5/20/25

Dear Claxton Caregivers,

As we enter the final stretch of the school year, there’s so much to celebrate! This week’s Pollinator newsletter is full of pictures highlighting recent student adventures—including 5th grade's drumming workshop, and some unforgettable slime surprises! Be sure to check it out.

We’re also excited to invite families to attend your scholar’s End-of-Year Showcase. Please mark your calendars and be on the lookout for more details from your child’s teacher about times and locations. From Field Day and promotion ceremonies to the live-streamed Variety Show, the next few weeks will be full of joyful moments, and we can’t wait to share them with you!

🐝 Check Out This Week’s Pollinator

Warmly,

Corey Simons

Monday, May 19th

Tuesday, May 20th

• Buncombe County Budget Public Hearing Let the Commissioners know that our schools matter.
• Outside demonstration at 4:00 PM | Meeting begins at 5:00 PM
• Location: County Commission Chambers

Thursday, May 22nd
AHS Senior Walk
Bee Day with specialists
Last day for tutoring (3rd-5th)
Friday, May 23rd
EOG Science 8:30-11:30

Early Release Day

EOY Dates:

📅 May 23 – Science EOG (Grade 5)
📅 May 28 – Reading EOG (Grades 3–5)
📅 May 29 – Math EOG (Grades 3–5)
🏃 May 30 – Field Day!

🎓 June 2, 10:00–12:00 – 1st Grade End-of-Year Celebration
🎓 June 3, 1:15–2:20 – 4th Grade End-of-Year Celebration
🎭 June 4 – Variety Show
🎓 June 4, 12:00–2:00 – 3rd Grade End-of-Year Celebration
🎓 June 5, 9:30–11:30 – Kindergarten End-of-Year Ceremony
🎓 June 5, 12:00–2:00 – 2nd Grade End-of-Year Celebration
🎉 June 6 – 5th Grade Promotion, 5th Grade Walk @ 8:15 AM, Half-Day & Last Day of School!

Bee Day is on Wednesday, May 21st and Thursday, May 22nd On these days all students will visit the Library Media Center during their Specialist classes to participate in activities that celebrate the importance of pollinators in the world and specifically in our community, to learn more about the honey bees in our observation hive and how they function, and to consider our role as people in providing and preserving habitats for pollinators.

Dress up with us to Celebrate Bee Day

Wednesday, May 21st: Dress like your favorite pollinator. Bees, butterflies, bats, beetles, hummingbirds...the wind! Choose your favorite!

Thursday, May 22nd: Claxton gear or black and yellow. Lean into the bee theme with a black and yellow outfit or your favorite Claxton gear

Dear Claxton Families,

We’re excited to share some updates about our upcoming Variety Show on June 4th! While we wish we could pack the audience with cheering families, our fire code restrictions prevent us from inviting visitors to the show in person. But don’t worry—our fabulous tech crew will be live-streaming the entire event so you can still watch your talented Claxton kids shine on stage! Stay tuned for details on how to tune in.

Rehearsals
For students who are performing, we’ll be holding rehearsals by grade and act type over the next two weeks. Our goal is to make sure every live act gets at least one rehearsal before our final dress run. Please encourage your student to practice their talent at home this month!

Proposed Rehearsal Dates:

• Wednesday, May 21

• Friday, May 23

• Tuesday, May 27
  
  

Dress Rehearsal: Monday, June 3

By the final rehearsal, we’ll have the full show order ready to go!

🎬 Video Submissions:
If your student signed up to submit a video for the Video Teaser Compilation (which will be shown on the morning announcements before the show), those videos are due Tuesday, May 20. Please email them to your child’s teacher or to Mr. Chris at chris.bickhart@acsgmail.net.

If your child signed up for us to film them at school—no worries! We’ll take care of it and share the video link with families once it’s ready.

Thanks so much for your support! We can’t wait to celebrate all the creativity, courage, and talent our students bring to the stage.

All 3rd–5th grade students are required to take End-of-Grade (EOG) tests. Please prioritize on-time attendance—especially on testing days!

Students who miss a test will likely miss scheduled fun events in order to complete make-up testing. Let’s work together to ensure every student has the opportunity to show what they know and enjoy all the exciting activities ahead

Preparing for the North Carolina End-of-Grade (EOG) tests involves consolidating the key concepts and standards learned throughout the year. Students will typically participate in focused review sessions, practice tests, and skill-building exercises to become familiar with the test format and content. Parents, teachers, and students all play a critical role in carving out time to review lessons aligned with state standards and providing ample opportunities for review. To ensure success, it's important for students to engage in strategies that allow them to apply their knowledge through hands-on activities and collaborative learning. Additionally, parents and guardians can support their child’s preparation by creating a productive study environment at home, encouraging regular review in the weeks leading up to the EOGs, and offering help with more challenging topics. By following these strategies, students can approach the EOGs with confidence, well-prepared to demonstrate their academic skills.

