Dear Families,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and break from the T. We are very excited to see what 2024 will bring at Chestatee.

By now, most of you have heard that in December, the Board of Education approved my retirement for June 30, 2024. Retiring is a big decision when the children, teachers, and staff make work such a joyful place! However, after 37 years in education, I believe it is time. I have loved our sweet school and supportive community both as a teacher and for the past 13 years as your principal.

The process has already begun to find the next principal of Chestatee. Our Local School Council has met with Dr. Bearden, FCS Superintendent, Mr. Mitch Young, Deputy Superintendent, and Mr. Derrick Hershey, Associate Superintendent. The council has voiced the needs of our school in finding the next principal. I look forward to working with the new leader on a very smooth transition. Our next principal will have my full support. These coming months will be very exciting for our school.

Thank you for all the support you have given to me over the years. I am excited to work hard and also cherish each moment for the next six months.

Together we are Chestatee!

Kindly,

Dr. Polly Tennies

Principal

• Please remember to send in your child’s excuse within 5 days.
• Families can send up to 10 notes from home for absences before doctor notes are required.
• On email excuses to the teacher, it’s easy to add Ms. Stacey (Sholbrook@forsyth.k12.ga.us) to make sure she gets the excuse.
• Any time you go to see the doctor, please ask for a school excuse. If you forget, contact the doctor and ask them to email or fax the excuse. Fax: 770-781-2281.
• Georgia law requires the school to send attendance letters after 5 or more unexcused absences.
• If your child is checking out from the clinic, the absence is excused.
• When you check your child in/ out on Checkmate, the absence will be unexcused. Please provide a medical excuse if you'd like the absence excused.

Students MUST stay home or will be sent home if they have:

• A temperature that is 100.4 or higher
• had vomiting in the last 24 hours
• had diarrhea in the last 24 hours
• a rash with itching or fever
• pink eye (if drops are prescribed, child may return after 24 hours of treatment).
• strep throat
• ring worm (may return after 24 hours of treatment and area musted be covered with a bandage while in school until area is resolved).
• A frequent/persistent, or disruptive cough
• Frequent/persistent complaints of pain/discomfort
• been on antibiotics for contagious symptoms less than 24 hours
• the need to see a physician

Your child may return to school when:

• no fever of 100 degrees of greater for 24 hours without fever reducing medicine.
• Diarrhea and /or vomiting must have stopped for a full 24 hours with the aid of medication before returning to school.

If your child has seen a physician and has been ordered antibiotics, please keep your child home for 24 hours after you have started the antibiotic.

These protocols are in place to protect the wellbeing of our student body.

Kristen Knottek, BSN, RN

School Nurse

Chestatee Elementary

770-887-2341 ext. 722151

f41520@forsyth.k12.ga.us

School Pay is a new program we will use for all payments EXCEPT meals. My Payments Plus will still be used for cafeteria accounts. Click here.

Congratulations to our Spelling Bee winner, Mahi, and runner-up, Monica!

A special thanks to Ms. Martin for coordinating this event. And thanks to our judges: Dr. Walker from East Forsyth HS and Kandi Wetzel and Liana Hall from our Chestatee Elementary PTO. We will be excited to advance to the county competition.

Students can be "written up" by any staff member for showing Strategies, Effort, Attitude, and/ or Kindness. Dr. Tennies calls these students to the office for a picture, prize and talk together. This is a big deal!

Thank you to Ms. Martin for leading the Eaglebots!

We are grateful that our Game Changers are leading and serving others at the T!

Congratulations to these students for being great role models for responsibility. Families were invited to celebrate these students in December.

This club comes together once a month for projects to help our school. In December, the kids made cards for seniors living at the Oaks at Hampton. They also went to sing Christmas carols to the seniors.

Dr. Tennies loves to meet with students for lunch. Students can purchase this experience with Bravo Bucks.

School Spirit

Here's holiday party time for this hardworking group!

