The SHARK Alert

Dear Chatham Elementary School Families & Friends,

Thank you for an incredible first week back! Grades 1 through 4 showed off their SHARK skills early in the week and did an amazing job welcoming our newest SHARKS to the community. On Thursday, we were thrilled to welcome our Kindergarten students to the building. We cannot wait until Tuesday, when our Pups PreK students join us and our school community is truly complete!

To celebrate our entire school being together, we will hold our first SHARK Assembly on Wednesday afternoon. We encourage all students and staff to show off their SHARK pride by wearing their Monomoy gear.

If these first few days are any indicator of what is to come, this is going to be our best school year ever!

See you on Tuesday!

Warm regards,

Dr. Kelly

We appreciate your cooperation as our bus drivers navigate their routes for this year. During the first two weeks of school, check the posted schedules periodically, as times may be slightly adjusted as students and/or stops are added or removed from routes. Please be at your stop at least 10 minutes ahead of pickup time, as traffic, student absences, and other factors may impact the bus arrival time.

Welcome back, SHARK families! I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing summer filled with sunshine and great books.

To kick off the new school year, I am creating a special library display featuring our very own CES students reading! I would love your help bringing it to life:

• Snap a Photo: Take a picture of your child reading or holding up a favorite book they loved reading this summer.

• Get Creative: Photos can be taken anywhere—a favorite cozy reading spot at home, out on the beach, or wherever they love to read!

• Send It In: Email your photos directly to Mrs. Grodzicki at jgrodzicki@monomoy.edu.

Thank you for helping us showcase our community's love of reading. I can't wait to see everyone back in the library soon!

Ms. Macomber's 4th-grade class demonstrated the Creative & Critical Thinker competency this week by taking ownership of their own learning. To build essential skills for college, career, and life, students tracked their "Shark Week" progress using personalized trackers for major assignments. By actively practicing executive functioning skills like organization, task completion, and self-monitoring, these young scholars are staying organized, building accountability, and setting themselves up for long-term success. Great job, SHARKS!

As we begin the new school year, all families are required to complete the Student Annual Health History and Over-the-Counter Medication Consent Form for each student.

Please complete and submit the form using the link below:

https://www.monomoy.edu/our-district/health-services/student-annual-health-history-form

This form provides the school nurse with important health information and consent for approved over-the-counter medications, as applicable.

Thank you for completing this form and helping us keep your child safe and healthy at school.

Medications at School

If your child will need medication at school, such as an inhaler or EpiPen, please obtain a new medication order from your healthcare provider before the first day of school.

Questions or health updates? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Nurse Heidi at hfrench@monomoy.edu. We’re looking forward to a healthy and happy school year!

PTO Meeting Dates:

• October 13
• November 10
• December 8
• January 12
• February 9
• March 9
• April 13
• June 8

Next Meeting: Tuesday, October 13th

Drop Off & Pick Up

Morning Student Drop Off and Parent/Caregiver Pick Up takes place in the Hitching Post Road parking lot adjacent to the school gym. Caregivers should remain in their car at all times during drop off and pick up.

Caregivers should not park in the school’s Hitching Post or Depot Road lots. If caregivers would like to walk their student(s) to school, parking is available in front of the town tennis courts on Depot Road. No parking for drop off will be allowed from the school’s main entrance parking lot.

To ensure safety, students must enter the building unaccompanied by caregivers. All non-school staff must stay outside of the school building during arrival and departure.

Student Drop Off (7:35-7:45)

• Upon entering the Hitching Post Road parking lot, turn right.

• Proceed along the outside lane and drive up to the sidewalk area (along the gymnasium).

• Pull up as far as possible along the safety cones, come to a complete stop, and have the student(s) exit the car on the passenger side of the vehicle. Caregivers should remain in the vehicle and be prepared to move forward as quickly as possible.

• Staff will be available to assist students.

• Please do not pull out of the loading zone until all cars in front of you have unloaded and pulled away from the sidewalk area.

