funding of schools is based on the Local Control Funding Formula or LCFF. Part of this funding is a supplemental grant that uses our "unduplicated student" count which is Free and Reduced Lunch students, English Language Learners and foster students. Therefore, it is important to get accurate numbers for this. 

Click the link to fill out a new application and drop off at the office. We will submit your form to Chico Unified. If you have questions about your eligibility, contact the Nutrition Services Office at 891-3021 x203.


Field Trip Paperwork
There are many field trips coming up in the next couple of months. Please email Lisa Hoppe to see what you need in order to participate.  Drivers and chaperones are scheduled a week in advance, so please make sure you reply promptly when your child's teacher asks for help. Teachers depend on their parents to drive and chaperone. We appreciate our volunteers!
STAY CONNECTED


Join:  CCDS PTP Facebook  and CCDS Free Source, a  Facebook group set-up  to harness some of the talents, services, and supplies that our families can offer to support our school. Check it out! 

Opt-In to Receive Text Messages from CCDS
The Opt-in text message did not go out properly last week.  We are working to fix the problem and will be sending a text to cell phones in our system soon.  Be on the lookout!

2017-18 CCDS School Directory  - Coming Soon!

How to Use the Buddy Bench at CCDS
How to Use the Buddy Bench at CCDS
Brought to you by 
Mrs. Stedman's 2nd Grade Class


September 11-15

Your student(s) may come home during Safety Week talking about lockdowns, fires and evacuations. During Monday and Tuesday of this week, the entire school will be practicing safety drills including lockdown drill, evacuation drill, and fire drill. We will continue to practice throughout the school year.

Welcome Kindergartners! We're excited you're here!

Flexible Learning Space: Library for the 21st Century

Providing a print-rich environment, supporting literacy growth, and student choice in books are all cornerstone pieces to a joyful and meaningful education for our students. We believe in this firmly and are very interested in keeping those pieces in place while the library's physical space is in transition.

Over the summer, we moved all of the middle grade and young adult books over to the middle school where there will be a "self-checkout" system the middle school students can utilize. This will improve accessibility and we are sure that the books we have invested in will get more use being housed where the students can visibly see them and access them. We also pulled the check-out data for the remaining books dating back to 2012. Books that had not been checked out in five years have been weeded from circulation. This is a practice that is very common in libraries and is needed in order to provide the most current titles.  Speaking of which, we have ordered several new books and look forward to getting more! The funds raised at the book sale on Back to School Night will be used to purchase new books that meet the current needs of our students. Teachers came through the library and collected books they wanted to provide students in class, giving access to additional literature for just-in-time moments in class. At the end of this process, the library will be up-to-date, efficient, and have new books to share!

The library is open and available for teachers to take their classes in on Mondays and Fridays. We will have some assistance in the library on Friday, when it will also be open for lunch. We are also excited to open up this space as a STEM Exploration Space, where we will have Sal Hernandez-Campos teaching science, engineering, coding, and robotics to our students. He has been teaching a middle school elective and lunchtime robotics to the upper elementary students and we are thrilled to offer this to our younger students. Imagine the possibilities!

Part of the transition of this space also comes with the prospect of some physical changes on campus when we move forward with Measure K projects. It feels so important to support the science education of our students while at the same time being conservative with physical changes to our facility. Sharing this space and moving some of the books felt like the best solution for this time at our school. Our teachers will have access to the books they need, will continue to provide a huge range of literacy experiences for students, and will support a love of reading that we all hold so dear. Please feel free to reach out with your feedback as we move through this year of transition.

CCDS is a Community of Readers

Many of your students may have shared with you that their class will be participating in an exciting, individualized challenge (not competition) this year called the 40 Book Challenge. While this goal may seem huge and possibly insurmountable now, it is created to be lofty because of the ripple effect this has in the classroom. The large goal creates a culture in the classroom where students must be adding to their "To-Be Read" lists and they share books with each other regularly in order to support the challenge. It creates a classroom culture that best mirrors what we experience as adults -- a sharing of books, a love of reading, and a push to continue to read more. And at the end of the year, if a student has read 24 books and the year before, they read six, what a win! There are no losers in this encouraging, fun, and rigorous challenge!

It's so exciting to have so many classes participating in the 40 Book Challenge, that we have decided to open up this experience to our adult community as well. It's amazing how much impact our own modeling of reading can have on our children! In each newsletter, I will include a link to a Google Form where you can log the books that you have read for the month. We'll make the book lists public and celebrate our accomplishments together as a community! It's sure to be a wonder ful year of reading!
 First Day of School was Full of WONDER

 

WHAT IS FRIENDSHIP?
Friendship is making and keeping  a friend through mutual trust and caring.

HOW DO YOU PRACTICE FRIENDSHIP?
Making and keeping friends is not automatic or an act of luck; it requires intention and effort.  The life skills of caring, cooperation, flexibility, integrity, responsibility, are all important in a friendship.

SOME THINGS TO TALK ABOUT AT HOME:
* Be caring and show it : to keep a friend, make sure that the person knows you value them, care about them, and are there for them.
* Don't take a friend for granted : just because someone is a close friend doesn't mean that they don't deserve our best social graces and genuine care.
* Give and take : good friendships are well-balanced and work to the benefit of both friends.
 


