Patriots Family Newsletter Dec 16-20, 2024

Posted Date: 12/13/24 (1:00 PM)

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Patriots STEM Family News

December 16-20, 2024

Upcoming Dates

December 20th: Early Dismissal at 12pm
December 23rd - January 3rd: No school, winter break
January 6th, PTO meeting 6pm
January 8th - Class Pictures
January 14th - Q2 Report Cards
January 20th - Holiday

Robots in Action in 1st Grade

two students programing a robot to knock over bowling pins

two students placing a robot to knock over bowling pins

Girls on the Run 5K in Charlotte!

Picture of Girls on the Run Team with students & coaches

15 Days of Holiday Cheer

5th Grade Families

Parents! It's that time again! Your child is now in 5th grade and the opportunity to recognize them in a special way in their 2024-2025 yearbook is available! Create a space in the yearbook just for your child — this is a rare chance to celebrate their passions, inspiring achievements and unique perspective in a BIG way. They’ll flip through the yearbook for years to come just to revisit your heartfelt ad.

https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/customer/1990831/Patriots-Elementary-School/

December PES Sweet Potatoes

December PES Sweet Potatoes Purchase Form. (Sweet potatoes should be picked up and paid for from 8:00 AM – 10:30 AM)

Sign up is open if you are interested in purchasing a 5 lb bag of sweet potatoes from our PES STEM Garden class. Please do not sign up to get more than 2 bags. You can only pick up what you sign up for. Once all 27 bags are claimed no more will be available.

$5.00 per bag. Proceeds will go towards the STEM/Garden class to purchase items needed. Cash or Check will be accepted in the front office.

Sign ups before Winter break must be picked up by Friday, December 20th from the front office.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508054FACAE2CA4FA7-53791046-december

Lost & Found

Please remind students to check Lost & Found for missing items. Unclaimed items will be donated December 20th.

End of Quarter 2 Celebration

Our End of Quarter 2 Celebration will be here before we know it!

The event will be on Monday, December 16th.

If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/.../10C0D48ABAD2BA6F9C16...

If you are interested in donating a raffle prize, please see our list here: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/4QQ9AHAQVBVR...

5th grade parents:

Program Choice applications open through Dec. 15th

Program Choice applications for the 2025-26 school year will be open from October 17, 2024 to Sunday, December 15, 2024. Parent notification of placement will occur in the online family dashboard the week of February 3, 2025. Parents will have until Monday, Feb 17, 2025 to make a decision and accept a seat in their online dashboard. Any seats not accepted within this window will be forfeited to waitlisted students

picture with links for grocery store cards that earn our school PTO money

News from PTO

Please join us for our next Tasty Wednesday at Texas Roadhouse on 12/18.

A portion of the sales that night comes back to our school.

Did you know you can help the school raise money every week when you go grocery shopping?

Here are the details about linking your card at your favorite store:

The next PTO meeting will be January 6th at 6:00 in the cafeteria.

The PTO is looking for volunteers to help with the Dance Committee. This would involve helping plan the two dances in February. The dates for the dances are 2/21 and 2/22. If you can help out, please email president.patriots@gmail.com.

P2 Character Trait

This week's P2 Character Trait is Self Control.

Lunch Visitors

For the week of December 16-20, students with the last names T-Z may have visitors for lunch time. Visitors must be listed in PowerSchool as approved contact. If you need to add a contact for your child, please contact the main office.

If you are celebrating a birthday, store bought cupcakes may be brought in . Cakes and balloons are not permitted.

Patriots Parent Handbook

The 2024-2025 Patriots Parent Handbook can be found at this link

Parent Teacher Organization Links

See new PTO website here for ways to get involved & support our school!

Absences

When your student is absent, please click this link to access absence form. This should be completed for all absences. The form for educational opportunities is also found at this link.

Transportation Change Link

in addition to letting you child's teacher know about transportation changes, please complete this online form by 1:30pm. Click here to send notification about a change in transportation..

Lunch Benefits

Click here to apply for free & reduced lunch benefits. We encourage all parents to apply, just in case you qualify for meal benefits!