To assist with preparation, these pages provide access to materials and content for review, along with daily questions you can ask your child at home.

Please click on the links below for practice materials and helpful resources:

• NCDPI Grade 3-8 End-of-Grade Information
• NCDPI EOC Test Information
• Approximate EOG/EOC Cut Scores for Achievement Levels
• Released EOGs (Released test items from previous years)
• Released EOG Forms and Supplemental Materials
• Released EOC (Released test items from previous years)
• Released EOC Forms and Supplemental Materials

What a week at Claxton! Our 5th graders had an amazing overnight trip full of team-building and memories. Mr. Simons even got slimed at Hive Circle after the FTO crushed their fundraising goal, and staff battled it out in a rock-paper-scissors showdown! Plus, we celebrated students earning well-deserved awards. 🐾💛

We’re also proud to announce that our very own Ms. Cassandra Wells was awarded a $500 grant from the Asheville Buncombe Retired Educators through the NCRSP! Huge thanks to the Asheville City Schools Foundation for helping make this happen.

Last week, our 5th grade students participated in an incredible drum-building workshop that ended with a powerful drum circle experience. What an amazing way to build creativity, collaboration, and rhythm!
📸 Click here to view photos and videos from the event

We've noticed an increase in student cell phone use during the school day, which is distracting from teaching and learning. To help students stay focused, we strongly encourage phones to stay at home. If your child does bring a phone to school, it must be turned off and kept in their backpack all day.

As a reminder, our cell phone policy is:
🔹 First offense: Warning + parent notification
🔹 Second offense: Phone goes to the front office and is returned at the end of the day
🔹 Third offense: Phone must be stored in the front office safe daily

We appreciate your support in keeping classrooms distraction-free—especially over the next 45 days. Thank you for partnering with us to keep students engaged in learning!

Claxton Elementary Administration is committed to improving the efficiency of the morning car line. However, some traffic challenges remain beyond our control. Officer Jones has reached out to the NC DOT to request adjustments to the traffic light timing during drop-off and pick-up times to help improve traffic flow.

Additionally, the School Safety Team is exploring other strategies to enhance efficiency.

We need your help to make this process smoother! When dropping off students in the morning, please follow staff directions, pull all the way forward before stopping, and allow students to exit quickly. Staff will also be managing the crosswalks and may briefly pause pedestrians to keep the car line moving efficiently.

Most importantly, do NOT drop children off on Hillside St. This creates significant safety risks and causes traffic backups in the car rider line. The section of Hillside St. in front of St. Paul’s Methodist is marked “No Parking During School Hours” to ensure visibility for the crossing guard and the safety of all pedestrians and drivers.

To keep everyone’s children safe, please follow the approved traffic route for morning drop-off. Thank you for your cooperation and support in making the drop-off process safe and efficient for everyone!

Promotion Ceremonies - Thu 6/5 and Fri 6/6 - We need volunteers to set up and clean up the Kindergarten and 5th Grade promotion ceremonies, especially from K and 4th Grade families! Sign up sheet is here.

Yearbooks - We have a very limited number of extra yearbooks that can be purchased through our website -- they will be delivered to classrooms.

"Sign" Mr. Garrity's Yearbook - We will miss Mr. Garrity so much! FTO will print farewell messages from students, families, and staff to put inside Mr. Garrity's yearbook -- add your message here!

Next Year! We are always looking for new ideas and team members (see this year's team descriptions here), so please reach out to claxtonfto@gmail.com with feedback or interest in helping with an FTO project or event next year. We have something that works with your schedule!

Parents and caregivers want their children to thrive in school—to be engaged and excited about learning, to build meaningful relationships with their teachers and peers, and to develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed academically.

However, understanding what children should know and be able to do by the end of each grade—and how to have meaningful conversations about it with their children and teachers—hasn’t always been easy.

These Family Guides take the guesswork out of the process. They provide clear, practical information and tools to help parents and caregivers support their children’s learning in literacy and math—the foundation for all academic success.

With these Guides, families can take an active role in their children’s education, advocate effectively, and build strong partnerships with teachers. By working together, students, families, and educators create the support system children need to truly thrive.

We want to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our ACS staff every day. If you know a staff member who has gone above and beyond as a dedicated CREW member or demonstrated exceptional qualities that align with our Three Promises—Creating a Sense of Belonging, Engaging in Challenging and Relevant Material, and Making Every Second Count—please fill out this form to nominate them. Let’s recognize the incredible work happening at Claxton!