Good Friend Music Video
Good Friend Music Video


 Fall Sports Update


Volleyball Team
8th Grade Team
6th/7th Grade Team
                             Melia Bainbridge
C.J. Baker
Gracie Carr Tatum Darlington
Kenna Chapin Ryleigh Jackson
Hayley Christopher Addie Konopka
Ariel Clipper Kayla Lynch
Hadley DeMaggio Lindsay Rapp
Mia Ellis Ava Morris
Kylie Gutman Avery Schneider
Quincy Shern Keely Sterling
Kylah Smith Kalani Sterling
Olivia Story Halle Thomas
Ava Zepeda Campbell Vieg
Come cheer the team on at their next home game in the CCDS gym today (September 5) at 4 p.m.

Cross Country Team
Jack Chadderton
David Edwards
Marcus Funk Una Griffith
Wyatt Hervey
Lassen Johnson
Joshua Long
Harper Maiorano
Jatin Melchior Jeb Perry
Lucas Powers
Connor Prefontaine
Sebastian Sanchez Jude Trento
Melayna Trento
Tyson Trento


Girls Basketball-Open Gym
Coaches are already preparing for the basketball season.  Coach Nixon has scheduled an open gym for 6-8th grade girls.  The girls can join Coach on Friday, September 8 from 6-7:30 p.m.



We are off to a WONDERFUL start to our new year! It was so great seeing many new and returning parents on the first day of school. We are excited about our upcoming events and have lots of opportunities to volunteer! 

We have the first PTP general meeting of the year  September 13. W e are excited to have a math guru on hand to answer all of your math questions! We will also be voting on our budget that evening. Since our meeting is right before the school board meeting,  the PTP has decided to provide child care for both meetings, so please plan to attend. We've got you covered! 

Later in the month, on September 29, we will have our jogathon, followed by the Harvest Fair on October 13. We can always use lots of help.  Please see our general sign-ups here:  2017-2018 CCDS Event Sign ups , and visit our  PTP facebook page  for individual event information. 

We would also like to welcome our two new PTP officers who stepped up to fill in our open positions Jenny Maiorano (Information Officer) and Craig Robertson (Committee Task Officer). We look forward to working with them this year! 

Lesley Christopher
PTP President


Harvest Committee Sign-ups - 


Buy-It-Brick Campaign 1996-2016
In honor of our 20th anniversary last year, we are continuing our Buy-a-Brick campaign.  These beautifully crafted, laser- engraved bricks are a way to celebrate your family's time on campus. This will be an on-going campaign that will not only add beauty to our campus, but will also serve as a visual history of our school and families. 

There are flyers in the office, along with a sample brick. The bricks will be delivered in batches to be installed in several locations around campus. Support CCDS and honor               your memories!
 
To learn more or order your brick, please   click here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I need to do when my child is absent?
Please call or email the office to let us know. Please do not rely on your child's teacher to pass along messages to office.
895-2650
Elementary School - #ext. 201
Middle School ext #205

If you do not call by 1:45 p.m., you should receive an automated reminder call from the school number (895-2650) and/or an email around 2 p.m. YOU ONLY HAVE 3 DAYS TO CLEAR AN ABSENCE BEFORE IT BECOMES A TRUANCY. Notifying the office that your child is out of town or missing school for a non-excused reason (i.e. play, family visiting, etc.) does not mean it is an excused absence. See full attendance policy in family handbook.

How do I pick up my child after school?
You may meet your child (K-5) at their classroom or pick-up at the curb. Middle school kids will be outside their building for pick-up. All kids are "swept" from the curb into the main office at 2:55 p.m. At 3 p.m., they are taken to ASP and will be charged for ASP services.

How do I pick up my child in the middle of the day for a medical appointment?
You are welcome to call the office on your way here and we will attempt to have your child waiting for you. If you are picking up closer to the end of the day, please allow yourself enough time to sign out your children and go to their class to pick them up.

How do I get lunch money to the cafeteria?
Please drop off money in the office and we will make sure the cafeteria receives it. You may also sign up on myschoolbucks.com, which is the website where you can put money on their account, and receive reminder text messages when the account is low. Please email Stacy in the main office for the student I.D. It's a special number that is only used for lunch account.

When can I drop my child off in the morning?
Campus does not open until 7:45 a.m. This is because we do not have a yard duty supervisor outside to watch students. Please drop-off after 7:45 a.m. The children may play on the play structure, but only if they see a yard duty supervisor in the quad.

When are the school gates unlocked?
Both Gates: Unlocked at 7:45 until 8:40 a.m.
Parking Lot Gate: Unlocked for kindergarten pick-up at 2:00.

FYI on MS Students Calling Home
The MS students use a cell phone (624-9543) to call home from school because there is only one line in the MS office. If you do not answer, your child has been instructed to leave a message. Please return the call to 895-2650 ext. 205. The cell phone will not be answered if you return the call to that phone. They are also allowed to use their personal cell phone in the office ONLY to call home.

Where is lost and found?
Please check the rack/shelf that is located outside the old ASP room, which is between the kindergarten classrooms and the preschool playground. The main office has small, more valuable items such as keys, glasses and jewelry. Please label all your children's outerwear, water bottles and lunch boxes.


Chico Country Day School  
102 West 11th Street
 Chico, CA,  95928                                         Follow us on Twitter
 (530)895-2650
 (530)895-2646 fax
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