CFK Leopard Tales

**** Special Note about Aftercare: While we understand that some families are still looking for aftercare availability, our CFK aftercare is FULL and we are no longer accepting students from the waiting list. Our waitlist is also FULL. We are no longer accepting waitlist requests for this year. If you are still seeking aftercare in the area, the below locations pickup at CFK and transport to their individual locations:

After School Adventure Care

Legacy Martial Arts - Forest Drive

Excel Academy

Woodfield Enrichment Center

University of Personal Fitness - Taekwondo School

Just a friendly reminder to keep up with your aftercare payments.

Payment is due Monday each week. Accounts must be kept current in order for your child(ren) to remain in the aftercare program. Payment is still required the weeks your child does not attend aftercare. Payment will hold their place in our program.

Aftercare Parents, if there is a change in transportation this must be coordinated with the office before 2 pm.

For additional information, please see our Aftercare Handbook.

If you arrive at school after 7:40am and there is no adult on duty in the carpool loop, you need to park your vehicle and walk your child into the front office for their supervision and safety. Thank you in advance for your support in this matter.

• Tardies begin at 7:40am. An adult will need to sign the student in at this time.
  

• Excessive tardies will be reviewed under the choice option for attendance to a magnet program.

Please see important attendance information below:

Attendance Phase I:

Attendance & Tardies/Early Dismissals- This phase begins with 6 absences (verified or unverified) or 6 tardies/early dismissals.

Attendance Phase II:

Attendance & Tardies/Early Dismissals- This phase begins with 11 absences (verified or unverified) or 11 tardies/early dismissals.

Attendance Phase III:

Attendance & Tardies/Early Dismissals- This phase begins with the violation of the Attendance Improvement Plan (ex: exceeding the listed further tardies/absences/early dismissals allowed in the AIP for the rest of the school year).

**** State law requires students in kindergarten through 12th grade to attend school a minimum of 170 of the school year’s 180 days to receive credit for the academic year.

• Students can be absent for no more than 10 days per school year.

• A note from a parent/guardian or certified medical practitioner must be submitted to the school immediately or within 5 days upon the return of the student. Failure to provide notes within 5 day time frame may result in an absence being considered as Unverified.

• Richland School District 2 Attendance Information

*** You should receive an automated email or message from Parent Square the day of your child's absence. You can respond directly to this message in Parent Square providing the excuse information. If you have a medical note, please email and/or send in all medical notes to our Attendance Secretary, Mrs. Carter, at tacarter@richland2.org upon your return.

Thank you.

Please note that students who are NOT in our aftercare program or special after school programs, should be picked up no later than 2:50pm every day. Excessive late pickups will be reviewed under the choice option for attendance to a magnet program.

Thank you in advance for your support in this matter.

As a reminder, we encourage you to check your Parent Portal accounts periodically to stay updated on any new fees and ensure timely payment.

• Remember all students will take their IDs home and return to school with it each day.

• Student IDs are expected to be worn for the entire duration of the school day each day from the time students arrive on campus until the end of the school day.

• IDs are not required during aftercare.

• As of Tuesday, September 2, 2025, any student who does not have an ID will be sent to the office at the conclusion of the Morning Announcements. At that time:

  • A temporary 1 day ID will be issued. The student's Parent Portal account will be charged $1.00.

  • After 5 consecutive days with a temporary ID, a new permanent ID will be created and issued to the child. The student’s Parent Portal account will be charged $5.00.

• Note: The bead on the lanyard should be worn behind the student’s neck to avoid risk of choking. This bead will allow you to adjust the length of the lanyard based on the size of the child.

**** A helpful tip is to encourage your child to place their ID in their bookbag as soon as they get home each day, so it’s ready for the next morning and less likely to be forgotten.

Thank you for your support in helping us keep things running smoothly for our students.

Hard to believe we are at the end of September! It’s been a busy last month, with a lot more fun stuff coming up!

• A BIG Thank you to all of our Volunteers who came out early on the 22nd to help with am car rider duty. Our teachers were so appreciative and it is because of our amazing volunteers that we are able to spoil our teachers with things like this. If you weren’t able to participate this time, no worries- we will be doing this throughout the year for our teachers so be on the lookout for future sign-ups.

Below are a couple pictures of some of our awesome volunteers:

VIP Day was a HUGE success this year! Thank you to everyone who took the time to come and support our students and spend a little time in our classrooms. All the kids were so excited to have everyone there! And we hope you all enjoyed your PTA Cookie treat on the way out!

Save the Date: Our Leopard Run is quickly approaching. The Kickoff was September 25th, and the run is October 9th! Be on the lookout for volunteer signup forms coming soon.

Save the Date: Our CFK/CFKN Skatenight is Thursday, October 16th from 6-8 pm!

Thank you to all families who participated in Literacy Night and Character Dress Up Day in support of Literacy Learning!

Click on the below document to access links.

Thursday, October 9: Early Dismissal at 11:00am; aftercare available until 6pm for already enrolled students

Friday, October 10: Staff Workday/Student Holiday

Monday, October 13: School Holiday- Offices Closed

Please see the CFK breakfast and lunch menus below. If your child would like school breakfast in the morning, please arrive at school prior to 7:20am.

CFK Breakfast and Lunch Menus

A HUGE thank you to Auto Safety Glass for sponsoring our carpool signs this year!

Families, please keep in mind the implementation of Free to Focus. In addition to the abundance of communication that has been shared districtwide via ParentSquare, there is also an FAQ section on R2's Free to Focus Webpage.

Thank you so much for your support!

Our school website can be located at https://www.cfk.richland2.org/. Just hover over and click on the header words "Our School," "Academics," and "Families" in the top banner area of the website to access important school information.

October

1-2: Yom Kippur

3: 2nd Grade to Koger Center for the Arts

7: Jr. Beta Club Induction

8: End of the First Quarter

9: Leopard Color Run

9: Early Dismissal at 11:00am

10: District Inservice/Student Holiday- No School

13: School Holiday- No School

15: Kindergarten to Clinton Sease Farms

16: Report Cards Go Home

16: Skate Night

22: Unity Day (wear orange)

23:5th Grade to Camp Leopold

23: 4th Grade to Palmetto Fossil Excursions

24: Fall Picture Day

November

4: 3rd Grade to Discovery Place

7: 2nd Grade to Marionette Theatre

10: Choice Application Process Begins; Elementary Choice Fair

11: Veterans Day Celebration (more information to come soon)

13: 5th Grade to Camp Discovery

20: Grades 3-5 Musical Performances

21: Career Day @ CFK

24-28: Thanksgiving Break- No School

Center for Knowledge

3006 Appleby Lane

Columbia, SC 29223

Phone: 803.691.2966 Fax: 803.699.2967

Website

Facebook

Principal: Jessica Agee - jagee@richland2.org

Assistant Principal: Jessica Holley - jholley@richland2.org

Office Manager: Tammy Carter - tacarter@richland2.org