Afternoon Dismissal:

• Students who attend Monomoy Community Services After School Program or the Chatham Parks & Recreation After School Program will be dismissed from their classrooms to meet staff members from those programs at the Main Entrance. Program staff will escort students to their after school location.

• Students being picked up by a caregiver will be dismissed from their classrooms to the gymnasium. (Please see Caregiver Pick Up information below.)

• Bus students will be dismissed from their classrooms to bus lines. Each line will be escorted by CES staff to board the buses.

• Students attending CES After School Clubs will be dismissed from their classroom to their club meeting place.

Caregiver Pick Up (2:20-2:30)

• Prominently display a name tag on your car’s dashboard. Name tags should include the family name and first names of any students.

• Upon entering the Hitching Post Road lot, a staff member will radio your name to a staff member in the building. By the time you pull up to the loading area your student will exit the gym and be waiting on the sidewalk to load into the vehicle.

• Dismissal is more efficient and safer when children load on the passenger side of your vehicle.

• Please do not pull out of the loading zone until all cars in front of you have loaded and pulled away from the sidewalk area.

Steps to take to ensure success:

• If carpooling, name tags are required for all students in your vehicle.

• Prominently display name tag(s) on the dashboard of your car.

• Review the traffic flow pattern and general rules of pick-up and drop off

• If you park in the lot please understand that you will need to wait until the entire pick up procedure has been completed to leave the lot.

• Caregivers are discouraged from congregating outside the building during dismissal time. Please stay in your car.

Caregiver Pick-Up students must be entered into the Pick Up Patrol App. Children are often confused and think they are in Caregiver Pick-Up, even when they’re not. If the decision to pick up is made after your child leaves home for the morning, you may enter the change into the Pick Up Patrol App. before 1:00 pm. If you need to make a change after 1:00 pm you may call the office but please be considerate and keep these requests to a minimum. Also, please note that children without a plan for Caregiver Pick-Up in Pick Up Patrol App will be required to take the bus.

If your child will be in Caregiver Pick Up every day (will never ride the bus), please enter that plan into the Pick Up Patrol App. If you wish to pick your child up on one or more of the same days each week (for example every Mon. and Wed.) enter that into the Pick Up Patrol App indicating the specific days and we will send your child to Caregiver Pick-Up only on those days you have listed. Please make sure the Pick Up Patrol App is up to date with your student’s schedule. It is the caregiver’s responsibility to maintain the correct plan in the PickUp Patrol App.

All students in grades K-4 who are being picked up before regular dismissal time will be dismissed from the Main Office. All persons picking up students must be listed on the approved contact list in the office and be prepared to show proper identification.

Thank you to Hey Joe and Jam Coffee House in West Chatham for the sweet treats on the 1st Day of School! Our staff truly appreciated the baked goods on our first day with students.

• Monday, September 14th - After-School Clubs Session I Begins
• Wednesday, September 16th - SHARK Assembly
• Thursday, September 17th - Back to School Night
• Friday, September 18th - CES Picture Day!

SHORE Food Pantry Begins September 10!
The SHORE Food Pantry at MRHS will begin serving all Monomoy families Thursday, September 10! The weekly pantry is open to everyone, and no sign-up is required. Families can simply drive up, fill their bags with the items they need, and take them home.

When & Where
Date: Every Thursday, beginning September 10
Time: 9:15 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Location: Monomoy Regional High School, Outside of Building B, Door 4
Families are welcome to stop by during the pantry hours and take what they need ... no registration or appointment necessary.

If you have any questions, contact Shana Grogan at sgrogan@monomoy.edu. In partnership with Stop & Shop, we look forward to supporting our families through the SHORE Food Pantry!

Email: jakelly@monomoy.edu
Website: http://ces.monomoy.edu/
Location: 147 Depot Road, Chatham, MA, USA
Phone: 508-945-5135
Facebook: facebook.com/ChathamElementarySchoolPto

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuaO-WElYPYfj1kU9LfhSzw
Instagram: ChathamElemMRSD