"What a great idea and title!" -Kythea Samples

"This is great. Pretty sure my oldest lost a coat and gloves already!" -Mandy Molarius

"We found something we didn't even know we were missing! Thanks for doing this!" -Leigh Baldwin

"Julianne finally found her cheer jacket!" -Tara Brown

"The Great Day of Finding was a huge success! Big thank you to our fifth grade Game Changers and Stephanie Schroeder for assisting over 200 students in reuniting their lost items!" -Abby Gaines

We love our families to help.

Thank you to Mrs. Roper and Mrs. Gerstenlauer for leading the performances.

So many winners and great prizes.

All students came during Pathways.

Thanks to Mrs. Vitiello, Mrs. Ross, Ms. Meyers, and Mrs. Sarfaty for bringing fun to our bus riders every Friday afternoon!

Thanks to Outback Steakhouse!

Thanks to Lincoln for purchasing this experience.

These students won the United Way raffle and got to be a Principal for the Day! This has become a tradition at the T.

We are proud to announce kindergarten teacher, Leah Duval, as our December Staff Member of the Month!

This is Mrs. Duval’s fifth year teaching kindergarten at Chestatee. Before joining the Eagles, Leah taught private Pre-K and also third grade. Leah has her ESOL endorsement and is Mindfulness trained in Forsyth County and is a graduate of both South Florida and North Texas Universities.

She and her husband, Rick, have two girls. Emmalyn is a fifth grader at the T, and Zoe is a Junior at Lambert. The Duvals live in the Chestatee community and love spending time outdoors.

Leah’s gifts to teaching are her big heart and strong enthusiasm for creating lifelong learners. Families appreciate her kind and loving personality as children begin their journey into big school.

Mrs. Duval- we are very grateful that you are a Chestatee Eagle. Thank you for all you do to make Chestatee a better place. Congratulations on this great honor.

A big thank you to our Chestatee Elementary PTO and Mathnasium of Coal Mountain for sponsoring our Chestatee Staff Member of the Month Program!

Do you want to recognize and celebrate the exemplary teaching and contributions by Chestatee Elementary teachers and staff? Click here to write a nomination.

1/4 Students return from Winter Break

1/8 Welcome back, Lunch Guests!

1/15 MLK Jr. Holiday- No School

1/18 High Flyer Ceremony- invites will be sent

1/24 100th Day of School

1/25 Virtual APTT (See times below.)

1/27 Snowflake Ball Click here for the flyer

APTT Times for 1/25- Teachers will send the Microsoft Teams Link.

5:00- K and 3rd

5:20- 1st and 4th

5:30- SBA

5:40- 2nd

6:00-5th

We are excited to update you on your child's progress and share more data.

Please make a note on the January calendar.

January 18- 9:00-9:30 AM

Pre-register here if your child is being recognized! This speeds up our check-in process.

Our PTO board members raise money to help teachers and our school.

You can support our PTO through our fundraisers, Spirit Nights, events, and spirit wear.

There are no membership dues this year.

Contact our PTO at chestateeelementarypto@gmail.com any time!

Holiday candles to celebrate!

Thanks to Sliceability for a percentage back to our school!

Dear Families,

The main reasons for keeping your child at home are as follows:

• If he/she is too sick to be comfortable at school
• If he/she will spread a contagious illness/disease to another child

Remember: Students must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications before returning to school. Students must also be vomiting and diarrhea free for 24 hours before returning to school.

Kristen Knottek, BSN, RN

School Nurse

Chestatee Elementary

770-887-2341 ext. 722151

f41520@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Thank you Browns Bridge Church for your generous donations and contributions. #BeRich

Part of the #BeRich Campaign

Thanks to Daves Creek Elementary for the food donations for our Blessings in a Backpack program.

Our staff enjoyed delicious ice cream treats thanks to Creative Scoops.

They loved the holiday cards sent by students.

Our very own, Kim Sarfaty, is starting an amazing program called SPARK....

Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30-5:00 at Chestatee starting January 30th. Register here!

