3-1-26 PAW'S PRESS

Click here to register.

Dear Cherokee Families,

March is a BUSY but exciting month! See below for some important dates.

Important Dates

March Is Reading Month - See below for resources from Ms. Tropper.

March 6th - Ticket Store and Leadership Assemblies. Wear Cherokee shirts or other Cherokee gear. LEGO, Science Olympiad and Battle of the Books teams will be recognized during assemblies.

March 6th - Elementary LEGO tournament @ CVHS 6-8pm

March 7th - Elementary Science Olympiad Tournament @CVHS (awards at 2:30 PM)

March 7th - PTO Gym JAM 2-4 PM (see below)

March 8th - Spring Forward (1 hour) - Daylight Savings Time Change

March 10th - 4th grade concert (NEW DATE - see below for details)

March 11th - PTO Hungry Howie's Dining Night (see below)

March 12th - Clinton Macomb Public Library Literacy Night (see below)

March 18th - Report cards will be available in the Parent Portal (directions will be shared)

March 18th & 19th - Elementary School Parent Teacher Conferences 5:30 pm - 8:00pm (see below)

March 20th - Half Day - Dismissal at 11:44 AM

March 22nd - PTO Mom and Son Day of Fun (see above)

March 25th - PTO Meeting - Media Center - 6:15 PM

March 27th - Spring Break begins after dismissal - Half Day Dismissal at 11:44 AM

March 30th - April 3rd Spring Break

April 6th - Classes Resume

As in the past, the Paw's Press newsletters will include key information and typically will be sent at the end of each week. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help make the school year a success for you and your child! See you soon!

Sincerely,

Heather Batko

Cherokee Principal

hbatko@cvs.k12.mi.us

• Even though lunch is free for all students, we still need parents to complete the digital online ordering form so that we have an accurate count and enough food for all students.
• Click here to order school lunch for March.
• Click here for a printable version of the March lunch menu.
• Ordering deadlines: Please note that we have received communication from food services that families need to order lunch by 9:30 AM the school day prior. For example, when ordering lunch for pizza on Monday, please order by 9:30 AM on Friday. This helps with the accuracy of our lunch count. We of course always order extra but this helps with accuracy.
  
• There is a charge of $1.50 for ordering doubles.
• Click here for the Food Services website.

March is reading Month! Click the picture above or the link below to go to the Reading Month Smore to find out more!

https://app.smore.com/n/1bh2g

Ewallet Directions:

• Click the link below or the Ewallet Picture
• Scroll down to the pink section that says "Book Fair eWallet: The easy way to pay.
• Click the Red "Get Started" button
• Sign in if you have a Scholastic account or click register to create one.
• Click the red "Create an eWallet" button to the right of the section that says "Create and eWallet for:"
• Click the button next to "I'm a parent creating an eWallet for a student"
• Enter your students information (Note: Recipient is your child's name)
• Click "Create eWallet"
• You can either fund your eWallet with a credit card or a Scholastic gift card. This is also where it should give you the option to transfer money left over from previous fairs to this new eWallet. To use any left over funds you must transfer them otherwise they will not show up.

*Please note: If you have money left over from last year you will need to transfer it back to the eWallet which should be an option while you are setting it up. See instructions above*

https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/cherokeeelementaryschool15

It's that time again! The Spring book fair will be here before you know it and we will need volunteers. We can't do it without you!

Click here or the volunteer's needed picture to access the volunteer Jotform. If you do not have a background check on file please be sure to fill it out after completing the Jotform (you will be redirected to the form). Thanks so much for your time!

Our Cherokee LEGO team will compete against other elementary schools in Chippewa Valley on March 6th. They have been working so hard to program their robots! Thank you to Mr. Erik Roberts for coaching our team! Go Wildcats!

Thank you to PTO for sponsoring our t-shirts!

Our Cherokee Science Olympiad Team will compete against all 12 elementary schools in Chippewa Valley Schools on Saturday, March 7th at Chippewa Valley High School. They will also compete again on May 7, 2026 against 60+ schools at the Macomb Science Olympiad County Competition.

Go Wildcats! We are already so proud of all of your hard work! Thank you to Mrs. Beliveau for serving as our Head Coach! Also, thank you to all of our parent Event Coaches!

Thank you to PTO for sponsoring our t-shirts!

Good luck to all of our amazing readers for all of their hard work! Good luck as they compete against schools across the county on March 15th!

Click here for the Cherokee PTO Newsletter for March 2026.

