Cottonwood News

While I love summer and all it brings, I’m also very ready for the new school year! We have made some updates inside the building with paint (thanks PTO!) and displays, we have some new teachers who are so happy to be a part of CES, we have veteran teachers who are ready to be back, and the building is super clean and ready to go. All we are missing is YOU!

A reminder to make sure you have all of your registration forms completed and fees paid, particularly if your child will ride the bus. Transportation will be held up if fees aren’t paid. Ms. Tope and Ms. Osborne are in the office daily, ready to help if you need guidance with enrollment, paying fees, or have other questions.

We look forward to seeing all 1st - 5th grade students and their grown-ups on Monday, August 11 for Meet Your Teacher Night! Feel free to stop by between 5:00 and 6:30 pm to drop off supplies, check in with teachers, and see how amazing our building looks! Kindergarteners will get to meet their teachers the afternoon of Tuesday, August 12th. Kinder teachers will reach out to parents to schedule those.

And then it’s time to get going! Wednesday, August 13 is the first day of school and we’ll be ready to open the doors at 8:35 am. School starts promptly at 8:45 am and we can’t wait to get going with our 1st - 5th graders. Kinders have a staggered start, so we’ll look forward to the 18th when every CES students is here for the whole day!

There’s a lot of key information in this newsletter, so please read it carefully and reach out to Ms. Tope, Ms. Osborne, or myself if you have questions or need additional information.

We’ll see you soon!

With education at heart,

Dr. Michelle Adler
Principal

You will be able to look up your child's teacher* via PowerSchool on Friday, August 8th after 4 pm.

*We had a large number of parent requests this year, and while we appreciate your insight, it was impossible to honor every request.
Many factors go into the creation of a class and the administration worked diligently to consider the needs of every student in each class.
Moving forward we will not be accepting parent requests. Luckily we have a strong community of wonderful educators and can assure you every student was and will be thoughtfully placed with a caring and professional teacher.*

Meet Your Teacher Grades 1-5: Monday, August 11, 5 - 6:30 pm
Come on over to Cottonwood and feel free to bring your child's supplies to leave in the classroom. (Supply list link below.)

Meet Your Teacher Kindergarten: Tuesday, August 12, 12 - 6 pm
Your child's teacher will email you to schedule a time once class lists are posted.

The school supply list is posted here on the USD385.org website.
Please bring your child's supplies with them on their first day of school, or to the Meet Your Teacher event.

We are excited to welcome the Class of 2038 to Cottonwood Elementary!!!

August 13th and 14th will be a staggered start for Kindergarten students. Kindergarteners will attend school on either the 13th OR the 14th (not both), from 9:30 am - 2:30 pm.

During Staggered Start, kindergarteners will become familiar with classroom procedures, explore the building, play, and eat lunch. This is an opportunity for the teacher to meet each child in a smaller setting. It also allows the kindergarteners to feel a little less overwhelmed as they begin their new adventure.

Keep in mind that you will need to provide transportation on Staggered Start day. Buses will not run for kindergarten on August 13 or 14. Please park in the south parking lot (front of the school) and walk with your student to and from the school. Teachers will meet you at the front of the school.

There is no school for kindergarten on Friday, August 15th.

Monday, August 18th will be a full day of school for everyone!
Doors open at 8:35 am, school starts at 8:45 am, school ends at 3:45 pm.

If you haven't received an email about scheduling for Staggered Start, please reach out to topee@usd385.org.

School begins at 8:45 am.

Students may enter the building starting at 8:35 am.
(There is no supervision available before 8:35 am.)

Students who eat school breakfast may head to the cafeteria at 8:25 am.

Key Academy Students may enter the building through Door i starting at 6:30 am.

School ends at 3:45 pm.

• Car riders and bus riders are dismissed first.
• Once buses leave the south parking lot, "walkers" (any student walking out of the front entrance of the school) will be dismissed to meet parents in the south parking lot.
• If you're picking up a student from the south parking lot, guardians must park and meet their student on the sidewalk/front of building.

