Battlefield Newsletter

BES Mission Statement: Our mission is working together to promote high levels of learning for all students.

BES Vision Statement: Building Exceptional Students

• We will create a caring environment where all students can succeed.

• We will work collaboratively to learn, plan and grow as educators in order to promote high levels of achievement.

• We will help our students reach their potential by prioritizing individual student goals, differentiating instruction, and utilizing best practices

• We will work together to encourage and celebrate student success.

• We will give 100% to know and meet the social, academic, and emotional needs of each child.

Goal 2: The percentage of students (all grades) performing at Proficient and Distinguished will improve from 38.2% to 43% on the 2025 EOG Milestones ELA assessment.

Goal 3: The percentage of 5th grade students performing at Developing, Proficient, and Distinguished will improve from 59.3% to 80% on the 2025 EOG Milestones Science assessment.

"To kindness and love, the things we need most!"

- Grinch

BES and the Catoosa County Sheriff's Department invite you to participate in the Catoosa County Toy Drive. Students may bring in a new and unwrapped toy to donate to a Catoosa County child in need. Toys will be accepted until Friday December 19.

This is the time of the year when the weather becomes an issue. I think most of you have signed up for text alerts, but if you haven't, please sign up. All closings and delays will be sent through the text alert. If you haven't signed up, you can sign up by texting "Y" or "Yes" to 67587.

This is the time of the year where we collect a large number of coats and jackets with no identification. Writing your child's name in their jacket, coats, and hats will help us get those items back to the rightful owners. Any unclaimed items are donated to charity.

Our homeroom Christmas parties will be Friday, December 19 at 9:00 am. Parents are welcome to join us for class parties. Individual teachers will send out information to their classroom parents. We will allow students to check out after the parties.

We will start Christmas vacation on Monday, December 22 and students will return on Tuesday, January 6th. January will start our second semester and third nine weeks.

Ms. Bailey and I, along with the entire Battlefield staff, would like to wish you a wonderful and peaceful holiday.

We are Battlefield!

Dr. McCrary

The Georgia Department of Education is recognizing schools that demonstrated exceptional achievement or growth in reading and mathematics during the 2024-2025 school year — naming Literacy Leader schools for excellence in reading and Math Leader schools for excellence in mathematics.

The Literacy Leader and Math Leader honors celebrate schools that demonstrate extraordinary student progress and proficiency. Schools are recognized for achievement, growth, or both on annual end-of-grade or end-of-course assessments. The criteria recognize the crucial importance of grade-level reading in third and sixth grades and numeracy skills in fifth and eighth grades, and require higher growth from schools with lower achievement levels.

“Strong literacy and math skills open the door for every opportunity our students will encounter in school, in their future careers, and in life,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “The schools recognized as Literacy Leaders and Math Leaders have shown a deep commitment to ensuring every student has the tools to succeed. I’m proud to honor their work and the positive impact they’re making on students across our state as we work to prepare all students for life.”

A total of 406 schools met the qualifications for recognition as 2024-2025 Literacy Leaders. Awards were given based on the outlined criteria at the elementary and middle-school levels, and at the high-school level based on the American Literature EOC, which is the state test for ELA in high school. Literacy Leader qualifications use the Georgia Milestones Reading Status indicator, which is based on the Lexile score associated with students' performance on a subset of questions on the ELA assessment. GaDOE also recognized Literacy Leader schools for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years.

Blood Drive – Thursday, January 15th 🩸

BES will be partnering with Blood Assurance to host a Blood Drive on Thursday, January 15th from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM.

We invite our families, staff, and community members to participate if they are able. Every donation helps save lives, and your support makes a meaningful difference.

More information about scheduling a donation time will be sent out soon. Thank you for helping us support this life-saving cause!

Our car rider line is staffed from 7:00 to 7:50 a.m., with additional staff members present during the busiest times to ensure safety and efficiency. We understand that many of you are on your way to work after drop-off, and we want to help make your morning as smooth as possible.

As the weather gets colder, we know students may want to stay in the car until the last minute. Please help us keep the line moving by having your child ready to exit the car promptly—with their backpack, lunch box, and any other materials in hand.

