The SHARK Alert

Chatham Elementary School Community Update

January 12, 2025

Dear CES SHARKS & Friends,

Tomorrow, Monday, January 13th is the 80th day of school and official half-way point for our school year! The first half has been absolutely amazing and we have no plans to slow down! You may notice on Monday that the staff will be celebrating the 80th day of school in a special and unique way. We're not sharing the secret yet, but make sure to ask your SHARKS if there was anything unusual about the school staff on the 80th day of school!!

I would like to thank you all for ensuring your SHARKS were appropriately dressed for last week's cold temperatures. Unfortunately, due to the frigid temperatures we were indoors for recess most of the week, however, we were able to get outdoors on Friday and took full advantage of the warmer temperatures. Please continue to ensure your students are prepared for the weather and we will continue to monitor the temperatures/wind chill and make sure our SHARKS get as much fresh air as possible.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Sincerely,

Dr. Kelly

CES SHARKS Tackle Real-World Problems in STEM Class

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and it's important for kids because it cultivates critical thinking, problem-solving skills, creativity, and collaboration through hands-on learning, preparing them for the increasingly technological world by equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed for future careers in STEM fields; essentially, it encourages children to explore, experiment, and ask questions to understand the world around them through science, technology, engineering, and math principles. Ms. Macomber, our STEM teacher, continuously challenges our SHARKS through the STEM program at CES.

Currently, Ms. Macomber and our students are working with community organizations to solve real-world problems in local businesses. A few weeks ago, Ms. Macomber invited businesses in the Chatham Chamber of Commerce to share their "problems" with students through the following bulletin:

Local businesses, let Chatham Elementary School students solve your problems!

Chatham Elementary School is looking to collaborate with local businesses to support students’ problem-solving skills. Cindy Macomber, the STEM teacher at CES, works with students to explore, design, create, improve, and present solutions to social and science-related problems. Students would welcome additional problem-solving opportunities through real-world business challenges! If you have a problem that is vexing your business, such as “our hangers aren’t strong enough for thick sweaters,” “a sign in the back needs to be noticed more,” or “we need a better solution to clean our windows,” please send it our way so our students can tackle it. For any problems submitted, students will go through the Engineering Design Process in school and create potential solutions. Those will then be presented to the business for feedback, and hopefully, implementation! If you are interested in participating in this project, please contact teacher Cindy Macomber at cmacomber@monomoy.edu.

Ms. Macomber has already received requests from our community for students to assist our local businesses. Some students will be working on a project for the Chatham Railroad Museum, while others will be working with a local yoga studio. If you have a small business with a problem for our SHARKS to solve, please reach out to Ms. Macomber. We look forward to working with our community partners and are excited to share our SHARKS' work!

Chatham Elementary Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)

Join us on Tuesday, January 14th for our monthly PTO Meeting. 6:00 pm in the Media Center.

Coming Soon to CES...

Monday, January 13th - Hearts and Paws Therapy Dogs Visit
Tuesday, January 14th - 6:00 pm CES Parent Teacher Organization Meeting
Wednesday, January 15th - Early Release Day
Monday, January 20th - NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Wednesday, January 22nd - SHARK Assembly
Wednesday, January 29th - Early Release
Friday, February 7th - End of Session II Clubs
Wednesday, February 12th - Early Release
February 17th - February 21st - NO SCHOOL - February Break
Monday, February 24th - Session III Clubs Begin

SHARK Shout Outs

Thank you to Mrs. Joy Jordan for her assistance in soliciting the Chatham Chamber of Commerce for our STEM classes!

Thank you to Ms. Macomber for going above and beyond to challenge our students and provide them with real-world opportunities to show case their problem -solving and creativity!

Thank you to Mr. Toppa for offering instrumental lessons at CES. Did you know all of our 4th-grade students are playing at least one musical instrument? Those are some talented SHARKS!!

January Lunch Menu

COMMUNITY NEWS

Resources for Families

CES Student Handbook

Click here to view the Chatham Elementary School Handbook full of information, policies, and procedures.

Cape Cod Community Based Resources

Click here to access an extensive list of community resources including, but not limited to: food, housing, parenting support, mental/behavioral health, utilities, transportation, summer programs, clothing, etc.