LINQ Connect opens July 22nd for families to begin applying for free or reduced meals for the 2024-2025 school year.

CCS Policy Code 4318 Student Use of Electronic Devices

On June 10, 2024, the Board of Education updated Policy 4318 Student Use of Electronic Devices. Policy 4318 is attached to this post. Please note the following important updates for the 2024-25 school year:

Elementary School: Students are not allowed to utilize electronic devices from arrival on campus through departure from campus. Students are required to power off and securely store their cell phones away from their person throughout the school day.
Middle School: Students are not allowed to utilize electronic devices from arrival on campus through afternoon dismissal. Students are required to power off and securely store their cell phones away from their person throughout the school day. Students engaged in after-school activities will have access to their electronic devices for communicating with parents/guardians.
High School: Students are not allowed to utilize electronic devices during instructional time. Students may use electronic devices during non-instructional times which may include arrival/dismissal, breakfast/lunch, and class change. During instructional time, students are required to power off and securely store their electronic devices away from their person.

Parent Square Communication App

ParentSquare is the official platform for school-to-home communications in Cabarrus County Schools. Our district, schools and teachers use ParentSquare to communicate directly with families on a daily basis and in case of emergency. We strongly encourage you to download the ParentSquare app and register your account today.

Please visit our ParentSquare for Parents information page to learn more about the free Mobile App, where you can customize notification preferences to fit your needs and schedule, set your preferred language for automatic two-way translation and so much more.

Car Rider Drop-off & Pick-up at Arrival & Dismissal

Starting on the first day of school, August 13th, all car rider traffic will need to enter at CC Griffin Middle School and travel down the newly paved road into Patriots.

Buses & Staff will still use the main Patriots drive.

Cars will exit the main Patriots drive.

Here are details about the route:

ROUTE MAP

VIDEO 1

VIDEO 2

Note: In afternoon only, we will use both lanes of newly paved service road to enter Patriots.

Also, please allow CC Griffin Staff to pass through to enter their parking lot.

School Bus Tracking App

CCS is continuing to use this school bus tracking app. Parents can track their student's bus location on this app. Currently the messaging portion is not active yet, so if a sub bus is running it won’t show the sub bus number or info. But otherwise should be working to track regular buses.

Here are some links to get started using this app:

Edulog English

Edulog Spanish

Edulog Info Graphic English

Edulog Info Graphic Spanish

Meal Payments on LINQ Connect

What is LINQ Connect?

LINQ Connect is a secure, online portal that allows families to:

• Make an online payment to their student’s meal account

• Remotely monitor their student’s accounts

• Set up automatic recurring payments

• Set up low balance email message alerts

• Submit an online application for free and/or reduced meals

• View online breakfast and lunch menus

How do I get started?

1. Register: Create an account at https://linqconnect.com and selecting Register.

2. Verify your Account: Verify your account by clicking on the email verification link sent to your email address.

3. Sign In: Now you can sign in at https://linqconnect.com using your email and password.

How do I add my children to my account?

You will need to add your student to your LINQ Connect account. Click on + then Type and complete the information to link your student. You will need to complete this process for each student you wish to add.

Where can I get more information or help?

Please see the attached FAQs for both desktop and app versions of LINQ Connect. Contact Maria Antunez in the Cabarrus County School Nutrition Department at (704)260-5554 for further information..

How to Set Up Parent CANVAS Account

See directions linked here to set up Parent Account for CANVAS.

Parents can see classroom information & resources on CANVAS.

Rent The Rock

The spirit rock allows you to recognize a student, share your school spirit, thank a staff member, or any other celebratory event. This is a great way to spread positivity at our school. The spirit rock is located across the main drive from the bus parking lot.

See info here to "Rent the Rock": https://sites.google.com/view/psespto/rent-the-rock

Patriots STEM Elementary

Email: amy.peters@cabarrus.k12.nc.us

Website: https://www.cabarrus.k12.nc.us/patriots

Location: 1510 Holden Avenue SW, Concord, North Carolina 28025

Phone: 704-260-6230