Chesnut Elementary Newsletter

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Greetings Chesnut Families,

I hope everyone enjoyed a restful and joyful Spring Break, filled with time to relax and recharge. As we return and begin the final stretch of the school year, it’s hard to believe we have just seven weeks left together! This is such an exciting time as we celebrate our students’ growth and accomplishments throughout the year. Let’s continue to support one another and make the most of these last weeks, creating meaningful memories and strong finishes in both learning and community spirit.

TEACHER AND STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you in advance to our FOC for planning a meaningful week of celebration and recognition for our teachers and staff during this week’s Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week. The thoughtfully planned activities, including mini cakes, a taco bar, coffee, a BBQ food truck, beautiful flowers, and gourmet crepes—are a wonderful way to show gratitude to our staff and let them know how valued they are.

We also extend our sincere appreciation to our outstanding parent community for your continued support, encouragement, and partnership. Your generosity and commitment to our school community make a lasting and positive difference, and we are truly grateful.

A special thank you to Giannina Smith and her committee for the incredible planning and coordination of this special week. Your hard work, creativity, and attention to detail truly shine through. We are so grateful for everything you’ve done to make this such a meaningful and joyful celebration for our staff—awesome work!

GARDEN CLUB STUDENTS STEM UPDATES

I am so proud of the building-wide STEM activities I continue to observe every day across our school. Our students are engaging in hands-on, meaningful learning experiences that spark curiosity and deepen their understanding of the world around them. Prior to Spring Break, our amazing Garden Club led engaging lessons on plant science, teaching students about the parts of a plant, how to care for plants, and the life cycle of plants. Each student had the exciting opportunity to take home their own tomato seedling to continue their learning at home.

In addition, students have been growing lettuce in our Aquaponics System, harvesting their crops, and using them to create fresh salads. These real-world STEM experiences are helping our students make powerful connections between science, sustainability, and healthy living. A Special Thank You to Ms. White, Ms. Ladrillono and Ms. Little for your time and commitment to Garden Club.

STEM with Ms. Ladrillano

STEM with Ms. Little

KINDERGARTEN STEM DESIGN CHALLENGE

Prior to Spring Break, our kindergarten students engaged in the engineering design process to build their own unique city models, including roads and traffic signs. Students thoughtfully planned, designed, and created their cities using recycled materials brought from home.

It was wonderful to see their creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration come to life as they worked through each step of the design process. What an exciting hands-on STEM experience for our youngest engineers!

PEP RALLY EXCITEMENT!

What an incredible Pep Rally we had to kick off excitement for our upcoming Championship Playoff game! The energy in the building was absolutely electric as our Step Team, Teacher Dance Team, Cheerleaders, special MC Ms. Fisher, and our very own Chesnut Cougar, Mr. Johnson, came together to create an unforgettable experience for our students and staff.

The afternoon was filled with cheers, music, dancing, and a powerful sense of school pride and anticipation for the big game ahead. Our students were engaged, energized, and fully ready to support our Cougar Athletes as they head into championship competition.

It was truly a celebration of unity, spirit, and Cougar pride at its best!

CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFFS

Our Chesnut Cougar Basketball Team is headed to the DeKalb County School District Basketball Championship Playoffs this Saturday, April 18, 2026! Out of 50 elementary schools that participated this season, our Cougars have earned an incredible achievement as one of only six teams to qualify for the championship tournament.

We are so proud of their hard work, teamwork, and determination all season long! Let’s pack the stands and show up with full Cougar pride as we cheer our team on to victory!

A huge thank you to Coach Pryor and Coach Huitt-Green for your outstanding leadership, commitment, and dedication to our student-athletes. Go Cougars!

MYSTERY READERS

We would love to invite our families to participate as a Mystery Reader in your children’s classroom. This is a wonderful and cherished Chesnut tradition that we are excited to continue building and growing each year.

If you have not yet had the opportunity to volunteer this school year, there is still time with seven weeks remaining! We would be thrilled to welcome you into our classrooms to share the joy of reading with our students.

Please reach out to your child’s teacher to schedule a date and time that works best for you. Thank you for your continued support in making reading a joyful and meaningful experience for our students!

MILESTONES SCHOOL-WIDE MOTIVATION

This year, we are excited to offer more flexible times throughout the day to make it easier for parents and community supporters to participate. In past years, our amazing community members and parent volunteers have helped create a special tradition by writing encouraging, motivational messages with colored chalk the day before Milestones testing. These messages line our bus lane, main entrance, sidewalks, and carpool lane, greeting students with positivity and support as they arrive each morning.