Winter is coming! If your Cherokee student is in need of a winter coat or other winter gear, please complete this form (click here) for each Cherokee student. Our social worker, Mrs. Gilbert, works with many organizations to connect families with coats and other resources. She will do her best to fulfill as many requests as possible on a first come/first serve basis.

Just a reminder, students continue to go outside for recess when it is 20 degrees or above (including if the wind chill factor 'feels like' below 20 ). Please make sure that your students come prepared with hats/gloves/snow pants/boots etc. Families may want to label these items with their child's name to make it easier for lost items to find their owner.

All children go out for recess unless a doctor's note has been submitted/is on file in the main office indicating otherwise.

Each middle school in Chippewa Valley will host a 6th grade parent orientation on Thursday, April 9th. More details will be shared in March.

Registration for students who will be entering Kindergarten in the fall of 2026 began on Monday, January 26th. Registration is done through central office.

NOTE: This is NOT for students who are currently enrolled in Kindergarten at Cherokee this school year. This is for the 2026-2027 school year.

Start here by entering your preliminary information: https://ps.cvs.misd.net/public/formbuilder/form.html?formid=5737884

We are already planning for NEXT school year. If you have a Kindergarten student for the 2026-2027 school year, save the date for our Kindergarten Kick-Off on May 12th.

This is NOT for current Kindergarten students.

Click here to apply.

• Throughout the school year we are required to complete 5 fire drills, 3 lockdown drills and 2 tornado drills.
• We completed 3 fire drills in September. The other two will be in the spring.
• In October, we will had two lockdown drills. These drills are comprised of age-appropriate lessons as well as practicing other tasks such as locking down in a safe space, relocating to a safe place, etc. For one of our drills, we used our lockdown "blue light" alarm with our school resource officer.
• We do not tell families or students the exact dates/times of these drills for safety reasons.
• The book, I'm Not Scared I'm Prepared, that is utilized for the lockdown drills is below in a PDF format in case you would like to review it with your family. This book is used at all elementary schools in the district.
• Our teachers do a great job of reviewing procedures in a way that makes students feel safe.

• We have many students at Cherokee with severe peanut/tree nut allergies. Therefore peanut/tree nut products and products contaminated in a facility that processes peanuts/tree nuts may not be consumed in classrooms.
• A designated area/table in the cafeteria will be available for students with peanut/tree nut allergies. Peanut/tree nut products may not be consumed in this designated area/table. The area/table will be labeled as a peanut/tree nut alert zone.
• Your child's teacher will review guidelines and answer any specific questions.
• Click here for the Snack Safely Guide. This guide has recommendations for foods that do not have peanuts, tree nuts and are not processed in facility with these items. This guide updates regularly so it is best to check the link below rather than printing.

Click here for the district calendar.

• Several years ago we created the Paw's Pals Lunch Volunteer Program at Cherokee. The name for the program was inspired by our school mascot, Paws the Wildcat.
• This program is very similar to the Watch D.O.G.S program that was in place at Cherokee prior to the pandemic. It is not limited to male volunteers as the Watch D.O.G.S program was.
• The purpose of the program is to help children have a sense of belonging and build positive relationships. Kids love extra attention at lunch! They love to talk about sports, toys and what they like to do for fun! Having extra adults at school shows children that education is important and they are important!
• Please understand that these volunteers are not in place of lunch monitors.
• Our lunch monitors will be responsible for supervising the students, cleaning, etc.
• Paw's Pals volunteers will have time to chat with their own child (children) and other Cherokee students during lunch periods.
• Just like any other school volunteer, our Paw's Pals volunteers will respect the privacy of our students. Volunteers are asked to stay in the designated area (cafeteria) and not visit other areas of the building during this time.
  
• In order to participate in the program there are 3 steps to complete.
• Step One: Volunteers need to have a background check on file for the 2025-2026 school year. If you have not completed the background check for the 2025-2026 school year, please email Mrs. Krellwitz at ykrellwitz@cvs.k12.mi.us If you are not sure if you have a background check on file, please email Mrs. Krellwitz. Background checks take at least three weeks to process.

• Step Two: Click here to complete the Paw's Pal's Application.
• Step Three: Click here to sign up for a date in March. Even if you can't stay the whole time, we would love to have you!

We choose to Inspire, Believe, Achieve & LEAD!

Website: https://www.chippewavalleyschools.org/schools/elementary-schools/cherokee/
Location: 42900 Rivergate Drive, Clinton Township, MI, USA
Phone: 586-723-4800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CherokeeWildcats

If your child is going to be absent, please call our attendance line at 586-723-4899.

https://www.facebook.com/CherokeeWildcats

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CherokeePTO/