The Cardinal Connection

Dear Families,

As we head into the Thanksgiving break, we wanted to extend our heartfelt gratitude for such a supportive and generous school community. Your time spent volunteering, your contributions to our PTA, and your participation in our various service opportunities truly make a difference.

We are thankful for your partnership and for the continued spirit of service that strengthens our community!

We wish you a joyful holiday filled with rest, connection, and time with family and friends. Enjoy the break, stay safe, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back on 12/1!

In Partnership,

Mrs. Gearheart and Mrs. Jacobs

As part of our Continuous Improvement Plan, our staff are committed to increasing student engagement through the use of Kagan Cooperative Learning structures. These activities can be a fun way for families to interact at home as well as gives your child(children) a chance to practice the structures at home. We're starting with Rally Robin! See the directions below! Thanksgiving is a great time to try it out!

Report cards play a vital role in your child’s learning journey. They are not just a record of grades, but a valuable tool that reflects your child’s progress, strengths, and areas for improvement. Through report cards, teachers communicate how well students are progressing towards mastery of standards and skills.

We encourage you to carefully review your child’s report card and to discuss it with them. Celebrate successes, and discuss ways to support continued growth at home and in school. By working together, we can ensure that your child feels supported, motivated, and inspired to reach their full potential. Report cards will be available on November 18th.

Grades K-3

• Report cards for Grades K–3 will be sent home in student folders for Marking Periods 1–3. Final report cards will be mailed home.

• The Progress Book Parent Portal opened on November 18. Parents received an email with login information and instructions on how to access the portal.

Grades 4-12 at Infinite Campus Family Portal

• Grades 4 - 12 are now available digitally in the Infinite Campus portal for Marking Periods 1-3. Final report cards will be available both in print and digitally through the Infinite Campus portal.

• For all special needs students, IEP progress reports were sent home.

• If you experience any issues logging in, please visit our Help Page or contact your child's school for assistance.

Infinite Campus Parent and Student Mobile Apps

Don’t forget to download your Infinite Campus Parent and Student Mobile Apps available in the App Store and Google Play Store! Learn more about how to use the Infinite Campus mobile apps.

Check your clutter or spam folders for messages from Red Clay and to move them to their inbox or add Red Clay to your safe sender list to ensure you receive all district communications.

Thank you for your continued partnership in your child’s education.

Our fall conferences are quickly approaching. The Red Clay calendar sets aside 11/24 and 11/25 for conferences. There will be no school on these two days, as well as November 26-28 for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The goal of conferences is to give you a clear understanding of your child's progress as well as to provide ideas and strategies for how you can help your child at home. Staff are looking forward to sharing the many GLOWS and GROWS of the students.

Your child's teacher will be, or has, sent the link to sign up for conference times. We encourage you to sign up for a conference. Our Unified Arts, Special Education, Multi Language Learner educators and School Counselors are also available to meet with you. You can reach out to those staff members to get an update on progress that your child is making outside of the homeroom classroom.

The Holiday Shop is almost here! Families now have the option to add money to their child’s online spending account using the link below.

Forms also went home this week in red folders. Please fill them out and send them back on your child’s shopping day, no matter which payment method you choose (cash, check, or online). This helps our volunteers assist your child as smoothly and efficiently as possible while they shop!

The Lost and Found will be displayed on Monday and Tuesday, 11/24 and 11/25. Anything unclaimed on Tuesday will be donated.

Please label your child's sweatshirts, jackets and hats!

If you plan to volunteer at Cooke (chaperone a field trip, help in the classroom, help at a school event such as the Book Fair or Holiday Shop, etc.) you must complete the State of Delaware process to become an approved volunteer.

There are three documents you need to turn in:

1. Confidentiality Agreement

2. TB Risk Assessment

3. RECEIPT for the $14 online fee for the Child Protection Registry

Please turn in all of the documents at one time to your child's homeroom teacher.

Documents must be received in the office BEFORE the date of the volunteer opportunity/field trip.

Volunteer approval is good for ONE calendar year. So, if you completed this last October, you are cleared through October 2025. Then you must resubmit the three documents. If you are unsure when you expire, you can call the main office at 302-235-6600.

Some parents have expressed trouble with the Child Protection Registry site. We do not have tech support for this. We have learned that it is best to do this on a computer versus a phone. That seems to be more successful.

The State of Delaware conducts state testing starting in Grade 3. We are providing the dates so that you can plan ahead to ensure that your child is in school on these dates.

Grade 3:

ELA: 4/27, 4/30

Math: 5/5, 5/7

Grade 4:

Social Studies: 2/11, 5/11

ELA: 4/27, 4/30

Math: 5/5, 5/7

Grade 5:

Social Studies: 1/23, 5/11

ELA: 4/27, 4/30

Math: 5/5, 5/7

Science: 5/14

We have a translate feature! Simply click "translate newsletter" and you can pick from many different languages!

¡Tenemos un botón de traducción! Simplemente haga clic donde dice "translate newsletter" y podrá elegir entre muchos idiomas diferentes.