If you would like to be a part of this meaningful tradition, we would love to have you join us at Chesnut on April 22, 2026, anytime between 7:05 AM and 6:00 PM to write messages of encouragement for our students. Thank you for helping us uplift and inspire our learners—we truly appreciate your support!

GENTLE REMINDERS

As we move toward the close of the school year, I’d love to share a few gentle reminders to help us continue nurturing the caring, positive, and supportive environment that makes our sweet school so special. Thank you for all that you do each day to contribute to our community—your efforts truly make a difference.

UNIFORM POLICY INFORMATION

We will continue to follow up with students and families when students are not in the appropriate Chesnut school uniform or approved spirit wear. The Chesnut Dress Code is in place Monday through Friday, and all clothing worn during the school day should align with these expectations.

If your child needs an extra layer for warmth, we kindly ask that it be a solid red, white, or navy-blue garment, with or without the Chesnut logo. Thank you so much for your continued support in helping us maintain a consistent and positive school environment for all our students.

OUR SCHOOL DAY START/END TIMES REMINDERS

Thanks in advance for your support in ensuring that our students get to school each day on time and ready for instruction. Breakfast begins at 7:05 AM and ends at 7:35 AM. We want to ensure that students are in class on time to begin their instructional day. School instructional hours are from 7:50 AM to 2:15 PM each day. Parents are asked to escort their children inside and sign them in if they are tardy. Help us protect the instructional day. Please limit early dismissal/check-outs.

SAFETY AND SECURITY- WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP

To help keep all students safe during morning arrival, we kindly ask that families use the car rider loop near the gym building for all student drop-offs. The front bus ramp is reserved for buses only. We have noticed an increase in students being dropped off along North Peachtree Road, which creates a safety concern for both students and drivers.

As a friendly reminder, our doors open at 7:00 AM for students who are eating breakfast and at 7:10 AM for students who are heading directly to homeroom. Thank you for your cooperation and for helping us ensure a safe and smooth start to each school day—we truly appreciate your partnership!

Peachtree Middle School 6th Grade Summer Bridge

Mark Your Calendars! The Summer Bridge event for incoming 6th grade students to Peachtree Middle School will be held on Wednesday, July 22, 2026 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm.

Principal Heutel will host a Parent Coffee from 10:00 -10:30 am.

This is a great opportunity for your incoming student to become familiar with the building, meet other students, and prepare for the start of the school year!

PTSO General Meeting & Interest Coffee

We invite rising 6th grade parents to join us for the Peachtree PTSO General Meeting & Interest Coffee!

April 15, 2026

9:00 am; PMS Media Center

Come learn about our PTSO and find out how you can get involved in the 2026-27 School Year! Sign up for committees and even serve as a committee chair or in other roles!

Sign up for the FOC Newsletter here.

APRIL

4/13 - 4/17 Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week

4/15 Walk to School Wednesday

4/15 Kindergarten Round Up

4/23 - 5/7 GA Milestone Testing

MAY

5/7 - 5/8 Spring Musical -- The Little Mermaid

5/13 Walk to School Wednesday

5/14 Field Day

5/25 Memorial Day

5/28 Last day of school

Preparing for Georgia Milestones & Understanding MAP Student Reports

Our 3rd-5th grade students will participate in Georgia Milestones End of Grade (EOG) assessments during the testing window of April 23, 2026- May 11, 2026 , which measure how well students have mastered Georgia Standards of Excellence in English Language Arts and Mathematics. These assessments help us evaluate student progress and guide instructional planning to best support student success.

Throughout the year, students also take the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. MAP measures academic growth and provides families with a Student Profile Report that highlights your child’s strengths and areas for improvement. The report includes suggested learning activities that families can use at home to help enrich or strengthen skills.

Families can support student success by encouraging consistent attendance, daily reading, math practice, and a positive mindset about testing. We appreciate your partnership as we work together to support every child’s academic growth and achievement. Please reach out to your child’s teacher or our instructional team if you have questions about assessments or your child’s progress.

Upcoming Testing Schedule

Georgia Milestone End-Of-Grade (EOG)

Georgia Milestone End- Of-Grade (EOG) Retest

Important Parent EOG Links

Resources for Students & Parents

Georgia Milestones Achievement Level Descriptors