Car Riders
Parents in the car line can help us by:

• Keeping your student's car tag visible in the passenger side window. (Car tags will be passed out at the Meet Your Teacher event, or on the first day of school.)
  
• Pulling forward into the staff parking lot if your child needs assistance buckling in. This will keep the line moving.
• Being patient and courteous to other drivers and staff.

Student Drop Off/Pick Up Map

Thank you for following the procedures. We work hard to make sure our families are safe.

A student’s success in school – and later in life – is directly tied to regular attendance in school. Students who attend school regularly have higher grades and standardized test scores, and are less likely to drop out of high school. Those who graduate high school are more likely to have success obtaining a job, have higher-quality health, and are less likely to have involvement in the criminal justice system.

On top of that, school attendance is the law. Kansas statute requires students to attend school until the age of 18, except in very specific circumstances. Click here for more information on the impact of being absent from school.

Breakfast and Lunch Menus

The Andover Board of Education approved student meal prices for the 2025-26 school year. The district must comply with federal and state regulations for meal reimbursement. The following prices will be in place for the school year:

Elementary lunch - $3.40
Elementary breakfast - $2.10

For information on free or reduced prices click here.

Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year at Cottonwood. We are going to make it amazing!

We are excited to welcome new teachers to our building this year: Mrs. Miller (K), Ms. Voisin (K), Ms. Pflugradt (2), Ms. Puckett (5) and Ms. Dooley (5). We also have new students joining us this year. It is exciting to have so many new faces here at Cottonwood!!

In Counselor Time we will start the year with Friendship and Inclusion. We will work on ways to make and keep friends. I will start my 'New Student' groups as soon as school starts. If your child is experiencing anxiety with the transition into this school year please let me know.

If you need backpacks or school supplies, please reach out to me!

I look forward to being back with the children.

Marcie Faust - LCPC/NBCC

Cottonwood Counselor
316-218-4620 ext. 2

faustm@usd385.org

Welcome back to school from the health office! We hope that everyone has had a safe and healthy summer.

Returning students to Cottonwood need to complete a student health history form.

Students entering kindergarten and/or are new to USD 385 District must provide proper documentation of immunizations. All kindergarten students and new students under the age of 9 years must also have a Well Child Physical Exam on file (a pre-kindergarten physical does not meet this requirement).

All prescription medications that need to be administered at school must have physician orders each school year.

All of the Health Office forms can be found on the district website under Departments > Nursing.

The health office is busy reviewing documents and will contact you if we need to follow up with anything. If you have any questions or need help finding the forms, please let us know. We would love to help you.

Denise Rebel, School Nurse
rebeld@usd385.org

Key Academy is a YMCA childcare program hosted at Cottonwood Elementary.
Drop off is as early as 6:30 am, and pick up is as late as 6 pm.

Find out more about the program here:
https://ymcawichita.org/programs/child-care-and-camps/before-and-after-school

August 11: Meet Your Teacher, grades 1-5 (5-6:30 pm)

August 12: Meet Your Teacher, kindergarten (12-6 pm)

August 13: First day of school for grades 1-5

August 13-14: Kindergarten Staggered Start (9:30 am - 2:30 pm)

August 18: First full day for Kindergarten
September 1: NO SCHOOL - Labor Day

September 11: Fall pictures

Need more current information? The Cottonwood website is updated weekly.

Cottonwood has several ways in which we try to communicate our news.
You can download the Andover Schools Mobile App in either iTunes or Google.

We use PowerSchool School Messenger to share upcoming activities through phone calls and emails.

School website: http://cottonwood.usd385.org/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CottonwoodElementary

PTO Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cottonwoodelementarypto/

Andover Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndoverSchools

Peachjar
Peachjar is an “electronic backpack” system where schools post calendars, activity information from enrichment providers, and school letters. This system is used exclusively for distribution of school-approved fliers. Your email address will not be shared or used for any other purpose.

If you have suggestions on how to help communicate our learning and teaching, please don't hesitate to email me at adlerm@usd385.org.

Email: adlerm@usd385.org
Website: http://cottonwood.usd385.org/
Location: 1747 N Andover Rd, Andover, KS, United States
Phone: 316-218-4620