Nov. 7, 2011 Wednesday Packet by The Cottage School

Date:

Wednesday â&#x20AC;&#x201C; November 7, 2012

Important Messages from The Cottage School are attached. Please sign this form indicating their receipt and return to the school with your student tomorrow. Thank You!!

Parent Signature________________________________________

Wednesday Packet November 7, 2012

Important Dates/Information PAC Family Movie Night - Saturday, November 10th – 7:00 PM-9:45 PM in the RCC RSVP to Vinette at vinetteg@cottageschool.org

Veterans Day – Sunday, November 11th Thank Someone for Their Service.

HS Junior/Senior Dinner – Monday, November 12th – 6:30 PM at Buca di Beppo Give Thanks for Grandparents Day – Friday, November 16th – 8:00 AM-10:30 AM (Welcome Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Special Friends of TCS Students)

Thanksgiving Holiday – Monday through Friday, November 19th–23rd MS 8th Grade Families - High School Transition Meetings – December 4th or 6th (See Flyer)

November 7, 2012

Jacque’s Note

Welcome to November! By now the pace at school is picking up and the majority of the students are peddling pretty fast. We have shifted from the slow and steady initial pace to be sure we had all our teens encouraged and on a firm foundation to an increasingly more rigorous pace and depth of instruction. Of course, I am making some broad statements here and, as you would expect, individual abilities result in a varied application of this approach. New material will continue to be presented in a carefully structured and instructional manner, but the expectations for performance and independent working will continue to increase according to each student’s ability to make that stretch. This is the time that some parents, especially those who had been called on to take up the slack in monitoring student performance that the previous school did not accept, begin to “miss” the struggles and angst of old. They don’t even realize how ingrained they have become to the misconception that in order for my child to be learning anything, the entire family must be miserable. If an assignment is done quickly, then it wasn’t done well enough. If the student is bringing home grades above a C, then the expectations must be low. If the news from school is predominately good, then the school is letting the teen “get by”. Of course we want to hear from you as there are times when we need to adjust the pace, amount or teaching techniques that are being applied. We need to know what you see that is working and what you see that raises concerns. But we often have to reassure a few families that the expectations that linger from an overly competitive and inadequate awareness of individual needs do not reflect real academic progress. Believe me, if it was true that TCS is “easy”, we would not have such glowing reports from our graduates who are finding they are well prepared for their post-secondary programs. If a student and their family take the time to analyze and select the right fit for their teen, whether it be University of Georgia or Chattahoochee Tech, the reports we receive every year are glowing! Of course they still have the learning challenges they left TCS with, but they have learned to advocate and work hard to achieve their goals. Academic and social growth is a long and inconsistent process…sometimes it is not very pretty and sometimes it is downright beautiful! Our staff knows that progress comes in many different and complex stages. So what a parent may be expecting to see may not be, in fact, the skill the teacher is working on at that moment. A teen with reading problems is not going to demonstrate the best use of grammar, but if the purpose of the assignment is to create fluid and creative thoughts organized in the style that the lesson is emphasizing, then that teacher may decide not to lower the grade of a well worded paper due to errors that result from the teen’s greatest weakness. Eventually there will be time for grammatical excellence. All this is to say that we appreciate your feedback and comments. We love the kudos and encouragement and we welcome your coming to us with your concerns. Know that we are a very intentional system. We take each small step as an important part of the process and we do our best work when we are in concert with you!

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO PARENTS Regardless of the safety measures, policies, supervision or good intentions that a school may have, crises that disrupt the school environment still occur. It has been ten years since TCS had an earth shattering event and we are thankful for that every day. We are vigilant and intentional about our attention to our teens, our staff and our mission. However, as recent news stories attest, sometimes that is just not enough. Two independent schools were in the news last week due to criminal activity of a staff member, for one, and a student, for the other. In both cases the charges were of a sexual nature and arrests were made. What caught my attention was the picture of the school security, in one case, trying to prevent the media from interviewing parents as they sat in car pool line. Not only does the event itself create a challenge, but the attention from the media provided additional distraction and stress for all concerned. I decided that I would do what we do so wellâ&#x20AC;Ścommunicate our policies and expectations in such a situation. First, you need to know that each staff member is given a copy of our Crisis Intervention Manual and receives training on the contents. Our entire campus practices regularly scheduled drills in case of fire, bomb threat, environmental contamination or lock down situations. We have an identified Crisis Management Team that is trained to step in to handle the efficient safety measures and communication issues that might arise from any unforeseen crisis. We evaluate the thoroughness and feasibility of each potential crisis on an annual basis. Our expectations for our parents have been set by experience. We now have the ability to instantly inform our parent community of any emergency situation on campus. Part of that communication is to let parents know what safety measures are being taken for the students. It is our expectation that parents will attend to school notices that appear on their phone or computer in a timely manner, read them and follow the instructions. In the few crisis situations in the past we have learned that timely communication can alleviate some of the parental panic that naturally occurs and allow the school to address the immediate need, which is the safety of the students. It is important that the school personnel be able to guide the students and staff, handle the situation at hand and communicate with each other and law or safety personnel without interruptions. If our campus is being evacuated, we need to be able to attend to the students not fielding numerous phone calls or redirecting cars coming on campus when the goal is to clear the campus. It is also important that communication be limited to those persons authorized to comment. In our case, I am the identified spokesperson, although I may delegate that duty, depending on the circumstances. No staff, parent or student should be talking to media or other public agencies about the situation. Rumors, inaccurate information, and personal perceptions often inflame an already difficult situation. The negative consequences of such miscommunication can often last long after the incident has been resolved. I hope this note helps to inform and assure you that TCS takes the emotional and physical safety of our students and families very seriously.

