11-16-25 PAW'S PRESS

Dear Cherokee Families,

We are just a few days away from Thanksgiving. At this time of year we reflect on how grateful we are for our Cherokee community.

Important Dates

November 18th - PEN NIGHT (see below)

November 19th - PTO Meeting - Media Center - 6:15 PM (THIS IS A NEW DATE)

November 20th - Cyber Safety Presentations (Grades 2-5)

November 21st - November Leadership Celebration (wear class shirts or Cherokee gear)

November 26th-28th - Thanksgiving Break

December 1st - Report cards will be available in Parent Portal (directions below).

December 3rd - Picture Re-take Day

December 12th - PTO Holiday Event (6-8 PM) - Details coming soon!

December 18th - Holiday Classroom Parties (Teachers will share details.)

December 19th - Half Day - Dismissal 11:44 AM

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

Updated 11/1/25

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 November/December.
Click here for a printable version of the November/December lunch menus.
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.

Ms. Mandy started as our crossing guard this week at Rivergate and Dunham this week.

Cyber Safety Consulting is an expert in the field of internet safety education, having developed and delivered programming focused on Internet safety and digital citizenship for students, parents, and educators nationwide.

Each of the Chippewa Valley Elementary Schools are hosting cyber safety assemblies for their 2nd - 5th graders throughout November - December 2025. Assemblies for Cherokee students in grades 2-5 will be on November 20th.

PTO will host Santa Shop in the media center the first week of December. The schedule is below. Flyers/envelopes will be coming home soon.

Don't want to send your child to school with cash? Be safe and purchase a shopping voucher online TODAY! Click here and use the drop down menus to select our school (Michigan, Clinton Township, Cherokee). Enter the amount of money you would like your child to have when shopping.

If you would like to volunteer please click here. You must have a background check on file for this school year.

Parents will be able to view report cards digitally in the Parent Portal on Monday, December 1st at 9:00 AM .

Directions are below (PDF and images).

Parent Portal Link: https://ps.cvs.misd.net/public/

pdf

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Report Card Directions for Parents 11-27-23 (2) (2).pdf

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Below are some food assistance resources.

Macomb Community Food Resources

https://www.uwstclair.org/Food

https://pantrynet.org/mobile-distribution-events/ Gleaners Mobile Pantry Drive Up Distribution Events

https://www.forgottenharvest.org/find-food/ Forgotten Harvest Mobile Pantry locations

https://mi211.org/food-assistance Michigan 211 Food Assistance Programs and locations

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.

Click here to apply.

The position of Vice President is now open. We will be holding elections for this position at the November meeting. In order to be eligible for this position you must be an active member of the PTO. Please email our PTO board below if you are interested or have questions about eligibility for this position.

Updated 10/12/25

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.

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I'm Not Scared_B424-WATERMARK (3).pdf

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3.7 MB

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 many great many 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.