With the weather changing, we also see an increase in tardies during the next few months. Our goal is to have every student in class on time and ready to learn each day. Thank you for your cooperation and support in keeping our car rider line safe, efficient, and on schedule!

We want to remind all families of the importance of keeping up to date with your child’s cafeteria balance. At this time, our cafeteria has an outstanding balance of $2,000, and we appreciate your help in reducing this debt. If you have any questions or need assistance checking your child’s account, please contact our cafeteria manager, Mrs. Jenny Hastick, at jhastick.bat@catoosa.k12.ga.us or by phone at (706) 866-9183. Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your continued support in keeping our school meal program running smoothly.

We make every effort to keep you informed about important events. Please note that all dates are subject to change; however, we will provide updates as soon as possible if any adjustments are necessary.

12/5: 5th Grade CHAMPS Ceremony

12/11: BES Spelling Bee

12/12: 4th Grade Parent Lunch

12/15: Ukulele Concert at BES @ 6:30

12/19: Class Parties/ End of 2nd 9 Weeks

Joining the Parent Portal is one of the best ways to stay actively involved in your child’s education. Through the portal, you can view real-time updates on grades, attendance, assignments, missing work, and teacher comments, helping you support your child throughout the school year.

If you have not yet created a Parent Portal account, we strongly encourage you to do so. It only takes a few minutes to set up and provides ongoing access to information that supports student success.

To sign up, please contact Chasity Purcell at cpurcell@catoosa.k12.ga.us. She will provide your unique access code and step-by-step instructions needed to log in. Once your account is activated, you’ll be able to:

• Monitor your child’s academic progress at any time

• View attendance records and tardies as they are updated

• Receive alerts about low grades or missing assignments

Parent Portal is an important tool for communication between school and home, and we hope every family will take advantage of it. If you have any questions or need assistance after enrolling, please reach out — we are happy to help!

Month: December

Theme: Holiday Tech Season

Focus Title: How much tech is too much during break?

Parent Blurb: New devices and holiday downtime can mean screen overload. Help your family find balance with offline fun.

Grade 3-5 Message: Balance tech and offline fun during break. Get a holiday tech plan on Parent ProTech: https://app.parentprotech.com/932/catoosa-county/en/signup?source=admin

Subject: New Bus Traversa MyRide K-12 Parent App - Starting March 26, 2025

Dear CCPS Bus Rider Families,

We are excited to announce a new bus-tracking app called Traversa MyRide K-12, starting on March 26, 2025, for the entire district. CCPS Parents will have access to our new app, MyRide K-12. Please scan the QR code below with your smartphone's camera to download and sign up for our new CCPS Bus app.

Changing over to Traversa offers a more advanced and user-friendly platform designed to improve the safety and efficiency of our student transportation. Key benefits include:

• Improved Efficiency: Streamlined processes and real-time updates.

• Enhanced Safety: Advanced features to ensure student safety.

• Better Communication: Timely notifications and updates through the MyRide K-12 Parent App, allowing you to track your child’s bus with:

• Estimated arrival times

• Potential delays or route changes

• Notifications for specific events (e.g., bus approaching)

• Data Privacy: Rest assured that student data is protected and the app adheres to all privacy regulations.

After scanning the QR code, you will be directed to download the app and create an account using your student ID.

Directions to Download MyRide K-12 App

We encourage all CCPS Bus rider families to participate in the new Bus app program. We are particularly interested in your comments regarding the accuracy of bus pick-up and drop-off times displayed in the app. You will be able to track your student 30 minutes prior to and post pick-up time.

Please share your thoughts and suggestions with:

• Mr. Ernie Ellis, CCPS Director of Transportation: eellis@catoosa.k12.ga.us

• Mrs. Mary Lanham, CCPS Transportation Manager: mlanham@catoosa.k12.ga.us

• Or call our Transportation Office @ 706-965-2913

All comments are welcome and appreciated. We look forward to our new MyRide K-12 Program and all it can offer by way of accuracy. We look forward to partnering with you to make our transportation system the best it can be.

Sincerely,

Mr. Ellis

CCPS Transportation Director