The CPES BobChat

This is the time of year when relationships are established, routines are in place, and reviews from last year are over. We are into the "nitty gritty" of new teaching and learning...and it is hard. Kara Lawson, Duke Women's Basketball Coach, talks about this in the video above. (Please take three minutes to watch it.) How can we help our children (and ourselves) "handle hard better?" 1. Know that pursuing "easy" is not always helpful. Athletes become stronger, faster, and more skilled when they push themselves (or are pushed by their coaches). That can be painful because it means that they take a hit in their confidence. They have to admit "they are not there yet." It may also mean not taking shortcuts or the easy way out when working on a task. In the end, pursuing something harder and doing it well yields growth. We all want our children taking their next step and not "wait for the easy bus." 2. Replace "failure" with "best effort." Doing harder things is so risky. It may not work out the way we want. It is uncomfortable and we can get hurt in the process. It is all too easy to over-focus on the end goal and under-focus on the attempt. We want our children to know that their best effort is way more important than the grade or the score or the accomplishment. The struggle is the goal. We want our children to build resilience so they can face any and all problems in the future. When we help them set their eyes on "my best" instead of "the outcome," they can accomplish so much more than they thought. 3. Be with them. "If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." (African Proverb) When we are handling hard things in life, it feels utterly and completely lonely. We believe no one else understands and that we are the only one experiencing this challenge. Our children feel the same way when adversity in school or the ballfield or at home comes their way. Our presence with them on their bad days speaks louder than our cheers for them on their good days. We become better when we are together. Like adults, our children easily lose perspective when things don't go right on the first, second or third try. They need our reassurance that it will be OK and to hang in there. Sometimes, we borrow the courage of others (called encouragement) in order to take the next step. Our constant and persistent presence in their lives makes such a difference.

"Handling hard better" is never easy but it produces such great results in our character and in our children's character. Let's work with them and model for them how to "handle hard better" throughout this school year.

Strength and Blessings,

Mr. Maness

1. Reminders

a. Storm Recovery--We know that storms can be scary for children (and adults, too.) If your family needs any support as a result of the recent storms, please reach out to your child's teachers, our school counselors, and administration for support.

b. Student Holidays--As we look ahead at the calendar, we will not have school Friday, October 11 and Monday, October 14.

c. Picture Day--Will be Wednesday, October 23. You can order them online at http://www.carolinaphoto.net and you will enter our school's Job Key: 7UURTRZ8. You will complete the student data query then pick the package and submit your order. See information below.

2. Boys Running Club, Girls on the Run and Soccer Club--Parents, please do not arrive to pick up students on Monday and Wednesday until after 3:20. Our girls are using the lower Cherry Road Loop as a running path and we want to leave that area open for safety reasons.

3. Staff Appreciation Last Week--Thanks so much for your contributions and effort in encouraging our staff. See pictures above.

4. Publix and Harris Teeter Signups--Please click on the button below so you can know how to link your Publix and Harris Teeter accounts to our school so these stores will donate percentage of your purchases go to CPES.

October 11--Student and Staff Holiday (District Closed)

October 14--Professional Development Day (No Students); 5:30 PM School Improvement Council; 6:30 PTO Meeting

October 23--Picture Day

October 25--Bobcat Dash

School Improvement Council--This group seeks to determine how Cherry Park Elementary can be the best school it can be. It is a sounding board and feedback group for the school and district. Members are elected for two year terms. Members of this year's Council include Chelsea Eichorn, Jennifer Hutchinson, Matthew Query, Bernice Huskins, Heather Kagey, and Emily Parrish. Ex-Officio Members are Mr. Maness (Principal) and Mrs. Futrelle (Assistant Principal). Meetings are held at Cherry Park on the second Monday of each month at 5:30 PM. All parents are invited to attend.

Parent Teacher Organization--This group has three main goals: Raising funds for the school, appreciating the staff and securing volunteers as needed. The Cherry Park PTO is a 501c3 tax deductible organization. Meetings are held at Cherry Park on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 PM (right after the SIC meetings.) All parents are invited to attend. All financial records are distributed and updated at each month's meeting. Officers this year are Amanda Winters (President), Emmanuel Daniel (Vice-President), Celia Kerr (Secretary) and Shannon Martin/Caroline Stubbs (Co-Treasurers). We appreciate all of our sponsors (above) who contributed to our Bobcat Dash this year.

"What Should We Remember When We Have Bad Weather?" September 29, 2022 https://secure.smore.com/n/28hfx

"What Do Great Coaches Do?" September 22, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/cuktn

"How Can We Support the Bobcat Dash on 10/25?" September 15, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/vs3uwm

"What Are We Thinking about Safety This Week?" September 8, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/pxhd6

"What is the Difference between PTO and SIC?" September 1, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/syh3t

"How Are We Doing?" August 25, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/b2a9s

"What Lessons Can We Learn from the Olympics? (Part 2) August 18, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/9fe7s

"What Lessons Can We Learn from the Olympics? (Part 1)" August 11, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/ejr3s

"How Can We 'Be' Ready for the First Day of School? (Final Reminders) August 4, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/0wvx9

"What Do Families Need to Know about Open House" August 3, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/3wx9d

"How Can We Start Getting Ready for School?" (Part 4) July 28, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/59pwv

"How Can We Start Getting Ready for School?" (Part 3) July 21, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/y0w1e

"How Can We Start Getting Ready for School?" (Part 2) July 14, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/x5hed

"How Can We Start Getting Ready for School?" July 7, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/6x9vk

"Who's and What's New at Cherry Park? (Part 3) June 30, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/ksd0u

"Who's New at Cherry Park? (Part 2) June 2, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/8cuf1g

"Who's New at Cherry Park? (Part 1)" May 26, 2024 https://secure.smore.com/n/c0pnvt