Head of School Tambi Tyler's most recent Head's Letter went out Wednesday. Catch up on updates across campus: faculty and staff COVID vaccinations, enrollment for 2021-2022, Soles for Service Art Installation, and our new PE teacher.

Dessert Theatre integrates with a robust theme of study and concentrated over several weeks. Often the topics of these grade-level plays are original scripts inspired by the curriculum the children are studying in science, history, and literature. This interdisciplinary exercise allows for complex ideas to be expressed on stage.

“Through the Dessert Theatre process, students are encouraged to take creative risks and make choices where they think critically about the stories and characters they are bringing to life. We learn about the actor toolbox of the face, body, voice, and imagination and how to use it to communicate on stage,” said Melissa O’Rear, the Children’s School Creative Dramatics teacher, who directs Dessert Theatre. “Ultimately, they develop confidence, ownership in their roles and teamwork with their peers. We wanted to make sure that these components were still emphasized this year.”

The Dessert Theatre season kicked off in January. Third and 5th grade performances premiered via Zoom on February 5. The performances were posted to the school’s YouTube channel afterward. Next up are 2nd and 4th grade performances premiering on March 5, and kindergarten and 1st grade on March 18.

Google Meet: Click here to join

The Gala & Auction Committee are well into their work to support and promote the school's largest fundraiser event of the year. From veteran parents to brand-new families we are seeing this committee come together in new and exciting ways. Last year, we hosted one of the region’s first virtual Gala & Auction events, resulting in a budget-busting $147,000 for student-centered learning, as well as pioneering a sense of community togetherness during stay-at-home orders. While we had hoped to be in a place in which our entire community could gather in person, but alas we are prudently making plans for a virtual program, plus new experiences to celebrate student success and elevate community connections.

A primary focus of the volunteers currently is soliciting auction items, generating ideas for auction baskets, experiences, and sociables. Sometimes, the work of gala can be messy and beautiful, as is the case with wonderfully creative projects coming to fruition for each class in PreK - 5th Grade. Class Creations often generate enthusiastic bidding among parents seeking these one-of-a-kind kid art creations.

For more information on how you can connect and make the Gala & Auction a success, contact Brooke Rawls P'30, P'32 at bkrawls11@gmail.com or (317) 902-8157 or Nancy May P'23 at nmay9393@gmail.com or (719) 210-9089.

The CSS Scholastic Book Fair will run online from March 8-21, 2021. Selections include books for young children, young adult and even adults. Stay tuned for details!

Families may order lunch online for the entire month of February instead of weekly as before.

If you prefer not to order for the month, please note that lunch orders need to be placed by 10 p.m. the Wednesday before the start of the next week. For example, if you want to order lunch for your child for Thursday, February 11, the order must be placed by 10 p.m. Wednesday, February 3.

Please note that due to supply and snow days, there may be times menu items are substituted.

There are known and unknown risks in navigating these uncertain times. But individuality and isolation from one another are not long-term solutions to the adversity presented by our current world. Instead, we aim to build and promote a community that is solution-minded, embraces the mindset and practice of "we before me", and collectively adheres to the guidelines of medical professionals and elected officials. The Community Pledge has been written in the spirit of developing a common language and understanding by which we will all commit for the 2020-2021 school year.

Tune into www.csskodiaks.com to follow the junior varisty and varsity boys' basketball teams this season and stay up on scores and schedule changes.

Today's game against Peyton was rescheduled for Thursday, March 4. The Kodiaks play again on Saturday, February 20, against Thomas MacLaren. Go Kodiaks!

Kindergarten and 1st grade students celebrated the 100th day of school on Wednesday. Kindergarteners made projects at home with 100 items and shared them with classmates. First graders engaged in math projects illustrating the number 100 and STEM creative building projects using 50 marshmallows and 50 toothpicks. They also made their own 100th day trail mix by counting 10 pieces of a variety of snacks, including marshmallows, pretzels, popcorn, and raisins until they got to 100. Click here to view more photos on our Facebook page.

For the 2nd grade engineering theme, they were first introduced to a problem: engineering a trap to catch the invasive cane toad. Students used the Engineering Design Process to create their cane toad traps, test them, and improve their designs.

Parents, teachers, and students are encouraged to submit nominations and digital photos of student achievements to Anslee Wolfe, Communications and Marketing Manager, at awolfe@css.org. These extracurricular achievements make us a well-rounded school and highlight the many unique talents and passions of our student body. A diverse selection of achievements is highlighted in ROAR and shared on social media. We also welcome alumni achievements!

Due to COVID-19 we will continue to make adjustments to the Major Dates calendar. We will continue to update school's google calendar as we progress from week to week. We are adhering to local, state, and federal guidelines regarding on-campus, in-person learning. As a result, planning for the 2020-2021 school year is ongoing and requires the school to respond with agility, grace, and a heavy dose of patience. View the calendar here.