Battlefield Newsletter

BES Mission Statement: Our mission is working together to promote high levels of learning for all students.

BES Vision Statement: Building Exceptional Students

• We will create a caring environment where all students can succeed.

• We will work collaboratively to learn, plan and grow as educators in order to promote high levels of achievement.

• We will help our students reach their potential by prioritizing individual student goals, differentiating instruction, and utilizing best practices

• We will work together to encourage and celebrate student success.

• We will give 100% to know and meet the social, academic, and emotional needs of each child.

Goal 2: The percentage of students (all grades) performing at Proficient and Distinguished will improve from 38.2% to 43% on the 2025 EOG Milestones ELA assessment.

Goal 3: The percentage of 5th grade students performing at Developing, Proficient, and Distinguished will improve from 59.3% to 80% on the 2025 EOG Milestones Science assessment.

“Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations. The best is yet to come.”

- Zig Ziglar

Setting goals is an important part of helping our students grow and succeed. Each year, our teachers work together to review school data and reflect on what is working well and where we can continue to improve. This teamwork helps us make thoughtful decisions that support both teaching and student learning.

Throughout the year, teachers meet twice a week to plan lessons, share ideas, and review student progress. These meetings allow teachers to adjust instruction and provide the best possible support for every child. The School Improvement Goals shown above were created at the beginning of the year and have guided our work in classrooms all year long.

Our teachers and students have worked extremely hard toward reaching these goals, and we are very proud of their efforts. From April 20–23, students will take the Georgia Milestones assessment. We are confident in our students and look forward to seeing their growth. We can’t wait to celebrate their hard work and success with our teachers, students, and families when results are received.

Looking Ahead to Milestones Testing in April: Many of you enjoy joining your students for lunch during the week, and we truly love having you spend that special time with your kiddos. During Georgia Milestones testing week, however, lunch schedules will look a little different. Lunch times will be based on when each class completes testing for the day rather than a set schedule, and all cafeteria tables will be used to help keep schedules running smoothly.

Because of these adjustments, we will not be able to allow parents to eat lunch with students during testing week. We appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we work to provide a calm, focused environment for all students during this important time.

We are Battlefield!

Dr. McCrary

Dear Parents,

Our school conducts outreach to all parents and family members and supports successful school and family interactions. Your help in planning these family engagement efforts is appreciated. Please complete the following survey to provide your recommendations into our efforts to help you support your child's learning and educational success. If you prefer, paper copies of surveys are available upon request and can be mailed to 2206 Battlefield Parkway Fort Oglethorpe GA 30742. If you have children who attend different schools in the Catoosa County School District, we ask that you complete separate surveys for each school that your children attend. Thank you.

We appreciate your feedback. It will help improve parent and family engagement.

COMPLETE THIS SURVEY BY MARCH 16TH FOR YOUR CHILD TO RECEIVE A TREAT. First class with 100% participation will receive a popsicle party!!

Next week is one of my favorite weeks of the school year—Read Across America Week! Reading truly can take you anywhere, and this week is all about celebrating the joy and importance of reading. We will have special visitors in the building throughout the week who will be joining us to share stories and help inspire a love of reading in our students.

I am forever grateful for my fourth-grade teacher, Ms. Jill Creswell at Cloud Springs Elementary. She read to our class every day after lunch, and I can still remember listening as she brought How to Eat Fried Worms, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge to life. She didn’t just teach us how to read—she instilled a lifelong love of reading in me and so many others in our class.

As we celebrate this exciting week, students are invited to participate in our Read Across America dress-down days. Below you will find the schedule for each day. We can’t wait to see our students celebrate reading in fun and creative ways!

This year, BES is excited to host our own school fundraiser! While you may notice a few familiar elements, there will also be many new and exciting changes. This will be our only fundraiser of the year, and we truly appreciate your support.

By planning and organizing this event ourselves, BES will be able to keep 100% of the proceeds. These funds directly benefit our students by helping us purchase classroom supplies, enhance technology, and provide engaging and memorable activities throughout the year.

The fundraiser will kick off on March 16, 2026, and our Battle of the Bears Run will take place on March 27, 2026. Our team is working hard to finalize the details, and we will share more information with you very soon.

Thank you for supporting BES and investing in our students!

The safety of our students and staff is always a top priority. Battlefield Elementary School is proud to be part of Catoosa County Public Schools, where school safety is taken seriously every single day. One way our district demonstrates this commitment is through participation in the Georgia Readiness Safety Seal, a statewide initiative that recognizes schools for meeting high standards in safety and preparedness.

Schools that earn this seal have implemented safety measures such as emergency preparedness plans, secure building procedures, staff training, and regular safety drills. These practices help ensure that students learn in a safe, well-prepared environment.