Learn more and register at this link for SPARK! Come join us for educational activities, music, story time, play opportunities, and social interaction!

If you are looking to volunteer this year, we would love to have you! Please watch the mandated reporter video (10 minutes) and sign off on the confidentiality form. Click here for everything you need. https://docs.google.com/document/d/11sucZ7O2QGJMRh5Vr9UwvOpr7UpaRIaCLc8HklX8vjQ/edit?usp=sharing

Meg Killingsworth will take these signed forms in the office. We also have hard copies.

Do you or someone you know have 30 minutes a week to make the difference of a lifetime? Mentors are positive adults the spend time with one student each week building relationships and confidence in the child's life. Please contact Robin Mitchell at rmitchell@forsyth.k12.ga.us or ext. 722455 to discuss the possibilities.

Research confirms that quality mentoring relationships have powerful positive effects on young people in a variety of personal, academic, and professional situations. Mentoring leads to better attendance, academic learning, self-confidence, and higher graduation rates.

As we kick off 2024, please join us in celebrating National #MentoringMonth. Still looking for a resolution for the new year? We are short mentors at many of our schools. Visit www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/mentoring to find mentor training dates to make a difference in the life of a child.

Watchdog Dads

Calling all male role models! Watchdog Dads are welcome at the T!

Our WatchDOG (Dads of Great Students) is an awesome program where positive role models come and spend the day with us! From car line to the morning news to visiting classrooms, our guys will have a blast helping us at the school.

There are two ways to help:

#1- Wear a WD shirt (we have one to borrow if needed), and help on car line by smiling, greeting kids, and helping them get out of the car.

Carline Signup

#2-Wear a WD shirt and spend the day with us! You'll visit the carline, the school news, your child's class, Pathways classes, lunch and recess. You'll be busy and tired at the end of the day!

WD Signup for the Day

Click here for all the information!

Questions? Contact Meg Killingsworth

770-887-2341 ext. 723002

Email Meg

Hello Chestatee Families!

Happy New Year! December was surely a busy month, and we are so excited to be back together as we begin 2024. With a new year comes New Year’s Resolutions and also some change. With Dr. Tennies’ announcement of her retirement, we know that this year will bring change. As a staff, we are excited for Dr. Tennies and are confident in the process of finding a new leader.

As part of the process, the Local School Council met for over an hour with Dr. Bearden, Mr. Young, and Mr. Hershey to share the values of our school. We had several 4th generation Eagles at the meeting. I was proud to be a part of this group who articulated so very clearly Chestatee’s strengths, values, and needs.

At the end of our time, Dr. Bearden asked us to roll out the red carpet and welcome this new person. I know how our community works, and I know that we will do just that. A new principal will likely be named in the coming weeks. I’m so excited for Chestatee!

Together WE are Chestatee!

See you soon,

Meg

Meg Killingsworth

770-887-2341 ext. 723002

mkillingsworth@forsyth.k12.ga.us

If you are interested in joining this year's book club, contact Meg! We will be reading, Stolen Focus. It's a great way to learn or connect with other Chestatee parents. You can buy your own book or borrow one from the school. We will decide the day and time once we have participants.

Click here for more information.

http://chestateeyearbook.com/

@JOSTENSYEARBOOK, @JOSTENSADVISERANDSTAFF, #YEARBOOKWEEKSWEEPSTAKES, #YEARBOOKLOVE

If you ask to connect your Kroger Plus card to Chestatee Elementary, they will donate a certain percentage of the profits to our school. You can find out more about how to do this if you CLICK HERE.

Publix Partners with Chestatee also. You only need to put your phone number in as you checkout. Publix will donate a certain percentage of their profits to Chestatee from your purchase!

We love our Partners in Education!

Email: chestateees@gmail.com
Website: http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/site/default.aspx?domainid=260
Location: 6945 Keith Bridge Road, Gainesville, GA, United States
Phone: 770-887-2341
Facebook: facebook.com/ChestateeES
Twitter: @chestateees