Character Education

Exploring Career & College Options Take a look below at what we will be discussing with your student and take some time to continue these discussions at home!

Objectives:    

Identify two careers that interest them and draw on their strengths. Use Internet resources to identify the educational qualifications and careerrelated experiences necessary to pursue their career of interest. Describe a typical day-in-the-life and income of a person who works in their career of choice. List of college admission requirements necessary to pursue higher education in their field.

Discussion questions for you and your student:  

What careers interest us and draw on our strengths. What training and qualifications are necessary to work in our careers of interest?

Key Terms to discuss: 

Career, higher education, admission requirements, median range

MOVIE NIGHT Featuring The Avengers Rated PG13 November 10th from 7:00-9:45 in the RCC All Families are invited to attend. Admission and the movie are free. The PAC will have pizza, popcorn, candy, soda, and water for sale. (All funds raised will go towards TCS Technology Advancement). Please bring a bean bag, blanket, or comfy seat to kick back and enjoy the movie. ALL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THAT ATTEND WILL RECEIVE FOUR ATTENDANCE HOURS! Please RSVP to vinetteg@cottageschool.org

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN! 6th Annual “Give Thanks For Grandparents Day” This event is for all grandparents, aunts, uncles or special friends of TCS students and includes student presentations and tours.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16th 8am-10:30am You can STILL invite someone to attend. Just get their name to Lesley in the main office by November 14th.

Remember, if you bring a special guest you can leave with them when the event is over.

Spirit

T-shirts

Available immediately $15.00 each Tear it up Cougars Get your shirt and show your spirit!!! Great for Payoffs and Sports Events Name _________________________ T-shirt size ____________________ Quantity _______________________ Available in Adult Small, Medium, Large, and Extra-Large 100% Cotton T-shirts See Julie in the Middle School------See Wilfrid in the High School

Concession Volunteers for HS and MS Basketball Games

A Very Special Thank You to Our Current Volunteers: Cindy Thompson Connie Victor Cyndi Hipp Felicia Perkins Gina Daunt Joe Taura Laura Richardson Laurie Van Cleave Mekel Wakshlag Michelle Simon Patty Daniels Robin Travis

All Parents are Encouraged to Join Up (for just one shift) For the Benefit of the Booster Club The Booster Club stands to gain the profits for all Concession Stand sales where a parent volunteer takes on Concession Stand supervision. Fortunately, our student volunteers make your job easy by taking on all of the heavy lifting. Your job primarily consists of manning the cash box, and providing an adult presence. If your schedule does not allow you to assume a shift, you can contribute by providing water, sports drink, snack items or sandwiches for hospitality suites during the MS Basketball Tournament (12/12 + 12/14) and the Junior Varsity Conference Championship (2/6 + 2/8).

Contact Lyle Cutchin regarding any volunteer times or donations (see the following page for open shifts) Lyleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office Number: 678-250-5120 Or lylec@cottageschool.org

Date 11/13 – Tue 11/15- Thur 11/29 - Thur

Team / Opponent Varsity Girls v. CCS Varsity Boys v. Howard MS Boys v. Atlanta Academy

Time 4:45 6:30 5:00

12/5 – Wed

MS Girls v. Sophia

4:00

12/5 – Wed 12/7 – Fri 12/11-Tue

MS Boys v. Sophia Varsity Boys v. Brandon Hall

5:00 6:15

MS Girls v. Cougar Tournament (TBA) Game 1