At Battlefield Elementary School, we work closely with district leaders and local safety partners to regularly review and strengthen our procedures. From controlled entry points and visitor protocols to drills and ongoing staff training, every effort is made to keep our campus safe.

We are proud of the steps taken by both Catoosa County and BES to protect our school community. Thank you for partnering with us to keep safety a shared priority for our students, staff, and families.

We want to remind all families of the importance of keeping up to date with your child’s cafeteria balance. At this time, our cafeteria has an outstanding balance of $3,300, and we appreciate your help in reducing this debt. If you have any questions or need assistance checking your child’s account, please contact our cafeteria manager, Mrs. Jenny Hastick, at jhastick.bat@catoosa.k12.ga.us or by phone at (706) 866-9183. Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your continued support in keeping our school meal program running smoothly.

We make every effort to keep you informed about important events. Please note that all dates are subject to change; however, we will provide updates as soon as possible if any adjustments are necessary.

3/2 - 3/6: Read Across America

3/3: PTO Fundraiser at Five Guys

3/6: Dental Van

3/12: 1/2 Day for Students

3/13: No School

3/16: Spring and Class Pictures

3/30 - 4/3: Spring Break

4/13: Track Meet @ HHS at 5:00 pm

4/23: Track Meet @ HHS at 5:00 pm

4/20 - 4/23: Georgia Milestones Testing

4/24 - 4/30: Georgia Milestones Makeup Testing

4/27: Track Meet @ LFO at 5:00 pm

5/1: PTO Glow Party

5/4 - 5/8: Staff Appreciation Week

5/4: Ukulele Choir Concert in BES Gym @ 6:00 pm

5/5: Field Day

5/6: Field Day Makeup

5/18: Dancing Drums

5/19: Math Georgia Milestones Retest

5/21: 5th Grade Recognition

5/22: Last Day of School (1/2 Day for students)

Joining the Parent Portal is one of the best ways to stay actively involved in your child’s education. Through the portal, you can view real-time updates on grades, attendance, assignments, missing work, and teacher comments, helping you support your child throughout the school year.

If you have not yet created a Parent Portal account, we strongly encourage you to do so. It only takes a few minutes to set up and provides ongoing access to information that supports student success.

To sign up, please contact Chasity Purcell at cpurcell@catoosa.k12.ga.us. She will provide your unique access code and step-by-step instructions needed to log in. Once your account is activated, you’ll be able to:

• Monitor your child’s academic progress at any time

• View attendance records and tardies as they are updated

• Receive alerts about low grades or missing assignments

Parent Portal is an important tool for communication between school and home, and we hope every family will take advantage of it. If you have any questions or need assistance after enrolling, please reach out — we are happy to help!

Month: March

Theme: Scam Awareness

Focus Title: Would your child fall for a phishing scam?

Parent Blurb: Pop-ups and fake messages are everywhere. Show your child how to think twice before they click.

Grade 3-5 Message: Grades 3-5: Scam alerts! Teach your child to ignore pop-ups and fake giveaways promising free items in games or apps. Learn more on Parent ProTech: https://app.parentprotech.com/932/catoosa-county/en/signup?source=admin

Subject: New Bus Traversa MyRide K-12 Parent App - Starting March 26, 2025

Dear CCPS Bus Rider Families,

We are excited to announce a new bus-tracking app called Traversa MyRide K-12, starting on March 26, 2025, for the entire district. CCPS Parents will have access to our new app, MyRide K-12. Please scan the QR code below with your smartphone's camera to download and sign up for our new CCPS Bus app.

Changing over to Traversa offers a more advanced and user-friendly platform designed to improve the safety and efficiency of our student transportation. Key benefits include:

• Improved Efficiency: Streamlined processes and real-time updates.

• Enhanced Safety: Advanced features to ensure student safety.

• Better Communication: Timely notifications and updates through the MyRide K-12 Parent App, allowing you to track your child’s bus with:

• Estimated arrival times

• Potential delays or route changes

• Notifications for specific events (e.g., bus approaching)

• Data Privacy: Rest assured that student data is protected and the app adheres to all privacy regulations.

After scanning the QR code, you will be directed to download the app and create an account using your student ID.

Directions to Download MyRide K-12 App

We encourage all CCPS Bus rider families to participate in the new Bus app program. We are particularly interested in your comments regarding the accuracy of bus pick-up and drop-off times displayed in the app. You will be able to track your student 30 minutes prior to and post pick-up time.

Please share your thoughts and suggestions with:

• Mrs. Mary Lanham, CCPS Transportation Manager: mlanham@catoosa.k12.ga.us

• Or call our Transportation Office @ 706-965-2913

All comments are welcome and appreciated. We look forward to our new MyRide K-12 Program and all it can offer by way of accuracy. We look forward to partnering with you to make our transportation system the best it can be.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Mary Lanham

CCPS Transportation Manager